Title: Use Your Gifts!
Contents
Use your gifts!
Romans 12:3-13
There are old stories about heaven and hell. Someone went to heaven and it was meal time. I've seen them feed each other with huge drops. This man went to hell. Again, I saw huge chopsticks, and it was full of people with distorted faces who couldn't even eat each other. The reason is because he tried to eat only himself with his chopsticks, so the chopsticks were too big for anyone to eat. What lessons does this story teach? There is each other in heaven and not each other in hell. The church is where we come to know each other. The Bible teaches the importance of serving one another as the first thing that God's saved people should do. All service begins with the church. Romans 12:3-13 speaks of the importance of church service. Therefore, if you are a citizen of heaven, start serving and serving.
Think for the fountain!
Look at verse 13!
“I say to each of you by the grace you have given me. Do not think more than you ought to think, but think according to the measure of faith that God has given to each one of you.”
The Easy Bible is translated like this: “Thanks to the grace God has given me, I will speak to each of you. Don't think of anything other than what you ought to think of yourself. Think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith that God has given you.”
Many things change when you meet Jesus. The biggest characteristic of a changed Christian is understanding the subject. The Apostle Paul said that when he met God, he realized how violent he was in the past and how helpless and weak he was. People who do not know themselves well are hurt.
Some people get timid when they are around people who are rich, powerful, and prettier than themselves. I think of myself as a bad person. Unknowingly, they experience frustration, inferiority, lack of motivation, and self-abuse.
The King James Version says, “Think wisely according to the measure of your faith.” What are you telling me to think wisely about? We are told not to think of ourselves more than we ought to think. Although we are saved by having faith, we are still limited and the message is not to distort ourselves with any sense of superiority or inferiority.
Serve according to your gift!
Why do we need a community called the church? Why is church service important? This is because the church can lead society when it exerts its spiritual power. Historically, when the church was revived, there were also social reforms and changes. The powerful force to change society comes from the church. When God's people serve with their gifts and self-confidence in the church, the saints will come to life. When worship is restored, prayer is heated, and commitment is ignited, the church community has the power to transform society.
How can the church be strong? Just as we are healthy when all the functions of our body are alive, the church is strong and dynamic when the members move.
The church has two structures. It is a gathering church and a scattered church. First of all, we must gather. We need to get together and build strength. We must be armed with the power that the Holy Spirit pours out.
When people with various gifts come together to form the body of Christ, the church, even though individuals are lacking, they can reveal Christ rightly. God wants to reveal the perfect Christ through the church. Each individual is lacking, but when we learn to work together through the community with the gift of God, a wonderful life that reflects the glory of Christ is possible.
Look at verse 4, “We have many members in one body, but not all members function the same. In the same way we, many of us, are one body in Christ, and each one is a member of one another.
The rainbow is beautiful because it has seven colors. The Bible says that we have many members in one body. We are one body, but each has a different role.
The glory of the Church lies in the fact that people of different personalities, of different gifts and of different offices, can come together, despite their differences, still pursuing a unified purpose.
God has given each of us different personalities, gifts, and offices.
Romans 12:6-8 speaks about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which we need when we are going to do God's work.
First, the gift of prophecy.
The gift of prophecy is not a magical ability to predict the future.
It is to unravel and proclaim the Word of God. In other words, it is the gift of the Word. Those who have received this gift will listen to the voice of God. Through the Bible, we understand the will of God clearly. It is the gift of discernment and of giving direction to and helping those who are weak and do not know where to go, and help them live according to the will of God.
Second, it is the gift of service.
People with this gift have a special enjoyment of service. We see the needs of people and try to meet their needs. These people feel burdened when asked to take the lead, but they will do anything to help from behind. It is the gift of assistant, assistant, collaborator, in a word, secretary.
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Third, the gift of teaching.
This gift is a gift to teach and enlighten people in a way that is easy to understand. Those who teach well are those who have received the gift of teaching well by organizing and analyzing the Word of God. It is said that when people with this gift teach, it is easy for people to understand. People are enlightened and grown because they teach the key points, are logical, and are easy to understand.
Fourth, the gift of authority.
Here, 'authority' is comforting. It means encouraging. It is a gift that encourages courage, turns those who are about to give up so that they do not give up, and lifts up those who are discouraged. Meeting a gifted person gives people courage, comfort, strength, and confidence. Some have the gift of discouragement, not the gift of authority. A person went to the hospital and said, 'There is a person in our family who died from the same disease in 2 months, even though it is not a serious disease.
Fifth, the gift of salvation.
It is a gift that is generously distributed and spread. Some people can't sit still when they see the needs of others, even though they don't have enough. There are people who feel comfortable with sharing and spreading. Relief does not mean that you have a lot of money, but you can do it when God gives you grace. The rich in the world and the rich in the kingdom of God are different. In the world, people with a lot of money are called rich. The standard of the kingdom of God is those who have a big hand in doing God's work.
Sixth, the gift of governing.
This gift is the gift of leadership. It is the gift of directing and controlling many people and managing people well. You see a lot of people in leadership positions. Some people have the gift of eating. When people with the gift of governing realize God's will and lead a community, the community or organization grows and moves dynamically. These people were told to be diligent.
Seventh, the gift of mercy.
It is the gift of feeling compassion for the difficulties of others as my own suffering. There are some of us who take good care of those in need. People with this gift want to bear the burdens of others. So those who have this gift are warm-hearted. There is a word called Compassion, and that very word describes this gift. Those who have the gift of mercy should do it with joy.
Love passionately, do your best in prayer, and supply with all your might!
Where does the greatest force that makes service possible in the church come from? It comes from love. Without love, there is no service, no zeal, and everything becomes troublesome. If you love, you want to serve, if you love, you will be cleaned, and if you love, you will be devoted to the saints. So Paul asked in verses 9-13.
There must be no lies in love. Hate the evil and cling to the good. Love one another with brotherly love, respect one another first, work zealously, and serve the Lord with a heart warmed by the Holy Spirit. Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer Do your best to provide for the needs of the saints and to provide hospitality to strangers (Romans 12:9-13).
First, love must not lie. Hate the evil and cling to the good.(9)
The church is a family. The foundation of a family is love. When one of your children is sick, it is love to take more care and take care of you. Although we all have different parents and different backgrounds, we are a spiritual family made up by the blood of Christ. Your brother's need becomes my need, and your brother's glory becomes my glory. We need to be able to feel these things together. It is the love of Christ that unites us in Christ. When there is love, we become one. There are no lies in true love. There is no force in the world stronger than love. Love has the power to forgive sinners. Love has the power to heal. If you advise that there is a problem, the person does not change and leaves, but if you love, they change.
Everyone! Hate evil and belong to good.
Second, love one another with brotherly love, respect one another first, work zealously, and serve the Lord with a heart warmed by the Holy Spirit (10,11).
Love your brother, respect him first, work zealously, and serve the Lord with the Holy Spirit and with a fervent heart! The important thing here is first. You have to respect the pastor to respect it! If you respect yourself first, you will be respected.
We have a friend from our second son's kindergarten days, and his mother said that he thought about going to church. But the husband, who had been to church before, said this and said he couldn't come to church. “If you go to your church, you have to be really diligent.” Yes. You have to be diligent and be zealous. When we love, we are diligent.
A terrible thing happened this time on the news. A young couple played games all night and couldn't properly feed their three-month-old daughter, and eventually the daughter died of starvation.
Everyone! If you love, you will not be lazy. People who have no meaning in life overslept. Because there is nothing to love and there is no reason to love. Mothers want to oversleep, but they can't. Because they have to cook their beloved children and send them to school.
Third, rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, and be steadfast in prayer.(12)
Everyone! As saints, how should we live? Rejoice in hope and persevere in prayer even in tribulation! People with hope rejoice. Because there is a corner to believe. No matter how difficult and painful the reality is, we can overcome it because we have faith that the Lord will come again and hope for a new heaven and a new earth, and we have the Lord's comfort and grace.
Are you experiencing tribulation? Be patient! There are weak saints in the church. The church is waiting for those weak saints. What you should do while waiting is prayer.
Fourth, lastly, do your best to supply the needs of the saints and provide hospitality to strangers.(13)
He told them to supply the necessities of the saints and strive to serve guests. We need to help not only with our hearts but also with our materials. This is what the true church looks like. If we show love, service, and sacrifice, God will be glorified.