What Can We Learn About Spiritual Gifts

The conference of elders was edifying the body through spiritual gifts. Now, the conference is over, but what can we all gain from considering the topic here today? As I mentioned, several messages were given in regard to spiritual gifts.

It is a very important topic, and actually it's one I talked about in 2002. So it has been a number of years since I've given a sermon on this particular subject. Don't feel too bad because Scott Ashley said he only heard one sermon in 40-some years—43 years, I think—on the topic. So it could be worse. So it is a topic that a lot of people, I think, shy away from discussing, but there's no need to really do that. I mean, it's in the Bible. It does talk about spiritual gifts. It's something that we should consider from time to time.

And it is very important that we understand this topic better. Most importantly, we all need to be utilizing the spiritual gifts that we've personally been given so that we build up and edify the body of Christ. And we need to do this in the most effective and powerful way by allowing God's Spirit to work in us.

So what about you? Has God given you any spiritual gifts? And if so, what gifts have you been given? How might you better use your spiritual gifts to edify and to build up the body of Christ, the Church of God? How should you look at the spiritual gifts that God has given others? That's also important. How should we look at the gifts that God has given others? So I hope to cover all of these questions. If I don't get to all of them today, there could be a follow-up sermon sometime down the line, not too far from now.

Pentecost is coming closely, too. I'm not sure what I'm going to talk about there. So there's certainly much to be said about God's Holy Spirit. Now, I would like to start out by sharing some of what Mr. Victor Kubik had to say. In his presentation regarding spiritual gifts, I think I'll just look here briefly. His title was actually, Using Spiritual Gifts. It's not enough to talk about our spiritual gifts. It is important that we also use and put into practice our spiritual gifts.

As Mr. Kubik often does, he mentioned the Ukrainians that he spent quite a bit of time working with. In fact, I think it was Mr. Kubik's whose family was in a concentration camp, a refugee camp of sorts. So obviously, this is important to him. He's a Ukrainian. Or at least has some connection with the Ukrainians.

I'm not sure if he was exactly where he was born. Probably here in the... I don't know. I should probably find that out before I start talking about him. Anyway, he did mention that more and more Ukrainians are beginning to adopt the Sabbath day. As they realize it is not Jewish, but very, very Christian.

As Mr. Griffith was talking about, it was Christ's custom to observe the Sabbath day. He was Lord of the Sabbath. He did mention that the Ukrainians said that they felt our explanation, which I think goes back to the World Wide Church of God initially, about the Holy Spirit, in their opinion, was too passive.

That we needed to be more active in our explanation of the Holy Spirit. Now, they believe, as we do, that the Holy Spirit is not a third person. It is not a part of a Trinity. They don't believe in that doctrine. In fact, they've said that God the Father has a face. God the Son has a face. But the Holy Spirit is the faceless God, as they refer to it.

Not a third being, but the power of God, God's essence, His nature. Let's go to Acts 2, verse 14, and let's consider something very dramatic that occurred on this first day of Pentecost. Now, remember that Peter, just less than two months prior to this, had denied Christ three times. He denied knowing Christ. He denied being with Christ. And basically, it was there when Christ was being taken. Not basic, was it there when Christ was being taken to be crucified? We read about a different Peter here in Acts 2 after the Holy Spirit had been given.

And of course, Peter had some time to think about what he had done. He saw Christ dying on the stake. No doubt, his heart was convicted by what he had done and what he had allowed to happen without speaking up. But undoubtedly, it was God's Holy Spirit that was truly working in Peter on this day of Pentecost. In verse 14 of chapter 2, after the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the crowd that were assembled there, some were mocking and saying that these people that were speaking in various languages— some, they were not understanding, obviously, but others were understanding these languages— so they did not understand this gift that was given, this pouring out of God's Spirit.

And so, they were mocking them and saying they are full of new wine. They're drunk. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice. So he wasn't timid about this. He wasn't shrinking away somewhere. Instead, he raised his voice and he said to them, Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and heed my words. So these are strong words. He says, Listen to me. I've got something important to say. He raised his voice. I'm sure he was speaking very directly. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

So he was beginning to take on these people who were mocking them. He says, They're not drunk, but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last day, says God, that I will pour out of my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my men servants and on my maid servants, I will pour out my spirit in those days.

And they shall prophesy, and I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. Now, this is undoubtedly describing what is yet to happen in the book of Revelation. You know, the Revelation and parts of Daniel discuss these last days before Christ returns, where there will be heavenly signs.

There will be certain plagues that will be poured out upon the earth. God's wrath will be poured out upon a sinning world. No doubt, God is sickened by what he sees here on this earth. You know, you think you're sickened by what was going on with these three women, but God saw this for ten years. Think about that. You know, he had to endure it for ten years. God is indeed patient, very, very patient to put up with that for ten years.

You know, God has a time... He has a plan. It's according to his time. You know, God's time, he lives for eternity. So he doesn't look at ten years the way we do. But undoubtedly, because he hates sin so much more than any of us do, and he hates this type of abuse, this is a stench in God's nostrils. And he is going to say, enough is enough. He is going to send his son back. So, you know, make no mistake that God is fed up with many of the things that sicken us as well. He says, The sun shall be turned into darkness, the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. So Peter was speaking of a time yet two thousand years in the future.

And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, there were certain things that were happening at that time. God was pouring out his Spirit. The early church was being affected by God's Holy Spirit. In fact, there was great power in the early church. And Peter was a recipient of this great power. And this is a manifestation. What's going on right here, this day of Pentecost, was a manifestation of God working in Peter. Peter was a transformed person by the power of God's Spirit. He says, Now, just stop and think for a moment. Peter was being very, very direct. He's saying, This Son of God, and you have killed him. You have crucified him. You are guilty. So he wasn't mincing any words. He says, You've crucified him and put him to death, whom God raised up. And he goes on to speak of the resurrection. And he compares Jesus Christ to David, who was both dead and buried, showing the greatness of Jesus the Christ, who was no longer dead and buried, but was now alive. So Peter was speaking very boldly, very powerfully. Not something that everyone wanted to hear there, because there were some mockers, there were some scoffers that were there. Now, we know that some were pricked in their hearts, and some were repentant, but not everyone. So it took courage for Peter to stand up and to be counted at this time. So it's God's Spirit that made the difference in Peter's life, and God's Spirit will make the difference in your life. If you will yield to God's Spirit and allow God to work in you, you can also have the boldness that Peter had. Are you bold like Peter, or are you more like Peter before he was converted? Shrinking back and not speaking up when the time is right.

This reminds me of something that Mr. Cubick said in the particular presentation that he gave. He talked about Mort. Now, Mort bought a chainsaw, and Mort was guaranteed that the chainsaw he was buying would cut down five trees, five big trees, in one day. That's a lot of wood, five huge trees in one day. So this was a workhorse chainsaw. It may have been the still, whatever, that biggest one they have. The workhorse, I forget what they call it, something like that. But anyway, it was a nice chainsaw. So Mort bought the saw. He was convinced. But two days later, he came back with the chainsaw. And he was thoroughly disgusted. And Mort said to the salesman there that sold him this chainsaw, he said it took me all day to cut down just one tree. All day long. One tree. So he said, you know, what's the problem? You know, you sold me a bill of goods. The store owner took the saw. He pulled it just one time. It roared to life. And Mort said, what's that sound?

What's that sound? Well, I think he did pretty well getting one tree cut down. The point being that the Holy Spirit is perhaps something we haven't yet pulled the cord on yet. Now, maybe there's a dimension there that we haven't quite understood or we haven't tapped into fully. And maybe it's just because God hasn't yet poured His Spirit out in the same way He did in Acts for a time. Obviously, things changed in the early church, too. The power of God's Spirit did not continue to work in the early church into the second and the third and fourth and the fifth centuries, up until now as it was in that very first century. I believe a lot of it has to do with timing. It has to do with God's plan. What is God doing? I believe that we will hear that chainsaw one day in the future. And I'm looking forward to hearing that chainsaw, because then something is going to happen. Something wonderful is going to begin to happen. Something powerful is something to stick around for. Another thing that Mr. Kubik mentioned was in Acts 4. He talked about how Peter and John were imprisoned after healing the person that had been crippled, a lame man crippled from birth. This man was healed, and he was jumping up and down. He was excited, and other people were excited. So they arrested Peter and John. That seems like the logical thing to do, right? Arrest somebody who's done something great and wonderful? Well, they brought Peter and John before them, these religious leaders of the day. In verse 7, they set them in the mist, and they asked, By what power or by what name have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day are judged for a good deed, done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, by the way, whom God raised from the dead, by him, this man stands here before you whole. This is the chief cornerstone.

Jesus the Christ, and nor is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved. So as Peter spoke out very powerfully, very strongly, he says, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled, they were astonished at the power in which Peter spoke. That's the type of power that we can have. I believe we can tap into God's Spirit much more than we do already today. We don't have to wait. We may have to wait before we see collectively these things, but the more we yield ourselves to God, surely He can work in us individually in greater ways if we have faith. God has done that in the past. God has worked through individuals from time to time. Certain things have happened. In fact, the prophecy that I just read about, some will dream dreams, some will prophesy. Mr. Kubik told a story about how he had taken a trip with another minister in 1992 over to Russia. He met with Russian Sabbatarians. He gave a sermon about what the Holy Days meant to him and to the worldwide Church of God at the time. Afterwards, people thanked him for his sermon. They were glad to hear what he had to say. But also, they had a custom that they would allow people to stand up and share a vision or a teaching.

So there was a particular woman there that had at one time been a gynecologist. A very educated woman. She was a doctor, but now she was working as a street sweeper. The reason being is that she had been persecuted for keeping the Sabbath. She had lost her job. She had to take a job as a street sweeper.

She was also sent to Siberia because of her beliefs. So this lady stood up. This was the woman who stood up and said, I had a vision last night about you two men. I'll talk about the hair standing on your hair, what little I've got. And it tends to stand up anyway. But all of our hair would be standing up on end, I think. If someone began to tell us about a vision they had about us, just the night before. So I had a vision last night about you two men. It was about the marriage supper and the bride wore a garment. Half of the garment was white and clean. The other half was dirty. She said, change your garment. In other words, get completely whole. That was her admonishment. So the pastor came up to Mr. Cubic and said, Well, Brother Victor, I'm sorry about this, but at least you're half clean. Something to that effect. Of course, that was in 1992. So we all know in 1995 there were some big problems in the church in 1995. Now, whether that was a reference exactly to that particular happening that was going to occur, God knows. But certainly there were some big changes not too far down the road. Scripture does say that women and men, sons and daughters, would dream dreams and would prophesy. Mr. Cubic mentioned that there were two booklets that the Ukrainians really loved, and they translated them into Ukraine, reprinted it and distributed them, and they took the literature to Siberia, and they evangelized there. That would be a tough area to evangelize, I would think. I'm not sure exactly how much growth they had, but anyway, they were willing to go there. Mr. Cubic asked of the ministry, basically, are you maximizing the spiritual gifts of the people that you serve? Well, that's a question that probably every minister should consider. I know I gave a sermon quite a long time ago, so I probably need to speak more on this subject.

I have always tried to encourage everyone to get involved, to be a part, to serve, and not to hold back. And I would again admonish all of you to, first of all, consider what spiritual gifts you have. It's important to determine what God has given you that perhaps sets you apart in certain ways.

Something of a spiritual nature, obviously, a spiritual gift we're talking about, not just a physical thing. We all have different abilities in various ways. Some people are better mechanics than others. I don't believe that's a spiritual gift. Now, a person can turn it into a spiritual gift if he serves in that way and helps people out, and is there to help out when people need help. It's giving, and that's a spiritual gift, the generosity and the giving and all that. So it can be a spiritual gift in some ways, but certainly not in every way. But what type of spiritual gifts do you have? We'll go through a few scriptures today, and we can ask ourselves that as we go along.

He also asked the question, do you have the right people in charge of various activities in each church? Well, I think we have some very capable people that serve very well in a number of different areas. And I'm always open-minded if you would like to serve in a certain area and feel that you're gifted in that way, please talk to me and let me know, because I would certainly consider some changes if necessary. It's not like we're not necessarily stuck in a rut. We've got good people doing a lot of good things. Some of you don't really want to take over the sound system and serve in that way. Mr. Imes might like it if someone really did, so that he wouldn't have every single sound. Mr. Wagner helps out a lot, too, but it falls basically on these two men's shoulders. There aren't too many of us here, but if you think you could serve in that way, I'm sure they would welcome your service. And again, these might be physical ways, but they become spiritual gifts as you edify the body of Christ. If no one was willing to sit behind in the sound booth, then where would we be? Or if no one was willing to help out with the potlucks and help organize them and put them together and so forth, everything wouldn't be done decently and in order. So there are many ways to serve. And again, some of these things are a greater gift than other things, but everything is important. If anyone here has the gift of healing, and I'm not aware of it, please let me know, because I will send everyone to you. I might lay hands along with you, or if you're not able to lay hands, I'll let you pray and I'll lay hands. If the job gets done, that's the main thing, isn't it? You might ask yourself, do you have the gift of faith? That is a very important gift. Are you a faithful person, and do you have faith in God's promises? And are you willing to step out in faith? Are you willing to be counted? Like Peter was on that day on Pentecost, where he was willing to step out in faith. He asked also the question, do you direct the utilization of the Spirit in your area as a director? Directs an amazing choir. I'm in front of an amazing choir right now. You have to believe in yourself. We all have to increase our belief level. I'm sure you'd have to increase your belief level that I would be a wonderful conductor. But we all need to increase our belief level in one another. Mr. Kubik said the end is not here yet. It's coming. He doesn't think there's an awful long time yet before us. In some ways, it's just the beginning if we stir up the Spirit in humility and really begin to allow God's Spirit to work in us in greater ways. He said that he does believe there's still a greater work yet to be done. That the job isn't completed, it's not over, there's still a commission to fulfill. And I believe that as well.

Those were some of the highlights. I threw some of my own stuff in there, too. But Mr. Kubik, I thought, gave a fine presentation message. And then Mr. McNeely gave a keynote address entitled, Creating an Environment for Growth. It is important that we have a right environment here to grow and to utilize God's Holy Spirit and to use our gifts. He said, changes in the church will only be effective if we first change ourselves. And that's where we have to start. We have to start with ourselves. I can't start with you. I need to start with me. If Mark Welch changes for the better, then he is a better minister. And he can more effectively lead and direct and guide you as a congregation.

On the other hand, if you change yourself and become a better Christ-like person, someone that is more in tune with Christ and his actions, then that builds the church. That edifies the church. We do set an example for one another. It is important the choices that we make, the decisions that we make. So we are held responsible for our decisions and how they affect our church. And those things are important. They shouldn't be taken lightly. They shouldn't be discounted or just pushed aside as meaningless. They are important.

So Mr. McNeely gave three points that he wanted to discuss in terms of being able to develop a better environment for growth. And these principles apply here in Oklahoma City.

The first principle was, we all need to listen to each other. It's a basic principle, but that's the only way we get to know each other. Sometimes we assume things about people when we don't really know. We assume they're a certain way, or they think a certain way, or they believe a certain way. But it's important that we learn to listen to each other so we can come to understand each other. Even if we may not agree exactly with them, at least we can appreciate perhaps why they believe what they do. And maybe that will give us a better perspective on it. It might actually help us help them better if we understand them better and if they realize that we really are listening and that we aren't self-righteous and think we know everything, and we are willing to communicate and help one another. So again, we may not agree or be the best of friends, but when we do understand where each is coming from, there will be greater harmony in the body. There will be greater harmony here. And there have been some problems in the past because people haven't applied these things. They haven't listened. They've done certain things that have affected the Church. And it's caused some issues, and that's true in any congregation. There's always going to be, from time to time, certain issues. You know, that's just... when you have human beings, you have issues. Issues exist. So we should expect that, but we should also try to minimize those issues that arise. A second principle that Mr. McNeely talked about as important in creating an environment for growth is to encourage each other. We can all be encouragers, even if it's not something that we naturally are. Maybe you're not a natural encourager. You know, maybe you have to work at it. But it is possible to work at it. You know, you can do better. You can stir yourself up to encourage people. Of course, that means you need to get to know people. You need to spend time talking to them and getting to know them. And when you find out things are not going so well with them, then you can say something that just may really encourage them. You never really know how much of just a few words could encourage someone. And Mr. McNeely gave a personal example in his own life when he was a young man, probably still a teenager. He applied for Ambassador College. I think Mr. McNeely was in the church around age 10 or maybe earlier. I don't remember exactly, but he was in there as a child. And maybe it was later on. I don't recall exactly. But anyway, when he was 17 or 18, 19, he applied for Ambassador College. And this was back in 1969. And he was rejected. They didn't accept him. And back in those days, God really was working in certain great ways, more so than we've seen today. More people were coming to a knowledge of the truth. More people were being called. More people were coming to church. More people were being visited. And not everyone was accepted to Ambassador College back in those days. People were rejected. Well, he was one of those who was rejected. His minister, who happened to be Bob Steep, and probably most of you have never met Bob Steep. I don't think I've ever met him. I have heard his name, but I don't know him. He's long since gone. He's probably maybe dead. I don't know. I don't know where he's at. But anyway, he came up to Mr. McNeely after services that day, after he'd been rejected from Ambassador. He'd already heard that Darris had not been accepted. So he told him, he said, Don't get discouraged and take this too hard. He says, You're sitting on a gold mine. In other words, you are a gold mine. You're sitting on a gold mine. What you have around you, you're calling. It's a gold mine, and it's all up to you to dig it out.

Now you have to, in other words, stick with it. Don't become discouraged. Don't quit. Don't give up. If Mr. McNeely had given up, I guarantee you he would not be on the TV set now as a presenter for Beyond Today. He actually, he did hang in there, and he applied the following year, and he was accepted. So he did go to Ambassador College, I think, in 1970. So he told him, You're sitting on a gold mine. You have to dig it out, so get busy. Don't feel sorry for yourself. So the next year he was accepted, and little did Bob Steep know what a big difference it had made. Just those few words of encouragement. So you never know when a word of encouragement at the right moment will be the defining moment in someone's life. So always be an encourager, and be there for one another. And the third principle was that of trust. And this is a very important element that's really taken a big hit for years, and rightly so. I mean, things haven't always gone smoothly. That's an understatement, isn't it? For those of us who have been in the Church for many years, things haven't always gone smoothly in the Church. There have been issues for many years. There have been problems, and there have been breaches in trust and in faithfulness. And the ministry at times did not fulfill the responsibilities of the ministry the way they should. And so trust suffered. I think at one time we trusted too much. Now we don't trust enough. There's a proper balance that we need to have. So we're talking about listening and learning to encourage and to trust one another. And also to use these spiritual gifts that God has given us, each of us, to edify, to build up the congregation. What is most important is not the gift, but the one who gives the gift. So that's where we start. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seek to become like God. Put on the mind of Christ. That should be our first and foremost goal in life, is to become Christ-like. And that's basically a word that you're going to hear a lot of, becoming Christ-like. That's very, very important. We want to stress that we need to become like Christ. If we become like Christ, then all these issues become less, except persecution. And that goes with the territory. When we become Christ-like, there will be more persecution.

Well, we do need to become that church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. And Mr. Maynele said that we will become that church, or we will divide again and again and again. And we will become a footnote in the history of the Church of God, like so many others have become a footnote in the history of the Church of God.

So let's learn to trust one another, not blindly, but by the fruits. Let's look at the fruits.

The Bible says by their fruits, you will know them. So let's look at the fruits of one another.

Developing spiritual gifts in the Church is actually a part of our Constitution.

We've always believed in this, that we are to develop spiritual gifts. So it is a very important part of the United Church of God.

Let's go to Ephesians 4, verse 15 for a moment. Ephesians 4, verse 15.

Ephesians 4, verse 15. Paul says, "...Now you, Philippians, know also that in the beginning of the Gospel, when I departed from Macedonia..." That's not right. That didn't sound right. Ephesians 4 sounds better. I was in Philippians, I think.

Anyway, Ephesians 4, verse 15.

I hate to come into the middle of this one. Let's read verse 11. We'll start with verse 11.

And he himself, speaking of Christ, gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.

These are different various offices within the Church of God. Different opportunities to serve in the Church as apostles and prophets and evangelists, pastors and teachers.

For the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Now, obviously, this is the Scripture where we drew our theme.

"...till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." So individually, we are to become without spot or wrinkle, aren't we? Individually. That's what we are to become without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. We are to become a perfect man to the measure and the stature of the fullness of Christ.

The same thing is true as a body, as the Church of God, a Church without spot or wrinkle. "...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into him who is the Head." Christ is the Head of the Church. Christ is the Head of the United Church of God.

You know, the President will come and go, as we've already seen a number of times already. You know, Victor Cubic will come and go.

As did all the others. You know, we've had, what, five or six presidents now.

They will come and go, but Christ will always be the Head of the Church.

Christ, we place our complete trust in, our complete faith in. And then only in men, as they have good fruits and show their faithfulness.

So speaking the truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the Head. Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies. Every joint supplies. So when I look out, I see one big body, and I see a lot of different joints. You're all different joints in that sense, and everyone has a part to play in the body.

You know, the body doesn't move very well if the joints aren't working properly, right? If the joints are all filled with arthritis, then it's difficult for the body to move. So spiritually, we need to be pure and clean so that we can move. According to the effect of working by which every part does its share, causing growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

What every member supplies, everyone doing its share. In Mr. Luecker's last letter, he instructed the ministry to teach the members so that they can teach others. We're all to become teachers eventually, and we can be teachers now to a limited or to a greater degree, depending on our situation. This was Denny Luecker's parting wish for us that we would become teachers, teaching the truth of God faithfully. We do that by using our gifts to help develop the gifts of others. So again, we might ask why spiritual gifts? Well, spiritual gifts are given by God for the edification for the whole body, the whole community of faith. It is for the purpose of building up the church so that we can become a church without spot or wrinkle. So we need to be using our spiritual gifts. Why are they called spiritual gifts? Again, they're not physical gifts. They're spiritual gifts. Sometimes we can use a physical blessing or something physical and turn it into a spiritual gift by being generous, by sharing, by serving, by giving. And then there are other gifts that are more dramatic, you might say, like the gift of faith. That's something that God gives us. Faith is a gift. And the Bible says that, ask and you shall receive. So have you been asking for faith? Have you been praying for faith? This really ought to be a prayer we ask each day that God would grant us stronger faith so that we could be like the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost, so that we could step out in faith, trusting God and believing in Him and doing His will. So they are spiritual gifts. We can't always touch these gifts, but they are real. We see them by our own efforts. We can develop our spiritual gifts by utilizing them, by putting them into practice. So to whom does God give spiritual gifts? Let's go to a few verses. Let's go to Romans chapter. Well, let's go to 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 1. 1 Peter chapter 4. 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 3.

Peter writes, 1 Peter writes, 2 Peter chapter 4.

1 Peter chapter 4.

He says, Whatever we do, we should do with our might, that God may be glorified in the things that we do.

So here Peter talks about spiritual gifts in two main groupings, that of speaking and also that of serving. If anyone speaks, let him speak the truth as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers or serves, let him do it with the ability which God supplies. God gives us the presence of mind to be able to serve, the capacity to serve.

So God gets the glory for whatever it is we can contribute to the edifying of the body. Now let's go to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, where we read what Paul has to say here. Romans chapter 12. Let's start in verse 1. Romans chapter 12 verse 1. Paul says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

He says we are to become a living sacrifice, just as Christ was willing to lay His life down for us and die for us, sacrificing Himself, we should become living sacrifices. In other words, the way we live our lives should reflect the faith that we have in Christ who died for us. It is our reasonable service. Someone dies for you should not you live to bring honor to them from that day forward. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

So we are not to conform to this world. We're not to become like the world, but we are to come out of the world. Not that we can go off and cloister ourselves somewhere as the monks. That isn't what God's saying. That isn't what God wants us to do.

But He does want us to separate ourselves from the world in terms of our thoughts, our mind, our hearts. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So we are to set an example of God's perfect will in our lives. So people should see God in all that we do. We should reflect the character of God in the decisions that we make and in the things that we say and in the things that we do.

That is what God wills all of us to do. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly or humbly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. God has given each of us a measure of faith. Now God will give us more faith if we ask and if we believe. If we ask for it and then if we believe it is going to happen, then God will answer our prayers. Every good gift comes from God and faith is a good gift. So continue to ask for more faith.

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. We are not called to do exactly the same thing. We should not covet what someone else is doing because God designed it that way. We cannot all do the same things. So we, being many, are one body in Christ and individually we are members of one another. So when I look out, I see one body here. I see a number of members, but I see one body. This is the United Church of God in Oklahoma City. It is one body and yet many members. Having gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.

Now this word that's translated gifts is from the Greek word chorisma. You've all heard that word. It's spelled C-H-A-R-I-S-M-A. Chorisma is from Strong. I think that's how we translate it into English is chorisma. It's from the chorizomai, which is C-H-A-R-I-Z-O-M-A-I. The Greek word 5483 in the Strongs, which means a divine gratuity, a gift, deliverance from danger or passion, a special or a spiritual endowment. It's speaking of a religious qualification in certain respects, a gift in this case. Also, a miraculous faculty, a free gift.

That's from Vines Words, from the dictionary from Vines. On the word chorisma, which is translated gifts here. And then the word grace is from the Greek word 5485, which is charis, C-H-A-R-I-S. It mainly means graciousness of manner or act, especially the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life. It includes gratitude. It means benefit, favor, gift, or grace, or gracious, joy, liberality, pleasure, and thank-worthy.

These are definitions of the word grace. So the words grace and gift are closely related. Both concepts are referring to God's graciousness upon His children. Both grace and gifts are extensions of God's mercy and are from Him. We can't take any credit for either. So these are gifts that God gives us. It's not because of our own greatness.

It's because God is great in us. So they are given to glorify God. We are to use them to serve others and not to serve ourselves. So these gifts are given to the entire church when they're given to one individual.

They're to be shared with the church. I think there's much more that could be said today, but I think it's been a long day for you, I'm sure. I'm going to save some of the rest of this for another day. I did want to conclude with something I read here recently about a conductor. There was a conductor who was holding a rehearsal one night with a vast array of musicians and also a hundred-voice choir.

So a much larger group of people than I'm speaking to today. While the mighty chorus sang out, the horns blared, the cymbals clashed. Sitting far back in the orchestra, the piccolo player thought to herself, with all these loud instruments, it doesn't matter what I do. No one can hear me. They don't need me. And so she immediately stopped playing. Suddenly, the conductor stopped the music, and everyone looked at the piccolo player. And the conductor said, it doesn't sound right without you. Something's missing when the least is playing and whether the piccolo is least, I don't know, as she thought she was the least.

It doesn't sound right without you. If you don't play the concerts off, we need you. I think sometimes we feel a little bit like the piccolo player. We don't always feel like we have all that much to contribute. But I assure you that you do have much to contribute. And you have to believe in God and trust that, again, God doesn't make any junk.

He doesn't make any junk. So you're not junk, so don't think of yourself that way. Think of yourself as something in someone God can use to further His work and to do His will. So don't stop playing, even if it's just, I shouldn't say even if it's just, especially if it's your prayers every day.

If that's the only way that you're able to serve because you're not very healthy, you're not able to get out and do a whole lot, serve in physical ways. Praying is a very spiritual gift in the sense that those who have faith and pray in faith, they are heard. You know, God hears your prayers. So I would encourage all of us to be praying, and that's one of the most important things that we can do. Of course, we should do more than just pray. Praying is certainly a good starting point. And if we are not able to physically do much more than that, then be content with that because that's very, very important. Don't stop praying.

God has given gifts, and now He wants each of us to use those gifts. So if you have a gift of encouragement, then by all means use it. Encourage one another. If you have a gift of faith, then step out in faith. Trusting God and counting on Him to back you up, believing that He will. Of course, you have to use wisdom. Some people think they have great faith, but perhaps their faith isn't quite as strong as they think. And they may step out when God's not leading. Make sure God's doing the leading. Make sure God's the one that's doing the guiding. Don't take it upon yourself unless you know that God is directing you and leading you and guiding you. Then you can know with faith that God will certainly back you up. If you're doing God's will, if that's what He wants you to do, then He's going to be there for you. Don't allow yourself to think that you don't matter. Nobody is a nobody in God's true Church. There is no such thing as a nobody in God's true Church. And remember, no one can do everything, but everyone can do something. So use the gifts that God has given you and continue to seek out those gifts so that you can serve and edify the body of Christ.