"Our Gifts for God's Glory" by Neal Pollard

Good morning.

On Sunday nights, we are sometimes varying our format of

what we do. We recently had a Bible class format

for a month as we went through the book of Philippians in what we often

call Into the Word, and we sometimes vary who it is that is

leading us in worship. We're grateful to have so much talent among our high school

and also our young adult men. And so

there are different ways in which we approach the Sunday evening setting.

And one thing that we have started to do in the last

couple of years on a consistent basis is we have a question and answer

session. I want to encourage you— I don't know if it is your regular

custom to be with us on Sunday night— to, to come and to be a

part of that. There— it is significant to me that over

20 questions were asked, and of such a varying nature,

not just things that we anticipate and that we have heard before,

but new things. You ever had any concerns or questions about the Shroud

of Turin? How do you tell the difference between what's cultural and

what's commandments? What is Ezekiel talking about with that temple at

the end of the book of Ezekiel? And there are several others. And so,

our task tonight is to look at 10 questions that I believe

that will not only be piquing your curiosity, but will hit where we live in

our lives every day. The format, Hiram and I, and tonight Chris Young

will be our moderator, will sit before you and

do our very best to answer those questions. So we would encourage you to be

with us tonight because it's very meaningful when we look

out and we see you there and we see your interest.

Craig Groeschel wrote a very interesting book called The Christian Atheist,

in which, in the writing of that book, he talks about a mindset, at least

among some who profess themselves to be Christians, in their turning

away from a regular commitment to church.

Maybe an occasional pop-in here and there, but as far as being committed

to church, they have turned away from that, and they give various reasons

why. Or at least there are various explanations.

One is there's no time. As we look at our

culture, it seems that Sunday is just another workday. Most restaurants

and most businesses are open on Sunday, and our kids'

sporting and other activities are in full swing on Sunday.

And for many, Sunday is a regular workday.

And with regard to Sunday, some may say, well, it's the only day that I

have to stay home and to get my chores done or to get some rest.

And so some in the Christian Christian community say, well, there's just really no

time. But others would have just a little bit of

a different approach, and they would say, at least by practice, there's no desire.

When I think about church, they would say, I just think about the

folks that are just a bunch of hypocrites, or the

church is always asking for money,

or it's irrelevant to my daily life. And so,

really just have no desire. But there's another category

of individuals that would say there's just no pleasing,

at least by action. They would say, these super spiritual people,

that no church with its mere mortals could live up to the standards

that they have set. And so, as they analyze or evaluate the worship

in song or in music, they would say that it's not

Spirit-led enough, or it's too loud, or it's too soft.

Or it's too whatever, or the sermons are too shallow,

or they're too intellectual, or the church's

missions program is too peripheral, it's too secondary, or it's

all that the church talks about, or the church spent too much on the building,

or it didn't spend enough. And the church with mere mortals

can never possibly live up to the standards and expectations

that these have set. And so, the thought, the idea

is that individuals who take such an approach no

longer find value in a regular commitment

to church, time and money and efforts.

That being the case, and such an approach or a mindset

being taken, it's out of this that there is a

mindset that's a consumer mindset.

The idea is the church doesn't meet my needs, or the

church does not help me. But such an approach fails

to understand the purpose and the meaning of the church.

The church does not exist for us. We are the church,

and we exist for the world. And the Bible teaches

that in the New Testament in so many different areas.

But I want you to think about the text that we're looking at today in

Romans chapter 12 and how that's the case. In Romans

Romans 12 · chapter mention Romans 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12, you have a turning point in the book, whereas in chapters

1 through 11, Paul is developing the great truth

of the Bible that we are saved by our faith in the gospel of Jesus

Christ. No matter who we are, we can come into Christ, we can have our

sins forgiven because the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient.

It is enough to take care of our sin problem. But out

of that conversion, out of that being one to Christ, being saved by

our faith response to him, that we are going to have a living faith,

not a faith that is dead, James 2:17. So it is a faith that

James 2:17

works. There's something new about our approach. We're no

longer doing things the way that we used to. I understand

that in Rome, Italy, there was once a tradition started,

I believe it's still practiced in some parts of Italy today, that as

New Year's Day was approaching, that people would undertake the

dangerous custom of taking items in their home.

It might be televisions, it might be radios, it might be crockery

and dishes, and they would throw them out the window,

symbolizing in their mind that it's out with the old,

it's time for the new. Now, God doesn't expect that kind of

a graphic, tangible demonstration, but he says that when we come

into Christ, there is a new way of approaching things. We no

longer think the way we did before. We have a different mindset. We dispense

with old prejudices, old sins. We put it away.

Our minds. And that's what Paul is saying in Romans chapter

Romans 12 · chapter mention

12. He is saying that in Christ, there's a new attitude,

there are new actions, there's new thinking.

And out of this, we no longer see ourselves as

free moral— free agents who are serving ourselves and

living for ourselves, but we see ourselves as part of

a greater whole, that we more specifically as

Christians see ourselves as active parts in God's

spiritual body, the church. You know, just grasping

this concept will dispense with the idea of

Jesus, yes, but the church, no; that

there is no attitude or concept that says, I love

Jesus, but I just don't care that much for the church,

or, I'm in love with the head, but I'm not in love with

the body. And so, Paul, in what he says subsequent to verses

1 through 3, helps us to see that each of us,

as we have been gifted, that God wants us to use that

gifts— those gifts for ourselves, yes, but for others,

for the church, for the good of those who need to be a part of

the body of Christ. And as part of this, he shares with us 3

important thoughts from Romans chapter 12, especially verses 4

Romans 12 · chapter mention

through verse 21. The first thing that I want us to notice

is that the Apostle Paul will identify for us that there

are the gifts that we all have. He mentions

the existence of the gifts in verses 3 through verse 6.

And as we see these gifts, and he's going to walk through them, and we'll

talk about what they are in just a moment, it's to help us to see

that each and every one of us have gifts,

that you possess abilities, temperaments, strengths and

weaknesses, and opportunities that are unique to you that nobody else has.

And that being the case, there is no such thing as a useless

part in the body of Christ. I don't know if you know this or not,

but evolutionary scientists have referred to what they call vestigial

organs. They say that in our bodies today that

there are body parts or there are organs or there are systems

that seem to make no sense for us. Maybe you think

of the wisdom tooth. If you've ever had your wisdom teeth extracted, maybe you would

agree with this. What good do they seem to be serving in my body?

Or maybe it's body hair. Or it could be the appendix.

Evolutionary scientists say that maybe our less evolved ancestors

needed these and we don't need them today. What's interesting

to me is if you go back into the 19th century, evolutionary scientists

said that there were 186 vestigial organs in

the body. There's not a serious scientist that would say that today.

We just didn't know exactly what they were useful for at the time,

but as our developments have advanced, we understand that there is

a use for them. But let's say that you could identify

that there's a part or two that we still don't know what use that it

serves in the body physically. There are no vestigial

organs in the body of Christ. There's nobody who

can say that there's no need for the thing that I have.

So the Apostle Paul would tell us that our gifts that we have are unique.

God gives us talents and abilities

He's the one who is the source of faith in verse 3, and out of

that great faith, when we have faith in God working in our lives,

then we're going to be eager to use those gifts that he has given to

us in the cause of his Son. There are things that

you can do that no one else can do, and so Paul

makes that point here, but he also indicates to us that

our gifts are uniting. In verse 5, we see

that not every— that we're all individual parts of the body. And those

bodies are so important to one another. Think about the unique

part of that for a moment. In the body, the eye is not

going to be doing the work of the foot. When's the last time you ever

heard with your mouth? And so each individual part plays

its part. And so Paul says the same thing in Galatians 6:10, as you

Galatians 6:10

have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men,

especially unto those who are of the household of the faith. And that household

that the Apostle Paul is talking about is the church. Maybe we don't

feel like we need the church, but the church needs us.

It needs us to be using our gifts for its good.

Then those gifts are uniting. As we use those gifts together,

we are accomplishing the will of God together. I want

you to think about how that's the case. The largest single organism

on earth is a giant aspen grove known

as the Trembling Giant. The Trembling Giant is in

the Fishlake National Forest in Utah.

And anybody who walks by that would suggest that this was

40,000 different trees, but it's— they are

united together. It's over 106 acres,

5,900 tons. There are 40,000

individual trunks, but they're all connected to the same root.

It's one thing. Each one of those individual trees is

distinct, but all are connected into that

same root. When we think about how the body of Christ

works, it's the same way. There is a sense in which we can speak of

the church as a single organism. The church

has mission work. The church has youth

activities. The church takes care of the needy.

The church has a work to do. But there's also

a sense in which the church is not doing that without the individual parts

of the body doing their part. Acts 4:32

Acts 4:32

says that the body of them that believe were altogether of one heart and

of one mind. But nobody can give for me.

Nobody can be hospitable for me.

Nobody can do the work of visiting the sick for me. And so

each of us, as we are gifted, use our gifts together in

order to accomplish the work for the Lord.

Somewhat like a symphony orchestra, when all the players come

together and as they assemble, maybe as they're warming up, they play their own

tunes and their own notes, but then the concertmaster comes

out and as he stands before them, he gets them each to play

the same chord. And as he listens, he says that there's some that are flat

and some that are sharp. And so each player has to make their adjustment.

But having done that, then the conductor comes out and

he conducts and they play beautiful music together.

Each of us in our own lives may need to be making some adjustments,

some changes, and God through his Word is orchestrating

that for us so that at his direction, we harmonize to do

his will. In Ephesians 4:12,

Ephesians 4:12

we see that the gifts that we have are for the purpose of building

up the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of the faith

and to the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man. That we're

not like children tossed here and there with every wind of doctrine, but we speak

the truth in love that we might grow up into Christ in all

respects. And each individual part in

the existence of the gifts that we have can help the church to flourish

and thrive and be what it's supposed to be. And so, the first thing we

see is the existence of these gifts, but then Paul moves on in

verses 6 through 8, and he talks about the exercise of these

gifts. Now you'll notice that he tells us that the

gifts that exist are meant to be put to work.

And he mentioned 7 categories of gifts. He says

that there's prophesying, that there's serving,

that there's teaching, that there's encouraging, that there's giving,

that there's leading, and that there's showing mercy.

And all of these are examples of ways that we are gifted

in the body of Christ, and we're to use these gifts.

And in the exercising of these gifts, these are things that

can be done today. I know we don't have miraculous prophecy today, but if

prophecy is the explaining and the interpreting of

the will of God, and we think about serving, it's those who roll up their

sleeves and they get out there and they do the work for God. And we

think about teaching as sharing the Word of God, whether in a public setting or

in a private setting. Or if there are those who are encouraging,

who see the people who are maybe drooping or exhausted

in their walk and they reach out to them. There's those who give,

who have the gift of taking their resources and helping the folks

who are in need of that. Or if you think about those who

are natural leaders or even managers and helpers with others to

help develop them. And those who are natural at providing compassion

and comfort to those who are in need. Now, there is nothing that

says that we can't do well in more than one of these regards.

There's nothing that says that we can't conquer and excel in all of these particular

areas. But I suggest to you that there are individuals

that you might think of that you would say, these are folks who are gifted

in this regard, that when it comes to speaking the Word of God,

these are those that we would associate with that. Or those who are teachers of

the Word of God, that they really know how to unfold and to pour out

what the Word of God is saying. And God uses those in the body.

But equally so, there are those who you just have synonymous with service.

If there is a need that needs to get done, no matter how

busy they are and what else they've got going on, you know that they will

reach out. And not only do they do it, but they do it so well.

I once knew a family, a mother and father that

had 10 children. And that's one of the largest families that

I've ever seen. But as I thought about each and every one of those children,

their parents had taught them to serve. And so when you thought of them,

you thought of servants who were rolling up their sleeves and getting to work.

And there are those who are natural leaders, the folks who we want to get

behind and we want to follow because

they show these gifts. And it's that way with all of these gifts.

But here's what can happen in our lives. We begin to think about

the fact that we, or at least we think in our own minds that we're

not significant, that we don't really have a great talent and

God can't use us. I want you to think about

how God started the entire thing. When the church was

established, you think about who it was that Jesus called.

Jesus called uneducated fishermen. He called those who

were tax collectors who were shunned by the whole of society.

He called dangerous revolutionaries, but not one rabbi, not one priest,

not one scribe or Pharisee or Sadducee or one

of the religious establishment. Folks that were forgotten and

who were overlooked and who were broken, these are the ones that Jesus

wanted to make his friends and his followers. When you consider

the fact that the church is thriving and growing in the poorest

countries in the world, it helps us to understand that we

may not see ourselves as potential CEOs or geniuses or

real estate moguls, Or maybe we don't see ourselves as

potential superstars or supermodels,

but God will work and use us even

if we see ourselves as untalented and as simple.

God demonstrates that the power is in him.

But what excites me is that when you think about the Cumberland Trace Church

of Christ, this is a congregation that is filled with people who are

talented. And God not only wants us to have these talents,

but he wants us to leverage those to cause his church to

grow and to thrive and to meet the goals that he has for us.

You know, the Lord gives 3 broad works for the church.

He has us to win lost souls, to strengthen the saints,

and to meet financial needs. And God wants to work

through each and every one of us to do that. But then third, as we

look at our text, we see what's the heart. This is what Grant read to

us a moment ago. This is the effectiveness of the gifts

that God has given in the body of Christ. There's no denying

that as God has given to each a proportion of faith, that there

are gifts, nor is it something to be denied that

God has us to be using those gifts, not just to possess them

and not just to use them in our secular lives, but to use them spiritually.

But what happens when we preach and

we teach and we serve and we lead and we encourage and

we give, And we comfort those who are in need. I think

this is what Grant was reading to us a moment ago in verse 9 through

21, in the bulk of the chapter, that there are 8 objectives,

8 things that can get done when we use our

gifts for his good. First of all, it sharpens our moral

compass. In verse 9, Paul says, let love be

without hypocrisy. We are to eschew

what is evil. We are to cling to what is good. Think back to

Craig Groeschel's example in the beginning of our lesson this morning. There are people

who are turned off from church because they say that the church is full

of hypocrites. But God says that when we embrace the gifts

God has given to us and we use them in order to advance the cause

of His Son, then in our own lives, it makes us more

sensitive to the truth of God's Word. And we are very sensitive not to

want to be an inconsistency in the eyes of the world.

That the things that are good and right in God's eyes, we want to hold

closely to those and we want to hate those things that are evil.

And so Paul says, as you exercise the gifts, this is something that you

can do to help the cause of the Son, but it also

builds our relationships with one another. We are

to in honor prefer one another. We are to practice our brotherly

love for one another in a very intense way. When we

are united in trying to do the work that the Lord has given

to us here, it has this effect of bringing

us closer together. We are shoulder to shoulder in the work

of the Lord, but it also increases our dedication. There are

6 individual things that the Apostle Paul mentions here,

things like not being lagging in our diligent,

being fervent in spirit, being devoted to prayer,

There is— when we are exercising our gifts and we are active

and involved, and we're not just those that come and consume, but we

are trying to produce for the Lord, it creates an atmosphere,

an excitement. It's an attitude that says, the best

is yet to be. Things keep getting better and better. We're on fire.

We're passionate to do the will of the Lord. And so Paul says, in the

exercise of these gifts, here's how you're going to be running.

You're going to be giving your— a maximum output for

the Lord. And then it opens our hearts and our homes.

We're going to be concerned about one another. We're going to practice hospitality with

one another. We want to be together, and we long to encourage one another.

But then it thickens our skin. In verse 14, it helps

us to understand our role with regard to the culture and the world.

Even when there are those who are persecuting us and who are cursing us,

we're going to bless those who persecute us, that the world

can't cause us to stop our service.

It may be that someone has criticized something that we have attempted to do

for the Lord, and maybe our response to that has been, I'm just not

going to do anything anymore. But as we come to understand that

God wants to use each and every one of us, then we

don't get so sensitive. We rise above and we see the bigger picture,

but it also shows our empathy for one another.

Rejoice with those that rejoice and weep with those that weep.

There are other events in the life of a church than weddings and

funerals. There's other good news and there's other bad news.

But as we grow in our activity and our involvement,

driven by a new mind, a new thinking, a new attitude, a new outlook,

then it causes us to be aware of what's going on in the lives

of those around us. And it also unites our

church family. In verse 16, we aren't arrogant,

we associate with the lowly. We don't have too high of an estimation

of ourselves. When we put our focus on the church

as a whole, our desire is to try to help as many people

as possible and to bring into the fold, help and encourage

maybe those who aren't as connected to the body as we are. Maybe those who

don't seem to have as many friends and relationships in the church,

we're aware of them and we say, you're just as important in the body

of Christ as those who are more visible and maybe those who have more

refined roles of leadership. And it

also overcomes our enemies. Verse 17 through

verse 21. Here the Apostle Paul says we're never to take revenge.

We're never to be overcome by evil, but we leave

that with the Lord. The world is not expecting this, and maybe others

aren't, that we, as we understand our purpose

and the reason that we're here, we don't let the bad that others do

overcome. We leave that in God's hands, and we know that he'll take care of

it in the end. Now, when I mention all

of these— these works that we can do,

our shepherds, our leaders, want us to be leveraging all of

our preachers and our teachers and our encouragers and our

servers and our leaders and our givers to be accomplishing

the work that God has given us here. About 5 years ago,

the elders rolled out the church's

vision, and out of that established 7

vision groups. If you want to know what those vision groups are today,

by the way, there's 17 of those. These are

ways that the elders say that they want to put to work our preachers and

our teachers and all the other groups that Paul mentions in verse 3 through verse

8. We want this to be the priorities. And these are

ways in which you can be involved in the work of the church. Maybe you

have an interest in media and technology, or maybe your talents are

in the area of working with young adults or with our college

students. Or maybe you have a great passion for missions, or it

could be that you wanna strengthen the church family, and there are about 12 others.

These are ways and areas in which you can pour out what God

has given to you. There are those who lead these that are

identified for us in these books that you can reach out

to and say, I'd like to know more about how I can be involved,

because there are no vestigial organs in the body

of Christ. God has each and every one of us in the

body of Christ to use the gifts that he has given to us so that

the church can grow and to be what God wants it to be.

This is a church that is growing. It's exciting. I don't know if you ever

look at the church attendance figures as they exist, and it's

a wonderful thing to see. And what that represents are

some people who are so involved, there's really nowhere else for them

to add anything to their schedule. There are some who are actively

doing what they can to help the body of Christ to grow.

But God wants us, all of us, to find a way

in which we can be a part of the body of Christ here.

If you're someone who has placed membership, you're somebody who

has been attending here and maybe identified with

and working under the oversight of the elders here, and you've

not yet found that place in which you can work,

we want to encourage you to see how you can be a part of

the work here. In Romans chapter 12, there are 10 imperatives.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

An imperative is not just information to know, it's a call for action.

And what's interesting about the imperatives here, that 8 of

them are set up as, do not do this, but do

this. In other words, don't live this way, but Live this

way instead. For example, in verse 2,

do not be conformed to this world, but be

transformed by the renewing of your mind. And then, don't curse,

but bless those who persecute you, verse 14.

Do not be arrogant, but associate

with the lowly, verse 16. Do not be overcome with evil,

but overcome evil with good, verse 21. And all of

these are saying there's a way to live and a way not to live.

And Paul's general approach in Romans chapter 12 is the way

Romans 12 · chapter mention

you live as a Christian is as an active member

who is doing the— your part to help the cause of Christ

to go forward. There is a condition

out there known as BDD, body dysmorphic

disorder. It is a psychological issue where

someone is obsessed with a part of their body. It's a negative obsession.

It's an obsession that they will spend much of their day engrossed

in. There is a particular part of their body and they think negative thoughts

about it. And out of that negative thinking,

there is depression and anxiety and shame and

other negative emotions. The thought is it's not

natural for us to look at our body and to have such a

negative thought about, about that, at least not to

obsess to that degree. But what we're talking about today

is the body of Christ. The church is the body of Christ.

We love our head and the church is his idea.

It's his design. And he wants us not

to think negatively, but positively.

And that begins by understanding that within the body of Christ,

there are gifts that God wants us to use. And when we do,

there's no stopping the good that God wants to do in this

community? Will you think about what he's done already

and think about what more he wants to do? But the question this

morning is, are you a part of the body of Christ?

He has shown us, 1 Corinthians 12:13, that we're baptized into

1 Corinthians 12:13

that one body, but that's preceded by understanding that Jesus is to

be Lord in Christ, Acts 2:36. And out of that conviction, that faith,

Acts 2:36

we repent of sins and are baptized to have them washed away, Acts 2:38.

Acts 2:38

Perhaps you desire to do that today. Or maybe you're a child of

God who needs to be restored to fellowship, or perhaps you need the

help and encouragement of your church family. If that's where you find yourself today

and you need us to pray with you and for you, if you need to

respond, won't you come right now as we stand and sing?