Spiritual Gifts
Jon's Third Sermon
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."
Today is Ember Wednesday. Ember days are the days at the beginning of the seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. The purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts He has first given us, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. They are supported by the verse in Zechariah 8:19 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.” If March is the first month in the Jewish calendar, then June is the fourth month.
I consider this particular set of Ember Days especially meaningful due to their close proximity to Pentecost and the bestowing of spiritual gifts upon the apostles. There are so many places in the Bible that speak of gifts that the Lord bestows upon us. Until we begin counting our blessings, it is easy to forget just how very blessed we are. We might complain about what we don’t have…the grass is always greener on the other side…instead of appreciating what has been given to us for us to use to glorify the Lord.
The Israelites in Numbers chapter 11 were grumbling to Moses and to God about only having bread to eat rather than praising the Lord for feeding them. Like them, we all fall into the trap of looking for what we don’t have instead of praising God for what we DO have and using those gifts to glorify Him. Whether those gifts are material blessings or spiritual gifts, we should offer thanks and praise for those wonderful blessings and the best way to praise the Lord is by using the gifts we have received to do all such GOOD WORKS as He has prepared for us to walk in.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus tells us that as the Israelites received manna from heaven, which fed them physically, he is the bread which feeds us spiritually. He is the bread of life, which we will never hunger again once we have received him. This isn’t a physical hunger, it is a spiritual hunger. It is a hunger to grow closer to the Lord, to be a part of his heavenly kingdom. We see this ‘fulfilled’ hunger at work in Peter and the other apostles in the signs and wonders which the Holy Spirit performed through them, through wisdom, prophesy, healing, discernment. We all have spiritual gifts. Like the servant in the parable of the talents, we are given these gifts to glorify our heavenly master…we are supposed to use them, not hide them away. This is how we give praise to our Lord; by using the gifts he has given us to glorify him. Like Abel, giving God our first fruits, the best of what we have been given, so that he will be pleased with our joyous giving “For God loves a cheerful giver”.
You might think, “I don’t have any gifts” or “I don’t have much and I need what I have.” I wonder if the servant who only had one talent felt that way. Jesus said at the end of the parable of the talents, “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have in abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'” I don’t want to be a worthless servant, I want the Lord to look at me and say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
All of us have gifts we can use to glorify the Lord, no matter how small and the more you use your gifts for God’s glory, the more abundantly He will bestow his gifts upon you. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 states “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.” Perhaps you are thinking, “But I don’t have any spiritual gifts.” Think of the shepherd David. He was the youngest of his brothers. King Saul gave him strong armor and a shield and sword when he went to fight Goliath, but instead of depending upon human means, David chose to put his faith in the Lord and the gifts the Lord blessed him with. David picked up three stones...and using the abilities God honed while David was a shepherd, God took out Goliath. Today we remember David as ancestor to Jesus and one of the greatest kings of Israel.
Luke 11:13 states “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Ask the Lord to reveal the gifts to you that he has blessed you with and use them for His glory. As part of the body of Christ, if each of us uses the individual gifts we are given, we work as a unit, and we are Christ’s representative here on earth. Let us remember that He is who we represent in the world and it is His glory we achieve through using our gifts in such a way to only glorify him…never ourselves…never for the pat on the back of ‘what a good person I am’. If not for God first giving us gifts, we would have nothing to give, so we are merely being good stewards of those gifts we have received.
Amen
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."
Today is Ember Wednesday. Ember days are the days at the beginning of the seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. The purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts He has first given us, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. They are supported by the verse in Zechariah 8:19 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.” If March is the first month in the Jewish calendar, then June is the fourth month.
I consider this particular set of Ember Days especially meaningful due to their close proximity to Pentecost and the bestowing of spiritual gifts upon the apostles. There are so many places in the Bible that speak of gifts that the Lord bestows upon us. Until we begin counting our blessings, it is easy to forget just how very blessed we are. We might complain about what we don’t have…the grass is always greener on the other side…instead of appreciating what has been given to us for us to use to glorify the Lord.
The Israelites in Numbers chapter 11 were grumbling to Moses and to God about only having bread to eat rather than praising the Lord for feeding them. Like them, we all fall into the trap of looking for what we don’t have instead of praising God for what we DO have and using those gifts to glorify Him. Whether those gifts are material blessings or spiritual gifts, we should offer thanks and praise for those wonderful blessings and the best way to praise the Lord is by using the gifts we have received to do all such GOOD WORKS as He has prepared for us to walk in.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus tells us that as the Israelites received manna from heaven, which fed them physically, he is the bread which feeds us spiritually. He is the bread of life, which we will never hunger again once we have received him. This isn’t a physical hunger, it is a spiritual hunger. It is a hunger to grow closer to the Lord, to be a part of his heavenly kingdom. We see this ‘fulfilled’ hunger at work in Peter and the other apostles in the signs and wonders which the Holy Spirit performed through them, through wisdom, prophesy, healing, discernment. We all have spiritual gifts. Like the servant in the parable of the talents, we are given these gifts to glorify our heavenly master…we are supposed to use them, not hide them away. This is how we give praise to our Lord; by using the gifts he has given us to glorify him. Like Abel, giving God our first fruits, the best of what we have been given, so that he will be pleased with our joyous giving “For God loves a cheerful giver”.
You might think, “I don’t have any gifts” or “I don’t have much and I need what I have.” I wonder if the servant who only had one talent felt that way. Jesus said at the end of the parable of the talents, “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have in abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'” I don’t want to be a worthless servant, I want the Lord to look at me and say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
All of us have gifts we can use to glorify the Lord, no matter how small and the more you use your gifts for God’s glory, the more abundantly He will bestow his gifts upon you. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 states “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.” Perhaps you are thinking, “But I don’t have any spiritual gifts.” Think of the shepherd David. He was the youngest of his brothers. King Saul gave him strong armor and a shield and sword when he went to fight Goliath, but instead of depending upon human means, David chose to put his faith in the Lord and the gifts the Lord blessed him with. David picked up three stones...and using the abilities God honed while David was a shepherd, God took out Goliath. Today we remember David as ancestor to Jesus and one of the greatest kings of Israel.
Luke 11:13 states “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Ask the Lord to reveal the gifts to you that he has blessed you with and use them for His glory. As part of the body of Christ, if each of us uses the individual gifts we are given, we work as a unit, and we are Christ’s representative here on earth. Let us remember that He is who we represent in the world and it is His glory we achieve through using our gifts in such a way to only glorify him…never ourselves…never for the pat on the back of ‘what a good person I am’. If not for God first giving us gifts, we would have nothing to give, so we are merely being good stewards of those gifts we have received.
Amen
posted by Dancer | 11:14 PM
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