Acts 2:1-47
I Cor. 12:1-11,
27-31 GIFTED BY THE SPIRIT
I found this story filed under the heading, "The Power of
Assumption". It seems a man was inviting a friend to his wedding
anniversary celebration and was explaining how to get to his place. He
said, "We're on the seventh floor, apartment D. Just touch the
elevator button with your elbow."
"With my elbow? Why should I use my elbow?", asked the
friend.
The response came back quickly, "For goodness' sake! You're not coming
empty-handed, I hope!"
There are times in our lives when we expect gifts. The good news today is
that God has offered us some gifts that we may not have expected!
This is the day of Pentecost. Pentecost is first a Jewish festival that
celebrates the harvest...in the first century it was a time when the Jews
gathered in Jerusalem to offer the "first fruits" of their labors to
God in the Temple. For Christians, Pentecost is the day we remember that
God poured out his Holy Spirit on the followers of Jesus for the first
time. This outpouring marked a radical change. In the Old
Testament, certain individuals would be filled with the Holy Spirit for a
time...prophets, priests, leaders, would be filled with the Spirit while they
proclaimed a specific message or performed a certain task. But for them,
the presence of the Holy Spirit was not a permanent thing.
But now that has all changed. Since the Pentecost experience, every
Christian receives the presence of the Holy Spirit permanently in their
life. The presence of the Spirit assures us of the validity of our faith,
fills us with power to live in a way that is pleasing to God, and gives us
special gifts to use in the service of God's kingdom.
Our scripture lesson this morning focuses on this third aspect of the Spirit's
presence. When the Holy Spirit fills our life, we are given a gift...or
gifts...to be used in service to Christ and this world. We actually read
two different lists of spiritual gifts this morning. There are several
others scattered through the pages of the New Testament. An interesting
note is that none of these lists is exactly the same as any other. At no
point does God give a complete and definitive list of the gifts available from
the Holy Spirit.
And that is because the Spirit offers a limitless number of gifts to the people
of God. At different places, in different circumstances, the church of
Jesus Christ needs different things. And so God does let his hands be
tied to any set list of abilities for his people. The Spirit of God is
free to work in the best way possible at any time.
But our lists this morning do give us an idea of the sorts of gifts that come
from the Spirit. Paul begins with a reminder that all of these gifts are
given for the same reason. They are meant to be used for the common
good. Gifts are not given to be exploited for our own personal
gain. They are to be used for the benefit of the entire community.
Those gifts include the ability to speak with wisdom and with knowledge.
Wisdom is defined as "striving after the best ends and using the best
means". To be gifted with wisdom is to understand that not only what
we do...but how we do it...is important to God and to God's people.
The word "knowledge" is a much more practical thing. It is the
ability to know how to apply the gifts of wisdom in a way that will make a real
difference in the world.
It is easy to see how we need to have both of these gifts at work in our
community. We need the visionary...the idealist...to call us to
faithfulness. And we need someone with the common sense to make those
visions work. Neither is exclusive. Neither is more godly. We
must not fall into the trap of those having "wisdom" thinking that
those gifted with "knowledge" are too worldly...nor must those with
"knowledge" think that the ones in our midst gifted with
"wisdom" are too "spiritual" to be of any use. The
Spirit gives both gifts and only when they are used together for God's purposes
will they produce his fullest results.
Paul goes on in his list to include the ability to heal, to have deep faith, to
prophesy (which means not so much to foretell the future as it does to speak
God's word to the people) and to speak in other tongues. At the end of
the chapter Paul adds some others...including the gifts of administration...the
ability to organize people to accomplish their tasks...and the ability to
teach.
The body of Christ...this particular congregation...can only fulfill its task
when each individual member recognizes and uses its own particular gifts for
the common good and our common ministry.
Each of us needs to take some time to think about the gift...or the gifts...that
we have been given by God. Sometimes this seems like a strange and
mysterious process. But for most of us it is not. What is it that
you like to do? What can you do well? To discover our gifts may
mean that we will have to take some risks and experiment a little bit.
Sometimes God calls us to stretch. But if God is doing the calling, then
God will supply whatever is needed.
You may find this hard to believe, but when I first became aware that God was
calling me to become a minister, I was so painfully shy that I couldn't even
stand up in a classroom of 20 strangers and tell them my name. But when
God gave the call, God changed me enough to let me boldly speak his good news
to anyone that would listen.
On this day of Pentecost, take some time to reflect on the gifts that God has
given you in your life. How do you use them for God's glory? How
have they become a part of the way that you worship God with your life?
On that day that we said "yes" to God, God filled our lives with his
presence and promised us eternal life. But God did something more.
Perhaps unexpectedly...perhaps in ways that we have not even begun to recognize
yet...God has given us interests and abilities that can be used to help his
people tell his story to the world. Give thanks for your gifts...and
dedicate them to the use of God's kingdom.