WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.960 Our reading is from Romans chapter 12, verses 3 to 8. 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:14.000 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:38.399 Think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:47.000 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:55.280 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:01:01.399 We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. 00:01:02.179 --> 00:01:07.040 If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith. 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:09.840 If it is serving, then serve. 00:01:10.379 --> 00:01:12.980 If it is teaching, then teach. 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:17.060 If it is to encourage, then give encouragement. 00:01:17.980 --> 00:01:20.680 If it is giving, then give generously. 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:24.560 If it is to lead, do it diligently. 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:29.099 If it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:31.700 May God help us. 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:35.120 Thanks so much, Lucia. 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:38.579 Let's ask the Lord for his help. 00:01:38.659 --> 00:01:39.219 Thanks, Lucia. 00:01:39.420 --> 00:01:39.719 Let's pray. 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:45.439 Father in heaven, we do ask for your help. 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:51.640 and we ask knowing that you're a generous God who loves to give good gifts to his children 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:58.280 and that your eagerness to speak to us now is even greater than our eagerness to listen 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:06.079 so so we pray that you might give us ears to hear that we might listen carefully to your word and 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:11.099 that you might speak to us ultimately because we want to live lives to your praise and glory 00:02:11.099 --> 00:02:14.860 as we ask in Jesus name amen amen 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:24.919 now there is only one central instruction in our passage this morning so if like me you're one of 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:32.120 those people who wants just one simple idea to take away with you then you're in for good news 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:37.240 this morning because there is just one instruction it's there in verse three look down at verse three 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:43.960 if you've got a bible with you do not think of yourself more highly than you ought that's it 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:52.219 that is the take home for this morning everything else in the passage flows from that so this idea 00:02:52.219 --> 00:02:57.840 of a church where everyone's using their gifts where everyone feels valued where everyone has a part to 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:05.780 play that is a function of a group of people a church where people don't think of themselves more 00:03:05.780 --> 00:03:13.740 highly than they ought literally the greek word there is a combination of the word hype and the word mind 00:03:13.740 --> 00:03:21.920 paul effectively says you know don't believe the hype about yourself don't believe it and then he adds the 00:03:21.920 --> 00:03:28.219 positive to the negative and say not only don't believe the hype instead verse three again think of 00:03:28.219 --> 00:03:35.879 yourself with sober judgment sober judgment then is a combination also of the word for mind but the word 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:45.900 for wisdom and mind so don't be hype minded about yourself don't believe the hype instead be wise minded 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:54.599 about yourself in other words think sensible true accurate thoughts about yourself have a correct 00:03:54.599 --> 00:04:00.359 evaluation of your position and your role not a hyped up one and not a dismissive one 00:04:00.359 --> 00:04:07.959 perhaps we can put it this way just as we start off the the well-being of our church together 00:04:07.959 --> 00:04:17.339 depends firstly not on what we do but on how we think we say that again the well-being of our church 00:04:17.339 --> 00:04:25.699 depends not firstly on what we do but on how we think our minds in fact in that sentence the emphasis 00:04:25.699 --> 00:04:32.919 is so clear that it is almost awkward the word for think or mind appears in some form or another four 00:04:32.919 --> 00:04:38.159 times in one sentence the niv translation which you've got there in front of you drops one of the 00:04:38.159 --> 00:04:43.659 things just to make it more readable in the english now of course that makes total sense if you were with 00:04:43.660 --> 00:04:48.960 us last week and you saw what we're looking at in verses one and two where paul tells us that the 00:04:48.960 --> 00:04:56.540 the body does what the mind thinks the christian discipleship and transformation starts with the mind 00:04:56.540 --> 00:05:05.160 before it changes the will or the desires or the emotions because in the bible the access point to your 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:13.080 heart and to your desires is your mind we hear the good news of the lord jesus christ we 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:20.479 listen to the gospel and we learn it and we think on it and we engage with it and that is a deeply 00:05:20.479 --> 00:05:27.419 spiritual activity for the christian and it's why wise thinking about yourself not hyping yourself up 00:05:27.419 --> 00:05:33.799 is so important not just for you personally but also for your usefulness in the church 00:05:33.799 --> 00:05:39.219 i don't know whether you've ever thought about it like this way before but maybe you're a church member 00:05:39.220 --> 00:05:46.320 here and perhaps you serve in lots of different ways perhaps you give really generously to the life of 00:05:46.320 --> 00:05:54.060 the church perhaps you're on loads and loads of different rotas well all that's brilliant right 00:05:54.060 --> 00:06:01.380 but the truth remains that your most important contribution to the life of the church here if 00:06:01.380 --> 00:06:07.340 you're a member of the church are not your skills but your commitment to grow as a christian 00:06:07.339 --> 00:06:14.619 it's your attitude it's your heart how you're thinking about yourself to think rightly about 00:06:14.619 --> 00:06:20.620 yourself in the light of the gospel is the most important thing you do for all of us that's the 00:06:20.620 --> 00:06:25.259 take home right no hype just wise thoughts about ourselves you can write that down you can remember 00:06:25.259 --> 00:06:30.779 it that is the summary and everything else is kind of flowing from that and what i want to show you 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:36.099 is two things that wise thinking thinks two things from the passage that wise thinking about 00:06:36.100 --> 00:06:41.660 ourselves think what are two characteristics of having a sober judgment of yourself the first one 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:46.960 is this wise thinking about ourselves realizes that fundamentally we are all exactly the same 00:06:46.960 --> 00:06:52.140 we're all exactly the same this might not be immediately obvious as you look around the room 00:06:52.140 --> 00:06:56.560 this morning we are different ages we're from different backgrounds we have different stories we're 00:06:56.560 --> 00:07:01.260 from different cultural backgrounds all of which is brilliant right that's great i love that about our 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:05.959 church but wise thinking about ourselves sees that for all of those differences amongst us 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:14.039 in a very important sense we are all exactly the same they can look at verses four and five 00:07:14.039 --> 00:07:20.839 for just as each of us has one body with many members and these members do not all have the same 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:28.379 function so in christ we though many form one body and each member belongs to all the others 00:07:28.379 --> 00:07:34.139 this is paul's really simple illustration of what a church is he repeats it often in the new testament 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:41.779 his picture of a church is a body he says and bodies are made up of all sorts of different parts or what 00:07:41.779 --> 00:07:47.199 he calls members and although each of the members performs a different function your hands don't do the 00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:52.699 same thing as your feet or your eyes or your ears still they are all part of the same body he says 00:07:52.699 --> 00:07:59.920 they're contributing to the same thing so in the church he says verse five we are in christ and we 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:08.579 are together in him we belong to him and we belong to one another one body many members now this means 00:08:08.579 --> 00:08:15.959 that a church like ours is not seeking to build unity it's not that we are aiming at unity like it's a 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:23.180 target that we're trying to achieve no unity in the church is something that we must maintain because 00:08:23.180 --> 00:08:31.599 it is given to us by the lord jesus so we need to cherish it and not undermine it as we come to christ 00:08:31.599 --> 00:08:38.139 and belong to him we belong to one another we are united in him now hopefully you see how that brings 00:08:38.139 --> 00:08:43.840 wise thoughts about ourselves you shouldn't be sitting here this morning thinking do you know what 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:48.980 i am more important than anyone else in the room you shouldn't be thinking that nor should you be 00:08:48.980 --> 00:08:55.700 thinking this morning i'm less important than anyone else in the room because in a very important sense 00:08:55.700 --> 00:09:02.500 there is no hierarchy like that in a church because every christian who is here is here on the same 00:09:02.500 --> 00:09:07.820 basis you know it's not that some christians were kind of better people and they needed just a little 00:09:07.820 --> 00:09:13.120 bit of saving and some people were really terrible people who needed a lot of saving that's not true at all 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:19.539 all has been saying in romans all have sinned all have fallen short of the glory of god and the only 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:26.220 way of salvation for any person is through faith in the son of god who gave his life on a cross in our 00:09:26.220 --> 00:09:34.340 place for anyone in this room to be saved took the death of god the son in human flesh 00:09:34.340 --> 00:09:42.899 of course that doesn't make all of us identical to one another and we'll see more of that in a moment 00:09:42.899 --> 00:09:48.759 but the point is that just because someone is able perhaps through their circumstances or the gifts that 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:54.580 god has given them to take a more prominent role in the gatherings of the church that does not make them 00:09:54.580 --> 00:10:01.759 a more important member because membership of the church is through union with the lord jesus christ 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:08.300 and not through your gifts now just let me tease out a couple of things about that notice here that 00:10:08.300 --> 00:10:15.240 there is such a thing as membership of a local church membership of the church paul doesn't think 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:22.020 does he that church is a place that you attend we say that i attend that church but paul says no church 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:28.240 is somewhere that you belong and notice that you don't belong to church simply through the means of 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:35.360 attending church and you don't belong to church simply through the means of serving church or not 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:45.039 even serving lots or attending lots no you belong to church through he says jesus christ having faith in him 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:50.220 maybe you're not a christian this morning and you're just trying to work out this whole church thing 00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:54.540 and that's great it's really good that you're here this morning you are here as our guest 00:10:54.540 --> 00:11:01.420 and you are very very welcome and we love having you but let me try and be clear on this not to be 00:11:01.420 --> 00:11:08.279 unkind in any way but just so that you're really clear it is not possible for you to be part of the 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:15.360 church if you're not a christian simply just by coming along right church is not some way that you 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:23.419 can belong to just by attending it because belonging to church is really coming individually to trust in 00:11:23.419 --> 00:11:30.940 jesus christ and by being united by faith to jesus he joins you to the body of the church 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:38.519 so everybody in this room who is a member of the church have come to exactly the same point in their 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:45.279 life where they have realized that they are unable to save themselves that their sin and their wickedness 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:49.980 and their rebellion put them out of relationship with the god who made them that they deserve his 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:56.559 judgment and that their only hope for salvation is trusting in the savior jesus who lived died and rose 00:11:56.559 --> 00:12:02.240 again in our place that we might be forgiven now if you want to know more about that because you really 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:08.199 want to belong to church not just attend church then please come and speak to me or even better sign up for 00:12:08.200 --> 00:12:13.740 christianity explored that starts in a couple of weeks because we would love everybody who is just 00:12:13.740 --> 00:12:18.500 attending church as a guest this morning we'd love you not just to attend we'd love you to belong 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:25.300 through faith in jesus christ that in our church we try and reflect this belonging 00:12:25.300 --> 00:12:33.759 by a system of church membership it's not a perfect system because it's run by very imperfect people 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:40.399 of whom i'm one and the other leaders of the others but we find that having a list of people who say that 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:46.500 they belong to this church through faith in jesus christ helps us to care for one another so perhaps 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:53.879 you're a christian this morning and you attend this church but you're not yet formally a member of it 00:12:53.879 --> 00:13:02.620 well let me encourage you to join as a church member because just like you can't pretend to belong 00:13:02.620 --> 00:13:08.539 to church by simply attending it if you're a christian you can't really pretend not to belong 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:15.600 to church either because through faith in jesus christ he has brought you into membership of the 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:21.259 universal church and that's meant to be expressed through your belonging to a local church 00:13:21.259 --> 00:13:27.759 that's the first thing we belong to church we don't just attend it the second thing to notice from 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:33.139 this body illustration is that it gives dignity to everybody here you know it might be this morning 00:13:33.139 --> 00:13:37.879 that you don't have the gifts that would take you up the front in the church gatherings or it might be 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:42.980 that your health or your circumstances mean that you can't attend church as much as you would like to do 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:49.279 it might mean that you can't do all the things that you once used to do it might be that you've not 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:55.360 been here for very long and so you feel like you're on the fringes of church life that you're not quite a part of 00:13:55.360 --> 00:14:00.820 things yet you're a bit of outsider well let me tell you if that's how you feel that's not true 00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:07.159 because we are part of the body through faith in jesus christ and so our membership here is not a 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:13.860 function of our usefulness it's not even a function of how long we've been here it is a function of our 00:14:13.860 --> 00:14:20.480 union with jesus christ through faith in him and that brings real dignity to all of us doesn't it 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:24.600 it means that if you're here this morning and you go i don't know what difference i could make 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:30.060 to this group of people or or maybe you're actually watching online this morning because you 00:14:30.060 --> 00:14:35.560 for all your desires couldn't actually get out the house this morning well please if that's you don't 00:14:35.560 --> 00:14:40.659 think that you don't matter this morning you do matter because you belong to christ and therefore 00:14:40.659 --> 00:14:47.120 you belong to the church and the church belongs to you just like it does for everyone you know no one 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:54.580 should say oh that's my church or that's their church please don't ever say oh i go to west 00:14:54.580 --> 00:14:59.600 kilburn baptist church that's steve palferman's church please don't ever say that right this church 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:06.019 belongs to jesus christ he bought it with his blood and he brought all the members in through faith in him 00:15:06.019 --> 00:15:14.799 perhaps it's helpful just to put it like this the the main work in church life is not my work 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:22.519 and it's not your work right the main work in church is the work that christ has already done 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:29.019 local churches don't exist to do jobs for god that god would like to have done but he simply hasn't got 00:15:29.019 --> 00:15:36.000 the time right that's not true churches exist because god has done all the work required to build them 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:41.779 let me just give you a bit of theology for a moment okay this is this is really important 00:15:41.779 --> 00:15:50.639 in a way this is how the new testament church is very different to old testament israel it's really 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:55.379 important when you read your bible that you understand that that you don't just draw a straight 00:15:55.379 --> 00:16:01.799 line from old testament israel into what you think we should be necessarily doing today in the old 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:07.519 testament there was a king who ruled and a priest who atoned for sin and a prophet who spoke god's word 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:15.519 and they all worked for god pulling his people together in a nation called israel but in the new 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:22.919 testament all those roles found their final fulfillment in jesus christ jesus christ is god's ultimate king 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:31.559 ruling over his people jesus is the final priest atoning for sin through the sacrifice of his own body 00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:40.199 on the cross and he is the great prophet not simply just speaking god's word but being the word of god 00:16:40.199 --> 00:16:47.500 in human flesh revealing god to us so that we might know who he is and so now in the new testament we do 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:53.779 not belong to a nation that's run by a king a priest and a prophet we belong to the church where the king 00:16:53.779 --> 00:17:01.539 priest and prophet is jesus christ and all the big roles are fulfilled by him he is the king not me 00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:08.899 not you he is our priest he is the one who makes atonement for us he is the one who forgives our sin 00:17:08.899 --> 00:17:15.200 i don't do that i can't do that for you you can't do that for yourself he is the word of god to us 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:22.159 showing us what god is like revealing him to us we don't do that we only point away from ourselves and 00:17:22.159 --> 00:17:23.019 point to jesus 00:17:23.019 --> 00:17:32.779 now now that means doesn't it if in years to come you find yourself in a church run by people who 00:17:32.779 --> 00:17:39.519 think themselves to be the priests who say to you oh i can get you into god's presence either through 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:45.839 my work at an altar or through the cards on my guitar or where the the leaders think that they are 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:52.000 kings where their word is to be taken to be the word of god himself can i suggest to you 00:17:52.000 --> 00:18:00.000 that you run run fast in the other direction because what you found is not a church you found 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:11.119 something very different because in church jesus has done the work he is our king our priest and our 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:18.079 prophet and churches point away from themselves and they point to him because we're all exactly the same 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:23.679 right we're all here on exactly the same basis that's the first thing second thing wise judgment 00:18:23.679 --> 00:18:30.819 of ourselves sober judgment involves knowing that we are all very different and yes those two points 00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:35.439 do contradict each other don't they but now let's have a look at this this is really a bit more complex 00:18:35.439 --> 00:18:41.119 and it's certainly more counter-cultural fourth point is that sober judgment of myself doesn't just 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:47.279 see that my standing in christ is the same as everybody else but it also sees that i and you 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:52.559 and others have different gifts to one another and therefore different roles and responsibilities in the 00:18:52.559 --> 00:19:00.879 church take a look at verse three let's see how this starts notice this for by the grace given me says paul 00:19:00.879 --> 00:19:08.559 i say to every one of you notice that little phrase the grace given look down at verse six it's repeated 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:18.079 there he says we have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us this is paul's point 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:28.240 grace given in this context is not salvation right paul is not saying i have been given grace to be more 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:33.359 saved than you or to be saved in a different way to you are no he's not saying that he couldn't be saying 00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:39.279 that that would contradict everything else he has said to this point no his point is that god's grace 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:46.799 has given him a particular gift and what is his particular gift well paul's gift by the grace given 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:54.079 to him he is given the gift which enables him to take a roll up in church which means he can instruct 00:19:54.079 --> 00:20:02.959 everybody notice that by the grace given to me i say to every one of you this is what you should do 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:10.559 and paul is able by the grace gift that is given to him to write down that instruction put it in the 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:15.440 bible in the scriptures alongside all of the old testament as well and pass it down through church 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:20.240 history that you and i might listen to his grace gift by him telling us what to do as well 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:30.000 all's grace gift is that he is an apostle romans 1 verse 1 paul a servant of christ jesus called to be 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:36.160 an apostle paul is one of the founding fathers of the church he is laying the groundwork on which 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:43.359 everybody else builds he met the risen christ on the road to damascus he was sent by him personally 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:48.960 to the gentiles and given authority to write the scriptures now i i hope you understand at that point 00:20:48.960 --> 00:21:00.240 you and me have not been given that grace we are not apostles like paul we are not given the grace to 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:08.880 write the scriptures we have no authority to tell christians all over the world and all through history 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:16.720 exactly what they should do paul has that authority i don't you don't and that's not because we're less 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:22.240 loved or less saved or less members of the church it's just because god and his wisdom chose paul to 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:28.720 do that job and not you or not me and actually you and i should be really thankful of that because being 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:34.880 the apostle to the gentiles came along with a thorn in the flesh shipwrecks imprisonments floggings 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:42.880 and a whole load of other suffering right and notice how wise thinking sees this gift and this role 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:49.440 dynamic look again at verse three for by the grace given me i say to every one of you do not think of 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:55.920 yourself more highly than you ought but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with 00:21:55.920 --> 00:22:01.920 the faith god has distributed to each of you now notice this is how we're to think of ourselves 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:08.880 in accordance with the faith god has distributed to each of you if you have a more literal translation 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:15.200 it says something like each of you with the measure of faith god has given now zone in on this right 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:20.720 paul here don't think he's talking about saving faith he's not saying that we each have a measure of 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:25.920 saving faith you know a pint for you a pint for me a pint for everyone rather he's talking about our role 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:31.040 in the community of faith the measure of faith is a is an equivalent to the grace of god given 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:38.160 which means that our judgment of ourselves our sober mind relates to seeing the limits on our role in the 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:45.279 community of faith that god has given us that god has not only made us to belong to his people but 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:53.360 also given us a a role or a gift to exercise amongst his people so although we're all saved the same way 00:22:53.360 --> 00:22:58.400 we're not all the same people we all have different gifts and those gifts give us a a different 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:04.080 responsibility or a different place in the life of the church for some it will mean a publicly more 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:09.279 prominent position for some it will mean a position more behind the scenes and not because prominence 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:15.439 means importance but just because god in his wisdom doesn't give all the gifts that church requires 00:23:15.439 --> 00:23:24.000 to one individual but he spreads them amongst us now again notice that this means two things 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:31.599 firstly and i think this is paul's big point is that it means envy has no place in the life of the church 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:40.400 this is his primary target wise thinking not thinking of myself more highly than i ought means not 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:48.079 desiring a more prominent role for which i'm not gifted that's the way the sinful nature works isn't it 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:52.720 church like everything else just becomes a platform on which i can put myself so that i can display my 00:23:52.720 --> 00:24:00.000 greatness to everybody else and i mustn't think like that about church envy selfish ambition ministry to make 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:08.000 a name for yourself will ruin church and ruin you and besides which really importantly first point prominence 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:16.480 in church does not equal greater belonging to church being up front at church each week does not make this my 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:23.599 my church this is so important for us to think about because our culture really only values prominence 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:30.799 doesn't it we live in a highly individualistic celebrity culture where prominence is considered to be 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:36.960 effectively exactly the same as success and success is exactly the same as self-worth right 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:43.839 so the only role in church that anyone wants is one that gives them prominence but that's not how it's 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:51.439 meant to be and celebrity culture in church kills effectiveness because while celebrities can gather 00:24:51.439 --> 00:24:56.879 a crowd right they can gather a crowd around themselves people come because they want to listen to them 00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:04.480 that celebrity is unable to do the main work of church because only christ can do that work and if 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:10.319 they're pointing to themselves they're not pointing to the only one who can do the work jesus 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:18.799 it seems to me as well that often those gifts in church which bring prominence often come like for 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:25.919 paul with his apostleship they bring more suffering too seems that god humbles those he wants to use 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:34.240 and disciplines those who gives prominence to but there's a flip side to this as well not only should i 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:40.400 not envy and not push myself into a role for which god has not equipped me or gifted me it secondly means 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:48.160 that sober judgment of myself means not unnecessarily putting myself down either it means that i'm not to 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:55.519 back away from serving it means that seeing how god has gifted me and using me for his glory i will get on 00:25:55.519 --> 00:26:02.240 with serving because verse five as part of a body the gift that i was given is not actually given to me for 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:10.480 my benefit but was given to me for your benefits and vice versa so if for example i refuse to use the 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:16.400 gift that god has given me for preaching perhaps because i i'm afraid because people criticize the 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:21.759 preacher if you didn't know that they do right i don't want that i'm not going to use that gift or 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:27.759 maybe because i think hiding and being uh behind the scenes is is is humble and more godly well that's wrong 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:34.160 too it's a failure to understand how god gifts the church for the benefit of the whole so hiding and 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:40.079 not serving either because we're afraid or because we don't think our gift is as useful as others that 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:47.279 sounds like godliness as we say it but actually it's selfishness because the gift that god has given you 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:54.879 he has given it to you for all of our benefit and blessing and sober judgment means knowing what your 00:26:54.880 --> 00:27:00.480 gifts are and aren't and then working on them improving them and exercising them with your eyes 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:08.480 on god's glory and pouring out your heart in love for others now paul then ends this section with a 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:13.440 list of gifts in verses six to eight now i take it that you're not meant to look at that list and think 00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:18.080 that's an exhaustive list and if i don't have one of those seven gifts then i don't have any gift at all 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:23.679 that is not the point the point really isn't so much on the gifts themselves the emphasis seems to 00:27:23.679 --> 00:27:30.399 be on using the gifts you know if your gift is x then make sure you're doing x he repeats over and 00:27:30.399 --> 00:27:34.720 over again now there's lots that could be said about this list and i'm going to leave you very 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:40.480 disappointed by what i don't say but anyway let's have a look at the list together let's firstly deal with 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:47.679 prophecy if your gift is prophesying he says then prophesy in accordance with your faith verse six 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:52.480 i think this is probably the most tricky one to understand in the list which is because 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:59.279 the bible uses the word prophecy in different ways at different times quick tip if you're trying to 00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:04.640 understand the bible don't just draw a straight line between the word that the bible uses and think that 00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:10.000 because it's got the same word it means the same thing every single time and it's called a concordance 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:13.840 right you can look up the words and it will tell you every place in the bible that that word appears 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:18.879 the concordance doesn't tell you what the word means the context tells you what the word means 00:28:18.879 --> 00:28:25.679 right and you must work on reading it in its context not just from a concordance and i mean that's just 00:28:25.679 --> 00:28:30.799 how everybody uses language right so the bible's the same and so actually the bible uses the word 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:36.639 prophecy in different ways we saw didn't we in the old testament the prophet was a particular status 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:43.520 among god's people from someone who received god's word and spoke god's word thus saith the lord they 00:28:43.520 --> 00:28:49.200 would say and disobeying their word was punished and punishable by death that's not how it's carried 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:56.320 on in the new testament it seems so in the new testament jesus fulfills the role of old testament prophet 00:28:56.320 --> 00:29:02.160 as the word of god so in the writer of the hebrews puts it like this in hebrews 1 verse 1 in the past 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:07.600 god spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways but in these last 00:29:07.600 --> 00:29:14.960 days he's spoken to us by his son that means that in the new testament a prophet is someone who is 00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:20.640 supernaturally gifted to speak about jesus right if someone claims to be a prophet and they're speaking 00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:27.680 not about jesus they are not a prophet certainly not in the new testament sense because a prophet is not 00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:32.799 to free is not free to speak about whatever they like to speak about they are to share god's word 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:38.799 about jesus but even then i think the word is used differently in the new testament so in ephesians 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:44.400 it seems to say there is a company of so-called prophets who are alongside the apostles in a foundational 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:51.440 role the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets it says twice and so as 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:57.200 church historians point out the early church particularly say someone like rome is reliant on people 00:29:57.200 --> 00:30:02.160 verbally passing on the message about jesus because very little of the new testament existed there 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:08.080 and so prophets were passing on this message verbally speaking the message of the apostles 00:30:10.080 --> 00:30:14.799 so there's a category in the new testament of prophets now what does that mean prophecy today 00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:21.039 well for sure god can and does speak directly to individuals to tell them things he doesn't tell them 00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:26.160 new truths about jesus but he might tell them how those truths about jesus are to be applied or how they 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:31.440 work out in a particular situation and what they say must be tested against the scriptures which are 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:38.160 complete and are in your hands now today still i don't think that's that close to what the church 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:43.440 in rome understood by prophecy here which i think is probably nearer to what good preaching is i think 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:48.960 that's probably what they understood someone who through a gift that god has given them is able to take the 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:56.400 scriptures and show how they point to jesus and apply them carefully by god's spirit to our lives and our 00:30:56.400 --> 00:31:04.160 situations what we're doing here is not just passing on of information it's not just my brain plugging into 00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:11.440 your brain to tell you things you might have not otherwise known so i'm trying to speak god's word to you 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:20.400 that you might hear not me but you might hear god not because i'm anybody special but because we are 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:27.039 looking together at god's word and he is at work by his spirits and that's the same isn't it for you 00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:32.720 when you open the bible with someone you are praying that god would give you the words to help explain it to 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:37.360 the person that you're speaking to maybe that's in a one-to-one conversation with a friend who's not a 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:44.079 christian maybe it's with your nieces or nephews or sons and daughters sat around the dinner table or 00:31:44.079 --> 00:31:54.079 something maybe it's in youth club god gifts people for the benefit of the church to speak prophetically 00:31:54.559 --> 00:32:04.719 about jesus and they should do it in accordance with the truth of who jesus is we're going to speed up 00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:08.640 serving literally the word there is deaconing and that's not going to be controversial to anybody is 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:13.680 it serving practically caring for others meeting their needs looking out for what needs to be done 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:18.000 if that's what you're good at says paul then get on and do it you should do it you need to do it 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:24.079 teaching again distinct from prophecy it seems to be what priscilla and aquila did for apollos in the 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:30.240 new testament teaching him to preach more accurately the doctrines of jesus christ that's a role that carries 00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:36.640 on discipling educating god's people with the truth so that they might understand it if that's your gift 00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:40.400 then you should use it you should teach get on with it because churches need teachers 00:32:41.279 --> 00:32:48.880 encouraging literally this is the word to walk alongside somebody to strengthen them to lift them 00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:54.400 up when they've fallen down to giving them a word in season if that's your gift then you should look 00:32:54.400 --> 00:33:01.600 for opportunities to do that because goodness me do churches need encouragements we certainly do giving 00:33:02.320 --> 00:33:08.800 or sharing in the new testament the church was funded by its members just like our churches today and it 00:33:08.800 --> 00:33:12.960 seemed like some people in the church had an opportunity through the gifts that the lord has given them 00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:20.000 to carry a more significant portion of that burden than others and paul says if that's you give generously 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:25.839 don't withhold the resources that god has given you for the benefit of the church god hasn't given you 00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:31.119 all of that just for yourself he's given it for the benefit of others so invest it there that's your 00:33:31.119 --> 00:33:38.240 gift don't hold back churches need generous givers leading again this is qualified with diligence 00:33:38.880 --> 00:33:44.400 leadership in the church perhaps as an elder or maybe in a specific ministry area is to be done 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:51.360 carefully or done well giving a clear lead so that others can follow not confusing them not giving up 00:33:51.360 --> 00:33:56.560 or walking away not everyone will want to lead will they and not everyone should lead because not 00:33:56.560 --> 00:34:02.160 everyone's gifted to lead but if you've been gifted to lead you should lead with diligence or zeal 00:34:03.600 --> 00:34:10.160 seems in the new testament that leaders aren't uh self-appointed that they are recognized if you have the 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:16.319 gift of leadership you will know about it not just because you tell yourself it but because people 00:34:16.319 --> 00:34:22.639 around you want to follow you and ask you to take that responsibility for them and if they don't 00:34:23.359 --> 00:34:29.679 well don't envy those who do because leadership is actually quite a burden so much so that leaders need 00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:36.639 to be encouraged to lead diligently and with zeal because they might give up finally showing mercy 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:42.799 explained by cheerfulness mercy is showing kindness to people who by definition don't deserve it right 00:34:42.799 --> 00:34:46.719 and if you're showing kindness to someone who doesn't deserve it it would be easy to become bitter 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:53.359 or resentful but don't do that be cheerful because churches are full of people who need your mercy 00:34:55.039 --> 00:35:00.879 and if that's your role if that's your gift then serve in that way now our time has gone and i 00:35:00.879 --> 00:35:04.639 realized that there are probably lots of outstanding questions let me just end with some practical 00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:10.480 applications as i finish really briefly remember the point of this passage is not this it's not like 00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:15.119 dig really deep in yourself and find out what your gift is and then force that gift on other people 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:22.799 that is not what this is saying right please don't do that the point of this passage is to think wisely 00:35:22.799 --> 00:35:30.719 about yourself see that god in christ has given you a secure place in his church and by his grace has made 00:35:30.719 --> 00:35:35.279 you to be just the person that the church needs in the way that he has designed you and gifted you 00:35:35.839 --> 00:35:42.319 and so it means doesn't it that how do i find my gift is not dig inside myself to look for the way 00:35:42.319 --> 00:35:48.799 that god has made me no what i do because i assume that god has put me here deliberately i look around me 00:35:48.799 --> 00:35:54.079 in the church and i say what needs doing here that i could do what needs doing here that i could do 00:35:54.079 --> 00:36:00.159 what needs doing here that no one else seems to have noticed what needs doing here that would be a real 00:36:00.159 --> 00:36:07.759 blessing if it was done and it's not being done and i could do it and i'm to assume that god has made 00:36:07.759 --> 00:36:16.559 that like that deliberately for your service for our good and it's interesting don't just look at the jobs 00:36:16.559 --> 00:36:20.400 right maybe you're wide like me right and you see jobs all the time 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:29.039 don't just look at the jobs look at the people really that's the question isn't it you look around 00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:36.320 the churches the people what did these people need how can i serve these people what needs doing for 00:36:36.320 --> 00:36:42.400 that person that i could do that would be a blessing to them that would help them keep walking with jesus 00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:47.200 because if you can see the need and you can see how you can meet it then you should do that 00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:54.319 because that's why god has put you here in this church as you belong to jesus and you belong to all of 00:36:54.319 --> 00:36:56.719 us let me pray and then we'll see 00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:14.799 heavenly father how we thank you that in your grace and your goodness you have put us all here on exactly 00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:24.080 the same footing all of us are here because jesus died for us and all of us can have confidence in 00:37:24.080 --> 00:37:31.680 him that in christ we are all the same we belong to you and we belong to one another and how we pray 00:37:31.680 --> 00:37:37.280 that you might help us to be a church which thinks rightly about ourselves that we don't think of 00:37:37.280 --> 00:37:42.720 ourselves more highly than we ought but we think with sober judgment please help us to do that we pray 00:37:42.719 --> 00:37:56.719 that we might serve one another well and for your glory in jesus name amen 00:37:56.719 --> 00:37:56.719