Give Your Gift to God

Rom 12:3-8

Every couple of years, I go in for a check up to see if my body is working like it is supposed to. If it isn’t the doctor sits down with me and we discuss what needs to be done to get my body to function like it should.

The church needs to work in the same way. We need to sit down and do a check up and if we aren’t functioning as well as we should, then we need to figure out what we need to do to be healthy again.

One of my favorite sayings is, “If everyone in the church was just like me, there wouldn’t be any problems.” That’s a great saying, but it would be disastrous if were actually true.

What would happen to the church if we could all preach, but no one could fix the baptistery? What would happen if we could all make people feel at home, but no one would visit the hospital and encourage the sick? What if we could all lead singing, but no one would give to the church?

You see we all have different gifts from God and God planned for us to use them for his kingdom.

PRAYER

I. It’s All Me Baby!

A. You aren’t all that.

1. now that I have teen and preteen girls, I am learning a whole new way to talk.

a) I’m not near as hip as I used to be.

b) One of the phrases I keep hearing them say is “she thinks she’s all that.”

c) I want to know all what?

d) That’s girl talk for another girl who isn’t a friend that is popular or athletic or pretty or anything that the person speaking can’t be or do.

2. How many of us think we are all that when it comes to the church?

a) I’m the song leader.

b) I’m a bible class teacher.

c) I’m part of the founding family of our congregation.

d) I’m the preacher.

e) I’m---- and you can fill in whatever blank someone uses to say that they are better in some way than the rest of the church.

3. Part of my family used to be the main family in a smaller congregation. They were fine with people moving in or being baptized until one day the church that wasn’t related to them was getting bigger than those who were. One of my relative actually remarked to me when I was visiting. I hate that the church has gotten so big that we don’t control things anymore.

4. I about fell out of my chair when I heard that statement. What’s even more frightening was that the person so said it was deadly serious. She wasn’t joking in the least!

5. In Malawi, the village important people carry around a carved walking stick like this one. The stick is call the “big man stick.” Because it was a symbol of rank and wealth. They are dealing with a struggle in that country just like we do here. Certain people want to be the important people for the church in Malawi and will do whatever they have to in order to be considered the Big Men of the church. On the local level they are having problems with elders becoming elders only so they could have rank and power at that level.

6. Apparently their Biblical knowledge isn’t well enough to know and understand scriptures like this one.

7. One of the things God hates is the proud.

B. Sober Judgment

1. The beatitudes talks about being poor in spirit.

a) It’s an understanding of who you are as a person.

b) It’s being humble.

2. Paul calls us to the same standards as Jesus did.

3. Remember who we are when measured against the perfection of Jesus Christ.

4. It’s fun to watch the kids at camp as they try to find out who they are on the social order.

a) Some don’t care, they are proud to be the outsiders.

b) Some care too much and try to be much more than what others see them.

c) They are usually the ones who get thrown in the lake or duct taped to a tree.

d) Then there are those who are genuinely good people. They would rise to the top of everyone’s spiritual ladder.

5. It’s good to be confident in what you do, but it can lead to being arrogant.

6. Christianity doesn’t have room for arrogance.

7. If Jesus the King of Kings humbled himself to bring about Christianity, we had better make sure we do the same thing as servants in his kingdom.

II. Gifts for the Body

A. We belong to each other

1. Paul uses an analogy of the body.

2. We aren’t individual bodies, we are all parts of one body.

3. We don’t all have the same role in the body, but every role is just as important as any other role.

4. And we all belong to one another.

B. Life Lessons

1. This passage should help every Christian to realize some very important life lessons. Lesson that should free you to be the greatest servant of the kingdom you possible can.

2. By recognizing we all have different gifts, frees us from jealousy.

a) I don’t have to want so and so’s gift, because God has given me my own to serve Him in my own special way.

b) I am proud my brother or sister has that gift so they can serve God with all their abilities.

3. We can find fulfillment in who I am

a) Over can over I have heard our members say that they don’t matter as much as someone else because they don’t have any stand out gift.

b) This passage is a strong reminder that God has made each of us unique and special and when we all work together with our abilities, the body of Christ works as God intended.

c) Your role may be big or small, but without you, we suffer as a church.

d) Praise God for who you are in his kingdom.

4. Our friendships are not distorted by status

a) I was talking to my cousin this week at camp and she was telling me about their congregation. It is quite the interesting mix of people. Some are street people, some are millionaires. Now you would never expect these two groups to mix together, but in God’s kingdom, they are all brothers and sisters and are friends in Christ because of that. It doesn’t matter where they live or what they do for a living. It only matter who lives in them.

b) That’s an awesome picture of what Paul said when he said, neither Greek or Jew, male or female,

c) The only position in life that matters is the one position of submission to God.

C. Use Your Gifts

1. READ verse 6

2. verses 6-8 Paul talks about several gifts that Christians have been given to them by God.

3. The main point he is trying to make here isn’t which gifts have been given by God, but that whatever gift you have, use it to the fullest in the service of God’s kingdom.

a) I have some gifts that God has blessed me with that makes me an effective preacher and teacher. I try to use those gifts to bring glory to God as best as I can.

b) Sometimes they are here at this congregation, sometimes they are at camp and teaching the teenagers there, sometimes they are in Africa teaching and preaching there. The point is, I try to use them as best as I can.

c) God did not gift me with building skills. I show up at our work days, not because God has blessed me with an ability to construct, but to encourage those that can. God has given me a gift of go fer, and I’ll go fer whatever the guys send me to get.

d) You need to see where God has put your gifts and use them as fully as possible, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything else; it only means that you do some things extremely well.

4. Remember verse 8 If it is encouraging let him encourage.

5. If that’s the only gift you have, use it. We need someone to keep encouraging others because it’s easy to get discouraged.

6. Whether you are a hand, foot, head or little toe, the body of Christ needs you.

7. God have you a gift to use, not bury.

8. Let’s strive to be the best functioning body we can.