Gifting God, thank you for calling us into your church to be one body in Christ Jesus. You have bestowed upon us the gifts we need for your service. Inspire us, this hour, to want to use our abilities to honor you, to serve others, and to be an example. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

The reason God made you you is that, Scripture says, God created you for a purpose, for a reason. There is a design in mind and a plan related to your life. We have hundreds, thousands, millions of people all over the world, who do not know that. They can’t affirm that and have no real clue why they are here. 

 

The Bible says you are formed, you are shaped, you are wired, you are custom- made to make a difference. We call this, in church, the intentional will of God. This is what God intends. It is not what actually happens sometimes, but that’s not God’s problem. This is what God intends. This is what God wants. This is what God desires you to do with your life. This means you have, in fact, a reason for being here. 

 

In the past, we have talked about your spiritual gifts and that all of us have spiritual gifts. We’ve talked about this incredible heart that has been placed inside of you, that emotional component in your life that drives you, that excites you, that motivates and energizes you.

 

Today we are going to talk about your abilities, your innate, God-given, natural abilities, and how and why God wants you to use those abilities. I call this my preliminary Labor Day sermon. So let us jump in. 

 

What do the people of God… What do the people of this world need to know about our abilities? Romans 12 says, “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.” 

 

What that means is there are no no-talent people. Everybody has talent. One of the things I often hear here at Broadway, and it is true in many respects, is that this is a church filled with such talented, resourceful people. It is amazing. The implied message from this person is, “Oh, by the way, I am not one of them. I don’t have any talents compared to these folks.” 

 

If you think that, if this thought is possibly in your brain, you are absolutely wrong.

The problem is that you know what you are not good at far better than you know what you are good at. If I were to say, for instance, “Give me 50 things that you are not good at,” most of us could come up with a quick list.

 

“I’m not good at golf, or math, or physics, or home repairs, lawn care and house cleaning. I am so lousy at that. I don’t have a gift for it, OK.” 

 

However, if I were to say, “Give me a list of the 50 things you are really good at,” how many could you name? 

 

Folks, they tell me the average human being has between 500 and 800 abilities, most of which, most of us don’t even know we have. These abilities were given to us. They are built in. We have some incredible abilities.

 

The point: Part of our number one job, as your church, is to help you discover those talents you already have and may not know you have.   More importantly, our job is to help you put those talents into service for God’s purposes. If they are God’s purposes, they are always, always good for the world.  

 

In fact, the next Life Focus Seminar coming up here at Broadway, scheduled for October 21, will talk about this. If you have not experienced it, I encourage you to sign up. Give us a call, and we will get you plugged in. 

 

So, here we are with all of these amazing abilities, hundreds and hundreds of them sitting right here in this room. Here is the big thing. All of us are incredibly different. There is diversity written all over God’s design. I want you to hear that diversity is a huge part of God’s design. 

 

Now, the problem comes when the folks in charge want everybody to look alike, sound alike, learn the same way, and do the same things. We do have some people in human society, when they are put in charge, who want to do those kinds of things.

 

Some of you may have heard about the school that animals created for animals. Have you heard of this school? They got together and decided all animals needed to go to school. In this school, every animal had to take the same courses – the fundamentals – and these courses were the requirements.   Every animal had to take Running, Climbing, Swimming, and Flying. Of course, this is when the problems started. 

 

For instance, the duck was a significantly better swimmer than his teacher was, He could do fairly well at flying, but he was an awful runner. Those webbed feet were a problem. So, what did they do? They made him drop swimming, so he could spend more time running. Of course, that messed up his swimming. His swimming and flying grades went way down. The duck was told that it says in somebody’s book, “We are all created equal.” Everybody there evidently felt that was good for the duck, except the duck.

 

You heard about the rabbit, I presume. The rabbit started at the top of his class in running. He was really a good runner. However, because he was a lousy swimmer, they made him spend most of his time at the pool, where he got pneumonia. He had to drop out of school.

 

Then the squirrel had outstanding abilities in climbing, but he got really frustrated in flying class, because the school insisted he start from the ground up, rather than the treetop down. Therefore, from all of that jumping around, charley horses got in his legs, and he got lousy grades in climbing and running. 

 

Of course, the real problem student in the animal school was the eagle. She was always in trouble. She was such a non-conformist. For instance, in flying class, she beat out all the other animals in the entire place getting to the top of the tree first, but she kept insisting she was only going to do it her own way. Finally, because she refused to participate in the swimming class, she was expelled.

 

Are you starting to get the point here? It is very clear. God designed all of God’s creatures, including you and me, to excel in specific areas. God doesn’t expect all of us to fit into the same mold. A duck was made to be a duck, and you were made to be you. God has given you unique abilities, and God wants you to use those abilities for the purpose God intended.

 

Now, your abilities are sort of like a map. If you want to know what God’s will for your life is, look at your abilities. That is how you find out. Your abilities point you in the direction God wants you to go. That’s what you are here to do. Again, Romans says, “God will equip you with all that you need to do God’s will.”

 

Notice, it doesn’t say, “God will give you all the abilities that you want, that other people have.” That would be like, “I’d really like to sing like her, and look like him, and fish like Rick.” That’s not going to happen. OK? 

 

God has created, formed, and shaped you to be you. Comparing yourself with anybody else, folks, is out.   There is a lot of pressure to do this. That is ridiculous. In fact, Scripture says you actually give the Creator pleasure. You put a smile on the Creator’s face when you are using your gifts the way the Creator intended you to use them. This is all you have to be focused on. That means all gifts are important. There are no accidental gifts, and those gifts give you the direction.

 

We are going to look at six of those today. We are going to talk about the six things God wants you to do with your abilities.

 

Number One: Your abilities and my abilities are to be used to honor God. That’s where it starts. First Corinthians 10 says, “Whatever you do, it doesn’t matter what it is, do it all to the glory of God.” 

 

Whether it’s embroidery or embalming, whether its carpentry or cooking, whether it’s healing or harvesting, whether it’s teaching or training, or composing or computing, painting or processing, selling or swaddling. (That was pretty good. Don’t you think?) There are some swaddlers here, and that is good. 

 

Whatever you are doing, do it for the glory of God. It doesn’t matter whether you are teaching, or building, or repairing, or gardening, whether you are publishing, or litigating, or cleaning, or negotiating, or modeling, there are a million things for you to do. Whatever you are doing, do it to the glory of God. That is number one, and that is where you start.

 

Number Two: God had given you those abilities, and God wants you use them to serve others. All of us have abilities, but they are not just there for your benefit. Those abilities exist in you for the benefit of others. Did you know that? 

 

First Peter 4 says, “God has given each of you some special abilities. Be sure to use them to jack other people around and make a killing.”

 

Oh, no, no! It doesn’t say that. I’m sorry. That is the wrong translation. I missed that. That is the RSP version. That is the Reviled Substandard Perversion translation. That’s not what it says at all. Although it is amazing, all you have to do is spend some time in this culture, and this is exactly what many people think their gifts are for. 

 

First Peter actually says, “God has given each of you some special abilities. Be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings.”

 

Folks, nobody is good at everything. That means you need me, and I need you, and we need each other. It’s called community. That’s why we need a church home. That’s why we need a church family. That’s why we create small groups. We are better together than when we are by ourselves. That’s the way God wants it. 

 

Superstars, perfect people, lone rangers are out, but building on your strengths in community is in. That’s the key to any success. So your weaknesses become irrelevant; work on what you are good at doing. Just make it better. Nobody is good at everything. In today’s world, if you don’t know that, you are already behind the eight ball. You better learn in today’s world to be on a team.

 

That’s the second rule of success in today’s world. Team up with people who are good at the things you are not good at. Team up with people who compliment you. 

 

The Broadway staff is a wonderful example. We have wonderful people: Tammy and Ingrid, Mike and Terry, John and Debbie, Sara and Emily, Bev and Josiah, Lorri and Jay. Oh my gosh; and then there are Kim and Jacob. These folks are just about as different as night and day, but everybody brings something to the table. Each one of them has something to contribute. It’s a team deal. 

 

We need each other, and that, by the way, is one of the purposes of marriage, for those of you who are married. We get married, so we can spend the rest of our lives in a perfect relationship. Ha, ha, yeah right. OK? No, we get put together in marriage to compliment each other’s strengths and to compensate for each other’s weaknesses. Write that one down. That is at the top of the marriage therapy and counseling list. We compliment each other’s strengths and compensate for each other’s weaknesses. 

 

What happens when we don’t do that? I will tell you what we do. We criticize. I know that some of you have never had that in your marriage, but we criticize each other’s weaknesses. Isn’t this interesting? That is not what marriage is for. You married a sinner, and she married a bigger one. And all the women said, “Amen!”   Thank you.

 

When you put these two sinners together, how are you going to have a perfect relationship? Secret: there are no perfect relationships. It’s all about complimenting and compensating. You are a team, folks, and if you are not a team, you are in trouble. That’s the way it is.

 

Number Three: God gave you your abilities so you can make a living. The Bible says that if a person will not work, they shall not eat (2 Thessalonians 3). If you can work, you should be working. You should be self-supporting. 

 

You and I know there are people in the world who can’t do this, because of disabilities, problems, circumstances, and that is another whole story. However, if you can work, you should. Since most of you are going to outlive your parents by a number of years, you need to realize there is a high likelihood you are going to have at least two careers, and maybe four or five of them in your life time. God has given you all of the abilities you need to do just that.

 

Number Four: God has given you abilities to be an example to others. Put your abilities to work. Throw yourself into your tasks. Why? It is so everyone will notice your improvement and your progress. Isn’t that interesting? 

 

Did you know God wants people to see you and notice how well you are doing, how you are developing, how you are growing, and how you are sharpening your skills? Why would God want that? Well, frankly, when you are good at what you do, when you are a reliable person, when you are a dependable person, when you are a hardworking person, when you are person of integrity, it makes a huge statement. Do you know how hard it is to find people like that today?

 

It makes a statement, not just about you. It makes a statement about your faith. It makes a statement about your core beliefs. It makes a statement about your Creator. God wants people to recognize and see how you are doing, how you are developing.

 

Number Five: God wants you to use your abilities to have money to share. We need to have money to share with people, who, for one good reason or another, cannot work. Ephesians 4 says, “Begin using your abilities for honest work, and then give generously to others in need.” 

 

Isn’t it interesting how many of you are now barely surviving on the income you once dreamed about? Have you noticed this? Have you noticed how your expenses keep going up as that income keeps going up? 

 

Is the goal of your life to someday buy a little island in the Pacific and have people serve you little drinks, with little umbrellas in them, while you are sitting around working on your tan? Is this what you are shooting for? That might be fun for a weekend, folks, but is that the purpose of your life?

 

The point: Somewhere along the line, you have to get to the place where enough is enough. Does that mean that you stop working? No, it means you keep on working at what you are good at, what you enjoy, and what you really do well, so that you can share with others money that they need. You have to give it away.

 

God has blessed every single person in this audience, in this assembly, in this congregation right here in this place today. I’ve said it a gazillion times. We are going to continue to say it until we don’t have any more breath. The only reason anyone in this room is blessed is so that you might be a blessing to someone else. 

 

Number Six: God has given you abilities to build up the body of Christ, which is this church. You have abilities, and they are supposed to be being used right here. Ephesians 4 says, “Each of you have been given gifts and abilities to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the church, the community of faith, may be built up and become mature.” 

 

It is not an option, folks. It is a given. It is what we do. Did you know God actually expects you to use your gifts, your abilities, to help right here, to actually engage in ministry and mission? I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, “You know, what I am good at, and what I really do well, Broadway does not need.”   If you are thinking this, you are wrong.

 

There is no good ability or gift that you have that can’t be used by this community of faith. It doesn’t matter what it is. Whatever it is, we can use it. We need it. We need it, because of the millions of people that God could have drawn to this community of faith, for some reason, God wanted you here. I don’t know why. But because God did, you have something to offer that this church needs, and it’s your job to figure out what it is and start giving it. Talk to somebody. We have ways to do it. Offer it.

 

OK, so that is what God wants. So, how do we go about it? Quickly, there are three things.

 

Number One: You estimate. You assess your abilities. Romans 12 says, “Try to have a sane estimate of your capacities by the light of faith that God has given you.” 

 

That means do an assessment. Sign up for the next Life Focus Seminar. Whatever it takes, God wants you to be a good manager of what God has given you. The truth is every single one of you has more abilities than you even know that you have. Do an assessment and be intentional.

 

Number Two: Once you assess what you know, dedicate those abilities back to God. God gave you those abilities. God wants you to commit them, just as we heard Mary talk about the offering today. She said God has given us these wonderful gifts and says to us to bring some of those back. God wants you to do the same thing with your gifts. Commit them to God and use them the way God intended. This is very critical, because we have a ton of very talented, very resourceful people in this community of faith who are using their gifts and abilities for almost everything except God. This is a huge mistake.

 

Number Three: Dedicate your abilities back to God, and then cultivate them, and build them, use them, sharpen them.   Don’t work harder; work smarter. Cultivate the gifts God has given you.

 

Let me cut to the bottom line, folks. God has made an enormous investment in every single one of you. You have been fearfully, wonderfully, and amazingly made. God has hard-wired, shaped, formed, custom-made every single one of you. God has taken some incredible things and put them in your hearts – powerful things. He has given absolutely every single one of you hundreds and hundreds of abilities and gifts. And guess what? That Creator expects a return on that investment. Did you know that? 

 

That means something is going to happen. They are not going to tell you about this in your school, and they won’t tell you about it on TV. They are not going to tell you about this in the news. Someday, the Creator of every single one of us is going to ask you personally, “What did you do with what you were given?” 

 

Luke 12 tells us that Jesus says, “When the master comes and finds his servants, his people, working…” No, that’s not what is says. It says, “When the master comes and finds his people doing his work, that person will be blessed.” Do you see the difference? It is not just working, but when you are doing his work, that person, Jesus says, will be blessed.

 

I believe with all of my heart Jesus wants you and all of his children to receive their blessing, so I ask you to pray with me for just a moment as we come before the Lord.

 

Dear God, thank you. I don’t know all of the abilities I have, but I want you to know that I am grateful for them. I humbly ask you to help me discover them, name them, and dedicate them back to you, and then, yes, to actually use them. I want to get better and better at what I do, and I ask you to help me to be the best that I can be, not just for my sake, but for yours, and for your glory.

 

And all the people say together…   “Amen.”

 

God, help us to see ourselves from the inside out. In doing so, we will see the kind of persons we are created to be. Help us to listen to our hearts, for there we will hear your tender voice that whispers as only a loving parent can, the encouragement to do and be. Amen.