The Gifts We Give

Introduction: Good evening guys, welcome to our study tonight. Let’s do some introductions- tell us your name and one thing you know God has given you (something you consider a gift from God).

Let’s make a quick list of those gifts: (Gospel, Image of God, the Church)

As it relates to this series, we’ve already laid a foundation that everything we have comes from God, is for God, and should go back to God in worship for His glory (Rom 11:36). In week one we talked about the gift of God’s mercy, and that in view of His mercies, we should give ourselves to Him as a Living Sacrifice. Giving ourselves to God includes the renewal of our mind- a shift in our mental state of beliefs, feelings, values, and dispositions that lead to our actions. i.e. renewing the mind changes our understanding and way of thinking which in turn changes our attitudes and actions.

In the second week we talked about the gift of time, and how we need to use it as a gift for God and enjoy it for His glory. Tonight’s lesson is similar, we want to look another resource God has given us to use for Him.

Let’s read 1 Peter 4:10-11.

1 Peter 4:10–11, As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Let’s start with some general questions:

What sticks out to you?

Do you see any key words or phrases that are repeated or important?

Are there any terms we might need to define or concepts to explain?

Specific questions- based on these verses:

1. What do we have from God?

2. What are we to do with our gifts?

3. In what manner are we to use our gifts?

4. What gifts are listed here? (2 kinds, or 2 broad groupings)

5. How are we to use our gifts and for what purpose?

These verses bring up some really important concepts that we need to spend some time on- Stewardship, Spiritual Gifts, how we Serve God and others.

What is Stewardship?

When you hear the word stewardship, what comes to mind? What is a steward?

Stewardship is defined as “the job of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organization or property.”

Simply put, stewardship is the MANAGEMENT of something owned by someone else.

When we take into consideration ALL THINGS, who owns it all?

Psalm 24:1–2, The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters.

Biblical stewardship is the theological belief that the LORD has entrusted people with the responsibility for taking care of what He has created. e.g, Genesis 1:26–28, Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Genesis 2:8, The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed...15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

ILL: You remember Joseph, the son of Jacob. What is his story?

Joseph’s story is that of a STEWARD. He is perhaps the best biblical example of what a steward does- MANAGE WELL! Whether Potiphar’s house, the prison house, or in Pharoah’s house, Joseph managed well.

Genesis 39:4–6, So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority… 6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.

How are you doing at managing God’s gifts? With this understanding, is there anything you would change about the way you handle the people and things that God has given to you?

In general, everything comes from God and we manage it for Him. Specifically, that applies to who God made us to be and what He gifts us to do.

What are Spiritual Gifts?

Our text, 1 Peter 4:10, each one has received a gift.

In context, who would Peter be speaking to, or about? What does he mean by gift?

Gift- (Gr. charisma) lit. a gift of God’s grace (charis); the charisma (charismata) are God’s gracious gifts, given to His people, by His Son, through the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:7-8, But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”

ILL: The picture here is of a Roman general who, having won a great victory, returns home with the spoils of war, giving them as gifts to his friends.

Our text helps us see that Spiritual Gifts have two broad groupings. What are they? (Speaking/ Serving)

What are examples of speaking gifts?

What are examples of serving gifts?

THREE LISTS OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS:

Romans 12:6–8, 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.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11, But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Ephesians 4:11, And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers...

We can’t do an exhaustive study on these three lists, but let’s do give some analysis to them.

What stands out to you about any of these lists? What surprises you about them? What makes perfect sense to you about them?

As you contemplate your spiritual life and the way God has led you, what do you understand your spiritual gifts to be? Your Top Three

Just as we saw there are two broad groupings, I also think we can see there are three categories.

Let’s categorize the gifts:

CATEGORY ONE: The MIRACULOUS Gifts are generally known today as Charismatic Gifts (apostles, tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing, and miracles).

CATEGORY TWO: The ENABLING Gifts- all Christians can develop these, such as faith, discernment, wisdom, and knowledge; qualities possessed rather than activities performed.

CATEGORY THREE: The TEAM Gifts, which are service/ministry/task-oriented, or are activities performed (e.g. teaching). The Team Gifts are functional and involve speaking or ministering.

Why do we use our gifts to serve God and others?

Again, let’s look at our text (1 Peter 4:10-11). According to it, what does God get from the use of our spiritual gifts? (glory, right?)

That fits perfectly with the paradigm that we’ve been using in this series- everything we have is of God, from God, and to God. When we use our gifts it is for God’s glory.

There’s a second aspect in our text, ministry to people (minister IT, the gift, to one another).

Let’s take another look at that last category of gifts, the TEAM Gifts. Take turns reading each gift and its description:

Evangelism: to be a messenger of the good news of the Gospel (Eph 4:11,Gr. euaggelistes- preacher of gospel; lit. a messenger of good)

Prophecy: to speak forth God’s message to His people ( Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10; Eph. 4:11, Gr. prophetes - the forth-telling of the will of God; 'pro'=forth; 'phemi'=to speak )

Teaching: to instruct others in the Bible in a logical, systematic way so as to communicate pertinent information for true understanding and growth (Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11)

Exhortation: to come along side of someone with words of encouragement, comfort, consolation, and counsel to help them be all God wants them to be (Rom. 12:8, Gr. paraklesis - calling to one's side)

Shepherding (pastoral gift): to be responsible for spiritually caring for, protecting, guiding, and feeding a group of believers entrusted to one's care (Eph. 4:11)

Mercy: to be sensitive toward those who are suffering, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally, so as to feel genuine sympathy with their misery, speaking words of compassion but more so caring for them with deeds of love to help alleviate their distress (Rom. 12:8)

Serving (ministry): to identify undone tasks in God's work, however menial, and use available resources to get the job done (Rom. 12:7, Gr. diakonia - deacon, attendant; 'diako'= to run errands)

Giving: to share what material resources you have with liberality and cheerfulness without thought of return (Rom. 12:8)

Administration: to steer the body toward the accomplishment of God-given goals and directives by planning, organizing, and supervising others (1 Cor. 12:28 Gr. kubernesis - to steer, guide, helmsmen)

Again, we call these the TEAM Gifts because they are functional gifts, i.e. when you look at your team (i.e. your church) these are the gifts you SEE in use. Now let’s talk about why.

We’ll look at three different texts in conjunction with those lists we looked at earlier- Romans 12:3-5; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7; Ephesians 4:11-16.

Romans 12:3–5, 3 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.

What does this tell you about why we have spiritual gifts and use them to serve others?

1. Gifts bring the church TOGETHER. Romans 12:3-5

1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.

What does this tell you about why we have spiritual gifts and use them to serve others?

2. Gifts BENEFIT the whole church. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Ephesians 4:12–16, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ… 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

What does this tell you about why we have spiritual gifts and use them to serve others?

3. Gifts BUILD UP the church. Ephesians 4:12-16

CONCLUSION:

How do you think people can or should respond to this lesson?

If people are interested in discovering their gifts, what should they do?

Your Gifts, Passions, and Skills are the GPS (God’s Positioning System) for finding your place of service in the church. A good way to discover your gifts is taking a spiritual gifts exam. There is a good one at gifts.churchgrowth.org. Take the free one for individual users and if you are a church member, you can email the results to me.

If they want to use their gifts, how can they do that?

The best and most productive ways to discover your spiritual gifts is to stay in prayer and serve in various ways. This will help you find your place of service in the church and your daily life.

Final comments or questions?