8th Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 57

Bible References :

 

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thoughts of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and Honour of our Lord Jesus Christ.

AMEN

Introduction

“Make love your aim – then be eager for the gifts of the Spirit – above all for prophecy”

The opening verse in our NT lesson – in which Paul gives the Corinthian church some clear advice on the priorities – they should adopt – to build up their church –

They were suffering from splits – over practical issues and the use of spiritual gifts in worship – and Paul recognised that they needed to go back to basics – and to re-affirm their dependence on Jesus Christ

How do we compare against Paul’s priorities?

Are we a church overflowing with love?

Are we a church eager for the Spirit?

Are we a church that speaks out about the Good news of Jesus Christ?

We are going to look at these questions through our readings and Paul’s teaching on Spiritual gifts – to see if it helps our understanding about what our priorities should be at St. Mary’s.

Point 1  love

Paul ‘s first priority is to make love our aim –

Love is more important than anything else in the sight of God

The problem with the Corinthian church was that there wasn’t much of it about.

The church congregation was very faithful

There were people who could lead the worship and preach
There were people with tremendous gifts in the community

The people prayed – listened to the word –
They believed – that God freely forgave their sins – and allowed them to enter a relationship with Him

Everything needed that was vital to the church was happening except – that the church – except for one vital ingredient – the church wasn’t sweet enough

They were failing to live out the love of Christ

Our reading follows that wonderful passage in Chapter 13 – in which Paul describes love as the greatest of all the fruits of the Spirit –

“Love is patient and kind. Love envies no one, is never boastful, never conceited, never rude, love is never selfish, never quick to take offence. Love keeps no score of wrongs, takes no pleasure in the sins of others, but delights in the truth – there is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its hope, its endurance.”

Love is more important than speaking in tongues – more important than Christian maturity – more important than personal sacrifice

Love overcomes problems within ourselves – in our relationships with others and in our relationship with God –

The two commandments on which everything else hangs can be reduced down to that one aim –

Spiritual gifts strengthen the church fellowship

Spiritual gifts extend the church witness

But love is the means by which these gifts are made and to be shared–

it is only when the love of God through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit come together that things really start to happen in a church

Point 2   Spiritual gifts

Next Paul tells us to be eager for the gifts that the Spirit brings –

In his letter he lists nine gifts:

Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues –

In Romans he includes further gifts – of service, teaching, encouraging, giving, governing and showing mercy

All these says Paul, come from the one in the same source and all are to be used to produce a Christ like character in the heart and life of God’s people

In Chpt 12 Paul describes the church as the body of Christ – with many limbs and organs – and Jesus at its head – we are all baptized by the one Spirit into that one body –

Each one of us – says Paul – is needed to play our part in that body – the church is not a cruise liner on which we glide into heaven – it’s a battleship that requires all hands on deck – as it fights its way through life – to its destination – we must all get involved – in using the gifts we have been given for the benefit of the whole –

The Spirit provides everything we need – and Paul urges us to seek out and make the most of what we are given – if you have a gift to offer – don’t hang back – remember that we are in a place of God – and when freely given – for Him – God’s blessing will come upon us – through the presence of the Spirit within us

Paul had no doubts about the keenness of the Corinthian church towards their Spiritual gifts – their problem was that they became over zealous about one in particular – at the exclusion of the others –

They focused too much on “speaking in tongues” – which resulted in emotional outbursts in their services causing chaos and deterioration of the worship – and dividing the church –

Point 3 prophecy

Which leads us on to Paul’s third priority – to desire the gift of prophecy – or inspired speech –

Paul tells us that above all other gifts – we should strive to develop the gift of speaking out the Gospel – both conversationally and publicly –

Speaking in tongues – only has personal value to the one speaking – and requires an interpreter – Whereas applying God’s truth to a situation – is more highly valued – because it contributes to the building up of the body

Emotions are important but not at the expense of understanding

Paul says its better to speak a few intelligible words – than flood out a whole heart of words that people don’t understand

When we pass on the message of the gospel we must communicate in a way that can be understood – and is sensitive to the needs of our hearers –

Paul uses an analogy with playing music; – if an instrument is played in a way that the hearer doesn’t want it to be played – it is interpreted as noise – and they want to switch it off – the same will happen if we try to speak to someone who is not in tuned in to what we say – to them it will appear like a foreign language – and they will want to switch it off –

but when we meet someone who is ready to listen to – we must be ready to give out a clear and right message –

The trumpet of God must reveal the word of God and not the words of the speaker – If the message is from God – it will build – if it is from us it will have no value for the body of the church –

When we are called to witness about Jesus Christ – we must remember that it is not through our own strength that we are called – but through the power of the Holy Spirit –

Before we speak therefore we must pray – pray for God’s help – we need His input and His filter otherwise our efforts will be wasted – it is only when the Spirit is working in us and in the listener that our words can become a revelation

Conclusions

So how do we shape up against Paul’s advice – what should our priorities be at St. Mary’s?

Is love the number one aim in our church?

Love is the means by which the spiritual gifts are made effective and without it we will appear un-inviting to those outside –

love is the test for our faith
Love is the test of our community
Love is the test of our lives –

Do we bring sugar into our church?

Paul urges us to celebrate the many gifts within the church – and to see them as having a common source and a unifying purpose –
We must make the most of our gifts – and each one of us needs to play our part in fulfilling God’s plan for His church St Mary’s

We are called to witness to others about Jesus –
To propagate God’s word – so that the Spirit can grow in them – but until we have the Holy Spirit resident within us and His powers shown plainly to others through us – we will not be effective –

we must strive to be a loving Spirit filled outgoing church – able to offer a clear and inviting message firmly rooted in the love, power and person of Jesus Christ

Are we a growing church – or a dividing church – its up to you

Prayer to finish

Lord may we learn to love, and accept and share in the healing of others and the building up of your church.
May your love overflow,
May your Spirit empower
And May your word speak through us
For the Glory of your name

AMEN