Let's open our Bibles again to
Romans chapter 12. I titled our message this morning,
Members, One of Another. You remember our message last
Sunday that in verse 1, Paul instructed us to present our
bodies a living sacrifice unto the Lord. That means exactly
what you think it means. give our bodies to serve the
Lord, give all of our talents and human faculties to serving
the Lord, serve his cause, his gospel, and to serve his people. You know, the only way that we
can serve the Lord on this earth is by serving his people. And
our text this morning tells us how it is that we're to go about
serving God's people. Now, first, if we're going to
serve God's people, we've got to start here. You've got to
start with the right attitude. There's got to be humility. In
verse three, Paul says, For I say, through the grace given unto
me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Here we're warned about pride because that's something all
of us fight daily. Pride is just natural to the
flesh, isn't it? And Paul tells us, beware. Don't
let pride make you think of yourself more highly than you ought to
think. But think of yourself soberly. You know, that's the
only way you can get an accurate picture of yourself, is to think
of yourself soberly. You know, when someone is drunk
on alcohol, they don't see right. They don't have an accurate picture
of themselves, do they? Often they think they're nine
feet tall and bulletproof. And they're not. That's why they
get in trouble. Well, let's be careful not to think of ourselves
while we're drunk upon the flesh, because we'll think we're a whole
lot bigger and stronger and better than we really are. Let's have
a little bit of sense now, just have act like you got a little
bit of sense when you think about yourself. I'll tell you what
God's word says is an accurate picture of us, that we're all
the chief of sinners. We're less than the least of
all the saints. And we just should esteem others
better than ourselves because they really are. We're less than
the least. Now that's true, but this is
also true. God has given all of his people
different gifts. That's what Paul means here when
he says that according as God has dealt to every man the measure
of faith. God has given all of his people some gifts in different
degrees, but he's given all of his people some gifts. Now you've
got those gifts, God's given them to you, but don't let those
gifts make you think of yourself more highly than you ought. Don't
ever forget this. Everything we have, not just
materially, but spiritually, everything we have, every gift
that we have, God's given them to us, hasn't he? So why would
we get all puffed up full of pride because we've got a gift
somebody gave us freely? Now, do you have faith? I mean,
if you believe God, you have faith. God gave it to you, though,
didn't he? You didn't earn it. God gave
it to you. And you've got to admit it's awful weak faith,
isn't it? All you've got to do is get bad news in the mail.
It seems like our faith just disappears for a little while,
doesn't it? Do you have love? Well, if God saved you, you do.
But who gave it to you? It doesn't come natural to the
flesh. God gave it to you, didn't he? And you got to admit, it's
mighty cold, isn't it? Do you have some understanding
of the scripture? God taught you something from the scripture,
so you have some understanding? Well, you do. But you got to
admit, it's just a little bit. We still got a lot to learn,
don't we? Do you see Christ with the eye of faith? Do you see
him? Well, if God saved you, you do. But who gave you that
spiritual sight? God did. He made the seeing eye.
And you've got to admit, the best we see him is through a
glass darkly. So don't let these gifts get
you puffed up, make you think of yourself more highly than
you ought. Because nobody can serve God being full of pride. God gave us a list of the things
that he hates. And the first thing on the list
was a proud look. God is not going to save anybody
or use anybody in his service that's got a proud look. But
look back at 1 Peter chapter 5. God's not going to use us
full of pride, but you know, he just might use us in his service
if we're humbled. 1 Peter 5, verse 5. Likewise, you younger, submit
yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one
to another and be clothed with humility, for God resisteth the
proud. and give grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time. It could be, if we're humble,
the Lord just might use us in his service. But he's not going
to do that if we're full of pride. God hates pride. And you know
what people do, too. I mean, you know somebody is
full of pride, and you don't like being around them. You sure
don't want a man who's proud as a peacock preaching the gospel.
You just don't enjoy that. You want to hear a humble man.
Talk about the grace of God to sinners, don't you? You get some
idea, God's taught that man, given him something to say. You
want to hear from the humble. And you don't want to accept
help from a proud person, because you know they're always doing
it for them, not for you. They're doing it so they'll get
praise and recognition. They go around saying, look at
what I've done. But quiet help from a humble person, that's
a blessing. So first, if we would serve the
Lord by serving his people, we've got to have a humble attitude
and always beware of this. Don't get too big for your britches.
Before God uses anybody, he whittles them down to size. All right. Second, when we serve one another
and when we serve the Lord by serving one another, don't ever
forget this. We're all connected to each other.
Whatever we do always has an effect on the rest of the body.
Verse four, back over here in our text, Romans chapter 12.
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have
not the same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ,
and every one member's one of another. Now our body has many
different members, different parts. They have different offices,
different responsibilities, but all those responsibilities, all
those gifts that different members of our body have, they're all
for one purpose. for the good of the rest of the
body, not just one member. Now, we have eyes so that we
can see. We see what's going on. We know
where we're going, what we're doing. But if the eye says, you
know, I'm tired of having to look out for everybody else.
Why do I got to have all this looking out for everybody else
while they look out for themselves? And the eye says, I'm just going
to do my own thing. Then we're going to get run over by a truck
because we didn't look and see a truck coming when we crossed
the road. The whole body's going to suffer. You know, many of
us consider our feet to be the lowest members. You got to admit,
feet aren't all that attractive. We keep our feet covered up with
shoes, you know. Keep our feet, you know, just
because it's just, you ladies, when the warm weather, when you
wear open-toed shoes, you all paint your toenails and get a
pedicure and try to make them look as good as you can, you
know. Well, what if the feet say, I'm tired of being the lowest
member. I'm tired of being considered
the ugliest member. I want to be front and center. I don't
want to be covered up all the time. and just refuses to wear
shoes and wants to be out. You know what's going to happen?
We're going to stub our toe. We're going to cut our feet on
glass walking across a parking lot somewhere. And then the whole
body is going to pay a price. The feet may be the lowest members,
but I'm telling you, the body needs them, don't they, to take
us where we're going, to be able to stand and do the things that
we're doing. If your feet hurt, your whole body hurts, don't
they? Julie Thornberry can tell us
something about that. Break a toe and see how it affects the whole
body. Brethren, that's the body of Christ. When one member suffers
like that, it has an effect on the rest of the body. Now, we're
all members. We're different people, but we're
all members of one body. And I'm not talking about this
body here. I'm talking about the body of Christ. William and
Supreme are members of Hurricane Road Grace Church. And when I
go there, I'm a member of Kingsport Grace Church. We're members of
one body, the body of Christ. And we've got different offices.
Everybody's got different abilities. Y'all have got abilities I won't
have no matter how long I live. I could never learn to play the
piano. I could never learn to sing well.
I could never learn to do the things that y'all do. We have
different responsibilities, all for the good of the rest of the
body. And I don't care who y'all are. You are responsible to do
your part. Not for you, but for the good
of the rest of the body. I can't just think about, well,
what's best for me. I have to think about what's
best for everybody else. And you do, too. Because what
we do affects all the rest of the body, just like the example
of the eye earlier. You know, I can't say, well,
I'm just not going to go to service tonight. I just say, I don't
feel like it. Now, I know there's times it's necessary. You work
and school and the things that go on. I understand that. There's
times it's necessary. But now, let's remember this.
Being faithful is good. It's good for you to be faithful,
to come and be fed. And you know what? It's good
for everybody else that you're faithful to, to have a faithful
example. When you're here, you can be
a blessing to somebody else. Just your attitude and your presence
is a blessing to somebody else. You know, I can't say, I'm just
going to have my way. I don't care who it hurts. This has made me mad. I'm going
to show myself. I'm going to have my way. And
I don't care what else happens. Now, hang on a minute. What did
Paul tell us? Act like you've got some sense.
Think soberly about these things. Suppose a person gets angry about
something that happened to them. Oh, that makes them mad. And
here's how they decide to show their anger. They take a hammer
and they smash their big toe. Well, they showed themselves,
didn't they? Everybody knew they were mad
and upset. But now the whole body suffers because of that
temper tantrum. The body of Christ works the
exact same way. Now, we don't need to be showing
ourselves. We just don't need to show ourselves and get our
brethren thinking about us and what we're doing when they shouldn't
be thinking about the Savior. See, we have to be aware of that
because what we do affects the rest of the body. Someone could
say, why do I have all this responsibility? Why do I have to have all this
responsibility all the time? Why should I have to do all the
work? Just let somebody else do it. Well, I'll tell you why you
don't say that, because everybody else is going to suffer if you
do. If the ladies suddenly say, you know, I'm tired of cooking
for these conferences and having to bring in all this food all
the time. You understand. I understand it's a lot of work.
You all, man, you just pack those tables up, keep everybody full
of food. But if you just decide, I'm not going to do that no more,
everybody's going to suffer, aren't they? If us men had to
do the cooking, the body's going to suffer. And if us men go out
there and start telling those ladies how to do it, when to
do it, the body's going to suffer. They know what they're doing.
This is their area of service. Then do it. If the ladies say,
I'm just tired of keeping the nursery. I'm just not going to
do that anymore. But then our young mothers are going to suffer.
They're going to have to stay up there with them. Or the whole
body's going to suffer because we've got a one-year-old back
here crying while somebody's trying to preach. And this is
what I can tell you. I can't compete with a one-year-old.
They're too cute. The whole body would suffer.
This is necessary. And if the men say, yeah, I'm
tired of doing the maintenance around this building, having
to cut the grass all the time and repair stuff and patch stuff.
the whole body is going to suffer because we don't have a comfortable
place to worship. If our teachers would say, we'll talk about our
teachers in a minute, but if our teachers would say, I'm tired
of all this work it takes to teach our children. I'm just
tired of it. I want to have some more free time in my week. Well,
then our children, the smallest members, the weakest members
are going to suffer for it. See, I can't say I'm tired of
doing whatever it is the Lord is giving me to do. I want to
do something else. I'm bored with this. I want to
move on and do something else. Well, I reckon that's fine, but
if I'm not equipped to do that job, God hadn't called me to
do that job and I try to do it anyway, the body's going to suffer. You know, if the ear says, I'm
tired of hearing, I'm tired of being over here on the side and,
you know, covered up with hair or, you know, I'm going to be
front and center and I want to start seeing for the body because
seeing is more interesting than hearing. Well, the problem with
that is the ear is not equipped to see, is it? And what if the
ear is busy trying to see and not hearing? We're going to all
get killed because we're not going to hear a tornado warning
go off. We didn't know we're supposed to seek shelter. See, we try
to do something that the Lord has not equipped us to do. It's
going to be a disaster for the body. But if you would be a blessing,
if you'd be obedient, if you would serve the Lord, then just
faithfully do. what the Lord's given you to
do, what he's given you talents to do. I promise you, it'll be
a blessing to God's people because that's why he's given you that
gift, to use it to serve God's people. Now, this applies to
every one of us here. Don't think, well, that just
applies to, you know, certain people. This, these gifts apply to every,
everybody has gifts to use for the good of the body. Now go
do it. Whatever it is God's given you
the ability to do, just go do it. Don't ask anybody. Don't
wonder. Just go do it. Here's the next
point. If we would serve the Lord, we're
going to serve him using the gifts that God's given us. And
Paul here starts to list several different gifts. Now he doesn't
list every gift that's in the church or every gift a person
could have, but he gives us a good enough list that we get the idea. This is how we're to use the
gifts that God's given us. And these will apply to all of
us. So listen to him. The first gift he mentions in
verse six is preaching. Having then gifts differing.
according to the grace that is given to us. Whether prophecy,
let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith. Now,
this applies to pastors and elders and teachers. If Lord's given
you the ability to preach his word to his people. Yeah, I think
about this is sobering, sobering thought to preach the gospel,
to think about standing up in front of God's people and open
up God's word and bring a message from God to God's people. Now,
that's serious business, isn't it? But if the Lord's given you
the ability to do it, do it with every ounce of ability you've
got, according to the proportion of faith that the Lord's given
you. Now, it is a great lesson to be enabled to preach the gospel.
For God to call on a man to preach his gospel, that's a great lesson.
You think of this gospel that God's given us to preach. It
declares the glory of Christ the Savior. It declares the glory
of God in showing mercy to his people through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh. We can't scratch the surface
of that glory, I know, but it deserves everything we got and
more. Just give everything you've got
to it. The Lord uses this gospel to call out his sheep, to give
his sheep life, to give them repentance and faith. That's worth everything we got
and more. The Lord uses his gospel to feed his sheep, to comfort
his sheep, to edify his sheep, to cause them to grow in grace.
Brethren, that deserves everything we've got. This is a glorious
gospel that God's given us to preach. We ought to preach it
willingly and joyfully and oh, what a gospel. It's a great blessing,
but it's also a great responsibility, a great burden. It just takes
a lot of work if you're going to do it right. But the Lord's
given you that gift to preach the gospel. Don't you shrink
from it. You go after it with everything you've got. Now, you
know, we don't always want to be that guy that's promoting
himself and trying to find places to preach and getting everybody
to tell him what a good preacher he is. God's preachers promote
Christ. They don't promote themselves,
they promote Christ. But at the same time, you don't run away
from it either. Now, if God's gifted you to do
it, you do it willingly. And we don't want to be a proud
preacher. He's not going to use proud men, he's going to use
humble men to preach his gospel. But at the same time, don't let
false humility stop you from using the gift that God has given
you. I'm going to use Eric as an example. I don't think he'll
mind, but if he does, the kind of theme of the message is love
and caring for him, so you'll forgive him. But this church
recognizes Eric Floyd has been given this gift, preach the gospel.
You all know that, don't you? And if I have to be gone, I always
try to be aware of Eric, his family, not to overburden him,
overuse him. But if I would ask Eric, I'm
going to be gone on this Sunday, would you preach for me? And
Eric said, oh, you know, Anybody can do this better than me. Well,
now that's false humility. That's false humility. And that
false humility stops Eric from serving. It stops you from getting
a blessing. See, we're to use the gifts that
God's given us willingly, humbly, and faithfully for the good of
God's people. And you apply that to every gift
that you got. You're to use it willingly, humbly,
and faithfully. All right, the next gift Paul
mentions in verse seven is serving or ministry. Let us wait on our
ministry. Now this applies to every single
person in this room. Ministering means serving. It
comes from the word that means to run errands. You mean I ought
to humble myself so much I'd be somebody's errand boy? That's
exactly what the word of God says. You just be somebody errands
boy, help out. Every one of us has a responsibility
to serve our brethren, to help them, to help them do what they
can't do for themselves. But even this, this is probably
even more important. I think everybody probably recognizes
we ought to help somebody do something they can't do for themselves.
But you know what? Just do it for them even if they
can't do it for themselves, just because you want to be helpful.
If you have to be an errand boy and run and get something somebody
needs, run and get it. If something needs fixed, Go
fix it. If something's lacking, you supply it. And your service
will be a blessing. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter
12. This is where we read to open the service, and this is
where I left off. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse
27. Now you are the body of Christ
and members in particular. And God has set some in the church.
First apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that
miracles, then gifts of healings, helps governments, diversities
of tongues. I want to read that verse because
helps see that the gifts of healing and helps that word helps is
ministry. It means giving relief. Now you
just go give relief while you, where you can. And usually that's
done just behind the scenes, ministering, serving, giving
relief to somebody that needs it. And let me show you a real
good example of this in Acts chapter nine. Acts the ninth chapter. First 32. And it came to pass, as Peter
passed through all quarters, he came down also to the saints
which dwelt Lydia. And there he found a certain
man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years and was sick
of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas,
Jesus Christ maketh thee whole. Arise and make thy bed. And he
arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydia and
Sardin saw him and turned to the Lord. Now, Peter was used
mightily of the Lord. What a what a man. He's going
out preaching and he performed these miracles as an apostle.
What a blessing the apostle Peter was to the church. Wow. But I can't really identify with
that. Can you? I mean, everyone's not Peter. Everyone certainly
is not an apostle, definitely not a preacher. But listen, don't
stop. Let that stop you from doing
what you can do. Read on verse 36. Now there wasn't
Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation
is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good works
and alms deeds, which she did. And it came to pass in those
days that she was sick and died, whom when they had washed, they
laid her in an upper chamber. And for as much as Lydia was
nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there,
they sent unto him two men desiring him that he would not delay to
come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was
come, they brought him into the upper chamber. And all the widows
stood by him, weeping, and showing the coats and garments which
Dorcas made while she was with them." Now, here this precious
woman, Dorcas, she died. And the disciples sent for Peter. Now, it's like what we would
do today. We would send for Peter. We would send for someone to
come preach the funeral. And I know Peter raised her from
the dead. That's not really the point I'm looking at right now.
The point is this. Peter came to this funeral visitation
and all those widows were there showing him how Dorcas had ministered
to the saints. How did she minister to the saints?
They were so impressed by this. They're showing the apostle Peter.
She ministered to the saints by ministering to the widows,
making them skirts and blouses and coats. Hmm. I know Peter served the Lord
in a great way, but so did Dorcas. How precious was a coat in the
wintertime? How precious was a new blouse or a new skirt to
a widow that couldn't afford any of those things? Dorcas saw
that and she filled that need. God Almighty said she was full
of good works and alms deeds. Now, I really can't identify
with Peter, but I think we can identify with Dorcas, can't If
God hadn't given you the gift to sow, whatever it is He's given
you to do, use it for the good of the church. That's serving
God's people. Right? The next gift, back in
our text, verse 7, is teaching. For he that teacheth on teaching. Now this applies, first of all,
to teaching the Word. And this is something I say all
the time, privately and publicly. Our teachers are the very best. I thank God for you. Every single
day, I thank God for you. And I would encourage you to
do likewise. Just like I ask you to pray for
me. If you're going through your week, if I come to your mind,
I beg of you that you pray for me, that the Lord would give
me some understanding as I study. Give me a message that will bless
your heart. Do the same for our teachers.
They're working hard at this, and it's important. It is so
important that our children be taught the word. Because what
did the Apostle Paul say about that? It's able to make them
wise unto salvation. So you teachers, you focus on
your teaching. Do it diligently. But teaching
also applies to every one of us. You ladies. Who can teach
our girls how to be young ladies like you can? And who can teach
our young ladies how to be wives and mothers and keepers of the
home like you can? You know, I might have a little
bit of book learning about that. Scripture's got some things to
say about that as we come to it in our studies. I'm sure I'll
deal with it. But I can just read that and tell you what that
says. But you find these ladies out
here that got an advanced degree in that. That's who can teach
you those things. Teach by example. You ladies take that to heart.
Now, this is important. Teach that. Teach that to these
young ladies, these girls. Teach them what it means to be
a godly woman. Show them by your example. And
men, men are the ones, only a man can teach a boy how to be a young
man and teach young men how to be good husbands and fathers
and workers and providers. And men, let's take that to heart
and teach these boys and teach these young men what it means
to be a man. Several years ago, we had some
neighbors, a single mother, sweet, sweet, sweet woman. And she had
a boy. And she told one of our neighbors,
she said, I'm glad we moved here to this neighborhood between
you two fellows. She said, I hope that he'll learn
from your example what it means to be a man, getting up and going
to work every day, and taking care of your house, and just
those little things. Men, let's teach by example these
things. When something needs to be done, invite these young
men to come with you. You know, I think about when
I was a young fellow, that some of these older men would invite
me to go help them fix something or build something. I had no
idea how to do it. I'd go be their errand boy. That's
what I'd do. I could do that. I can't build a building, but
I can be an errand boy. And I learned so much just from
being around them, by hearing them talk, by watching their
example. Well, let's do that. Let's invite these young fellows
to come with us and, you know, one day they're going to have
to take over. And I promise you this, they'll never forget it. Never forget it. So let's be
aware that we're always teaching these young believers. We're
teaching them by our example. One way or the other, good or
bad, let's be a good example. Let's teach by a good example.
Teach them a willing, cheerful, faithful attitude. Right next,
verse eight is exhortation. For he that exhorteth on exhortation.
That word exhortation, I don't know what comes to your mind
when you hear that word, but this is what the word means. It means
to comfort. It means to invite. It means
to call near. Now, exhortation is not just
correcting people. You know, when it does include
correcting, this word tells us the attitude that that's to be
done in. It's to be done by calling near. It's to be done in kindness
by calling us on the same level. It's not, you know, I'm above
you and I'm just beating you down and, you know, you've got
to do what I say because I'm the boss. No, exhortation is calling near.
It's we're brethren. We're on the same plane here.
Let me encourage you and help you in this. If anybody could
have just gone around giving orders, this is what you do because
I say it. It'd be Apostle Paul, wouldn't
you reckon? And when the Apostle Paul began to teach us about
our attitude and our conduct here, how did he do it? Verse
one, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, that the Apostle Paul
said, I beg you, I beseech you. And that word beseech is the
exact same word he uses down here, exhortation. Look over
in Acts chapter 16. We exhort one another just by
calling each other near. You know, there's comfort to
be found. just in being together, just
being together. There's comfort to be found in
that. There's encouragement to be found. In Acts 16 verse 40, And they went out of the prison
and entered into the house of Lydia. And when they'd seen the
brethren, they comforted them and departed. That word comforted
is the same word translated exhort in our text. It's just by being
together that comforts one another. And that's what we're doing.
Every one of us can do that for another. All right, the next
one he says in verse eight is giving. He that giveth, let him
do it with simplicity. Now, this is the season of giving. And I think this will be, I hope
this will be very helpful to us in the attitude toward having
giving. You know, right now, I would imagine everybody's thinking
about the gifts that they'll give for Christmas. And this
time of year comes, I get real excited. I mean, all year long,
I think of something, and I put it in a secret place on my computer
where Jan won't accidentally see it. I think of the idea for
Christmas present. I put it in there so I won't
forget. I just get excited about it all year long. You know, I
just got one person to buy for. So all this energy goes into
one person. But I do that because I really
want to give her something that she'll enjoy. That is the attitude
we're to have in giving to the Lord, to be excited about it,
to want to give the very best that we have. Shouldn't we be
enthusiastic about giving to the Lord, about serving the Lord
and serving his people? After all he's given to us, after
his unmerited love, after he gave the greatest gift, the unspeakable
gift of his son, shouldn't we be enthusiastic in giving to
him? Then at Christmas time, we're just like everybody else.
We've got a budget. This is how much we're going
to spend on Christmas presents this year. We got that budget. I'm going to tell you what, every
year, Janet spends every penny of it. There's not one penny
left over every year. I mean, she's got $10 left over.
She runs out and finds something for $10 to buy. And we don't
begrudge one dime of it. We're excited to do it. We just
love spending it all. We wouldn't think of holding
anything back because it's given in an attitude of love. Brethren,
that's the attitude we're to have in giving. This word simplicity
that Paul uses here means liberally. We're to give generously. How
can we not? How could we think that we want
to hold something back after the Lord's given us everything
we got? Look at second Corinthians chapter nine. Second Corinthians 9 verse 6. But this I say, he which soweth
sparingly, shall reap also sparingly. And he that soweth bountifully,
shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth
in his heart, so let him give. Not grudgingly or of necessity.
It's not like a tithe. You've got to give 10%. For God
loveth the cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace
abound towards you, that ye, always having all sufficiency
in all things, may abound to every good work. This is just
a give. How can we not give willingly? And you know, true giving, true
giving is always for the good of somebody else. It's never
so we get recognition or we get praise. It's always for the good
of someone else. Everybody knows somebody like
that. Don't you hate it when somebody gives a gift and then
goes around telling everybody about it with this generous gift
that they gave, you know? Well, why did you give the gift?
Who is it really for? Well, it was really for them, wasn't it?
So they get praised and everybody tells them a wonderful thing.
Don't give to the Lord that way. Now don't, don't do it. Simplicity
also means not self-seeking. You give generously from what
the Lord's given you of a thankful heart for the good of others.
Now give. What better gift can you give
than supporting the gospel so others can hear of Christ? That's
the greatest gift, isn't it? And giving is for everybody,
and this applies to everybody in this room. From the youngest
to the oldest, it applies to everyone. You know, it doesn't
matter how much money you have. Give to the Lord. You all know
the story that the Lord told of the widow and her two mice.
Everybody can give. We were talking yesterday, and
my son-in-law, Doug, gave me another illustration. This is
about giving. Everybody can give. Doug said
he's a little fella, kindergarten, first, second, third grade. They still got them, I think,
those little stores they set in school where you can go buy
Christmas presents, just little trinkets. But a child can buy
Christmas presents there for their parents. And Doug would
do that. And on Christmas, he said, I didn't care what my mom
and dad gave each other. But I cared when they opened
my present, the present that I gave them, that you got to
know Doug's mom, Gail. He got her this little whatever
it was, you know. But when Gail opened it up, it
was like he gave her the key to the Taj Mahal. Ooh, she was
excited, you know. It wasn't much. It wasn't much.
That was the most inexpensive present she ever received every
Christmas. But it was given out of love.
It was given from what you had. He don't give her that now. He
gives what you have. Now you give according as the
Lord has blessed you and enabled you to give. Look at, if you're
still there in 2 Corinthians, look at chapter 8, verse 12. For if there first be a willing
mind, it's accepted according to that a man hath, and not according
to that he hath not. For I mean not that another man
be eased, and you be burdened, but by an equality, that now
at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, and
their abundance also may be a supply for your want, that there be
equality. As it's written, he that had
gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had
no lack. See, that's the way we're to
give. is for everyone. You just give according to the
Lord has blessed you and he'll supply the needs of this church.
But remember this too, giving is not just limited to our money.
Don't think you can write a check and put it in there and be done
with your giving for the month. No, giving is for everyone. You be generous in giving kind
words to each other. Be generous in your compliments.
Be generous in saying thank you. Be generous in words of comfort. Send somebody a card. Go out
of your way. Be generous in showing some kindness and comfort. Be
generous in giving encouraging words. See, that applies to everybody,
doesn't it? Children that don't have a job
and don't have a penny to their name can be generous in saying
thank you and giving compliments and kind words, can't they? Giving
is for everybody. Next, he says in verse eight,
ruling. He that ruleth with diligence. Now, I know mostly this applies
to the pastor. The elders have responsibility
in the church. The writer to the Hebrews said,
remember them to have the rule over you. Pastors have the rule
in the church. But now this is a rule of love.
It's not as lords over God's heritage, but it's as a nurse
cherishes her children. And this rule, it involves watching
over doctrine. It involves teaching our conduct
and attitude like we're doing here in this chapter. So pastors,
elders, they're to rule in love and to rule diligently. Put some
energy into this, not so that you can be the ruler, not so
you can say I'm in charge of something, but for the good of
the church. That's why we're to, for the good of you, that's
why we're to rule diligently. But this doesn't just apply to
pastors. This includes parents in the home. Parents rule well. Now you rule in the home. See
to it, if you're a parent, you see to it that you rule. See
to that. Don't let your children rule.
And the children aren't going to run the room. The inmates running
the asylum is always a bad thing. You rule. You set the rules. You say what goes. Rule diligently. Not in a mean, cruel way. Don't make them angry. Rule well
so your children are taught the gospel. Rule well so your children
are taught how to behave. So they're taught how to behave
around authority, not submit themselves to authority. I remember, I don't even know
if Holly was a baby or she was born yet, but I remember Bob
Coffey saying this, and boy, this stuck with me. He said,
you teach your children to obey authority, to obey what you say
to do the first time. It could be he got a call one
time. You get him, you say, yes, sir, the first time. Rule well. Not so you can be the big important
guy for their benefit. See what that's saying? And then
last, showing mercy. He that showeth mercy with cheerfulness.
Showing mercy means be compassionate. Just have some compassion for
each other. Be merciful, as your father is also merciful. That's
all the motivation a believer needs. God's been merciful to
me. He's shown such compassion to
a worthless wretch like me, I believe I can show compassion to you.
Just be compassionate with each other. It's hard out there in
the world. It's hard. Be compassionate with
everybody wherever you can, but especially in here, be compassionate
with one another. It's just a comfort to be around
somebody that shows compassion. Even if you can't fix my problem,
if you just show compassion and say, I'm sorry, It's helpful. Be merciful to one another. And
do it cheerfully. Do it cheerfully. Look for every
opportunity. Look for every opportunity to
serve God's people with whatever gifts God's given you. And you might think, well, it's
not much or it's not very big, but you do it faithfully. Do it willingly. Do it cheerfully.
And God will make it a blessing to his people. All right, let's
bow together. Our Father, how we thank you
for your word. How we thank you for your mercy,
your kindness, your compassion to sinners. How we thank you
for your forgiveness of the sin of your people through the blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we pray for the Spirit
to be forgiving, to be merciful, to be compassionate. Cause us
to be a help. one to another, to use the gifts
that you've given us to help our brethren, our sisters, in
their time of need, for the good of your people, for the good
of your church. Father, cause us to serve you faithfully, that
your gospel, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, salvation
and righteousness and forgiveness in him might continue to go forth
in power, to comfort, to save, to bring your gospel to your
seed. Cause us to be faithful, Father,
we pray. First, in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for the glory of his name, for the good of his people.