1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Well, good morning.

As if you are visiting here this morning, you may know, may not know that we typically

preach through books of the Bible.

And we are in the middle of the book of 1 Corinthians.

We're actually at chapter 12.

If you want to turn there in your pew Bibles, it's page 959 in those Bibles.

And we will be looking today at the first 11 verses of chapter 12.

And so let me give you a moment to get there.

And as you look, I want to say again to all of you who are celebrating either this weekend

or some other weekend before or after celebrating some kind of graduation or commencement, we

are so glad to celebrate that with you.

1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 1 through 11.

1 Corinthians 12:1–11

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

You know that when you were pagans, you were led away to mute idols, however you were led.

Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says

Jesus is accursed.

And no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit.

Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit.

There are varieties of service, but the same Lord.

And there are varieties of activities.

But it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom.

To another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit.

To another, faith by the same Spirit.

To another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit.

To another, the working of miracles.

To another, prophecy.

To another, the ability to distinguish between Spirits.

To another, various kinds of tongues.

To another, the interpretation of tongues.

All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit who apportions to each one individually as He wills.

Will you pray with me as we consider this passage.

Lord, we this morning invite this one Spirit who you have told us in this passage is at work among your people.

Oh Spirit, will you work in us this morning.

Lord, open our hearts.

Lord, to your work in our lives.

To encourage us.

To strengthen us.

To challenge us.

Lord, open our minds that we may understand you rightly.

And so worship you rightly.

Lord, this morning use this passage in our hearts, in our lives, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So, one of the things I love about having little kids is the way they interact.

Particularly in a city like New Haven.

Last year, my kid went to, my oldest one went to a school with 17 children.

He was the only Caucasian in the class.

And he didn't know it.

And it was a beautiful thing.

And by that I mean, it just didn't occur to him that his classmates had a different color skin.

Or a different kind of hairstyle.

Or a different kind of.

He just experienced the diversity of his friends as other people that he knew.

And he cared about them and played with them.

And it didn't make a difference.

And I love that about little kids.

I love the way they don't see those things.

But of course, as a normal course of developmental psychology, as we grow up, we begin to notice these things.

We begin to notice these differences.

And interestingly, so easily at that point, we begin to take those differences.

And rather than exploring them as wonderful things that God has created.

We explore.

We instead end up using them.

They become a pretext for separation between me and you.

We find ourselves walking into a room and thinking, who are the social groupings?

Where do I fit in?

Where do I fit on the pecking order in this room?

Who are the people like me?

Who are my people?

And who are them?

Who are the other people in this room?

We admire some.

We disparage others.

And in fact, one of the things that is exposed in our hearts is that we're actually uncomfortable

with who we are.

We walk into a room and we think, I don't know how I fit in.

Am I going to be accepted?

Am I going to be loved?

And so we find, we gravitate towards these things.

These people who are like us.

And we create these barriers around people who are different than us.

Because we feel insecure.

And in doing so, we also become unable to accept others as they are.

And to value them.

This is a common dynamic.

Our sermon this morning is not about race relations or things like that.

Our sermon is about spiritual gifts.

And isn't it true that as we think about our spiritual lives, we do the same thing?

Last week, Pastor Greg talked about the problem in the Corinthian church where they gathered

for the Lord's Supper and yet separated and divided according to socioeconomic class.

Around here, we might do it for education.

For race.

For all sorts of other reasons.

We might do it for what is perceived to be spiritual maturity.

Oh, he's really smart.

I think he's really spiritual.

I'm not very spiritual.

I don't know where I fit in here.

It seems like this is what was going on in the Corinthian church too.

Way back when, when we preached through chapters one through four, we saw that there were divisions

among them.

They were connecting to particular kinds of leaders.

They were exalting particular kinds of spiritual wisdom that would separate some from others.

They were exalting spiritual experiences.

And their apparent triumphalism looked down on those who were weak.

Those who were needy.

Those who were less in the eyes of the world.

And these divisions created this competitive community in the Corinthian church.

It was characterized by arrogance, disunity, disarray.

I think maybe it sounded like, I don't know if you were ever in a high school rock and roll band.

I wasn't, but my brother was.

And I saw them practice.

And when you get four teenage kids together to worship,

do you know what they all want to do all the time?

They want to do their solos.

They want to do their thing.

And so the four of them are not playing together as a band.

They're playing four of them all wanting to be lead at the same time.

And that kind of competition, I think, is what so easily infects our society

and what so easily infects the church of Jesus Christ.

This kind of things.

And it's not what God called us to be.

It's so easy for us to exalt the service we do

and to begrudge others who don't do the same thing.

It's so easy to resent the people who don't help in the ways that we do

and to look down on the people who don't have the gifts that we do.

And rather than rejoicing and valuing the differences,

we can ignore or dismiss them.

We'll see as the book goes on.

For those of you who will be around for a while,

when we get to chapter 14, we'll see the real issue has to do with speaking in tongues

and the place that speaking in tongues played in that church.

But we won't get to that today.

Because as we see in 1 Corinthians, as we saw in chapters 8 through 10,

there's this structural move that Paul does.

He begins to address an issue and he instantly jumps not to the answer to the question that's being asked,

but he jumps to a higher principle.

And so all of chapter 12 is about spiritual gifts,

the broad category of speaking in tongues.

And all of chapter 13 is about love,

which is about the character of how we hold our spiritual gifts,

before he gets to chapter 14

and before he actually answers the question that the Corinthian church has asked.

And the question that they're really asking is,

what does it look like to be truly a spiritual person?

What does it look like to really have the Spirit of God working in you?

Does it have this competitive one-upness,

this I have this gift and you don't kind of characteristic or not?

In fact, that's what we see in verses 1 through 3 of our passage.

As we're launching into it,

look with me with that just for beginning.

He begins,

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers,

and I want you to look down at the bottom of the page,

if your eyesight is better than mine,

you can read that footnote without glasses.

And that footnote says,

Spiritual Persons.

It's unfortunate that the ESV titled this as Spiritual Gifts,

because I think that Paul is actually saying

something more profound than just what is the gifting that we have.

He wants them to understand what it means to be a person of the Spirit,

a person who has the Spirit of God working in them.

So in verse 2 he says,

You remember what it was like when you worshipped other gods,

and you didn't have the Spirit.

Those other gods were mute.

They couldn't help you.

They couldn't gift you.

They didn't actually do things for you, did they?

And then in verse 3 he says,

But,

here's what you need to remember.

If you claim to be a Christian,

if you claim to

profess Jesus Christ as Lord,

then you have

the Spirit of God in you.

It is not these gifts,

it's not all these other things,

it is simply that

appropriation and reception

of the gospel

that Jesus is Lord.

He's recalling what he said in Romans 14 about,

or Romans 10,

where he says,

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart

that God raised Him from the dead,

you will be saved.

This is the core message of the Christian life,

is it not?

That we who,

in our sin,

are helpless before God

to ever be righteous enough

to earn His acceptance,

have had God do something amazing for us.

He has sent Christ,

and Christ has lived

the life without sin

that we ought to have lived.

And He died the death

that we deserved

because of our sin.

And He rose from the dead

to new life

so that He might

show that He has conquered sin

and that our sins can be forgiven.

And He has conquered death.

And now He offers us

a new spiritual

and eternal life

that is always His.

And He says,

If you confess Jesus Christ as Lord,

then the Spirit of God is in you.

If you reject Him,

if you curse Jesus,

then you don't.

But He's saying,

being a spiritual person

is fundamentally having

the Spirit of God.

And then He goes on

and He talks about

how the Spirit of God

works in His people.

And that's what I want to focus on

for the rest of our time this morning.

The main thing that I want us to learn,

the big idea of this passage,

is that God has given various gifts

as manifestations

of His one Spirit

for the good of all people.

And we're just going to go through that

one at a time.

God has given various gifts

because of one Spirit

for the good of all.

So let's look at those things in turn.

The various giftings

that God gives

to His people.

I want to step back

briefly

and try to give

a bit of a context for this.

Because one of the things

that I think we struggle with

in the Christian church

as we're talking about

spiritual giftings

is that

we come here

day after day,

week after week,

year after year,

and we think about

what are we about?

We're about the gospel.

We're about the work

of God's work in us,

transforming us

to be like Christ

and God's word

going out from us

to bring light

into the darkness

of the world

that we live in.

Right?

And often,

we do all these things

and we're learning

about Christian growth

and we're learning

about mission

and all these things.

And then,

then we get to Christian,

to spiritual gifts

and it's like we step

out of the main room

and into this little side room.

And we sort of talk about it

like it's this,

its own little category

that's completely disconnected

from the rest of spiritual,

from the rest of our normal church life

and Christian life.

But Paul is trying to say,

no, no, no.

Do you see,

even from the very beginning?

Right?

It is those who profess

Jesus as Lord

who have the Spirit.

And the thing about

the spiritual gifts

is that it is the Spirit

who is giving God's people

the ability

to do spiritual good

to other people.

Look with me

at verses 4 through 6 again.

There are variety gifts

but the same Spirit.

Varieties of service

but the same Lord.

And varieties of activities

but it is the same God

who empowers.

them all

in everyone.

The emphasis here

is that

it is God

who is working

in the midst of these people

to do things.

It is not like

it is not some special thing

like an add-on package

to your software.

It's not an optional side thing.

It is actually an integral part

of how it is

that God wants to work

in His people.

Now what are these giftings?

What do they look like?

Now here again

we run up to

a whole host

of really difficult

questions

or misunderstandings

maybe

because one of the things

is we think

well

you know

these gifts here

seem pretty supernatural.

when you look at the list

when you look at the list in 7 through 11

a lot of them seem pretty

like healing

and miracles

and prophecy

like wow

these are really special.

These are somehow

really different

than our normal

everyday lives.

But friends

I want to

want to just point out

to you

that chapter 12

and chapter 13

are next to each other

and we'll dive into it

later.

But let me ask you this

is it more supernatural

to see someone healed

or to actually love

your enemy?

Is it more supernatural

to speak

a spontaneous word

from the Lord

or is it more supernatural

for you to be patient

and kind

with someone

who is hard to live with?

As we'll see

Paul sees all of this

as the work of the Spirit

in our hearts.

So we need to make sure

we don't exalt gifts

to some special place

that isn't a normal part

of the Christian life

or somehow separate

from Christian character

and conduct.

It's not a separate room

whereby we do ministry

according to gifting

differently

than what we do

on a day-to-day basis.

It's meant to be integrated.

And you see this

when you look at

the other list of gifts

in other places

in the New Testament.

There's one at the end

of 1 Corinthians 12.

There's one in Romans 12.

There's one in Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

There's one in 1 Peter.

These are the normal...

And when you look

through these lists

you will see more broadly

that those lists

include some things

that seem very supernatural

or paranormal

as one of the commentators use.

But some of them

seem very mundane.

The gift of giving.

The gift of administration.

The gift of service.

But friends,

the only reason

why we stumble over those

is because we have

in our mind

the idea that gifting

is something else

other than

the Spirit of God

helping people

to serve others

for their good,

for their spiritual good.

and it may look more

or less spectacular

but it is good.

Sometimes I think

we think of spiritual gifts

as like superheroes.

You know?

I want to be Iron Man.

I want to be Spider-Man.

I want to be Thor.

You know?

And I have this particular gift

that I can do

that nobody else can do.

And instead

God is saying

no, no, no, no, no.

Look,

you're all on the same team.

And God is going to give you

particular ways

in which you can serve

one another.

What are some of those ways?

What about the gifts

that he lists here?

I'm going to try

really briefly

to give a definition

for each one of these gifts

because he blows through them

really quickly.

Right?

He just says

oh yeah,

an utterance of wisdom

and an utterance of knowledge

and prophecy

and tongues

and you think

what in the world

does that mean?

Let me try.

Let me try.

And as we look at it

I want to say

two things about it.

One is that

the gifts may

or may not be

spontaneous.

By that I mean

some gifting

may exert itself

in the moment

without preparation.

Some gifts

may exert themselves

with preparation

and forethought

and planning.

Some gifts

may be

work in both ways

at different times

or in different people.

So let's make sure

that we don't think

that it has to be spontaneous.

The other thing

we need to see

and we'll explore this more

in chapter 14

is that spiritual gifts

are not infallible.

And so one who might

have the gift of healing

I don't believe

will always heal someone

that they pray for.

And someone who has

a gift of prophecy

will have that gift

of prophecy

weighed by the elders

in the corporate setting.

It is not that

these giftings

are again

like super powers

that are infallible.

They are

the spirit's enabling

of us.

And we know

that we don't

always do it right.

That we don't

always get it right.

We don't always

handle it right.

So as we explore

this thing

we recognize

that with humility

we recognize

God may use us

graciously.

We never take

a sense of ownership

of these gifts

as they are

for ourselves.

Alright.

So here we go.

You ready?

If you're taking notes

we're going to go

through this fast.

The utterance

of wisdom

is the ability

to give guidance

that is consistent

with Christ's stress

on self-sacrifice

and the well-being

of others.

The utterance

of knowledge

is a message

or a word

spoken

marked by theological

understanding

or insight.

The gift

of faith

is

not

the gift

of faith

that is given

to all believers

on the basis

of their trusting

in the work

of Christ

for their salvation

which is the

fundamental faith

that all believers

share.

The gift

of faith

is an extraordinary

God-given confidence

in his saving power

and presence

and that he is now

presently acting.

so it's someone

who has the ability

to see

and discern

and believe

that God

is at work

in something.

Healing

is a privilege

of being

the channel

of physical

healing

in someone else.

Miracles

the privilege

of serving

as a channel

for the in-breaking

of God's

final rule

his eschatological rule

into the present age

in a particular way

that overcomes

sin

or the fall.

I was,

well,

did you get that?

What it means

is that

God is going

to use

a particular person

to bring in

the power

that he will

ultimately exert

over all the world

when he returns

and establishes

his kingdom fully

where all things

work according

to his will.

So it might be

he has power

over nature.

It might be

he has power

over,

he can stop

the sun in the sky.

He can stop

an army in its tracks.

He can do

all of these things.

He doesn't do it

all the time

but there are times

when he does it

and he does it

sometimes through people.

Prophecy.

We looked at this

last week.

Nick mentioned it

in chapter 14

verse 3.

There's a really

good definition

of it.

One who speaks

to people

for their upbuilding

and encouragement

and consolation.

Not foretelling,

although that's possible,

but that's not

the heart of it,

but telling forth

what is true

about God

in a way

that helps

other people.

the distinguishing

of spirits

is the special

ability

to evaluate

the origin,

authority,

and application

particularly

of prophetic messages.

Speaking in

different kinds

of tongues,

I'm going to punt

on this one

a little bit

just so you know

because we're going

to deal with it

in chapter 14

in a lot of detail

and so we'll get

back to it,

but tongues

is the ability

to speak

in an unlearned

human,

possibly angelic

language.

I know that begs

all the questions

if anyone's been

exposed to it

and I'm just going

to punt on it.

Hang in there,

come back,

listen to the sermon

in four weeks,

we'll get to it.

And the interpretation

in tongues

is the ability

to translate

or interpret

what was said

to God

through the gift

of tongues.

So it's related

to that.

Alright,

so that's what

those mean.

Okay?

What I want you

to see

is that

as you pull

them together,

what are they?

They are,

in this particular

list,

focusing on

there are

words

spoken to

the congregation

for their good,

for their spiritual

good,

or their actions

that display

a confidence

in

or a work

of God

as he

continues the work

in his world

of building

his kingdom.

That's what's

happening with

spiritual gifting

in this list.

This list doesn't

have some of the

other ones like

administration and

service and mercy.

When we preach

through Romans,

we'll get to those.

But a few other

things you want

to see is that

the emphasis here,

as you see Paul

talking through it,

is that there's a

variety of gifts.

To one is given

this,

to another is given

this,

to another is given

this,

to another is given

this.

The gifting is going

to be different

among us.

And the way that we

find ourselves in

this is not a

checklist.

It's not a

closed list of

which one do I

have?

There are 14

gifts,

there are 17

gifts,

there are 18

gifts in the

New Testament.

Which one do I

have?

I actually think

that that's not

the right way to

see them.

But in fact,

we need to

recognize that

these are gifts

that are sovereignly

given by God.

And as they're

sovereignly given

by God,

we want to seek

to simply recognize

where God is

working in us

and where God is

working in others

and to rejoice in

both of them.

And to humbly

receive them

and to see the

difference among

them.

And to be

thankful for

that.

Part of what

I want you to

hear is that God

has given each

of you who

claim Jesus as

Lord, he has

given you his

spirit.

And his spirit

has gifted you

for service in

his church and

in this world.

world.

And to not be

like the rock

and roll band

competing with

one another,

but to see

what's my part

to play

and how do I

value all the

other gifts that

all these other

people have.

Because otherwise

we end up

dividing ourselves,

don't we?

the differences

become divisions.

So, the first

thing I want you

to hear this

morning is that

God has gifted

you by his

spirit in

various ways.

second thing, he's

gifted you by his

one spirit.

You know, it's

interesting.

Did the

Corinthians really

believe there

were different

spirits empowering

different people in

the church?

Or that some

had the spirit of

God and others

didn't?

Probably not quite

that extreme.

My guess is that

some of them

thought they had

more of the

spirit of God

than others and

that they were

using their

spiritual gifts

to puff up

their ego and

their place in

the body?

And Paul says,

don't you know,

you all have

one and the

same spirit.

Do you see how

often he says

it?

The same spirit,

the same Lord,

the same God,

in verses 4

through 6.

Then in verses

7 and 8,

or verses 8

and following,

through the

spirit,

the same spirit,

and the same

spirit again,

and the one

spirit,

and the same

spirit again,

every time he

mentions it,

he says,

you all have

the same

one.

Brings to

mind what

Paul said in

Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

4 as he

encouraged unity

in the body.

He said,

there is one

body and one

spirit just as

you were called

to one hope

that belongs

to your call,

one Lord,

one faith,

one baptism,

one God and

Father of us

all,

who is over

all and through

all and in

all.

The unity

of God's

people

is based

on the

unity

of

worshiping

one God.

And the

diversity of

God's people

in its

beautifulness,

in its beauty,

in its majesty,

is to display

the diversity

of the

triune God.

This is what

we see in

4 through 6,

right?

God is gifting

them,

but then he

makes an

explicit

appeal to

see.

Do you see?

It's the

Father and

the Son and

the Holy Spirit

who are all

working in

this gifting

and in

this manifestation.

It is one

God who's at

work in you

in this

variety of

ways.

So do you

see how

the unity

and diversity

of the way

that we

hold our

spiritual gifts

is an

incredible gift

and incredible

stewardship

because it

is how

the church

displays

the very

nature of

God.

It is

parallel to

what Paul

said at the

beginning of

chapter 11

about how

gender

is a way

to display

the diversity

and the

beauty of

God.

And yet

it's the

same reason

why in

the second

half of

chapter 11

Paul rails

against them

for their

divisions

according to

socioeconomic

lines.

This unity

and diversity

is a part

of the

high

calling

of the

church

to

display

the

character

of

God

in

the

world.

And

friends,

we just

need to

see it

for what

it is.

We don't

need to

make this

up.

We don't

need to

create

unity

out of

something

else.

The beauty

of it

is that

God has

said the

unity

exists.

The unity

is there

because God

is one

and because

God has

now gifted

you as

his people.

We don't

have to

make up

the unity.

We simply

have to

acknowledge

it and

live in

light of

it.

Friends,

when we

do this,

it makes

all the

difference.

when we

don't do

this,

when we

fight and

backbite,

when we

compete and

compare,

when we

divide and

disparage one

another,

we look a

whole lot

like any

other human

organization in

the world.

And there's

no difference.

But when

we do

this,

when we

live out

this unity

and diversity,

when we

do it

well,

then God

is in

our

midst.

And God

is at

work.

And not

only will

we see

it and be

encouraged,

but the

world will

see it.

And we'll

be drawn

to ask

why.

How could

this be?

And that's

why spiritual

gifting isn't

this extra

room on the

side, but

it's woven

into the

warp and

woof of

how we're

supposed to

live.

Because as

we hold it

properly, we

display the

nature of

God.

Third thing

is that not

only do we

do it, not

only are there

diverse gifts,

a variety of

gifts, not

only is there

one spirit, but

that there's a

purpose for

this.

We do this

for the

common good.

God, in

his great

wisdom and

in his great

power and

his gracious

work in

our lives, has

given us

gifts, but

he's not

given them

gifts to

us for

our sake.

We are

not the

terminal

end point

of the

gifting so

that we can

think highly

of ourselves

about what

our wonderful

gifts are, or

so that we

can think,

well, now I

know what my

gift is, so

my job is

simply to

exercise my

gift without

any concern

for the

people of

God.

instead it

is this.

Look with

me in verse

seven, you'll

see it again.

Each is

given the

manifestation of

the spirit for

the common

good.

And the

common good is

the goal that

God has given

for all of

these things.

The spirit is

at work in

us, not for

our sake, but

for others'

sake.

We will see

this as we

go through the

rest of chapter

12 and

chapter 13 and

chapter 14.

It is the

subtext of it

over and over

and again.

How is it,

brothers and

sisters, that

you are loving

others by

your gifting

and by your

service?

This is the

goal.

So how do we

do this

practically?

How do we

live this out?

How do we

respond to

this idea of

try to give

in a few

minutes, just

a few minutes,

a few practical

ideas?

First, how do

we discern our

spiritual gifts?

I hate to

say it, I

don't think the

inventories are

that helpful.

You can go

online and

take a test.

I think they

tend to be

self-determining.

You tend to

end up having

the gift that

you think you

have or the

one that you

want to have.

You can still

look at them,

they're still

helpful for you

to think through

them.

But you know

the best way

to discern what

your spiritual

gift is?

Go serve.

Go serve

others.

Be obedient to

the opportunities

that God gives

you to love

one another.

Don't wonder

if I don't

think I can

do that, I

don't have the

ability to do

it.

Try it anyways.

Often, the

Spirit of God

seems to work

through people

who don't think

that they can

do it.

Like Moses, I'm

not very eloquent.

Well, I'm going

to send you to

be my spokesman

to the people

of Egypt.

That's often

what God

does.

So go serve.

Go find a

place.

Get over

yourself.

If you feel

like you have

to perform

perfectly or be

completely competent

something before

you try it.

Because when

you do that,

you don't leave

room for the

Spirit to

actually enable

you and to

see God

work.

Recognize that

as you keep

serving, and

as you keep

asking your

brothers and

sisters, where

do you see

God using me?

That's the

best way that

you will know

how you are

gifted.

If you're

wondering that,

ask the people

who know you

best.

Ask your

small group.

Ask your

roommates.

Ask your

husband or

wife.

Come talk to

the elders.

We probably

have less

view than

many others,

but we'll

try.

We'll try to

help you think

through it, if

that would be

helpful.

Trust and

believe that

God will

use you, and

that he has

gifted you, and

then go serve.

Secondly, what

about our

attitudes and

spiritual gifts?

Paul's rebuking

the Corinthians

for what we

see in chapter

four, verse

seven.

He says, what

do you have

that you did

not receive, and

if you then

received it, why

do you boast as

if you did not

receive it?

So easily, we

think of spiritual

gifts as something

that becomes a

badge of honor

for us.

And instead,

what we want to

do is to see

them as gracious

gifts from God.

One of the ways

that this plays

itself out, and

this is one of

the fun things, and

one of the

challenging things

about the

co-pastorate model

that we live in

here, is that we

have three of us

who are differently

gifted, and there

are times when we

don't always see

eye to eye, and

there are times

when we think,

what in the world

are you thinking?

And there are

times when we

have to work, and

it is in those

moments when, by

God's grace, I

respond well, that

I am able to

say, what is the

gift that that

person is bringing

to this conversation

right now?

It's actually been

really helpful for

me, because in

that conflict, instead

of saying, I just

want to be right, and

I just want to win, I

start thinking, how

is it that this

person is contributing

something different to

the conversation?

conversation, and how

can I value that?

Oh, we still

disagree, but we

get along, because

of that, I think.

That kind of

humility, trying to

figure out how to

honor one another, is

seeing that the

people who maybe

most rub you the

wrong way around

here are the

people who have the

very gift that you

need exercised in

your life by

someone else.

Third thing, we've

talked about this a

little bit, how does

the, how does

spiritual gifting fit

into our greater

calling of the Great

Commission to go and

make disciples of all

nations?

What does it look

like?

Let me, let me run it

through this grid for

you.

If the Great Commission

is about two things,

evangelism, that is

sharing the good news

of what God has done

with people outside the

church, and

discipleship, developing

people in Christ

likeness and growth

and maturity inside

the church, recognize

this, if you have the

gift of service, your

evangelism, your

outreach to others is

going to look different

than someone who has

the gift of teaching.

But you both can do

it.

You both can reach out

to your neighbor in

love.

One might start a Bible

study, one might mow

their neighbor's lawn,

but the end goal is

still to say, do you

know what God has done

for you in Jesus?

Doing this is not, I

know there's a gift of

evangelism, and those are

wonderful people, we love

to see them, and it's

someone who God

specially uses people to

explain and to make

Christ known to other

people.

We praise God for them,

but that doesn't let the

rest of us off the hook.

But we need to make sure

we don't think, well it

has to look like that for

me to be doing it.

We need to say, how is it

that in the gifting that I

have, in the way that God

has made me, that I can

share this precious

message with others?

And similarly, with

discipleship.

What is it going to look

like if you have the gift

of administration, and

you're discipling someone?

How different is that

going to be from someone

who has the gift of

mercy?

Well, probably wildly

different, right?

But both of them are

going to have great

input into the lives of

their fellow brothers and

sisters.

So recognize that

spiritual gifts are then

run through, maybe this is

a way to say it, they are

the lenses through which

the fundamental and core

callings on our lives are

lived out as believers.

believers.

So for us to take hold of

that and to think about how

does that work?

Well, because it's

graduation weekend, I want

to recognize some of you are

moving on.

What I want you to hear is

this.

Know that the Spirit has

gifted you, and as you go,

go find the place that God

wants to use you and the

gifts that He has given you

for the building up of His

kingdom and for the

building up of His church.

Wherever you go, find a

church and serve in it.

Bless them by your

gifting.

Recognize that you need

them.

Recognize that in the

diversity of gifts and in

the diversity of the church

world, and recognize even

that, like, I think

denominations sometimes are

gathered around certain

spiritual gifts.

You may go to a church that's

going to feel really

different than Trinity, but

that feel may or may not be

an important thing.

You may go to a church where

you're going to learn all

sorts of very different

things, but if they uphold

the Word of God, if they

preach the true gospel of

Jesus Christ and Him

crucified, if they recognize

their call to be a part of

the Great Commission, think

about how you can invest and

learn in a church that may be

very different from this.

And see how you can bless it

and bring what you may have

learned here to that church

as well.

For all of us, the message is

actually similar.

For those of us who aren't

going along, for those of us

who are staying here, know

that God has gifted you to

bless this church, Trinity

Baptist Church, to bless this

city, New Haven.

And take up this call.

Take up this call to not be

the rock band who competes, but

let us be instead the symphony

where the woodwinds and the

brass and the strings and the

percussion all take their role.

And as the great conductor

plays the music of the gospel

among us, may there be this

great display of the diversity

of our instruments and the

unity of our music for the

glory of God.

Let us do that.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your

spirits and we pray that we

would today, Lord, be both

humbled and encouraged.

Humble, Lord, because these

giftings come from you and our

lives are meant to be about you.

And by extension about others, that

we would worship you and love

others for your namesake in our

gifting.

Lord, encourage us that you want

to use us in those ways.

And Lord, we pray that in the

diversity and unity of our body,

that we would display you for your

glory.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.