H. Michael Brewer
Crescent Springs Presbyterian
8 February 2004
SEEK TO SERVE
1 Corinthians 14:1-5
Last Sunday we talked about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and we took to heart Paul’s words to the
Corinthians, “Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our
Lord Jesus Christ,” (1 Corinthians 1:7). You already have every spiritual gift you need. Yet at the
same time, Paul says that we must pursue those gifts, we must seek them and strive for them. What is
the sense of that? What does it mean to strive for what we already have?
In the neighborhood where I grew up there was a convenience store near our home. Sometimes
Mom would send me to the store for a loaf of bread or a half-gallon of milk. She’d give me the
money I needed, and she’d tie the money in a handkerchief. When I got to the store, I had to untie
the handkerchief and take the money in hand. So Mom gave me what I needed for the job, but I had
to unwrap it to use it.
God has given us the gifts we need to do God’s will. But we must unwrap what God has given.
God’s gifts are already in our possession, but we need to set them free. If we don’t unwrap God’s
gifts, there’s not much likelihood that we will fulfill God’s calling for our lives.
So, how do we go about this? The pursuit of spiritual gifts begins with intentional trust. As
ordinary as I am, as inept as I am in so many things, I still have to believe that God has plans for me,
God is calling me, and the Holy Spirit of the living God has given me exactly the gifts I need to carry
out God’s plans. Don’t skip this first step. You have to believe that you are the Temple of the Holy
Spirit, and that the infinite, immeasurable bounty of God is present in you, manifested in amazing gifts.
If you cannot at least glimpse yourself and your wonderful possibilities through the eyes of God, then
you can’t pursue your gifts because you won’t really believe in your gifts.
Kidding with my Sunday School class, I asked them what word is not in God’s vocabulary. What
word has God never said and never will? There were many good answers, but my own answer is
very simple. The word God has never said is, “Oops!” God doesn’t make mistakes. No one slips
through God’s fingers and falls through the cracks. God has never yet called someone into the body
of Christ and sent them out for mission and then said, “Oops! I forgot to equip that one. I forgot to
empower that one. I forgot to give any gifts to that one.” It’s never happened. It never will.
God was not napping the day you were baptized. Believe that. Believe that God’s bounty and
power are expressed in and through your life. You and I may well be vessels of clay, but inside we
are filled with God’s Spirit and the gifts of that Spirit.
The second step in striving for our gifts is an openness to something new, a willingness to explore
uncharted territory in your life (and maybe in your heart). Paul says that if anyone is in Christ, that
person is a new creation! (2 Corinthians 5:17). I don’t know about you, but when I get something
new I want to know all about it. I want to explore it and learn what it will do. A few months ago, we
had a rental car for a couple of weeks. It was a new car to me, so I set out find the wipers and the
blinkers. In the process, I found out there was an emergency release inside the trunk. I wanted to
know if it worked, so I had a helper lock me in the trunk so I could try it out. And yes, it worked!
If we are new creatures in Christ, we probably have gifts we don’t even know about. Scott
Thrasher grew up here in CSPC, and now he and his family are back in Vegas. Scott has settled into
a new church out there and we just got the request to transfer his membership. I can tell that the
pastor is delighted to get Scott aboard—he is a multi-talented guy: juggling, stilt-walking, physical
comedy and lots of similar stuff.
As far as I know, Scott first put on a clown costume and make-up about twenty years ago. Jan
and I were leading the youth group at the time. One day when the kids arrived, we surprised them.
We told them Madonna Manor was expecting a visit from us and that we were all going as clowns.
So we turned them loose with face paint and a box of wild clothes, I did a bit of clown theology with
them, and we set off.
Most of the kids had a good time and have probably never put on clown-face again since that
day. One boy absolutely refused to dress up. He said he’d visit, but no clown stuff. And Scott loved
it. Maybe something clicked for Scott that day. Maybe he discovered something within himself that he
didn’t know was there before.
Many of us have had that kind of experience. In preparing for ordained ministry, I thought I would
specialize in counseling, but it turns out that I’m not a counselor. I’m a good listener and sometimes a
good encourager, but I lack the gifts of insight, discernment and direction required in a really good
counselor.
On the other hand, I was dreading all the priestly, ritualistic stuff that goes with ordained ministry—
baptisms, Communion, funerals. To my surprise, I discovered that I love that aspect of ministry, and I
have a knack for it, almost a second nature. Whoda thunk it? Not me. And that’s why a healthy,
humble openness becomes us as Christians. We are new creations and the one who created us anew
knows our gifts even better than we do ourselves.
A third help in pursuing the spiritual gifts is the cultivation of a persistent restlessness, a persevering
determination to keep growing in our calling. Do you remember the lines from the hymn, “Spirit of
restlessness, stir me from placidness…”?
Why restlessness as a spiritual discipline? Because as long as we are in this world, our discipleship
is a journey, not an arrival. Think of it this way. God wants to pile spiritual gifts on us beyond our
wildest imaginings. Why should we settle for one bit less than God wants us to have? Why settle in a
rut when God intends us for a mountaintop? There is so much promise in you and me that is yet to be
revealed, yet to be realized. Part of our calling as Christians is to prayerfully seek a greater measure
of the fullness of God’s grace.
The DVD recording of the second Lord of the Rings movie was one of my gifts from my church
family this year. I love the movie. I’ve enjoyed watching it at home. But I recently visited a friend who
has the same DVD, and he said, “Have seen the secret scene? There’s a secret scene that’s not listed
in the menu. You’ve got to do this and this and this, and then you can open the secret scene.”
After we watched it together, I said, “How did you find this? There are hours and hours of
programming on here. It’s a four DVD set for heaven’s sake!”
He said, “I figured something was there, and I just kept looking until I found it.”
My friend may have too much time on his hands, but what a wonderful philosophy for a Christian.
Just keep looking and you’ll find more.
Jesus said it this way: “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the
door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and
for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child
asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?
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 11:9-13 NRSV).
We do well to cultivate the restlessness that hungers for more of God, the spiritual longing that
asks and seeks and knocks at God’s door. According to Jesus, God blesses those who pursue and
strive for more; God gives the Holy Spirit to those who seek and ask.
Let me offer one more thought about pursuing our spiritual gifts. When striving for the gifts of God,
think community. Think service to others. Think church. Your gifts are given to you not for your own
benefit, but for the common good.
Paul says, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church,” (1
Corinthians 12:7). My gifts are not just for me; my gifts are for the service of God’s people.
Paul says, “The gifts (Christ) gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the
body of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:11-12 NRSV). Your spiritual gifts are not your private possession;
your gifts are for building up the church.
Paul says, “Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy,” (1
Corinthians 14:1 NRSV). Basically Paul is saying, Pray that God will give you the gifts that are the
most helpful to the church. That’s why Paul puts love first. Love is the gift accessible to every
Christian, and the gift that makes sense of all the other gifts. How are we going to harness our
spiritual gifts for the common good if we don’t start by loving each other?
As for speaking in tongues, says Paul, that’s OK, but it doesn’t really do much to build up the
church. Better a few words that might help someone than a whole long speech in some unknown
tongue.
Some years ago, two students graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The highest-
ranking student in the class was a blind man named Overton and when he was singled out for this
honor, he insisted that half the credit should go to his good friend Kaspryzak, who was born without
any arms. The two first met when the armless man had guided the blind man down a flight of stairs on
campus. This acquaintance ripened into friendship and a beautiful example of shared gifts. The blind
man carried the books that the armless man read aloud in their study, each one sharing his gifts, each
one serving and being served.
Believe that God’s Spirit has planted gifts within you. Be open to surprises, and be persistent in
pursuing those gifts. Above all else, seek to serve Christ and his church. Those who do these things
will find their gifts.
Soli Deo Gloria!