The first I want to say this morning is, "Happy New Year!" We have rung in the new year and now we are beginning a brand new journey in 1999. . .or maybe it is just a continuation of 1998. The new year gives us a reference point though, one that marks new beginnings, new determinations, and new resolutions. Often as time goes on, the determinations and resolutions, resolutions are forgotten. But then, if all goes well, and the Lord willing, there is always next year, when we can try again, right? Anyway, let us pray that the coming year will bring with it new joys, renewed happiness, and all the very best possible. No doubt there will be new challenges for us to face as individuals, as families, and as the church. But here too, let us depend on God’s grace to see us through whatever we are asked to face.
This morning I would like us to look at look at ourselves. What a way to start out the new year right? We all have over eaten I'm sure over the holidays, and now I am asking you to look at yourself? No, this isn't a suggestion that any of you are now overweight, or an appeal for you to go on a diet. That is not what I have in mind. Although! . . . What I have in mind is looking at ourselves as the church of Jesus Christ. Doing this the first Sunday of the year might be the best time, because if we see that we are doing OK, it might be a good time to make a resolution to do better. If we see that we're failing in some areas, now is the time for us to resolve to correct our failures. So it will be an exercise in discovering the biblical concept of what the Church is, and discovering how well we fit that concept. Also we will discover that all of us have individual gifts that we may use to further the work of the church in our community, and the world. So let's take a look, using the letter Paul wrote to the ancient church of Corinth as our guide.
When you read through this letter you soon discover that for the Church of Corinth the road was rather bumpy, probably because the Christian church was still in its infancy, and there were many growing pain. So, to help the new churches of that time period through some its problems, Paul visited them, and when he is unable to visit, he wrote them letters of encouragement, and advice. First Corinthians is such a letter.
The problems that were being faced way back then, are not too far removed from those of today. I think it is a mistake for anyone to conclude that Paul's letters deal only with a lot of antiquated issues. For instance, the first thing Paul addresses is division in the church. To all of us, this sound painfully familiar, especially in our own United Church of Canada. Secondly, the early church was faced with great permissiveness in their society, just as we do today. We may think this is a twentieth century phenomenon, but it's not. The church of Corinth especially was smack dab in the middle of a totally permissive society, and for them faithfulness to God in such a society was a huge problem. Our denomination, many feel, has fallen prey to our permissive society, especially in sexual issues.
We don't have to deal with the issue of animal sacrifices to idols anymore, as they did back then. We do however, have to deal with the world that has become quite commercialized, and secularized, where Christian values are in jeopardy. How do we as church live in such a society, without running the danger of compromising ourselves, or the gospel of Jesus Christ?
I believe the most important issue we are asked to deal with is quite personal. And that is; we must find our own, unique place and worth in the church. Here is where the whole matter hits home. We can generalize about the state and condition of the church, but we need to remember that without individuals there would be no church. Now of course, this means that, because each individual is unique, every person has his or her own idea of how the church should operate. Some are very vocal about this, while others are not, but all have a place in the church.
When it comes to church membership, the word mosaic comes to mind. Mosaic is the art of embedding small pieces of cut stone or pigmented glass in a plaster bed to serve as floor or wall decoration. Developed principally in ancient Greece, mosaic was a leading artistic medium in the Greco-Roman world and reached its greatest heights in Early Christian art and architecture and Byzantine art and architecture. All of these small pieces became an integral part of the entire decoration. So it is with church members, whether vocal or not, each one is an integral part of the larger body. We all have our place. No one is more or less important than the other. This is what Paul had in mind when he wrote about the spiritual gifts each one of us can offer, because each one of us has been endowed by God with our own individual gifts.
We are all unique, but most of us can agree on certain things this time of year especially. As winter approaches we read all kinds of suggestions of utilizing fuel and making our dwelling places warm. Here is one suggestion. Let the Holy Spirit fill you, it will warm heart and body. Just think about that statement for a moment. This is what the eleven verses we have read are all about, for all the things mentioned here are indvidual gifts of the Spirit. . .the Holy Spirit.
I want to point out that this letter was sent to a local church. Not the Church universal or a denomination, but the local Church of Corinth. These eleven verses personalize the matter quite significantly. It is an invitation to individuals who were part of the local church to recognize their gifts. It seems that the Corinthians were confused about this, and that they thought only certain people could possess certain gifts. They even thought that the gifts of some just didn't measure up, that somehow those gifts were lacking something. Paul says, No, that isn’t the case. I don’t want you to be confused about this, uninformed, or ignorant. Individual gifts cannot be useless. Nor may they be ignored because each and every church member has something to contribute. I, like Paul want us to be clear on this, for there is nothing more vital than our spiritual gifts in the service of our Lord. Each one of us gifted, and we are all to express what ever gift we have in the ministry of the church.
The church is different from any other organization. This of course is true of the Church Universal, but it's true of the local church as well. First of all it is God's idea that the church should exist. It is not primarily a human organization run by a board of officials. It is not primarily a social organization which meets the demands and needs of the community. It is not just a convenient place to be baptized and married and buried. Now of course, all of these are parts of what we do, because we have a mandate to reach out into the community any way we can. But the church is not a just religious social club where like-minded people get together for social activities, and Sunday morning worship, if they have time. It must be more than that. The church was established by Jesus Christ, and as I learned a long time ago, it is a living "organism." It is not dead, nor stagnant, but alive, and moving. And it is filled with believers who are convinced that God has endowed each and every person in the group with individual, useful gifts. . .gifts that can only enhance the entire body.
Now all the differing gifts Paul talks about in this passage have one thing in common. He want his readers to know that "no one who is led by God's Spirit can say, "A curse on Jesus!" and no one can confess "Jesus is Lord" unless he is guided by the Holy Spirit" (vs. 3). This means that all gifts from the Holy Spirit are based on belief in Jesus Christ. All gifts are spirit led. A gifted person will never curse Jesus, but on the other hand, an ungifted person will never confess Jesus as Lord. Your gifts are based on the fact the church is God's institution and therefore the members of that church belong to God, who come together to glorify Jesus. This is what makes your individual gifts so important. It means that in all our ministries, and our life together we can trust the power of the Holy Spirit to be at work, right here, among all of us. It all begins with individual gifts.
"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served" (vss. 4-5). As we have heard, Paul lists several gifts that people possess. He speaks of one person having wisdom, another, knowledge. Some have the power to heal, or perform miracles. Others have the power to speak and so on. The point is again, all of these gifts, which come from the Spirit are what make a local congregation work. The language though, is quite biblical right? You might want to ask, "Who of us here has the power to heal?" Is Paul talking about "faith healers?" I don't think so. If you are thinking, well, you know, in Bible times people had the power to heal but not today. Wrong! You do have the power to heal. Every time you go and visit a sick person, you may not heal the illness, but you have somehow healed maybe even just a tiny part of that person's inner spirit. You have shown that you care! Every time you contact a lonely member, you have healed just a bit of that loneliness. These are gift of the Spirit, and we all have them. Once we realize this, we can take our gift outside of these four walls, into the community, to prove that we are a living church.
The same goes for all the other gifts Paul mentions. The key first of all, is to believe that Jesus is in control of our ministries. And secondly, to make a conscious decision that we can do it, that we can be the church God wants us to be, in this community, providing we use our individual gifts for his glory.
This will not come automatically, however. We too must do something, or it will not work. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way. ". . . let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. . ." (Heb 10:24-25). Without that, the outcome is fairly obvious. So, here comes some new year resolutions:
Bring yourself and your spirit of worship.
Bring reverence for God and His house.
Bring your offering (the tithe plus).
Bring a spirit of love and fellowship.
Bring a hearty handshake and a smile.
Bring a kind word and helpful thoughts.
Bring your willingness to help sing, and sing out of your heart.
Bring a friend or relative.
Be sure to bring your visiting friend.
Bring your best each Sunday to Church.
Get the church-going habit.
If we can do all those things, we can dedicate all our gifts to God’s purpose, and we will be blessed.
