The Goal: The Common Good

We are a generation who hungers for the extraordinary, but we are not committed to the ordinary. We walk into church hoping for a supernatural encounter, yet we leave our God-given potential sitting in the parking lot. It is like wandering around in the freezing cold when we actually own a warm coat; we just left it in the car. We possess a divine capacity given by God, but we fail to bring it inside.

Instead of participating, we fall into a spectator mentality. We expect the pastors, the worship leaders, and the hospitality teams to use their gifts while we simply sit and watch.

We want the flow of God's grace, but we refuse to turn on our own faucets.

Definition

To understand how to engage with the church, we must first define what we carry. Author Sam Storms notes, "We may define a spiritual gift as a God-given, and therefore gracious, capacity to serve the body of Christ". This is not a natural talent given at birth; nor is it an acquired skill developed through education and effort. A spiritual gift is a special attribute given by the Holy Spirit to every member of the body of Christ.

It is the very presence and activity of God manifesting in our ordinary lives.

Spiritual gifts are nothing less than God Himself in us. They energize our souls, impart revelation to our minds, infuse power into our wills, and work His sovereign purposes through us. You have a unique contribution to make to the church that nobody else can make.

Direction

Before we can fully step into that potential, we have to look at our past. The Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians that they were once pagans led astray by mute idols. He highlights their broken history before pointing to their spiritual calling.

The problems of your past do not change the potential of your future.

It does not matter how far we wandered or what idols we worshipped. When we come to Jesus, we hit ground zero and become an entirely new creation. The Holy Spirit shifts our direction completely, moving us from worshipping false gods to powerfully proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. The entire purpose of the Spirit's work is to bear witness to Jesus. When we use our gifts, we create an environment where Christ is glorified and others are drawn to salvation.

Distinction

A healthy church does not operate like a team built around a single superstar. It operates like a cohesive unit; players pass the ball to one another so the whole organization succeeds. There is one source, but there are many faucets. Think of a multi-way hose splitter. God is the source distributing His grace, but every individual outlet has an on or off switch.

The water only flows if we choose to turn the faucet on.

There is a critical distinction between gifts, service, and activities. The gift is the spiritual ability. The service is the consistent role or office we step into. The activity is the miraculous event or outpouring of God's power in a specific moment. We often long for the divine activity without committing to the ordinary service. But divine activity shows up in the context of servant humility.

The opportunity for divine activity is created by consistent humility.

Destination

The final destination of every spiritual gift is the common good. God distributes His grace so that the entire body of Christ can benefit. When we sit on the sidelines with a skeptical heart, we quench the flow of the Spirit. But when we engage with willing humility, we bless the people around us.

Everyone has something, and no one has everything, but when everyone uses their something, together we can have everything.