“Generosity, Enthusiasm, and Gladness”

Romans 12:3-8

[Read List]

[Prayer]

Some True/False Statements:

· God uses imperfect people: (T)

· I am an imperfect person: (T)

· God can use me: (T)

· God gives every Christian a spiritual gift: (T)

· God has given me a spiritual gift: (T)

The bad news: there are no perfect people. The good news: God has, does, and always will use imperfect people to further his Kingdom. God can use you. God can use me.

Some more good news: Every Christian, even though he or she is imperfect, is given a spiritual gift. If we truly are in Christ we have each been blessed by the Holy Spirit with a gift to use in building up Christ’s Church, spreading the Good News of salvation, and advancing the Kingdom of God. Every Christian has a gift. Every gift is needed. No gift is to be dismissed or belittled. Every gift must be exercised generously, enthusiastically, and gladly.

Because there are no superior or inferior gifts there can be no superior or inferior Christians. Each of us is part of God’s good creation. Each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image. Each of us has a status that is only a little less than that of the angels. Each of us has been crowned with glory and honor. Each and every one of us is precious in the sight of God, so important and highly valued that Jesus Christ died on a cross for us.

God loves us. In Jesus Christ, God has claimed us. We are valuable citizens of the Kingdom and members of the Body of Christ. God has given each of us a vital role to play. The Kingdom needs what we each have to give. The Body of Christ is incomplete without each and every one of us. Grace Presbyterian Church cannot be all that God is calling it to be unless each and every one of us claims and exercises his or her spiritual gift.

If you don’t believe me, listen to what a couple of Biblical commentators have to say. First, the words of William Barclay: “An honest assessment of our own capabilities, without conceit and without false modesty, is one of the first essentials of a useful life… We are to accept ourselves as we are, and use the gift we have been given… whatever gift [we have], [we] must use it and the motive for its use must be, not [our] personal prestige, but the conviction that it is at the same time [our] duty and [our] privilege to make [our] own contribution to the common good.”

And now the words of D. Stuart Briscoe: “The reminder that all we have is ours through the grace of God is most appropriate to those who have a tendency to arrogance. [A reminder] that [we] are [children] of God, gifted for his purpose that [we] might be to his glory, is equally appropriate to those who grovel in their own inadequacy under a cloak of false humility.”

The need for personal prestige and arrogance about the greatness of our spiritual gifts has always been and always will be problematic to the Body of Christ. We do need to carefully examine our attitudes toward and motives for using our spiritual gifts. But in my humble opinion the greatest problem facing the church today is, to use the words of Dr. Briscoe, a tendency on the part of many Christians to “grovel in their own inadequacy under a cloak of false humility.” Too many Christians either fail to claim and use their gifts or else undervalue and underuse them.

Why? Because they feel unworthy of them, forgetting that our worthiness or unworthiness is never factored into God’s equation of grace. God graciously gives us spiritual gifts and expects us to use them to the best of our imperfect abilities. We are not to hide our lights under a bushel. Nor are we supposed to fearfully bury our talents in some safe dark place. To do so is to commit a sin equal to, if not worse than, arrogantly misusing them.

One of the key lessons we modern Christians desperately need to learn is that we are to approach stewardship from an attitude of abundance rather than one of scarcity. That goes for money. That goes for time. We have enough of each, often more than enough. There is the issue of budgeting and managing or money and time. But the greater issue is trusting God to meet our needs.

But let’s forget about money and time for the moment and focus on our gifts and talents. There is not a scarcity of talent in Grace Presbyterian Church. As a congregation we are abundantly blessed with capable, gifted, talented people. As individuals each of us has received a gift from the Spirit: a great gift, a wonderful gift, a gift that is, in itself, an example of God’s abundance and grace.

But are we claiming those gifts? Are we using them? Do we not remember that over and above our individual gifts each of us is a gift in and of ourselves? God wants us here. God needs us here. God has use of us here. We are the hands and feet of Christ in this place. We are his disciples and disciple makers. We are his witnesses and caregivers. We are his healers and encouragers.

We have gifts that must be used. We have voices for speaking and singing. We have hands for building and fixing. We have minds for planning and managing the work of Christ’s Body. We have knowledge that must be shared and taught. We have eyes that enable us to wisely and compassionately see to the needs of others. We have arms for hugging. We have ears for listening. We have spirits that discern what is and isn’t of God. We have among us those who can be mighty prayer warriors. We have hearts for children and youth.

The list could go on and on, but I think you get my drift. So if you’re hiding your light under a bushel, stop it. If you have buried your talent in some deep dark place, go dig it up. If you’re hiding behind some cloak of imperfection, inadequacy, or unworthiness, come out from behind it. If you are discounting yourself or your gift, don’t do so anymore. Remember who created you. Remember who called you. Remember who you are and whose you are.

That having been said, let’s move from the theological to the pragmatic. I spoke last week about the work of our Trustees and others that keeps this building from falling down around us and saves us from wading in water up to our ankles. Just think about the money we’ve saved by not having to pay for that work.

We’re all aware of our ongoing search for a new Music Director. I look forward to the day when he or she joins us. But during this interim time we’ve still managed to have a music program. Why? Because people have stepped up and volunteered their time and talents. Not for glory. Not for notice. Not for money. But because they love Jesus and they love this church.

We can’t afford a full-time custodian. But we have people willing to turn out from time to time to do some cleaning and gleaning. We don’t have a Youth Director. We have had and continue to have people willing to give of themselves in order for us to have a youth program.

We have an abundance of people who have claimed and exercised their God-given gifts in many, many ways. And they’ve done so generously, enthusiastically, and gladly; they’ve been willing to serve the people of Grace with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love. It cost them time. It cost them energy. Sometimes it’s cost them money.

We all have limitations, physical or otherwise. We all have responsibilities outside the church: families, jobs, and studies. We get sick. We get tired. None of us is getting any younger. There are times when we really are running on empty. God knows all about those things. He doesn’t expect us to give what we don’t have. But as Freda Gardner, former Moderator of the PC(USA) has said, “We never retire from discipleship.” We deal with our limitations. We meet our responsibilities, all the while claiming and using our gifts to the best of our abilities.

We never do it perfectly, but that’s okay. God doesn’t expect perfection; he asks for faithfulness. And I’ll say it again, neither our worthiness nor our unworthiness is factored into the equation of God’s grace. We have gifts. Let’s use them. Amen.