Unwrapping Your Design - Pastor Eric Skelton

At The Neighborhood Church, we believe faith is lived out in everyday rhythms of love, grace, and purpose. Learn more and connect with us at https://theneighborhoodchurch.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Be careful. Be careful there. Well, it's good to be with you. We got a little light issue going on. That's alright. It'll work its way out, hopefully. Maybe. Guess one more time. You help me with the uh. Well, good morning, good morning. I'm gonna ask if you would bear with me while my voice is uh trying to not cooperate. We're gonna force it into submission. All right. We've spent the past couple of weeks uh talking about this, this common grace, uncommon power. This idea of looking at the tools that are in the toolbox, um, kind of discovering uh uh that we are actually like kind of a gear inside of an engine, that how we fit together. And then we discussed last week this idea of love that that is like the oil that keeps everything functioning and running smooth together, that we don't overheat, that we don't get too uh bogged down. And then this whole thing today we want to move kind of from a bigger picture, this big broad picture, to more of a uh more of a rifle shot approach, if that makes sense. Or I guess if we're gonna stick with a car theme, maybe like an individual, like the rearview mirror, like an individual mirror. In Romans chapter 12, when Paul is talking, he kind of shifts gears in this passage, this letter to the to the church in Rome. He spent the first 11 chapters, the first 11 chapters talking about this massive sweeping mercies of God. It was so full and so rich. And then in chapter 12, he gets really practical. And he says, okay, in light of everything that I've said to you before, in light of all of that, in light of all of God's rich mercy, how then, how do we actually live? How do we do that? So essentially, in our language, what we're gonna say is before we can go and be the church in our city, go and be the church in our town, in our workplaces, in our schools, we have to know who we are being. Does that make sense? We have to understand our design. And that requires something that Paul refers to as sober judgment. Sober judgment. Now, I want to get the heavy stuff out of the way first, if that's okay. When I try to, or when I put together a sermon, I try to always have at least one or two thoughts or statements that would make us go ouch. And I say us because myself is included in this. I think it's good to feel a little bit uncomfortable. It's good to feel a little bit of, ooh, really? I'm supposed to, because this is what scripture says. That's kind of what it does to us if we really dig deep. So I want to get the ouch moment out of the way first. Is that okay? Are you good with that? And then it'll be all sunshine and roses after that. Not really. All right. If you have your Bibles, turn to the book of Romans, chapter 12. You see the first, the first verse there is on the screen. But I want you to have your Bibles, your phones, tablets, whatever you want to use, open to Romans chapter 12. Romans 12. And we'll just read this first verse off the screen and we'll begin to dig into some others as well. But keep your Bibles and books open to that. For by the grace given me, I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Now, here's the rub, here's the hard part. Most of us struggle with one of two extremes. All right? Now I say most because I can't say all, because if we say all, then I'm gonna get something wrong. So I'm gonna say most. Most of us struggle with one of these two extremes. Either we have this overinflated ego. None of us? Okay. Uh we think the whole engine depends on us. We think the whole church depends on the gifts that we have. I'm the best. No one's ever been better than I am. It's all about me. We think our gift is the most important gift in the room. No one else, nothing else can function without me being present. Or we have an under-inflated or a or a less view of ourselves. We don't think we have a gift at all. We don't think God has blessed us with anything at all. We think we're just folks who come in, fill in a seat. We're just a pew filler. We're just a number that they count, and and somebody who drinks extra coffee, and we're just kind of that background noise. We're not noticed, we're not important, we're not special, we're not really included, we're not part of it because we don't have a big special pretty gift that everyone else might have. Paul actually says in this passage that both of these extremes are wrong. They're wrong. Remember, this is the ouch moment. Let's get this over with first. So if you're feeling one of these two things, I want you to know this morning, happy Sunday, you're wrong. That's good, isn't that? That's good preaching. What Paul is saying is to have sober judgment means to see yourself accurately. That's what Paul is saying. See yourself accurately, the way you are. See yourself exactly the way God put you together. That's a good thing. That's a good thing. In our holiness tradition, we're a holiness church, we're a Nazarene church, this is who we are. We believe that holiness is not just about not sinning. Of course, we want to do our best to not sin. That's a good thing, yeah? But instead, it's more about being made whole in the wholeness of who God is and who he designed us to be. And listen, you cannot be made whole if you're trying to be someone else. Can't. You just can't do it, it doesn't work. Again, Paul's saying, have sober judgment. Humility isn't thinking less of yourself. That's not what humility is. It's thinking of yourself accurately. It's looking at your reflection in the mirror and seeing exactly what's there. And I'm sometimes it, you know, like this morning when I looked at myself in the mirror, it was not a pretty picture. Angela confirmed it. But it's looking at the mirror and saying, God has given me the gift of mercy, and so I'm gonna own that gift. And I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be as merciful to everyone who needs to be shown mercy. Or God has blessed me with the gift of administration, and so I'm gonna lead to the best of my ability. Listen to this. You cannot deploy what you haven't discovered. You cannot deploy the gifts that you haven't discovered, and you cannot discover your design if you're too busy envying someone else's. Oh, but look at them. Look at what they look at what they do. They're so good. I want to be just like that. Well, what if that's not your design? I watched a movie with Owen yesterday, my eight-year-old. What was the name of it? What's the name of the basketball movie? I don't remember? Okay, good. Huh? Goat, thank you. Yes, goat. It's about a you guessed it. A goat that plays basketball. Makes sense. But the the the boy, the goat, wanted to be just like the Panther, who was this awesome basketball star. And it wasn't until he realized that he could never be her, he had to be himself before he started to succeed. Folks, you're never gonna come into your potential until you stop envying someone else's gift and you be the person that God has shaped and designed you to be. Yeah. Let's look at some of these gifts. Let's talk about this just for a second. If you have your Bibles open, hopefully you still do, or your phones, your tablets, we're gonna look at verses six through eight of Romans chapter 12. Chapter 12, verse 6. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in their teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. Now, let me help put that a little bit more into our language, if that's okay. Let me break this down just a little bit more. He writes that we all have different gifts. He writes that we all have different ways. And essentially, in this passage, if we look into the Greek text, I know not all of us are Greek scholars, and I don't claim to be a Greek scholar. I know like this much, and I've forgotten this much. But there's some interesting intricacies that we miss in the English translation from the original Greek language. Paul, in fact, Paul doesn't even use the words let him or you should. A literal translation of this sounds more like an officer in the army barking orders. That's really what it sounds like in the original translation. Prophecy, match your faith. Serving, get to serving. Teaching? Teach. That's exactly what it sounds like. There is this urgency here in Paul's voice when he's writing because Paul uses the words for gift. This this this uh Greek text word used for gift is charismata. It comes from the word charis, which means grace. Grace. Your spiritual gift is not a trophy for yourself, it's a it's this delivery mechanism for God's grace to your neighbor. It's not for you. When God blesses you with a spiritual gift, it's not to make you look good or to pump yourself up. It's not for you, it's for those around you. What if the church wrapped its mind around that? That God blessed us not for ourselves, but so that God blessed us so we can bless others. What would that look like? What if the church began to understand that the grace that He gives isn't for us, but it's to share. I think people outside the church might start looking at the church a little bit differently. Yeah. See, if you don't use your gift, the grace that's intended for the person next to you gets stuck. So we're gonna unwrap these seven specific things that, these seven specific, not things, but but really graces. And look at why our neighborhoods, listen to this, we're gonna look at why our neighborhoods desperately need us to deploy those gifts. Are you ready? All right, first, let's let's talk about the word prophecy. We don't hear that a ton in our church, especially and even in our Nazarene tradition, we don't hear that word prophecy a lot, right? Let's talk about it. When we hear the word prophecy, sometimes our minds race to, ooh, a crystal ball or or somebody you know predicting the future. That's not what prophecy is, folks. In the New Testament, prophecy is simply telling the truth of God into the reality of others. That's a good thing, yeah? See, it's it's holding up kind of this divine mirror to a culture that runs on illusions. Now, our culture doesn't run on illusions, does it? Here's why we need it. We live in a world that's drowning in misinformation. Yeah? Have you tried to watch the news? Have you just tried to watch it? What do you believe? Who do you believe? We live in a world so full of misinformation, fake news, identity crisis. It's all around us. Folks, our neighborhoods, our our people next to us, what they need is for someone to have the courage and the deep-seated faith. That's where this is going to come from. To look at all the chaos and say, no, no, no, no. Here is what God says is true. That's what our world needs. That's why the gift of prophecy is so important. And if that gift has been given to you, prophesy. Tell the truth. That's good. Yes? Yeah, that's good preaching, Eric. Good job. The next one he uses is serving. Is serving. This uh the Greek word diaconia, diaconia, this is where we get our word for deacon. You ever heard the word deacon in a church? Servant. One who serves. It's not really a special seat, it's the one who serves. It means practical, dirt under the fingernails behind the scenes help. That's what it means. It's the gift of noticing what needs to be done and doing it without having a press release. We need more servants. The church needs more deacons. Not to wear a name badge, not to be elected at some special church meeting, but to just live out the gift that God has blessed them with. Yes? Because here's the honest truth. The world is so deeply cynical of the church. Would you agree with that? The world is very cynical of the church. They're tired of sermons, they're tired of long-winded preachers, but they cannot argue. Listen to this. The world cannot argue with someone who comes and serves them and helps them and blesses them. Yeah? The widow who needed her lawn mode. Can't argue with that. Somebody comes and just does it. Maybe the neighbor who was having trouble with the car, somebody who has that skill set just comes along and fixes it. Nothing needed. Maybe that person who needed groceries. And they just happened to get an envelope with a card and a Walmart gift card. Serving. Serving. Doing the stuff behind the scenes. Serving is the gift that earns the right for the gospel to be heard. It opens a door that nothing else can. Let's talk about teaching. Teaching. Both my parents were public school teachers. Teaching is something that's that's special to me. I don't claim to be a teacher. I'm not, I don't have the patience to be a teacher. That's why I get to talk with a microphone, you have to listen. I'm more of a lecturer, right? No. But see, teaching isn't just about downloading information into someone else's brain. That's not what teaching is about. It's about taking the complex beauty of God's truth. Taking this, the beauty of God's truth and making it accessible for everybody's life. How do we take this and make it accessible and maybe, let's say, actionable? So that people can take it, understand it, and then deploy it in their own life. Folks, we live in a world where people are drifting. They are all over the place. They're building their lives on what scripture says, on shifting sands. And we know when we build a foundation on a shifting sand and the storm comes, what happens? It's okay to answer. Sometimes I ask questions, it's okay to answer. That's all right. You're all being really quiet this morning. Folks, the neighborhood needs believers who can sit across the coffee table from a friend who's searching about life and explain why we have hope and where that hope comes from and where that joy comes from. We need teachers. We need teachers. We need the pericoleo. Like, uh, what's that? It's Greek for encouragers. We need folks that are encouragers. The Greek word means pericoleo to call alongside. That's what it literally means. It's the gift of the holy cheerleader. No? Now that I get something. Not at all. Okay. You don't have to wear the costume, it's fine. But it's the supernatural ability to look at someone, to look at someone who is ready to throw in the towel, they're ready to give up, and you're able to breathe a fresh life and spirit back into them because of the grace God has given you. Remember, it's not about you, it's about the grace that God has placed inside you to give to others. Why is it so important to have encouragers? Why is it important for this? Well, look around. Isolation is at an all-time high. I was in Walmart yesterday. I love Walmart. The only place where you spend 20 minutes getting what you need and 40 minutes in the checkout line. But while you're in the checkout line, guess what? You have a captive audience because they're waiting to get it, you know, they're wanting to get moving through. So they're going to stay in that line no matter how long it is. It's important to have a captive audience. Like right now, if you wanted to, you can get up and leave. Like you could. You're going to miss out on cake later, but you could get up and leave. I'll bribe you. But while I'm in Walmart, and and it's uh we understand that isolation is much more than ever because everyone in line in front of me and behind me, they're all they're all standing in line with their carts just like doing this. Or they have an earbud in, or they and they're No way to make that connection unless you're just kind of rude, like me. And hey, how's it going? What's that up in your car? You're gonna be making tacos later, you know, just strike up conversation. We live in such a world of isolation. Mental health issues are spiking. Your workplace, your gym, they're full of people, but they're full of individual people that have no connection to anyone else. See, an encourager, a paracoleo, is someone like a like a spiritual oxygen tank for a soul that can barely breathe. That's what an encourager is. It breathes life. Folks, if you have this gift and you keep it quiet, someone next to you might be suffocating. Encouragers are needed in the body. The next gift that we see here that Paul outlines is the givers. And I think specifically the givers with generosity. That's important, right? This isn't just about writing a check. We'll take it, but it's not just about writing a check. See, this is a heart temperament. This is uh this is somebody that rejects the spirit of scarcity, right? It's this radical belief that everything that we own, everything that we possess, everything that we have, it's not ours. It belongs to God anyway. It's all his. And we're just like the distribution manager. We're the one that just, here you go. Oh, you have a need, let me help with that. I've got excess, let me give you some. There are folks that are excellent at this. Paul says to do it with singleness of mind. Or essentially what he says, without an ulterior motive. Without looking to what you're gonna get in return. Without looking at trying to make, okay, make sure I get a thank you note. Make sure I get no, no, no, not about that. Why is this a gift? Why is this gift important to the church today, to the world today? Well, because greed is the default setting of our culture. Greed is the default setting of where we are. See, when a Christian gives with no strings attached, it shatters this consumer mindset that we are surrounded with. It proves that God is actually our provider and we trust in him. He's gonna handle it. Yeah? Folks, your neighbors need givers. Another gift that Paul talks about is leaders. And this idea, this word that he uses means to stand before or to care for. To stand before or to care for. Paul says if you're called to lead, to do it with, and here's another good Greek word, spaud. Spaud, like that Greek word? You know what it means? Okay, I'll tell you what it means. He says to lead with haste, with energy, and with absolute diligence. Haste, energy, and absolute diligence. Don't just coast. If you have the gift of leadership, if God has blessed you with that grace, then lead with energy, with excitement, with looking ahead. Don't just get comfortable and coast. That's not a leader. Why does why do why do why does the church need this? Well, listen to this. Without clear, holy, and diligent leadership, communities fracture and people wander aimlessly. They wander aimlessly. Folks, our marketplaces, our business places, our schools, our homes need leadership, need people who don't exploit others for profit, but instead develop people for purpose. That's what our world needs. Imagine if we were this place that developed people on purpose and then sent them to be missionaries, not in Africa or in Asia or whatever, but what about just across the street, in the park, in the school down the road, in the business place? That's a pretty big mission field, folks. You know that Broward County has right around two million people. Two million people. Broward County needs missionaries, needs leaders that have been developed. This is why giving is important. This is why encouragement is important. This is why teaching is important. This is why serving is important. This is why prophecy is important. Do you see how they're all connected and tied together? We need people with the gift of leading. And then Paul lists one more. People that show mercy. That show mercy who are merciful really with cheerfulness. Now listen, mercy is is pretty simple to define. Mercy is compassion in action. That's what mercy is. Compassion in action. It's entering into someone else's mess to help them carry the burden. Ooh, that sounds fun, doesn't it? That's why it's a spiritual gift. Not everyone is cut out for it. Notice Paul has a qualifier to this, though. We're to do it cheerfully. So that means we don't help while we're sighing under our breath. We don't want to make them feel like a charity case. Folks, our culture is brutal. Would you agree? We live in this, it's still going on, this cancel culture. Where one statement, one mistake, it defines you forever, it haunts you, it follows you. But folks, listen to this. A Christian showing mercy is like an oasis in this desert of judgment that we live in. So here's here's really the bottom line of what we have to get to. An unused spiritual gift is like stagnant water. You ever been around stagnant water? You know what I'm talking about? On our farm back in Illinois, we had a number of ponds. It wasn't big enough to be really called a lake, it was a pond. Um we had a lot of we had a lot of pigs and cows. So just, you know, we had so we had ponds because we had to have water. And two of them actually had pumps. And there was like it would shoot water into the air and sprinkle. It was not to look pretty. It was not a fountain to look, there was nothing beautiful about it. It was to keep the water moving. Because if water becomes stagnant, what grows? Algae, bacteria. And if we're gonna use bacteria-infested water to give to the animals, guess what? Sickness and disease set in. So sometimes when we see these ponds with a little sprinkler, like, oh, that's cute. No, it's actually doing something. It's the same way in a church, folks. An unused spiritual gift behaves like stagnant water. In fact, in our Nazarene tradition, in our heritage of who we are, we understand that grace is to never be static. It's to always be moving. It's more like a river instead of a reservoir. If God pours his caros, his grace into you, and we refuse to let it flow out, it starts to spoil. Starts to grow algae and bacteria. Pretty soon it becomes useless for anybody. Folks, spiritual stagnation sets in when we consume and consume and consume, but we never contribute. I've had folks come and visit. We have visitors often there. A few of you are visitors today. Thanks for joining us today. I appreciate it. I'm not gonna point you out. I'm not gonna embarrass you. But every once in a while we have visitors who come and they'll stop by and they'll say, hey, we're looking for a church. That's fantastic. I love, as a pastor, I love to hear that, right? Like that's that's a good thing. And here's what I ask them, I like to sometimes ask people to do. Give us a couple of Sundays, because one Sunday the preacher just might be off his game, right? It might be a kid's Sunday, it might be a little noisy, but that's okay. We love our kids. It might be a Sunday where the worship leader's leaving. And it's like just a weird service. It's not weird, by the way. It is. It might so give us a couple of Sundays just to kind of see who we are. But also, while you're searching, while you're looking, while you're church shopping, I want you to look for two things. Number one, I want you to look for a place where you can be fed. We have a cafe. No, I'm not talking about food. I'm not talking about, I'm talking about spiritual food, where you can be fed, right? Where you can receive spiritual food that nourishes your soul. But then two, look for a place where you can serve, where you can contribute, where you can be a part of what's going on. Because if all we're gonna do is consume, consume, consume, guess what? We're gonna become spiritually stagnant. But if all we're gonna do, on the other hand, is serve, serve, serve, work, work, work, we're gonna become spiritually malnourished. Neither one is good. You gotta find that balance where you can find a place where you can be fed and find a place where you can serve. We don't want to become stagnant. I don't believe God designed us to be a consumer of the church's resources. That's not who he designed us to be. He designed us to be a conductor of his grace and his power that he puts inside of us. Would you agree with that? If you have the gift of mercy and you stay home, the local shelter lacks your cheerfulness. If you have the gift of encouragement and you stay silent in your office break room, then your coworker might face despair alone. Folks, we need these gifts because the neighborhood is desperate for them. God didn't just give the church gifts to open on Sunday. I think he gave this church, we're here for a reason, not for Sundays, but for Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, for all those other days. Yes, it's good to come and gather for worship and to recharge and to fellowship and to encourage and to do all that. But folks, the most important time happens when we leave. That's when we get to go be the church. In just a moment, we're gonna we're gonna celebrate communion together. And so, Gus, would you want to come forward and get ready with us? Help us with that. But this being Gus and Mel's last Sunday with us, from the time I want you to know this, from the time they've been here, and you were here actually before me. A little bit, right? Okay, okay, well, more than a little bit. But they haven't been here just filling a slot or a role. Right? Not just to fill a slot or a role. They've been using their specific design, their charismata, their spiritual gift of music, of leadership, to help us as a body see Jesus. They've been using this. This is the picture of what common grace looks like. The ability to play, to sing, to do all these things. And they've turned it into an uncommon power that invites the Holy Spirit into this room. They've used their spiritual gifts. That's a good thing. But here is really the go and be reality that we need. See, the kingdom of God, we don't say goodbye as much as we should say deploy. Deploy. Get to work. Let's get going. So we're not going to say goodbye. We're going to say get to work. We're going to watch you work wherever you go. Right? And I know you will. But folks, that's for us as well. Would you agree? Just when we finish up Sunday and we have our prayer time and we open the doors, okay? Goodbye. We'll see you next week. No, no, no, no, no. What if we switch that mindset to, okay, let's go and be the church? What if we shifted all of that? To allow his common grace to flow through us that changes into an uncommon power when we operate in those graces out in a world that desperately needs to see Jesus. When we're going to celebrate with Gus and Mel. Because now the body of Christ is going to grow even larger. And guess what? The body of Christ is bigger than just these few walls. It extends all over. And that's what brings us then to the table. In verses four and five of this passage, it says this for as in one body we have many members. And the members do not all have the same function. So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. There's no better picture of this one body, many parts than in communion. There is no better picture of that. See, many grains come together to form one loaf of bread. Many grapes come together to form one cup that we celebrate together. And many people from many different backgrounds, many different places, many different gifts and designs, we come together to be one body of Christ. And so today, as we come to the table, I want you to remember that the common grace of this bread and of this juice, it's what fuels our uncommon power. We take this and we rejoice and we celebrate in this to remind us that we are equipped to go and be the church. See, when we break the bread, we remember that Christ's body was broken so that ours could be made whole. And when we drink the cup, we remember that his blood was poured out for all, for the forgiveness for all. If you did not receive communion elements when you came in this morning, we have some friends that still have it. If you didn't receive it and you want to participate with us, just raise your hand. And just so you know, in the Church of the Nazarene, communion is open to all. You don't need to be a member. You don't need to have tithed, you don't need to have served. If this is your first Sunday and you want to celebrate with us, you're more than welcome. The one thing I do ask is that you would know Jesus and who he is. Amen. If you want to go ahead and prepare, if you have a cup like this, you can peel the top off and the bread's there. If you have one of the little like chalice-looking cups, take the bread out first, turn upside down because it's easier to do it that way. Otherwise, you spill it. But go ahead and prepare those elements. On the night that Jesus was betrayed, and when he had given thanks, he took bread and said, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Think about how the bread, this wafer was made. Many grains came together to form it. They were grown in maybe different fields and under different climates, but they were all crushed together and put together to make one loaf that was then split and shared. Exact same way. Exact same way. With all of our different personalities, with all of our different backgrounds, different jobs, different spiritual designs. All of us here form one body. We're unified. We're not clones. But we work together. So, church, let us eat together. Remembering Christ's body that was broken so ours could be made whole. Let's eat and be thankful. In the same way, after supper, he took the cup. He gave thanks and then said, Drink from this, all of you. This is my blood poured out for you and for the many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. See, this cup represents the power supply. It's this fierce, sacrificial, perfect love of God poured out for a tired, broken, and weary world. So when you drink today, you're not just practicing in some ritual. I believe we're plugging back into the source, believing in who He is. So, church, let's drink together. Plugged in to that power supply that never fails.

SPEAKER_00 44:55

So fear well, you'll find me, cause I'll be dwelling in the house of God. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow after me. So fear well, you'll find me. Cause I'll be well in the house of God. You're good. Mercy will follow after me. He had good plans. He had good planned for me. If I know my father, I know my father.

SPEAKER_01 46:53

Today, as we leave the sanctuary, we leave the table in his presence. We're called to carry sober judgment. A realistic view of who God has created you to be. You're called to go with that. And folks, I want you to know that you're loved. That you're important, you're vital, you're gifted, and you are necessary to the kingdom. So this week I want to challenge you. Don't try to be anyone else. Just be you. Just be the one that God has gifted and grace. Be that specific gear that He designed you to be and operate in His presence. And as you go, remember we have a little celebration out here for Gus and for Mel. Please stay if you'd like to. Give them a hug, wish them well. And fruit if you're one of those folks with there's cake. So, church, now go and use your gifts to bless someone else. May the pre peace of Christ go with you. You are blessed, you are loved, and we will see you all again. Take care.