1/14/07 - Epiphany 2 - 1 Cor. 12:1-11

THE GIFTS HAVE BEEN GIVEN
- In abundance
- For the common good

What did you get for Christmas? I imagine, just like every year, you received some good gifts and some not-so-good gifts. Some gifts you need and others that are worthless. Some gifts you can use and others that are useless. In any case, the gifts have been given. And it was up to you to decide what was worth keeping and what had to be returned and exchanged.
But Christmas gifts are not the only gifts that have been given to you. Each and every one of you has been given spiritual gifts as well - in abundance and for the common good. And the best thing about these gifts is: you don’t have to return or exchange any of them! They are all good! They are all gifts you need! They are all gifts you can use! Because they have been given specifically to you by the Holy Spirit himself.
The Holy Spirit is able to give you gifts that you need and that you can use because he knows you so well. He knows you better than anyone else. He knows you better than you know yourself! Because he is intricately connected with your soul. He knows exactly how you have been created. He knows exactly how your mind works. He knows what you’re capable of. And he has given you unique spiritual gifts accordingly.
So what spiritual gifts have you been given? What gifts has the Holy Spirit given you which you can use to serve the Lord’s kingdom? Our text from 1 Corinthians says there is a variety of different gifts: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” You have been blessed differently than I have. I have been blessed differently than someone else. We all have our own unique set of spiritual gifts. So what are yours?
You may be blessed with the spiritual gift of knowledge. You may be able to remember a lot of facts about a lot of things. You can use that spiritual gift to humbly keep people informed, to help out on certain committees, to do a lot of different things. You may be blessed with the spiritual gift of wisdom. Wisdom is different than knowledge in that you may not know a whole lot of facts, but that which you do know you can skillfully apply it to your life and others. A wonderful gift to have! You may be blessed with the gift of faith. Now, that’s not saving faith that Paul mentions here - all of us have faith here, but a spiritual gift of faith is a rock solid faith. A faith that doesn’t waver no matter what happens, who dies, or how bad life gets. You can use that spiritual gift to be a shoulder for others to lean on, to be an inspiration to those by the way you talk and by the way you go about your life.
And there are many other spiritual gifts you could choose from. You could be blessed with the spiritual gift of kindness. Kindness is a spiritual gift. Maybe you are just a nice person. Use that! Many people don’t have kind people in their lives! Maybe you can step up and be nice to that person, be kind, be gentle. Maybe you have been blessed with the spiritual gift of a desire to help others. Maybe you simply like to help people. That you can use in a variety of different ways. Maybe you’ve been blessed with the spiritual gift of organizing, or encouraging others, or serving people, or the love of physical labor, or teaching young children, or writing get-well cards, or leadership, or time. If your schedule is such that you can make time for things you can use that in variety of different ways for the good of the Lord’s kingdom.
And these are just examples of spiritual gifts to get you thinking about all the possibilities. Because there are so many spiritual gifts that you have been given in abundance. You don’t have all of them. But you have many. And you may have some to a greater extent than others. So out of all of the spiritual gifts that you have been given in abundance, what are your top three?
Have you ever thought about that before? Have you ever sat down and seriously determined the top three spiritual gifts the Lord has given you? You may be aware of some spiritual gifts you have been given, you may use some of the spiritual gifts you have been given. But have you ever actually listed the three you think the Lord has blessed you with the most? That’s what the insert is for in your bulletin. If you could pull that our right now and look at it… there are three lines for you to right down your top three spiritual gifts. And remember: spiritual gifts can change. They change with maturity, with physical abilities, with location, with age. Some of the spiritual gifts you used to have may not be the top three spiritual gifts you have right now. And so that’s what I want us all to do. If you have a pencil or pen, write them down. If you don’t… mentally list them. Because this is important! How are you supposed to use your spiritual gifts for the good of the Lord’s kingdom if you’ve never determined what they are! And I will do the same thing. I have a sheet right up here with a pen, and I will also write down the top three gifts I believe the Lord has blessed me with the most. Spouses: you don’t have the same spiritual gifts. Kids, you too. What spiritual gifts has the Lord given you - and they’re different from your parents’.
I am now seriously going to pause for an entire minute. I want you to use this time to think, to consider, to write. Are you ready? One minute, starting now…
Time’s up. Look at your list or think of your list. Did you come up with three? I hope you did because each one of us here could have chosen from probably three dozen different gifts that we personally have been given. And so I can almost guarantee that your top three gifts are different from anyone else’s in here. Better? No. Worse? No. Just different. And Paul says that “All of these are the work of the one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one [of us], just as he determines.” The Holy Spirit has determined to give you those specific spiritual gifts at this specific time in this specific place within this specific family. And so there’s a reason why none of our lists are the same. Because “to each one [of us] the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
It’s very much like puzzle pieces fitting together. You have been given those gifts and more to work well with me. I have been given these gifts and more to work well with you. All of us have been given these gifts and more to work well with each other. So think of your list again. Have you always made use of those gifts to benefit your brothers and sisters sitting in this room? Have you maximized each one of those gifts in every situation? Have you used those gifts at all?
I’m looking at my list, and I can’t say with a good conscience: “Yes, I’ve used these gifts in full. Yes, I’ve stretched these gifts out as far as they can go to help out every person in here every day.” I can’t say that. Because as I look at these gifts the Holy Spirit has given me, I know I’ve sometimes thrown these gifts into the closet. Sometimes I’ve just sat on these gifts without putting them to use. Sometimes I’ve been too lazy to even care. I hope this hasn’t happened to you, but the reality is: I’m sure it has, hasn’t it? What a waste. What a waste of such wonderful gifts when we neglect to use them for the common good. What selfishness. Because when we don’t use our gifts we aren’t just sinning against ourselves, we’re sinning against others. These gifts are for the person sitting next to you and the person sitting across the isle! And we aren’t just sinning against others, we’re sinning against the Lord who graciously gave us these gifts in the first place! That is incredible selfishness not to use our gifts for any reason.
As you know, our daughter, Emma, is about 15 and a half months old right now. She’s old enough to hold about anything, and young enough to break about anything she holds. If I bought her an expensive, fragile glass ornament for Christmas, do you think I would give it to her to hold and play with? Probably not. Chances are she would drop it or throw it or step on it or shatter it completely. I would not give such a precious gift to her just so that she could break it. But isn’t that exactly what the Holy Spirit has done for us? He has given each one of us precious spiritual gifts, even though he knew we would abuse them and neglect them and throw them away. The Holy Spirit gave us those gifts anyway. That’s grace. That’s grace! Blessing us and knowing full well that those blessings would be despised.
That’s the story of the Lord’s existence, isn’t it? He’s given countless blessings throughout the history of the world only to have them rejected. He gave Adam and Eve everything and they threw it all away so that they could see what that interesting piece of fruit tasted like. God gave mankind the prophets and they were persecuted and killed. God gave mankind promises and they were laughed at. God gave mankind Scripture and it was pushed aside. God gave mankind his only Son and he was murdered. But God did not stop giving even then. God gave mankind forgiveness and redemption and salvation and hope and peace - and thank God that he gave us the gift of faith to believe it. And now, on top of all those blessings, God gives us an over abundance of spiritual gifts to serve him and others!
Do you see how God never tires of giving? He gives and gives and gives - and then gives some more even when none of them are appreciated! He loves us that much! He wants to do great things for us that badly! He wants us to have so many spiritual gifts that we have more than enough to help those around us - especially our brothers and sisters in his name.
And so my brothers and sisters in his name, recall the list of your top three spiritual gifts again. How can you use each one of them to thank God? How can you use each one of them to help others? How can you use each one of them now? I pray you think about that. And then do it. And if you have ideas on how to use your gifts for this congregation, tell me, talk to me, and I’d love to help. I’d love to point you in the right direction and give you an avenue in which to use what you’ve been given. Because you are a vital part of this congregation! The Holy Spirit has given you specific gifts so that we can work together. Use them! And let me know how you can.
We are a group of Christians that the Holy Spirit has blessed with different gifts so that we can work together for the common good of each other, and for the common good of his kingdom. There is no greater responsibility than that: to use your gifts for the good of the Lord’s kingdom. May the Lord help us carry out that responsibility as individuals… as a congregation. And may he continue to give us the gifts to do so.
Amen.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” - Ephesians 1:3