Be The Church: Be A Serving Church

The past couple of weeks I’ve felt this growing anticipation of being a grandfather.  Most of you know that my youngest, Courtney, is expecting a baby boy to born in February.  And as I’ve been praying for him, my prayers are not just that he’d be born healthy, but that he’d become a godly young man who will make a significant difference with his life in our world for God.  After all, he will be born with tremendous potential. He’ll have a mother and father who will love him, train him, believe in him and help him become a godly young man.  But he will also have the greatest grandmother ever in Becky.  And I hope to be his biggest fan, prayer warrior and influence for God that he’ll ever know.  And as much as I can’t wait to hold my grandson, I can’t wait to see who he will become.

And that got me to thinking: If I feel that way about the potential of my grandson, God must feel even more so about your potential as His children.  Because as His children, not only is God for you, but He has already given you something that will help you tap into your potential beyond your wildest dreams.

The reality is, God has plans for each of us that are bigger than we ever imagine. And He’s already given us what we need to fulfill His plans.  That’s why He has given each one of us spiritual gifts:  So that we might Be a Serving Church So that the Spirit of God might be released through us to serve one another.  And when we serve one another in the power of the Spirit, with the gifts God gives we will be the kind of Church God is looking for.  So if you’ve brought your Bible with you today let me encourage you to find Romans 12:6-8, where God’s Word once again shows us how we are to be His Church.

Now, before we unpack these verses, let me remind us of where we’ve been.  We’re in a series entitled, Be the Church. So we’re discovering the characteristics that God is looking for in His Church. And the first characteristic God wants is this: God Wants Us To Be A Worshiping Church.  We learned this from Romans 12:1, where we are encouraged to continually give our all to God because God gave His all for us.  And when we live surrendered to God – when we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice every day, in every relationship and every situation God is worshiped.

And then as we live surrender lives, God can begin to transform our minds by replacing our worldly value system with His value system.  That’s the next characteristic God is looking for in His Church: God Wants Us to Be A Transformed Church.   This takes place when we allow His Spirit to renew our minds with His Word. And as the Spirit renews our minds we will begin to think like Jesus.  And when we think like Jesus we will have the mind of Christ.  And the mind of Christ is a humble mind.  So last week we learned that God Wants Us to Be A Humble Church  So then if we can think like Jesus, then we will be able to live like Jesus.  And how did Jesus live?  As servant of all.  So now as we continue in Romans 12, God’s Word reveals what God has done for us, what God has given us so we can serve like Jesus. What has God given us?  That’s what we see now in verse 6; We are gifted by God to be God’s delivery system of grace  Paul says it like this: We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:6

That’s good news. God doesn’t leave us to serve out of our own strength.  He actually gives His church all kinds of gifts to meet all kinds of needs.  No one has all the gifts.  God chose to distribute His gifts so we would all need each other. Once again, that tells me that every person in God’s family is significant and necessary. I need you, you need me, and we need each other.  This is God’s design.  Paul said it this way: To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 1 Cor. 12:7

And Peter explains that by giving each one of us gifts, we now get to be conduits of God’s grace And so we are commanded: Each one should use whatever gift he has to serve others faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.  1 Peter 4:10

In other words, we are God’s grace delivery system.  God chose us to manifest His grace through our gifts so everyone can experience God’s goodness through our lives.  Too often, we find ourselves looking for God’s grace to come to us from everywhere but God’s people.  But God gave you a spiritual gift so His grace could flow through you so you might impart His grace to another.  It’s like this: If I need encouragement, the one who has the gift of encouragement uses her gift to lift me up. If you are hurting, the one with gift of mercy uses his gift to impart the comfort of God.

But here’s the thing most people don’t understand in God’s family, because too often we associate spiritual gifts with ministry functions.  For example, each one of our serving teams have important functions.  Our worship team needs people who can play instruments.   Our Multi-media team needs people who can operate a laptop. Our hospitality team needs people who can organize cups and trays with juice and bread.  What is interesting about these functions, is that you don’t need to have a spiritual gift to play a guitar, operate a laptop or organize communion cups.  I say this, not to down-play these ministries, but to help us understand that spiritual gifts are different.  Spiritual gifts are about dispensing grace to another person so as to build them up in their faith.  You and I are to be conduits of grace – allowing God’s grace to flow through us to impart something of God’s goodness to a person in need. That is why God gives everyone a gift, and why there are many kinds spiritual gifts because we have all kinds of needs.

And knowing this reveals a major implication for us, and that is this:  If we are going to use our gifts, we need to be in relationship with God’s people. Otherwise, how will you know if someone needs your gift?  For example: If you have the gift of mercy, but you’re not connected, you won’t be able to give mercy to the one in need, because you won’t know their need.  Likewise, if you’re not connected to God’s people, no one will know when you are in need, when you need encouragement, when you need help or prayer, and you’ll miss out on the blessing God wants to give you through His people.  So part of our stewardship to be dispensers of God’s grace, is to be connected with one another in community.  That is why we want to connect every person with others in a Journey Group, and why we will be reestablishing Neighborhood groups in the near future.  If we’re disconnected from one another, we will hinder the flow of God’s grace through our lives; we will stifle our potential to be the kind of people God has gifted us to be.

So now take a look at some of the gifts God wants to unleash among us. That’s what we find now Romans 12:7-8 What we see here is  Our diversity of gifts and how to use them:  And Paul describes for us seven spiritual gifts.  Now, these are just some of the Spiritual gifts revealed to us in the New Testament.  There are three other gift lists recorded in for us in 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4; and 1 Peter 4.  But right now we are going to focus on God’s gift list here in Romans.  And that begins with the gift of…

Prophesying:  proclaiming God’s Word without compromise  Prophesying means to speak forth, with no suggestion of prediction or other supernatural or mystical significance.  This gift is simply the gift of proclaiming God’s Word.

Paul gives perhaps the best definition of this gift in 1 Corinthians: But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 1 Corinthians 14:3  Peter also describes how to use this gift:  If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.  1 Peter 4:11

How this gift ministers to God’s people, then, is when a preacher rightly divides the word of truth and speaks as if speaking the very words of God… in that way God’s people receive the message as from God, not from man.  In this sense, then the preacher becomes a conduit of God’s grace.  And the message He speaks imparts God’s grace even if it comes in the form of a rebuke, correction or challenge.  But the good news is that it always strengthens, gives hope and motivates us to worship God even if the message is not popular.  Those who have this gift proclaim God’s Word without compromise. Let’s look at the next gift:

Serving:  taking care of the needs of others  The word Paul uses here is the generic term for ministry.  The Bible tells us that ‘there are different kinds of service, but the same Lord’ 1 Corinthians 12:5.  Since there are different kinds of service we should guard against a too precise identification of this gift.  For this gift manifests itself whenever another person has a need.  When learning of a need, the person with this gift loves meeting it.  In fact, people with this gift are filled with kindness, compassion, and are moved to reach out to help others.  But even at that, their serving is not restricted to simply meeting the needs of others.    For if you have this gift, you see every mundane task as spiritual work.  Whether its doing laundry, helping an invalid with shopping, giving people rides to church, preparing a meal for the sick, folding boxes for OCC, or picking up signs, they’re glad to do it.  And they don’t care if anyone knows what they do, because they are doing for God.  So there are those whom God pours this gift into for the benefit of the body.  But, let’s not forget: All of us are commanded to serve one another in love, we are all called to meet the needs of one another, but if you have this gift, God uses you to excel in meeting needs.  Serving is an amazing gift God uses to impart His grace.  Next,

Teaching:  the ability to interpret and present God’s truth so it is understood   Those with this gift love researching a subject and communicating it so it can be understood.  Learning makes them happy.  But seeing the light go on in their students makes them ecstatic.   Those with the gift of teaching are committed to teaching the whole counsel of God, making sure people are grounded in the basics of the faith, and are committed to helping God’s people understand the Gospels, who Jesus is and what Jesus has done!

Jesus is the ultimate example of someone with the teaching gift.  He used analogies, stories, parables and even current events – He used whatever he could to help people understand the kingdom of God.  And as he was getting ready to return to the Father, he left us with the Great Commission, which includes the command, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all I have commanded you.” Without the teaching gift we cannot fulfill God’s mission as a Church!  Next one:

Encouraging:  Coming alongside with the appropriate word or deed  If you are an encourager you’re always on the lookout for someone who needs a comforting word.  In fact, the word for encouraging is similar to the name of the Holy Spirit – “the comforter” and carries the same idea of coming alongside to help, support or comfort.

This gift may be exercised in comforting a brother who is suffering.  It may be used to strengthen a newer believer who is weak in her faith.  And sometimes it’s manifested by coming alongside a friend who is grieving or discouraged or frustrated or depressed

We really need this gift.  If you’ve ever been a new person at a church, you know how hard it is to feel welcome.  But if you have the gift of encouragement you make people feel welcome.  When someone new comes along, you introduce yourself to them, invite them to sit with you, and maybe even invite them for brunch.  I wish we all had this gift.  It would make us such an inviting vessel of grace.  But even if we don’t all have this gift, God still expects us all to be encouragers.  Listen to how badly each one of us needs encouragement: See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  Hebrews 3:12-13

Giving:  Enjoying Using Your Resources for God’s Purposes   Givers are the people who enjoy supporting missions, supplying churches, and championing philanthropic causes.  They love giving their time, resources and finances, and often out of their own need. But those with this gift are given a warning.  Their giving is to be done “with sincerity” – without ulterior motives.  If you have this gift, God wants you to unleash it, but to be careful not to draw attention to your giving.

But let me remind you, “giving” is not simply for those whom God has given this gift.  Giving is a mark of a loving church.  The early church was known for this: All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. Acts 4:32   Giving is one way God’s people can impart God’s grace and be a blessing.  Next:

Leading:  Motivating Others to reach a God-given goal  Those with this gift have vision to lead God’s Church to where God wants it to go.  Leaders love to motivate people to fulfill God’s vision.  They see the future God wants for His people and are driven to help God’s people get there together.  This is why I’m doing a message series on what God is looking for in His Church.  So we can be the kind of Church God wants us to be: a surrendered, transformed, humble Church that serves everyone.

And God calls those of us with this gift to lead with all diligence.  So if you have this gift you are never satisfied with the status quo.  You know you cannot rest until you have done all God has called you to do.  So whether you lead a Journey Group or a ministry team, or whether you serve on the Advisory Team or as the Pastor of Rock Springs, the gift of leadership is needed if we are to fulfill God’s mission together.

And finally, Showing Mercy:  Compassion Unleashed!  If you have this gift you are instantly moved by the hurts and misfortunes of others.  You’re the first person who puts your arm around someone who is hurting.  You do more than bring a meal to someone who is suffering.  You come and sit with them, find other ways to help and encourage them.  In fact, you easily sympathize with those who are hurting.  And the harder and harsher our world becomes, the more dependent we become on technology, the more we need this gift.  For as you show mercy, you lift spirits, remove doubts, and impart love just like Jesus did.  And if there were ever a time when people need the love of Jesus, it’s when they are hurting.

Well, these are brief descriptions of the grace God wants to unleash through us.  God has designed His Church to be a community of grace, where each one of us is a peddler of grace to everyone in God’s family.  And He gives us what we need to pull this off!  He gives us spiritual gifts.  So it is my calling to help you unleash God’s grace in this place!

Because of what God has given you by His Holy Spirit, you now have the potential to be a blessing beyond your wildest imagination.  So maybe its time you allowed God’s grace to flow through you to be a blessing.  For some of you, that means connecting with a Journey Group.  For some of you that means making yourself available to serve.  For all of us that means continually offering ourselves to God as a living sacrifice.  For if we can do that, then there’s no telling what God might do through us!  Let’s pray.