God’s Team (All for One and One for All) Chapter 29 of THE STORY RUMC 3/8/15

God’s Team (All for One and One for All)

Chapter 29 of THE STORY  

RUMC 3/8/15

 A man approached a pastor and told him he wanted to join the church but he didn’t think he had a lot of time to devote to serving. He said, “I have a very busy schedule and can’t be called upon to do any teaching or cleaning in the church or really serving in any way. I can’t help with special projects or with the youth ministry...all my evenings are tied up. And besides I did my part when I was young and my kids were young and I had lots of energy.”

The pastor thought for a moment and then said, “I believe you’re at the wrong church. The church you’re looking for is 3 blocks down the street, on the right.” The man left and followed the pastor’s directions.  He soon came to an abandoned, boarded up church building that had been closed for years.

Finally, he found a church filled with people just like himself.

Using Paul’s image of the body of Christ for the church, if the hand cuts itself off, the church will bleed. If two or three appendages are amputated, it will hemorrhage. When enough gifts go unused, the lifeblood will be gone and the body will become a corpse. Graphic… but true.

 Paul starts the 12th chapter of First Corinthians saying, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.”   We should not be uninformed about spiritual gifts either.

Paul goes on to describe the church as the body of Christ: the variety of gifts that contribute to the body, the common goal of the body, and the importance of each member of the body.

We are all pretty familiar with that image. I want to try a different image today: the team. We can all connect with teams. We watch with pride at the great football, speech, and basketball teams GR has produced this year, and we thrill at UNI’s success. Whether you are a basketball fan or not, “March Madness” is in the air. Today, therefore, I want to use the image of the team to say the same thing Paul is saying about gifts.

1.         First, EVERY POSITION IS IMPORTANT. There are a variety of positions, but the same goal of winning the game. The center doesn’t say to the point guard,”I don’t need you.” At least he doesn’t if he wants to win a game. The quarterback doesn’t say to the wide receiver, “I don’t need you,” if he wants to have any kind of passing game.

The preacher doesn’t say to the teacher, “you aren’t very important.” Likewise, the treasurer doesn’t say to the EOM chair, “We can get along without you.”

Paul says, “Those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.” 

A concert violinist had a brother who was a bricklayer. One day a woman began talking to the bricklayer about his famous brother the musician. Not wanting to insult the bricklayer, she added, "Of course, we don't all have the same talents, and even in the same family some just seem to have more ability than others."

The bricklayer replied, "You're telling me! That violinist brother of mine doesn't know a thing about laying bricks. If he wasn't able to make some money playing that fiddle of his, he couldn't hire a guy with know-how like mine to build his house. If he had to build a house himself, he'd be ruined."

If we want to build a house, we don't look up "violinist" in the yellow pages. If you need someone to play the violin in an orchestra, don't hire a bricklayer.

Paul reminds us in his letter to Corinth that there are different kinds of gifts but the same spirit. There are different kinds of service but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works all of them in all men. They key word in this passage is the word “different.” It is mentioned 3 times.

•           We have different kinds of gifts,

•           there are different ways to serve and

•           there are different workings. Gifts are not one size fits all. There is not just one single gift that fits all believers.

That’s how the team works. Each and every member of the team has an important role that no one else can fulfill. Every color has a special place in the rainbow or there is no rainbow. Every person in the church has a unique set of God given gifts that are essential for the health and strength of the work of the church and the kingdom of God.

2.         Second, on a team, EVERYONE PLAYS TO WIN. Everyone works for the good of the team.

A well-known coach was once asked, “How much does college football contribute to the national physical-fitness picture?”

“Nothing,” the coach replied abruptly.

“Why not?” the startled interviewer asked.

“Well,” said the coach, “the way I see it, you have 22 men down on the field desperately needing a rest and 40,000 people in the stands, desperately needing some exercise.”

I am not saying that fans are not important to a sports team, but in the church, there is no room for fans. Every single one of us is on the playing field. Each person has to contribute his or her gifts to the strength of the body and the work of the kingdom.

Cancer is one of the most frightening diseases of our day. You know what cancer is? Cells that don’t work with the rest of the body. They are deviant cells that have their own agenda. Now, this would be just fine … if they would leave the body. The problem with cancer is that these deviant cells still want to hang out in you. They don’t want to go anywhere. Cancer cells still want blood, they still want to eat, and they still want oxygen because they want to grow. Not only do they want to grow, they also want to spread and metastasize. In other words, they want to suck life from the body, but they don’t want to contribute to it. Ultimately, unless addressed radically, the whole body is in trouble.

The body of Christ doesn’t need any cancer cells that suck up the lifeblood without contributing their spiritual gift to the work of the kingdom. Scripture teaches that each and every one of us has spiritual gifts   we just have to get up off the bleachers and use them

There was once a man who was a pretty good piano player. People came out just to hear him play. One night, a customer told him he didn't want to hear him just play anymore. He wanted him to sing a song. The piano player said, "I don't sing." The customer, however, was persistent. He told the bartender, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want that guy to sing!" The bartender shouted across the room, "If you want to get paid, sing a song." So he sang a song.

A piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. Until that night, nobody had ever heard the song, "Mona Lisa" sung so beautifully …by Nat King Cole! One of the best-known entertainers in America might have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar except for the fact that he was forced to get up off his piano stool and use his gift.

We are not here just for ourselves. We are not here to listen to great sermons and eat delicious cookies. We are not here to sit on the bench and wave our great big foam “Jesus is number one” fingers. We are here, to be the church, using our gifts that God has given us, building up each other and the church for the work of the kingdom of God. If any of you have slid into the habit of being a bench warmer- or should I say pew warmer, get up and get in the game. We all have to work together for the kingdom of God.

3.         Third, on a team each player has to PLAY THE POSITION THEY ARE ASSIGNED. In other words we have to use the gifts we are given.

We have all known people who thought they were a one-man team. The kind of person who hogs every ball in the volleyball game, or in the huddle says, “You guys do whatever you want just get the ball to me and I’ll score.”

To paraphrase Paul, “If the whole body were an ego, where would the teamwork be?”

A group of animals decided to improve their general welfare by starting a school. The curriculum included swimming, running, climbing, and flying. The duck, an excellent swimmer, didn’t need swim lessons, so he majored in climbing and flying, much to the detriment of his swimming.

The rabbit, a superior runner, was forced to spend so much time in other classes that he soon lost much of his famed speed.

The squirrel, who had been rated "A" as a climber, dropped to a "C" because his instructors spent hours trying to teach him to fly.

 And the eagle could no longer soar to the treetops because he had to learn how to swim.

What happened to this group of animals portrays what often occurs in our churches. People trying to be something that they are not, always hurts us all.

Now, I want to be clear that no one is asking you to do something you are not capable of doing. No one is going to ask you to fly like an eagle or swim like a duck, because you are neither a duck nor an eagle. You are you. You are the "you" that God created, and you have a special set of gifts that neither the duck nor the eagle can even dream of having.

Ability is not a problem in this church. I have never seen a more gifted collection of people in my ministry. God has provided every kind of person we could possibly need to build each other up and build up the church to do the work of the kingdom.

Someone is going to say I don’t know what my gift is. Excuse my bluntness, but that is just a cop out. You know the things you do well. You know what you love to do. You know the things on which people compliment you. Go use it for Jesus.

Sure, if you are interested I have put a stack of spiritual gifts inventories in the back, take one, and complete it. It is actually a pretty interesting exercise. Do you want to know, however, what you will learn? You will learn that you already pretty well knew what your gifts were. You know the thing you do well. You know what you love to do. You know the things about which people compliment you. Go and use them for team Jesus.

•           If God made you a teacher or gifted you with wisdom --be a teacher. Study diligently and do your best.

•           If he has given you the gift of mercy or serving, serve cheerfully and don't expect others to do what you do.

•           If he has given you the gift of hospitality or encouragement, bake your heart out or open your arms wide to build people up for God.

•           If he has given you the gift of sharing your faith with others, I want to see you hanging out with our unchurched neighbors looking for an opening to share.

•           If God has given you the gift of generosity, lead the way in tithing.

•           If God has given you the gift of faith, get down on your knees and start praying for us.

•           If God has given you the gift of healing or miracles, I want you beside my bed in the hospital or leading a grief support group.

•           If God has given you the gift of administration or leadership, gather up a group of folks and get something done.

•           If God has given you the gift of tongues, or interpreting tongues, speak up and give us a holy word.

Accept your spiritual gifts. Cultivate your capabilities. Stop comparing yourself to others. Stop worrying that you might be doing more or less than the person next to you in the pew. Use what God has given you! Enjoy being the "you" God created.

The lessons we gain from this image of the team, therefore, are:

-Every position is important

-Everyone plays to win

-Play the position you are assigned

Once upon a time, there was a famous homebuilder. This craftsman always designed, built, and painted the homes all by himself. One of the amazing things about him was that he didn't even need drop cloths. He had a steady hand, and he was finicky about using good brushes and quality paint, so there were no drips, just tight trim lines.

As I said, he always worked by himself. Then one day he had remarkable idea. As he was standing by one of his houses, he saw a bunch of kids walking home from the local elementary school. They were minding their own business, laughing and carrying their backpacks, until he shouted, "Hey, kids." When they looked up, startled and awestruck (because everyone in town knew about his amazing skills), he asked them a surprising question: "How would you like to do some painting?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you what," he said, "I'll give each of you a bucket of paint and a brush, and you can paint my new house. Do you want to give it a try?"

"For real?" they squealed with delight.

The painter nodded as he said, "Yep, for real."

"Cool!" the kids said.

He opened up the back of his truck and pulled out a load of brushes and a rainbow of paint cans. He pried open the cans. They started splashing paint on his garage door. They got paint on the sidewalk, too, and some on each other. However, they also got a lot of paint on the house—all different colors, especially on the parts of the house that were under 4 feet high.

As other kids came by on the sidewalk, they asked, "Can we do that, too?" And they joined in. In about an hour most of the first floor was covered with paint.

The house painter's neighbors came over after dinner and took it all in. "What is going on?" they asked. Another blurted out, "Look, I gotta be honest, your house looks like a tornado ripped through Sherwin-Williams. What were you thinking?"

"Well," the house painter said, "of course I could have painted this house all by myself, but I've always built and painted houses in order to bring joy to others. So based on that goal, this is the most beautiful house I've ever made. The kids will always remember this as their house, because they contributed to its beauty. They will want to show their friends, who will show their friends and each one will say, 'This is the home of the master painter and builder, but it's also our house.'"

 In the same way, when God the Father, the master creator and painter of the world, pours out his Holy Spirit on his followers, he hands every single one of us a can of paint and a brush, and he says, "Go to work. Use your gifts and let's paint a beautiful kingdom for the world."

Go Paint God’s world.