Communication is key

We are continuing our series, / / E2E: Encouraged to Encourage, where we are looking at what it looks like to be an encouragement to each other in the body of Christ.

This is something you may have heard someone say, / / “The church needs to break out of the four walls and get out there into the world and make a difference.”

I agree, that is a great mission. But if we aren’t doing really well INSIDE the four walls of the church, then what’s the point in going outside of the four walls of the church?

And let me be really clear here, this isn’t just about you being nice, or having good friends here. This is about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Power of the Holy Spirit, the Love of God the Father truly and wonderfully impacting each and every one of our lives so that we are transformed and become more like Christ.

Especially that we are talking about the spiritual gifts. / / When the Spirit of God moves in and through us we should expect change! When the presence of God is with us, when we are being transformed by His love, when we are becoming more like Christ, our lives should be better.

When I say better, I don’t mean the classic sense of what we think “blessed” means, more money, bigger homes, always happy, never going through anything tough.... But what I mean is more content, more stable, more level headed, more discerning and grounded in the truth of who God is and where we are at in life. Our friendships should be better. Our marriages should be amazing. Our relationships with our kids should be wonderful. None of those things without challenges, but they should be better. Why? Because as we become more like Christ we learn to live, love and relate to each other better.

And we’ve read this verse over the last few weeks. / / God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

But what’s the pre-requisite to being a comfort to someone else? Going through something and being close enough to God that we receive His comfort in our own lives.

I am encouraged to do what? Encourage others.

I am comforted to do what? Comfort others.

I am loved to do what? Love others.

And these things come from God first SO THAT we can be to each other what we need.

And so we’re looking at these spiritual gifts, because this is another area where God gifts us with something for the benefit of other people.

Our primary verse we’ve been reading over these last weeks is Romans 1:12 where Paul says to the church in Rome that he hasn’t even met yet, / / When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

Well, Paul is the primary source we have in the New Testament scriptures for the basis of these spiritual gifts. What do you think he talks about when he gets there? Of course he’s going to talk about the spiritual gifts with these people because that’s what he’s doing in all the churches it seems.

And one of our main texts for the spiritual gifts, at least where they are listed, is Romans 12:6-8 where he lists 7 of the 21 gifts that we’re looking at. So he’s already preparing them for the time that he’ll get there. He’s giving them some insight into the things he’ll be encouraging them with and hopes that he too will be encouraged.

And it starts with, / / In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.

So, let’s just look at that for a second. That’s Romans 12:6, and there are 5 key take aways from this little verse.

/ / In His grace...

This is important because it is exactly that, God’s grace. Ultimately grace by definition is undeserved favor. This is not by our doing.

Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-10, / / God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

This is a great explanation of God’s grace. And yes, this verse is talking about our salvation, but we can easily look at it in connection with any of the gifts that God gives simply because when it comes to God, there’s nothing WE can to gain what only HE can give. This is why he says, / / You can’t take credit for this… or in the next verse, none of us can boast about it.

So, in talking about the spiritual gifts, it starts with this, in His grace. by the grace of God. In this undeserved favor...

/ / ...God has given us...

by his grace, he has given. There is something to be received. One of the other scriptures we’ve been reading is 1 Peter 4:10-11 (ESV), / / As each has received a gift...

We looked at it last week briefly, but the word “received” in that verse means to take, or to catch, to get ahold of. So there’s this idea of God giving, and us intentionally receiving.

God is actively desiring to give these gifts, and as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:1, / / …you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives...

The word desire means to burn with zeal, to zealously go after… Think of a kid at Christmas, you walk in with a pile of gifts and what do they do? They’re jumping all over you to get them. Why? Because they know you brought the gifts for them - and even though it’s just a matter of time before they get to open the gifts, for them, that time has to be right now!

You are graciously giving a gift…they are zealously pursuing that gift...

So, we have to recognize. God is giving gifts, do you want them?

There’s a tension here… we’re reading two different statements.

God HAS given…

So we should desire… zealously go after.

I would suggest that this is absolutely 100% true and I’ll say three things on it:

/ / God does give gifts to some people before they zealously seek them.

/ / God does give gifts to some people when they zealously seek them.

/ / Those who have received gifts from God will do more and do better if they zealously seek after the gift and the heart of God for the gift.

Carry these things in your heart and mind as we are going through these things. Scripture is pretty clear, doesn’t seem to be any room for anyone being left out. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have recognized you need a savior, then the bible says you have received the Holy Spirit, and I believe along with that you have also received spiritual gifts to help and serve the body of Christ, the church. So, In his grace God has given...

/ / ...different gifts...

There are different gifts. Some of us may have the same gifts as others, and some of us might have a mix of gifts, but in the end I think scripture is distinguishing / / we are not all the same and we don’t all do the same thing. We’re looking at a list of 21 spiritual gifts over 5 different categories. The point is, we are all different. We all do different things. And I encourage you to go back over the last few weeks on some comments on that if you haven’t been here. I go through how these lists are come up with and why we would use categories and all of that good stuff. In his grace God has given different gifts...

/ / ...for doing...

This is the purpose. You’ve been given a gift to use.

We’re going through Romans 12:6, but vs 7-8 go through a list of 7 of the gifts and the fact that we should use them. A gift without the intent to use it, is, well, let’s just face it. It’s sad. And this is one of the things we talked about last week, it’s not just a people issue, but often times a church or a leadership issue. The church hasn’t necessarily done well with being inviting or making room for the spiritual gifts that people carry. I mean, think of it practically. If everyone has been given a gift and the purpose of the gift is to do something with it, then everyone should be doing something, right?

And think about it, we have a saying, / / Many hands make light work. This is just practical and true. The more people you have doing things, the less everyone has to do, but for that to work you have to get more people doing things. That was really the bottom line for a lot of the gifts we looked at last week, wasn’t it? People who have the ability to see what needs to be done and make a plan for it. People who have the ability to gather people and distribute tasks. People who care about the end goal. And people who care about the people in the process. All working together to further the kingdom of God’s impact in the earth.

Why? Because we’ve been given gifts for doing!

So many of the verses we are looking at mention this.

1 Peter 4:11, / / Use them well to serve one another

1 Corinthians 12:7, / / A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other...

Ephesians 4:12, / / Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

So finishing up this verse, Romans 12:6, In his grace God has given different gifts for doing...

/ / ...certain things well.

This says two things. First, certain… meaning, you don’t have all the gifts, but you do have something. We each have a certain gift...

And second, I think this simply speaks to the attitude we take when approaching this whole subject. Don’t just do a thing, but do it to the best of your ability.

/ / Use the gifts that God has given you with intention.

Recognize the purpose and give your best effort.

One of the things Kelley and I actually learned through the business world, but relates to all areas of life, is that a lot of people think that if they can’t give 100% then they can’t give at all. Or if they can’t give what is expected, then don’t even start. But the reality is, even if you only have a little to give, you can give that little with your whole heart.

You can give the best of who you are in small moments.

There’s a strange little story in Mark 12:41-44. / / Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

It’s not the gift that matters. It’s the heart behind the gift.

Sometimes people with the richest of gifts, or let’s say, gifts in abundance, they are so talented and so gifted, along with that gifting comes an expectation in how they should be treated and what they need to use their gifts. Rather than giving extravagantly out of the abundance they have received, they might throw in a nugget here or there out of their surplus.

And some give of themselves fully and completely, even sometimes out of what they don’t feel they can really even give.

Here’s the point on that, and this is what Kelley and I have learned. / / If you have 10% to give, give 100% of that 10%. That means a couple things.

First, even if you only have a little to give, don’t let that stop you from giving. And yes, we’re talking about spiritual gifts here, not money. Sometimes we look at certain people and think, “Wow, they are so gifted, I feel like I just got a little bit...” First of all, false. Every bit counts. Second, / / don’t let what other people have, that you don’t have, make you feel less about what you do have.

I’ve said this the last couple weeks, but let’s keep putting it back in front of ourselves, there is no hierarchy of gifts, there is no gift more important or more valuable than another. There are simply gifts that are more visible, and some gifts that involve other people. Some gifts are front and center. Some are behind the scenes. Some involve leading, some involve taking instructions and following them. But all of them are absolutely necessary and it’s not a matter of value!

But I’ll stress this as the main point here, when you choose to give that little, when that’s all you have to give, give it with your whole heart. This is explained best in the context of time. Kelley was growing a business a few years ago and she was working with some people who just didn’t feel like they had the time to invest in building a business, and through that process we realized, even if you only have 1 hour a day, or 1 hour a week, if you take that time, set it apart, work to the best of your ability for that limited amount of time, you will get more done than if you try to work 3 hours a day through distraction and busyness and loss of focus.

That, along with recognizing the gifts you’ve been given so you can focus appropriately on those gifts and not be side tracked, is absolutely crucial to things working well. Remember the story in the book of Acts that we read last week. There were people who weren’t being fed in the daily distribution of food. The Apostles said, “If we look after this, it will pull us away from what we are supposed to be doing. So here’s what you do. Find people that are gifted in doing this. Get them in charge, give them authority, let them organize and get to work...”

They saw the capacity they had, and if they took too much on they would lose the capacity to fully engage with what they were meant to be doing.

And I’m just going to throw this out there again. I do not know what this looks like fully implemented or carried out in the context of a local church because I haven’t ever seen it in operation. Where everyone recognizes their gifts and feels the desire to both develop and give of their spiritual gifts.

And that’s ok. There is a season of crawling and stumbling before anyone is walking fully… And my desire is that we learn what it means to be a true body of believers, acting as the body of Christ, seeing the spiritual gifts at work. And like I said, it might be 30 minutes a week, 15 minutes a week. Honestly. The greater you are at something, usually, the less time it takes for you to do it than for someone who isn’t good. And that doesn’t mean working for free, or being used. Again, we are learning to see what this looks like. Learning what we can accomplish together. I know a guy, he used to be the VP of Johnson & Johnson and for a season he was consulting with companies for a minimum of $500 / hr.

I thought I was doing pretty good back in the day when I was doing IT consulting for $25 / hr.

Here’s the difference. My skills were $25 / hr skills - you tell me the problem, I’m going to have to go research it, figure it out, it’s going to take me a few days, and i’ll give you an end result. It’ll be good, but It’ll take some time.

Him on the other hand. You tell him the business problem, he’s seen it before, knows the solution, can give you an answer and a plan forward in an hour our two and you’re back on track. He’s worth the $500. And he didn’t have to give his whole week to it. He was able to give 100% in a small amount of time for big results.

I might be worth the $500 too, but it’ll take me all week to get there. And if I only have an hour a week to give to it, it’ll take me a very long time.

I used to work in the graphic design world and there’s this venn diagram out there that shows three options: / / Fast, Cheap, Good, and then it says, You can only pick two.

If it’s fast and cheap, it won’t be good

If it’s fast and good, it won’t be cheap

If it’s cheap and good, it won’t be fast

But here’s the thing, none of those is bad, it’s just different results based on availability and talent.

My buddy who was the VP is both fast and good, but he ain’t cheap.

In my IT days I was cheap and good, but I wasn’t fast.

So let’s just remove the money for a second, and let’s look at it from the perspective of giving of our spiritual gifts in the capacity we have.

I think there’s a pattern of progression here.

Whatever gift you have:

/ / Seek to use your spiritual gifts

/ / Work to get better at your spiritual gifts

/ / Give your best in the capacity you have

Look for opportunity to be an encouragement to the body of Christ through your gifts.

In your own time and space, learn what it means to get better at using the gift. Like Paul says, Earnestly desire, or passionately go after the gift, so you can do it well.

And whatever capacity you have. Maybe you work and have 3 kids and don’t have much time, it’s ok, what if 30 minutes was such a huge blessing to someone by you coming alongside of them and helping them with something they can’t actually do.

And this isn’t just in physical skill.

If you have the gift of prophecy, you hear the heart of God, it doesn’t take a long time for you to call someone and say, “Hey, I was praying this afternoon and felt like God might have given me a Bible verse for you.”

Or if you have the gift of wisdom, and someone comes to you seeking counsel, you may have an answer they couldn’t come up with on their own, but for the sake of the Body of Christ the Spirit of God moves in and through you to accomplish a greater goal.

I could sit all day trying to figure something out, or I can call someone who has a gift to figure out what I’m trying to do and they can speak into it and give me the direction I need to move forward.

/ / The spiritual gifts work together for the sake of the body and the benefit of the church.

We are encouraged to encourage.

So, with that in mind, let’s look at a few more this morning. I went a little long on the intro there because in this category we’re looking at today, we’ve already covered one pretty extensively.

Today I want to look at the category of Spiritual Gifts I’m titling / / Speaking / Communicating gifts.

Now, first thing to note, I’m calling this speaking & communicating simply because not everyone is a gifted speaker, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a gifted communicator. In fact, you can have someone who can’t even speak have a massive gift of communication. So we can’t limit this to our ability to speak.

Sometimes someone is a greater writer than they are a public speaker, and sometimes the fear of public speaking stops people from giving of a gift of communication because we haven’t taught properly how these gifts can be used.

I finished with this statement last week and I think it’s something we need to keep in mind. / / Don’t let what the western church has become deter you from passionately pursuing the spiritual gifts that could help you serve the 1...

Like we looked at last week, with the spiritual gift of pastor, that doesn’t mean you have to lead a church. It doesn’t mean you even have to be in church leadership. But the gift of pastoral shepherding is vitally necessary in the church. Recognizing people have the ability to care for and look after people without the burden of organizational or structural leadership might just free some people to do more of what God has gifted them to do.

There are levels of leadership. And I think in some ways we’ve become so narrow minded, expecting a very few people to do a lot, we’ve overburdened some while missing the gifts of others.

Just my two cents.

So, we can’t pigeon hole the communication gifts to public speaking, because by doing that we might rule out some who aren’t meant to be on a platform, but have words that need to be heard.

Think of it this way. There is a whole world of song writing that people never see. People who write beautiful, meaningful, touching, heartfelt lyrics for someone else to sing. Are they any less a part of the song? No, except they might not ever be known for it.

One person makes the song famous, but couldn’t have done it without the person who put pen to paper.

There are some who write lyrics, but not music. And so someone else takes their talent and musical ability, lends it to the song, and still, never known because they aren’t the one who made the song famous.

So, let’s look at some speaking / communicating gifts this morning.

Four gifts in this category. / / Evangelism, Exhortation, Prophecy and Teaching.

/ / Prophecy

Obviously we’ve looked at Prophecy quite a bit already in this series, but let’s just do the briefest of recaps on that by simply asking the question we asked at the beginning of the service last week: / / How have you been doing with the gift of prophecy this past week?

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:1, 3, / / Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives - especially the ability to prophesy. [the] one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them.

Our series in a nutshell, right? Encouraging others.

I think this is such an important encouragement from Paul because the gift of prophecy can make the most impact regardless of, let’s say the level of the gift someone has. If the Spirit of God chooses to move in and through me by me speaking to you a kind word that brightens your day, that is amazing, and is a result we’re looking for - you encountering the truth of God.

But the spiritual gift of prophecy can also mean what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:2, / / If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge...

Jesus said when the spirit of truth comes he’ll tell us about the future. That’s prophecy too.

Again, we talked about it pretty extensively, but I want to encourage you, start at the place you are at. Take the opposite approach of what our mama’s said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all...” Well, / / If you have something nice to say, make sure you say it. Because I guarantee you, the person needs to hear it!

If you have something encouraging to say, say it. don’t hold back.

If you have something that could strengthen someone, step out, speak your mind and heart.

If you feel or sense God is saying something to you for someone, first of all, be willing to say it, and second, say it in a way that falls in line with those three things, strengthening, encouraging, comforting.

And if this really excites you, start reading some things on prophecy, on developing that spiritual gift. Kelley and I can definitely point you in the right direction for some of that stuff.

/ / Exhortation

Alright, this is going to sound similar to prophecy, but this is actually really specific and intentional in its focus. It’s listed in Romans 12:8, if your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.

The ESV says, / / Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: …the one who exhorts, in his exhortation;

That word, exhorts is parakaleo. If that word sounds familiar it’s because it’s very close to paraklete which is what Jesus calls the Holy Spirit.

Paraklete is the one who is called to someone’s side, to aid them.

Parakaleo is the actual calling, the summoning, the address or speaking to.

You need comfort, or exhortation, so someone with the gift of exhortation comes to you and speaks the words you need. Comfort through communication. It’s being invited into a place of comfort, where the Spirit of God does more than words alone can do. Sure, it’s nice to hear something nice, but when the Spirit of God moves on you through those words, it’s something much much more.

This gift can also be sometimes called the gift of counseling, or giving counsel. / / Exhortation is the ability to minister words of comfort, consolation, encouragement and counsel to other members of the Body of Christ in such a way that they feel helped and healed.

Words are powerful. We know that. Proverbs 18:21 says, / / The tongue can bring death or life… But even life giving words can be spoken differently. Have you ever heard the right thing, but heard it from the wrong person, or at the wrong time? And then, heard the right thing, from the right person, at the right time?

Same words, but let’s just say, different spirit on them?

Some people are gifted by the Spirit of God to bring comfort through words and when you hear the words the Spirit of God works in your heart and you walk away feeling different. It’s not the words that changed your situation. It’s not the words that moved you. It’s the Spirit of God at work through another person being faithful to use their gift for the betterment of the body of Christ!

Jeff Carver in his book Gifted by Grace says that this is often called the gift of encouragement. And I like what he says on this because he’s really good at bringing this back to the center. Yes, an encouraging word is good. But an encouraging word that brings you back to the grace and mercy of Jesus is always way better. Words that bring you to the love of God or the presence of the Holy Spirit, that speak of his love and mercy, grace and comfort.

So, Carver says, The primary means of exhortation is to remind the hearer of the powerful and amazing work of God in Christ, particularly in regard to the saving work of Jesus in the atonement… The Spirit of God gives this gift to people in the church to strengthen and encourage those who hare wavering in their faith. Those with the gift of exhortation can uplift and motivate others as well as challenge and rebuke them in order to foster spiritual growth and action. / / The goal of the encourager is to see everyone in the church continually building up the body of Christ and glorifying God.

Let me ask you a simple and powerful question: How would your life be different if you continually had someone encouraging you in your walk with God by reminding you of all that Christ did on the Cross, reminding you of the glorious presence of the Holy Spirit, and reminding you or God’s love and faithfulness?

I’ve said this a ton of times before, I think one of the biggest downfalls we have as humanity is that we so easily forget. We forget what God has done. We forget that Christ has completed on the cross. We forget that the Holy Spirit is with us, for us, not against us, working in and through us, and desiring to help us. We forget. So we wake up in the morning, try to do the very best we can, while getting frustrated that we can’t seem to do it all very well.

Life becomes overwhelming and we sink into ourselves rather than sinking into the grace and goodness of God and being lifted up by Him.

Jesus said in John 8:31-32, / / “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

What’s he saying? The truth can only set you free if you know it and follow it. And what happens? We forget it, and don’t apply it, and find ourselves in a heap of mess.

The gift of exhortation, counsel, encouragement brings us back to center.... And yes, sometimes that comes across as a bit of a stern thing because sometimes we need a bit of a stern talking to to get back on track.

Correction is only fearful for one of two reasons. First, if the one correcting is to be feared. Second, if we are too insecure to hear it and become defensive or abrasive. But / / correction in of itself, done in love, is one of the most gracious, comforting things there is, because it reminds us of the truth, reminds us of the way we are meant to be walking, and reminds us that God is for us, not against us, with us, not far from us, and has provided the way through Christ.

So rebuke becomes life giving.

Correction becomes wise counsel.

When it’s done in love.

/ / Evangelism

Alright, this can be a bit of an interesting one to talk through because I think it’s been misrepresented in a lot of ways.

Evangelism is listed in Ephesians 4:11-12, / / Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: …the evangelists… Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

First, the word / / evangelist means a preacher of the gospel - a bringer of good tidings, the name given to the NT heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles.

Peter Wagner defines this gift as/ / the special ability to share the gospel with unbelievers in such a way that men and women become Jesus’ disciples and responsible members of the Body of Christ.

And second I like the word used in here for build up the church.

The word build means both to edify, or to instruct and improve someone in their life either morally or intellectually, but it also means to build, building… Making the church bigger. If the church is the people and not the building, then this is adding members to the body of Christ by proclaiming the gospel to those who do not yet believe, who choose to believe, and as Wagner says, become disciples of Jesus and responsible members of the Body of Christ.

And I think that really defines the evangelists aspect of “training and equipping” the body to do the work of the ministry.

/ / To those who believe, the evangelist wants to equip them with the gospel so they have a voice with those who don’t believe.

/ / To those who don’t believe, the evangelist is supernaturally gifted by the Spirit of God to share the gospel in a way that compels them to salvation in Jesus Christ.

Because I want to make a distinction here.

We all need to be ready and willing to share our faith. It can be as simple as your life being a shining beacon of the grace and mercy of God that shows people something they need, giving you opportunity to express that it is only by God’s grace that you’re the way you are. And it can be as big as diving deep into the gospel of Jesus and leading someone from knowing nothing to being a disciple of Christ.

But there are a whole lot of ways for someone to see the light of Christ in you and be led to the point of salvation. And I think one of the damages we’ve done as a church is impose on everyone the spiritual gift of evangelist when some are simply just gifted in this area.

That doesn’t mean it removes the responsibility to share the gospel with people if you don’t have that gift, but it means that you are led by the spirit in ways that are meaningful and purposeful for you and those around you.

Don’t carry a burden you aren’t meant to carry.

And don’t feel like you have to save the world, Jesus already did that.

And the other side is that there are those who are gifted in this area, to both share with believers effective ways of sharing the gospel, but also, gosh, they are just brilliant at talking to people about Jesus.

Don’t feel bad if that’s not you. Just be open to being led by the spirit. And honestly, the best thing you can do is live YOUR life for Jesus, in the way HE made you to be so that you shine like the light he’s created you to be. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14,16, / / “You are the light of the world… let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

It’s as simple as following Jesus, being who He created you to be, and being led by the Spirit to the good works He has already planned for you. That will open doors to shine brightly!

And if you have this gift, the ability to speak clearly and powerfully to those who have not yet encountered the saving grace of Jesus Christ, then use it and use it well. Go for it. And put the work in, like any other gift, learn the gospel message, spend time in the bible, spend time in prayer, grow in your relationship with Holy Spirit and spend time learning, read good books, listen to podcasts on evangelism, on sharing your faith, on being a witness. It will help build the church in the best way possible, you doing what you do the way God created you to do it.

I don’t want this church to grow through gimmicks and tricks. I want true, genuine faith. People who believe and desire to grow in the things of God. There’s a saying, How you bring someone into the church is how you’ll end up having to keep them. Meaning, if someone comes to church because you’ve got a flashy big thing happening, when the flashy big thing isn’t there anymore, they won’t stick around. But, if someone comes to church because of a genuine encounter with the living Savior, Jesus Christ, because someone with the gift of evangelism shared the gospel story with them and they fell in love with Jesus and they are brought into a community that celebrates who they are, that is growing in love and connection together, not afraid to make mistakes and learn together, grow together, encouraging each other.... then you’re creating an atmosphere of following Jesus and following Jesus together.

/ / Teaching

This last gift is the only other gift other than prophecy that is listed in all three of Paul’s big passages of scripture on the spiritual gifts.

Romans 12:7, / / If you are a teacher, teach well.

1 Corinthians 12:28, / / Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: …third are teachers,

Ephesians 4:11, / / Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: …teachers.

The word there for / / teachers means, an instructor - doctor, master, teacher.

Unlike let’s say the gift of evangelism or prophecy, where the training and equipping they do is geared toward that particular gift, of evangelism and prophecy, / / the gift of teaching is purely about communicating information relevant to the health and ministry of the body and its members in such a way that others will learn.

It’s one thing to talk at people, it’s another thing entirely to have a gift of teaching and communication that they actually can easily receive what you are saying.

I think anyone can receive based on their own ability to listen, pay attention, and seek understanding. Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 13, it’s call the Parable of the sower, or sometimes the parable of the seeds. And in this story he says a man goes out and spreads out some seed hoping it grows, but some fell in bad soil, some fell in the weeds, some fell on a path and got trampled, and some falls in good soil and produced a great harvest.

The disciples ask him later, what does all of that mean?

And he explains the different places the seeds landed are different people and their attentiveness to listen and obey the teacher. He says sometimes people hear the message but don’t understand. Sometimes they hear the message but life is just so chaotic they don’t apply it. Sometimes they hear it, and the enemy works double time to snatch it from them. And sometimes people are ready, willing and able to grab ahold of the message and run.

Let’s call this what it is, a dual responsibility.

As the teacher, or the seed thrower, it is their responsibility to do as well as they can with the seed they have been given, giving it in a way that is the easiest to comprehend and apply to the lives of those listening.

And as the listener, there needs to be a receptive ear, to hear and understand, and a desire to utilize that information.

And in the same ways that prophecy can be a bit daunting in the thought of, “I’m waiting to hear a word from God for someone”, teaching can be daunting because it takes real work and real effort to know what you need to know so you can relay that information in the right way.

James, one of the brothers of Jesus, a leader in the church in Jerusalem, writes in James 3:1, / / …not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.

Just look at the meaning of the word teacher in scripture… doctor, master, teacher.... just ask yourself, how much schooling do all of those take? They say you are a master at something after 10,000 hours. Teachers and Doctors are life long learners.

There’s a weight to those who teach because there’s a responsibility to relay information that is both accurate and true. I think there are a lot of people in the front of churches these days who are missing that warning and going headlong into things that should not be taught.

Paul warns Timothy of the pull that people will have on teachers in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, / / For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

That’s bad on two fronts.

First, people don’t want the truth, so they abandon it.

Second, there are teachers who are out there that will give them whatever they want to hear.

Paul also warns the church in Rome, in Romans 16:17, / / Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.

/ / As a teacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ you can not be swayed by popular opinion or the desires of humanity. You are responsible for relaying the truth of God in the love of God.

So, this gift comes with a bit of a warning, doesn’t it?

I would suggest that every christian needs to hear and every spiritual gift comes with that type of warning, to use the gift to the glory and service of God for the help and upbuilding of the church, the body of believers. We should want to and must desire to do our best with what we’ve been given.

Jeff Carver says a teacher’s greater responsibility to which they are called is to be stewards of the Word of God to His people. Teachers have been entrusted with the task of explaining what the Bible says, what it means, and how we as followers of Jesus Christ are to apply it to our lives here and now.

So it often comes with a desire to study the bible, to read scripture, not just for themselves, but with a passion for relaying that information to others for their benefit. There’s a real satisfaction and joy in making the truth known to others and seeing them apply that truth to their lives. They love the truth and the ones who do well speak that truth in love.

This is another gift that can be misrepresented in the church in that some automatically think that means they should be on stage, and some shy away from it because they think that it means they are going to have to be on stage.

Both are true and neither are true. The gift of teaching doesn’t mean you have to do it from stage, doesn’t mean you have to be a public speaker. And it also doesn’t mean you have to write books or a blog. But it could be anywhere in between any of that.

And it could be that you become a wealth of knowledge for 1 or 2 or 5 or 10. But you dedicate your time and efforts to learning the truth of God so that you can aid in the learning of others.

And maybe that is a blog post, or well thought out facebook posts, or books, or a podcast, or a small group, or to a small church stage or a large conference platform. But the primary heart behind this gift is demonstrating God’s love while revealing His truth, without fear, and upholding scripture for the growth and maturity of the church.

And I would just add this simple thought, regardless of the gift of teacher or not, we all are responsible for the words we use and how we use them. Whether that is out of our mouth, onto paper, typed on a screen or any other way.

So, communicating gifts.

Doesn’t have to be to a large audience. If you have a harder time talking to people, but you really want to encourage them, send them a text message. / / Don’t shy away from using the gift simply because you have a hangup. Find a way!

And sometimes time doesn’t allow for certain things, but don’t let that stop you. I’m not always good at this, but sometimes I remember to just shoot someone a text, or when I get a text, man, that makes my day! Honestly. Sometimes I run out of things to say in a conversation, but a short text is sometimes the best thing.

And sometimes I have conversations that last hours. Different times, different people, different moments. But if I put on myself the burden of it having to happen a particular way, I might miss God’s invitation to really speak into someones life through these gifts.

We need people with these gifts. Go for it! Speak your heart and mind. Encourage people. Lift them up. Prophesy over them. Tell people about Jesus, and teach them about his truth!

And if it’s not your gift, don’t carry the burden, just be led by the spirit in ways that lead you to serving and helping others. Let your light shine before people through your good deeds so they give glory to God!