The Exercise of Spiritual Gifts

Our Theme for 2023 is Life in The Spirit.

We have been moving through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

The Corinthian church is living in this tension between and earthly cultural reality and a heavenly revelation of a new reality which overlaps and intersects their present reality.

We call this “The Spirit-filled Church”

The church is supposed to be a representation of spiritual reality intersecting with natural reality.

During these 3 weeks, I want each of us in this church to discover our spiritual gifts.

We have books available “Finding Your Spiritual Gifts” by C. Peter Wagner

If you are watching online, Google: “Wagner modified Houts Inventory”

Make a copy of your results page or email your top 3 to [e-mail].

How many of you already know your spiritual gifts?

Church is not a spectator sport!

I’m not here to do all the work while you watch.

I’m here to help each of you become all that God meant for you to be.

Church is a team sport, and I’m just one player.

Church doesn’t revolve around us, it’s all about Jesus!

We don’t just go to church - we are the church!

This church will be what we make of it! - It’s not all on me - it’s on each of us to participate and do our part.

Last week we talked about Spiritual Gifts and how they work.

Or rather, we talked about spiritual gives and gave a brief introduction to how they work.

There is a lot more to learn about how spiritual gifts work.

It is especially interesting to note how some gifts interact with other gifts.

For example, an evangelist just wants to get people saved.

Whereas a mercy person may think that it is more important to meet their physical or emotional needs first.

Or a person with discerning of spirits may more easily pick up when something is wrong,.

But a shepherding gift simply chooses to see the best in people.

And there are some gifts that are meant to work in tandem with other gifts.

Like apostles and prophets - prophets hear God and Apostles know what to do.

Or pastors and teachers - Pastors are aware of what people need and teachers are the ones who feed the flock.

Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues equals Prophecy.

It should cause us to realize that each of us are vital to each other’s successful operation in the gift that God gave us.

It should lead us to realize just how much we need each other!

1 Corinthians 12:27–31 ESV

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Spiritual Gifts operate in a certain way in relationship to other gifts.

Let;s make some observations from the scripture as to the exercise of spiritual gifts.

Order is important.

Ephesians 2:20 ESV

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

Notice in both Corinthians and in Ephesians Paul assigns an order to some of the gifts and the first gifts mentioned are Apostles and Prophets.

Its not that apostles and prophets are necessarily better.

Apostles and prophets are very important in the Kingdom because they are the ones who are often out in from breaking new ground.

But apostles and prophets, as was already noted are very different - almost opposite - gifts.

Apostles are intensely practical - and prophets are mystical

Prophets are focused on what God is saying - apostles are focused on what God is doing.

Prophets will deliver a Word from the Lord, but an apostle will be thinking about the application of the Word - how should we respond?

Many times, the success, especially of a new work, is on the ability of apostles and prophets to work together.

Apostles need to listen to prophets.

Apostlolos- means “one who is sent”

In the new testament, Jesus disciples became Apostles because he sent them out to preach the gospel.

Today, we don’t often use the term “apostle” but apostolic leaders are the ones who are breaking new ground - they have the plans, the strategies, the God-given authority and anointing to make things happen.

Some of the spiritual gift tests that you may take might not have apostle as one of the gifts.

It might show up as missionary or cross-cultural gift.

It might be a leadership or administrative gift.

Apostles are visionaries

They are full of ideas

They think big!

And they often think outside the box.

And they have the drive to get things accomplished.

Karie once told me, “visionaries tend to crush me.”

Her experience has been that visionaries are people who are willing to “run over” other people to get their agenda done.

You might not be surprised to find out that this is one of my primary gifting. When God called me, he called me to preach. But the apostle, like the thumb on the hand, works with all of the other gifts at some point. God took me through times of experiencing each of the five-fold gifts as apostolic preparation.

The first gift that I experienced is the prophetic. I had a lot of prophetic insight and experiences as a young person. I had visions and could see in the spiritual realm. Then I went to Bible school and found out that I had a teaching gift, that is still one of my primary gifts.

Then I went to the mission field and did evangelism - evangelism has been my weakest gift - but God has always paired me with a strong evangelist - including now - with Karie. When I cam back from the field I sensed that God wanted me to be a pastor, but I didn’t see myself as a pastor- Guess what? I became a pastor, and I found that o gave me a shepherds heart.

But because I am gifted as an apostle, I’m not content to just be a pastor. I’m always thinking about how to build up and encourage the Body of Christ around the world. And I am using my teaching gift in an apostolic way.

It helps that I have had my own “prophetic side.”

I can relate to the sense of urgency that prophetic people feel.

I know how hard it is to “put yourself out there” to share a Word that you feel is from the Lord.

Apostles need to learn to stop and listen - we are so inclined to just do!

When I was just beginning as a pastor - remember, I didn’t think I was gifted as a pastor- I asked God, “what do you want me to do. I heard, “I want you to learn to listen.”

I took that to heart. I tried to listen to God before deciding what to do.

I tried to listen to people before deciding what they need.

I made a habit of taking time to listen.

Apostles need to listen to to prophetic people.

It’s like apostles are God’s military generals - but prophets are military intelligence.

Apostles are the infantry, prophets are the air cover.

Or Apostles are the pilots, prophets are the tower or the ones who“paint the target.”

Prophetic people have a lot of insight, but they don’t always share what they see because they don’t know what it means - that’s what the apostles do.

Prophets need to submit to apostles.

Being a prophet doesn’t mean you live in the desert and eat locust - it just means that you hear God and are attuned to spiritual reality.

When God speaks through people, there are three parts to a prophetic word.

The actual word, picture or impression - what did God say?

The interpretation of the word, picture or impression - what does it mean?

The application of the meaning for the audience - what should we do with this?

The biggest mistake that prophetic people make is thinking that they need to do all three steps.

Just tell me what you heard, saw or felt?

Some prophets with a certain amount of experience and maturity are usually able to interpret what God is saying.

But normally, interpretation is the work of pastors and leaders who have their finger on the pulse of what God is doing - they can relate what God is saying to what He is already doing.

The application part is rarely the responsibility of the prophet -

His/her job is just to deliver the mail -

It is up to local leaders and those with apostolic oversight to decide how to move forward.

Prophets are not normally tasked with leading - they are tasked with communicating.

A great definition of prophecy is “speaking truth to power”

Its a prophets job to speak truth.

It’s the apostles job to make it happen - or to figure out when, where and how to use that information.

If we are meeting as a church and you have a word from the Lord, this is what you do:

Pray about it and ask God if it is for you or for someone else

Most of the things that Gd shows us are just for us.

If it’s for someone else, then ask God who and how he wants you to share it.

He might say, “don’t share it, just pray.”

If you have a word that you believe is for the church bring it to the pastor or whoever is leading the service.

You can either write it down or give a brief summary of what God is saying.

Let the pastor or leader decide when, how or even if to release it - your job is done!

Most of the time, leaders in the church are immediately released to give a word - they already share in the responsibility and have a sense of what God is doing.

Other people, let me bring you up - as a leader I can help with the timing so it flows with what God is doing and doesn;t become a distraction.

Or I might share it myself because it already fits with something I was planning to say or because it will be better received if I say it.

Everyone needs to align their gift with Jesus.

The important thing about spiritual gifts is that everything we do must give glory to God.

We are here to point people to Jesus, not to ourselves.

The worst thing that can happen with spiritual gifts is that people get excited about the gift and forget about the giver of the gift - Jesus!

Spiritual gifts are about functioning as the Body of Christ.

That body has one head - Jesus!

Everything we do is from Him and is for Him.

The parts of your body work to gether naturally, because each part is connected to the same head.

Every part gets its signals from the head and it results in harmonious working together.

When we function together in our spiritual gifts we should function as a unit where each one knows and does their part.

We have the same head and the same goal.

Multiplication is essential.

Ephesians 4:11–13 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

What is the goal of the church?

It is to be Christ’s body - His representation on earth.

It is to bring everything under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:10 ESV

10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

It is to fill the earth with God’s goodness, eventually restoring God’s creation.

So when we are all working together properly and orderly some things should be evident.

The proper exercise of gifts leads to unity.

Whenever you have a part of the body doing their own thing, independent of everyone else - that’s a problem!

The American church has a unity problem.

We have over 40,000 different denominations in America.

Most people drive by a dozen churches on their way to church.

Even in our churches, we all specialize - we can’t all be or do everything - we have some things that we each do well.

And that is why people choose one church over another - we find a church that understands our gifts and will use them.

What if as a regional church, we valued and appreciated the unique gifts that individual churches bring to the Body of Christ?

What if we began to realize that there is a purpose for our differences and that our differences can be a gift to each other and to the world?

What if we began to work in harmony rather than competition?

I enjoy getting together with other leaders from our region who are asking those same questions.

We may be very divided right now - but God is doing something - He is bringing His Body together under one head - Jesus Christ!

A proper understanding of gifts leads to maturity.

A healthy body will grow.

Healthy cells reproduce.

I want to see our church grow, not because I want to have a big church, but because I want our church to be healthy and that’s what healthy churches do!

When the church is healthy and working together, people are coming to Jesus.

The evangelists are bringing them in.

The pastors and exhorters are encouraging them.

Those with gifts mercy and hospitality are making them feel loved.

Then the prophets and those with discerning of spirits are helping them get cleaned up.

The teachers are training them and the apostles are sending them out.

Part of maturity is the ability to reproduce.

Mature humans create other humans.

And are able to raise them to be able to do the same.

Part of maturing in our gifts is into just learning to use them, but learning how to model them for others and mentor others in their gifts.

Growth is not just quantitative, but qualitative.

People are not just being added to the church but everyone in the church is getting better- becoming more of who God created us to be.

The proper alignment of gifts leads to completion.

Ephesians 4:12 AMP

12 His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church),

The goal is “the fullness of Christ.”

Fullness means to be complete.

James 1:2–4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

What does it look like to be complete?

It looks like Jesus!

When the Body of Christ is functioning properly, each one ding their part, we look like Jesus, only bigger, more diverse and filling the whole earth with the glory of God!

That’s the vision - the goal of spiritual gifts!

Its not about me and my gift.

Discovering your gift is a means to an end.

Participation is universal.

1 Corinthians 12:12–13 ESV

12 For 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. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

The key to spiritual gifts according to Paul is not that we individually discover them, but that we corporately share them.

Everybody has a part to play.

Do you know what a BHAG is? It’s a Big Hairy Audacious Goal! The term was popularized by writer Jim Collins in his best selling book “Built to Last.” He talks about the moon landing as an example of a goal that is so bold and daring that is is compelling. People buy in to a goal like that because they know that it is going to take everyone to complete it.

If spiritual gifts are not exciting, maybe its because you are thinking too small.

If we are just thinking about “doing church” then all we have imagination for is filling the roles that we already have.

We already have a pastor, a worship leader and a Sunday school teacher - what more could we want?

That’s thinking small.

But what if it’s not about doing church, what if it’s not just about church?

What if its about transforming our community, our city, our region?

What is it’s not just about winning the lost? What if its about creating businesses that really serve the community and meet real needs?

What if its about tackling real issues like addiction, homelessness,poverty or unwanted pregnancy?

What if our jobs are not just jobs, but a chance to interact with people who will never set foot in a church?

What if we saw our relationships as influence, a chance to make other people’s lives better?

What if we dared to believe that God might just use our gifts to elevate us and our positions of influence for His glory?

Are you getting a bigger vision? A BHAG?

Everyone is a part of the body.

The thing about a huge goal is you can;t do it on your own - no one can!

A goal like that is broken down in to smaller achievable steps.

The point is to know who you are, where you fit and what your next step is.

The good news is that you don’t; have to know all of that or figure it out on your own - that’s why we are a body.

Let’s start with the apostles - what is God doing?

What is the vision?

Here at SCF our vision is to Encounter God’s Transforming Love.

We do that by Respond - Restore - Release - Relate.

What is God saying?

Let’s hear the prophetic voices as they guide us toward the specific ways that we can do that.

Lets be attuned to each other and what God is doing in each of us, both to encourage and to be encouraged.

We are all growing, we are all in process.

Everyone partakes of the same Spirit.

Notice that every answer in this section is “part”?

I want us to learn to think in terms of parts.

1 Corinthians 13:9 ESV

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

The fullness of God is made up of parts.

We each have a part.

The fullness comes from being corporate, members of each other.

So that what’s yours is mine and whats mine is yours.

You functioning in your gift is to my benefit, and my gift is for your benefit.

And all of our gifts are not only for each other, but for the world that does not yet know Jesus.

John 3:34 AMP

34 For since He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaims God’s own message], God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the gift God makes of His Spirit!

We all want more of the Holy Spirit.

John says that Jesus had the Spirit without measure.

He has it because he was the very revelation of God.

We are the Body of Christ on earth - that same revelation of Christ today.

And we are that all together - each of us being part of each other.

And when we are together in unity - each of us using our gifts and doing our part - there is a greater anointing a fullness of the Spirit.

That fullness of the Spirit increases through our interconnectedness.

Questions for reflection:

Your assignment again this week is to take a booklet with you or to fill out the questionnaire online. Find out what your top spiritual gifts may be. Show your results to someone who knows you well. Let them help you narrow it down to your top 3. Send me your results or bring them next week.

When you know your spiritual gifts, think not only about how to use your gift, but how your gift fits together with and compliments your spouse, your family, and your friends’ gifts. How might your spiritual gift contribute to the vision of this church?

Now think outside the box, and even outside the church! What are the needs that break God’s heart which resonate with yours? What is God doing or wanting to do in the world that is bigger than any one of us? Pray and watch the Holy Spirit lead you, together with others, to accomplish His fullness.