INTRODUCTION
- I want you to take a long look at me
- What you see before you is proof that God has a wicked sense of humor
- Or at least a whimsical sense of irony
- As exhibit 'A'- I give you my love for music
- I'd love to be able to play the piano-
- Or a saxophone
- Or a guitar
- Shoot- I'd settle for being able to play a kazoo
- But- that's not going to happen
- All the musical talent in my family's gene pool fell on Matthew and Stephanie
- The only thing I can play is...a stereo system!
- As exhibit 'B'- I give you my love for golf
- I love playing golf
- The problem is golf doesn't love me
- From time-to-time I can string a couple of pars together
- But I KNOW there's always a quadruple bogey out there- waiting to jump up and bite me!
- That's why I say God has a sense of humor
- I love music- but God didn't give me the gift of music
- I love golf- but God didn't give me the hand-eye coordination it takes to play the game well
- But that's OK. See- I know that I'm a uniquely gifted person
- The Holy Spirit has given me gift and talents I can use for the glory of God
- And if you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord- He's given YOU gifts and talents as well!
- That's why this morning we're going to conclude this two-part sermon series by thinking about the gift of the Holy Spirit
JESUS IS LORD
- Let's begin by reading 1 Corinthians 12. We'll start by looking at verses 1-3
- Let's stop right there:
- To say that Jesus is Lord is more than just a religious affirmation
- The proclamation that Jesus is your Lord means that you've relinquished control of your life to Him
- That He is your absolute Master- and you are His willing servant
- To put it another: Saying Jesus is Lord means you're completely, totally, 100% sold out for Jesus
- Now- to borrow Dr. Phil's expression: Let's get real
- The proclamation that Jesus is Lord is a step of faith many Christians have never taken
- Sure- they've asked Jesus to be their Savior
- They have their fire insurance safely in hand
- But that's about as far as it goes
- They're not ready to give up control of their life
- They've never been able to pray this prayer: Jesus- from now on You have all of me there is to have! My life is in Your hands! I want You to use me in any way You see fit!
- Folks- if you've never done this I urge you to make that decision today. Because if you do...
- You'll begin to experience the joyful, abundant life Jesus wants to give you
- And you'll be able to be used by God for His glory- and you'll be blessed in the process
- Getting back to verse 3. God's Word says it's impossible to take Jesus as your Lord without the help of the Holy Spirit
- On your own the old sin nature we talked about last week will assert itself every time!
- In fact- the ONLY way to experience this kind of spiritual victory is to depend on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit!
- 1 John 4:1-4
THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT IS GIVEN FOR THE COMMON GOOD
- Let's read on- read verses 4-7
- This verse should settle- once and for all- the question of whether you have a gift of the Holy Spirit!
- Notice what it says: to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given
- Now each one means every person who knows Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord
- Manifestation means the realization of the Holy Spirit's power
- In other words:
- EVERY Christian has been given a special realization of the Holy Spirit's power and presence in their life
- This manifestation is expressed as a particular gift of the Holy Spirit
- OK- let's take a timeout here
- People frequently ask me if there's a difference between having a spiritual gift and having a certain talent
- Technically speaking the answer is 'Yes'- but practically speaking the answer is 'No'
- By definition-
- A spiritual gift is a result of being a born-again child of God
- A talent is a natural ability resulting from physical birth
- That's the technical side of it. Here's the practical part:
- Ultimately all spiritual gifts and natural talents are gifts from God
- And each can be used for God's glory in the church!
- How does the old saying go?
- What you are is God's gift to you
- What you become is your gift to God
- With that in mind- let get back to 1 Corinthians 12
- Notice WHY you received talents and spiritual gifts: ...to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good
- In other words:
- Your spiritual gift is a BLESSING from God
- But you didn't receive it for YOUR benefit- it was given to you for the benefit of OTHERS!
- Let me try to illustrate what this means.
- I love Diana Krall- got every CD she's ever recorded
- Diana Krall is the greatest female jazz singer in the world today- she also plays a killer piano- she's that talented
- As a professional entertainer she's made millions of dollars off the talent she's been given
- Then you take someone like George Beverly Shea
- As a young man Shea was offered a recording contract with CBS Records® that would have made him a rich man
- But he turned it down in order to enter full time Christian ministry
- Rather than exploiting his gifts for his own glory
- He used his gift for God's glory
- Listen to what the Bible says in Colossians 3:7: And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him...
- Folks- if you bring that kind of attitude to the table
- You WILL use your spiritual gift for the benefit of others- and the glory of God!
TO ONE THERE IS GIVEN
- Let's read on- read verses 8-10
- Now I want you to understand what we've got here:
- This is a list of SOME of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
- But- this is not the ONLY list of the spiritual gifts given in the New Testament.
- Please read Romans 12:3-8
- Now, let's read Ephesians 4:11-13
- I want you to notice a few things about these passages of Scripture
- First of all-
- This isn't an all-inclusive list of the spiritual gifts
- This is a sampling of SOME of the gifts and talents the Holy Spirit gives to individual believers
- Second- Even though every Christian will have at least one gift or talent- some Christians receive multiple gifts of the Spirit
- Notice what it says in Romans 12:6: We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
- In other words: The Holy Spirit will give you all the gifts and talents you need to accomplish the work God has called you to do!
- Finally- I want you to notice the NATURE of these gifts
- They're not designed for people who want to go sit on a mountaintop and stare at the veins on the back of their hand!
- Above all- these gifts are practical. They enable the church to fulfill its MISSION and MINISTRY in the world!
- Illustration: Aesop's Fable Of The Crow
- In one of Aesop's fable the story is told about an old crow who was flying South for the winter
- He hadn't had anything to drink in a long time- and he was VERY thirsty
- When suddenly he noticed a jar of water sitting on the ground
- With joy- he swooped down and prepared to drink to his heart's content
- There was only one problem
- His beak wouldn't QUITE reach the water in the bottom of the jar
- The crow tried everything- and nothing worked. Until he got an idea...
- He started picking up pebbles that were lying on the ground- and dropping them- one by one- into the bottom of the jar.
- The more pebbles he dropped in the jar- the higher the water in the jar began to rise- until finally he was able to reach the water- and quench his thirst!
- Folks- that's a pretty good illustration of the way God has chosen to work in this world
- Every Christian has been given a gift and talent by the Holy Spirit- it may express itself...
- By teaching a Sunday school class-
- Or serving on a church committee-
- Or being a chaperone for a youth retreat-
- Or visiting a shut-in-
- Or cooking a delicious meal
- Or putting a roof on the Children's Building
- Or sharing the plan of salvation with a friend at work
- Individually- these things might not seem all that important
- But as the pebbles begin to accumulate in the bottom of the jar- and the water starts to rise
- God is able to build His kingdom and bring all of His Plans to fruition!
- Now let's take another time out
- I'm sure some of you may be thinking: Steve- I understand that God has given me gifts and talents that I can use for His glory.
- My problem is- I don't know what my gift or talent is
- Folks- THAT is a valid point
- Most Christians don't know what their gifts and talents are
- Which makes it difficult- if not impossible- to know how to use your gifts and talents for God's glory
- The good news is there are plenty of tools and instruments out there that will help you discover what your gifts and talents are
- Come by the Office anytime and I'll be glad to share them with you
- In fact- we're going to be using one of these instruments in a few of our Sunday School classes over the next month or so
- The point is:
- There are easy ways to discover the particular gifts and talents God has given you
- All it takes is prayer, a little time and a desire to be used for God's glory
THE BODY IS A UNIT
- With all this in mind- let's read on- read verses 12-20
- Don't miss what the Bible is saying here: You are a vital part of the body of Christ!
- You may not be a pastor- or a Sunday School teacher- or a deacon- or a member of the choir
- But without YOU...
- The body of Christ is severely handicapped
- The work God has given Sunset Road Baptist Church can not POSSIBLY be accomplished!
- This is the point Paul is making in verses 21-26
- Illustration: Visual Illustration
- I want you to hold up your hand like this- with your thumb pressed against your palm
- Now using these four fingers only- I want you to try and pick up a hymn book out of the pew rack
- (Wait a few seconds)
- It's hard- isn't it?
- Can you imagine having to go through your life without your thumb?
- I mean it's just a three inch body part
- But without it you'd be severely handicapped
- Folks, that's the way it is in the body of Christ
- When just one member of the church is content to drift along in spiritual mediocrity-
- The WHOLE body of Christ is affected!
- In putting this sermon together I struggled with what I'm about to say next
- In fact I tried to avoid having to say it
- But God didn't give me any choice
- I believe the biggest problem we have in our church today is a commitment problem
- We've got folks who...
- Desperately need a booster shot of commitment
- Believe their responsibility to the Lord begins and ends with the Sunday morning worship service
- Now don't get me wrong:
- There are great things going on around here
- And I rejoice in what God is doing in our midst
- But the problem is some of us are TOO content- TOO self-satisfied with the way things are now
- Too many folks are mired in spiritual mediocrity
- They seem to be perfectly happy to sit back and watch the parade pass them by!
- Folks- I don't know about you-
- But I don't want to go through the motions.
- I'm not willing to accept mediocrity...
- In my personal faith-walk with Christ
- In the body of Christ that worships together at Sunset Road Baptist Church
- Maybe I'm selfish- maybe I'm not being realistic- but I want God to open up heaven's gates- and send down blessings that will...
- Change my life
- And fan into flame the fires of revival in this church!
CONCLUSION
- I want you to Please read John 14:11-13
- Folks- think about what Jesus is saying here!
- Through the in-dwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit
- The body of Christ- the church- will do even greater things than Jesus did when He was on Earth!
- You see, when Jesus was on the Earth He accepted the physical limitations of time and space
- In other words: If He was in Jerusalem- He couldn't be in the Galilee
- He could minister to the people He came in contact with- but He couldn't minister to someone in say- Rome
- But the church- the empowered people of God- has been scattered throughout the entire world!
- So that whether we're in Charlotte, North Carolina- or Pembrooke, Georgia- or an international missions site- or anyplace God takes us
- We can be a part of the work God is doing in His world today!
- All we need is for...
- People to get SERIOUS about the things of God
- People to stand up and say: Here I am Lord- use me!
- People who are willing to take the spiritual gift the Holy Spirit has given them- and use it for the glory of God
- Let us pray
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