Sermon 090797

Rom. 12:3-8                         Faithfulness in Exercising Spiritual Gifts - III                        9/7/97

Series 23.18                                                                                                                       ABCC

I.     Review                                                                                                                             589

q      Faithfulness in life is not automatic, even when a person is perfectly equipped to perform

- talented athlete must be disciplined & work hard to be effective, well trained or educated employee must do the same, an experienced mother or father must do the same, the best of seeds do not grow into bountiful crops automatically, a well equipped automobile or home will not automatically provide the best of service without proper care & attention  – it is an undeniable fact that in this life where sin has affected all of God’s creation, hard work is essential to maintain & progress in your effectiveness!

q      You must give special attention to your spiritual gift(s) (1Tim. 4:14)

q      Prophecy (v. 6b) = a member of the body of Christ is given immediate inspiration from the Holy Spirit to speak an utterance from God for the edification, exhortation & consolation of the Church; to be a mouth piece for God.  It is to be done with conviction & must be consistent with the scripture (the faith).

q      Service (v. 7a) = a supernatural ability to meet practical needs in a specific way = DEACON-TYPE ministry

[gleanings from life of Christ in Jn. 13:3-11] = sensitive to physical needs of people, uses available resources to meet needs (v. 4-5), will meet the needs personally, no service it too demeaning (v.5), saint of few words (v. 4-5).

q      Teaching (v. 7b) = the supernatural ability to explain & make application of the scriptures – MIND!!!

[gleanings from life of Christ] = authority (Mk. 1:21-22), examples & analogies (Mk. 4:1ff), wisdom from the scriptures (Mk. 6:2), self-denial (Mk. 6:31-34), teaches plainly with many details (Mk. 8:31-32), teaches plainly on controversial matters (Mk. 10:1-12; 12:14), teaches systematically with great detail (Lk. 24:27);  OTHER TRAITS = teachable (2Tim. 2:2), studious (2Tim. 2:15).

Faithfulness in Exercising Spiritual Gifts-III, pg. 2

II.    Exercising Your Spiritual Gift (s)

A.      Exhortation (v. 8a) = a supernatural ability to motivate people to obey God; to encourage, comfort, entreat, invite, admonish; to call someone to your side – HEART & EMOTIONS!!!

[gleanings from life of Christ in Jn. 4:7-24; 21:15-17] = takes the initiative (v. 7), listens for the content of the heart (v. 9), deals with people where they are spiritually (v. 10-14), desires to correct sin in people’s lives (v. 16-18), does not loose sight of objective (v. 19-24), seeks to comfort hurting people (21:15), appeals with people for Godly change & obedience (may be repetitious & persistent)  – “do you love Me”, “tend My sheep”, provides clear instruction for change  – “…living water”, “Go, call your husband”, “…worship the Father in spirit and truth”.

B.      Giving (v. 8b) = a supernatural ability to sacrificially impart of oneself and possessions to others in need!!!

[gleanings from word study] = A burning desire to give (Rom. 1:11), a willingness to give personal, high quality items (Lk. 3:11), a willingness to work hard in order to have something to share with others (Eph. 4:28; 1Th. 2:8-9), willingness to even risk ones own life (1Th. 2:8);  WITH LIBERALITY = pure motives (Mt. 6:1-4)

C.     Leading (v. 8c) =

D.     Mercy (v. 8d) =

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FAITHFULNESS:  1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (your future w/Christ)

·        Every believer will experientially know the victory of Christ at the resurrection

·        Even if we die before Christ returns, we will still know this great victory

·        Therefore nothing should hinder us from being faithful to our Lord & Christ!!