"To Each Their Own" (Sermon 1.13.13)

At the end of today's service, I felt the need to apologize because I was disappointed with how the sermon was delivered.  I even thought about not posting the sermon this week because I felt it would not help you grow in your faith.  Then I got to thinking, that is exactly what I just got done preaching about (as you will see as you continue to read).  I let pride creep in, I allowed my pride to tell me that the sermon was not very good.  This is a very selfish attitude. Who am I to judge whether or not it will help someone in their faith. While I felt that it was not my best sermon I have to stop thinking this way.  If I get caught up in one-upping one sermon after another, I am focusing on myself and let letting God work through me.  Today was an incredibly humbling experience and maybe, just maybe this was one of the messages meant to come from today's sermon.  

Today's scripture comes from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians chapter 12:1-11:
Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. ³ 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.

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,^[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.^[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

The title of today’s sermon is called “To Each Their Own” and it seems that in today’s society this is a common virtue that has become ingrained in each one of us.  Ever since the 60’s and 70’s young people of every generation have tried to come up with an identity.  And for the most part, that identity has focused on the individual.  A lot of us have grown up in a time where we base our worth on our individual success.  The way we function in society is much different today than it was 60 years ago.  We have developed into a society where we are almost scared to help someone stranded alongside the road because we are fearful that it is a trap and we could get hurt.  We live in a society where we are nervous about scooping the snow off someone’s driveway because they might sue you if they fall.  We live in a society where we are taught to take on the challenges of life on our own and our success is based on how well we can cope, alone.  This has caused the Church to struggle because community and service to one another are essential to its teachings yet we live in a society where we have made it difficult to identify with these important teachings.  

One could look at today’s scripture and think that the Church was doomed from the get-go because of the various gifts given to each of us.  It is easy to think that if God wanted us to live in harmony He would have blessed with the same gifts so there would not be jealousy among His people.  Some of us may feel that others are blessed more than we are, that the gifts given to us are insignificant compared to others.  But verses 4-6 speak of a story that stresses togetherness: “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.”  The way you serve the Lord may be different than the way I do but either way is no better than the other because we worship the same God.  The reason God created each us uniquely is so we could each worship Him uniquely.  He loved each of so much that He allows us to be unique.  However, this uniqueness can cause divisions within the Church.  This uniqueness also  has a tendency to feed the needs of the individual because pride often creeps in, even if we do not see it.  The reasons for division are not found in the uniqueness of the individual, they are found in pride.  We often time think that we can accomplish more on our own than with the help of God and the help of our family, friends and church.  But Paul is trying to take these gifts, service and work and use them to unify the Church and our communities.  Paul often refers to the Church as the working parts of the body.  When we think of the Church in this manner, we see that the uniqueness in gifts, service and work are a necessity.  Our arms perform different jobs than our feet, our brain has a different function than our heart, etc.  The point is that the these uniquenesses allow us to serve and love God and others.  Each part, each gift performs its own function for the good of the whole but we must understand that unity does not mean uniformity.  This means that our gifts are to be used for the good of the whole Church, our own faith, and the community.  

I think it is important for us look at the gifts that Paul lists in today’s scripture because we often think of God’s gifts as having the ability to: speak well, pray, teach or write -- more or less gifts of the intellectual sense.  While those are gifts, it is important to discuss briefly these other gifts that Paul mentions,mostly so we can understand them in today’s world.  First, while wisdom and knowledge sound similar it is important to discuss the differences.  The greek word for wisdom is sophia and is defined by Aristotle as “striving after the best ends and using the best means.”  Wisdom does not necessarily mean knowing God exists, true wisdom entails communion with God: an alive, breathing, communicating relationship with Him.  The greek word for knowledge is gnosis which is a more practical term.  It is because of knowledge that we know what to do in a given situation.  Knowledge is the putting of wisdom into practice.  The best way to explain the difference that I have come up with is driving a car.  We have been taught how to get in the car, put our seatbelt on, and put it into the gear to either backup or go forward.  This is knowledge.  On the other hand, wisdom tells us how to drive in certain weather conditions, what speed is the safest for our ability, or where and when we are most likely to see a deer so we can avoid them.  The second gift Paul mentions is faith.  When he talks about faith, Paul means something more than simply believing something is true.  He is talking about a faith that produces results, a passionate belief in something which consumes all that we are.  It is a type of faith that strengthens our will and gives us the nerves to put it into action.  The faith in which Paul is referring to allows us to turn our visions into deeds.  This type of faith is unique.  That is why Paul considers it a gift.  Third, Paul makes reference to the special gifts of healing.  In the early Church, most people went to their spiritual leader long before they went to a doctor and more often than not, they were healed.  Today, we have a tendency to look at such healings from a distance and think it is not possible.  Therefore, we often leave ‘healing’ to doctors and believe that God has shifted this gift over to those who are doctors.  But I challenge you to think otherwise.  I believe that all of you have the ability to heal.  If not a physical healing, you are all capable of healing someone spiritually.  But at the same time, I encourage you to not short the power of God either and realize that a strong trust in God can also lead to healing.  Miracles happen everyday, people are healed from illnesses that seem incurable.  Fourth, Paul mentions the gift of miraculous powers.  From the research I did, it seems that Paul is talking about exorcisms, but not in the sense that we most likely think of.  It is unlikely that demons truly enter into the minds and bodies of people but the point is that the afflicted person believes that their minds have been invaded by something.  More than anything, this is a gift to be used to heal a mind that may be diseased or disturbed.  Even in today’s world, mentally ill people often claim to see spirits or demons and this is what is most likely happening in the Bible and God has given gifts to people to help the afflicted.  The issue of mental health is more prevalent than it has ever been and it is important that we pay attention to this gift so it can helps us avoid such horrible atrocities as Newtown, Aurora, Columbine and Virginia Tech among others.  Fifth, Paul mentions prophecy.  When someone mentions the word ‘prophecy’ to you it is likely that you think of someone who seems a little off their rocker.  It is likely that we envision someone on tv saying that the world is coming to an end.  But the word prophecy can also be translated into preaching.  When we think of prophecy we think of the future and the ability of an individual to see into the future and predict future events.  Even though prophecy is seen as telling the future it has a meaning that has more to do with present times.  A prophet is someone who lives so close to God that he knows in his mind, heart, and will and can make them known to others.  A prophet/preacher has two jobs 1) To warn others that their actions are not in accordance to the will of God; and 2) to bring advice and guidance, seeking to direct people into the ways God wishes them to go.  Sixth, Paul talks about the ability to distinguish between different kinds of spirits.  Since we have a much better understanding of mental health than they did 2000 years ago this gift has changed meaning a little bit.  Today, when something is outside the realms of normal reason we have a difficult time trying to figure out whether it is from God or not.  The people who are given this gift make the best effort to try to understand something/someone before they condemn it.  Lastly, Paul talks about the gift of tongues and the ability to interpret them.  The gift of tongues can be a difficult one to understand because most Christians find it difficult to understand and justify this gift.  But the word tongues can also be translated as languages.  The ability to speak well in another language can have a big impact on the kingdom of God, especially in the mission field.  

This is just a partial list of the gifts given to us by God and a partial list of their meanings.  As we grow in our faith we all have the responsibility of figuring out what our gifts are and how to use them to benefit the kingdom of God.  Paul’s list of gifts shows us that the Church is alive.  Things happened, very astonishing things happened in the early Church just as they continue to happen in today’s Church.  The fact is that the same Spirit that fired up the early Church is still with us today, the only difference is that we are not as attuned to the spirit as they were back then.  I cannot stress the importance of this enough, it is vital that we create an environment of unity, not necessarily uniformity.  Just as God blesses each of us differently yet embraces each of us in the same kind of love, we are called to do the same within our community.  I would love nothing more than our church to be a beacon for what it means to build a feeling of community.  Those of us here today experience this kind of community weekly as we come together for worship.  We take pride in the fact that Fairview has a strong feeling of family and community but we are called to make that feeling made known to others.  But there is that word again, pride.  We have to be careful that we do not let this pride get in the way of growing our sense of community.  God has given us the gifts to make this happen but we must seek them without allowing pride to get in the way.  Our gifts can be considered our own but we must be aware that their true purpose is to function as part of a whole to benefit the whole.  If you feel that God has called you to enter into a relationship with Him so you too can seek the gifts so graciously given to you, you may do so today by asking God for forgiveness of your sins and by acknowledging that Jesus is Lord.  If you would like to make this family your own, you may also do that today and we will welcome you into this community with open arms.  Amen.

God Bless,

Clinton
Fairview Christian Church