Grace Made Visible (Part 5) - Gifted and Talented

hi I met Chandler here pastor of the village church just want to thank you for streaming this sermon on your device I I wanted to just before we get going here just lay before you a deep conviction we have that this video sermon that we've prayed really stirs up your affections for Jesus and shapes you and mold you into the image of the son would just be supplemental to your relationship with the Lord and in no way would replace the church you should be plugged into or the pastor that God has put over your life to Shepherd and care for your soul and so please enjoy the next hour or so of this message we have prayed that God would use it in a profound way in your life blessings if you have your Bibles would you go ahead and grab them we're gonna be in Romans chapter 12 as you're turning there let me just quickly remind you what we're doing we are almost done with our summer series grace made visible which has been a series over generosity and and not generosity that is built upon manipulation or duty but rather the generosity that flows freely once we know and have experienced the grace of God and so generosity that is wrought with the wrong motivation does nothing really for anyone and so we know this in multiple areas of our lives and so really our focus in this entire series has been yes the generosity but not generosity because the pastor says to be generous but rather because in an experience of the grace of God we are able to live open-handed lives where we gladly see all that we are and all that we have has been from God for the glory of God and so that's what we have covered last week we talked about our money and how we should look at our money and how we should consider our money and now this week I want to talk about our gifts and and how to think rightly about our gifts in light of God's graciousness and generosity to us now one of the things we've said if you've missed that the series is that all of us are born with the type of natural intrinsic gifting and what I mean by that is there are things for all of us that simply came easier than other things right that there are things that were just easier for you than others so maybe in school that was math and science maybe that was English in history maybe that had something more to do with the arts but there was an area of Education in an area of really walking out life where things were just easier for you there that's intrinsic gifting you didn't really do anything you were just kind of born with those gifts personality types drives passions zeals there's a reason that you love the things that you love and and so I've tried to paint this picture that that those things although since you were born or developed as you grew older before you knew Christ were not with laser-like focus built and and set upon what those gifts were actually given to you for but rather more likely like me you were using your gifts to build your own kingdom and so I've kind of used myself as the example I was always curious no one trained me in curiosity I was just born that way all right so I'm a very curious man was a very curious little boy I am a passionate human being all right I just am you get me on something I just get all its amped up about it all right and then I tend to be I would score high on any type of entrepreneurial test I tend to see opportunity everywhere now all of those were present in my life before I became a Christian every one of them I was hopelessly curious I would just research all sorts of things I saw opportunity everywhere and it was very passionate man and all of those gifts I was actively walking in all right but the purpose of all of those gifts in that season is I was gonna become a lawyer now I'm just gonna become a lawyer I was gonna be a legit one all right I was gonna you can't handle the try that moment I wanted that moment so bad did you order the Code Red I wanted that moment so bad all right I mean I just pray would just give me a Jessup God just one time I just want Jessup once all right I mean that's where my and I was gonna have a smoking wife and I was gonna have a ridiculous amount of wealth the kind of wealth that you just you didn't care you just you know like Dumber there you go there I mean that kind of so that that's what I'm doing I'm heading that direction all right building a kingdom unto myself this is where I'm headed and then the Lord intervened and he didn't get rid of any of those gifts he didn't rebuke me for any of those gifts he didn't declare that any of those gifts were wrong or bad or horrible he simply took him and he placed them on himself and so I'm hi entrepreneur and so instead of just going oh here's all the ways I can get wealthy God redeemed my heart redeemed my man redeemed that gift and now I go how do we make as Jesus as big of a deal as he actually is to everyone who will hear and understand and and my passion is almost soul focused on the name and renown of Jesus Christ and my curiosity here's what's so great about following the Lord lat last week a couple that serves in our nursery bought their 90 year old mother to the village which that's a little scary because we're loud and I'm wearing jeans and I'm yelling at everybody and and if you're 90 I mean are you really ready for that I mean that's not historic church if you're 90 all right you didn't grow up in that joint right and and so they even tried to prepare her I mean they're like it's gonna be loud just listen to that content is king just listen to the content hey don't worry about the voluminous slang will explain slang he's just listen to what he says about the Bible and so they're prepared and so she sat in and then as they left I mean she began to tell them what God had done in her life how cool is it that even at 90 there's still more to learn still more to grow in still we haven't arrived how beautiful is that about our faith that we don't get there until we get there right and so my curiosity the reason I said that is because I am more confident than ever in the goodness and grace of God and more confused than ever on certain aspects that I just can't seem to figure out I'm just hopelessly Korea I'm just gonna keep digging keep study I'm gonna read whatever I can't I need to get to the bottom of it it bothers me if I can which I think the Lord just comes sometimes just smirks at me like you eat I'm eternal really gonna figure this out you're 40 I'm eternal you see this isn't gonna actually play out like you think it's going to play out I have always been you are dew on the grass in the morning and and so right that's the that that's kind of my curiosity is just on the Lord I want to know about the law I want to know how it works I want to look at this I want to die I'm desirous to know this and so all of those things were present but he redeemed them and he placed them on him self and then on top of redeeming those intrinsic gift that were once all about me and now have to become all about him he actually brought more gifts than I actually had to begin with so now I've got gifts there weren't intrinsic gifts but gift that the Holy Spirit just put into my heart but here's what's important to know before we get too far down the use your gifts sermon that if our rudeness and using our gifts is not the gospel itself then our intention and desire to use our gift will always falter in to us taking a back seat and once again becoming consumers rather than givers guilt is a poor motivation for service and duty is a poor motivation for service see here's what ends up happening not just in the church world but but really I think the world in general I could get up here and and and I could preach today about great need and how great need leads to this and when people serve these are the things that happens and I could do that and what would happen to be really motivated alright where do you know kids village I remember that enough kid I'll go and we'll all sign up to serve in kids village and then what happens is half of you show up for the training and only 10% of you actually ever serve more than a week or two so you just can't be sustained you stink at it unless the gospel is what informs and the gospel is what empowers the emptying of ourselves for the good of others because then that serving and so with that said I want to spend the bulk of our time talking about the beauty of God found in the gospel what that means for you and me and and then we'll let the text take us to what that means for our gifts so with that said let's look Romans chapter 12 we're gonna cover eight verses I'm gonna read a little and stop don't let any of it make you nervous there we will let you out when we let you out so Romans 12 starting in verse one I appeal to you what's that word are you embarrassed for you like I am for you right now therefore can we try that again there all right I appeal to you what's the word therefore so therefore now here's just rule number one in reading your Bible well when the English word therefore is present it means that he's concluding something right so when you're reading your bottle here's just a simple kitschy corny little rule what's the therefore therefore like why is that there it's there for a reason kitschy yes helpful absolutely all right so what's the there for them so he says I peeled to you therefore brothers I plead with you I beg of you brothers therefore by the mercies of God and so what we need to look back to is what Paul has been teaching the church at Rome before this moment now he's taught him a bunch of different things but here's what we can confidently say in every direction and from every perspective possible the apostle paul has said this to this church and to us that we are sinners and that god has saved us in Jesus Christ and so I you're looking at me like I made that up let's let's do I mean I got all day Romans 3:21 says this if you've got a background in church you'll know some of these is the Roman Road or some of it I won't do all of that Romans 3:21 through 24 now listen to this but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law although the law and prophets bear witness to it now I love that opening sentence because I my conversion I was really struggling with indwelling sin with some issues that that had to do with things that happen to me when I was young just had all sorts of issues I was walking in and pastors would say stuff like this you're the only Jesus anybody some people are ever gonna see and I would thank God that is terrible why would you say that to me and how unfortunate for them right six-foot-five gangly arrogant struggling with lust and Ray each nineteen-year-old is the only Jesus they're ever gonna see they're gonna think that Jesus is angry and gangly are you serious right now but what this just said is God God's glory his righteousness his beauty will not be manifested by my adherence to the law and the prophets although the law and prophets point to my need for a greater righteousness you had a chance there that was good preaching you missed it but that were fun let's keep going verse 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe so how is the glory of God the righteousness of God gonna be made manifest be made visible and the person and work of Jesus Christ not in me and Jesus so I'm not the only Jesus people are going to see I understand what they're saying when they say that but Jesus is the only Jesus that people are going to see and we'll get near the end of the sermon to explaining some of what kind of people mean when they say sentences like that but let's keep reading for there is no distinction here's one most of you will know if you have a background in church for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified that's made right by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus so I Romans 3:23 write a part of the the Roman Road but I want to ask you to think about it maybe a bit differently and here's what I mean by that I love that this sentence starts with 4 there is no distinction there is no so if you're here and you're a guest and you're a bit nervous you don't know where this is going let me let me help you real quick how many of you have not grown up in church you didn't grow up in church that's not your story mom and dad didn't load you up in the car and dragged you to ok so look around this is those of us who have not grown up in church now go and put your hands down how many of you did grow up in church mom and daddy taking you Sunday morning Wednesday night wait so now look around it's important that you get how many hands are up right now ok now go ahead and put your hands up now let me ask this question how many of you in your background is drug alcohol abuse maybe promiscuity and a lot of regret how many of you would say that Wow look at that no no keep that hand up so you shot that mug quit your pal dad back down no just keep it up so now do you see the egusi the church attendance does not equate godliness alright so so let's shot there is no distinction for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God some of us did it with the party scene and some of us did it with a bunch of church attendance there is a type of high you can get at youth camp and some folk got hooked on it huh tell me that Thursday night for 45 minutes am sesh at the end of that hour long sermon one legit back in the day and there were people that got addicted to that experience and just like drugs alcohol promiscuity had no desire to actually submit and live for the Lord they just simply loved that moment they lived for that spiritual high not the faith it takes day in and day out to put one foot in front of the next and trust the Lord they wanted the Emotiv high not that here's my heart I'm in it regardless of where you take me so the Bible here says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory out grew up in church got your Sunday School pins or your little bracelet with the beads you know the blue one is baptism black ones and red ones blood yeah that little bracelets legit didn't make you a Christian a lot of people rebelled against the Lord with that looked at the part instead of submitting their lives it's one of the oldest games in church in fact I'll get I'm quite animated about that near the end of the sermon Romans 6 verse 23 for the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord so do you hear it wages of sin is death here's what you've got coming for you but the free gift so when in Romans 12 Paul says therefore all right I plead with you I beg you therefore brothers by the mercy of God this is what he's pointing back to I've told you God is for you God has made a way don't wall in your sins God's made a way out this way to freedom I'm pleading with you and then the next line I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual act of worship so when he talks about our lives being living sacrifices he's once again pointing back to something that he's actually already taught on this is what he wants us to do this is what God wants us to do living sacrifices but earlier in Romans chapter 6 he talked to us about he what he doesn't want it to look like our lives and here's that text this is Romans 6:12 2:13 let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness so he's saying okay don't give your body over to sinfulness don't use the members of your body your hands your eyes your mind your brain your body don't give them over to sin so don't do that but do offer your body as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God now that's real pretty ethereal language but what does it mean what does it mean to be a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God well we find out in the next two verses a couple of things that are laid before us in regards to lives being living sacrifices and so starting in verse two we'll cover them one at a time the first one do not be conformed to this world or some of your text will say do not be conformed to the pattern of this world so the question I want to answer very quickly is what then is the pattern of this world that stands in opposition to us being living sacrifice as well I'm not gonna leave the book of Romans in Romans chapter 1 we see kind of a three-fold description of a life that is conformed to the pattern of this world here's the first one we worship and serve creation rather than the Creator and so eat hear me I mean no offense to anyone today if you are not a Christian this is you live you worship and serve creation rather than the Creator you don't want God you want his stuff you have no intention of loving the creator of those things you simply want his things this dooms you to a life in the kiddie pool you know what I mean by kiddie pool you know that one that's off the pools about 10 degrees warmer I don't know why I'm not looking into it all right it's just warmer I think it's because of its shallowness right so it dooms you not to play in the ocean of God's beauty and profound depth but instead be a grown man in the kiddie pool now how how does this work because everything that was created was meant to roll past itself to its creator the enjoyment of things was never meant to terminate on the enjoyment of things but rather to roll past those things into the enjoyment of the giver of those things so the easiest one is just food to talk about food food is good amen like food is awesome all right and so food was meant not just to be eaten as though we deserve it or that we but rather to see it as one God's provision and then to as God's grace because he gave it flavor like why does he need to do that you don't need to make food taste awesome he doesn't need to make dinner feel amazing like good food good wine good friends for four or five hours that's an epic night man that's a night that feeds the soul as well as the belly Lord doesn't need to do that and and that experience should always roll past that experience to something greater so who enjoys the evening more the one that goes home and lays in bed and thinks that filet was amazing or the one that lays in bed and says Who am I Lord that you would bless me like that you would give me that kind of friendships I know so many people don't have those kind of friendships yet you bless me with those kind of friends who could afford a stake in these times yeah but I I have no ramen noodle tonight my father for the fruit of the bond thank you so who has the better night the one who rolls past the dinner to the creator of the dinner see we're doomed into shallow traval ADIZ outside of the gospel in the pattern of this world is those who love creation rather than the Creator the pattern of this world is also marked by the second one there in Romans chapter ones that we believe the lie over the truth of God now the lie that we believe over the truth of God is simply that we are smarter than God now twenty-something years of pastoral ministry no one's ever said that to me with their mouths I believe that I'm smarter than God and yet many of our lives are marked by really a posturing that we are smarter than God and we do know what's best for us and so that works in one of two ways the first way it can work is that I don't care what the Bible says I'll do what I want I know what's best for me so it works in that way and that's kind of the more aggressive way the kind of passive kind of church kid way is that I just don't read or study the bottle or need to know the Bible because I intrinsically know what's best for me and there I'll give you this there's a way that seems right to you the Bible will even give that to you there's a way that's gonna seem right to you it's gonna feel right it's gonna seem right it's gonna kind of get in your gut you know like this is the right way to go and the Bible says that in the end that little gut feeling yours leads to death and so this is once again I'm smarter than you I know what's best for me I know what's best for my merits I know it's best for my I've got this that's a pattern of the world they want creation rather than the Creator they believe they're smarter than God and then the last one is they fail to acknowledge him so allow me to rant you have nothing to boast it all that you are all that you have and even your intrinsic gifting were given to you by God right so so that you really don't have anything to make a big deal about and even if you worked hard when all sin done your hard work doesn't equate the success that you've walked enough sat down with enough men and women now very successful in their field who will talk about being in the right place at the right time that means it wasn't your awesomeness that led to your success but rather the providential hand of God my wife Lauren is a bit of a genetic freak and and what I mean by that she's just brilliant and like so we got married while we were in college and like she graduated three and a half years summa laude I never saw her study is like she could hold her notebook and learn everything all right it's like some sort of weird osmosis freak show trip and she always did that thing where she was like why she was late she's like pray for me I'm just so stressed out this test is just gonna destroy me I'm just not ready I didn't study much I like didn't study much you held your notebook it's all you did you didn't study at all and then she would go come home how'd you do all that this just killed me there's just no way I'm gonna flunk out of school I'm gonna in a Brian that's that was Lauren then she'd get her tests but make 104 so here's I still don't have the answer this question where are those four points come from like I don't even know how do you even go past perfect and yet this is what she a summa laude never saw her study meanwhile it's 1:00 in the morning I'm brewing a pot of coffee coffee going through Greek flashcards she's absorbing what I'm saying out loud as she sleeps and is better at Greek than I am now here's what better not happen here's what I know Lord that's not hard work that brought that - Lord God did that to her and he did not do that to me and so for Lauren to boast in her all a existence I mean two B's that our entire life and to this day she would argue how those professors got it wrong now here's what happens if you take your intrinsic gifting how you're wired you begin to walk with a swagger you become very much like some of the kids that I walked with when I was doing student ministry and and here's what I mean when I was doing student ministry there were kids who were born into wealthy families and they would get their Ralph Lauren polo shirts on and then there were kids that that didn't come from that kind of family and they had their knights of the round table shirt on right so knights of the round table had a near-identical logo to ralph lauren's polo except it was a flag instead of a mallet you're right tell me who remembers this am i all my ok so there's a lot of hurt in this room a lot of hurt and so what would happen is I would see our wealthier kids kind of dog and make fun and shame kids who are from poor backgrounds and I just remember always feeling so frustrated because like what you do kid you were just born like seriously what did you do what makes you so awesome you're just frickin born you didn't earn anything you don't have no job your money didn't buy you that shirt you're better athletics because your momma can send you to a camp that cost five grand where you're learning technique you're not right and and so I would find just this frustration of my heart towards that type of kind of lording it over if you're gifted don't touch it it's not yours God did that for his glory you can make yourself a blasphemer I don't care what it is if you're good at it you're excelling at it you praise his glorious grace because it is he who did that work and you see a pattern of this world is to fail to acknowledge that all that is good and right has been authored and is sustained by God so it says don't be conformed to the pattern of this world don't love creation over the Creator don't believe that you're smarter than God and and don't fail to acknowledge him as the giver of every good gift and then he moves in to this but be transformed by the renewal of your mind so the renewal of our minds is once again I love this text because what it just said is I'm not gonna be transformed by trying harder but by rather giving being given a new heart and a new mind so think about that because if you get that backwards you will enslave yourself to empty vain religion for a lot of your days I want to try to help you not do that notice that what happens here is we are transformed by the renewal of our mind so God changes our mindset changes the passions of our heart and we don't we're not transformed by going it's really an issue I've got to conquer this and overcome and put all our energy and and all our weight and trying to hurdle this sin in our life rather the Bible says that we are transformed by beholding the glory of God in Christ and so I want all of my energy all of my vitality all of my strength all of my curiosity all I want it solely focused on the beauty and the renown and the glory of God because as you sang growing up in church if you've got a background in church turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in his wonderful face and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace how do they grow strangely dim when we turn our eyes on Jesus not only turn our eyes to them it's backwards thinking it's anti gospel nonsense so how do we renew our minds well well I mean this is first of all I believe it's vitally important for you to know and understand the Word of God know and understand the Word of God and I want to know I'd never want to lie do you always want to be really honest with you and so let me be very honest with you regardless of how many days you live you will never outgrow having to preach to yourself so I'm so drawn to psalm 42 or the psalmist argues with himself why are you so downcast O my soul put your hope and God like I just have a ton of respect for a brother that gets in a fight with himself cuz I don't feel so weird so tomorrow at one o'clock I go in for an MRI I'll get there at 12:30 I'll fill out the same paperwork I have filled out for five years they'll put a 1 gauge needle into my arm and they'll slide me into that machine for 45 minutes they'll take pictures of my brain and then at 3 o'clock I get to go to my neuro-oncologist and see what the next six months may or may not look like could just be we punted the ball down the field and we'll go back in in January and get another scan it could be I get thrown back on chemo starting next week we just literally have no clue what awaits for me so at 4:50 a.m. this morning I woke straight up like just popped up alright you know what was happening in my mind you okay what what would we do at the village if I go down again what we do with axe 29 if I go down again what's gonna happen to my family if I I go down again how to go where are we going I'm not gonna hang on down you don't so I'm now I'm having to preach the gospel to myself I'm having to tell myself hey God you're in God's hands Matt there's nothing you can do it's for you not against you you have all this evidence and you've been in the valley and you found him there there is no news you'll get that we'll take God by surprise there will cause an emergency to break out in heaven God is already there he is already confident and regardless of the news you will not in the long run lose now I had to say that to myself this morning over and over again from 450 til I finally went forget it and got up and got in the shower at 6 and I'm saying that this morning and I didn't say it last night I talked about knowing the scan was coming but even coming off of saying last night that I was preaching the gospel to myself I woke up at 450 are you serious after a week of preaching myself I got to get up again after I preached about preaching to myself preach to myself again that's a lot of preaching in a two-day span right don't listen you're never gonna outgrow needing to do that you know remember the 90 year old woman I referenced what was she doing she's preaching to herself we don't move past having to tell the truth to ourselves we're prone to believe the lie so we have preached to ourselves the truth you're never gonna be so disciples never gonna be so matured never be so far along that you don't need to preach the truth to yourself this is a renewal of the mind now look what happens after this I love this here's the first thing a renewed mind starts to do verse 3 for by the grace given to me I say to every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think with sober judgment each according to the measure of faith that God has a sign so I love this see what a renewed mind does a renewed mind immediate he begins to attack the self-worth that we feel all right the self-exalting kind of bent in our hearts that's ever-present about why we should be served and about where our stuff who's gonna take care of us what about me why is that like that starts to immediately be attacked with a renewed mind so I said at the very beginning of this series that the banner over us all is what about me what about me if you think about the things we select and give ourselves to the the banners what about me like people pick churches under the banner of what about me what can they do for me what are the amenities they pick gems on what about me they pick where they live on the what about me now what about me in certain places have that is a legitimate question but in some places it's a completely unacceptable one and the renewed mind in this context begins to see itself for what it is it begins to walk in an an objective visible humility that sees God as supreme and therefore me as not supreme it sees God as supremely exalted and and me is simply a servant of the most exalted one and so I have a friend that says it's this way slaves can't be celebrities slaves can be celebrities we simply faithfully serve the Lord with the days that we've been given and a renewed mind starts to see our lives rightly in the shadow of God's holiness and grace so the way I've taught it here before is no one's impressed with themselves when they stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon no one puts their toes or gets on that little glass death bridge thing they built and and stands there and looks into the canyon and marvels at their masters degree no one no one's several years ago I was teaching and in Hawaii and then we draw up to the North Shore we were there in November and while we were there the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing was going on on pipeline and and the North Shore and I just watched those fools get in that listen I'm not getting in that well I can tell you right now and I don't feel like I'm a cowardly man I'm not even with some like floaties on I get in the water all right I think it's nasty watch those guys and I felt so weak and so small and so pathetic and awesome it was like we were designed to feel that way there's something that pulls us to the ocean there's something that pulls us to mountain ranges there's something that pulls us in those moments where our stomach kind of churns a little bit with delightful fear yeah you were designed for that that's how we are to behold the Lord it puts us where we were rightly designed to be and it's important to see and understand our placement for how God has created the covenant community of faith or his bride to interact and to consider one another so let's read that now starting in verse 4 for as in one body we have many members so nobody can argue with that so one body here looking before I've got hands I've got feet and legs and arms and a head and a neck and a nose all right one body different members all right and then from there it says and the members do not all have the same function so I don't sneeze with my hand you tracking I don't sneeze with my hand don't koffe with my toes they have their function that's not their function and then from there so we though many are one body in Christ and listen to this individually members one of another now if you write in your Bible I would encourage you to highlight circle make a note star draw a little line into the margin but Wow however you do it under that phrase and individually members of one another here's what that means for me to be all that the Lord would have me be and for my family to be all that the Lord would have us be in this place requires you being all that you can be in this place me using my gift you use your gift so there's this synergy that forms with the right gifts being brought into this place for the building up of the body for the glory of God we need one another and then from there look at verse six having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us I mean let me stop there before we get to his let us use them I love the first place we're not all gifted the same all right we're not all gifted the same and in fact we are oftentimes drawn to gifts that we don't have you tracking with me so how do we figure out what our gift is and how do we avoid that first couple of episodes of American Idol you track them and you know exactly what I'm talking like I don't even watch it after week three it once everybody can sing great I'm done I don't care who wins it I just I it's a sociological marvel to me that no one went brother no because they've got somebody encouraged that you don't get that far if somebody went you somebody didn't go brother yet you got it you got the gift like it's it blows like I want if I was doing a PhD I'd do a PhD on what happened there I mean they're they're convinced they're nailing it and they are not and someone has not loved them they have not put their arm around them said brother your strength is math come over here all right like nobody did that they just tell them they're great at like how unloving and cruel is that you know how it ended on national television that's how it ended should it end it when they were seven right but he we're gonna learn to color sing and absolutely like what about his dream there are certain dreams that need to die right your son's dream was to ride a unicorn with a machine gun you probably have a talk with him all right buddy like that very creative draw me a picture of it now let's go read some books all right we're not gonna go let's find you a unicorn you're gonna try to help that dream get shaped so how do we know what our gifts are well again I I think here's how it works one of the parts of our church culture in the West that is ridiculously unhelpful is the massive amount of people who go to church but don't belong to one see when you belong to one others can affirm your gift others can tell you you're gifted so you're not guessing I think I'm really good at this so you're in homegroup and they're having a discussion and you you you open up your mouth and when you open up your mouth just the Word of God just like if you cut you you just bleed Bible all right you're me you're all in it and then everybody's kind of just stunned by your knowledge of the Word of God you're not doing it because you're boastful or proud you're doing it because you've been compelled by God to study the Word of God to understand rich and deep doctrines and theologies and you begin to pour yourself out and then people are going man God has really gifted you I mean it just seems like when we have questions you know the I used such you seem to have the gift of of teaching all you have other people affirming that gift you have other people encouraging that gift you have other people kind of um spurring you on to exercise that gift all the more and so this happens to to me all the time where young men go I just really feel called to preach and so I always ask who's called you like who's asked you to do the who's ask you to eat what's the objective evidence of you being called by God to teach for me it was fourth grade boys Sunday school and a guy named Ronnie who just came up and said hey man I mean I know where we're going with this but brother you you seem to have a bit of a knack for this now first of all that was way too long for fourth grade boys - that was a completely inappropriate illustration but third you you you seem to know quite a bit about the word you explain it in a way that they understand well and and so man now I just want to encourage your brother to keep growing in this gift and keep and so then I just kept trying to grow in the gift and and and so I I think over and over again this is how it plays out the body encourages the members of the body in their giftedness without belonging and simply going you never really know what your gift is or how your gift works in the body because some of us don't have gifts that work cleanly in the body so maybe using me is not fair because it's kind of teaching and maybe that's the easy one so let's look at his list here having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us let us use them if prophecy in proportion to our faith and we're gonna talk about prophecy and the sign gifts next week it should be a good time if prophecy in proportion to our faith if service in our serving the one who teaches in his teaching and the one who exhorts in his exhortation and the one who contributes in generosity and the one who leads with zeal and the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness my favorite one in that entire list is the one with the gift of service in his serving there are gifts that are present in this room that don't fit cleanly into some sort of spiritual gift test all right you want me to give you the example I'll give you a couple no one has the spiritual gift of parking cars Jagga with me like if we did a spiritual gift inventory type test on you it would not come back give this brother an orange vest and a flag and he will nail it he will have those brothers just lined up perfectly in that spot that's not no it's a gift of service that would drive a man and a one out into the parking lot when it's either a hundred and five or thirty when it is snowing or rainy or beautiful to enable others to come in and sit down and hear the Word of God and then get out in such a way that is most effective it's a gift of service when you have the gift of service you serve nobody in a spiritual gift test is gonna come up but you should be a greeter now I would say there are people that probably don't need to greet you know just like grumpy doesn't welcome hey bro hey are you angry no I'm not angry as the happiest I've been in years like you'll probably want that guy greeting but these are just acts of service no small parts in the kingdom no small parts in the church gifted by God empowered by the Holy Spirit for the building up of the body according to the faith he provided and the gifts he is given we are uniquely gifted uniquely wired uniquely placed for the glory of his name and no small parts so Paul's Paul's encouragement use them use them no no here's how I want to end it's a complete and utter loss today if what flows out of our service this morning is you all geeked up and motivated go and sign up some ministry to serve in where it's not been motivated and formed and driven by the gospel and so more than I would like for you to volunteer at kids village and I would desperately like you to volunteer at kids village I would love for you to understand the first part of this text that you would understand and grasp in the deepest parts of your soul the redeeming work of God found in Jesus Christ and the great hurdle that we've got to overcome the great hurdle you and I have to get over today in this place in this church in this part of the country is that wherever you Pastor a church there are contextual issues of play issues that kind of come to the forefront because of the place in which you are and the one that must be jumped over in this place is a near insatiable and dull we'll pull towards looking prettier than we actually are it's gonna damn many of us it's just an absurd idiotic foolish game that we play here in Dallas that week in and week out our churches are filled with hundreds and hundreds if not thousands and thousands of people all over the Metroplex who come into churches and they even know when to raise their hands when we sing they even kind of do that chest Pat thing that's so weird that mmm we've learned to kind to play the game but if we're honest if God would by His grace even allow us to be honest that's not who we are we all love it we're struggling that's we're angry at God we're frustrated because that thing to happen with our moms and we're furious at God because that thing that happen with our dad and where was he in my darkest hour and we're wrestling with doubts and we're angry of a frustrating we're addicted and we're alone and we're wrestling with anxiety and yet we come in and I'm fine and you're fine we're big and no one walks in freedom who walks like that see here's the thing about the church the thing that must always be true about the church or we have failed the outer edge of the church had better always be grimy you're tracking with me because if it's not grimy then we've begun to try to pretend to be a pretty people which we are not I don't know what drives that it's so dumb okay I'll bust you out a list of things you should be doing on Sunday more rather than pretending like I love me some wakeboarding that'd be a good time anybody like to fish sleep brunch I ain't had brunch in like 20 years I heard it's all so brunch it up rather than come here and smile you I'm fine I'm fine you I mean I hate my wife I'd like to murder her but praise God I'm here you know Jesus is Lord all right like why like wow if you're dipped in just hey I'm addicted I need some help do you hate your spouse go no don't do that that's gonna go really bad but go we need help don't bring in hold your hand as you skip in here if you hate her or him just go we need help it's not working I'm not okay I am struggling with this I can't stop doing this I can't shake this someone help me please I'm pleading with you appealing to you by the mercies of God not to do that so serve sure but serve clean and open serve embracing the grace of God towards you I don't get it freaking Dallas we desperately need a mountain or an ocean something it's like all we have is ourselves as a sport it's ridiculous that's funny you guys are from Dallas you're like that is right we do yeah it's so crazy so here's what I want us to do I want to give you the opportunity look right I want to give you the opportunity you there for brothers and sisters by the mercies of God quit being a liar God already knows you think you got secrets you know you just checks in on the weekends he knows and here's what's crazy we talked about this at the last baptism service where sin is present grace is present all the more where your marriage is busted the grace of God is present all the more where you're struggling with addiction anxiety fear anger rage whatever the grace of God is present all the more were you struggling with doubt the grace of God is present all why would you hide your doubts it just makes him stronger let's go I've got my doubts guess I'm trying to model this didn't I just stand and bring frontal all of you and go hey 450 this morning struggle with doubt I mean one who's already been delivered out of the fire brother been preaching the Bible for 22 23 years I'm a 450 this morning today going alright struggling again help me I know your word it's true just preaching to myself quoting verses to myself like I'm in the elementary school of Christianity and maybe I am but there's no way forward if we can't be honest with where we are there is no way forward there's only more shame more destruction more weight more loss more sorrow in silence there's no condemnation for the broken and contrite and spirit in fact in the Psalms the Bible says the Lord delights in that he will never despise it so quit trying to be pretty God knows we just do that together can we just say this will not be a place where we play that game so I'm gonna pray for us and then from there we're gonna move into a time of celebrating the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ that empowers and fuels and strengthens our pursuit of the Lord and then from there we're gonna sing unto the Lord and at the end of our service there'll be some men and women up front some of our pastors men and women and and if if you're that person who if I gave you an opportunity would raise your hand and go man I got doubts I got fears I'm living a double life I'm exactly what you're talking I want you to increase in your boldness and come and just confess no one will gasp you track them doesn't matter what you're going to confess all right no one will gasp but no one's gonna go oh my gosh I need help but this is something different than Harvick's right it's not gonna happen to you today we've been here a long time prostitution swinging same-sex of Tribune I could go on and on you're just not gonna shock or surprise us you'll find us empathetic compassionate and prayerful with you willing to walk the long haul listen this could be it could be over today for the first time you could just breathe rest in His grace and 20 years of pastoring leads me to know that some of you just not tired enough yet not quite they're smarter than me I don't know what I'm talking about you know you're gonna be the one person in human history that overcomes this well maybe by the grace of God something will get hooked down there deep in your gut in ten years from now when you are tired enough you'll remember his grace and respond let's pray father for these men and women just pray a prayer of thanks for the opportunity to come in and just let the Word of God read us I thank you as we now respond to the word by celebrating your broken body and shed blood and then respond via confession and and the seeking out of help and just being honest about where we are I pray father that you would prevail upon our hearts this morning I thank you that we're sin abounds grace abounds all the more and that there's no sin in this room with more power than your cross so invade our doubts and our fears our anger and our addictions and draw us near it's for your beautiful name I pray amen love you guys more than I know

Channel: The Village Church Resources

Views: 10,966

Rating: 4.9272728 out of 5

Keywords: Matt Chandler, The Village Church, Grace, Grace Made Visible

Id: DRDSIQFVie0

Length: 53min 0sec (3180 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 29 2014