A Simple Life (Romans 12:1) Part 4

For our visitors, I am preaching a series of sermons based on Romans, Chapter 12. We call them horizontal sermons, sermons that have to do with the believer’s everyday life, both in the context of the church and in the context of life in general. Last Sunday we were talking about serving the Lord with that attitude of grace and of knowing ourselves better. Today I am going to give a quick summary. Let us go to verse 3:

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think of himself with sound judgment, according to the measure of faith God has distributed to each one. For just as we have many members in one body, but not all the members have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Therefore, having different gifts according to the grace given to us, if it is prophecy, let it be used according to the measure of faith; or if service, in serving; or he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with generosity; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

That is the word of the Lord for us this morning. Last Sunday, brothers and sisters, we talked about how things are carried out, how one serves in the context of the church. We saw that Paul says, “through the grace given to me,” recognizing that the gifts he had came from God. We saw that he says we should not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. We should not see ourselves as higher, more capable, or more gifted than we actually have a right to see ourselves, but rather see ourselves with sound judgment, and that is where we left off.

How should we see ourselves? In a natural way, in a modest way, seeing ourselves as neither higher nor lower than we ought to. We also talked about how important it is that this means we must know ourselves; we must know what gifts we have. It is important for us to know ourselves, to ask the Lord for wisdom, discernment, and self-knowledge, so that we may see ourselves as God sees us, in that wise, honest way. Many of us sometimes disguise our flaws; sometimes we do not even know we have them, and we blame others. We project our flaws onto others so that we do not have to see ourselves exactly as we should.

You know, brother, if you do not acknowledge your flaws, sooner or later those flaws will conspire to harm you in your life. It is better to be honest with yourself and admit your mistakes early in life so that you do not keep stumbling over the same things all the time.

Honesty with ourselves and with others is something wonderfully healthy for everyone. Neuroses come from aspects of our personality that we are not acknowledging and that become infected for lack of expression and air to breathe.

The other thing that comes out of that text, as we said, is that we must also accept ourselves. We need to accept ourselves. Why? Because many times, when we recognize our failures and shortcomings, we can go to the extreme of always seeing ourselves as defective and feeling perpetually guilty. Sometimes we are so conscious of our failures that we have no peace. So this distorts our way of being. Some solve that problem by overcompensating, going to the other extreme, and trying to conceal that insecurity with great achievements, expensive clothes, boastful speech, and pride, because there is an essential insecurity in their personality that does not let them live. And so they want to spray deodorant on it, as it were, by speaking loudly and putting on a big show, but that insecurity is actually still there.

That is also important because many times, brothers and sisters, in the context of the church, if God has given you a modest gift, be content with that gift, receive it, and thank the Lord for it, but do not go around envying the evangelist’s gift. Some people want to be Benny Hind, and they are not content because God has simply given them a local evangelistic ministry. They have no peace because they cannot wear that white suit with the silky tie Benny Hind wears. So they are continually dissatisfied because they are longing for something more, and the Word says: accept yourself just as you are.

The other consequence—and now we are entering new territory—is that our abilities are gifts; they are presents. Charismata is the word in Greek. They are acts of the Lord’s grace toward us, because we really do not deserve everything we have. How many know that it is by the grace of God? I am a pastor through God’s mercy and grace, not because I earned it or because of who I am—no. God called me to the ministry even though I did not deserve it. You have a gift for singing not because you deserve it, but because when God created you, He gave you vocal cords that sing well. The consequence of that, brothers and sisters, is that we should discharge our duties and exercise our gifts with humility and gratitude to the Lord. How good it is to be grateful for what God has given us. How good it is to know that it is simply by the Lord’s grace and to thank God every day. Every time a singer stands up here, or a musician, a worshiper, or a director, give thanks to the Lord because the Lord allows you to direct and lead such an important aspect of His church. Every time an usher serves and does something in the house of the Lord, give thanks to God for it, because that usher is playing an important role.

We must always come back before the Lord, thank God, and commit ourselves to doing it better each time, because it is a gift; it is a merciful act on God’s part. We must do it with humility and in submission to the Holy Spirit.

There is also a fourth thing, a fourth consequence of this idea of doing things with sound judgment, according to the measure of faith. It continues here by saying that God distributed to each one, and then says: “For just as we have many members in one body, but not all the members have the same function, so we.” There is an implication here that gifts and serving the Lord must always be exercised with an attitude that recognizes that we are doing it in the context of a community. Though we are many, we are one; we are part of a body, an indivisible, complete unity. The motto of this nation includes “et pluribus unum” in Latin. In Latin it means, “from many, one.” This nation is a nation of immigrants, a multitude of races, cultures, and ethnic groups, and the idea in this nation’s motto is that out of all of that comes one unity. That is the idea behind this: there are many gifts that God distributes within the church—many gifts, different kinds of gifts—but they are all part of a whole, one purpose, one organism. And what is the purpose of that organism? To advance the Kingdom of God. What does that mean? It means that gifts are not supposed to be exercised by lone rangers, each one on his white horse rearing up on its hind legs, doing his own thing over there, fighting with the others, and each one seeking his own glory. Rather, it should be done in unity. Amen—in harmony, as a team, with no one seeking his own glory and no one trying to stand out so he can strut around. That is part of “not thinking of himself more highly than he ought to think.”

Brothers and sisters, when we receive a gift and exercise it in the church, we should do so like a basketball player who has the ball in a game. He knows that he cannot take that ball and go straight toward the basket trying to put it in all by himself. Rather, he is part of a team, and if he sees another player nearby who can move the ball forward more quickly, he is not going to think, “Oh, he is going to take away my glory of putting the ball in.” No, he passes it to the other player, because the idea is for the team to win. Do you understand? A player who is always seeking his own glory is not a good team player. In the same way, when we exercise our gifts, we must do it without wanting to take the glory for ourselves. The glory must go to Christ Jesus; the advancement must be for the Kingdom of God. If you have done your part, sit down and let someone else get the glory. You will know in your heart that you contributed in some way to the success. It is so important for us to be secure in ourselves; an insecure person cannot do this. Now, when you are grounded in God, you do not need glory from anyone, because you know that the Lord up there keeps the record and He knows where the balance stands. Then you can do things without thinking that someone else took the glory.

That is so important, brothers and sisters. One of the problems I sometimes have as a pastor arises when people become accustomed to carrying out a function in the church and hold a position, for example, and then another person comes along who can perhaps do it as well as they can or better. How difficult it is to say, “Brother, could you slowly make a little room for this other brother so that he can...” Then they growl and act like a dog when you come to take away its bone. Their hair immediately stands on end because they feel threatened. “This is my territory. I bled to get it, so you are not going to take it away from me.” There are other people who say, “All right, Pastor, whatever you want. Do not worry. I will go off somewhere and be depressed all by myself, but amen, glory to God. God knows; someday He will reveal the truth about.... Do not worry, brother. Go on, go on.” They adopt this attitude of a slaughtered lamb, but always with the same behavior, displaying their wound because they feel that this belongs to them. Brothers and sisters, in the Kingdom of God there is nothing that belongs to any one of us. Everything belongs to the Lord. We are stewards; we are stewards of what God has given us. The moment you are required to give it up, let it go; God has something better for you. The person who is simple and humble of heart will always have something to do in the Kingdom of God. But the person who has secret personal agendas will always have problems in the Kingdom of God, because the Holy Spirit will be against him or her. That is a truth about service.

It is so important, brothers and sisters, that we carry out our duties with humility of heart, with a spirit of service to the Lord, within a community context, understanding that God moves us around as He wills and when He wills. I must hold what I have lightly in my hand because it is not mine anyway; it belongs to the church and to the Kingdom of the Lord, and that blesses a ministry. The person who acts that way will prosper and be blessed, and that is also true in the family. Although the man is the leader of the home by God’s declaration, he must delegate, share, and serve. As for this matter of your being the “head of the household,” some say it with a swollen head: “I am the head of the household.” But Christ is the head of the church, and yet He gave Himself in service for her. Christ is a leader who serves.

It is important in the family, and it is important at work. People who have a team spirit will be blessed and will prosper, and there will always be people seeking that kind of leadership. So let us be leaders who are servants within the context of the body. The best leaders are people who know how to work as a team, and in this church I always want our leaders to be people who know how to work as a team.

I look for men and women who serve the Lord in a context of humility. I do not care how many gifts you have, how much skill you have, or how many degrees you hold. If you do not have a simple, humble, meek heart, I am not very interested in working with you because, in the long run, you are going to cause trouble. I would like the Lord to allow us, with each passing year, to equip ourselves more and more with people who have a spirit of meekness and in whom the fruit of the Holy Spirit is evident in everything they do.

What protects our ministry most, brothers and sisters, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is not speaking in tongues a great deal, nor having a great deal of anointing. What protects us from the devil’s attacks is the character of Jesus Christ, because Satan does not know what to do against that. Let us be people who always manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit and who work within the context of a body.

Look at some of these gifts. Let us quickly examine some of the qualities and services, the kinds of gifts of service. By the way, let me tell you something: sometimes it has been said in the church that there are nine gifts. It lists nine gifts: prophecy, miracles, faith, discernment of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, evangelism, and so forth. There are more than nine gifts, brothers and sisters. Those nine gifts are very special, very specific gifts, but there are actually several lists of gifts. That list in 1 Corinthians 12 is not an exhaustive list; it is simply a representative list. But there are many gifts that God distributes, and here we have another list of gifts that are very similar and quite diverse. It says:

“...though many, we are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. So, having different gifts according to the grace given to us, according to the blessing from God that we have received, if it is prophecy, let it be used according to the measure of faith.” What does that mean? The gift of prophecy is a precious gift. Prophecy is not merely, in fact, predicting the future. To prophesy is not merely to predict the future; it is also to declare a truth from God, a specific message from God for a given moment, for a specific context. It does not have to predict the future. The prophet Haggai, for example, prophesies about the need to rebuild the temple, which is in ruins. At that moment he is not prophesying about the future; he is indeed prophesying about a desire God has for His temple to be rebuilt, and that is prophesying. Preaching can often be prophecy. So many brothers and sisters often say to me, “Pastor, you hit the nail right on the head concerning a problem I had in my life, and you spoke about a specific need; you answered a specific question for me.” Well, I was prophesying at that moment without even realizing it. In fact, many times, when I stand here before the pulpit every morning, I stand here with the thought that I am going to prophesy the word of the Lord to you, that God is going to speak His word. I come with certain ideas, some prior study, notes I have made, and reflection during the week, but I stand here wanting the Lord to put all of it together in whatever way He wants, so that the word He wants for you will come forth.

Dare to speak that way in your life, and when God places something in your spirit, declare it in the name of the Lord. You know, this morning while I was sitting there, something came over me. It was a thought—I did not hear an audible voice—but it was: “Today, preach in English and Spanish.” Do you know what motivated me? I am here preaching this sermon and translating it on the spot, in the spirit of prophecy. Do you know what motivated me to do that? When I came in and saw our North American brother here, accompanying this Honduran sister and her son, who are visiting the state of Massachusetts for medical care, and this brother has come from Worcester because he wants this sister and her son to have an experience of worship in a Hispanic setting. This brother does not have to be doing that, but I wanted to honor him by preaching in English, to bless his life, because that spirit is what blesses the church of Jesus Christ. That is why I am doing what I am doing this morning, because I believe that God has His way of blessing His children, and we have to obey those promptings of the Spirit. That is the spirit of prophecy. Many times God wants us to do things, and a thought or an impulse comes to us, and we say, “No, that is...” and we push it aside. Sometimes that is God wanting you to do something for someone, and if you dare to do it in the name of the Lord, it has power, and you see the blessing that flows when you do such things.

It is so important, brothers and sisters, that we learn to live in the spirit of prophecy. You have been endowed with a spiritual receiver called the Holy Spirit, who is within you, and God wants to speak into your life and often does speak into your life, if you are willing to listen to Him. Open your life to God’s communications. I ask the Lord, “Father, help me to live my life prophetically, to live each day thinking that at any moment You may send a message and want to use me in some way. I will obey that word.” So we have to live like prophets who are waiting.

If you pay attention, God will often speak into your life, but it requires faith. That is why the apostle says, “...according to the measure of faith.” Some people do not have enough faith, and so God wants to speak through them, and God wants to speak through them or do something prophetically, but they dismiss it and push it aside because they do not feel that it is important or truly from God. You have to take a risk. Speaking the word of God often requires you to take a risk—to risk making a fool of yourself, saying something out of place, or whatever it may be. But you do it in the name of the Lord anyway, and you will never be put to shame if you do it with sensitivity. The more you allow yourself to be used by the Spirit, the more the Holy Spirit wants to use you. But when the Spirit speaks to you and you push His word aside and ignore it, then the Spirit is grieved and says, “Well, I am going to withdraw. I will wait until he or she learns to listen to My voice and obey My promptings.”

Prophecy is very important. It is something wonderful; that context of prophecy is beautiful. “...if it is prophecy, let it be used according to the measure of faith; or if it is service, in serving.” The first thing that strikes me is the fact that, in this list of eight or nine gifts, Paul places serving as the second gift, right beside prophecy. Serving might seem simple and humble, something without much significance, yet Paul places it second.

One would think that Paul would put the gift of service last on the list because it is one of the simplest gifts, yet he puts it second. Why? Brothers and sisters, to me, serving is the very essence of Christian leadership. Throughout each day, throughout our entire lives, there are always opportunities to serve, brothers and sisters. There are so many ways in which we can enrich the Kingdom of God through small acts of service. Again, consider what this brother is doing—and forgive me if I am being very insistent about it. My desire is not to single anyone out or make him feel uncomfortable, but how beautiful an act of service like that is. To me, that is worth even more than what I am doing up here preaching, because unless I had pointed it out, perhaps no one would have noticed it, but the Lord notices it.

Brother Jansen brings a brother to the nine o’clock service every Sunday. That means he has to get up earlier, pick him up where he lives, bring him here, take him back, and sometimes take him somewhere to eat. That is an act of service. It happens every Sunday, and it glorifies the Lord. Some people complain, “Oh, they are not using me; I cannot do anything,” and they expect the pastor to find them a position. Brothers and sisters, look around you; there is need everywhere. You can serve in so many ways, such as bringing someone to church. How often do we want to find someone to pick a person up, but because that carries no glory and receives no public recognition, people do not want to do it, because it requires them to go out of their way, to go the extra mile, to step outside their comfort zone. And that is why we often do not serve. There are people who need to be visited in the hospital. Serve the Lord! There are people who need to be called on the phone; call them, encourage them, and bless them. That is service. There are children in our classes who need teachers. Where are the teachers? Let them inconvenience themselves and give up attending the service for a few Sundays in order to bless those children whom the devil is trying to win for himself. That is serving the Lord. Serving means inconveniencing yourself so that someone else may be blessed.

Service. Serving is something simple, yet it carries great glory, and simple things are sometimes the things God blesses most, because great things already have their reward simply because they are visible. I thank the Lord for the ushers who serve every day, and I thank the Lord for the person out there in the parking lot doing their job. That is serving. Churches are sustained by people who serve.

If you do not know how to serve, you are of no use. If you do not first know how to do things with humility and simplicity and without recognition, you cannot be promoted to greater things; you should not be promoted.

“Come, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.” That is the dynamic by which the servant of God should serve. Serve the Lord in small things, and God will promote you to great things. But do not seek glory; do not put yourself ahead of others. Let them take you where you need to go. Always seek God’s blessing in your life. Serve in small things, and you will be promoted to greater things.

A third one: “...the one who teaches, in teaching.” What strikes me about this—and in the original Greek this idea can be felt even more clearly—is serving God naturally. Look, if you received a gift of service, then serve; if a gift of teaching, teach; if one of prophesying, prophesy; if one of leadership, be a proper leader. Whatever God gave you, carry it out naturally, carry it out freely, carry it out spontaneously.

Teaching—how important it is to have good teachers in schools and churches. It is not enough to convert people; they must also be brought to the point of becoming people who know the word of God. A church must not only evangelize but also instruct the people of God.

My brothers and sisters, just as it is important to have teachers in the church and for every church to have a teaching ministry, it is also important to have people who submit themselves to teaching, people eager to learn. It is so sad that there are many churches—for example, in our church, to the glory of the Lord, we have seven, eight, nine, or ten classes offered every semester. Now, in September, the discipleship classes begin again. We have many different classes for different levels of instruction. What remains is for people to come to those classes; that is the other part. If the table is set, the guests have to come and partake of it. Let it not be like the parable of the king who held a banquet, opened the doors, and prepared everything, yet no one came. How sad that is.

Brothers and sisters, God does not want you to live stunted lives in the faith. God does not simply want Sunday churchgoers who come to church but do not know the word of God. Listen to me: if you are a new believer, if you are new to the Kingdom of God, God wants you to go on to maturity. God wants you to develop a desire to study the word of the Lord. You do not have to be a genius. The classes we offer are designed for every level, and we do not require great displays of intellect, but simply a healthy desire to learn. Even if you do not know how to read or write, do not worry; there is a place for you. But you need to learn, and you have to inconvenience yourself. The classes are held from eleven to twelve every Sunday and will begin again in September. You can inconvenience yourself by giving one more hour of your time to the Lord and to your own life, and you will be blessed for it. The people who take those classes are blessed, and both teachers and people willing to be taught are needed. I encourage you in the name of Jesus: whenever you have the opportunity, study the word of God.

When trials come, when difficulties come, you will have the word of the Lord in your heart. That word will keep you like a compass, like a plumb line that keeps you centered. But you need to study and receive the word of the Lord. Teaching is important.

As we serve, brothers and sisters, in the church and in our families—men and women—if you manage a factory or an office, or if you work, if you serve in any way, do it in the spirit of Jesus Christ. Do it with humility, do it with meekness, do it with gratitude, do it with a sense that you do not deserve that privilege, do it with a sense of serving others rather than serving yourself, and God will bless your ministry. This is simplicity in service.

Simplicity in service. May God help us, in every sphere of life, to serve Him and to serve others with simplicity of heart. Amen.

Let us bow our heads; let us ask the Lord. Let us actively receive that word. Ask the Lord to enable you, in your ministry and in your life of service, whatever it may be, in whatever sphere you serve—whether in the church, the family, the community, or the workplace—to do it with simplicity of spirit, as a team player, as a harmonious person, not with a private agenda, not seeking glory, not rebelliously, not with a personal agenda, but in the spirit of Jesus, knowing that God is watching over you, that His eyes range throughout the whole earth, seeking those whose hearts are fully committed to Him, to show Himself powerful on their behalf.

Let us serve the Lord. What is my life like? How do people see me? Do they see me as a source of blessing, as a person who serves with love and humility, or do they see me as a burden in their lives and become afraid when they see me coming? How do you serve in your home? How do you serve at work? How do you serve your family? How do you serve in the church? If you serve with simplicity, God will bless you, prosper you, and take you to another level in life. Wherever you go, serve the Lord with humility of heart, and do things not for men, as those who seek merely to please the eye, but as unto God.

Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Father, for Your word this morning. We worship You, we bless You, Lord; we give You all honor and all glory, Father. We bless You, Lord; to You alone be the honor and the glory. Not to us be the glory, Lord, but to You, Father. Help us to be simple and humble people at heart.

We receive Your word, Lord, in the name of Jesus.