Sunday, August 19,
2012, 6:55 a.m. – the Lord woke me this morning with the song “Servant of
the Lord” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I
read 1 Corinthians 12 (NIV 1984):
Now about spiritual
gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant… 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.
Now to each one the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good… All these are the
work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he
determines.
The body is a unit,
though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they
form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit
into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free —and we were all given the
one Spirit to drink.
Now the body is not
made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a
hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be
part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not
belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the
whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has
arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to
be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are
many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to
the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t
need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are
indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with
special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special
modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has
combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that
lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts
should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part
suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body
of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has
appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers
of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others,
those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of
tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work
miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all
interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.
Spiritual
Gifts
This
subject of “spiritual gifts” is often a most debated, largely misused, and highly
misunderstood subject in the body of Christ, the church. Many debate over
whether all the gifts are still alive and active in the church today. I believe
they are, and that they should be, but they should be done Biblically. Others
debate over the meanings of the particular gifts or how they are supposed to
function. I believe we can learn their meanings and see how they function through
reading the New Testament, yet without limiting God strictly to all the ways in
which he manifested the gifts in the time of the New Testament writers.
It
is the Holy Spirit who determines the gifts we receive, not us, and it is God who
chooses how we are to serve him and the body of Christ with those gifts, as
well as he determines how they are
supposed to work within the body of Christ. The only limitations to the “working”
of the gifts are God’s divine character, will and purposes, and his revealed
word. In other words, the manner in which the gifts are exercised must not
conflict with God’s revealed word, in Scripture, and they must not conflict
with God’s divine character and revealed will for his people. If we follow
Scripture, we learn that God chose to work through people (and all of creation)
at various ways at numerous times throughout history. We can’t put God in a box
and say “God doesn’t work that way,” unless it conflicts directly with the
teachings of the New Testament or unless it conflicts directly with his
character and will.
Some
people may equate spiritual gifts with natural talents. They are not one and
the same. I might have a natural talent for singing (not so well now in my old
age), but the singing, in and of itself, is not a spiritual gift, for I had it
before I knew Christ as Lord and Savior. Nonetheless, the Lord can take our
natural gifts and can use them in a spiritual context in which we would
demonstrate a spiritual gift he has given us, such as the gift of prophecy
(sharing God’s messages with the people) or wisdom or encouragement.
I
did not have a natural talent for writing music, even when I studied music in
college, but the Lord has blessed me with a spiritual gift, I believe, for
writing songs of praise to God, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know
that I will often sit with a new tune and have no words, and I will pray for
words, and sometimes the words don’t come for days, and then they only come
through the Holy Spirit putting the words into my mind. Yet, having studied
music has helped with the technical aspects of knowing notes and timing, etc.
Some
people also equate spiritual gifts with ministries within the church, such as
serving in the nursery, singing or playing an instrument in the praise band,
serving on a committee, helping with VBS, teaching a Sunday school class, etc.
It takes natural talent to sing and play an instrument, and people can teach
using natural talents alone, yet serving in a particular area of ministry
within the institutional church should not be equated with spiritual gifts.
Spiritual gifts are given of the Spirit of God and are something that are completely
dependent upon the Spirit of God. I can’t write a song unless the Lord gives me
the tune and the words. I can’t write out my devotions each day unless he gives
me the thoughts he wants to express, while still using my personality and way
of expressing myself. I know that I am completely dependent on the Spirit of
God to do what I do.
Many
Parts
The
body of Christ is made up of the people of God, i.e. those who have received
Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of their lives. We comprise the church. We
are one body, but we have many parts, and we don’t all function the same way.
Just like our human bodies have many parts with various functions, so the
people of God are one body, but we each have specific functions within the body
of Christ, as God determines, and just as he wanted them to be, not as man
determines. I wish our church leaders would get this. Church has become so
institutionalized and marketed by men in the same ways in which big business
markets their businesses that they have forgotten that Christ is the head of
the body, that he is the one who grows his church, and he is the one who
determines what gifts we receive and how they are to be used within the body of
Christ.
We
are each necessary to the working of the whole body. We can’t all be the head
or the hand or the leg or foot. We need each and every part, but we need them
the way God intends, not the way man intends. I have seen church leaders so
many times being willing to accept people within the body of Christ, but only
if they conform to man’s ways and do what man determines they should do, and yet
they will easily discard, ignore or flatly reject those parts of the body that
don’t fit into man’s ways and methods for building “Christ’s” church. We should
not try to be a part of the body God did not intend for us to be, and in the
same respect we should not reject the body part God has called us to be, or reject
the body parts God has called others to be, perhaps just because those parts
may not fit in with our social norms or our perceptions of how “church” should
operate. We should never say to a part of the body “I don’t need you,” and yet
many church leaders do that on a regular basis, because they are thinking like
men, instead of seeing from God’s perspective.
Man
looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. Men judge by
worldly and human standards, but God judges by his standards. Today’s church is
so performance-oriented and driven, for the purpose of drawing in large crowds
of people, that the parts of the body that are not performance-oriented are
often dishonored. Yet, what man will discard, God does not reject if he is in
the life of that person, and if he is doing his work in and through that
person. He will treat with special honor those that men dishonor. He will
accept those men reject. He will give greater honor to those who lack the honor
of men. He will do this so that there is no division in the church. In other
words, God will use those he has gifted even if the church does not, if the people
are willing. He will make sure that his body has all the parts working, even if
man says “I have no need of you.” And, I am thankful that He does that, too!
We
should never let it discourage us if men reject us, because God has a plan for
us that oftentimes will involve the rejection of men. Jesus Christ is our prime
example here. If man had not rejected Christ and had not been moved to crucify
him on the cross, then we would not have our salvation in Jesus Christ. Many
movements of God have been birthed in the persecution of the church. God has
often moved and motivated people toward specific areas of ministry out of some
great trial in their lives. Sometimes God has to close some doors in order to
open the doors for us he wants us to go through. It does not mean it is God’s
will that people should mistreat us, i.e. it is not God’s will that people sin
against us, but he will use the evil in men’s hearts to accomplish his purposes
in our lives oftentimes. Joseph is one example that comes to mind, besides
Christ. He told his brothers, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for
good.”
So,
we should each go before the Lord in prayer, asking him to show us what gifts
he has for us and how he would have us exercise those gifts within the body of
Christ. If we don’t understand what the gifts are or how they are to be used,
we should commit some time to studying the subject in Scripture, and we should
keep an open mind and heart to allow God to use us the way he intends. We
should not confuse natural talents or church ministries with spiritual gifts,
which may or may not operate outside the realm of our natural talents or church
ministries. And, we should not limit ourselves or the church body just to
man-made ministries or to natural gifts and talents that are more acceptable to
men. We should all have open hearts and minds to receive from God what
spiritual gifts he has for us and others within Christ’s body, if indeed it is
Christ’s body with him as the head and not a social club or religious
organization of men, following man’s methods and means.
Mainly
we should always keep in mind that we are the Lord’s servants and we are here
to do his will, not our own, and for his pleasure, not to please ourselves. He
is the one who calls the shots, not us. He doesn’t want our service or
sacrifices for him if they are not led of the Spirit of God. He doesn’t need
what we can do for him. He desires us completely surrendered to him and to his
will for our lives. So, yield to his Lordship today, and be willing to be his
servant in doing whatever he has called you to do, and don’t be discouraged
when men seem to prevail, because God is greater than men!
Servant
of the Lord
/ An Original Work / July 26, 2012
Based
off Romans 1:1-17 NIV
Servant
of the Lord;
For the
gospel you’re set apart.
Promised
through the prophets of old:
Jesus,
Son of God.
Through
Him, and for His name alone,
We
receive His grace
To call
people, Him to obey;
Coming
from their faith.
Servant
of the Lord,
For the
gospel you’re set apart.
Promised
through the prophets of old:
Jesus,
Son of God.
You
belong to Christ;
Loved by
God, and called to be saints;
Serving
God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching
Jesus Christ;
Always
praying for others’ needs;
Helping
hand to lend;
Giving
courage to others’ faith,
For the
praise of God.
You
belong to Christ;
Loved by
God, and called to be saints;
Serving
God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching
Jesus Christ.
Servant
of the Lord;
Of the
gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For
salvation, power of God
To those
who have faith.
In the
gospel find righteousness:
Being
right with God.
Turn from
sin, and trust Jesus Christ.
By faith,
live in Him.
Servant
of the Lord;
Of the
gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For
salvation, power of God
To those
who have faith.
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