Sermon
Notes, May 22, 2016 AM
Your Place In The Body
Steve W.
Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. Everett
and Gladys Christine were an elderly couple who lived in DeWitt, Arkansas.
Everett was a retired mechanic with a large
shop next to his house. He was a quiet
man who loved working with his hands. He loved
helping people with projects in their
homes. Gladys was a heavy set woman with
bad knees that required her to use a
walker. She was a wonderful cook who baked
delicious pies. Whenever there was a
sickness or a death in the church or
community she would bake a pie and send
Everett to deliver it. Neither of them had
any higher education. They lived in that
small community their entire lives. They
did what they could and made a difference in
the lives of others.
B. If there
is one message the church needs to hear and practice today it is the
message of Ephesians 4.
1. Paul is writing to urge Christians to
live in a manner worthy of their calling.
a. In verse s 2 and 3 of this chapter he
says that we do that with a spirit of humility,
gentleness, patience and a
passionate desire for the unity of the body.
b. In verses 4-6 he says, “There is one body and one Spirit,
just as also you were
called in one hope of your calling; 5 one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God
and Father of all who is over all
and through all and in all.”
2. There is more, however, to walking in a
manner worthy of our calling.
a. In the following verses (7-13) Paul
says it is essential that we use the abilities we
have been given.
b. You must get involved to have an
impact. No one is impressed with the won-lost
record of the referee. It’s the ones
involved who make the difference.
C. God has
created you as a special, gifted, one-of-a-kind individual. Just as there are
no two identical snowflakes there are no
identical people. Even identical twins are
unique. Paul gives four inspired sights
regarding your place in the body.
I. THE REALITY OF YOUR GIFT
A. In verse 7 he says, “But to each one of
us grace was given according to the
measure of Christ’s gift.”
1. Please notice the phrase, “each one
of us.”
2. Let none of us say, “I have no gift.”
Paul, writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
says, “each one of us” has received
grace.”
3. The words grace and gift go hand in
hand. In Romans 12:6 Paul said, “Since we
have gifts that differ according to
the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise
them accordingly.”
B. In many schools there are “Gifted and
Talented” programs (these are established
for the bragging rights of
grandparents!) God’s “gifted and talented” program is
called “the church.”
1. God did not call a select few to do
his work and tell everyone else to be a
spectator.
2. The idea of a “Clergy-Laity” system
is a holdover from Roman Catholicism. The
word, “Clergy” comes from “kleros”
which had to do with an allotted portion or
something allotted to a few. The
word “Laity” comes from “Laos” meaning
people. Thus, “Clercy- Laity” draws
a distinction between the a special allotment
and the common people. This idea is
foreign to the New Testament.
3. In 1 Peter 2:9 we read, “But you are
a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people for God’s
own possession, so that you may proclaim the
excellencies of Him who has called
you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
4. God’s work is not limited to paid
professionals. Church is not about coming to
watch others perform. It is about
using the gifts and talents we have been
given.
II. THE UNIQUENESS OF YOUR GIFT
A. In verses 8 through 10 he makes
reference to Psalm 68 which speaks of a
victorious warrior distributing gifts in
triumph. In the same way Christ who is
victorious over death and has ascended
to sit at the right hand of God, has given
gifts to us.
B. In verse 11 we notice something
extremely important about our gifts. They are not
all the same. “And He gave some as
apostles, and some as prophets, and some as
evangelists, and some as pastors and
teachers.”
1. Apostles were the special messengers
who had known Christ.
2. Prophets were the mouthpiece for God.
3. Evangelists were heralds and
proclaimers of the Gospel.
4. Pastor-Teachers (hyphenated) was a
reference to leaders also known as elders
or overseers.
C. I love to watch baseball, football and
basketball. They are “team” sports. A
quarterback is an important part of the
football team. What is going to happen to
him if he doesn’t have a good offensive
line? A quarterback may have the best
passing ability in the league but
suppose he has no receivers.
D. The same principle is true with an
orchestra. Have you ever seen an orchestra
where everyone played the same
instrument and part? There are woodwinds,
percussion, strings and brass. The
famous conductor, Leonard Berstein was once
asked the most difficult instrument to
play. He responded, “second fiddle.” Without
it, however, there is no harmony.
III. THE PURPOSE OF YOUR GIFT
A. What are you going to do with your gift?
1. Are you going to hide it?
2. Are you going to use it selfishly for
the advancement of your own agenda?
3. How much better it would be for you
to combine your gift with the gifts of others
for a higher purpose.
B. In verses12-13 Paul says God gave us these
unique gifts, “for the equipping of the
saints for the work of service, to the
building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all
attain
to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature
man, to the measure of the stature which
belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
C. Dr. Bruce McLarty occasionally reads a
story called, “The Legend of the Stone
Soup.” Here is an abbreviated version.
Once upon a time in a small European village there was a great famine in which people jealously hoarded whatever food they could find, hiding it even from their friends and neighbors. One day a stranger wandered into the village and began asking for something to eat. "There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," he was told. "
"Oh, I have everything I need," he said. "In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you." He pulled an iron cauldron from his wagon, filled it with water, and built a fire under it. Then, with great ceremony, he drew an ordinary-looking stone from a velvet bag and dropped it into the water.
By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of the villagers had come to the square or watched from their windows. As the stranger sniffed the "broth" and licked his lips in anticipation, hunger began to overcome their skepticism. "Ahh," the stranger said rather loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage -- that's hard to beat." Soon a villager approached hesitantly, holding a cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place, and added it to the pot. "Delicious!" cried the stranger. "You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef as well, and it was fit for a king."
The village butcher managed to find some salt beef . . . and so it went, through potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on, until there was indeed a delicious meal for everyone. The villagers offered the stranger a great deal of money for the magic stone, but he refused to sell and traveled on the next day. The moral is that by working together, with everyone contributing what they can, a greater good is achieved.
D. When you do what you can do and I do
what I can do the result is a healthy,
growing, effective body.
IV. THE IDENTITY OF YOUR GIFT?
A. May I give five steps you can follow to
help determine your giftedness.
These ideas were suggested by Paul
Little in his book, How To Give Away Your
Faith.
1. Begin with prayer. Ask God, “What is
my place?”
2. Your gift is not tied to a program. Gifts
do not have to be “programized” to be
exercised.
3. Talk to mature Christians you trust.
Ask them for candid observations of your
talents and abilities.
4. Look for opportunities. Find people
who do what you want to do and shadow
them.
5. Jump in! You will never realize the
full impact of your giftedness until you give it
your best effort.
B. What happens when everyone is working
together utilizing the gifts we have been
given? In verses 15 -16 Paul says “but
speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up
in all aspects into Him who is the head,
even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body,
being fitted and held together by what
every joint supplies, according to the proper
working of each individual part, causes
the growth of the body for the building up of
itself in love.”
CONCLUSION:
A. Edward
Everett Hale wrote, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but
I can do something. And because I cannot do
everything, I will not refuse to do the
something that I can do.”
B. I want to
challenge you to do what you can do. Janice Ragsdale tells her students, “If
it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change
you.” May we accept God’s challenge to use
our gifts and find our place in the body of
Jesus.
