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4th September 2005
MINISTRY - USING OUR GIFTS TO SERVE GODp.m. version Pastor Colin Meadows
Our
exciting journey of faith…. 40 days of concentrated study, with around 350
people at Riverton Baptist Church praying, reading, and discussing together
about why on earth are we here. It is an exciting time in the life of our
church. We have been reminded that God has placed us here on earth to know him
and to love him. We have been designed to make a difference. God wishes for us
to be people who worship him, who have fellowship with one another, and who are
growing as believers along the road of discipleship. Tonight we move on to look
at how God has gifted us to serve, that this serving is called ministry and that
it involves us using our gifts to serve God.
Our Bible reading tonight….
1 Peter 4:7-11
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and
self-controlled so that you can pray. 8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of
sins. 9 Offer hospitality
to one another without grumbling. 10
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others,
faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 11
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.
If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all
things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the
power for ever and ever. Amen. Our key verse here that we will examine is verse
10…
1 Peter 4:10 “Each one
should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully
administering God’s grace in its various forms”.
The Apostle Peter was seeking to
prepare his people for the challenges of their day. They were to serve others
and thus administer God’s grace. First however we need to be clear in our
minds what it means to serve or minister …
· Understand what ‘ministry’ is
Different pictures may come to our minds…. Clergy in robes, people
aloof for us, perhaps a member of parliament, etc. It has the picture in our
minds perhaps of someone up high, standing at a distance. This is not what is
being referred to here. The basic meaning of ‘minister’ in the bible is that
of ‘to serve’. Even in old dictionaries, it is spoken of as ‘to render aid
and service to a person or cause’. The heart of ministry in the bible is that
of being a servant to others. We are to be servants to others for God’s glory.
I like the way 1 Peter 4:10 is put in the Setswana Bible in
I like in particular the words
“as good stewards”. This reflects more correctly I feel the intent in the
Greek translation. The word for steward speaks of a servant or slave in a
household who was responsible for all the daily affairs that took place. He or
she was to take very good care of the resources that had been placed in their
care. They were to use the resources of the household wisely for they would have
to give an account to the master of the household.
That
is what I understand is meant here about the use of our gifts. Jesus is the
prime example of this. When his disciples were squabbling about who could have
the choicest seats in heaven, Jesus replied …
Mark 10:45 “For
even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus lived on earth in obedience to his father to serve others. His
express purpose was that others would benefit from all that he said and did. We
too should live with a similar mindset. We are not here on earth just to please
ourselves but rather to please God. How do we do that? By living for other
people, by being servants to others for God’s glory. I remember asking a small
child once how do we can show that we love God. The child replied without
hesitation “By loving other people”. Ministry is thus us using our whole
lives to serve others for God’s glory.
We might then reply “But I am not really smart and don’t have
anything to contribute to help others.” God’s Word tells another story….
· Remember that God created you
Many of us have a very poor view of
our gifts and abilities. We constantly compare ourselves with others and feel
inadequate. We perhaps feel we have little to contribute to God’s kingdom. The
bible tells a different story…
Genesis 1:27
“So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male
and female he created them.”
God has given us the gift of our
humanity, of being male or female with all the special things that are attached
to that statement. Created too in the image and likeness of God himself. What a
wonderful gift that is.
Psalm 139:14 “I
praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are
wonderful, I know that full well.”
The Psalmist could speak of God’s
creative genius at work in forming him. God does not make rubbish. God has put
his individual touch on each of our lives and it is good for us to stop from
time to time to reflect on that. We should also …..
· Reflect on the gifts we have all received
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”
Our new life in Christ is a gift
from God. We cannot earn it or somehow extract it from God under coercion or
pressure. It is a free gift, offered to all who will submit to him as Lord and
master of their lives. What an incredible gift! But there is more. Jesus
reminded his disciples in Acts….
Acts 1:4,5 “Do
not leave
When we turn to Christ in faith, we
receive the gift of eternal life and the gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell our
lives. The Holy Spirit did not come upon the believers at that time because
Christ was still on earth with them. However on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy
Spirit came upon the believers as they came to faith in Christ. It is the same
for us today. We have received the wonderful gift of new life in Christ and we
have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are very gifted people! But there
is more. We need to….
· Realize the specific grace gift you have
received.
1 Cor 12:7 “Now to
each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
The bible is very clear. God has
given to each of us at least one gift for the benefit of others. No one has
missed out. Just what is a grace gift (charisma)? It is a gift from God given to
you that involves grace. In other words, as we receive and use such a gift it
must be in an atmosphere of thankfulness to God. We do not deserve to be given
such a treat. Rather God showers these grace gifts out of his loving heart so
that others may be blessed. Let us keep such thinking in mind.
Seek to discover what that gift is
and then use it for the benefit of others and for his glory. These gifts are for
the building up of other believers. They are to be exercised so that other
Christians grow in their walk with God and thus become more effective in serving
their Lord. Some issues to clarify:
Grace gifts are still being given
to believers today. They were thus not just for the early church. Such gifts are
for the benefit of others, for the common good, not for personal pride.
Spiritual gifts are not just natural abilities.
There is no one gift that is more important than another. All the grace
gifts are needed for the
1 Peter 4:8 “Above
all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
How do we know what our grace gift
is? Pray and ask God to show you. Talk with a trusted friend and ask for their
advice. They have watched your life and can probably see your gifts better than
you can. Look for opportunities for ministry for it is often as you step out in
faith and get involved that your gifts become obvious. Woman doing children’s
talk in
A word of caution…. The gifts of
God’s Holy Spirit are to operate in such a way that Christ is exalted and
believers encouraged and built up in a spirit of love and unity. If this is not
happening, then we need to stop and ask just what is going on. But spiritual
gifts are just part of the total package of who we are as God’s people. What
you need to do is ….
· Seek to discover your shape.
God has thus created us as unique individuals. Furthermore we have been
gifted with eternal life and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We each have as
Christians a specific mix of gifts and abilities that interacts with the
personality that God has given us. Rick Warren calls thus our shape and I like
that concept.
God has shaped us in specific ways…
Spiritual
Gifts – these are God empowered abilities that he has given us for serving
others and bringing praise to Him. We have all received at least one spiritual
gift from God. Let us seek to discover it and use it for his glory.
Heart –
what we love to do and care about most. We each have a unique emotional
heartbeat and respond to life situations in different ways. Seek to find our
your heart or passion in life and pursue it for God’s glory.
Abilities
– natural talents that we are born with. Perhaps it is in being able to use
our hands or our mouths effectively, a sporting ability, artistic skills, etc.
Rick Warren notes that the average person has between 500-700 natural abilities
they can use. Seek to use them for God’s glory. Yes, our abilities impact on
our shape.
Personality
– the unique mix of quirkiness that makes you you! God loves variety. Given a
set task, each of us will approach it in a slightly different way, given our
personality. Our personality affects our shape.
Experiences
– as we go through life, the ups and downs of our personal journey strongly
affect us. Our family of origin, the schools we attended, sports we have played,
places where we have lived, the type of friends we have, our work environments,
the difficulties with have faced at different times. In all this mix, God works
through these things to mold our lives and prepare us for effective ministry.
God desires for us to use the gifts he has given us, coupled with our
natural abilities, operating out of our heart’s desire and flowing through our
personalities and experiences.
· Do all for the glory of God
Peter gives a couple of examples of
how we should exercise our gifts for God’s glory. The first concerns offering
food and shelter to those in need. It literally means ‘be a lover of
strangers’. These are not friends who are dropping in. They are complete
strangers. That is tougher…
1 Peter 4:9 “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling”.
In those days, when a traveler was passing by they could call on people
for assistance. It was a community expectation that such care would be provided.
One thus didn’t really have a choice as to whether to help. You did have a
choice however in how you responded to being asked. You could mumble and grumble
or you could help with a cheerful heart. How do we respond to the duties that we
can’t avoid? Example in
Next is the case of what we say…
1 Peter 4:11a
“If
anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God…”
Such is a real challenge for us. It is as if what we say could be
included in the Bible! That puts a different spin on things.
Lastly Peter refers to what we do as we seek to help others…
1 Peter 4:11b “If
anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all
things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.
Remember that our strength to serve others comes from God. Dedicate your
life each day to his service so that he will get the honour and praise.
Let us seek to use our gifts to service God!
We are nearly at the end of our journey of 40 Days! Worship, Fellowship,
Discipleship, Ministry. Next week we will be looking at the exciting
We will also next week be able to see the Ministry and
Let us keep studying God’s Word together as we go on our journey of
growth…
· Keep being part of a small group!
· Keep learning your memory verses!
· Keep up with the daily readings from the ‘Purpose
Driven Life”!
Examine God’s Word each day to see what He wants to teach you. God
bless you!