While I was at Timberline, I had the opportunity to attend a local nondenominational church there, Lemont Calvary Church. I was glad TK provided a way for us to worship. The first couple Sundays I went, the pastor preached on spiritual gifts, and it was interesting to see the timing in light of the other lessons I was learning about myself, how God made me, and what he equipped me to do for his glory.
He used Romans 12 as his basis – I’ll attempt to paraphrase his message. When Paul speaks of gifts in Rom 12:6 he uses the Greek work Charisma. The pastor asked the question, “who is more charismatic than Jesus, the one who draws all men to him?” And then he explained how Jesus, being sinless and the Son of God, embodied all the gifts at the same time. When Jesus left the earth, God was expecting Christ-followers to take up the gospel message and share with others. We are all part of a body that brings the message of Jesus to those around us.
In Romans, Paul says God has given us each a measure of faith and different gifts according to his will. As God divides gifts among us, and we each put our gifts to use, the whole picture of Jesus is presented to those around us. This is one reason why we need a body of believers around us. The pastor gave examples of how people in his life shared their gifts with him, both in the church and in the community. He used Eph 2:20-22 and II Cor 2:15 to support these examples. To paraphrase Eph, we, the church, are…
- Fellowcitizens of the saints
- Of the household of God
- Built on a foundation of Jesus Christ and the apostles
- Working together to build a dwelling place for God’s Spirit that is “fitly framed together”
and we are blessing each other by using our gifts to create the whole picture.
II Cor 2:14-15 says, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.” God will cause us to triumph in Christ and manifest the sweetness of knowing him to everyone in every place. Some will understand and turn to God. Others won’t. It only happens through his Spirit in us; it’s pretty incredible that God would trust us, human beings with free will, to show him to everyone around us.
Other parts of this series included Moses, Samson, and Timothy. Moses tried to explain to God at the burning bush that God should use someone else. He wasn’t believing that God could use him. Samson wasted his gifts through selfishness, and Timothy was, at first, unaware of his gifts. Paul came along, helped him get started, and then later encouraged Timothy to not forget or be fearful to use his gifts. In I Tim 4:12 &14, Paul told him, “Let no man despise thy youth…neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.” The word for gift here is the same as in Romans and I Corinthians – charisma. Later Paul repeats himself in II Timothy 1:6-7. “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.”
Recently I became aware that an often-quoted verse – II Timothy 1:7 – is actually immediately after Paul encourages Timothy to use God-given gifts. “For God hath not given us the spirit or fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” So I have to ask myself…
- Am I unaware? Have I taken an assessment to find out what my gifts are?
- Am I unwilling? Now that I know what my God-given gifts and talents are, am I questioning them? Am I questioning God whether he knew what he was doing?
- Am I apathetic? Am I wasting my gifts, or am I actively using them to share the gospel?
- Am I anxious? Do I believe God will equip me for what he asks me to do?
