Well, good morning.
As if you are visiting here this morning, you may know, may not know that we typically
preach through books of the Bible.
And we are in the middle of the book of 1 Corinthians.
We're actually at chapter 12.
If you want to turn there in your pew Bibles, it's page 959 in those Bibles.
And we will be looking today at the first 11 verses of chapter 12.
And so let me give you a moment to get there.
And as you look, I want to say again to all of you who are celebrating either this weekend
or some other weekend before or after celebrating some kind of graduation or commencement, we
are so glad to celebrate that with you.
1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 1 through 11.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
You know that when you were pagans, you were led away to mute idols, however you were led.
Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says
Jesus is accursed.
And no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit.
Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are varieties of service, but the same Lord.
And there are varieties of activities.
But it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom.
To another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit.
To another, faith by the same Spirit.
To another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit.
To another, the working of miracles.
To another, prophecy.
To another, the ability to distinguish between Spirits.
To another, various kinds of tongues.
To another, the interpretation of tongues.
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit who apportions to each one individually as He wills.
Will you pray with me as we consider this passage.
Lord, we this morning invite this one Spirit who you have told us in this passage is at work among your people.
Oh Spirit, will you work in us this morning.
Lord, open our hearts.
Lord, to your work in our lives.
To encourage us.
To strengthen us.
To challenge us.
Lord, open our minds that we may understand you rightly.
And so worship you rightly.
Lord, this morning use this passage in our hearts, in our lives, we pray.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
So, one of the things I love about having little kids is the way they interact.
Particularly in a city like New Haven.
Last year, my kid went to, my oldest one went to a school with 17 children.
He was the only Caucasian in the class.
And he didn't know it.
And it was a beautiful thing.
And by that I mean, it just didn't occur to him that his classmates had a different color skin.
Or a different kind of hairstyle.
Or a different kind of.
He just experienced the diversity of his friends as other people that he knew.
And he cared about them and played with them.
And it didn't make a difference.
And I love that about little kids.
I love the way they don't see those things.
But of course, as a normal course of developmental psychology, as we grow up, we begin to notice these things.
We begin to notice these differences.
And interestingly, so easily at that point, we begin to take those differences.
And rather than exploring them as wonderful things that God has created.
We explore.
We instead end up using them.
They become a pretext for separation between me and you.
We find ourselves walking into a room and thinking, who are the social groupings?
Where do I fit in?
Where do I fit on the pecking order in this room?
Who are the people like me?
Who are my people?
And who are them?
Who are the other people in this room?
We admire some.
We disparage others.
And in fact, one of the things that is exposed in our hearts is that we're actually uncomfortable
with who we are.
We walk into a room and we think, I don't know how I fit in.
Am I going to be accepted?
Am I going to be loved?
And so we find, we gravitate towards these things.
These people who are like us.
And we create these barriers around people who are different than us.
Because we feel insecure.
And in doing so, we also become unable to accept others as they are.
And to value them.
This is a common dynamic.
Our sermon this morning is not about race relations or things like that.
Our sermon is about spiritual gifts.
And isn't it true that as we think about our spiritual lives, we do the same thing?
Last week, Pastor Greg talked about the problem in the Corinthian church where they gathered
for the Lord's Supper and yet separated and divided according to socioeconomic class.
Around here, we might do it for education.
For race.
For all sorts of other reasons.
We might do it for what is perceived to be spiritual maturity.
Oh, he's really smart.
I think he's really spiritual.
I'm not very spiritual.
I don't know where I fit in here.
It seems like this is what was going on in the Corinthian church too.
Way back when, when we preached through chapters one through four, we saw that there were divisions
among them.
They were connecting to particular kinds of leaders.
They were exalting particular kinds of spiritual wisdom that would separate some from others.
They were exalting spiritual experiences.
And their apparent triumphalism looked down on those who were weak.
Those who were needy.
Those who were less in the eyes of the world.
And these divisions created this competitive community in the Corinthian church.
It was characterized by arrogance, disunity, disarray.
I think maybe it sounded like, I don't know if you were ever in a high school rock and roll band.
I wasn't, but my brother was.
And I saw them practice.
And when you get four teenage kids together to worship,
do you know what they all want to do all the time?
They want to do their solos.
They want to do their thing.
And so the four of them are not playing together as a band.
They're playing four of them all wanting to be lead at the same time.
And that kind of competition, I think, is what so easily infects our society
and what so easily infects the church of Jesus Christ.
This kind of things.
And it's not what God called us to be.
It's so easy for us to exalt the service we do
and to begrudge others who don't do the same thing.
It's so easy to resent the people who don't help in the ways that we do
and to look down on the people who don't have the gifts that we do.
And rather than rejoicing and valuing the differences,
we can ignore or dismiss them.
We'll see as the book goes on.
For those of you who will be around for a while,
when we get to chapter 14, we'll see the real issue has to do with speaking in tongues
and the place that speaking in tongues played in that church.
But we won't get to that today.
Because as we see in 1 Corinthians, as we saw in chapters 8 through 10,
there's this structural move that Paul does.
He begins to address an issue and he instantly jumps not to the answer to the question that's being asked,
but he jumps to a higher principle.
And so all of chapter 12 is about spiritual gifts,
the broad category of speaking in tongues.
And all of chapter 13 is about love,
which is about the character of how we hold our spiritual gifts,
before he gets to chapter 14
and before he actually answers the question that the Corinthian church has asked.
And the question that they're really asking is,
what does it look like to be truly a spiritual person?
What does it look like to really have the Spirit of God working in you?
Does it have this competitive one-upness,
this I have this gift and you don't kind of characteristic or not?
In fact, that's what we see in verses 1 through 3 of our passage.
As we're launching into it,
look with me with that just for beginning.
He begins,
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers,
and I want you to look down at the bottom of the page,
if your eyesight is better than mine,
you can read that footnote without glasses.
And that footnote says,
Spiritual Persons.
It's unfortunate that the ESV titled this as Spiritual Gifts,
because I think that Paul is actually saying
something more profound than just what is the gifting that we have.
He wants them to understand what it means to be a person of the Spirit,
a person who has the Spirit of God working in them.
So in verse 2 he says,
You remember what it was like when you worshipped other gods,
and you didn't have the Spirit.
Those other gods were mute.
They couldn't help you.
They couldn't gift you.
They didn't actually do things for you, did they?
And then in verse 3 he says,
But,
here's what you need to remember.
If you claim to be a Christian,
if you claim to
profess Jesus Christ as Lord,
then you have
the Spirit of God in you.
It is not these gifts,
it's not all these other things,
it is simply that
appropriation and reception
of the gospel
that Jesus is Lord.
He's recalling what he said in Romans 14 about,
or Romans 10,
where he says,
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved.
This is the core message of the Christian life,
is it not?
That we who,
in our sin,
are helpless before God
to ever be righteous enough
to earn His acceptance,
have had God do something amazing for us.
He has sent Christ,
and Christ has lived
the life without sin
that we ought to have lived.
And He died the death
that we deserved
because of our sin.
And He rose from the dead
to new life
so that He might
show that He has conquered sin
and that our sins can be forgiven.
And He has conquered death.
And now He offers us
a new spiritual
and eternal life
that is always His.
And He says,
If you confess Jesus Christ as Lord,
then the Spirit of God is in you.
If you reject Him,
if you curse Jesus,
then you don't.
But He's saying,
being a spiritual person
is fundamentally having
the Spirit of God.
And then He goes on
and He talks about
how the Spirit of God
works in His people.
And that's what I want to focus on
for the rest of our time this morning.
The main thing that I want us to learn,
the big idea of this passage,
is that God has given various gifts
as manifestations
of His one Spirit
for the good of all people.
And we're just going to go through that
one at a time.
God has given various gifts
because of one Spirit
for the good of all.
So let's look at those things in turn.
The various giftings
that God gives
to His people.
I want to step back
briefly
and try to give
a bit of a context for this.
Because one of the things
that I think we struggle with
in the Christian church
as we're talking about
spiritual giftings
is that
we come here
day after day,
week after week,
year after year,
and we think about
what are we about?
We're about the gospel.
We're about the work
of God's work in us,
transforming us
to be like Christ
and God's word
going out from us
to bring light
into the darkness
of the world
that we live in.
Right?
And often,
we do all these things
and we're learning
about Christian growth
and we're learning
about mission
and all these things.
And then,
then we get to Christian,
to spiritual gifts
and it's like we step
out of the main room
and into this little side room.
And we sort of talk about it
like it's this,
its own little category
that's completely disconnected
from the rest of spiritual,
from the rest of our normal church life
and Christian life.
But Paul is trying to say,
no, no, no.
Do you see,
even from the very beginning?
Right?
It is those who profess
Jesus as Lord
who have the Spirit.
And the thing about
the spiritual gifts
is that it is the Spirit
who is giving God's people
the ability
to do spiritual good
to other people.
Look with me
at verses 4 through 6 again.
There are variety gifts
but the same Spirit.
Varieties of service
but the same Lord.
And varieties of activities
but it is the same God
who empowers.
them all
in everyone.
The emphasis here
is that
it is God
who is working
in the midst of these people
to do things.
It is not like
it is not some special thing
like an add-on package
to your software.
It's not an optional side thing.
It is actually an integral part
of how it is
that God wants to work
in His people.
Now what are these giftings?
What do they look like?
Now here again
we run up to
a whole host
of really difficult
questions
or misunderstandings
maybe
because one of the things
is we think
well
you know
these gifts here
seem pretty supernatural.
when you look at the list
when you look at the list in 7 through 11
a lot of them seem pretty
like healing
and miracles
and prophecy
like wow
these are really special.
These are somehow
really different
than our normal
everyday lives.
But friends
I want to
want to just point out
to you
that chapter 12
and chapter 13
are next to each other
and we'll dive into it
later.
But let me ask you this
is it more supernatural
to see someone healed
or to actually love
your enemy?
Is it more supernatural
to speak
a spontaneous word
from the Lord
or is it more supernatural
for you to be patient
and kind
with someone
who is hard to live with?
As we'll see
Paul sees all of this
as the work of the Spirit
in our hearts.
So we need to make sure
we don't exalt gifts
to some special place
that isn't a normal part
of the Christian life
or somehow separate
from Christian character
and conduct.
It's not a separate room
whereby we do ministry
according to gifting
differently
than what we do
on a day-to-day basis.
It's meant to be integrated.
And you see this
when you look at
the other list of gifts
in other places
in the New Testament.
There's one at the end
of 1 Corinthians 12.
There's one in Romans 12.
There's one in Ephesians
chapter 4.
There's one in 1 Peter.
These are the normal...
And when you look
through these lists
you will see more broadly
that those lists
include some things
that seem very supernatural
or paranormal
as one of the commentators use.
But some of them
seem very mundane.
The gift of giving.
The gift of administration.
The gift of service.
But friends,
the only reason
why we stumble over those
is because we have
in our mind
the idea that gifting
is something else
other than
the Spirit of God
helping people
to serve others
for their good,
for their spiritual good.
and it may look more
or less spectacular
but it is good.
Sometimes I think
we think of spiritual gifts
as like superheroes.
You know?
I want to be Iron Man.
I want to be Spider-Man.
I want to be Thor.
You know?
And I have this particular gift
that I can do
that nobody else can do.
And instead
God is saying
no, no, no, no, no.
Look,
you're all on the same team.
And God is going to give you
particular ways
in which you can serve
one another.
What are some of those ways?
What about the gifts
that he lists here?
I'm going to try
really briefly
to give a definition
for each one of these gifts
because he blows through them
really quickly.
Right?
He just says
oh yeah,
an utterance of wisdom
and an utterance of knowledge
and prophecy
and tongues
and you think
what in the world
does that mean?
Let me try.
And as we look at it
I want to say
two things about it.
One is that
the gifts may
or may not be
spontaneous.
By that I mean
some gifting
may exert itself
in the moment
without preparation.
Some gifts
may exert themselves
with preparation
and forethought
and planning.
Some gifts
may be
work in both ways
at different times
or in different people.
So let's make sure
that we don't think
that it has to be spontaneous.
The other thing
we need to see
and we'll explore this more
in chapter 14
is that spiritual gifts
are not infallible.
And so one who might
have the gift of healing
I don't believe
will always heal someone
that they pray for.
And someone who has
a gift of prophecy
will have that gift
of prophecy
weighed by the elders
in the corporate setting.
It is not that
these giftings
are again
like super powers
that are infallible.
They are
the spirit's enabling
of us.
And we know
that we don't
always do it right.
That we don't
always get it right.
We don't always
handle it right.
So as we explore
this thing
we recognize
that with humility
we recognize
God may use us
graciously.
We never take
a sense of ownership
of these gifts
as they are
for ourselves.
Alright.
So here we go.
You ready?
If you're taking notes
we're going to go
through this fast.
The utterance
of wisdom
is the ability
to give guidance
that is consistent
with Christ's stress
on self-sacrifice
and the well-being
of others.
The utterance
of knowledge
is a message
or a word
spoken
marked by theological
understanding
or insight.
The gift
of faith
is
not
the gift
of faith
that is given
to all believers
on the basis
of their trusting
in the work
of Christ
for their salvation
which is the
fundamental faith
that all believers
share.
The gift
of faith
is an extraordinary
God-given confidence
in his saving power
and presence
and that he is now
presently acting.
so it's someone
who has the ability
to see
and discern
and believe
that God
is at work
in something.
Healing
is a privilege
of being
the channel
of physical
healing
in someone else.
Miracles
the privilege
of serving
as a channel
for the in-breaking
of God's
final rule
his eschatological rule
into the present age
in a particular way
that overcomes
sin
or the fall.
I was,
well,
did you get that?
What it means
is that
God is going
to use
a particular person
to bring in
the power
that he will
ultimately exert
over all the world
when he returns
and establishes
his kingdom fully
where all things
work according
to his will.
So it might be
he has power
over nature.
It might be
he has power
over,
he can stop
the sun in the sky.
He can stop
an army in its tracks.
He can do
all of these things.
He doesn't do it
all the time
but there are times
when he does it
and he does it
sometimes through people.
Prophecy.
We looked at this
last week.
Nick mentioned it
in chapter 14
verse 3.
There's a really
good definition
of it.
One who speaks
to people
for their upbuilding
and encouragement
and consolation.
Not foretelling,
although that's possible,
but that's not
the heart of it,
but telling forth
what is true
about God
in a way
that helps
other people.
the distinguishing
of spirits
is the special
ability
to evaluate
the origin,
authority,
and application
particularly
of prophetic messages.
Speaking in
different kinds
of tongues,
I'm going to punt
on this one
a little bit
just so you know
because we're going
to deal with it
in chapter 14
in a lot of detail
and so we'll get
back to it,
but tongues
is the ability
to speak
in an unlearned
human,
possibly angelic
language.
I know that begs
all the questions
if anyone's been
exposed to it
and I'm just going
to punt on it.
Hang in there,
come back,
listen to the sermon
in four weeks,
we'll get to it.
And the interpretation
in tongues
is the ability
to translate
or interpret
what was said
to God
through the gift
of tongues.
So it's related
to that.
Alright,
so that's what
those mean.
Okay?
What I want you
to see
is that
as you pull
them together,
what are they?
They are,
in this particular
list,
focusing on
there are
words
spoken to
the congregation
for their good,
for their spiritual
good,
or their actions
that display
a confidence
in
or a work
of God
as he
continues the work
in his world
of building
his kingdom.
That's what's
happening with
spiritual gifting
in this list.
This list doesn't
have some of the
other ones like
administration and
service and mercy.
When we preach
through Romans,
we'll get to those.
But a few other
things you want
to see is that
the emphasis here,
as you see Paul
talking through it,
is that there's a
variety of gifts.
To one is given
this,
to another is given
this,
to another is given
this,
to another is given
this.
The gifting is going
to be different
among us.
And the way that we
find ourselves in
this is not a
checklist.
It's not a
closed list of
which one do I
have?
There are 14
gifts,
there are 17
gifts,
there are 18
gifts in the
New Testament.
Which one do I
have?
I actually think
that that's not
the right way to
see them.
But in fact,
we need to
recognize that
these are gifts
that are sovereignly
given by God.
And as they're
sovereignly given
by God,
we want to seek
to simply recognize
where God is
working in us
and where God is
working in others
and to rejoice in
both of them.
And to humbly
receive them
and to see the
difference among
them.
And to be
thankful for
that.
Part of what
I want you to
hear is that God
has given each
of you who
claim Jesus as
Lord, he has
given you his
spirit.
And his spirit
has gifted you
for service in
his church and
in this world.
world.
And to not be
like the rock
and roll band
competing with
one another,
but to see
what's my part
to play
and how do I
value all the
other gifts that
all these other
people have.
Because otherwise
we end up
dividing ourselves,
don't we?
the differences
become divisions.
So, the first
thing I want you
to hear this
morning is that
God has gifted
you by his
spirit in
various ways.
second thing, he's
gifted you by his
one spirit.
You know, it's
interesting.
Did the
Corinthians really
believe there
were different
spirits empowering
different people in
the church?
Or that some
had the spirit of
God and others
didn't?
Probably not quite
that extreme.
My guess is that
some of them
thought they had
more of the
spirit of God
than others and
that they were
using their
spiritual gifts
to puff up
their ego and
their place in
the body?
And Paul says,
don't you know,
you all have
one and the
same spirit.
Do you see how
often he says
it?
The same spirit,
the same Lord,
the same God,
in verses 4
through 6.
Then in verses
7 and 8,
or verses 8
and following,
through the
spirit,
the same spirit,
and the same
spirit again,
and the one
spirit,
and the same
spirit again,
every time he
mentions it,
he says,
you all have
the same
one.
Brings to
mind what
Paul said in
Ephesians chapter
4 as he
encouraged unity
in the body.
He said,
there is one
body and one
spirit just as
you were called
to one hope
that belongs
to your call,
one Lord,
one faith,
one baptism,
one God and
Father of us
all,
who is over
all and through
all and in
all.
The unity
of God's
people
is based
on the
unity
of
worshiping
one God.
And the
diversity of
God's people
in its
beautifulness,
in its beauty,
in its majesty,
is to display
the diversity
of the
triune God.
This is what
we see in
4 through 6,
right?
God is gifting
them,
but then he
makes an
explicit
appeal to
see.
Do you see?
It's the
Father and
the Son and
the Holy Spirit
who are all
working in
this gifting
and in
this manifestation.
It is one
God who's at
work in you
in this
variety of
ways.
So do you
see how
the unity
and diversity
of the way
that we
hold our
spiritual gifts
is an
incredible gift
and incredible
stewardship
because it
is how
the church
displays
the very
nature of
God.
It is
parallel to
what Paul
said at the
beginning of
chapter 11
about how
gender
is a way
to display
the diversity
and the
beauty of
God.
And yet
it's the
same reason
why in
the second
half of
chapter 11
Paul rails
against them
for their
divisions
according to
socioeconomic
lines.
This unity
and diversity
is a part
of the
high
calling
of the
church
to
display
the
character
of
God
in
the
world.
And
friends,
we just
need to
see it
for what
it is.
We don't
need to
make this
up.
We don't
need to
create
unity
out of
something
else.
The beauty
of it
is that
God has
said the
unity
exists.
The unity
is there
because God
is one
and because
God has
now gifted
you as
his people.
We don't
have to
make up
the unity.
We simply
have to
acknowledge
it and
live in
light of
it.
Friends,
when we
do this,
it makes
all the
difference.
when we
don't do
this,
when we
fight and
backbite,
when we
compete and
compare,
when we
divide and
disparage one
another,
we look a
whole lot
like any
other human
organization in
the world.
And there's
no difference.
But when
we do
this,
when we
live out
this unity
and diversity,
when we
do it
well,
then God
is in
our
midst.
And God
is at
work.
And not
only will
we see
it and be
encouraged,
but the
world will
see it.
And we'll
be drawn
to ask
why.
How could
this be?
And that's
why spiritual
gifting isn't
this extra
room on the
side, but
it's woven
into the
warp and
woof of
how we're
supposed to
live.
Because as
we hold it
properly, we
display the
nature of
God.
Third thing
is that not
only do we
do it, not
only are there
diverse gifts,
a variety of
gifts, not
only is there
one spirit, but
that there's a
purpose for
this.
We do this
for the
common good.
God, in
his great
wisdom and
in his great
power and
his gracious
work in
our lives, has
given us
gifts, but
he's not
given them
gifts to
us for
our sake.
We are
not the
terminal
end point
of the
gifting so
that we can
think highly
of ourselves
about what
our wonderful
gifts are, or
so that we
can think,
well, now I
know what my
gift is, so
my job is
simply to
exercise my
gift without
any concern
for the
people of
God.
instead it
is this.
Look with
me in verse
seven, you'll
see it again.
Each is
given the
manifestation of
the spirit for
the common
good.
And the
common good is
the goal that
God has given
for all of
these things.
The spirit is
at work in
us, not for
our sake, but
for others'
sake.
We will see
this as we
go through the
rest of chapter
12 and
chapter 13 and
chapter 14.
It is the
subtext of it
over and over
and again.
How is it,
brothers and
sisters, that
you are loving
others by
your gifting
and by your
service?
This is the
goal.
So how do we
do this
practically?
How do we
live this out?
How do we
respond to
this idea of
try to give
in a few
minutes, just
a few minutes,
a few practical
ideas?
First, how do
we discern our
spiritual gifts?
I hate to
say it, I
don't think the
inventories are
that helpful.
You can go
online and
take a test.
I think they
tend to be
self-determining.
You tend to
end up having
the gift that
you think you
have or the
one that you
want to have.
You can still
look at them,
they're still
helpful for you
to think through
them.
But you know
the best way
to discern what
your spiritual
gift is?
Go serve.
Go serve
others.
Be obedient to
the opportunities
that God gives
you to love
one another.
Don't wonder
if I don't
think I can
do that, I
don't have the
ability to do
it.
Try it anyways.
Often, the
Spirit of God
seems to work
through people
who don't think
that they can
do it.
Like Moses, I'm
not very eloquent.
Well, I'm going
to send you to
be my spokesman
to the people
of Egypt.
That's often
what God
does.
So go serve.
Go find a
place.
Get over
yourself.
If you feel
like you have
to perform
perfectly or be
completely competent
something before
you try it.
Because when
you do that,
you don't leave
room for the
Spirit to
actually enable
you and to
see God
work.
Recognize that
as you keep
serving, and
as you keep
asking your
brothers and
sisters, where
do you see
God using me?
That's the
best way that
you will know
how you are
gifted.
If you're
wondering that,
ask the people
who know you
best.
Ask your
small group.
Ask your
roommates.
Ask your
husband or
wife.
Come talk to
the elders.
We probably
have less
view than
many others,
but we'll
try.
We'll try to
help you think
through it, if
that would be
helpful.
Trust and
believe that
God will
use you, and
that he has
gifted you, and
then go serve.
Secondly, what
about our
attitudes and
spiritual gifts?
Paul's rebuking
the Corinthians
for what we
see in chapter
four, verse
seven.
He says, what
do you have
that you did
not receive, and
if you then
received it, why
do you boast as
if you did not
receive it?
So easily, we
think of spiritual
gifts as something
that becomes a
badge of honor
for us.
And instead,
what we want to
do is to see
them as gracious
gifts from God.
One of the ways
that this plays
itself out, and
this is one of
the fun things, and
one of the
challenging things
about the
co-pastorate model
that we live in
here, is that we
have three of us
who are differently
gifted, and there
are times when we
don't always see
eye to eye, and
there are times
when we think,
what in the world
are you thinking?
And there are
times when we
have to work, and
it is in those
moments when, by
God's grace, I
respond well, that
I am able to
say, what is the
gift that that
person is bringing
to this conversation
right now?
It's actually been
really helpful for
me, because in
that conflict, instead
of saying, I just
want to be right, and
I just want to win, I
start thinking, how
is it that this
person is contributing
something different to
the conversation?
conversation, and how
can I value that?
Oh, we still
disagree, but we
get along, because
of that, I think.
That kind of
humility, trying to
figure out how to
honor one another, is
seeing that the
people who maybe
most rub you the
wrong way around
here are the
people who have the
very gift that you
need exercised in
your life by
someone else.
Third thing, we've
talked about this a
little bit, how does
the, how does
spiritual gifting fit
into our greater
calling of the Great
Commission to go and
make disciples of all
nations?
What does it look
like?
Let me, let me run it
through this grid for
you.
If the Great Commission
is about two things,
evangelism, that is
sharing the good news
of what God has done
with people outside the
church, and
discipleship, developing
people in Christ
likeness and growth
and maturity inside
the church, recognize
this, if you have the
gift of service, your
evangelism, your
outreach to others is
going to look different
than someone who has
the gift of teaching.
But you both can do
it.
You both can reach out
to your neighbor in
love.
One might start a Bible
study, one might mow
their neighbor's lawn,
but the end goal is
still to say, do you
know what God has done
for you in Jesus?
Doing this is not, I
know there's a gift of
evangelism, and those are
wonderful people, we love
to see them, and it's
someone who God
specially uses people to
explain and to make
Christ known to other
people.
We praise God for them,
but that doesn't let the
rest of us off the hook.
But we need to make sure
we don't think, well it
has to look like that for
me to be doing it.
We need to say, how is it
that in the gifting that I
have, in the way that God
has made me, that I can
share this precious
message with others?
And similarly, with
discipleship.
What is it going to look
like if you have the gift
of administration, and
you're discipling someone?
How different is that
going to be from someone
who has the gift of
mercy?
Well, probably wildly
different, right?
But both of them are
going to have great
input into the lives of
their fellow brothers and
sisters.
So recognize that
spiritual gifts are then
run through, maybe this is
a way to say it, they are
the lenses through which
the fundamental and core
callings on our lives are
lived out as believers.
believers.
So for us to take hold of
that and to think about how
does that work?
Well, because it's
graduation weekend, I want
to recognize some of you are
moving on.
What I want you to hear is
this.
Know that the Spirit has
gifted you, and as you go,
go find the place that God
wants to use you and the
gifts that He has given you
for the building up of His
kingdom and for the
building up of His church.
Wherever you go, find a
church and serve in it.
Bless them by your
gifting.
Recognize that you need
them.
Recognize that in the
diversity of gifts and in
the diversity of the church
world, and recognize even
that, like, I think
denominations sometimes are
gathered around certain
spiritual gifts.
You may go to a church that's
going to feel really
different than Trinity, but
that feel may or may not be
an important thing.
You may go to a church where
you're going to learn all
sorts of very different
things, but if they uphold
the Word of God, if they
preach the true gospel of
Jesus Christ and Him
crucified, if they recognize
their call to be a part of
the Great Commission, think
about how you can invest and
learn in a church that may be
very different from this.
And see how you can bless it
and bring what you may have
learned here to that church
as well.
For all of us, the message is
actually similar.
For those of us who aren't
going along, for those of us
who are staying here, know
that God has gifted you to
bless this church, Trinity
Baptist Church, to bless this
city, New Haven.
And take up this call.
Take up this call to not be
the rock band who competes, but
let us be instead the symphony
where the woodwinds and the
brass and the strings and the
percussion all take their role.
And as the great conductor
plays the music of the gospel
among us, may there be this
great display of the diversity
of our instruments and the
unity of our music for the
glory of God.
Let us do that.
Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you for your
spirits and we pray that we
would today, Lord, be both
humbled and encouraged.
Humble, Lord, because these
giftings come from you and our
lives are meant to be about you.
And by extension about others, that
we would worship you and love
others for your namesake in our
gifting.
Lord, encourage us that you want
to use us in those ways.
And Lord, we pray that in the
diversity and unity of our body,
that we would display you for your
glory.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.