Spiritual Gifts: Different Types and the Family Unit
We are doing things a touch different this morning. I’m going to start by reading the Scripture for the day first. It’s going to be 1 Corinthians 12:1-31b. God kinda changed my mind this week. I had everything lined out and then mid-week he goes, “direction change!!!” Slight that it was, I just combined this week and next week’s sermon. If you would, follow along, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31b.
12 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 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.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 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. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
One Body, Many Parts
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts.
Before I get started, I want to go over a word that popped out at me this week within the Scripture. As I was studying, I kept going back to a word that struck me as peculiar. It’s the word ignorant. These days when you use the word ignorant, it usually is not in good context. So, as my custom, I went to the dictionary to find out what this word really means. The word ignorant means, “lacking knowledge or comprehension.” Paul is not calling them ignorant, what he is saying is that he does not want them to lack the proper knowledge they need in order to function properly as a church. This is the root of where we are going in this next sermon series.
This week we are going to start a sermon series that is titled “Getting the Church to Work: Gifts, Leadership and Disciplines”. This particular sermon series is a rather long one to be exact, it is actually 29 weeks long. By far, this is the longest one I’ve ever done, but the relevance to what we are trying to accomplish here at The Federated Church is huge. This sermon series will take us all the way until the week before Thanksgiving, after that, it will be time for the Advent Season. The idea of this particular sermon series is really three mini-sermon series within one huge umbrella. You see, in order to “seek and save the lost” and minister to the lost in the community, we have to get the church to work. Everyone is important and there is not one person who can shy away from the responsibility. It’s like the old WWII Uncle Sam saying, “We need you!” with the pointing finger.
In order to get the church to work, we have to know what everyone’s Spiritual Gifts are. So the first mini-sermon series we are going to look at are the different Spiritual Gifts. After that, we will have a short three week look at leadership, then we will finish it all off with a look at the Disciplines. Here’s the rationale for doing it in this order. First, every single one of the people who are sitting here in the pews has a gift from God. This list is not comprehensive, which is why I’m throwing in a “miscellaneous gifts Sunday” to go over the ones not mentioned in the Scriptures. Last Sunday, I mentioned the “Spiritual Gifts Test” that you could take online. That is one way. Or, as we are studying these different gifts, you might realize that you have it, more than likely, it is going to be something you enjoy. Now, keep in mind that a person can be gifted at more than one thing. My main gift is Pastoring/Shepherding, however, I am also very gifted at Evangelism as well. Limiting ourselves isn’t what God is about. Sometimes he blesses us with more than one gift in order to accomplish different things. So as we go through these gifts, I really want you to take a step back and realize what it is that you are gifted at. Reflect and pray on it.
After searching through gifts, we are going to take a look at leadership. Leadership is not only a gift, but a calling. We need leaders to take up positions in the church who are willing to do what is necessary to lead. It is a heavy responsibility and being called to do it is VITAL. The warm body syndrome does not quite work here.
After we look at leadership, we are going to take a look at the Spiritual Disciplines to find out how you best communicate with God. The Spiritual Disciplines are geared to get us out of the superficial Christianity. Making a good practice of disciplines can help us grow closer to God and learn so much more than we have. This is how the Walk to Emmaus or Chrysalis works. While you are there, the help develop the practice of Disciplines. Everyone is going to find that they are better at some Disciplines than others. At first, start with what you’re good at. As you grow in your walk with Christ, it’s a good idea to undertake another one that you are not so good at to challenge yourself to grow.
The whole idea of the sermon series is to learn what gifts you have, learn about leadership, and discover the disciplines that are going to help you figure out where it is that God wants you to serve within the church and community. In order to “get the church to work”, we need everybody in this room. Some to help with the workload, others to devote time to pray, others to help with the administration end, others to help teach, some to help lead on the board or elders and deacons, some to encourage us with the great faith they’ve been gifted with, and others to provide the wisdom and knowledge they’ve gained through the years. To make a church successful, it literally does take everyone. Not one part can be missing, if one falls, then we rally around to help them to their feet again.
There is a story of a small town city board who was fighting a battle of a outlet mall who was trying to buy land and build in their town next to a busy interstate. The city was split down the middle, there were those who were in favor of the money it would bring to the town that needed the revenue badly, but there were the other half of the town that were dead set against it because of the traffic, noise and crime it could bring with it. All the city board needed, was a majority vote to approve or deny the claim. Most of the time, the board was unanimous with their decisions, so the 5th and last member of the board never thought the decision would come down to him. He figured that he would go with the majority because he had not really weighed the options as he should have. Well, unfortunately, as the voting went, it was split down the middle…a dead even tie, 2-2. It was now up to the man who was not prepared to make the final decision. One person can make all the difference in the world. If you think you are not important, that is when you find out you really are. By the way, he voted against it, so the company went to the next town down the interstate and the city thrived on the business it drew with other chains settling in their nook of the interstate. One person makes a difference.
Also imbedded within that story, is a story of unification. The board was usually unified on most of the subjects, but on the important one, naturally, they were divided. Within congregations, families, cities, political parties, within anything, there is usually division. The key is, learning how to handle division. Division rips apart churches and is the work of Satan. What Paul says here in Corinthians about unity, is the key. Paul refers to the body in relation of the many parts that make up a church. When there is division in the church, and it is guaranteed there is going to be at some point, the way we combat it is with love, understanding, and seeking out guidance. When division comes, we have to be open to the idea that we may be right in part and wrong in part. We cannot take things into our own hands, because that is where mistakes happen. Seeking the guidance of myself, an Elder or Deacon is what must be done. We must prayerfully approach the situation and take a moment to sort everything out.
The idea of what Paul is getting at is even though we all disagree sometimes, we have to be open and loving enough to accept the differences we have between us. No two people agree on everything, and that is why love must dominate over everything else. At the end of the day, we are still a family, baptized with the same Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the first thing that all baptized believers receives. That guarantees you have at least 2 gifts, minimum. First, the Holy Spirit and at least one of the other spiritual gifts, every believer has. Through this process, I pray that as a congregation, we unify through our differences, accept one another in the love of Jesus Christ and become the Spiritual Hospital where all are welcome.
I know I’ve been going over the direction we’re going and it’s been an informative sermon, but there are some points that I would like everyone to take with them and reflect on.
First, you are important to the community of believers. Being a Christian is all about being active in your faith and as we continue down the road that God has planned for us, I want you to know that you, specifically, you, you, and you, everyone is vital to the plan. God has a purpose for you and that purpose is to be active within his community somewhere.
Second, I want everyone to come together and rally behind our church, so that we can build it up and make this a place where people love to come and spend time on Sunday mornings and together as a community through the weeks with the activities we have going on. We want people to want to be here. It’s not a requirement of faith, but true faith does good work. Unity is one of the main focuses, and we are here for you, to help, encourage, love and guide you through life. It can be tough and having a wider family to lean on during those tough times helps.
The sign out from for this week is all about God’s Love. It came to me after about an hour of racking my brain trying to think of something to put up there. It hit me like a Mac truck, “How do you spell God’s Love?” The ultimate form of God’s Love is in Jesus. His one and only Son, sent to the cross to die for the sins of you and me. God’s Love is a freely given gift available to all who are willing to accept it.
12 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 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.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 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. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
One Body, Many Parts
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts.
Before I get started, I want to go over a word that popped out at me this week within the Scripture. As I was studying, I kept going back to a word that struck me as peculiar. It’s the word ignorant. These days when you use the word ignorant, it usually is not in good context. So, as my custom, I went to the dictionary to find out what this word really means. The word ignorant means, “lacking knowledge or comprehension.” Paul is not calling them ignorant, what he is saying is that he does not want them to lack the proper knowledge they need in order to function properly as a church. This is the root of where we are going in this next sermon series.
This week we are going to start a sermon series that is titled “Getting the Church to Work: Gifts, Leadership and Disciplines”. This particular sermon series is a rather long one to be exact, it is actually 29 weeks long. By far, this is the longest one I’ve ever done, but the relevance to what we are trying to accomplish here at The Federated Church is huge. This sermon series will take us all the way until the week before Thanksgiving, after that, it will be time for the Advent Season. The idea of this particular sermon series is really three mini-sermon series within one huge umbrella. You see, in order to “seek and save the lost” and minister to the lost in the community, we have to get the church to work. Everyone is important and there is not one person who can shy away from the responsibility. It’s like the old WWII Uncle Sam saying, “We need you!” with the pointing finger.
In order to get the church to work, we have to know what everyone’s Spiritual Gifts are. So the first mini-sermon series we are going to look at are the different Spiritual Gifts. After that, we will have a short three week look at leadership, then we will finish it all off with a look at the Disciplines. Here’s the rationale for doing it in this order. First, every single one of the people who are sitting here in the pews has a gift from God. This list is not comprehensive, which is why I’m throwing in a “miscellaneous gifts Sunday” to go over the ones not mentioned in the Scriptures. Last Sunday, I mentioned the “Spiritual Gifts Test” that you could take online. That is one way. Or, as we are studying these different gifts, you might realize that you have it, more than likely, it is going to be something you enjoy. Now, keep in mind that a person can be gifted at more than one thing. My main gift is Pastoring/Shepherding, however, I am also very gifted at Evangelism as well. Limiting ourselves isn’t what God is about. Sometimes he blesses us with more than one gift in order to accomplish different things. So as we go through these gifts, I really want you to take a step back and realize what it is that you are gifted at. Reflect and pray on it.
After searching through gifts, we are going to take a look at leadership. Leadership is not only a gift, but a calling. We need leaders to take up positions in the church who are willing to do what is necessary to lead. It is a heavy responsibility and being called to do it is VITAL. The warm body syndrome does not quite work here.
After we look at leadership, we are going to take a look at the Spiritual Disciplines to find out how you best communicate with God. The Spiritual Disciplines are geared to get us out of the superficial Christianity. Making a good practice of disciplines can help us grow closer to God and learn so much more than we have. This is how the Walk to Emmaus or Chrysalis works. While you are there, the help develop the practice of Disciplines. Everyone is going to find that they are better at some Disciplines than others. At first, start with what you’re good at. As you grow in your walk with Christ, it’s a good idea to undertake another one that you are not so good at to challenge yourself to grow.
The whole idea of the sermon series is to learn what gifts you have, learn about leadership, and discover the disciplines that are going to help you figure out where it is that God wants you to serve within the church and community. In order to “get the church to work”, we need everybody in this room. Some to help with the workload, others to devote time to pray, others to help with the administration end, others to help teach, some to help lead on the board or elders and deacons, some to encourage us with the great faith they’ve been gifted with, and others to provide the wisdom and knowledge they’ve gained through the years. To make a church successful, it literally does take everyone. Not one part can be missing, if one falls, then we rally around to help them to their feet again.
There is a story of a small town city board who was fighting a battle of a outlet mall who was trying to buy land and build in their town next to a busy interstate. The city was split down the middle, there were those who were in favor of the money it would bring to the town that needed the revenue badly, but there were the other half of the town that were dead set against it because of the traffic, noise and crime it could bring with it. All the city board needed, was a majority vote to approve or deny the claim. Most of the time, the board was unanimous with their decisions, so the 5th and last member of the board never thought the decision would come down to him. He figured that he would go with the majority because he had not really weighed the options as he should have. Well, unfortunately, as the voting went, it was split down the middle…a dead even tie, 2-2. It was now up to the man who was not prepared to make the final decision. One person can make all the difference in the world. If you think you are not important, that is when you find out you really are. By the way, he voted against it, so the company went to the next town down the interstate and the city thrived on the business it drew with other chains settling in their nook of the interstate. One person makes a difference.
Also imbedded within that story, is a story of unification. The board was usually unified on most of the subjects, but on the important one, naturally, they were divided. Within congregations, families, cities, political parties, within anything, there is usually division. The key is, learning how to handle division. Division rips apart churches and is the work of Satan. What Paul says here in Corinthians about unity, is the key. Paul refers to the body in relation of the many parts that make up a church. When there is division in the church, and it is guaranteed there is going to be at some point, the way we combat it is with love, understanding, and seeking out guidance. When division comes, we have to be open to the idea that we may be right in part and wrong in part. We cannot take things into our own hands, because that is where mistakes happen. Seeking the guidance of myself, an Elder or Deacon is what must be done. We must prayerfully approach the situation and take a moment to sort everything out.
The idea of what Paul is getting at is even though we all disagree sometimes, we have to be open and loving enough to accept the differences we have between us. No two people agree on everything, and that is why love must dominate over everything else. At the end of the day, we are still a family, baptized with the same Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the first thing that all baptized believers receives. That guarantees you have at least 2 gifts, minimum. First, the Holy Spirit and at least one of the other spiritual gifts, every believer has. Through this process, I pray that as a congregation, we unify through our differences, accept one another in the love of Jesus Christ and become the Spiritual Hospital where all are welcome.
I know I’ve been going over the direction we’re going and it’s been an informative sermon, but there are some points that I would like everyone to take with them and reflect on.
First, you are important to the community of believers. Being a Christian is all about being active in your faith and as we continue down the road that God has planned for us, I want you to know that you, specifically, you, you, and you, everyone is vital to the plan. God has a purpose for you and that purpose is to be active within his community somewhere.
Second, I want everyone to come together and rally behind our church, so that we can build it up and make this a place where people love to come and spend time on Sunday mornings and together as a community through the weeks with the activities we have going on. We want people to want to be here. It’s not a requirement of faith, but true faith does good work. Unity is one of the main focuses, and we are here for you, to help, encourage, love and guide you through life. It can be tough and having a wider family to lean on during those tough times helps.
The sign out from for this week is all about God’s Love. It came to me after about an hour of racking my brain trying to think of something to put up there. It hit me like a Mac truck, “How do you spell God’s Love?” The ultimate form of God’s Love is in Jesus. His one and only Son, sent to the cross to die for the sins of you and me. God’s Love is a freely given gift available to all who are willing to accept it.
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