[0:00] 1 Corinthians, I'm changing mics, brother. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, because it would be real easy for me to transition this morning and not get into the word because I think what we have heard was great testimony and great witness to ourselves of the work that is going on.
[0:19] But we have been looking at a series of messages on the importance and the value of the church. And I want to fellowship with you as much as you want to fellowship with one another. So if we delay a little bit following service, that will be fine.
[0:33] There are so many of you have not had a chance to greet yet this morning, and I apologize about that. But we are in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Several weeks ago, we started this series and we began to look at a biblical vision of the church or for the church, of what the Bible, specifically the New Testament, is speaking of when it refers to the church.
[0:53] And then we have been looking at the core values of the church, just four of them, but it has taken us this time, it has taken us four weeks to get to number three. I will go ahead and tell you, we will spend two weeks on this one before we get to the last one.
[1:08] And I am so thankful for God's timing in this. I intended to start this series of messages the first of June and to be finished with it by the time we got to this Sunday in August.
[1:18] That was kind of my hope and my dream. Some months ago when I was praying about this, I was delayed in that because of a number of things. So I started it later and then, of course, I went over on the worship one and that got us to this Sunday where we had already set aside the Sunday to share about our trip to Utah.
[1:37] But that is fine because we are now at value number three, at least in my mind, of the core values of the church. And that is the importance of every part.
[1:47] I have been giving you value statements as we go through this. Those that are really unique to me, I have written in my Bible and I've encouraged you if you want to hold on to them, you can write them down as well.
[1:58] Because by looking at these four values and going over this series of messages, you will understand how I think about the church, kind of what my driving force is. This isn't something that has come upon me overnight.
[2:09] Rather, this is something that over a number of years has been developed. I would say probably now about eight to ten years, God has been working this whole system in my mind.
[2:22] Know what you believe, believe what you know, and that's kind of been my mantra as it even pertains to the church and the ministry of the church. This is what affects every decision and every choice I make.
[2:32] This is how I look at you as individuals, and this is how I expect you to look at me as an individual as well. So this value, value number three, reads this way. We value every part properly functioning in the role that Jesus has called them to.
[2:49] We value every part properly functioning in the role that Jesus has called them to. If you have been with me the last few weeks, you would know that each of these words are chosen specifically and intentionally.
[3:05] And when I mean every part, I mean every part. And we've been talking about the proper functioning of the church because the church is not an organization. It is not something you can point to.
[3:16] The church is an organism. It is a living being. It is a body. It is made up of various parts. We'll get to that, and we'll try to get to it very quickly. So if you are physically able and desire to do so, I'm going to ask that you'll join with me as we stand together and we read the Word of God found in 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
[3:34] I'm probably going to read the chapter in its entirety, so you'll just need to bear with me, and then we'll move forward from there. Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, says, Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.
[3:49] You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus is accursed, and no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
[4:03] Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of ministries and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects but the same God who works all things and all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
[4:17] For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, and to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.
[4:37] But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually, just as He wills. For even as the body is one, and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
[4:52] For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.
[5:05] If the foot says, Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body, it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body, it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.
[5:19] If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were a hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
[5:30] If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body, and the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, or again, the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
[5:41] On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable.
[5:57] Whereas our more presentable members have no need of it, but God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacks, so that there may be no divisions in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
[6:15] And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. If one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body and individually members of it, and God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.
[6:33] All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have the gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they?
[6:44] All do not interpret, do they? But earnestly desire the greater gift. And I show you still a more excellent way. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for this day. God, we rejoice in the things we have been able to share and the things we've been able to hear already, but Lord, we pray that you would speak to our hearts and minds.
[7:00] I pray that you would help us to understand the importance of each and every one of us for your glory and honor, and we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, it is commonly referred to as the spiritual gifts chapter.
[7:14] I'm not going to take time this morning to go through a spiritual gifts inventory looking at each one of these. I want you to know on the front end that 1 Corinthians chapter 12 is not to be considered an exhaustive list of every spiritual gift.
[7:28] We find spiritual gifts also listed in the book of Romans, and we find them in other places in Paul's writing. Paul is not trying to refer to every single spiritual gift, he is just referring to a number of them, probably those which reference to the church at Corinth specifically.
[7:43] The church at Corinth had a habit of kind of promoting one gift over another, namely, the gift of the speaking in tongues. I'm not here to dispute that, I'm not here to get into the theology of that, we can do that another time.
[7:56] We would all miss everything if we did that this morning, okay? We would run into the wedding shower time, and then we would get in trouble. So this morning, we're not doing that. There's a lot to be unpacked in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, but we're not doing that during this series.
[8:12] What I want you to see this morning is the importance of every part. Really, I want you to see is every part really that important? And is that something that is readily available to each one of us?
[8:27] And we see here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 that it is the availability of your parts, of your giftedness for the body. It is not just the promoting of a few or the promoting of those who seem to be up on the platform.
[8:41] Rather, the church is composed of many, many individuals. And we value every part. That means you. That means me. That means from the smallest, the youngest, to the oldest, and the largest.
[8:53] Every part properly functioning in the role that Jesus called them to. We'll finish this up this morning. The availability of that. Does every part really matter? And then next week, the Lord willing, allowing us to stay there, we'll see, what if I choose not to do my part?
[9:09] Really, the harm that that causes. And you say, well, I'm just a little part. But we'll see that and we'll understand as we look at Ephesians chapter 4 and really begins to specify the work of the ministry.
[9:21] But I want you to see this morning just three, and I'll make them very quick. We probably won't get to spend as much time on them as I would like to, but I want you to see three quick things because if we failed to see them together, we would fail to see them as God has allowed us to.
[9:35] Number one, I want you to see spiritual gifts are a matter of inclusion in the family. Spiritual gifts are a matter of inclusion in the family. Paul starts out this subject or this topic of spiritual gifts in a very unique way.
[9:49] He says, now concerning spiritual gifts, he's writing to the church, right? Writing to the church at Corinth, sure it is the most wicked church that we can find in New Testament. They do things that we believe that no church should ever do, yet he still calls them saints and he calls them brethren.
[10:03] And now he's going to speak to them about their giftedness and he starts in a very unique way, a way in which I would never begin. He says, now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, again, this is a matter for the brethren, that is the church.
[10:15] This is not a matter of countrymen. This is not a matter of your fellow countrymen or your fellow citizen. Rather, this is a matter for brethren and sisters in the church. This is a church matter.
[10:27] So then and there, all of a sudden, we understand we are talking to the redeemed. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you do not have a spiritual gift that you can point to.
[10:38] I just don't have any other way of saying it. But we are looking at this spiritual giftedness as a matter of inclusion in the family. Because he goes on, he says, now, you know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols however you were led.
[10:54] Paul begins to speak of this thing that they all share in common by speaking of their common past. He said, every one of you at one time was apart from Christ. That's what we call pagans. And when you were pagans, you might have looked differently, but you were being led to the same place by different means.
[11:10] Some of you may have been led to idolatry of self-worship because of pleasure. Some of you may have been led because of addiction. Some of you may have been led because of circumstances. But Paul says, no matter the state, no matter how you got there, the reality is this, every one of us were at one time pagans away from Christ because the Bible tells us that none is righteous, no, not one, that we're all born into sin and we have that sin nature which means that every one of us have this thing in common in our past.
[11:40] Our past may look starkly different. Some of your past may say, I never touched the doors of the church because I thought if I ever got on the steps, the building would fall down. Some of you may say, I was in church every time the door was open and the building never fell down and I grew up in that church.
[11:56] But here's the reality. Apart from Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter if you were never in the building or always in the building. If you didn't know Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, you were pagan. That's the common background we all share.
[12:07] It doesn't matter how good we were or how bad we were. Okay? In the past, apart from Jesus Christ, we have this common denominator. We are all paganistic idolaters.
[12:18] We worship self or we worship works. One of the two. Okay? And we worship those things no matter how we're being led. But Paul is speaking here of the family. He goes on, he says, you know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led, however you got there.
[12:33] Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus is a curse. That's anathema. No one can curse Jesus and be filled with the Spirit. Listen, these are emphatic statements of Scripture.
[12:46] Okay? Okay? So understand that. No one being led by the Spirit and is the Holy Spirit can ever say Jesus is anathema.
[12:57] That's what a curse means. It means be cursed, be cast off. Can't do it. So if someone comes up to you and says they're Spirit-led and they're Spirit-filled and they start cursing Jesus, then you tell them you don't want anything to do with the Spirit that's in them.
[13:09] That's not the Holy Spirit, right? That's the powers and principalities and spiritual forces of darkness of the air. You don't want anything to do with that. Now look at this very next statement. And no one can say Jesus is Lord.
[13:21] Now understand this. This isn't just wordplay. This isn't just saying it. This is actually saying it and meaning it, which means that no one can claim the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
[13:33] No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Now, my interpretation, and I'm trying to make this quick. I don't have time to really delve into it. My interpretation of salvation is this.
[13:43] It's not because you got yourself in trouble. You came to someone to bail you out of trouble so the rest of your life you could live free from trouble. That's not my understanding of salvation. Biblical salvation is this.
[13:53] You came to the understanding you were in trouble because of you and you needed someone to pull you out of your trouble and you needed someone to take over your life and to tell you what you needed to do with the rest of your life for His glory.
[14:06] You needed a King and a Lord because you tried to be King of your life and it didn't work. You tried to let someone else be ruler of your life and it didn't work. So you needed someone else to take over so you came to Jesus Christ not just as your Savior.
[14:19] The Bible says He has been made both what? Savior and Lord. He is your Master. Now that all of a sudden gets repulsive to some of us but that's exactly what it means. You came and you said Lord, Lord take control of my life.
[14:32] Friend, I want to tell you something. Paul says right here you will never say that unless the Holy Spirit leads you to say that because the reason it's so repulsive is by nature man doesn't want anyone to rule over him.
[14:44] That's why we have all these eye contraptions and I have an iPhone you know I do I understand that but we are all about me. I love me a whole lot of me. I know that's not real good English and you can get on to me later but that's really the reality of it, right?
[14:58] And we don't want someone else to tell us what to do we'll set our own standard we'll set our own place but that's not right. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit leads you to call out to him as Lord. Now, that introduces you into the family of God.
[15:10] Paul starts this and he says now since now you are in the Spirit now he's taken a bunch of people that had very different backgrounds but they were all the same they all lived idolatrous differently.
[15:23] He says but every one of you had this one common denominator the only reason you can say Jesus is Lord the only reason you can say Jesus is Lord the only reason you can say Jesus is Lord is because the Holy Spirit led you to say it. He says now then now they were all one family he goes on and says now there are a variety of gifts but the same Spirit now you ever think about how did he get there from there?
[15:43] Where's that gap? What is he saying here? I meet a lot of people and I understand even a lot of church members and you're sitting here today and you say well I think Jesus is Lord I have given my life to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior not just the Savior but I really want him to have control but I don't think there's anything for me to do in the church friend listen to me that's a lie from the pit of hell because the Bible says the moment you are in the family of God the Spirit that led you to join the family is the very Spirit that gifted you to be in the family every one of us have a spiritual gift everybody in the family has a spiritual gift it is a matter of family inclusion just last night I was invited to be at a Calvert family get together always cracks me up when the Calvert family gets together we don't get together very often but some of you know my extended family and I was there my dad was there my uncles were there my aunt was there I was there my boys were there my brother was there and at one time we were sitting in this kitchen area and I'm sitting here and all three of my boys are right there
[16:50] Hunter and Ethan and Braden's asleep so that was glory hallelujah time but Hunter and Ethan were sitting there at the table and right behind Hunter and Ethan were both my uncles and my dad and I elbowed carry I said you want to see what the boys are going to look like when they grow up there they are it's amazing the Calverts there's this progression right you're marked people tell me that all the time Calverts are stamped we all look alike especially the men I don't know why every one of them and I've been to extended family reunions it's just a part of being a Calvert it's a part of the family inclusion you can't help it the foreheads tend to get real big the ears get real big and that's just a great time to be later on right and so you see that and you're like well I know what I'm going to look like in a few years because here I am like looking at myself in a mirror but there are certain traits that go along with the family someone came up to me the other day he said I met your son the other day I said which one this one is stamped just like you I said yeah that's the one that used to say he never looked like me and went to college and gained weight and came back everybody says he looks like me he can't help it but it's amazing there's this stamping there's things that pertain to the family listen the family of God is the same way the moment you accept
[17:53] Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit led you to do that the Holy Spirit has given you attributes of the family and one of those attributes are the spiritual gifts that belong uniquely to the family of God so if you're here today and you say well I don't know if I've been given a gift understand this you have been given a gift you have been given a gift it is part of the family relationship if he is your Lord and Savior then that same spirit that led you to confess him is the same spirit that has gifted you to serve him and he goes on and he says there are a variety of effects with the same God who works all things and all persons he is saying that he has called you look at this but each one is given the manifestation of the spirit the spiritual gift all it is is the way the spirit manifests itself in your life one of my spiritual gifts I understand now I didn't think about it was teaching that's why when I stand up and preach I'm not the best pastor I'm not the best teacher I understand I hear guys all the time but I cannot claim any of this because this is not who I am naturally this is a manifestation of the spirit's presence in my life because if you knew me before I began preaching and teaching then you would say
[19:05] I never would have thought that man to be a preacher well great glory I'm glad that I can point to the Holy Spirit's presence it is a manifestation of his presence that's all it is I want you to understand that if you're in the family you do have a spiritual gift number two not only is the spiritual gift a matter of inclusion in the family number two spiritual gifts are intentionally given I don't have time to really get into this but they are intentionally given look at what it says but to each one is given the manifestation of the spirit read the rest of this for the common good the most important thing you need to understand about spiritual gift is that God didn't give you a spiritual gift when he called you to the family for yourself as a matter of fact it really had nothing to do with you he gave you a gift for the common good that is the good of the body he didn't give you a gift so that you could feel good he didn't give you a gift so that you could do cool things I can promise you that preaching and teaching would have been the least the last thing the last thing I would have ever picked because I liked Sundays Sunday was a day off Sunday was a day to relax Sunday was an awesome day where I would hang out with my wife and I would go home and we would eat we would maybe go back to church that evening had kids running around
[20:14] Sundays were cool days if there's ever a day in a pastor's home that's not a cool relaxing day it's Sunday Carrie will tell you that I love them I do I love serving but she doesn't really tell me anything important on Sunday because I forget about it Mondays are even harder my mind checks out but that's okay it's not about me right in the flesh has nothing to do with me he gave me a gift he gave you a gift for the common good and it is specifically for you now I don't have time really to get into it but look at what it says he says in verse 11 but one in the same spirit he lists all these different ones and you're like man I wish I had the gifts of healings or I wish I had the gifts of all this stuff but one in the same spirit works all these things distributing to each one individually just as he wills I really wish we could take about four weeks on this we may we may have to come back to it but understand this the gift you have been given really is not for you it's for the common good and it's not up to you you don't get to choose it it has been given to you intentionally
[21:23] God gave you the gift he wants you to have for the good of others which means no one can boast that they have that gift Paul says I speak in tongues more than any man but I can't boast no one can say man check this out I have the gift that puts me on the platform or I have the gift that puts me up on the stage or I have the gift that does this no one can boast because it has nothing to do with them God gave it to them for the good of others and no one can complain because of the gift they have no one can say man I wish I had that or I wish I had that or I don't like the gift I've been given man I wish my gift wasn't a gift of administration I mean nobody ever sees administration my friend listen to me it has been given to you intentionally for the benefit of others which means God saw you he called you into his family and he gave you the gift he wanted you to have to benefit others and if there's nothing else that motivates you to serve him in his church understand this he chose you to bear the gift you have to use in his body and that's pretty amazing if your gift is washing toilets
[22:31] Lord bless you I helped my wife do that she cleaned the last church we served for 14 or 16 years I learned one thing you don't whistle while you're cleaning toilets because water has a habit of splashing right and so I used to Lord bless her I'd help her it'd take her so long to do it but friend if God has gifted you with the spiritual gift of cleaning toilets that is a high calling because God if God calls you to do anything in his body it is glorious it just is and we have no reason to be down and out because of the gift we don't have or the gift we do have anything God calls us and gifts us to do for his body is a great privilege and we ought to be beating the doors down to exhibit that so to speak whatever it is we see here that spiritual gifts are intentionally given and number three finally I'll make it quickly spiritual gifts highlight the importance of each individual spiritual gifts highlight the importance of each individual he says in verse 11 that each one has been given just as he wills for even the body is one and says in verse 12 for even as the body is one and yet has many members and all the members of the body though they are a member are one body so also is Christ for by one spirit we were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks whether slaves or free we were all made to drink of the one spirit for the body is not one member but many and then he goes on talking about the human body as a picture of this and he says in verse 18 but now God has placed the members each one of them in the body just as he desired if they were all one member where would the body be what is he saying there if everybody was the same it'd be boring and we wouldn't be a body so spiritual gifts and the very presence of them highlights the importance of every individual because every individual is needed in the body if we were all the same
[24:27] I believe it was Warren Wearsby who said unity without diversity leads to conformity and conformity leads to death all you gotta look at is political structures that want everyone to conform unity without diversity leads to conformity we want to be united but diversified because unity with diversity points to his glory there's a problem when we look around the room and everybody has the same gift of us everybody looks like us everybody sounds like us and everybody appears to live just like us there's a problem because diversity is a great gift of God and I am so thankful that he's created a world of diversity not only just of race and people languages and all those because it's one of the most glorious things I've ever been a part of is a vast number of diversity that park you saw the park and I have to say I'm never going to apologize for a cold baptismal waters ever again brother Glenn we don't even have to turn the heater on anymore you saw the pictures of the baptism that slide show that was glacier melt water that water was probably like 38 to 40 degrees okay last time I checked you don't jump in the water that high in Utah wherever we were at anywhere in Utah by the way everywhere is cold but it's hot outside but the water is like 38 it's glacier melting going down but to be in that group there was such a diversity there of nationalities represented
[25:54] I mean you got a church of 60 people and you had Haitians and Africans like I think they were from Kenya and you had people from the Asian colonies and you had people all over it was beautiful to hear each of them testifying in their own tongue in their own language in their own way it was amazing because they all have one thing in common and unity in the light of diversity is glorious so what if we're all the same and we can get together and hang out what does that tell the world nothing it's when we're all gifted differently and we all have major things that are different and we're very diverse and then we get together and the world sees us hanging out what does that tell the world a lot because unity in light of diversity is glorious it begins to speak friend I want you to understand something I praise God for the gift he has given you for the benefit of this church and I pray that every part you have a very important part in this body very and when every part begins to properly function we'll get to that next week the world takes notice don't sit there and think well I don't even know if I have a gift you do if you can say
[27:19] Jesus is Lord the spirit has given you a gift don't say well my gift's not important that's another lie because God gave you that thing and last time I checked anything God gives is important of utmost importance and God chose you to have that gift in this body which means someone here well let's just go ahead and say everyone else but you here needs you to display your gift I don't need you to try to mimic me I don't need you to try to mimic others I met a pastor one time church planner he said man if I leave here and there's a whole bunch of little me's running around I'll be happy and I thought man that would be scary I don't need you to mimic anyone else what I need you to do is to work out the giftedness that God has put in you for his glory in this body and then all of a sudden this body begins to testify to the world that he is somebody that's the beauty of every part properly functioning you say well nobody notices what I do well then God might have had a reason to keep you humble because I promise you it's not always good when everybody notices what you do
[28:38] Satan has a way of throwing his own stones at you but friend listen to me your part is important so it's time to properly work out your giftedness for his glory let's pray Lord I thank you so much for this day God I know we've looked at a lot and talked about a lot but Lord by the power and presence of your spirit you could speak to each individual so we pray now in this moment at this time Lord you'd speak to our hearts you'd show us what it is and all it is that you'd have us to do for your glory may it not be of ourself may it not be for recognition or Lord even for self-glorification but may it be for God honoring surrender Lord have your way in these next few minutes we ask it all in Jesus name Amen God bless you God bless you God bless you