Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2007 : January 14, 2007

Theme: Use Your Spirit-Given Gifts

Church year occasion: Epiphany 2

[This opening could be used in a children's sermon.] I want to tell you the story of The King with Six Friends. There once was a king named Zar, but he didn't have a kingdom. So he went on a long journey to find a kingdom where he could be king. As he was traveling, he happened upon six different men, each of whom had the ability to turn into something, which would be very important as we shall see.

One man could turn into an axe. One man could turn into a fire. One could turn into an elephant, another could turn into a snake, another a big oak tree, and the last one a swarm of bees. They became very good friends.

Eventually they came to a faraway kingdom. The king of that land said Zar could marry his daughter and become the next king, but he had to pass three tests. The first test was to eat all the food and wine that could be packed into a huge ballroom. So Zar asked the man who could turn into a fire and the man who could turn into an elephant to do so. They did, and the fire burned up all the food, and the elephant drank all the wine. They passed the first test.

The second test was to retrieve a golden egg from a tall mountain. When the king and his friends set out, they came to a chasm that they couldn't cross. But one of the six friends turned into a snake, stretched himself across the chasm and let the others walk on him to the other side. When they came to the mountain, it was so tall that they couldn't climb it. But one of his friends turned into a huge tree and Zar climbed the tree to get the egg. But it was in a case that had no hinges or lid, so one friend turned into an axe and smashed the case. And there was the golden egg. They passed the second test.

When Zar gave the golden egg to the king, the king said, "If you are to be the next king, you must be able to defend yourself." And suddenly all the toughest soldiers of the kingdom rushed at Zar. But, thinking quickly, he had the last friend turn into a swarm of bees, and they drove the soldiers away. Zar had passed the three tests, so he married the princess and became the next king.

Did you see how all the friends used their special talents to help each other? Even Zar used his gift of leadership to have them all work together. That's what we'll learn in today's sermon when we hear how each of us as Christians can use our gifts to help each other.

Paul wrote 1 Corinthians in response to a number of difficulties that the Christians in Corinth were going through. One had to do with spiritual gifts. Apparently, the people were boastful of their Spirit-given gifts, so Paul showed them the proper attitude to have.

In verses 2-3, Paul showed them why they use their spiritual gifts. He says, "You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit." At one time, these Christians, just like you and I, were unbelievers. They followed idols, and were really worshiping the devil even though they didn't realize it. But then the Holy Spirit brought them to faith in Jesus. They were now members of the kingdom of God. They wouldn't curse Jesus' name anymore, now they would say Jesus is their Lord. But Paul's point is that it was all the Spirit's work.

Then, in verses 4-6, Paul shows why that is important. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." Different gifts, different service, different working, but all come from our Triune God. It wasn't a coincidence that Paul said they all come from the same Spirit, the same Lord and the same God. He is referring to the Trinity. Everyone in the kingdom of God is an individual -- one is a baker, one is a soldier, one is a businessman. But they all had one thing in common just as we do -- their connection to Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. It's like parts of a diamond. The Christians back then as well as you and I today are part of the kingdom of God -- like a big diamond with many facets. We are part of each other, but each of us has our own special brilliance, our own gift or gifts that God has given to us.

The first thing we need to see as we look at these Spirit-given gifts is that God doesn't expect from you what you don't have. God expects nothing from an unbeliever because they can't please God no matter how hard they try. But with believers it's different. A believer not only can praise God but he will praise God because he has faith -- that is the most important gift of the Spirit. And when a person has faith, that also enables him to have other special spiritual gifts as well. How many of these special spiritual gifts do we have? Paul says in verse 7, "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." So God says that you have at least one, perhaps many, spiritual gifts.

What are these gifts that we're talking about? They are not simply natural talents like the ability to speak well in crowds or the ability to teach others or the ability to play an instrument in church. These are not Spirit-given spiritual gifts because anyone, including unbelievers, can be a good speaker or teacher or have the ability to play an instrument. Secondly, they are not merely Christian responsibilities, like telling others about Jesus or giving generously of our time, talents or treasures for the spread of God's kingdom because every Christian is equipped and is commanded to do all of these things.

Paul gives some examples of these Spirit-given spiritual gifts: "To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues." Some of these were common among the early Christians, like speaking in tongues or healing, but we don't see them much any more perhaps because the message of salvation needed these visual signs to back up the message as it got out for the first time. But some are present among us this morning, like the message of wisdom or the message of knowledge. These are more than being wise or knowledgeable -- any unbeliever could be those things -- but this is speaking of the special ability to look at a certain situation, know all there is to know about it, and make a wise decision that has the best of the church in mind and centers in the gospel of Christ. It is good for elders or council members to have these gifts so they can be effective leaders in the church who lead the church in the right direction. Do you have that Spirit-given gift? Are you using it?

Another gift mentioned is faith. This is not basic faith in Jesus as our Savior because all Christians have that, but this is the kind of faith that can move mountains, like the faith Daniel had in the lion's den, like the faith Abraham had when he was about to follow God's command to slay his own son, or the faith of the poor widow who put all her money into the temple treasury and simply trusted God to take care of her in his time and in his way. Do you have that Spirit-given gift? Are you using it?

There are other gifts mentioned by Paul in Ephesians -- being an evangelist is one. All of us are evangelists -- we tell others about Jesus. But there are some who have that special ability to speak very easily with others, who have a passion for reaching out to others, who can relate the awesome truths of our salvation in a way that an unbeliever can grasp and take hold of. Do you have that Spirit-given gift? Are you using it?

Each believer has different Spirit-given gifts -- you have at least one. Do you know what your gifts are? Don't assume you don't have them -- you might be surprised. God wants you to use your Spirit-given gifts. For what, you ask?

Paul says in verse 7, "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." God wants us to use our gifts to build up the church -- the people of God.

But often instead of using our gifts for their only purpose -- to build up your fellow Christians -- we can use them, or fail to use them, to do the very opposite -- to tear them down. We might think that someone else is so gifted that our gifts are inconsequential. We might be envious of another person's gifts. We might even think too proudly of our gifts and look down on others who don't have the same ones we do. How foolish! It's like a boy who sees his sister get some blue cotton candy so he puts up a fuss. Then his parents point out the fact that he has some pink cotton candy already. But instead of enjoying it, he throws it on the ground because it's not as good in his eyes as his sister's blue cotton candy. How childish and sinful to treat our God-given spiritual gifts as if they aren't as good as others. Then we're not using our gifts the way God wanted them to be used -- for helping others, building each other up in the faith. Leadership is a gift, just as the king had in our story. But that didn't make the king any better or more important than his six friends. They each had a gift, and they each used it. Are you envious because someone else is in a leadership position in the church? Why? If God has given him that gift, praise God that he is using it, and pray for him that he uses it well. That person might not have the gifts you have, like being someone who can turn any conversation from the earthly to the spiritual. You may have the gift of an evangelist. Use it. The Spirit is using one Christian to lead those who are already in the kingdom of God, while the Spirit is using another Christian to bring people into the kingdom. Should you, if you are member of Living Word, not strive to be at every congregational meeting because you think that you have nothing to contribute? Of course not -- maybe you have the gift of wisdom that Paul talks about that can help the church in the direction it needs to go. But if you aren't there, that gift will be wasted, the church will not be built up.

How can we get past being jealous of other people's Spirit-given gifts, or being too proud of the ones we have? First, realize that God wants one thing from us when he gives us gifts -- to be faithful. If we are using our spiritual gifts pridefully or not using them because we're envious of others, we are showing our sinful in all its ugliness. We are showing our tendancy of going back to serving the devil instead of serving our God. We are showing that not only don't we deserve any gifts from the Spirit, but we deserve the punishment of eternal damnation for our wasting of God's gifts.

And then we are shown a God who gave us the greatest gift -- himself. He came into this world, not to show off how important and powerful he was compared to us. Instead, he came to live humbly under God's law and God's will. He came into this world, not to live for himself and his own interests. Instead, he came to give God all the glory and lived every moment of every day for you and me in the humble perfection God requires of us. He came into this world not to have the best. Instead, he came to take all the worst on himself -- all our sins and failures, every time we failed in using our gifts -- and he took them up a lonely hill where he was crucified as the worst of sinners. The perfect Lamb of God, killed for you and me.

Does that change things in how you see your life and your use of the gifts God has given? Does it change your perspective when you see Jesus tell you yours sins are forgiven because he paid the price in full? Does it open your eyes when you see him rise victorious over all our sins and Satan and death itself on Easter morning? It certainly does. Jesus lived, died and rose all for you. The Spirit has called you into his kingdom and given you faith to know Jesus as your Savior. And he has equipped you with certain gifts. But there is one gift above all that helps us to use those gifts. Paul says in the next chapter of 1 Corinthians, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." God has loved us, sinners though we were and continue to be. But his love has freed us from our sinful thinking. His love has blessed us in every way. His love has opened up a door to us that gives us so much joy -- serving others out of love for how Jesus has served and loved us. John says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1) To fail to respond to that love is unthinkable. Our faith does respond by showing love back to God for all he's done for us. One way is to use the Spirit-given gifts he has given us.

Do you remember what you got for Christmas? Are you still using all those gifts? More importantly, what gifts have your received from the Spirit? Fellow Christians, God gave you at least one if not many spiritual gifts that he wants you to use to build up your fellow Christians. Let God's amazing love to you in Christ motivate you to use your Spirit-given gifts out of love for him and others. Amen.