Good morning, church. As Sean just mentioned, today is Pentecost Sunday. It's a Christian holiday where we celebrate 2,000 years ago how the Holy Spirit fell and birthed the church of Christ.
So to remember the work and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we're going to take a break from our series in Matthew, and we're going to open up our Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
1 Corinthians chapter 12. Today's passage is starting in verse 1 to verse 11.
If you've been here for a while, you know that for us, we doctrinally are reformed, but uniquely we're also charismatic.
We practice the spiritual gifts, and we find that this is such a valuable, important aspect of being one body, to be the church of Christ.
And so we're going to take time to study what that looks like, what the spiritual gifts mean.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Heavenly Father, though we are weak and small, though we are undeserving, Lord, I plead, I beg, won't you pour out your Holy Spirit upon us today?
That the Holy Spirit would indwell each and every one of us who have confessed the name of Jesus Christ, who have confessed him as Lord.
That you would fill us as a church collectively so that we would be your body.
That we would step forth boldly in faith to exercise the gifts that you have given.
Not to diminish them, not to quench the Spirit, but to obey faithfully.
Help us to learn humbly what your Word says.
Not to dictate or impose what we think upon the Word, but that we would submit ourselves to your Scriptures
and learn what the spiritual gifts are so that we would step forth in faith.
Oh God, fill us with your Spirit.
Illuminate your Scriptures only by what he can do.
Help us.
In Jesus' name, I pray, amen.
If you are able, please rise to honor the reading of God's Word.
Again, 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray 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 a curse.
And no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit.
Now, there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are a variety 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.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
Have you ever had the experience of witnessing a transformation so dramatic, so drastic,
that you hardly recognize that person anymore?
I knew this guy in college.
And honestly, he wasn't bad looking.
But he wasn't anyone that you'd write home about either.
It's not someone you take a second look at in the street.
But after not seeing him for years upon graduating,
I recently stumbled upon a photo of him.
And I could not believe my eyes.
He had the glow-ups of glow-ups.
He literally looked like a model now.
He got super fit and muscular.
Changed his hair.
Swapped his wardrobe.
Got rid of his glasses.
I think he even maybe got plastic surgery done on his face a little bit.
I couldn't believe, right, that this is the same guy I once knew.
But that kind of transformation, as dramatic as it was,
it pales in comparison to the transformation that we see of the 12 disciples in Scripture.
If you've been with us throughout our sermon series in the book of Matthew,
we've gotten to see a real, honest picture of who these 12 disciples are.
They're brash.
They're arrogant.
They're jealous.
They're petty.
They completely and consistently misunderstand Jesus' teaching.
They fight one another for the number one spot.
And they even try rebuking Jesus.
It's honestly not a good look.
But when you read through the book of Acts in comparison,
by no means are they sinless,
but truly there is a sudden transformation.
They're hardly recognizable.
They're suddenly filled with faith,
joyfully enduring persecution for the gospel,
performing miracles that Jesus performed,
preaching sermons that convert hundreds, if not thousands, of people.
They laid the foundations of the Church of Christ,
which goes on to transform the course of world history.
For generation after generation, cultures are transformed,
marriages restored, addictions healed, sins repented, souls saved.
What gives?
How did they change so dramatically?
How did they affect change in this world?
I think the answer, finding the answer is quite easy.
Just look at what came in between the fumbling disciples of the gospels
and then the faithful disciples in Acts.
If you look in between, what you will find is the event of Pentecost.
That's the hinge on which this whole thing turns.
Luke records in Acts 2 that on the 50th day after Easter Sunday,
that Jesus' disciples were praying together
when the Holy Spirit fell upon them.
And that was the day, the birth of the New Testament Church.
And ever since that day,
every local church has been empowered by the Holy Spirit
to effect change, both in and outside of the church.
This very church is no exception to that.
Peter says so much when he quotes the prophet Joel in Pentecost.
We read this earlier.
In the last days it shall be, God declares,
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.
And your young men shall see visions.
And your old men shall dream dreams.
Even on my male servants and the female servants,
in those days I will pour out my spirit.
And they shall prophesy.
That means that you,
yes you,
God has poured out his Holy Spirit on you.
And he's empowered you through the giving of his spiritual gifts
to carry out his mission here on earth.
Whether you know it or not,
whether you believe it or not,
you have spiritual gifts.
And if the Spirit has granted us gifts,
he will hold us accountable
for how we have wielded such power.
So we cannot be ignorant
or misinformed about this topic.
So to that end,
that's why we're taking a break from Matthew.
We'll study a passage by the Apostle Paul
written to the Corinthian church
where he has one main exhortation
regarding the spiritual gifts.
It's to use your spiritual gifts,
your unique spiritual gifts,
for the common good of the church.
In this short passage this morning,
I see four facts about how and why
the Spirit gives his gifts to us.
For one, he gives his gifts to glorify Christ.
That's the first and primary reason why.
Then he talks about how.
He gives it diversely.
There's a diversity in the body.
But while there's a diversity,
there's a unity.
The gifts are for the common good.
And finally, we'll see how the Spirit gives gifts
according to his Spirit,
his sovereign will.
In this letter to the Corinthians,
Paul has addressed a myriad of concerning issues
in the life of the church.
Serious issues like sexual immorality,
infighting, division.
But now in chapter 12,
he begins his discussion on spiritual gifts.
And I thank God that he does.
Spiritual gifts really can be quite the confusing
and misunderstood topic for us.
And apparently even for the Corinthians back then too.
For he explicitly desires for them
not to be uninformed.
Especially for us today,
this is a hotly contested topic in Christendom,
is it not?
Because I think for one,
we all have our own personal histories,
our personal experiences in the past.
Some of us have memories of a high intensity,
emotionally charged experience of the spiritual gifts,
which then can result in a blind excitement,
maybe an unchecked enthusiasm towards the charismatic.
Some of us have experiences of the spiritual gifts,
some of us have experienced the abuses of the spiritual gifts,
which I think leads to skeptical doubt.
But at the end of the day,
all of us are called to submit ourselves to scripture,
first and foremost,
rather than pulling from our own experience,
what we think.
That seems to be exactly what happens with the Corinthians here.
As they're pulling from their former experiences,
Paul reveals a bit of the Corinthian backstory in verse two.
Now,
the city of Corinth was a wealthy port city,
known for its commerce,
cultural diversity,
and most relevant to our discussion,
the worship of pagan gods.
So this is not a church filled with people who grew up going to church,
going to VBS,
believing in Jesus at a young age.
No,
this church is full of people with a checkered past.
They engaged most likely in licentious cult worship of pagan idols.
It's possible that during that cult worship,
they might have experienced moments of falling into a trance,
an uncontrolled ecstasy of speaking frenzied utterances.
And if that's true,
they might've drawn on those experiences to guide them in the worship of the true God,
thinking that worshiping the God of the Bible must be like worshiping these other idols.
Have you ever had the experience of talking to someone about your Christian faith,
only to be met with the response,
oh,
I'm spiritual too.
It's understandable.
Right?
Whenever you meet somebody new,
you try to find connection points.
Oh,
you know,
I used to,
I used to work in that office.
I know someone from your hometown.
When you reveal that you're a Christian,
people try to find the same connection points.
They,
they meditate.
They share,
they,
they follow their horoscopes.
They dabble with tarot cards.
Oh,
they're not.
Oh,
but,
but wait,
you might call yourself spiritual,
but be not mistaken.
There is no overlap between those spiritual experiences and the relationship with the real living God.
Why?
Because only the spirit of God moves and lives.
All other idols are dead,
mute,
lifeless.
It's like saying that being,
you know what it's like to be in a relationship when you've really only dated lifeless AI girlfriends.
So,
to the Corinthians,
Paul is teaching them that their previous spiritual experiences of worshiping dead idols,
it does nothing to help them understand true spiritual matters.
So then,
what is true spirituality?
How do we define it?
People,
whether 2,000 years ago,
or people now,
they're all hungry.
They're hungry for true spirituality,
but they're deeply confused for the search of it.
We find a simple answer in verse 3.
I think it centers on what you make of Christ.
True spirituality is confessing that Jesus is Lord.
That's, in fact, the central ministry and the goal of the Holy Spirit,
to shine spotlight,
to shine the spotlight on Christ,
to reveal Him as Lord.
Jesus confirms,
so in John 16,
He says,
when the Spirit of truth comes,
He will guide you in all the truth,
for He will not speak on His own authority,
but whatever He hears,
He will speak,
and He will declare to you the things that are to come.
He will glorify me,
for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.
But if the Spirit's goal is to bring us to confess Jesus is Lord,
right,
is that confession really so difficult?
Why does Paul say that no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit?
Can't anyone really just say those words?
Yeah, I think someone could theoretically, right,
flippantly say those words,
but in the biblical sense that Paul is describing,
this confession is never merely verbal,
just superficial.
Because that word, Lord,
I think it has much more spiritual significance
than maybe your first reading tells you.
In Scripture,
Lord is sometimes used as a substitute
for the Old Testament covenantal name of God,
revealed in the four letters,
Y-H-W-H,
a name so holy that Jews refuse to even pronounce it,
to read it out loud.
So when you say Jesus is Lord,
you're saying that Jesus is Yahweh,
the great I am,
the eternal God,
the uncreated one,
dependent on no one,
the source of all life and existence.
You're confessing a personal confession.
You're confessing that Jesus is my Lord.
You're renouncing all other competing authorities
and submitting yourself wholly to Christ.
So that's why Paul can say
that no one can truly make this confession
except in the Holy Spirit.
Not because the syllables are difficult,
but because the reality behind them
is only possible by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
This is the essence of true spirituality
expressed in a single sentence,
that Jesus is my Lord.
He is Lord over all.
You might be tempted, right,
to downplay just how spiritual
an average Sunday service is
in a gospel-preaching,
Bible-believing church might be.
It might just feel so ordinary,
boring,
vanilla.
It might seem more spirit-filled
to have things like gold dust sightings
or uncontrollable fits of laughter
or people falling over left and right.
But that is not the standard of spirituality.
True spirituality might look ordinary on the outside,
but where Christ is exalted,
where he is confessed as Lord
with our mouths and in our hearts,
there the Spirit of God must be moving.
Everything that the Spirit does
is to glorify Christ.
And so the giving of his gifts
is no different.
The gifts operate at their best.
The church is drawn,
drawn to behold the beauty of Christ,
to stand in awe of him,
to serve him more faithfully.
That's why he gives his gifts,
to shine the spotlight on him,
to make much of him.
And so we must do the exact same
when we exercise the spiritual gifts.
So that's the primary reason
why the Spirit gives his gifts.
Next, let's talk about in what manner,
how he gives his gifts.
And we notice that he gives his gifts diversely,
as we see in verses four to six.
One of the first things you might notice
about these gifts
is that they're just soaked
in Trinitarian theology, right?
You see the Spirit,
you see the Lord,
whom we just confessed to be Jesus the Son,
and then you see the Father God.
This three-in-one God works in tandem
in generously giving a variety of gifts,
a variety of services,
a variety of activities.
You see that word variety repeated again and again.
And I think these pairings are intentional.
I think it makes sense that
for the spiritual gifts,
it makes sense to be paired with the Holy Spirit.
services connect well with serving your Lord,
your Master.
Then activities, the workings,
they're energized, empowered
by the sovereign, life-giving Father.
And so while there is perfect unity in the three,
as they share one essence,
there's really a beautiful diversity
and function and role.
There's a fitting parallelism, I think,
in the Trinity that Sean already mentioned earlier
with the Trinity and with the body of Christ, right?
Just how the one God gives a variety of gifts,
services, workings,
just as there is unity in the diversity of the Trinity,
there is too unity in the diversity
of the body of Christ, right?
To prove his point,
Paul then gets into a list of varied spiritual gifts
in verses eight to 10.
Now, this list is not comprehensive.
We do see other lists with other gifts in Scripture.
But even in this short list,
pay attention to just how wide-ranging these gifts are.
Some are more natural,
some more remarkable,
some more permanent,
some more occasional.
But this list highlights
the beautiful diversity in the body.
Starting off with the list,
with the utterance of wisdom and knowledge,
these two really are notoriously hard to define
because unlike other gifts,
this is the only mention of them in Scripture.
I think the best that we can do
is to read them in the context of the letter
and just try our best to deduce what they are.
If you're familiar with the book of 1 Corinthians
in its opening chapters,
Paul rebukes this immature church
for their craving of worldly wisdom.
A worldly wisdom which is not really any wisdom at all.
So I tend to believe that
those who believe that this word of wisdom
is the spirit-inspired ability
to proclaim Christ crucified
as the true wisdom of God
in such a powerful way
that it moves people's hearts.
In the same realm,
I think these two gifts are related
to a people obsessed with knowledge,
hooked on boasting,
on knowing more than others.
Paul teaches to the Corinthians
that true knowledge
does not come from the ingenuity of man,
but it comes from the Scriptures,
from the Word of God.
So I lean towards understanding
this gift of knowledge
as the spirit-empowered ability
to read,
to interpret,
to discern the Scriptures,
and to teach them
in a lucid, insightful way.
When we think of some
spirit-empowered preachers
in the course of church history,
one who's called
the Prince of Preachers,
19th century pastor Charles Spurgeon
might be one of the first names
that come to mind.
The Spirit of God
used this humble man mightily
as he preached over 600 sermons a year.
600 sermons.
And there was an incredible response
to his preaching.
People came in droves.
He regularly preached
to crowds of more than 10,000 people,
and it's estimated
that he preached
to over 10 million people
in his lifetime.
Here, just one story,
one example from his own pen
of how he displays
how the Spirit worked,
preached through him.
In 1857,
a day or two before preaching
at the Crystal Palace,
I went to decide
where the platform
should be fixed.
And in order to test
the acoustic properties
of the building,
he cried,
or I cried in a loud voice,
behold,
the Lamb of God
which taketh away
the sins of the world.
In one of the galleries,
a workman who knew
nothing of what was being done,
he heard the words,
and they came like a message
from heaven to his soul.
He was smitten with conviction
on the account of sins,
and he put down his tools,
he went home
and found peace,
resurrected life
by beholding the Lamb of God.
It took one line,
a mic check,
a mic check for this man's eternity
to be transformed.
And that's not to bring attention
to Spurgeon the man,
but to highlight
that this alone
can be only
the work of the Spirit.
This is what
the Spirit of God
can do,
even in just one sentence.
Next,
the gift of faith.
Considering that
Paul's argument
is that only
a select group
of people
have this gift,
we can clearly rule out
that the gift of faith
is saving faith
that all Christians
must share.
Instead,
it seems like
I think that
the gift of faith
is this spirit-empowered,
special and situational
impartation of confidence,
the strong conviction
that God will act
in a particular way.
What do I mean by that?
All Christians
are expected
everywhere
to trust in God
for the explicit promises
in Scripture
that he has given.
But there are also
many good situational things
that God has not
explicitly promised
in his word.
Like for someone
to get a particular job
or for someone
to be healed of cancer.
The gift of faith
is having the assurance
that God will do something
that he has not
explicitly already promised.
I was talking to Sean,
our pastor,
and he mentioned
that there have been
some instances
where he'd be praying
for someone,
he'd be praying
for someone
to get a specific job
at this place
or this particular person
would get into this school.
Even though the chances
were really, really low,
he felt a surge of faith
confirming that
this thing will in fact happen.
And lo and behold,
the few times
that he's experienced that,
it happened exactly
as he prayed it would.
Gifts of healing
and working of miracles
are next.
They're probably
the easiest to define
but maybe the hardest
to believe.
I think it's so easy
for us to slip
into a functional naturalism
where even when we
theoretically think
and believe that,
sure, God can do miracles,
but functionally,
we don't actually operate
as if God does anymore.
We don't really pray
for healing
and if we do,
it's filled with doubt,
with second guessing.
Are we guilty
of what James says?
You do not have
because you do not ask.
Or maybe on the other end
of the spectrum,
you struggle with
a triumphalist expectation,
right,
where we assume
that miracles
should automatically happen
when we claim them.
It's a name it
and claim it theology.
Neither of those
are right and good,
but the healthiest posture
is in the middle.
To be expectant,
truly expectant,
but not presumptuous.
To be hopeful in prayer,
but submitted
to God's will.
I think that's
the biblical posture
because while certain people
do have this gift,
it doesn't mean
that they control it
like an on-off switch.
I think the Spirit
sovereignly decides
when and how
this gift will operate.
For instance,
you see in the book of Acts,
the Apostle Paul,
at times he miraculously
heals anybody,
any person ill
that comes to him.
He heals them
right there,
right there on the spot.
But amazingly,
later on in Scripture,
you find Paul
telling Timothy
to take a little wine
for your stomach problems.
instead of sending him
an enchanted
or anointed handkerchief
that could heal him instantly.
Or that he himself,
the Apostle Paul,
struggles with a thorn
in his flesh,
which was likely
a physical ailment.
Interestingly,
the words gifts
and workings,
I think there really
should be an S there
because it's plural
in the Greek.
These are the only gifts
that are in the plural.
plural.
Possibly hinting
that Paul believed
that every instance
of healing and miracles
was a gift in it
of its own right.
So healing and miracles
aren't controlled,
weren't controlled
by Paul back then.
And they aren't to be
controlled by us today.
At the same time,
Paul speaks
as if a select group
of people
really had gifts
of healing and miracles.
So practically,
boots on the ground,
I think it makes sense
that if someone
needs healing,
someone in the church
needs healing,
you then would
specifically look
for those people
you know,
the church knows,
that this person
has the gift of healing
to get them
to come and pray,
to pray for healing,
not as a guarantee
but as really
the most sensible
action to take.
Next, prophecy.
Too much can be said
about the gift
of prophecy.
And if you're interested
in this topic,
I highly recommend
checking out
a prophecy seminar
that we did last year.
Here's Gordon Fee's
definition of this gift.
Prophecy is a spontaneous,
spirit-inspired,
intelligible message
intended for the edification,
for the encouragement
of the people.
Prophecy,
because it's a human report
of a divine revelation,
right,
the human part,
that makes it
a fallible revelation
of God.
So it needs to be tested
by scripture.
And also,
we'd be wise
to be very careful
to make life-altering decisions
based on prophecy,
just one prophecy.
And prophecy also ought to
reveal the secrets
of the heart.
It should make you feel,
how in the world
did they know that?
Now,
I've shared this story
before,
that during one event
for Sovereign Grace,
our denomination,
they invited the prophecy team
from a sister church,
Covenant Fellowship Church,
to pray and prophesy over us.
And one of the team,
one of the team members
came over
and prayed for me,
prophesied over me.
One of the first things
that he said to me
was that he sees
that I was gifted
with an analytical mind,
that he sees, like,
physics or something.
And, um,
to be honest,
I kind of questioned
if he was just making
an educated guess, right?
Like,
like,
I look like an engineer,
so,
maybe he's just guessing.
But,
he proceeded to prophesy
that he saw me
at a crossroads
in my career.
Huh.
Well,
that piqued my interest
because
just the very next week,
I was getting ready
to quit my job
as an engineer
and to start working
for the church.
He then said
that God
saw my struggle,
he saw my fears,
my doubts,
but that I was
making the right decision.
I literally did this
with my face.
And then just a couple weeks later,
that same man
visited Boston
and he prophesied
over my wife,
Christine,
with such clear specificity
about her exact fears
about ministry too.
In those moments,
we felt seen.
Seen by our heavenly father
and felt assured
that he watches over us.
He cares for me.
How could you not feel that
when you hear a prophecy
like that?
That's how the gift
of prophecy
can and does function
so that the secrets
of our hearts
are revealed
for the edification,
for the building up
of his church.
Also,
such an important gift
in the life of the church
is the ability
to distinguish gifts
or distinguish spirits,
rather.
Again,
a debated gift,
but it seems likely
to me that this ability
can identify evil,
satanic spirits
when they are at work,
when they're active.
That gift is very functional.
Not too long ago,
Sean and I
were praying
for someone
whom we weren't
exactly sure
if this person
was oppressed
by an evil spirit
or if they just
struggled
with severe mental illness.
We did our due diligence.
We asked a series
of questions
to discern for a while
and while we do think
that there was
an explicit demonic attack,
at the end of the day,
we weren't 100% sure.
If we had someone
who had the ability
to distinguish spirits,
how much clearer
it would have been
to know exactly
what route of help
to take.
And finally,
I'll address
both the gift of tongues
and its interpretation
together.
As displayed
in Acts 2
in Pentecost,
the gift of tongues
is the controllable ability
to pray to God,
to praise God, right?
It's language
that's directed to God
whereas prophecy
is directed to people.
So it's speaking
to God
in an unknown language
to the speaker,
whether it's
a human language
or a heavenly language.
You see the former
on Pentecost
where people
from all over the world,
all over Asia Minor,
they come
to hear these
uneducated Galileans
to speak in their
own native languages.
But then Paul
speaks also
of a category
like heavenly language
in chapter 13
of 1 Corinthians
indicating that tongues
can be spoken
in a language
that no earthly human
can interpret,
not unless
you have
the gift
of interpretation.
Paul says
so later.
You can't
understand it yourself.
Paul says
so later.
If I pray
in a tongue,
my spirit prays
but my mind
is unfruitful.
Nonetheless,
Paul,
he wishes
that all
would speak
in tongues
for personal
self-edification
and it's reserved
for a private
prayer language
that is unless
it is,
unless there's
an interpreter
in the body
of Christ
which is the
final gift
in this list
that allows
the undiscernible
language of God
to be intelligible,
to be edifying,
to build up
the church.
So that's the list
and the point
of this list
is that when you
read it,
there should be
many more gifts
that you don't have
than you do have.
It drives home
our need
for humility,
for dependence
upon others
and the rest
of chapter 12
Paul highlights
one beautifully
simple metaphor
that the church
is a body.
Each part
inimitable,
each part
indispensable.
The hand
cannot say
to the foot
I have no need
of you.
The eye
cannot say
to the ear
I have no need
of you.
If we were
all the same
parts
what kind
of monstrosity
of a body
would that be?
D.A. Carson
said it well.
Dictators
of the right
and the left
seek to establish
their brand
of harmony
by forcefully
imposing
monotonous
sameness,
by seeking
to limit
differentiation.
God establishes
his brand
of harmony
by a lavish
grant of
highly diverse
gifts,
each contributing
to the body
as a whole.
Diversity
in the body
is a beautiful
thing.
It displays
the abundant
generosity
of the giver.
But when we
look at
ourselves
is that
actually how
we treat
diversity
in the body?
We like
diversity
on paper
but when
the rubber
meets the road
diversity
means
differences
differences.
And those
differences
can lead
to friction,
to conflict.
Maybe someone
in your
community group
has a very
different personality
from yours.
Maybe they're
more expressive,
more spontaneous,
more direct
than you.
Maybe they're
more analytical,
more planned,
more measured.
But instead
of appreciating
the way
that God
made them
differently,
you feel
the need
subtly
to compare,
to compete,
to correct.
Are you the
kind of person
who can look
at other
people's
differences
and to
genuinely
celebrate them?
Or perhaps
someone in the
church serves
in a very
different way
from you.
Some serve
more publicly
with more
visible gifts,
others more
in private.
Some seem
to easily
serve,
flawlessly
serve,
while you
feel like
you're
struggling
through it
all.
Do others'
giftings,
different from
yours,
make you
envious,
make you
insecure,
haughty
or proud,
when they
should really
drive worship
and thanksgiving
for the
diversity in
the body?
The differences
between brothers
and sisters
can pull us
apart when
they really
ought to
bring us
together.
Because the
reality is we
need one
another to be
the church
of Christ.
I don't know
about you,
but I often
feel overwhelmed
by all the
demanding needs
around me,
both inside
and outside
the church.
There is just
so much to
do, so much
ministry to
do, so many
hurting people,
so many
people to
disciple,
so many
people to
evangelize to.
Then I
cycle
internally
between two
unhelpful
responses.
Number one,
I just feel
really guilty
all the time
for not doing
what I think
I'm called to
do, always
dropping the
ball.
Number two,
I resort to
a compassionless,
loveless
rejection of
any need
because, hey,
I'm
overwhelmed.
But God
never intended
for one
person to
do all
the work
of the
church.
As theologian
Kelly Capuch
says, it
takes the
whole body
of believers
to reflect
the one
Messiah.
We need
to link
up arm
in arm
and do
the work
of ministry
together.
together,
everyone
has a
part to
play,
to use
your
unique
spiritual
gifts
to minister
to one
another
and to
this weary
world.
And I
see that
in this
very church.
I thank
God for
that.
When I
see the
multifaceted,
multi-gifted
body do
ministry
and meet
needs,
so often
far better
than I
could do,
than I'm
gifted
for.
So I
praise God
there is
true and
beautiful
diversity
in the
gifts
that he
gives.
For though
they're
diverse,
though we
are very
different,
we're all
aimed towards
one united
goal.
It's for
the common
good of
the church.
Verse 7,
to each
is given
the manifestation
of the
spirit for
the common
good.
Each one
of you
have received
a manifestation
of the
spirit,
spiritual
gifts.
And that
is essential
for the
proper
functioning
of this
church.
Do you
believe that?
Do you
believe that
you are
spiritually
gifted if
you are
in Christ
and you
are empowered
to do
great
ministry?
It might
sound like
the humble
thing to
do,
right?
To deny
like,
oh no,
I'm not
so gifted.
But if
it is
objectively
true that
you have
spiritual
gifts,
if the
spirit of
God is
living
within
you,
that's
not
humility.
That's
laziness.
It's
selfishness.
It's
cowardice.
It's a
missed
opportunity
because the
gifts,
as we've
seen,
and as
you might
have
experienced,
they are
a powerful
reminder that
our God is
not aloof
or distant.
He doesn't
keep us
at arm's
distance.
But that
when you
hear a
prophecy,
a piece
of information
that only
God can
know,
when your
body is
healed of
a debilitating
pain,
when you
are forced,
when you
are encouraged
to look to
Christ by a
word of
wisdom,
you see on
full display,
you see it,
you know it,
that with all
of who you
are,
every fiber
of your
being,
that God
loves you,
God knows
you.
You might
wonder then,
how do I
know what
gifts do I
have,
right?
I don't
think I
have any
gifts.
By
simply
meeting the
needs
around you
in the
life of
the church,
you're going
to be placed
in various
kinds of
circumstances,
with various
needs.
So when
those needs
come up,
try,
try to
encourage that
brother or
sister who
is depressed.
Evangelize
the lost,
organize times
of fellowship,
pray for your
church,
and ask
if the
Lord,
ask the
Lord if
he would
have a
word of
prophecy to
share.
Pray for
healing,
pray boldly
for healing,
and see if
the Spirit
works through
that.
And over
time,
as you
serve in
various
different kinds
of contexts,
God's
love,
I think a
pattern will
emerge.
The body
around you
will then
start to
confirm that
you have
these particular
spiritual gifts.
And,
right,
if you see
someone who's
especially gifted
in one area,
it's your duty
too to just
encourage that.
Take time to
compliment,
to encourage
that, right?
Say,
hey,
I really think
that God
has gifted
you in that
area.
You're really
good at this.
Right?
Serving the
church is a
means by which
we learn how
to serve the
church.
As we learn
then how the
Spirit has
gifted us,
we remember
that with
really great
power comes
great responsibility.
These gifts
are not for
our personal
aggrandizement.
Each and
every single
one of us
will have to
give an
account to
the Lord
on how we
use the
gifts.
Right?
With the
most gifted
of us
having to
give the
greatest
testimony.
We have
the greatest
burden.
We must
use our
various gifts
not for
ourselves
really but
to care
for one
another,
to edify
one another,
to strengthen
one another,
all in
self-forgetful,
others-focused
love.
Right?
The fastest
way, I believe,
to make your
spiritual gift,
to abuse
it is to
make it
about you,
to make
your prophecy
about you,
to make
your service
about you,
to make
your teaching
about you.
But hear
Paul's famous
words at the
start of
chapter 13.
If I speak
in the tongues
of men and
of angels,
but have
not love,
I am a
noisy gong
or clanging
cymbal.
And if I
have prophetic
powers and
understand all
mysteries and
all knowledge
and have
all faith
so as to
remove mountains,
but have
not love,
I am
nothing.
If I give
away all
that I have
and I deliver
up my body
to be burned
and have
not love,
I gain
nothing.
So use
your unique
spiritual gifts
in genuine
love for the
good of those
around you.
We ought to
be careful
to use
these gifts
as they're
intended because
the last
verse of our
passage today,
verse 11,
it reminds us
of the fourth
fact of these
spiritual gifts.
They,
they're not
from us.
You cannot
buy them.
You cannot
work your way
toward them.
You cannot
practice your
way to them.
You cannot
swap out your
gifts to get
the one that
you actually
want.
They might
not match
your personality
or your
preferences,
but the
Spirit gives
gifts according
to His
sovereign will.
In other
words,
we receive
these gifts
by the grace
of God
alone.
Hence,
the name
gifts,
they're gifts.
Undeserved,
unmerited,
these spiritual
gifts are
received freely.
and deep
down,
we know,
we know that
these gifts
must be
given by
grace because
frankly,
we are not
people who
deserve them.
Because of
our sin,
we're not
people who
have proven
ourselves
worthy to
be used by
Him in such
miraculous ways.
when you
take an
honest look
at yourself,
if you're
humble enough
to admit it,
don't you
see that
there is a
lot that
needs to
change?
Don't you
see an
ugly heart
full of
pride,
selfishness,
anger,
malice,
envy,
bitterness,
lust?
And if
you lived
long enough,
you'll know
how hard
it is to
change.
So much
content you
read online
these days is
all about
change,
how to get
yourself to
change,
tips to
change your
body,
your lifestyle,
your financial
circumstance,
your mood,
your productivity.
I bet that
for most of
us today,
there is at
least one
thing that
you're actively
working to
change about
yourself.
maybe you're
able to
change
yourself so
dramatically
that you're
unrecognizable
on the
outside,
but can
you really
make yourself
change on
the inside?
Can you
really change
your sinful
nature?
I see
my own
ugly heart
and so I've
tried to
change myself
again and
again.
Part of my
testimony is
that I've
tried but
failed again
and again
and again.
But the
good news
of the
gospel is
that once
we were
dead in
our sins,
once we
did not
find any
way to
change,
but that
God has
made us
alive in
him by
the power
of his
son,
by the
power of
his spirit.
We can
now rest
easy because
Jesus Christ
has died to
take away
all of the
sin,
all the
ugliness.
he has
paid for
all that
and resurrected
on the
third day
to forgive
us of
our sins
and to
change us
from the
inside out.
It's because
of that
work of
the son,
God has
sent his
spirit,
the same
spirit that
resurrected
Jesus from
the dead,
to now
resurrect us
to new
life,
a transformed
life in
Jesus Christ.
God has
not,
it is not
by our
own strength,
but by the
power of
the Holy
Spirit indwelling
in us,
can we now
live lives
holy to
God,
a changed
life.
Brothers and
sisters,
don't you
remember who
you once
were?
Your
changed
life is
the clearest
evidence that
the Holy
Spirit is
in you.
And if
he is in
you,
God has
deemed you
worthy to
receive power
from on
high.
The Holy
Spirit has
empowered you
to effect
change in
this world
and in the
lives of
those around
you.
What a
grace that
is.
Do you
ever stop
to reflect
on the
fact that
God,
he chooses
to incorporate
his church
into his
ministry?
When we're
so messy
and we're
so weak
that we
can partner
with God,
co-labor
with him,
we can do
this together
for his
glory.
Doesn't it
not amaze
you that he
chooses to
give his
gifts when
we know
that we
have and
we are
and we
will?
We'll
bungle it
up time
and time
again.
Some of
us have
despised
prophecies
and quenched
the spirit
from our
hard-hearted
skepticism.
Others have
struggled with
cowardice and
laziness when
we ought to
boldly use
our gifts
in love
of others.
Still others
have made
their gifts
about themselves
as a means
to promote
their own
reputation,
their own
image.
And yet
while we
botch it
up for
the hundredth
time,
the good
father,
he doesn't
take away
our gifts
but he
reinstalls
us,
invites us
yet again
to be
faithful to
his work.
So today
we celebrate
the birth
of the
Christian
church on
the day
of
Pentecost,
the day
in which
the spirit
has filled
his disciples
to empower
them to
turn the
world upside
down.
So to
close I
ask one
simple
question.
Why not
us?
Why not
us?
If Christ
forgave us
of our
sin,
if the
same
spirit
resides
in us
as he
did in
the
disciples,
why can't
we turn
this
neighborhood
of East
Cambridge
upside
down?
Why can't
we in
partnership
with other
gospel
preaching
churches
in the
greater
Boston
area
see
revival?
Why can't
we see
manifestations
of the
spirit
in miracles
of healing
regularly
in our
midst?
Why can't
we hear
the
interpretation
of
tongues?
Why can't
we prophesy
so that
unbelievers
in our
midst
will surely
testify
God is
in this
place?
Why not
us?
Why not
you?
Brothers
and sisters,
how will
you use
the gifts
that the
spirit has
given you?
Let me
pray.
Father,
we pray
for that.
Pray for
your
indwelling,
for your
filling,
for your
outpouring
of your
spirit so
that we
can truly
be all
that you
have called
us to
be.
That we
could
transform
this world,
that we
would be
faithful to
the work
of ministry,
to share
the gospel
and see
revival,
see
transformation,
see
regularly
manifestations
and see
baptisms and
conversions
here in this
very church.
we pray
for it,
oh God.
We pray
bold prayers
because we
know you
can do
far more
than we
can ask
or even
imagine.
Father,
please help
us,
help us
to look
to you.
We are
weak,
we are
insufficient
on our
own,
but we
thank you
that the
spirit
empowers
us so
that all
the glory
would redound
back to
the father.
We want
to glorify
him and
him alone.
So empower
us,
not for
our own
glory,
not to
us,
but to
your name,
oh God,
be the
glory.
In Jesus'
name we
pray.
Amen.