WHAT ARE SPIRITUAL GIFTS?
(INTRO) WHAT ARE SPIRITUAL GIFTS? WHY WE NEED THEM?
WELCOME: Good morning everyone! If you’re new with us this morning on campus or online, my name is Nic Cook and I’m one of the pastors here at Cornerstone Church. Thanks so much for being with us as we start our new teaching SERIES: called 5. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be talking and learning about something called spiritual gifts.
Last fall I was going through a program at another church that I was considering doing here to help people who are new to church, and one of the sections was on serving and they gave us three links to web-based spiritual gifts test. So, I took one. Now, I’ve grown up in church and have a masters degree from a seminary, and there were a few words that even I didn’t understand. It listed Eckballism as a gift and I had to google that one. It means the ability to cast out demons. I didn’t have that gift, but the reason that I bring it up is that if this test was confusing for me, I can only imagine what it would have been like for someone who was new to Christianity to try and figure out what their next step was just from taking a test. It’s my belief that in the early church, they didn’t necessarily need google, or a test to help them figure out God’s design for how they were supposed to serve. I think they understood there were some tried and true roles that had been part of God’s plan from the very beginning, and that when Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to his followers, every single one of them got to begin serving in one of those capacities that used to be reserved for only special people. So, over the next few weeks, we’re going to be talking about those gifts and roles. Ultimately, our reason for covering these things called spiritual gifts is because…
· ALL OF US LONG TO KNOW AND FULFILL OUR PURPOSE: There is a universal human longing in each of us. We want our lives to count. We know that our existence must have some meaning. Two of the great fears of humanity is that we don’t want to be unnoticed, and we don’t want to get to the end and feel like we wasted the little time we get here on this planet. The beautiful thing is that those desires are placed in us by God, and he has every intention of us living significant lives that give us satisfaction, but also make an impact on others around us. So, this morning, if you would, open your bibles to [Eph. 4:1-13]. We’re going to look at what God has to say about his purpose for us. Let’s pray as we seek to listen, obey, and love Jesus.
(TEACH) WORTHY OF OUR CALLING, FILL THE UNIVERSE
WHY EPHESIANS: Now there are several places I could have chosen to start in the bible when we talk about spiritual gifts. In fact, there are three places where we are given a list of spiritual gifts: Romans 12:6-8, 1 Cor. 12, and the passage we just read in Ephesians. So why did I choose Ephesians? Very simply, the passage in Ephesians is addressed to all churches at all times, so it’s list of gifts can be considered a foundational list that applies to all Christians. A Teacher named Mike Breen in his book “building a discipling culture” says that “The book of Ephesians, though, was not written to just one church for a special moment in time, but for all the churches in Asia Minor. Ephesians is a memo of sorts to many churches…It outlines foundational teachings for how a church should function." Does this mean the gifts in the other passages don’t apply, or aren’t important? No. However, let me give you my understanding of how to approach the different lists of gifts. Ephesians 4 gives us a list of 5 roles. Each and every believer is to fulfill one of those roles. Then the other gifts that are mentioned in Romans and Corinthians are special ways that the holy Spirit uses us at certain times to be more effective in our particular role. Think of it this way. It’s like an umbrella. The 5 gifts and roles of Ephesians are the overarching framework for serving, and the other gifts are exercised by those in their role to help them do their role better. For example, an Apostle, may also have the gift of faith and be able to step out and do what seems impossible. An evangelist may be given the gift of tongues to share the good news with someone who speaks another language. I’ll explain what each of these 5 roles looks like over the next couple of weeks. So for this series, we are going to focus on the 5 gifts or roles that Jesus gave to his church and we’re going to call them APEST. Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, Teachers. [12]So why did Jesus give us these gifts? Ephesians gives us a number of reasons, to make sure that we grow up spiritually and not stay spiritual babies, to make sure that we help others use their gifts, to keep us from being tossed around by false teaching. However, I think there are two main reasons that summarize why Jesus gave us these gifts. The first is so that we can…
· LIVE A LIFE WORTHY OF OUR CALLING: The first 3 chapters of Ephesians tell us who Jesus is, what he has done for us. That word calling is really important. We usually think of calling in terms of DOING SOMETHING, but…
o CALLING STARTS WITH BEING SOMETHING. Paul as he’s writing to the Christians in Ephesus says in chapter 1, GOD CALLS YOU HOLY, BLESSED, LOVED, CHOSEN, FAULTLESS, ADOPTED, PURCHASED, FORGIVEN, FREE, UNITED WITH CHRIST, HEIRS TO A HEAVENLY INHERITANCE, SAVED, SEALED WITH THE SPIRIT! Then he prays, I hope God will help you see what Jesus has done for you and see who you really are. This is really important, because we often get this backwards. If I do the right things, then God will see me differently. But Paul says, LISTEN TO WHAT GOD CALLS YOU AND HOW HE ALREADY SEES YOU. THEN LIVE LIKE THAT’S TRUE. GOD CALLS US HIS OWN, BEFORE HE CALLS US TO SERVE. So, after spending 3 chapters telling us how awesome Jesus is and how much he loves us, he says, YOUR TURN: LIVE LIKE YOU’RE WORTHY, BECAUSE GOD SAYS YOU’RE WORTHY. Which leads us to…
o WORKING IN OUR CALLING! We’re told in [Eph. 2:8-10] God has planned out the good things he wants for you to accomplish in advance. His intention is for you to be a significant part of what he’s doing in this world. So, what exactly is that calling? Why did God place us here on this earth? We’re told that our calling is to help…
· FILL THE UNIVERSE WITH JESUS: [Eph. 4:10] Let me say this as strongly as I possibly can: THE PRIMARY REASON JESUS CAME TO EARTH WAS NOT TO FILL CHAIRS ON SUNDAYS, BUT TO FILL THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE WITH HIS PRESENCE! It’s unfortunate that the good news of Jesus has been boiled down to: you need to be forgiven of your sin so that when you die, you don’t go to hell, but you can go to heaven. Is it true? Yes! But that’s only good news after you die! That kind of news leads to thinking, okay, I’ve got my fire insurance, I’ll live my life my way and then when I die, things will be okay. THE FULL GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE KING IS HERE, HE’S ALIVE, AND HE’S IN US. HE’S CHANGING US AND WORKING THROUGH US TO CHANGE THE WORLD. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND. His intention is to fill us with himself. To fill us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and send us out into the world and spill those things over into our homes, our schools, our jobs, our communities, nations, and the rest of the world. Not wait to get to heaven, but be partners in bringing the rule of heaven to earth! And guess what? This is not anything new! This is the original plan that God had for us from the very beginning. Let’s jump back to Genesis 1 and 2 quickly.
(JC) CREATED TO BE PARTNERS IN HIS WORK (JC)
· CREATED TO BE APOSTLES: [1:28] We see humanity being sent into the world to “subdue and to govern.” The word Apostle means sent one. Sent to do what? To take the mission of God into new places and works. This is what God is doing with Adam and Eve. The Garden of Eden was a specific place that had borders. God says tend it, cultivate it, understand it, work with it, and cause it to expand. The main idea is that over time, humanity would continue to work in the garden, cultivate it, and expand the edges out further and further until the whole world was a paradise where God reigned. Take the work that God has started and move it into new places! We’re like God because we’re called to continue his mission of creating order and flourishing in places where it doesn’t exist currently and bringing it under God’s plan. God gave us the ability to be like him and…
· CREATED TO BE PROPHETS: A prophet is someone who listens to God and calls people to honor him as well as calls people to pay attention to what is evil and leads to destruction. Let’s read Genesis [2:15-17]. It says that God told Adam to “tend and watch over” the garden. That word “watch over” is usually used to describe what a lookout would do for an army or a city. Keep an eye out for the enemy that will try to sneak up and destroy you. God is telling Adam, there is an enemy that will try to deceive and destroy you. Listen to my voice, listen to my wisdom. And then make sure that nothing evil creeps in and destroys what I have created. God intended humanity to play a prophetic role in his plan. Next, he…
· CREATED TO BE EVANGELISTS: In [Gen. 1:28] “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth!” As Adam and Eve were to have children, who had children, they were given the responsibility of sharing with each new generation how to have a relationship with God. They were to pass on the good news that God had created them, loved them, had a plan for them, and how to listen to him and love him. The idea is that as more and more people were born and heard the message of God’s love and their place in his mission, the entire world would be filled with worshippers of God. Next, we see that God’s intention is that we are…
· CREATED TO BE SHEPHERDS: In [Gen. 2:25] we’re told that Adam and Eve were “both naked, but they felt no shame.” This goes far beyond simply being physically naked. This is about pure transparency and innocence. This is human community where there is open, honest, authentic relationships. There is no trying to act a certain way, there is perfect acceptance and belonging. Intimately knowing and being known without secrets, lies, or pretense. God created the first human community, and this was his desire for it. And they were to make that community even bigger. Lovingly bring more and more people into this beautiful place of belonging, acceptance, and healing. Finally, God…
· CREATED TO BE TEACHERS: One of the things that I think we overlook is that God spent time having Adam name the animals. He asked Adam to inspect, study, and then participate in naming them. He was guiding Adam through a learning process. Adam was also responsible for passing along the things he learned from God to his wife, and they were in turn to share the wisdom they had gained from God and from their experience. A teacher says: this is what I have learned about God and the world he has created and this is how to use that knowledge to live well and wisely. The reason we deeply desire to be part of something significant and world changing, is because…
o WE WERE CREATED TO BE KINGDOM BUILDERS AND TO CHANGE THE WORLD! We long to know our lives have meaning and purpose because that was God’s intention from the very beginning. The problem is that…
§ WE FAILED IN OUR CALLINGS JUST LIKE ADAM AND EVE: We chose to try to do it for ourselves and on our own. Instead of being “sent ones” who serve, we are the “seated ones” who like to be served. Instead of prophets who listen and obey, we say I’ll decide what is right and wrong. Instead of prophets who care for the poor and broken, we ignore or exploit those who are in need. Instead of Evangelists who share the good news of freedom from sin and life with God, we have pastors telling you how to have your best life now and make God give you health and wealth. Instead of shepherds creating communities, we have political parties and social movements telling us who to hate and bringing division. Instead of teachers showing others how to live wisely, we have self-help books and Oprah to tell you how to believe in yourself and have self-actualization in 3 easy steps. And Paul in Ephesians 4 says that…
à JESUS SUCCEEDED, WHERE WE FAILED, AND RESTARTED THE MISSION: In [Eph. 4:7-8] Paul is quoting from the Old Testament and using some lyrics from [Psalm 68:18]. Psalm 68 uses the imagery of how a King who won a victory over his enemy would take the wealth of his enemies back and display it. Often times these kings would give away part of the treasure they had captured to his people. So here, we’re being told that Jesus stepped into this world that had been stolen by us and was under the power of sin and Satan. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the roles that we failed in. He was the perfect, apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, and teacher. He showed how powerless the kings of this world really are. He showed how selfish and dark the kingdoms of this world really are. And when he rose from the grave, he defeated Satan, and took back this world from Satan. He then gave back the gifts of being part of God’s mission to his people. [28]Jesus did his part and ascended into heaven. The major point of Ephesians 4 is that THE MISSION THAT JESUS STARTED IS NOW IN OUR HANDS! There is no plan B! If you are a follower of Jesus, you are called to live in your role of Apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, or priest! If you’re wondering what this is supposed to look like, let me give you a picture from history.
(INSP) THE CHURCH UNLEASHED IN CHINA[]
In the 1950’s in China a man named Mao Zedong became the leader of China and ushered in the Communist government we know today. There was a desire to get rid of anything in their culture that represented non-Chinese influences. At the time, while there were estimated to be around 2 million Christians, the churches were largely led by foreign missionaries. There were Chinese leaders, but they were often not given much influence. Mao Zedong began what was called the cultural revolution and expelled all foreign missionaries from China. His desire was to eradicate Christianity and all other religions. He then nationalized all buildings, killed most senior church leaders, and imprisoned and tortured most second and third level leaders, and banned all public meetings.
When missionaries were allowed to return in the early 80’s, they expected to find the church decimated and destroyed with any surviving disciples being weak and battered people. INSTEAD, WHAT THEY FOUND WAS THE CHURCH HAD FLOURISHED BEYOND ALL IMAGINATION. In over 30 years, the church had grown from 2 million to over 60 million. Some estimates of today say there may be as many as 120 million Christians. The question is how? How did the church flourish and explode when they couldn’t meet in buildings, didn’t have paid leaders, had no bible colleges? They were able to do this because each and every person had to own their role in building the kingdom of God. It couldn’t be about whether they liked sermons or music, or whether the house church they were at had good kids programming, or whether the service times were convenient for them. They couldn’t depend on a paid pastor to make sure they grew spiritually. THEY ALL REALIZED THAT THEY WERE PREISTS. [31]I heard someone once say, YOUR BAPTISM IS YOUR ORDINATION! If you have been baptized and given your life to Jesus, congrats! You’re a minister! Now do the work of a minister! I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I BELIEVE THINGS ARE CHANGING IN OUR WORLD, AND THE THINGS PEOPLE HAVE DEPENDED ON TO HELP THEM GROW MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS! And the mission of Jesus is not finished! There are around 4,600 people in Auburn IL. Is Jesus done with Auburn! No! But if we’re going to do something about it, it’s going to take all 100 people in this family to do their part! My question today is…
(DISC) WILL YOU BE GOD’S GIFT TO THE CHURCH/WORLD?
I have put together a short questionnaire to help you figure out which one of these 5 roles you may be called to. I encourage you to take it home and fill it out. Then over the next 5 weeks we’re going to unpack each role and how Jesus gives us the picture of what it looks like to live out that role. When you take the test, it will give you a better idea of what sermon is going to speak directly to the calling Jesus has placed on your life.
I believe that God has something beautiful planned for each one of you, and for this family that we call Cornerstone. The question is, will you step into the calling Jesus has for you! Will you settle for jobs, paychecks, and hobbies, or will you become God’s gift to the church and to his world? Let’s pray!
