Romans 12:3-8 "Gifts For The Body of Christ"

Good Morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Inductive Bible Study

Well, let’s now turn in our Bibles to Romans 12. Romans 12: 3-8 today.

We have shifted in Paul’s epistle to the Romans from the doctrinal section (Chapters 1-11) TO the application section (Chapters 12-16).

Last week we looked at some of the most stirring verses in the entire Bible… Romans 12:1–2 where Paul wrote… “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

We looked back at some of the key points that Paul emphasized in Romans 1-11 last week… which span a number of key doctrines of our faith…

And, when we meditate upon ALL of God’s actions and what He has provided for humanity… namely His Son, Jesus Christ…

Paul’s petition for us to dedicate the entirety of our lives to God… is a very reasonable and logical request.

When you really consider what God did for us… He saved our lives.

Physically, in this lifetime now that is true for many of us. Some of us were on a course where our sin likely would have resulted in physical death.

But, MORE SIGNIFICANT… God saved our eternal souls from eternal death… which the Bible describes as literal hell.

I was thinking about ancient cultures where a life saved would lead to a lifelong obligation for their savior out of honor.

And, this was true during feudal Japan under the Samurai code of Bushido. If a samurai or individual was spared or saved, they might pledge their very lives to the one who saved them.

HOW MUCH MORE… is this true for anyone who is eternally saved through faith in Jesus Christ?

Again, as Paul wrote… “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

And, this is made possible by NOT conforming to the world, but BY being transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Which is a tandem work of the Holy Spirit… AND a work of ours through the joy of understanding the Bible and it’s instructions for Christian living.

And, in this we discern the will of God… His purpose for our life… which is good, pleasing, and perfect.

Today, as we look at vv 3-8, Paul will focus on our relationship to to other members of the body of Christ and our spiritual giftings…

The Holy Spirit has supplied each of us with differing gifts… and as a member of the Body… there is an expectation that we use them.

I find the placement of this teaching very interesting.

Immediately following Paul exhorting us to present ourselves a living sacrifice and to be transformed in Romans 12:1-2… Paul could have been inspired to write about any number of topics… high on the list would be witnessing to the world…

But, what he writes about… the first order of business to address is our necessity of gifts… using them… and being humble about them.

Because if we do not properly exercise our gifts… with the right heart attitude… the body of Christ suffers.

If we do not build one another up as Christians… if we don’t do that here in THIS church…

… which should be the easiest context to exercise gifts…

If we cannot do that here… how will we ever be able to reach a lost world?

So… this topic of spiritual gifts is a very important lesson for us.

Let’s take a look at what the Lord has for us today… in a message titled, “Gifts For The Body of Christ.”

Let’s Pray!

In reverence for God’s word, if you are able, please stand as I read our passage today.

Romans 12:3-8 “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated!

I stand amazed so often by how often we are living out as a church body that passage that the Lord puts in front of us as we simply teach through the Bible chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse.

The elders and I met this past Tuesday, and a large topic we focused on we raising up leaders for our various ministries… providing greater clarity on roles for leaders and volunteers… across all our areas of ministry.

And, I paused the conversation and said, “Guys… listen to what I’m preaching on this Sunday.” And, I read to them vv 4-6 from our passage today.

And, we laughed… because once again we are living out the very words in passage we are teaching.

This has happened a few different times in our history as a church.

Fortunately for me… as a Pastor… I’ve not been almost stoned to death… or shipwrecked… or bitten by a snake… like Paul did in Acts.

But, we truly, as a church we have lived out some of the passages we journeyed through… and it’s been rather surreal.

In vv 1-2, Paul laid out that every Christian has a obligation of service to God… and we are to be dedicated to God in our service.

Now beginning in vv 3-8, Paul helps us to see that God’s will for each of us varies.

And, we can discern God’s calling, in part, by how He has gifted us.

But, before Paul talks about any of that… like he has done several times previously… he cautions his audience against pride.

And, Paul doesn’t just throw out a warning against pride, but Paul pulls rank here. He reminds his readers of his apostolic authority.

Which was a special position appointed to Paul… by God...as a result of God’s grace…

We see this in the phrase in v3… “For I say, through the grace given to me...”

“The grace given to Paul” points to his calling to ministry by God.

In fact, the NLT reads, “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me...”

Elsewhere in Romans… we also get a sense of Paul’s authority being expressed.

In Romans 1:5 he linked grace and apostleship… “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith…”

In Romans 15:15-16 he linked the grace given to him with his calling to minister to the Gentiles. Paul wrote, “… brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles...”

And… Paul’s position as a minister to the Gentiles… and as an Apostle… was not earned because of Paul’s personal greatness.

It was a grace given to him. Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus) was travelling on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians when Jesus appeared to him and called him into ministry.

Saul was a villain… an inquisitor… a ‘poster boy’ for Judaism.

But, the Lord said in Acts 9 “… he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.”

Truly… a grace was given to Paul.

This is one of the things I love about Calvary Chapel… an overwhelming number of Calvary Chapel Pastors have a testimony of grace.

Their calling into ministry was preceded by a lot of poor choices in life… and then their own Damascus road experience.

A radical conversion… an empowerment with the Holy Spirit… grace given to them… and then God gets the glory.

And… in the end… that’s often what God does. He raises up fishermen… people on the highways and byways… tax collectors and sinners…

And… as we’ll see today… gifts them with spiritual gifts… and when they stand before the Religious Elite of the world…

The analysis will be like Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

Peter and John were not praised as been amazing orators… the assessment of them was… “what in the world? How?… These guys?”

“How did Laurel and Hardy here… heal and preach… and now 5,000 are following?”

“… they realized… they had been with Jesus.”

It wasn’t the quality of the men… but their connection to the God-man. And, in that… He received the glory due Him.

The calling of God is so often placed upon the “foolish in the world” (1 Cor 1:27) and the weak… the unimpressive…

And, a minority of wise people by human standards… not many powerful… not many born to a privileged position… are called.

Predominately… God works in the margins… and why?

Well… as 1 Corinthians 1:29 reads, “… that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

Or… as we read in Acts… so people realize the source… ‘that they had been… that we had been with Jesus.’

And, so… continuing in V3… Paul… with the authority vested in him… “through the grace given to him”… Paul addresses as he wrote “everyone who is among you”…

In the Greek South, that’s… “All Y’All.”

This is a message for ALL the saints in Rome… this is a message for ALL the saints in this Room.

It’s very interesting that Paul wasn’t addressing apostles about their spiritual gifts.

“Everyone who is among you” were NOT super Christians…

He was addressing every day Christians. I think that’s an important point.

This is a message for every normal Christian.

Look to the right… look to the left… that’s who I’m talking about.

Don’t count yourself out… because Paul’s telling you… that YOU have spiritual gifts.

BUT, before he does… he warns against pride.

Paul warned against pride in the previous chapter in V18… again in V20… to the Gentiles, he warned not to boast and not to be haughty against Israel since God grafted in the Gentiles.

And, now… in the context of spiritual gifts distributed to the saints… he warns again…

… in V3 “… not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think…”

In the J.B. Phillips translation… Rom 12:3a phrases Paul this way… “As your spiritual teacher I give this piece of advice to each one of you. Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance...”

Wow. Why would Paul say that to me?

And, why would Paul feel the need to warn against pride again… after he just did so?

Does Paul think that in our human flesh we might have some propensity… some draw towards pride?

Of course we do… and there is a danger in pride… and you know the verses that warn against pride…

1 John 2:16 warns against “the pride of life”… which is not of the Father but is of the world.

Proverbs 16:18 warns that “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Many of us can sadly reflect upon a person who in their success… became immensely prideful.

I formerly worked in the insurance industry and worked directly with millionaires… who led hundreds of insurance agents…

They were giants in our industry. And, they knew it… and they became high minded…

Prideful… and one day… two of those men were demoted to the lowest rank… and excluded from any influence over others.

They were brought low because of their pride… and that’s a secular example.

How much worse is it… when a Christian brother or sister gets high minded and falls because of pride?

And how damaging is it to the name God when this happens?

Oh… we know of the dangers of pride… and yet so many people fall into it’s snare regardless.

And, there is no exception to this temptation when it comes to spiritual gifts… the context of our passage today.

Especially in the context of Spiritual Gifts… people get puffed up… they get prideful… like look what I can do… look at my spiritual superpower…

“I can prophesy and yabba dabba doo… I speak in tongues too!… see I’m more spiritual than YOU.”

There are so many abuses to Spiritual gifts… that before Paul discusses them… he warns against pride.

In 1 Corinthians… Chapters 12-14, Paul wrote extensively about spiritual gifts…

And, Paul spends Chapter 13 emphasizing love as greater than spiritual gifts…

… and Paul explains that love “does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own...” 1 Cor 13:4-5

These warnings are so vital… because Spiritual gift are good and have good purposes for the body of Christ…

But, they get abused.

Gifts are given for a purpose…

In Ephesians 4, Paul describes four offices where gifts are given and purposed NOT for prideful elevation… not for personal gain… but offices and giftings FOR the church…

Eph 4:11-12 reads, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for [here’s the purpose… for] the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ...”

Jesus didn’t raise up people and gift them for entertainment… or to elicit an emotional response… but to equip Christians to do God’s work and to build up the church.

There is a responsibility for leadership to use their gifts for the body of Christ.

And, in the context of Spiritual gifts as the Holy Spirit distributes “to each one individually as He wills”… 1 Corinthians 12:7 states, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all...”

Spiritual gifts are given to profit all… and without exercising gifts in the body of Christ… the body is deprived of gifts for ministry (as seen in the offices)… or the body is deprived of gifts for activities (as seen when the Spirit miraculously moves…

When there is a spiritual outpouring at a particular time and place… as we just read in 1 Cor 12:7 “the manifestation of the Spirt...”

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold [meaning the ‘many colored’ or varied] grace of God.”

Each of us has received a gift… which is given with intent for us to use it for ministering to one another.

Minister means “to serve.” We are to serve one another with our spiritual gifts.

That’s how a healthy church body functions.

Spiritual gifts are different from natural talents.

Someone may be a great secular teacher, but that doesn’t qualify them to teach scripture.

Someone may be a great counselor, but that doesn’t mean they have the gift of mercy or exhortation.

God can use our natural abilities. He can sanctify our natural talents for His purposes in a way that they are more beneficial than ever before, but that’s different than spiritual gifts.

A key way to differentiate a natural talent and a spiritual gift is seen in the response of the recipient.

Someone blessed by your natural talent says, “Wow. They are so gifted and I’m so appreciative of them.”

Whereas when a spiritual gift is expressed… the recipient can’t figure it out… it was so pointed and spot on that it surpassed human talent…

Requiring the recipient to rule you out… to look beyond you and only to God.

Spiritual gifts when properly expressed… they glorify God.

The result exceeds human impact…

… where not the individual exercising the gift is seen and recognized, but God is seen and glorified as He works through that person.

If you can explain the ministry in a church by the natural talents of an individuals in that church…

Devoid of the Holy Spirit and His gifts… then the supernatural is eliminated… and so is glory to God.

And if natural talent has been what built a ministry and not being led by the Spirit…

Then it has to be maintained by human effort… and often it becomes overwhelming.

We need God’s supernatural gifts… for us to journey down the path He leads us on…

And, then ministry is sustainable, because He is the source of the power… not us.

In 2 Cor… Paul described the Gospel message as a treasure Christians possess…

And, in 2 Corinthians 4:7 Paul wrote, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”

God deposited the precious gift of the ministry of the Gospel in us… earthen vessels… clay pots…

And, like His entrusting us with the gospel… so too does He give us spiritual gifts…

And, when you put such gifts in fragile clay jars… it becomes “clears that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”

Now… Spiritual gifts is debated in Christianity. We know the church is divided over spiritual gifts.

There are those who claim the gifts have ceased… and there are those who over-emphasize gifts.

What I love about Calvary Chapel is that we are balanced.

We’re neither cessationists… and we’re not hyper-Pentecostal.

We are continuationists… holding that the gifts still operate.

The word gift in Gk is “charisma”… and that’s what we are charismatic… but with a seat belt.

And, you can read about that seat belt in 1 Cor 14.

If you’ve attended Calvary for any length of time… you know we are primarily a teaching ministry… and church is conducted decently and in order… per 1 Cor 14:40.

We’re not out of control in the practice of spiritual gifts… and we don’t ignore the power of the Holy Spirit to use people as His vessels in exercising gifts to build up the church…to minister to one another… for the profit of all.

Most churches agree that spiritual gifts still exist, but it’s the so-called miraculous gifts (namely tongues and healings… perhaps prophecy and miracles)… these are what’s in question.

Cessationists say these gift have ceased. … which if you’re not familiar with that term… it’s the position that at the end of the apostolic age… miraculous gifts ceased.

Most cessationists believe God can and still does perform miracles today, but the Holy Spirit no longer uses people to perform miraculous signs.

David Guzik pointed out how cessationists want to categorize gifts, but this is an error because the bible doesn’t categorized gifts.

There is only one category… spiritual gifts… and if they have ceased… then we are not operating in the Spirit, but through natural talent…

And, if that’s all church is… that’s sterile… and without power.

I feel sad for Cessationists because they are often uptight when it comes to any matter of the Holy Spirit… Spiritual gifts… or Baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would give us power to be witnesses for Him. Why fight that?

It seems ludicrous to think that God would save us… and promise gifts in His word… but then limit which gifts are relevant for today.

But, some are more comfortable in cessationism… and I think in part… because historically… and presently … there are MANY weird and unbiblical practices in the name of the Holy Spirit and Gifts of the Spirit.

Which is so sad… because then… people get scared of the gifts.

Personally, I’m more bothered by the weird practices than I am by cessationism… though I disagree with both.

The gifts are charisma… but some people become Charismaniacs… and overemphasize practicing spiritual gifts… and this poses a danger for many reasons…

When gifts become the core focus of a ministry… at the cost of teaching sound doctrine…

Abusive and manipulative… even life threating and Satanic practices are introduced to the body of Christ.

And, because the flock is not grounded in the word… they chase feelings… experiences… emotions… and this leads to deception.

I think Paul’s warning about pride in relation to the exercising of gifts is spot on.

What often happens in hyper-charismatic circles is a hierarchy of spiritual gifts develops…

Where… the best gift or gifts that exists… are the ones that I possess.

People try to out do one another… try to appear more spiritual… and get hyped up…

And, practices “in the name of the Holy Spirit”… though unbiblical… get more and more extreme.

And, you can look back on history… and even into current practice to see how there have been extreme practices… to test faith… especially around healings…

Forbidding medical treatment…

Which hits home locally… this was one of several abusive practices of what was Faith Assembly/ The Glory Barn/Hobart Freeman in Wilmot, IN in the 70’s and 80’s.

Some of you know people negatively impacted by that mess.

Some rural Appalachian churches have drank poison… handled snakes… testing out Mark 16.

Many Pentecostal churches engage in highly emotive practices like screaming, or running around the sanctuary.

This is not what Paul describes as “decent and orderly.”

Some even hold that speaking in tongues is a necessary sign of salvation… which is entirely unbiblical.

In 1994… in Canada… at a Toronto Vineyard church…

Guest speakers led a series of meetings that they claimed were a major revival… and estimates of 600,000 people visited that church in the first few years.

The meetings were characterized by ecstatic worship… speaking in tongues…

And, lot’s of physical manifestations attributed to the Holy Spirit…

Holy Laughter (uncontrollable laughter)…

Being “Slain in the Spirit” (you’ve probably seen videos of people shaking and falling over… which they state is being overwhelmed by God’s presence).

Making animal-like noises (barking like dogs, or roaring).

Prophetic visions… prophetic words…

Soaking prayer… lying down typically during worship to “soak” in God’s presence.

What happens though is… as the rush of one thing wears off… something new and more extreme is introduced.

And, the influence of what happened back in 1994 Vineyard… had influenced Bethel Church in Redding and they are even more extreme.

The Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry … what a nightmare this is…

… has been reported to engaged in “grave sucking” or “grave soaking,”…

Soaking prayer wasn’t enough…

So, they lie on the graves of deceased Christian revivalists to “soak up” their spiritual anointing or power.

Can anyone say necromancy?

They have also raised tens of thousands in funds around high-profile resurrection attempts… which were unsuccessful.

During worship services… they claim gold dust, “glory clouds,” and angel feathers, appear.

They create prayer “fire tunnels”…

They teach that physical healing is always God’s will… unless you lack faith.

Plus many other unbiblical… manipulative… and prideful practices.

They go way to far.

And, I think pride is one of several core issues here.

Pride is evident even in the titles of the Leaders of Pentecostal churches.

Long titles, like "The Most Reverend Presiding Bishop and Chief Apostle”…

Or… “Presiding Overseer,” “Archbishop,” even “His eminence.”

Can you imagine calling me “His eminence”?

The Pastor’s wife is often called the “First Lady” or “Mother of the Church.”

And they get prime… “his and her” parking spots.

Paul did well to warn against pride.

In the reception of a spiritual gift, there should be no sense of pride.

Because when you receive a gift… what is there to boast about?

The gift-giver is the one to be praised… not the receiver of the gift.

The gift of salvation glorifies Jesus Christ.

And, spiritual gifts glorify the Holy Spirit.

Yet… Pride manipulates the heart into thinking that the gift received is something to boast about…

And, the gift that I have… that is the one that rises above all other gifts. Pride is deceptive.

Paul… when writing to the Galatians about bearing one another’s burdens… emphasized the necessity of love and humility to do so…

He wrote in Galatians 6:3 “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Paul had a way with words… to keep those he discipled humbled.

And, back in Romans 12:3… immediately after warning against ‘thinking of himself more highly than he ought to think’ (A ‘don’t do that’ statement)… Paul then wrote (‘do this’) “… but to think soberly...”

Sober thinking is “sound judgment”… “sober discernment”… an “honest evaluation of oneself.”

This is a call to humility.

One is not spiritual because they have a gift and exercise a gift, but only if they do it with humility and to edify the body.

A prideful exercise of gifts is like a cancer to the body. It’s not life giving… it takes… and is harmful.

Paul was a great example of humility. He was a leader who knew his calling and giftings… were not sourced in himself… but in God.

He wrote to the Corinthians that when he came to them… he “did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.” (1 Cor 2:1)

He only knew Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

He stated in 1 Corinthians 2:4–5 “… my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Paul had a sober assessment of himself.

He states he was not a talented orator who was wise and eloquent… but his words… they contained power because he declared the testimony of God… the Gospel.

Therefore those hearing Paul would not place their faith in him, but in the power of God.

And, at the end of V3 in Romans 12… Paul explains why the believer should not be prideful about spiritual gifts, but should think soberly… because… “God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

Some scholars think Paul is referencing that God gives us a measure of saving faith needed for us to believe in Jesus…

I don’t think that interpretation fits this context… I see this context referring to… let’s call it… ‘serving faith’ rather than ‘saving faith.’

Not only has God given us gifts, but He has also supplied us with the faith to exercise our gifts.

The strength and power to exercise our gifts comes not from human ability, but from the divine faith provided to each one of us.

Not only has God handpicked which gifts you will need to accomplish the task He has for you, but He then gives you the faith needed to to use your gift.

The measure of faith is not about you mustering up faith, but about the measurement of faith God gives you.

Measure in Gk is metron… it’s where the words Meter and metric… come from.

It’s a standard of measurement… and God intimately knows the amount of faith to measure out to each one of us in our personal calling and the gifts needed.

It’s a rather intimate picture.

Now… I love what Paul writes in vv 4-6… “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them...”

This imagery of a functioning and healthy body as compared to the church body is brilliant.

The church is the body and Christ is the head (Eph 1:22).

And, Paul indeed prioritizes the need for the church to be healthy.

And, we can all relate to and understand the imagery of a body because we all have one. And, we know how we feel when part of our body is not functioning properly.

If you have a tooth ache… or a head ache… and the pain persists… it’s distracting and very difficult to function in your day.

If you have something more serious… like internal organ failure… your very life could be at risk.

For our life to be productive… and healthy… we need all members of our body to be functioning.

The heart depends on the lungs for oxygen… and the lungs rely on the heart for blood circulation.

And, there is a need for the members to function consistently. If your liver stops working… how will you filter toxins? If your eyes stop working… how will you see? If you heart or brain stops… the end result is fatal.

I’m thankful my body consistently functions… and doesn’t cease in it’s serving of it’s other members.

And, when we are led by the Spirit… and operating our gifts by the measure of faith He has given us… we are able to consistently function as well.

And for this church body to function… and be healthy… we need you.

“… members should have the same care for one another...” 1 Cor 12:25

The spiritual body functions when mutual concern for one another is demonstrated.

There is mutual dependence… no body part can function alone or it would cease to exist.

You could have the wisest brain… but without other parts to support it… a brain isolated is useless.

And the spiritual body is no different. No gift and no member is self sufficient.

Not for it to fully function in God’s ideal.

And, God not only created us to be inter-dependent, but God also gave us differing or various gifts…

God brought various people into this body with various gifts… so that we complement one another.

He brought people with gifts of helps… administrations… teaching… exhortation… prophecy… mercy… leading… giving…

So many different gifts… and He gave us the faith to step out in faith and exercise our gift.

And, to do so in love.

It’s a beautiful realization for the new or old Christian… to realize that God had called and gifted you…

And, Paul calls the giving of these gifts in V6… “the grace that is given to us...”

I like that… because when you realize that your supernatural gifts are grace and not based on your talents… it bolsters humility.

And, before Paul lists various gifts… notice his words in V6 “let us use them.”

It is a tragedy when God gifts us… and then we neglect the gift.

In our human bodies… if an organ or system is not functioning properly… the body will strive to maintain homeostasis… and stabilize the body by redistributing workloads.

If the heart pumps less efficiently, the blood vessels may constrict to maintain blood pressure… or the body may reduce blood flow to less critical areas.

In the case of lung dysfunction… the heart works harder to pump blood.

If the liver is impaired, the kidneys may take on some detoxification roles.

However, the body has limits.. and can only compensate for a time. Overstressed compensating systems lead to secondary damages.

And, so it is with the body of Christ… we’ve been given gifts by the Holy Spirit… therefore “let us use them.”

It is the design for the church as given by God.

Now…continuing in V6 to V8… Paul lists seven various gifts… which is not an exhaustive list. There are something like 19 gifts listed in the Bible.

There are several chapters in the Bible that focus on spiritual gifts, and expand the discussion on the diversity of gifts… when it’s appropriate to use the gifts… and how.

So, for further study… also check out 1 Cor 12-14, Eph 4:7-16, and 1 Pet 4:10-11.

If you study through these chapters… I recommend reading through David Guzik’s commentary… Enduring Word, as he presents solid explanations about the various camps of thought around gifts.

But Paul puts forth seven gifts as an illustration. This is not exhaustive, but illustrative.

He names a gift and then describes how it should be used in the proper way.

Paul writes… “if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith...”

Prophecy from a biblical sense could be “fore-telling” like when Agabus in Acts 21 foretold Paul would be bound.

But, more often this gift is expressed in “forth-telling”… declaring the word of the Lord in a way that speaks directly into a person’s life or situation.

And, if that happens to you… Paul is saying if God gave you something to share… prophesy in faith.

One time I was at a Calvary Pastor’s training and a student shared some of her testimony.

As she was sharing… Matt 9:16 popped in my head. I didn’t know what the words of the verse were.

I looked it up… and it was about how you can’t put a ‘piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment...”

I didn’t understand, but in faith I said, “I’m not sure what this verse means, but when you were sharing it popped in my head. I think it’s for you.”

The verse is about not patching Jesus’ new ministry on old Judaism…

What I didn’t know… that a guy told me later… is the student’s mom was in a cult and was pressuring her to leave Calvary Chapel and come back to the cult.

The verse was a prophetic word for her… and it wasn’t weird at all.

It wasn’t like… “I see you on a horse… and all these arrows are coming down around you.”

If you prophesy over me like that… with mental pictures of choo choo trains and fairy tales…

Or “Thus says the Lord...”

… I’m gonna think you made it up… and you’re a little hungry for attention.

Stay true to the word… and let the word speak for you. If it’s truly a prophetic nudge from God… the word will speak into the person’s life.

V7 “… or ministry, let us use it in our ministering;...”

This speaks about serving in practical ways. Ministering means “service.” And, it’s root word diakonos means “servant” or “deacon.”

And, God has given each one a measure of faith to serve.

And, service should be a joy… because it is important to the Holy Spirit and it is an expression of our love for one another…

There should be no service-less Christian.

I think it’s an amazing thing when people come into a body with a positive attitude of service…

… with a willingness to serve wherever the need may be.

Sometimes… I’m serving where I’m called to serve. And, sometimes, I serve where I see a need.

There were grad parties last week and I picked up toothpicks off the floor.

Teaching is my main calling and gift… but I’m not above doing any job.

Beside… I love you all… and don’t want you to walk into church and think, “Oh gross… there’s a toothpick on the floor.”

So, I picked up toothpicks.

I aimed to pick them up in the middle… and not touch the ends.

I told myself, “I’m pretty sure these were for food… and NOT for teeth.”

“Probably for those little bacon wrapped ding dongs.”

Those are great at weddings and grad parties.

That’s an old inside joke… you’ll have to ask someone later.

Selfishly… if I was up here preaching and I saw someone using a toothpick…

I’d be really distracted.

I’d be thinking, “I really hope that was from their personal stash… and not from the grad party.”

So… it’s just better that I picked up the toothpicks.

It was great… I served you… I served me… I served the Lord. Win win win.

And so… our service to this church body may have a specific calling with supporting gifts, but we also should be flexible to serve wherever the need may be.

Pastor Chuck Smith was known to pick up cigarette butts in their parking lot.

Continuing on… “… he who teaches, in teaching;...”

Teaching pertains to instruction

Nehemiah 8:8 is a great passage that gives us a sense of teaching like we do… expositionally… “So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.”

So teaching is reading, explaining and applying the word of God to our lives.

Unfortunately… the word predicts that a time is coming… or perhaps has arrived when people will ‘not endure sound doctrine… they will heap up teachers that itch their ears (*cough* Andy Stanley)… they will turn away from truth and turn to fables.” 2 Tim 4:3-4

These are the days in which we live. Don’t fulfill this word by seeking to be entertained by an orator… which human talent.

Be filled by the word… by a teacher… that the Spirit has given the spiritual gift of teaching.

Now… it’s important that we not only gain knowledge, but that we also put it into practice.

Thus Paul next says…

V8 “… he who exhorts, in exhortation;...”

Teaching instructs the flock, while exhortation encourages the flock to put the teaching into practice.

Exhortation means “a calling to one’s aid.” It’s directly related to the Holy Spirit’s ministry to us… and even His title as the paraklētos… The Helper.

Guzik wrote, “Those who are taught but not exhorted become “fat sheep” that only take in and never live the Christian life. Those who are exhorted but not taught become excited and active, but have no depth or understanding to what they do and will burn out quickly or will work in wrong ways.”

The teacher feeds the sheep… and the exhorter is like the personal trainer.

So, if you have the gift of exhortation… use it.

“… he who gives, with liberality;...”

Every Christian has a responsibility to financial support their church.. with a prayerfully considered amount that they can give cheerfully. (2 Cor 9:7)

But, that’s not the gift of giving.

The person with the gift of giving… is someone that is typically been blessed financially… they have a mature view of money…

… They recognize that there are needs in the body financially…

… and they have eye for the material needs of either individuals in the body or the church as a whole…

… and they feel called to step in to meet financial needs.

And, Paul says they should do so “with liberality”…

Which speaks about giving with “sincerity or purity of mind” and giving “generously.”

“… he who leads, with diligence;”

A leader is one who stands before others… and you might be able to tell if you are a leader by if others are following you.

I’ve known some who thought they were supposed to lead, and when they turned around… they were alone. No one was following.

Now… leadership is difficult… thus Paul says it must be done “with diligence.”

Which speaks about the heart of the leader… they must be earnest… serious… they must show concern.

And, they must persevere… for leading can be discouraging.

But, God smiles upon the diligent leader.

Lastly… “...he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Mercy is the gift of compassion… it’s supernatural encouragement to people who are typically overwhelmed.

And, it is to be exercised with cheerfulness… or graciousness.

(worship team please come)

Final thoughts… It’s important for the church to be balanced.

Some churches have elevated helps and mercy above teaching sound doctrine… and the flock is easily deceived.

Other churches focus entirely on teaching without mercy and helps… and the environment is sterile.

We need a balance… and this balance comes when we all do our part to exercise our diverse gifts… as given from above.

So please… as Paul said… “let us use them.”

Use your gifts… for we need them for our body to be healthy and functioning as God designed.

Let’s Pray!

If you are here today and you don’t know what your gifts are.

Pray humbly to God to reveal your gifts… and trust that God will get you to where you need to be.

He will give you the measure of faith you need to put your gifts into practice.

If you need prayer for anything today… our prayer team… will be on the sides to pray with you during this final song.

May the Lord bless you richly as you serve Him in this week ahead.