Gifts for Serving in God's Kingdom
Romans 12:1-8
By Rev. Dale Tedder
Do you ever struggle with what your role in the church should be-- or your role in life? Do you ever ask yourself- "What was I created for?" "What am I supposed to do with my life"? "What is God's will for my life?" I know I do.
Well, those are the very questions that Paul deals with in our text today.
Paul says those kinds of questions aren't determined by magic: where we ask God to light up the sky with neon lights giving us the answers to all of our questions. It's not done by I call "Scripture dipping either. That's where you open your Bible at random, close your eyes and put your finger on a verse, to find out what God's will is for your life.
You've probably heard about the guy who did that to find out what God wanted him to do with his life. So he opened his Bible at random and with closed eyes, put his finger on a verse. And it said, "Judas went and hung himself." Well he obviously didn't like that one, so he did it again. And this verse said, "What you do, do immediately." God just doesn't work that way.
Instead, Paul talks about responsibility-- our responsibility. Paul says that when we're searching for the will of God for our lives, the first thing we should do, is to make a sober judgment of our gifts and talents. Paul says, in verse 3,
"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."
Paul is saying that we are all to serve God according to the grace and talents that he has given each one of us. So, based on that, it's important for us, as Christians, to find out what our gifts are.
I would like to say parenthetically, that both Jesus and Paul make it clear that each Christian has been given a gift by God the Holy Spirit with which we are to serve Christ.
Now, Our problem is, we're so proud, so competitive, that we begin to puff up certain gifts, especially if those are the gifts that we possess. And what we end up doing is making a hierarchy of gifts.
We say, "Well, if you are really a superstar Christian, then you'll be a great and effective evangelist." Or, "If you are a great preacher or teacher, that's what makes the super-Christian. And the tendency is toward, something called "reductionism"- where we want to focus the attention and the limelight of importance on the gift that we possess. Not only that, it becomes even worse when we try to do that in a spiritual way. "If you're not into evangelism, your not,... well, your not really spiritual." "If you're not into a ministry of mercy to the poor, then there's something wrong with your spiritual life." "If your not excited by the study of theology, then I wonder if you really love God with your mind at all."
Doesn't that happen?
It's happened in my life. When Suzanne and I got married, I don't think Suzanne really knew what she was in for. I figured, I love to study theology 24 hours a day, so obviously, she as my wife will also want to study theology 24 hours a day. WRONG! I put us on this diligent and demanding study regiment that I just couldn't get enough of, and, she got more than she could have ever wanted. I couldn't understand why Suzanne didn't love studying theology as much as me.
That kind of thing happens in the Christian community all the time.
Don't you ever feel the tension between Christians? You know, where folks keep insisting, "This is the place to be. We're the ones who are REALLY advancing the Kingdom of God."
Well, we have to resist that. We have to resist that as much as we possibly can. Who is responsible for evangelism? Everyone is responsible! Does that mean that everyone is called to be an evangelist? Are all people called to be preachers, or teachers or ministers to the poor? NO! But the church as a whole has the responsibility.
The church as a whole has the commission to see to it that evangelism, preaching, teaching and ministry to the poor are done. The church as a whole has the responsibility to make sure that the necessary support, for those who have those gifts, are encouraged and enabled to get that work done. Those who have a gift of ministering to prison inmates carry on that particular task, but everyone has the responsibility to see to it that that ministry is accomplished-- That doesn't mean everyone does that kind of ministry. Not everyone preaches, but we all bear the responsibility to see that preaching is done.
I understand the New Testament to say this: That every Christian, (and I do mean EVERY Christian), is personally responsible to bear witness, to be a witness, for Jesus Christ. Do you remember the last question the disciples asked Jesus before he left?
"Will you now restore the Kingdom to Israel?" And what did Jesus say: He said, hey, that's none of your business. That's in the Father's hands. Here's what IS your business: You shall be my witnesses to all the earth.
What that means is that every Christian is responsible to bear witness, to visibly bear witness to something that, in the eyes of the world, is invisible. That right now, Jesus Christ reigns as the King of Kings. That he has been exalted to the right hand of God. The Kingdom of God has broken through and we are called to bear witness to that. (By the way, that wasn't a suggestion Jesus made. It wasn't something we have the option to do if we really want to). You are called, you are commissioned ,by Jesus, to bear witness to Him.
Now the term "witness" is really a generic term. A species of witness, for example is "evangelism." What bothers me, is that in Christian circles, those two words have become synonymous. They're not.
If I say to you: "Since you are a Floridian, you are therefore an American." That's not the same thing as saying that all Americans are Floridians. There are 49 other states you could be from. All evangelism IS witnessing, but not all witnessing is evangelism. Do you see the difference? Evangelism is a species of witnessing. We are all called to witness, and we are all called to make sure we support all the other tasks and ministries so that they too are accomplished.
But, Paul is clear to say that we should not think more highly of our own gift
than we should. In fact, Paul says later in this same chapter, "that in love we ought to prefer one another." The spirit of love and charity which should be in our heart means that rather than exalting our own situation, our own life, or our own gift, we should honor the gifts and talents of our brothers and sisters.
Paul moves on to talk about the harmony that should exist between the different gifts. He says in verses 6-8:
[6] We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. [7] If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; [8] if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Now there's something that we could easily miss here, but it's very important. And that's Paul's use of the word "Let." When we use the word "Let" in our culture, we think of being asked for permission to do something. "Will you let me do this?" "Will you let me go there." There's a sense that we are asking if we are "allowed" to do something.
But if we bring that understanding to the text, we will end up reading it like this: "If a person has the gift of teaching, for heaven's sake, allow them to teach." Or "If a person has the gift of encouragement, by all means allow them to encourage."
But that's not what Paul is saying. When Paul says, "Let the person who has the gift of teaching, teach," He's addressing that person who has the gift - The person with the gift of teaching. In the Greek, the form of the word "let" is in the imperative.
What does that mean? It means that what Paul is saying is this: "Teachers, if you have the gift of teaching, TEACH! Preachers, if you have the gift of preaching, PREACH! If you have the gift of serving, SERVE! That is to say, the gifts of God that are given to us come with responsibilities.
God's gifts come with the instruction, USE IT! When you receive a gift from God, rather than that becoming an occasion for boasting, it becomes a responsibility of stewardship. If you have a gift (and you all do) you better use that gift.
Now I realize that it's sometimes, if not most of the time, difficult to discern what gift or gifts you have. That's why I think Christians need the help of other Christians who will let them know what their gifts are. We are all so insecure and our confidence is so fragile. If I were to start comparing myself to other preachers, I'm quite sure I would end up asking myself, "What in the world am I doing preaching? I can't preach compared to that preacher. I obviously don't have the gift. The individual cannot be left to his or herself to discern whether he or she has a certain gift. Yes the individual has the responsibility, as Paul says in verse 3, to make a sober judgment, but we all need the feedback and the affirmation of the body of Christ to say, "yea, you do have the gift. Or no, I don't see your gift there, but I see it in this area. As nightmarish as the Board of Ordained Ministry can be, that's their task. To help people find out where their gifts for ministry seem to be.
God has called us to be a witness for his Kingdom, and he has given us the tools we need to do it. I personally fought God tooth and nail, until I finally figured out that He wasn't relying on Dale Tedder alone. How arrogant could I be. God was going to equip me to the work that He called me to do. And He's not going to rely on any of you to witness and serve him on your own. He's equipped each of you as well.
But you can be sure of this. You are responsible under God, to respond to, and obey your call. No one will be able to say in the end, I didn't have any gifts, or I wasn't called to serve God. All Christians are. And so, my brothers and sisters in Christ- at Orange Park United Methodist Church.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophesying, Then prophesy! If your gift is serving. Then serve! If your gift is teaching, then teach! If your gift is encouraging, then encourage! If your gift is contributing to the needs of others, then give generously; If your gift is leadership, then govern diligently; I your gift is showing mercy, Then do it cheerfully. Use your gifts, to the glory of God.