1 Corinthians 12:1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.
Everyone loves gifts, except of course for those who don’t. The appropriate gift can make a big difference at the right moment. A house warming gift with “things to see” hints for the out of towner who has just moved into the neighborhood, can make people feel welcome. The well chosen birthday gift can say, “I was thinking about you when I bought this” like few other things.
But when was the last time that “spiritual” gifts came up in your everyday conversation? This is a whole class of gifts that can’t be purchase at Amazon.com. No overnight delivery is available. Walmart never has them in stock.
My guess is that, we don’t think about them, because we have come to rely on ourselves to live our daily lives, rather than relying on what the Spirit provides. We carry our ministry in its many forms, and we muscle though, thinking we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. All the while, there is a whole range of gifts that make ministry happen whose origin is God Himself.
Can you imagine if God were doing His ministry though us? We are the channels through whom He choses to work. His power, in all its forms, passes through us to a hurting world. That would be something to see and experience. God gets all the glory and His Kingdom comes.
So why is it that we don’t pay attention to this area of God’s toolbox? I think it is because we have allowed the narrow view of science to getting the way of seeing the miraculous. WE have bought the lie that supernatural things don’t exist, that all there is is the here and now, what can be tested, verified, measured, put in a test tube.
But spiritual gifts don’t pass this test. They are not at our control. The LORD shows up when He wants to work, not on our time schedule. He won’t fit into our carefully controlled schedule on Sunday mornings. He always seems to miss those planning meetings.
Maybe that is because He isn’t invited, really invited. He won’t share His glory with anyone or anything, so but being an element of a carefully scripted service isn’t what He is about. He just says “No thanks.” and moves on.
Listening to and following the Spirit’s leading can be a very messy thing. It will turn our order of worship upside down. Our back to back services will overflow and create parking chaos. No one will know what to expect.
On the other hand, everything is to be done with decency and in order. Worship is not supposed to be chaos. So how do we reconcile these two views?
For those who are in tune with the Spirit, they will see the order. For those whose eyes have been closed to God’s working, it will appear unordered and chaotic. The difference in perception has to do with the heart of the observer. And right now, there are too many observers, and not enough participants.
Maybe we need to pay attention to our chapters and put them into practice, allowing the Spirit to lead.
The Arnold Journey 