4th Jan 2026 - Brendan Hurley

It's great to be with you, with my reign of terror

officially beginning. Now it's a joy to be here

and it is such a delight to be opening God's

Word with you, especially 1 Corinthians 12 to

14. It's a great little passage and I can't wait

to do it over the next month with you. Let's

pray, let's ask God for help as we look at his

Word now. Heavenly Father, we thank you that

you speak to us in your Word. And we ask, Father,

that your Word would change us and transform

us. And we pray, Father, that your Spirit would

be at work in our church. And we ask this in

Jesus' Name. Amen. Well, I love to paint, but

I'm not very good at it. It's a bit of fun for

me. And for me, there's nothing like a blank

canvas. It's so full of potential. It becomes

super meaningful. I've got one here and here's

my exercise for you. Barb, do you want to come

and hold this up for everyone? Just to give them

the visual. Okay. I want you to paint a spiritual

church on there. Now get out your paint brushes,

paint a spiritual church. What would it look

like if you were to paint a picture of a spiritual

church? Thanks, Barb. That was great. What would

it look like to paint a spiritual church on a

canvas? Now, I don't think that'd be an easy

task, would it? Because, you know, we're talking

about doing something kind of abstract. You know,

how do you put a spiritual thing and like, what

is that? But also, I think it'd be hard because

there's so much confusion today about what spirituality

actually is. To be a spiritual church, what does

that mean? Do you need to have mystical experiences?

healings, tongues, new revelations. You know

if you're at a church like ours it's easy to

feel like maybe we're not very spiritual and

we're very cerebral but are we spiritual? Is

that what a spiritual church looks like? Well

in this section of 1 Corinthians Paul paints

the picture of what a spiritual church actually

is. And it's nothing like what most people expect.

He subverts our expectations in verse one. And

that's really easy to miss. Hang on. Where'd

we go? Let's try it. Okay, I'll leave it to our

trusty technicians up the back. But if you have

a look at verse one, here's what it says. Most

translations say... Now, about the gifts of the

Spirit brothers and sisters, I do not want you

to be uninformed. But here's the thing, that

word gifts is not there in the original. What

it actually says is this. Awesome, thanks mate.

There we go. So now about the gifts of the Spirit

brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be

uninformed. Gifts is not there in the original.

What it says is this, literally. Let's try. Oh,

it's up. Okay. It just doesn't come up here.

There we go. All right. It says, now about the

spirituals, brothers and sisters, I do not want

you to be uninformed. So it's literally talking

about spiritual things or persons. It could be

gifts, but I think it's more likely it's spiritual

things or persons. And Paul is trying to challenge

the Corinthians and us by saying, mystical spirituality,

miracles, gifts, prophecies, tongues, whilst

there's that amazing stuff that exists, that's

far less important than what true spirituality

is. True spirituality is often found in the normal,

ordinary, everyday Christian living stuff. And

that's what we're going to see for the next three

weeks, that things like belonging, love and growth,

that's what's truly spiritual. Here's the big

thing we're going to see today though. Let's

try it again. Got to love technology when it

works. I'll leave it to you, Peter. It just doesn't

like me today. All right. Belonging to the body

of Christ is essential to being spiritual. If

there's one thing you remember from today, I

hope that's it. Belonging to the body of Christ

is essential to being spiritual. And that belonging

involves three things. Here are the three things

that we're going to see. Spiritual people submit

to the Lord Jesus, spiritual people serve in

a variety of ways, and spiritual people see that

they need each other. Three things. Spiritual

people submit to the Lord Jesus, serve in a variety

of ways, and see that they need each other. So

let's start with the first one. Spiritual people

submit to the Lord Jesus. If you've got your

Bible there, please keep it open and have a look

with me at verses one to three. It says, now

about the gifts of the Spirit, or as we said,

now about the spirituals, brothers and sisters,

I do not want you to be uninformed. You know

that when you were Pagans, somehow or other,

you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.

Therefore, I want you to know that no one who

is speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus be

cursed, And no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except

by the Holy Spirit. Now, did you notice something

repeated there? He talks about, I don't want

you to be uninformed. You used to be led astray.

I want you to know. He's saying there that spirituality

is actually about truth, isn't it? Spirituality

is about truth. It's about combating lies and

idolatry. Now the Corinthians, they were a diverse

bunch. They were a port city, and so they had

people coming here, there, and everywhere. It

was a melting pot of different things, different

viewpoints, religions, and many different idols.

But Paul here says that they've got one thing

in common, that when they were pagans, when they

didn't follow the Lord Jesus, they were led astray,

however it might have been. And that would have

been a tricky thing for them to shed their old

worldview. They've become Christians, they've

adopted this new worldview, but they're still

carrying a lot of baggage because their last

worldview was spirituality was all about being

visibly impressive. You know, you go and, oh,

there's a big temple, look at that temple. And

they've got a big statue and lots of priests

and gee, they've got a big following. That should

be the one I worship at. They had a lot of baggage

distorting their perception on what spirituality

was about. But hear Paul saying, spirituality

boils down fundamentally to one thing. What's

the foundation of all spirituality? It's following

Jesus Christ as Lord. Do you see verse three?

I want you to know that no one who is speaking

by the Spirit of God says Jesus be cursed. And

no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy

Spirit. The spirit's work is to glorify and honour

Jesus. So when people say Jesus is Lord, when

they honour Jesus and mean it, that's the spirit

at work, isn't it? And this is saying all Christians

are spiritual. If you're a Christian, you're

spiritual. But if... You're not a Christian.

It doesn't matter whether you can do the most

amazing miracles or speak in tongues or whatever

it might be. It doesn't matter how impressive

you are. If you're not honoring Jesus, the spirit's

not at work in you. A friend of mine back in

Perth organized his overseas honeymoon with his

wife. She did a lot of the wedding. He did the

honeymoon stuff. and he packed the bags, he bought

the tickets, he booked the hotels, and on the

day that they were leaving, they discovered he

forgot to sort out the passports properly. Well,

you could imagine they ran around like headless

chooks. I think they got there in the end a few

days later, but I can't remember. But it was

a disaster. There's no trip without the passports,

is there? Well, in the same way, with spirituality,

there's no spirituality without the lordship

of Jesus. If we're not honouring Jesus as Lord,

if we don't love his word, if we won't submit

to it, if we don't make much of him, it doesn't

matter how impressive or amazing it looks, what

we're doing is likely idolatrous, not spiritual.

And this lesson is so important for us today.

Because modern spirituality is all about experience

and throwing off authority, isn't it? But true

spirituality is about submission to Jesus. It's

about enjoying the ordinary Christian life. Think

of those times where you resist temptation. You

know what it is for you. It doesn't seem that

amazing, does it? It doesn't seem that spectacular.

But that's actually spiritual. You crack open

your Bible in the morning and you pray and you're

wiping the sleep out of your eyes and the coffee

doesn't seem to be working. But you're there

and you're doing it. It feels pretty bland. That's

the spirit at work, isn't it? Throughout the

day as you face decisions and you ask, what pleases

Jesus? What do I do here to please my Lord? Or

you speak of Jesus, of how he's beautiful and

glorious, whether it's at home or in your growth

group or to non -Christians. Those things, they

just seem so ordinary, but they're spiritual,

aren't they? Real freedom. Real joy is submission

to the Lord who loved you and died for your sins.

That is what true spirituality is. I think the

challenge for us is to often reframe that ordinary

stuff and see it as spectacular and spiritual,

isn't it? When we're resisting temptation, when

we're getting into the Bible, when we're telling

of how great Jesus is, do we see that as spiritual

or do we just think of that as ordinary? That

is amazing stuff. That is the spirit at work

when people love and honour Jesus. So submitting

to our loving Lord, the Lord Jesus, even though

it can often feel bland, that's the foundation

of spirituality. But if we submit to him, then

one of the ways we will is we follow his command

to serve. And that's the second thing we see

today. Spiritual people serve in a variety of

ways. Spiritual people serve in a variety of

ways. Come with me now to verse four. There are

different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit

distributes them. There are different kinds of

service, but the same Lord. There are different

kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone,

it is the same God at work. It's the Trinity

at work. At one level, maybe they're not just

spiritual gifts, are they? They're Trinitarian

gifts, because the Trinity is giving gifts and

service and working all at once. The Trinity

is a team at work to help us. Now to each one

the manifestation of the Spirit is given for

the common good and he lists a bunch of these

different gifts and then in verse 11 he says

all these are the work of the one and the same

Spirit and he distributes them to each one just

as he determines. So he's saying whilst fundamentally

spirituality is about belonging to the body of

Christ, to having Jesus as your Lord, the gifts

of the Spirit The gifts that God gives us are

a part of spirituality, provided they're used

for the common good. See, the Spirit distributes

a variety of gifts to benefit the body of Christ.

It's no good if the gifts are used to prop up

my ego. It's no good if they just sit there and

aren't used at all. They're there for service

and work. Did you see in verses four to six,

they're kind of paralleled, aren't they? Gifts,

service, work with each member of the Trinity.

And that way, when we use our gifts like that,

we actually reflect the Trinity. The Trinity

is a unified diversity of selfless love. And

when we're using our gifts to serve one another,

Christ's body is just like the Trinity. See,

being spiritual is using the gifts God gave us

to serve the body of Christ. It's a bit like

that deeply spiritual children's TV show. Do

you know the one? Thomas the Tank Engine. You

think I'm joking, I'm not. Do you know it was

made by an Anglican minister, Reverend Wilbert

Audrey, for his sick son, Christopher? And the

theme song reflects the idea of serving with

varied gifts, just like in the body of Christ.

I won't sing it, I'll just say it for you to

spare your ears, because singing ain't necessarily

my gift. They're two, they're four, they're six,

they're eight, shunting trucks and hauling freight,

red and green and brown and blue. They're the

really useful crew. all with different roles

to play, round Tidmouth sheds or far away, down

the hills and round the bends, Thomas and his

friends. They're the really useful crew all with

different roles to play. It's a team. It's a

team using their gifts to build one another up,

to support each other in the work that they're

doing. The whole is greater than the sum of its

path. hearts. And that's the same as Christ's

body. Now that's so different to contemporary

spirituality that we see in a lot of churches

today, isn't it? Because so much of spirituality

we see today is consumeristic. It's all about

me. It's all about low cost convenience for a

congregation. You know, if we just set up a system

where we pay the pastors and the staff to do

all the work and we can sit back and we just

come and consume. That'd be great, wouldn't it?

But that's not actually spiritual. That's very

worldly. One thing I love about Northern Hope

is how many people serve here. Because they know

that the Lord Jesus served them. and love them.

And so they serve here with just a big heart

and a willingness to do whatever's needed. And

they all come with a variety of gifts. I mean,

think about the different gifts that it took

to just put on today's service. Yes, someone

preaches, but there's musicians, there's people

who set up the chairs, there's people who do

the sound and the slides, there's people who

lead the service, people who pray, read the Bible,

who do the morning tea. set out the sign. There's

a whole bunch of things, isn't there? Print the

bulletins. A whole bunch of things that come

together. And that's just for Sunday. That's

not even throughout the week. There's a variety

of gifts in this church that come together in

sweet harmony. I hope we never lose that. I hope

we keep building on that. And one way we can

is if you're here and you're not using your gifts

to serve here at Northern Hope, can I encourage

you, come have a chat with me or fill in one

of our contact cards up the back and offer your

gifts in service of the body of Christ here.

Yet while service is important, it can even then

get twisted into something worldly. And so that

needs to be balanced by seeing our need of each

other. And that's the last thing we see in this

passage. Spiritual people see that they need

each other. Spiritual people see they need each

other. Look with me at verses 12 to 26. Just

as a body though one has many parts, but all

its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.

For we are all baptised or immersed by one spirit,

so as to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles,

slave or free, and we're all given the one spirit

to drink. So it's a diverse group, isn't it?

It's people from all sorts of different places

and statuses and stages in life. But even so,

the body is not made up of one part, but of many.

Now, if the foot should say, because I'm not

a hand, I do not belong to the body, It would

not for that reason stop being part of the body.

And if the ear should say, because I'm not an

eye, I do not belong to the body, it would not

for that reason being part of the body. If the

whole body were an eye, can you visualise that?

See the joke? Can you visualise that? If the

whole body were an eye... A few people just got

up there. Where would the sense of sight be?

And if the whole body were an eye, where would

the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were

an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But

in fact, God has placed the parts in the body,

every one of them, just as he wanted them to

be. If they're all one part, where would the

body be? As it is, there are many parts, but

one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't

need you, and the head cannot say to the feet,

I don't need you. On the contrary, those parts

of the body that seem to be weaker, are indispensable.

Now what's Paul dealing with here? He's dealing

with the inferiority and superiority complexes

of the Corinthian church. The same ones that

can often plague churches today. People are there

and they think, well, I'm an ear. I've got one

type of gift, whatever it might be, or a few

types of gifts. Do I really belong? I'm an ear.

And someone else there thinking, well, I'm an

I, I definitely belong. I'm way more spiritual

than those years over there. Could you even call

them part of the body? But Paul's here saying

to God's people, you shouldn't feel inferior.

No matter what your gift is, you shouldn't feel

inferior. Nor should any part feel superior.

Because you're part of a body. You need each

other. We all have something to offer, no matter

what our gifts are. And so there must be division.

There must be no division. There must be no despising.

But equal concern, appreciation and harmony.

Think of your favourite band. What makes it work?

It's that they all belong. All the members of

the band have a part to play. They all need each

other. Think of the Beatles. They can't all be

John. They can't all be Ringo. If everyone played

the drums, that would be terrible, wouldn't it?

If everyone played bass, that would be no good.

But when every part is included in its beautiful

diversity and celebrated, it makes something

amazing. And it's the same with the body of Christ.

We all need each other. Even the parts that seem

weaker, as Paul says here, they're indispensable.

Years ago, I used to pass through a uni church

over in Perth. So we had a bunch of uni students.

We were all very young, we were all very immature,

but it was a lot of fun. And we met on a uni

campus. And there was a guy who came along to

our church. He was a lovely Christian guy, but

he had some intellectual disabilities. He needed

lifts to and from church. He could be really

awkward around new people. He didn't really serve

much. You know, he did what he could, but he

didn't serve much. I tell you what, he was an

absolute gift to our church because his presence

taught us to be more Christ -like, taught us

to be more spiritual, to go, this guy needs us,

let's love him, let's serve him, let's get around

him. See, everyone has a part to play. Everyone

contributes to the body, even if what you're

contributing is your need. Actually, we all have

needs, don't we? We all contribute that. It's

not just gifts. We all need each other. Whereas

we live in a world that places value on impressive

contributions, of not needing anything and just

being a great contributor. You know, if you're

in a workplace and you're a great contributor,

you bring in the big bucks and the big customers,

you're considered more valuable than other people,

aren't you? Oh, you're the one who brings in

the big whales. Okay, we're going to pay you

more money, you get the corner office, you get

the company car. Like, they're considered more

valuable. And it's easy to have that same mindset

in churches, isn't it? You know, the people up

front, maybe, or people doing a particular ministry,

oh, they're more valuable, like... But that's

just an ear. That's just the eye. That's just...

The Gospel subverts that kind of thinking, doesn't

it? My value, your value, is in that Christ died

for us. We're included in his body by grace.

My contributions don't give me my worth. They're

a thankful expression of my worship to Him. And

I don't have every gift. You don't have every

gift. We all have weaknesses to remind us that

we're part of a body and we need each other.

Because spirituality It isn't about your contributions.

It isn't about this individualistic lone wolf

enterprise. It's a communal thing where we see

that we depend on one another. That's God's design

for our good. That's why it's so crucial that

we be regular at church. Hey, if you're sick

or you're on holiday, cool, you know, have a

great time. I hope you get better if you're sick

too. But that's why it's important to be regular

at church. Because if you're not here, we lose

you being around, which is such a shame. It can

feel like we've lost an arm. But also, you need

us. You need the encouragement, the gifts, the

love, the care that comes from meeting with the

body of Christ. So please keep turning up. Keep

being regular. Be as regular as all bran. So

let's draw some threads together. We started

by asking what is true spirituality? And what

would it look like to paint a picture of what

it is? And we saw it's about this one key thing.

Belonging to the body of Christ is essential

for being spiritual. Belonging to the body of

Christ is essential for being spiritual. And

there were three aspects to that belonging. Submit

to the Lord Jesus, serve in a variety of ways,

see that you need one another. So what's this

mean for us? Well, if you're here today and you're

someone who hasn't yet submitted to the Lord

Jesus, I'm so glad you're here. Can I encourage

you to give Jesus a fair go? See if he is the

most amazing, wonderful Lord and King that there

is. Read Mark's Gospel. I'm happy to do it with

you if you want to, or we'll find someone who'd

like to do it if you don't like the cut of my

jib. But read Mark's Gospel. And that may sound

ordinary. It's just a book. But reading God's

Word is the most spiritual and supernatural thing

you can do. I'm proof of that. It's when I came

to grips with the Bible for myself, that's when

my life changed radically and completely. Can

I encourage you, read Mark's Gospel. Check out

whether Jesus is as amazing as I'm claiming today.

But if you're here and Jesus is your Lord, I

hope today you've gotten a richer grasp of what

spirituality is. It's all about being connected

to the most spiritual man who ever lived, the

God man, the Lord Jesus, the one who died for

our sins and rose again, the one who John 3 .34

says gives the spirit without measure. A spiritual

church is all about being connected to him and

to each other, because we're the body of Christ.

So what's that look like in practice? Well, I

think a big part of it is all of us doing a fair

bit of hard work, isn't it? You might be someone

who serves behind the scenes. and you feel inferior.

You feel like your gift doesn't really do much.

Why bother? What's the point? For you, it's doing

that hard work of seeing that Christ died for

you and gifted you with amazing gifts that help

the body. That you are precious because of Jesus

and that your contribution is helpful. Maybe

you're someone who gets really angry when you're

told that you can't do a ministry. I've seen

people in churches who are completely tone deaf

lead the singing, and we all wish someone would

tell them, maybe that's not your gift. But it

can lead to a lot of conflict, can't it? And

that's where we need to do that hard work. If

someone says, no, we don't want you doing that,

do you need to freak out or can you go inward

and work out why that means so much? Am I getting

too much of my validation and identity from my

serving or am I getting it from the way that

Jesus has served me? Or perhaps you're someone

who needs to do the hard work on doing less,

nurturing the gifts of others, giving them the

opportunity to stand up and serve. Maybe you're

burning yourself out. What's going on in your

heart if you serve like that? See, are we acting

spiritual or are we quite worldly? Is the spirit

at work here? Well, it is if we keep honouring

Jesus and connecting well with each other. See,

every week we are adding brush strokes. onto

what Northern Hope looks like. What will it look

like one year, five years, 10 years from now?

Will it look like a spiritual church? What impact

can you have on that? Let's pray. Heavenly Father,

we wanna thank you and praise you for the Lord

Jesus, for his love and his grace. Thank you

that it transforms our hearts. Thank you for

the way that he's graciously given each of us

gifts and needs that benefit the body of Christ.

Please help us to use those things. Help us to

allow ourselves to be served as well as to serve.

And we pray, Father, that you would be honoured

and your church would be built up. Help us to

be a spiritual church. And we ask this in Jesus'

name. Amen.