back to index2017-12-17 Unity In Our Uniqueness
00:00:00.000 |
We're going to finish up what we started last week, Romans 12, verses 3-8. 00:00:12.040 |
For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly 00:00:16.400 |
than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure 00:00:23.000 |
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function. 00:00:27.680 |
So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 00:00:32.440 |
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them, if prophecy 00:00:37.800 |
in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, 00:00:42.800 |
the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one 00:00:47.680 |
who leads with zeal, and the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. 00:00:57.480 |
Gracious and loving Father, we want to thank you. 00:01:00.760 |
We thank you for the brothers and sisters that you've placed around us to love, to serve, 00:01:10.200 |
Open our eyes to see your grace and your gift, not only of salvation, but the various gifts 00:01:16.280 |
that you've given throughout the church, Lord God, that we may use it to worship you, to 00:01:20.480 |
honor you, to glorify and build up the church together. 00:01:26.640 |
We pray for open ears, softened hearts, that your word would have its effect on us. 00:01:34.600 |
Alright, so last week we were going over the three essential qualities of what brings the 00:01:43.240 |
We call it the BALT, and the first part of it is our unity in Christ is first and foremost 00:01:49.880 |
based upon our belief that Christ is the head of the church. 00:01:53.680 |
And so our unity is not uniformity where we just kind of look like each other, we sound 00:01:58.160 |
like each other, and we do certain things similar. 00:02:01.240 |
And so we're not bound together superficially, but what ultimately binds us together is our 00:02:08.720 |
And again, the beauty of the church is we have people from all walks of life, different 00:02:12.720 |
backgrounds, different ages, that we share the common faith in Christ, which binds us. 00:02:20.700 |
And as a result of that, it's given that we understand that if we are the body of Christ 00:02:24.960 |
and God created us to be interconnected, that there would be practice of love. 00:02:29.840 |
That Jesus said that the greatest quality of his disciples ought to be the love that 00:02:33.840 |
he practiced on us, so therefore we practice that on each other. 00:02:38.200 |
So the greatest pursuit of any Christian is to be more loving, in particular to the brothers 00:02:43.560 |
and sisters within the church, it's priority. 00:02:46.800 |
And then the third part, we talk about task, the actual application of what it means to 00:02:53.480 |
be a body of Christ, why he places us in the body of Christ. 00:02:57.960 |
If you read the scriptures, you'll find various different metaphors that describe the church, 00:03:02.680 |
how we are the sheep, or we are the bride of Christ, or the temple, and all of these 00:03:09.000 |
different things are accentuating certain qualities of the church. 00:03:13.040 |
But when the scripture calls us the body of Christ, it is a given understanding that Christ 00:03:19.960 |
as the head, we as the body, is the physical manifestation of what God desires to do through 00:03:29.320 |
He's the head who instructs us, teaches us, motivates us, and empowers us, and for his 00:03:35.440 |
body, whether we are the hand or the feet or the eyes or the tongue, whatever it may 00:03:39.460 |
be, that we would actually go and do what God calls us to do. 00:03:47.040 |
And again, these passages are not new to us, but in 1 Timothy 3.15, he says, "The church 00:03:56.340 |
So the primary avenue in which he desires to disseminate the truth of God, the gospel 00:04:04.620 |
It wasn't simply through individuals, it wasn't through a mission organization, it was primarily 00:04:09.880 |
Ephesians 3.10-11, "So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made 00:04:15.080 |
known manifest to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places. 00:04:18.420 |
This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord." 00:04:24.020 |
So his primary purpose of bringing salvation to the world and the avenue in which he chooses 00:04:34.840 |
In particular, the local church, the local gathering of believers. 00:04:37.760 |
So in his wisdom, he has called us together to function together as we are using our gifts 00:04:43.120 |
to build up the body of Christ, and as the body of Christ is being built, God uses that 00:04:48.680 |
to, again, to disseminate his truth in the gospel to the world. 00:04:53.840 |
The church functions as his physical presence on earth. 00:05:01.580 |
And again, that's what it means when he is the body of Christ. 00:05:05.120 |
But we need to be very careful that we don't allow the principles that you and I grow up 00:05:11.760 |
in in the secular world and to bring that into the church. 00:05:17.240 |
We have to be careful that the way that we build the church, not just the goal, but the 00:05:22.480 |
means in which we build the church is also kingdom-minded. 00:05:26.080 |
Again, so this morning, what I want to focus on is what Paul is saying here, verses 3-8, 00:05:32.840 |
and again, what he really has been saying is what is the nature of the church? 00:05:38.520 |
He said in verse 1, to considering the mercy of God, to present our body as a living sacrifice, 00:05:46.040 |
and again, this is your logical, reasonable act of worship. 00:05:49.280 |
And then in chapter, in verse 2, he goes into the application of that, not to be conformed 00:05:54.560 |
to this world, but be transformed in our thinking, in our mind, that we may be able to participate 00:06:03.720 |
And then the application of what he says in verse 1 and 2, specifically, he says to use 00:06:09.240 |
the gifts that we have to build up the body of Christ. 00:06:11.520 |
So the first application of our act of worship is to use the gift that God has given us to 00:06:19.920 |
Not like the world, not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed. 00:06:23.660 |
So the way that we build the church must also be Christ-centered, must also be biblical. 00:06:30.480 |
So this morning, what I want to look at is the three principles that I believe that he 00:06:33.880 |
teaches that ought to look very different than the world that you and I live in. 00:06:40.400 |
Why this kingdom that he is trying to build, his physical manifestation of his kingdom, 00:06:45.560 |
must look different than the kingdom that you and I kind of live in, right? 00:06:52.500 |
Number one, God distributed the gifts so that we would not boast. 00:06:59.200 |
God distributed the gifts so that we would not boast. 00:07:01.520 |
In verse 3, Paul says, "I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly 00:07:11.640 |
We talked about that last week, that not being puffed up with sober judgment doesn't mean 00:07:19.840 |
Instead, to see through God's perspective what he is doing. 00:07:23.800 |
So the very first thing that he says that we need to understand that each has been given 00:07:27.960 |
according to the measure that God has given to him. 00:07:32.020 |
So the first thing that he tells us is that in the way that we practice our gifts, that 00:07:37.520 |
we are not to be puffed up, but recognize that whatever it is that you have, God has 00:07:47.120 |
That in and of itself, right off the bat, flies against everything that we are taught. 00:07:53.000 |
Ever since we are young, we're little, we're taught self-preservation. 00:08:06.760 |
And so everything that we're doing, everything that we have been taught, everything that 00:08:10.160 |
if we're not careful that we teach our children, falls right in line with the principles that 00:08:17.520 |
And if you want to get a good job, if you've ever sat through coaching of how to have a 00:08:22.320 |
good interview, one of the key things that they'll tell you is you have to learn how 00:08:29.500 |
You never go in there and say, I'm no good, I'm not gifted in anything, I don't work well 00:08:39.520 |
It's like, oh, this is the guy we're looking for, right? 00:08:45.000 |
I have this degree, I was a valedictorian, and I have this background, and these are 00:08:50.480 |
my results, and here's my resume, and then you get references, and the references also 00:08:55.360 |
hype you up and say, this is good, you've got to hire this guy, your company's going 00:08:59.500 |
So everything that we do, we have to sell ourselves for self-preservation, to tell people 00:09:05.920 |
that we're worthwhile and we're useful, and if you use me, and if you pick me, that it's 00:09:12.720 |
So everything that we are taught and that we pursue in this world is ultimately self-preservation 00:09:21.100 |
But the very essence of the gospel, the very beginning of our salvation is when we are 00:09:30.780 |
It humbles us, and it causes us to realize that I'm a sinner, worthy of destruction and 00:09:37.860 |
And so, until we humble ourselves and we repent of all of our thinking and all of our actions, 00:09:47.040 |
But the problem that, if we're not careful, that we run into is we are saved when we, 00:09:51.260 |
we are justified when we humble ourselves, but for whatever the reason, we put on the 00:09:55.060 |
same type of thinking in the world when it comes to sanctification. 00:09:59.720 |
That if we try hard and if we achieve, and if you read your scripture, and if you do 00:10:04.540 |
this, and if you make so many disciples and plant the church and you grow a certain amount, 00:10:09.600 |
and we have this same type of mentality that we are taught in the world, and we bring it 00:10:14.300 |
into the church, and if you look at the church history, church has been corrupted throughout 00:10:22.100 |
It's a record of corruption of people who are very smart and gifted, who are very talented 00:10:29.300 |
and articulate, who knew the scriptures and utilize it for their own glory, and they ruined 00:10:38.740 |
It is not just justification where he calls us to humble ourselves and empty ourselves. 00:10:45.660 |
So the very first step of actually serving God, he says, "The gift that you have received, 00:10:54.540 |
In fact, the Greek word for the word "gift" is "charismata," and the word for "grace" 00:11:01.540 |
So the root word for "gift" and "grace" is the same word. 00:11:06.280 |
So by very nature, to say that you've been gifted is to recognize that it was given to 00:11:16.660 |
So whenever we talk about spiritual gifts, we automatically think of the supernatural 00:11:19.820 |
gifts, the sign gifts, whether it's prophecy or healing, whatever it is. 00:11:24.180 |
But the word "gift" is a very broad term, not specifying any particular gift. 00:11:29.260 |
But sometimes we may think, "Well, I'm not gifted," or it almost seems arrogant to say, 00:11:41.500 |
You should be in the character of saying that because the very essence of the biblical understanding 00:11:52.500 |
Now, some of you, or a lot of us, have certain personality traits, and you think, "Oh, that's 00:12:04.060 |
So the fact that you woke up this morning is a gift. 00:12:07.420 |
Whatever it is that God has made you, however He made you, ultimately was not a mistake. 00:12:13.260 |
God made you as a female, that was a gift to you. 00:12:15.300 |
God made you as a male, that was a gift to you. 00:12:18.160 |
And so the very first thing that He tells us is, "This was given to you as a gift." 00:12:24.300 |
So that we would not become proud, Ephesians 4:7, it says, "But grace was given to each 00:12:27.860 |
one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift." 00:12:31.300 |
Again, 1 Corinthians 4:7, "For who sees anything different in you? 00:12:37.600 |
If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" 00:12:43.780 |
He's talking to, again, a church that's divided because they were saying, "You know what? 00:12:51.820 |
And then they were just kind of starting to get divided, and He said, "This division is 00:12:55.540 |
coming because you don't recognize that whatever it is that you have, it was given to you as 00:13:02.780 |
So to become proud of whatever gift that we have, whatever that we may be good at, is 00:13:10.140 |
no different than somebody going around and, you know, you give $100 and somebody won $80 00:13:14.500 |
and somebody won $20, and the guy who got $100 and say, "Ooh, I got $100. 00:13:23.860 |
It's just as ridiculous if we recognize whatever it is that you have was a gift that was given 00:13:30.220 |
The very first thing that He makes sure is that we do not boast, that we do not think 00:13:39.620 |
And there's a reason why He says in Ephesians 2.8.9, "For by grace you have been saved through 00:13:49.580 |
It was charismata that was given to you, not as a result of work, so that..." 00:13:59.540 |
It's almost as if, if you read the Scriptures, that God is specifically concerned about pride. 00:14:08.940 |
Now, there's a lot of things that He's concerned about, but if you read the Scriptures carefully, 00:14:14.900 |
that one particular thing about pride, He seems to hone in on on target and He pounds 00:14:20.720 |
it every time He gets an opportunity that you do not become proud. 00:14:24.980 |
Salvation was given to you by grace, not by works, so that you do not boast. 00:14:28.900 |
Romans 3.27, "If salvation is by faith alone, what becomes of boasting?" 00:14:41.300 |
Romans 4.2, "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, 00:14:48.500 |
Paul repeats over and over again that in our salvation, there is no boasting. 00:14:55.960 |
And then he says in 1 Corinthians 1.26-31, he's talking to a church who's divided, and 00:15:00.760 |
he reminds them, "For consider your calling, brothers. 00:15:03.200 |
Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. 00:15:08.280 |
Not many were noble birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise." 00:15:14.480 |
His whole method of salvation downfounds the principles of the world. 00:15:20.120 |
That's why even the Pharisees could not understand, "Why would you choose a tax collector? 00:15:25.340 |
Why would you choose fishermen who know nothing of the Torah? 00:15:29.200 |
Why would you choose these men, these zealots?" 00:15:32.100 |
If you look at the character of these 12 men, it flies against every principle in the world. 00:15:40.760 |
It wasn't because he couldn't find good men among the Pharisees. 00:15:44.280 |
He deliberately chose what they considered to be weak because that's exactly what he 00:15:49.440 |
was challenging, the worldly system of self-preservation and self-glorification that brought destruction 00:16:02.480 |
In everything that he did was to reverse that. 00:16:06.720 |
He deliberately chose what was foolish to dumbfound the wise. 00:16:11.520 |
God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring 00:16:15.760 |
to nothing that things that are, things that are honored, things that we covet, things 00:16:21.040 |
that we pursue, so that he can physically demonstrate all of that is rubbish in the 00:16:28.340 |
So that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 00:16:31.000 |
He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made. 00:16:35.020 |
He is our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification and redemption. 00:16:38.200 |
Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 00:16:43.300 |
He made it so that in our salvation, that if there's any boasting, the only boasting 00:16:57.820 |
We can't point to certain systems, certain organization, certain Bible study method or 00:17:02.100 |
discipleship method, none of that, so that we would not boast and just simply point to 00:17:09.600 |
And I believe that the reason why he chose fishermen is because people would be amazed. 00:17:14.440 |
Like, how do these fishermen have such authority, would speak with such clarity? 00:17:24.800 |
They don't walk into a city to preach the gospel and they're like, "God chose these 00:17:35.880 |
He did it deliberately because the people who are low would have an easier time pointing 00:17:42.600 |
Because people who were of substance may come and say, "Maybe some of it was me. 00:17:49.600 |
The reason why this is the case is 1 John 2, 16, it says, "For all that is in the world, 00:17:54.880 |
the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride in possession is not from 00:18:03.240 |
At the core of what he says in 1 John 2, 16 is that this desire, ultimately it resides 00:18:16.360 |
And the reason why he says that, if you look at Genesis chapter 3, 6, the very essence 00:18:20.560 |
of why Adam and Eve fell, it mimics what John says in 1 John. 00:18:25.040 |
He says, "For when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a 00:18:30.160 |
delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of 00:18:50.760 |
It is not just in justification where he humbles us. 00:18:54.080 |
It is in the beginning of sanctification he also humbles us. 00:18:57.600 |
In the way that we serve, he says, "It was given to you as a gift, so that no one may 00:19:05.840 |
So not only do we begin in humility, we continue in humility. 00:19:11.260 |
Because it is our desire to make something of ourselves, to be recognized, to become 00:19:16.280 |
somebody of substance, whether it is outside the church, inside the church, that is ruining 00:19:22.840 |
Every part of what Jesus did in his ministry, even if he came as Caesar, it would be humbling 00:19:33.760 |
In a snap of a finger, he could destroy Rome. 00:19:42.520 |
He is an omnipotent, omnipresent, immutable God. 00:19:48.600 |
Even if he came as Caesar, it would have been humbling. 00:19:53.660 |
To a poor young couple, a carpenter, born in a manger. 00:20:00.440 |
In fact, when people would come because they recognized that maybe he is the Messiah, they 00:20:06.600 |
"Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest 00:20:11.720 |
In other words, if you come follow me, you are looking for glory. 00:20:18.520 |
When people wanted to come and they were asking, "When the kingdom comes, if you are the Messiah 00:20:23.640 |
and you are the king, let me sit on the left or to the right," because they were thinking 00:20:29.680 |
They were applying the worldly principle in the kingdom of God and Jesus corrects them. 00:20:38.880 |
If you want to come follow me, deny yourself and pick up your cross and follow me. 00:20:47.720 |
There is a reason why we celebrate the incarnation because it is not simply the cross itself, 00:20:53.080 |
but everything that led to the cross teaches us that the principle of this world of trying 00:20:59.920 |
to elevate themselves is at the root of the sin of mankind. 00:21:05.940 |
So if we apply that principle in building the church, it will ruin us. 00:21:11.040 |
So the first thing that he tells us is that, "Do you not know that God has apportioned 00:21:16.600 |
the gifts according to the measure of faith?" 00:21:22.200 |
That's why he says in Philippians 2, 1-5, a church that has been divided because of 00:21:28.280 |
He says, "If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation 00:21:32.580 |
in spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind. 00:21:39.840 |
Having the same love, being in full accord in one mind, do nothing from rivalry or conceit, 00:21:45.360 |
but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." 00:21:50.440 |
He's saying if you want to build a church, if any of you have been affected by the cross, 00:21:55.080 |
the application of that ought to be that we would have the same mind of Christ who deliberately 00:22:05.040 |
And he considered others better than themselves. 00:22:09.240 |
Isn't the root of contention between husband and wives, between family members, between 00:22:14.760 |
church, between friends, coworkers, isn't the root of it in many times because we suddenly 00:22:32.360 |
If Christ's humility has affected you, you should apply that in your life by considering 00:22:40.440 |
You're working to higher yourself, you work to lower yourself. 00:22:44.360 |
See, at the root of salvation is humiliation. 00:22:51.400 |
At the root of building the church is also humiliation. 00:22:55.920 |
And that's why the very first thing is that do you not know that he deliberately made 00:23:02.900 |
Whatever it is that you're gifted in, whatever it is that you can contribute, it was given 00:23:11.440 |
In fact, you know, let's go to the number two because it'll fall on the second one. 00:23:17.000 |
Secondly, the way he builds the church, God assigned the gift as he saw fit that we would 00:23:25.120 |
God assigned the gifts as he saw fit that we would not covet what other people have. 00:23:31.540 |
If you're proud, if you don't recognize that, obviously the next thing would be related 00:23:39.400 |
if God humbles you that we would not covet what other people have because you recognize 00:23:45.520 |
He didn't just spread out the gifts and then you went out and took it. 00:23:49.200 |
In his wisdom, in his omniscient, he apportioned to each person according to how he saw fit. 00:23:58.320 |
In 1 Corinthians 12, 11, all these are empowered by one in the same spirit who apportioned 00:24:06.680 |
When we look at our spiritual gifts and then we begin to covet what other people have, 00:24:16.600 |
At the root of that, at the root of that is a rebellion against God. 00:24:22.080 |
It may seem like humility, but it is not because at the root of it, you're questioning God's 00:24:33.840 |
Any kind of coveting is a rejection of his lordship over our lives. 00:24:37.200 |
I didn't recognize that when I was a younger Christian when I first came into ministry. 00:24:41.480 |
I don't want to go into the details, but that's one of the first lessons that I learned coming 00:24:45.460 |
into ministry because I would automatically think if you gave your life to full-time ministry 00:24:51.520 |
that you automatically assume, "Well, you've sacrificed everything and now you're ready. 00:24:58.360 |
But I realized as I searched my heart, that wasn't the case. 00:25:00.960 |
I had a very specific design of how I was going to serve God. 00:25:05.840 |
I remember one of the very first guys that I shared the gospel and became a Christian. 00:25:12.320 |
His father was furious because obviously he had great plans and then his dad was not a 00:25:19.320 |
When he realized that he became a Christian, he was upset. 00:25:21.880 |
Then later on, he decided to go into seminary. 00:25:25.520 |
We were having Bible study, he came back with all kinds of scars. 00:25:28.320 |
Basically he got physically, his dad got really angry and he lost control. 00:25:33.320 |
He came and he was in tears and he was sharing with me what happened. 00:25:37.320 |
I remember him telling me, he said, "All his life he was a goofball. 00:25:44.560 |
Finally, I commit my life to Christ and I want to serve him and my dad's angry with 00:25:52.640 |
Then after a while, his dad realized that he was serious and his dad wanted to have 00:25:58.520 |
I remember the specific thing that he said to us. 00:26:02.200 |
He said, "Well, my son becoming a pastor was not my plan, was not my desire. 00:26:09.160 |
But if you're going to be a pastor, be Billy Graham." 00:26:17.640 |
If you're going to be a pastor, rule the church basically. 00:26:22.800 |
Because as a non-Christian, that was his thought. 00:26:25.400 |
That's not what I really want from you, but if you're going to be, be the best that you 00:26:29.720 |
Whether you're a Buddhist monk or a priest, whatever you're going to be, be on top. 00:26:41.200 |
But how much of that suddenly creeps into the church and in our hearts that even in 00:26:46.080 |
the context of serving God, there's a part of us that, "I want to glorify God, but I 00:26:59.040 |
Every part of Jesus's ministry is the warning, the natural nature that you and I have. 00:27:04.720 |
Because we've been taught this since the day we were born, to make something of yourself. 00:27:11.840 |
Our parents pushed that on us because that's the world that they grew up in. 00:27:15.760 |
And then we tried and certain things we succeeded, and then certain things we failed. 00:27:19.840 |
And then when we have children, we place it on them. 00:27:23.040 |
We want them to be successful and we do that to them. 00:27:26.200 |
Because Jesus recognizes our innate nature is not to submit. 00:27:32.320 |
Our innate nature is self-preservation, is self-glory. 00:27:37.760 |
There's a reason why over and over and over and over, he said, there is no boasting in 00:27:44.900 |
And there is no boasting in our sanctification. 00:27:48.400 |
There's a reason why the very last image he left with his disciples was him on his knees 00:27:57.120 |
It wasn't him at the mountain preaching and teaching. 00:28:01.920 |
It wasn't him healing and raising Lazarus from the dead. 00:28:05.400 |
That was not the last picture that he left with his disciples. 00:28:08.440 |
The last image, deliberate image, lesson that he was trying to teach them, was on his knees. 00:28:14.440 |
He was on his knees washing their feet and on his knees praying before his father. 00:28:19.880 |
That was the last image that he gave to his disciples. 00:28:25.520 |
Every part of our salvation screams to humble ourselves. 00:28:31.600 |
First Corinthians 12, 15 to 18, it says, "If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, 00:28:35.960 |
I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. 00:28:40.880 |
And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that 00:28:46.880 |
If the whole body were an eye, where would the same sense of hearing be? 00:28:51.080 |
If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 00:28:54.320 |
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose." 00:29:02.800 |
You know, the interesting thing here is in that he says he apportioned it according to 00:29:08.480 |
Now, there's a debate as to is he talking about the objective faith of the gospel or 00:29:14.200 |
And I don't think it has to be one or the other. 00:29:17.240 |
He's talking about according to faith, meaning according to the principle of the gospel that 00:29:21.640 |
we've heard to humble ourselves, but also according to the subjective application of 00:29:32.360 |
When I get challenged, and Esther and I, you know, God created us very differently with 00:29:36.280 |
different gifts, when I get challenged and say, "Hey, live your life to honor and glorify 00:29:46.200 |
My natural reaction is to grab my Bible and run to the campus and preach the gospel. 00:29:54.520 |
So if Esther and I were both convicted by the message and we didn't have a conversation 00:30:00.240 |
about how we were going to apply this, and we just say, "Yeah, let's go," Esther will 00:30:05.080 |
immediately grab her apron and run to the kitchen. 00:30:11.280 |
And then we say, "Hey, I thought we were going to serve God." 00:30:14.760 |
And then she'll look at me and say, "Yeah, where are you going?" 00:30:20.720 |
So when we say like, "How do you apply the love of God?" 00:30:25.640 |
Oftentimes it's going to look very different. 00:30:28.800 |
So I can look at that and say, "What are you doing in the kitchen? 00:30:33.240 |
And then the people in the kitchen will look at me like, "How come you never serve? 00:30:39.800 |
So when he says, "According to what God has given you," not to say, "I need to learn. 00:30:48.600 |
I need to be in the background and do these things. 00:30:51.140 |
And there are people in the church who need to learn how to be on campus and share the 00:30:56.640 |
But God has uniquely gifted us in our personalities. 00:30:59.260 |
And even when we talk about serving, our application is going to be very different. 00:31:04.600 |
And if we're humble and we recognize that, we can value the gifts, the different gifts 00:31:11.340 |
that we have instead of pointing and say, "How come they're not coming out on the street? 00:31:17.520 |
Recognizing that the application is going to look different in different people. 00:31:23.280 |
And as a result of that, God's kingdom is glorified. 00:31:28.600 |
If there's any gift that he tells us to covet, he commands us to covet, he says in 1 Corinthians 00:31:34.120 |
12, 31, "But earnestly desire the higher gifts." 00:31:47.840 |
In 1 Corinthians 13, 13, "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three. 00:31:55.640 |
If you're going to covet anything in the church, covet people who are good at loving. 00:32:00.960 |
If you're going to envy anybody at church and desire, "I want to be more like that person," 00:32:14.880 |
And he said, "If you're going to covet anything, covet that." 00:32:20.400 |
See, even the application, even the way he gave us the gift to serve, it humbles us. 00:32:26.360 |
It prevents us from coveting when we recognize that God in his wisdom gave me what he gave 00:32:33.320 |
In fact, you know, it doesn't take much for us to become proud. 00:32:40.520 |
You know, and I've shared this in the previous sermon before, that those of you who are taller 00:32:45.360 |
than others, you have greater work because you enter a room, everybody's smaller, shorter 00:32:58.840 |
Your grades are better, you know, you got an A plus. 00:33:02.360 |
Your neighbor got an A. You know, I know what's going on in your head. 00:33:09.120 |
Maybe you're better looking, or at least you think so. 00:33:13.040 |
Maybe you got better hair, or maybe you got a better deal. 00:33:18.520 |
Use your points better than the other people. 00:33:28.560 |
You know, if you look at the way that God created the kingdom, if the primary thing 00:33:32.320 |
that causes us, that prevents us from getting to God is our own pride, is whatever causes 00:33:41.280 |
you to have pride, is your primary hindrance. 00:33:46.120 |
That's exactly what James says in the book of James, that those who don't have money 00:33:52.520 |
And those who have money say, "You don't know, but you have a strike against you because 00:34:02.240 |
Whatever it is that you are good at, you don't recognize that that's the source of pride 00:34:06.920 |
that's causing you, or preventing you, or make it harder for you to worship God purely, 00:34:16.540 |
He took the principles of the world and he flipped it upside down in the church. 00:34:22.660 |
And there's a reason why he took tax collectors and made them the leaders. 00:34:26.640 |
Because they would never be leaders in the Jewish kingdom. 00:34:30.680 |
A prostitute coming into the church and becoming prominent? 00:34:35.260 |
Somebody who was a slave is one of the first preachers of the gospel? 00:34:43.280 |
He did that deliberately because he was trying to challenge a fallen world where the whole 00:34:50.080 |
system is based upon succeeding and becoming somebody. 00:34:57.120 |
And you come into the presence of God and He says, "If you seek your life, you'll lose 00:35:17.840 |
And third and finally, the very gifts, the way he gave it to us, he deliberately used 00:35:21.740 |
it as an avenue to worship God and serve others. 00:35:24.200 |
The two greatest commands is to love God and to love one another. 00:35:28.720 |
And he said, "The very essence of your gift is not to glorify yourself. 00:35:38.360 |
So if we're not humble and we're coveting, the application of that is you're not going 00:35:45.480 |
But if God humbles you and recognizes that God gave you the gift, the natural application 00:35:51.360 |
of that is whatever it is that God gives me, I use that to serve other people. 00:35:54.520 |
First Corinthians 12, 7, "To each given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common 00:36:01.320 |
Whatever it is that God has given to you as a gift, it was for other people's benefit, 00:36:09.720 |
First Peter 4, 10 through 11, "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another 00:36:16.840 |
Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the 00:36:20.760 |
strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus 00:36:28.800 |
He gives us a list of these gifts, where it's a prophesying, serving, teaching, exhorting, 00:36:38.040 |
There's many, many other gifts that are mentioned in the New Testament or not mentioned that 00:36:43.080 |
So the point of this is not to give a comprehensive list and say, "Well, which one am I?" 00:36:48.000 |
Nor is it exclusive, meaning that these are the only gifts and maybe some of you are gifted 00:36:56.960 |
The point of it is, whatever it is that God has given you, to use it to honor and glorify 00:37:04.080 |
It says prophesy in proportion to our faith, in application. 00:37:08.360 |
So prophesying, we typically think prophesying means foretelling. 00:37:12.820 |
Something is coming and so you tell ahead of time. 00:37:15.440 |
That is a specific application of that, but the broader application of the term prophesying 00:37:22.480 |
So if God has gifted you in prophesying, He says to do it. 00:37:30.880 |
If God has gifted you, you know, and I know like sometimes we joke, "Hey, your gift is 00:37:37.100 |
Everybody is gifted in serving in different capacities, but He's talking about people 00:37:44.800 |
There are some people who are gifted in serving. 00:37:48.200 |
And it's not just because they serve, it's just they serve in a way that God is worshipped. 00:37:54.280 |
And I'm always encouraged, whether I'm in McDonald's or a restaurant and you can see 00:37:58.760 |
a waitress who is doing her job and she's just bitter and angry that she has to serve 00:38:07.480 |
And you could just tell, even when the food comes, like you don't want to like it. 00:38:11.780 |
And then everyone's like, you know, every Saturday morning we have leaders meetings. 00:38:15.720 |
Every 6, 6, 15 to 630, most of the days I go to the, I go to McDonald's and I grab a 00:38:23.520 |
And for whatever the reason, the most cheerful people are there in the morning, for whatever 00:38:29.440 |
And every time I grab that cup of coffee, it brightens my day. 00:38:35.080 |
They don't get paid much, but they're working so hard, you know. 00:38:39.280 |
And they're, they're, they're cheerful in what they're doing. 00:38:41.760 |
So he said, there's some people in the room where your really gift isn't serving. 00:38:46.280 |
Like you get energized and you energize other people every time you serve. 00:38:55.760 |
And the church is being built up because of you. 00:38:58.440 |
The one who teaches in his teaching, this is the one who exhorts in his exhortation. 00:39:04.480 |
Some of you guys are really good at encouraging. 00:39:10.240 |
Even when I encourage, people are discouraged. 00:39:15.120 |
And they read in between the line, it's like, oh, I know what you really meant. 00:39:18.200 |
You know, but some of you guys are really good at encouraging. 00:39:23.000 |
If that's you, you know, you like to like write little notes and any little positive 00:39:26.920 |
things that you see, you're, you're, you're eager to tell them, to exhort them, encourage 00:39:32.840 |
You have no idea how much that builds the church. 00:39:38.040 |
I've encouraged somebody who just had a lousy week, something horrible happened in their 00:39:41.240 |
week, and, and you didn't even know, but you're, you're exercising of your gift. 00:39:46.040 |
Encouragement, exhortation, to do that well and thrive in God is worship and church is 00:39:52.000 |
built in something that you may think is trivial, but how the church is built as a result of 00:39:59.640 |
He said, in your contribution, in generosity. 00:40:03.760 |
You know, one thing I noticed is that people who are the most generous are not the, are 00:40:06.760 |
not the, you know, people who are always generous in small things. 00:40:10.800 |
I mean, people use money differently, you know. 00:40:16.040 |
They save it and then they don't use it and they don't travel and when they go out to 00:40:19.000 |
eat, they always, you know, think about the cost. 00:40:21.080 |
But when it, when it's time to give for something meaningful, they write a fat check because 00:40:26.240 |
that's what they were planning and they raised money for that and they kept it in the bank 00:40:30.440 |
and when the good cause comes, they write the check. 00:40:33.040 |
And I noticed that the people who are the most generous are not the ones who are always 00:40:38.600 |
He says, obviously we are all called to give, you know. 00:40:45.040 |
And this is something that I've learned and when I first started ministry, I thought I 00:40:49.720 |
was going to become a businessman and I'm going to use my finances to help people and 00:40:54.320 |
But I realized, like if you're not generous, don't pray for money because money will ruin 00:41:04.800 |
If you're, if you are not gifted in giving and giving doesn't cause you joy and it's 00:41:11.680 |
not an avenue for you to worship God, don't ask for money because money will ruin you 00:41:17.480 |
He's not going to answer a prayer that's going to cause you to drift away from God. 00:41:22.600 |
His primary goal is not for you to live well and comfortable and buy a nice house and that's 00:41:28.440 |
I mean, this world is going to be gone one day. 00:41:31.120 |
He's not going to answer your prayers so that your hearts would drift away from God. 00:41:36.360 |
You know, there are some people in the church that you could, you know, you could become 00:41:45.280 |
a multi-millionaire and it would bless everybody else for you to become a multi-millionaire 00:41:49.400 |
because when God gives you money, it's not just you. 00:41:56.200 |
So again, just as a general principle, if you're not in the habit of being generous, 00:42:01.560 |
don't ask for money because that money will ruin you because you're asking for something 00:42:05.180 |
else that you have to fight against to get to God and God's not going to give that to 00:42:11.760 |
So if you're gifted in generosity, in giving, give generously and those who lead do it with 00:42:20.300 |
This is one aspect that I was, you know, as I was studying through this and it came to 00:42:24.120 |
that is like conviction because I am, I look at myself, I am in the habit and there are 00:42:32.080 |
some weeks where I'm like, just one more, one more thing goes wrong. 00:42:40.120 |
I don't think I'll do it, but I'm always threatening everybody. 00:42:45.640 |
One more thing, one more, I can't take it anymore. 00:42:47.480 |
And you know, I love God, I love the church, but one more thing, I'm out. 00:42:51.680 |
And I was studying through this thing, it's like, no, if you're going to lead, lead with 00:42:58.160 |
Don't have one foot in the door and one foot out the door and say, well, if you have these 00:43:01.840 |
If you don't have these things, I'm going to be out. 00:43:03.360 |
He said, no, if you're going to lead, lead with zeal, commit with passion. 00:43:10.440 |
And the one who acts of mercy with cheerfulness. 00:43:15.120 |
And I believe the reason why that is is because when you're giving and you're gifted in mercy, 00:43:21.040 |
this is a pattern that I see a lot of times when you are in mercy ministry, and again, 00:43:26.440 |
mercy ministry doesn't have to be you're out in the streets. 00:43:28.640 |
There's a lot of people who are mercy ministry even in the church. 00:43:31.160 |
Whenever somebody's in need, you're the first group of people that get there. 00:43:36.640 |
You're not discipling, you're not trying to raise something, you're just like, somebody's 00:43:43.800 |
But the flip side of that is, it's hardest to be patient with people that you've been 00:43:53.000 |
Because you've given to them so much, you've sacrificed for them so much. 00:43:56.960 |
That's why it's so hard to be patient with our own children. 00:44:01.000 |
Because it's a one-sided relationship, right? 00:44:04.080 |
And you know, if you're a parent, you know what I'm talking about. 00:44:06.640 |
Like, you pour out, I mean, they wouldn't live if it wasn't for you. 00:44:10.820 |
So for them to rebel against you and question you, how dare you? 00:44:15.120 |
So it's hard for us to be patient, especially if you poured out to that person sacrificially. 00:44:20.880 |
And I remember, you know, years ago, when we'd go out on the streets, you know, we would 00:44:27.200 |
And every single week, we'd go out, and after a while, I started hearing the grumbling and 00:44:34.960 |
So the people who ate were happy, and then there would always be a segment of people 00:44:37.920 |
that's like, man, these guys didn't bring enough food, or after a while, they got sick 00:44:41.120 |
of the hot dogs or the sandwiches or the dried donuts, and then I would hear the grumbling. 00:44:47.200 |
And then I would take the clothes that we would bring out there, and then they would 00:44:51.760 |
go and fight for it, and whoever didn't get what they wanted, they was like, ah, you know, 00:44:57.440 |
And after a while, I realized, oh my gosh, people are so ungrateful. 00:45:03.560 |
So I see a lot of people who start mercy ministry with great intention, and after two, three 00:45:10.860 |
And it's not just mercy, but when we practice grace with people and we sacrificially give, 00:45:19.000 |
there's a tendency for us to become much more impatient. 00:45:22.040 |
And that's why he says, if that's you, with cheerfulness, because we're not doing it to 00:45:29.320 |
get something from you, but it's an act of worship. 00:45:33.040 |
And as harder it is, the greater God is glorified. 00:45:37.880 |
That's why the focus ultimately is to glorify God through serving people. 00:45:47.000 |
Why he said, like, the very first thing he says to worship God as a living sacrifice, 00:45:52.560 |
to not be transformed, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, and then the 00:45:56.600 |
very first thing he says is, do not think of yourself highly, because he knows that 00:46:02.840 |
even in our sanctification, we can easily compete. 00:46:17.440 |
And then we create the same kind of principles that we applied in the church, and all of 00:46:21.040 |
a sudden, the same problems outside, we bring it into the church. 00:46:24.560 |
But he said that the kingdom of God ought to be different. 00:46:29.000 |
Let me conclude with a practical application of this, because the application now is, okay, 00:46:38.640 |
There's somebody who's so clear about his gift, and they're frustrated that maybe, you 00:46:44.280 |
know, like, I want to be able to use my gift, or you got the other person, I don't know 00:46:50.360 |
One is, here's my gift, I don't have an opportunity. 00:46:52.720 |
The other one is, I don't know what my gift is, so I can't serve. 00:46:57.120 |
The application of our gift, like, you don't know, you won't know what your gift is unless 00:47:02.080 |
you're, unless it's in the context of the body of Christ. 00:47:38.360 |
Because they're watching your interaction with other people, so you find out your gift 00:47:43.920 |
And there's certain things that you don't, you're not good at. 00:47:48.360 |
So you don't come in there like, "I'm the best singer in the world." 00:48:00.160 |
If you come in and say, "Well, I'm gifted in this." 00:48:04.680 |
So our giftedness is found out in the context of serving the church. 00:48:12.440 |
Well, it's in the context of serving in the capacity where there's a need, where there 00:48:20.400 |
When I first entered into ministry, the bulk of my time when we had gatherings was not 00:48:24.200 |
preaching and teaching because they didn't need that. 00:48:26.840 |
We had other leaders, and I was a young guy, so I spent a lot of time leading worship on 00:48:33.880 |
And after a while, I could tell that I'm not necessarily gifted in this. 00:48:40.000 |
And I remember very specifically, is Luke here? 00:48:45.440 |
So I remember very specifically, when Luke was very young, I forget how old he was. 00:48:54.520 |
Yeah, I was his older sister's youth pastor, but I remember when he was very young, he 00:49:01.320 |
Now, he didn't learn it from me, but I taught him some chords. 00:49:10.960 |
I've been leading worship for years, you know? 00:49:13.680 |
So I was a youth pastor, I was leading worship, but doing all this stuff. 00:49:17.120 |
And I remember he picked up the guitar, and about three months later, I heard somebody 00:49:21.160 |
playing in the auditorium, and I said, "Wow, that's really good. 00:49:25.240 |
And I walk in, and Luke's playing, and not only did he go beyond the three chords that 00:49:29.960 |
I taught him, he bypassed me in three months. 00:49:34.640 |
What I was doing for probably about 10 years, that's when I knew I wasn't gifted in this. 00:49:47.160 |
We don't know what our gift is until we begin to serve where the need is. 00:49:52.400 |
And as we're serving, there's some things that you may not be good at, and then you 00:49:55.840 |
kind of get shifted, and then certain things that you're really good at, and then you get 00:49:59.720 |
And so the beginning of application is wherever there's a need. 00:50:04.060 |
And where we also see that being applied is, Apostle Paul was not the greatest preacher, 00:50:12.520 |
And you remember when Apostle Paul, in one of his letters, he said, "His letters are 00:50:19.400 |
And I've heard pastors make fun of his appearance. 00:50:21.520 |
They think, "Oh, he was short and bald, and maybe not that attractive." 00:50:26.840 |
I don't think they're talking about his appearance. 00:50:29.400 |
I personally don't think it's his appearance, because he was writing these letters with 00:50:34.440 |
He's an apostle of Jesus Christ, and he's rebuking the church, and they didn't like 00:50:40.800 |
And he said, "Wow, when he writes, it comes with this authority, but when he comes to 00:50:46.780 |
He doesn't have that commanding presence, so maybe his stature had something to do with 00:50:54.440 |
Apollos was known to be the articulate preacher, so that's why everybody was flocking to him. 00:51:00.900 |
But yet God called him to be apostle to the Gentiles, in his wisdom. 00:51:06.600 |
So sometimes God uses us because there's a need. 00:51:33.460 |
What he thought was being humble, he said, "You're arrogant." 00:51:36.560 |
The reason why he was arrogant is that you think I called you because I need you. 00:51:46.680 |
So if I called you, I'm going to speak through you. 00:51:56.520 |
See the using of our gift, what we're good at, what we're not good at, these are things 00:52:02.680 |
that we find out when we humble ourselves and serve because there's a need. 00:52:07.980 |
And so what God calls us to, and again, this is a cliche, but what God calls us to ultimately 00:52:13.840 |
is not ultimately fruitfulness, but faithfulness. 00:52:18.480 |
That's why in John 15 it says, "You cannot bear fruit unless you abide in me." 00:52:22.480 |
So his primary thing that he calls us to do is to be faithful. 00:52:31.000 |
Because our natural inclination is, again, even when we look for churches, we want to 00:52:34.480 |
go somewhere where I'm going to be met, my needs are going to be met, but he flips that 00:52:49.160 |
Where is the greatest need is what we should be thinking. 00:52:58.520 |
He called us to be faithful, first and foremost. 00:53:02.360 |
Ephesians 4, 16, "For him, from him, the whole body joined and held together by every supporting 00:53:08.480 |
ligament grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work." 00:53:29.380 |
You don't have to be successful in this world. 00:53:32.860 |
You just need to love Christ with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. 00:53:41.160 |
He flipped the principle, this rat race that you and I have to run because we live in this 00:53:46.720 |
world, that we do not bring that into the church, that we do not build the church like 00:53:53.400 |
they build their kingdom, that Christ and Christ alone may be glorified. 00:53:58.820 |
So if any fruit comes and they ask you why, that none of us points to me, to the organization, 00:54:07.860 |
to the structure, that every single one of us will recognize the head of the church, 00:54:15.540 |
Again, let's take some time to pray as we ask our worship team to come up. 00:54:21.700 |
And again, be very specific about application. 00:54:25.680 |
You can hear that and say, "Oh, that's great. 00:54:28.540 |
But in application, how does God call you to apply that according to your faith? 00:54:35.020 |
What are some specific things in your thinking, in your judgment, in your practice that we 00:54:42.340 |
So again, let's take some time to come before the Lord in prayer as our worship team leads