Enthusiasm, Diversity, & Unity
Zephyr United Methodist Church
Early First United Methodist Church
June 4, 2006
Rev. Eddie Smart
1 Cor. 12:3-13 (NRSV)
Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.
4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Have you ever known anyone you would call enthusiastic? Have you ever watched anyone show just how enthusiastic they are? What is enthusiasm? What does it mean to be enthusiastic? When we think of the enthusiasm displayed by ballplayers and fans when they have won the big game, we are using Webster’s second definition of the word.
Enthusiasm comes form the Greek “en” and “theos” translated “in god.” It means “to be possessed by god.” The first definition is “supernatural inspiration or possession.”
This is Pentecost Sunday-- the day we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. We celebrate God’s spirit that has come to possess us.
Today’s passage tells us 4 things about the Holy Spirit:
1) The Spirit provides the primary impulse
for making the Christian confession
2) The Spirit is the source of the various gifts in the church.
3) The Spirit is the unifying force within the Body of Christ
4) The Spirit works for the common good.
The Christian Confession is “Jesus is Lord.” Paul writes, "No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." A former pastor of mine had a breath prayer he always prayed as he was on the way to a pastoral call that could be difficult or stressful, needing a source beyond himself. He prayed, “Jesus is Lord.” Remember, no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. That pastor was counting on the power of the Holy Spirit every time he prayed this Christian confession, “Jesus is Lord.”
If with think there is a problem with this statement because anyone can say these words -- "Jesus is Lord," we misunderstand the radical nature of this confession for the earliest Christians. For them to say, “Jesus is Lord” means absolute allegiance to Jesus as one's deity.
Jews wouldn't make this statement -- it would be blasphemy. Pagans -- had many deities -- all called lords. To say "Jesus is Lord" means one gives to Jesus the supreme loyalty of his/her life and the supreme worship of his/her heart. (Barclay)
Lighthouse - Battleship - Lordship
The captain of the ship looked into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message: "Alter you course 10 degrees south."
Promptly a return message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north."
The captain was angered; his command had been ignored. So he sent a second message: "Alter you course 10 degrees south--I am the captain!"
Soon another message was received: "Alter you course 10 degrees north--I am seaman third class Jones."
Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: "Alter you course 10 degrees south--I am a battleship."
Then the reply came: "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am a lighthouse."
In the midst of our dark and foggy times, all sorts of voices are shouting orders into the night, telling us what to do, how to adjust our lives. Out of the darkness, one voice signals something quite opposite to the rest--something almost absurd. But the voice happens to be from our LORD, the Light of the World, and we ignore it at our peril. (Larson, #123)
According to Paul, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can proclaim Jesus is Lord. Through the Holy Spirit we can make Jesus our Lord. Through the Holy Spirit we can give Jesus our supreme loyalty-- our absolute allegiance.
The Spirit is the source of the various gifts in the church.
"I did," said the wind! "I did," said the paper! "I did," said the string! "I did," said the boy! But in reality they ALL flew the kite!
If the wind had lulled, if the paper had torn, if the sticks had broken, if the tail had caught in the tree, or the boy had fallen, then the kite would have come down! EACH HAD A PART TO PLAY!
God has placed you in a strategic role! You are important to your church’s ministry. We are each gifted by the Holy Spirit for doing some portion of God's work.
When is a gift a gift? Is it when it is accepted? Or is it when it is put to use?
A minister performed a wedding uniting two wealthy families in the church. Naturally, he and his wife could not help speculating on the amount of the wedding honorarium which might be given for performing the wedding. At the end of the wedding and during the reception, the groom expressed his appreciation for the minister's service and gave him a pair of fine kid gloves. When the minister returned home, he laughingly tossed the gloves in his wife's lap, saying that they were too big for her and he rarely wore gloves--so she put them away.
Some months later, the minister was planning a trip and his wife suggested he take those nice gloves since it would be cold. She found the gloves and gave them to him--but when he tried them on, he discovered a object in the finger of the glove. Digging it out, he unrolled a $10 bill. In surprise and mounting excitement, he and his wife began to work on both gloves, and discovered each glove contained $50 -- a total of $100, which was quite a sum in that day.
The $100 was given by the groom and received by the pastor on the wedding day, yet the money was not full realized or appreciated for some time. So it is with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Too often we fail to access the power He has already made available to us. Too often we fail to utilize for the Kingdom the gifts the Spirit has given to us.
Alan Loy McGinnis wrote in "Self Confidence":
"I have long admired Washington D.C.'s Church of the Savior, in part because they place such an emphasis on calling forth one another's gifts. Almost as soon as you begin worshiping there, you are confronted with the question, "What are your gifts?" The congregation sees this as another way of saying, "What is your call?"
The Spirit is the unifying force within the Body of Christ.
Jimmy Durante asked to perform in a USO show could give only 10 minutes. He did his 10 minutes BUT continued, & continued, & continued. Off stage he was asked why he stayed.
"I'll show you.” he said.
Durante pointed to 2 men on front row sitting next to each other. Both had lost an arm in combat, one a left arm, one a right arm. Sitting next to each other, they used the arm & hand they had to clap.
In diversity there is unity.
The spirit has given a variety of gifts -- diversity. BUT the spirit unites us as we each use our particular gift or gifts. We use what the spirit has given us so that God's kingdom might come upon this earth. God has promised that through the Holy Spirit unity can come.
The Spirit works for the common good. We are empowered to proclaim "Jesus is Lord" for the common good. We are given various gifts for the common good of the church. We are pulled together by one Spirit for the common good.
We don't give Jesus our absolute allegiance for our own good. We don't use the gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit for our own good. We don't come together as a united Body of Christ for the good of each individual. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit for the common good.
We become Enthused - for the common good. Our enthusiasm is for the common good of all.
Where is our enthusiasm? Can we be Christians and not be enthusiastic? Possessed by God? Supernaturally inspired?