This is an excerpt from the sermon Use Your Gift to Serve One Another Part 2:
I want us to consider some ways that we can stifle or stoke the spiritual gifts within the body of Christ.
Paul gives this advice to his protege Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6:
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,”
Think of the healthy and proper use of the spiritual gifts in the church as if you were trying to build a roaring camp fire. To do so you want to ensure that you have wood that is dry, kindling that will light, you need oxygen, and finally you need a match to light the fire. Once you get the fire going you have two options moving forward you can either do things that will stifle the fire or you can do things that will stoke the fire.
So what are some ways that we stifle the proper use of the gifts within the body and how can we counteract that and instead fan into flame our gifts and those of others within the body of Christ?
(1) One way that we can stifle the proper use of spiritual gifts in the church is through Gift Conditionality.
Gift Conditionality is when we functionally or actually say the following to our church family: “I will only serve if ____________”
if I have time
if I am interested in the opportunity
if it doesn’t interfere with my social calendar
if I get the recognition that I am due
if enough people sign up for me to use my gift
Basically, offering conditional service is a subtle form of saying to the church “I’ll serve on my terms and under my conditions.”
The counter to Gift Conditionality is to plead with God to cultivate in you a heart of service that says whenever, wherever, whoever.
I distinctly remember one of my seminary professors saying to me that part of what it means to be a Pastor is that you are ready and willing to clean toilets and change diapers if the need arises.
This reminds me of Jesus’s words in Matthew 23:11: “The greatest among you shall be your servant.”
(2) A second way that we can stifle the proper use and purpose of the spiritual gifts is through Gift Envy.
Gift Envy is what happens when we become discontent with the gift that God has given us and desirous of the gift that God has given to someone else. This grows in our hearts a competitive spirit where we view the church as if it were a mini-version of America’s Got Talent - “may the best gift win.”
Instead we need to remind ourselves that we are comrades not competitors in the mission to build and advance the church. If the Michael Jordan of Hospitality is on your team don’t grumble that your only Scotty Pippen, be grateful that you get to serve alongside Michael Jordan and hopefully win tons of championships together.
(3) A third way that we can stifle the proper use and purpose of the spiritual gifts is through Gift Uniformity.
If Gift Envy is wishing you had someone else’s gift, then Gift Uniformity is demanding that everyone else have the same gift you do and use it the same way you do.
We can easily become so passionate about our gift and area of service that the Lord has given us in the body that we believe we are the most vital and essential part of the church. We are the essential business above all essential businesses!
But in falling into that mindset we lose sight of God’s wisdom in making the body of Christ diverse and giving a diversity of Gifts. If the whole church was merely a clone of our gifts and abilities the body would be severely lacking.
It would be like having a football team with 11 quarterbacks, or an orchestra with only violins, or a golf bag with only 9 irons.
We need to reflect regularly on the Wisdom of God in designing the body to be a diverse yet interdependent organism.
(4) A fourth way that we can stifle the proper use and purpose of the spiritual gifts is through Gift Consumerism.
In Gift Consumerism we view the church not as a family in which we share privileges and responsibilities but like a shopping mall or grocery store where we merely come to fill up on goods and services. Gift Consumerism is all give and no take. It’s all eating and no exercising.
One sad statistic that I often hear about churches is that 20% of the people do 80% of the work and 20% of the people do 80% of the giving. I would like to flatten the curve on that statistic at Sand Harbor (pun intended).
To counteract this we need to keep in mind that when we don’t use our gift, the body is not as healthy and vibrant as it could be. And we are missing opportunities to experience the growth and joy that comes through serving others. God has designed us in such a way that our joy doubles when we serve others and our growth in Christlikeness rapidly increases when we give ourselves away to others.
(5) Finally, the biggest way that we can stifle the proper use and purpose of the spiritual gifts is through losing sight of the Gospel of Christ.
The Gospel alone holds the gravitational power to keep all of the diversity and interdependency of the church in their proper orbit.
Never lose sight of the fact that this is His church that He purchased with his own precious and priceless blood.
Never lose sight of the fact that you are not your own but have been bought with a price, so glorify God with your gift.
Never lose sight of the fact that while you were still a sinner - far off from God in rebellion against Him - Christ sought you ought and served you by laying down His life for you so that you could be welcomed in to the church.
It is when we gaze upon the glorious grace of Christ who loved us and gave himself up for us that we will use our gifts to love and give ourselves up for one another.
