Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661
Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org
OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”
Nobleton Community Church
Date July 14, 2024
text 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Pastor Paul Lehmann
In 1 Corinthians, we’ll be looking at a text that was, at one time, considered by many to be the most divisive text in the New Testament. Not when Paul wrote it, but sometime later, in the 60s and 70s, when churches began to debate the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit — and began to differ with one another on where spiritual gifts were intended to fit in to the mix.
Paul didn’t write this section of 1 Corinthians — we’re talking about chapters 12, 13 and 14 — to be divisive or exclusionary. His intention was the opposite. After dealing with so many issues in previous chapters that were tearing the church apart, Paul begins laying the foundation to help them understand how the church community is intended to work together, and how the work of the Holy Spirit is to build the church in unity and empower its ministry and outreach.
In chapters 13 and 14, the Corinthians had gotten this aspect of church life just as wrong as they had gotten everything else … but Paul still gives them encouragement and hope that their church can learn to thrive in their spiritual lives — just like we, as a church and as individuals, want to thrive in our ministry to one another and to the world around us.
Bill Bright, founder for Campus Crusade for Christ, once said “If there were only one truth I could share with the Christian world, it would be how to be filled with the Holy Spirit, for there is no single truth that is more important to the believer.”With this in mind, let’s take a look at 1 Corinthians 12:1-12 as we talk about how the ministry of the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives and in our church, and we consider how we can experience the fullness of the Spirit’s presence in all we do. There are three areas we need to focus on. Here’s the first.
- LET’S SEEK TO DISCOVER ALL WE CAN ABOUT THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
I’m saying that we need to make it a point to learn what we can learn about how the Holy Spirit works in the lives of believers — what it means to be filled with the Spirit, and the kinds of gifts he gives to God’s people.
This is what Paul said…(v. 1) Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
The word translated “spiritual gifts” is pneumatikon, which can also be translated “things of a spiritual nature” or “things belonging to the Spirit.” Paul is saying, “Don’t overlook the spiritual side of life. Don’t be Ignorant of the role the Holy Spirit plays in your Christian walk.”There are two mistakes when it comes to spiritual things.
The first mistake is to disregard spiritual things altogether with the attitude “If I can’t see it, I don’t believe it.” This person is focused only on the material world and rejects (or is at least uncomfortable with) any reference to the supernatural. This person is likely to say, “Why pray for God to help me? I can get more done by rolling up my sleeves and working hard.” This type of person is a practical atheist, if not an actual atheist. He or she may claim to believe in God, but there is nothing in their personal life that would show any sign of a spiritual pulse.
The other mistake is to embrace everything related to spirituality without any sense of discernment or spiritual perception. There are countless pseudo-spiritual self-help speakers who talk about God and quote scripture in the context of their message — yet there’s no real Biblical substance to what they’re saying. Those who gulp down this ankle-deep theology often wonder why their spiritual lives seem so empty.
When it comes to living the Spirit-filled life there are a variety of opinions out there, and you can find fanatics on both ends of the spectrum. So it is up to you to be informed, so that you can reach a proper balance in your spiritual life without being tossed around by everyone else’s view. This is why Paul says, “Do not be ignorant.” How is this balance achieved? The Bible tells everything we need to know about the nature and work of the Holy Spirit.Through the Bible we learn that the Holy Spirit is not just some Star Wars type of force; the Holy Spirit is personal and should be referred to as “he” not “it.”
Through the Bible we learn how the Holy Spirit speaks to us and gives us direction from day to day.Through the Bible we learn how not to grieve the Spirit, and how to pray through the Spirit.
And through the Bible we learn how to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit. So let’s take Paul’s advice. Let’s not be ignorant of spiritual things. If you want to experience the fullness of God’s Spirit in your daily life, begin with a commitment to learn more about the Holy Spirit’s work.
But you need to understand that this is an area in which mere awareness, or mere knowledge, is NOT enough. It needs to be part of your experience in your day-to-day life. And so the second step in living a spiritually vibrant life is to …
- LET’S SEEK TO BE FILLED WITH THE PRESENCE AND POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
(v. 13) For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body…and were all given one Spirit to drink.
We are saved by the blood of Christ. His death on the cross bought our salvation. The Holy Spirit is involved in every aspect of conversion. He convicts us of sin [John 16:9], he calls us to repentance, he leads us to Christ [John 16:13], he regenerates us [Titus 3:5], he gives us assurance of salvation [Romans 8:16]. Now, let’s split a theological hair. When you are saved you receive the Holy Spirit — all of the Holy Spirit. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, that doesn’t mean you get more of the Spirit. It means that the Spirit gets more of you.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit means being led by or controlled by the Holy Spirit. This is the key to victorious living. It’s the key to holy living. It’s the key to experiencing power over sin. That’s why Paul said…
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:16)
The obvious question, then, is “How do I get filled with the Holy Spirit?” Let me warn you: It’s difficult. You’ve got to know the right things, you’ve got to do the right things, you’ve got to say the right things. There’s a specific process you go through to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and it has to be done exactly right or it won’t work at all. None of that is true!
Are you ready for the formula? Here goes… Ask.
That’s it. That’s the process, every step of it.
If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. That’s what it takes. You receive the Holy Spirit the same way you receive salvation: you ask. This is why Jesus said…
“If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)
How do you ask, you may ask? These two guidelines will help you.
- Ask in faith. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)
- Ask with your whole heart. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)
Here’s what I’m saying. The prayer to be filled with the Holy Spirit is not a casual, whimsical, half-hearted effort. It’s a prayer of expectation and a prayer of consecration. It’s a prayer of submission. In asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you are yielding yourself to God’s leadership in your life. In doing so, your life becomes a masterpiece.
There’s a third-step that I want you to see today. To live a spiritually vibrant life, you need to…
- LET’S SEEK TO DISCOVER OUR SPIRTUAL GIFTS AND PUT THEM EACH TO WORK IN OUR LIVES.
In this section of Corinthians Paul talks at length about spiritual gifts. He says…
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
And then he tells us…
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
I like how this verse reads in the New Living Translation.
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. (NLT)
He’s saying that everyone receives a gift — or gifts — from the Holy Spirit, and these gifts are to be used in the service of, and for the benefit of, others. In this passage Paul mentions several kinds of gifts: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the gift of faith, the gift of healing, the gift of discernment, the gift of speaking in tongues, the gift of interpretation. These are kind of “showy” gifts; Paul mentions them specifically here because he wants to help the Corinthian church to be more balanced in the way they put these gifts to use In Romans 12, he mentions more gifts: the gift of exhortation, the gift of giving, the gift of leadership, the gift of mercy, the gift of service, the gift of prophecy, the gift of teaching.
In other passages he talks about the gift of celibacy, the gift of hospitality, the gift of evangelism.
And I wouldn’t even say that these lists are exhaustive. There are a wide variety of gifts, and the one thing they all have in common is that each gift is used to build up others. Because…
7 …the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
I’m saying that gifts are defined by the benefit they provide. That’s why there’s a difference between a talent and a spiritual gift.
For example, playing the piano, playing the guitar, having an awesome voice — these are not spiritual gifts. They’re talents. And a lot of people have talent. The world is full of talented people; for the right price you can get any of them.
However, I know some musicians who are more than just talented — they’re gifted in ways that go far beyond their talent.
Because he or she is more than a mere musician. Like Mary, She is a servant. Her spiritual gift is service; her musical ability gives her the opportunity to put her spiritual gift to good use. If she were suddenly unable to play the piano, she would find another way to serve, because she’s a servant first.
You don’t need to be talented in order to be gifted. Sometimes gifts and talents overlap, but not always. Now, you have been given you a gift that you can use to build up others. Maybe it is giving, or teaching, or leadership, or hospitality, or any number of other possibilities. But I can assure you of this: The Holy Spirit has given you a spiritual gift — or spiritual gifts — and God’s plan for you is to put these gifts to work for the common good, in other words: for the benefit of others.
Putting your spiritual gift to use creates purpose into everything you do.
It becomes an act of obedience to God. It goes from being a hobby to being a ministry. You’re not just playing the piano, or working in the nursery, or leading a committee, or dropping a few bucks in the plate — you’re doing the work of God. You’re being used by the Holy Spirit to minister to others. The result is that the seemingly mundane details of life take on new meaning — suddenly they are rich with eternal significance.