Now What?

Introduction

Last week we took a spiritual gifts assessment and for some of you, this was the first time you’ve ever studied what gift the Holy Spirit has given to you! What were you thoughts at the results of this assessment? Did anything surprise you?

These types of assessments are helpful tools - but they aren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. No one has all of the gifts but everyone has at least 1. The goal of taking this type of test is to help you see where your gift(s) could be and to begin to think about how and where you can use that gift in the local church.

For our purposes, we’re going to spend just a few minutes this evening looking at these gifts and then transition to what our response should be as we step into a new season/year.

Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, shared several helpful points regarding spiritual gifts a couple of years back and this serves as a good conclusion to this portion of our study. You can find these on your outline

They Are Important And Essential For The Health Of The Bod

The Holy Spirit Is The Source Of All These Gifts

The Gifts Are Not Natural Abilities

There Is Not An Essential Hierarchy In Gifts, But There Is A Functional Distinction In Importance

What does this mean? No gift is “better” than any other. They are all different and serve different purposes. Every gift matters!

Gifts Are No Sign Or Guarantee Of Spirituality

Even carnal/baby Christians have gifts - we can’t say that someone having a gift = they’re a mature believer

When The Gifts Are Used, The Body Profits

See 1 Cor 12:7

You Can Have A Gift And Not Be Using It

This seems to be a temptation as 1 Timothy 4:14 shares. We must choose to exercise our gift.

Spiritual Grace-Gifts May Come In Combinations

We see Paul, Timothy, Barnabas, and others in the New Testament demonstrate multiple gifts. Christians today have at least 1 gift and possibly several of them.

We read in Matthew 25 a parable from Jesus Christ to His disciples. In the middle of this chapter, Jesus gives the parable of the talents. We could study this parable all night long and glean from its truths, but I want to focus on one part of that story. Could someone read Matthew 25:14-18?

Matthew 25:14–18 CSB

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

We know how the rest of the parable goes. The first two servants are invited to “share the master’s joy” but the 3rd is punished. Why do you think the 3rd servant decided to hide the master’s money instead of use it in some capacity?

He was scared (v. 24-25) and didn’t want to lose what he had been given.

In the context of spiritual gifts, which are given to us by our “master” if you will, why is there a temptation to be like the 3rd servant in Matthew 25?

It’s easier to go with the flow and stay in our comfort zone than to trust and follow the Lord’s call. We get comfortable and complacent and it can be so easy to think that someone else will step up and do the job. It can be so easy to think that our work is done and that we can coast the rest of the way. The truth of the matter, though, is that God gifts us and He expects us to use what we have been given!

We say this often to children whenever they become a Christian but the same applies here. Whenever you accept Christ as Lord, you want to tell everyone about what He’s done for you! The fire has been lit and nothing and no one can put it out! Whenever you come to discover how the Lord has gifted you, nothing should stop you from using that gift and serving in the church. The only thing that can stop that from happening is you and I not doing our job and not being responsible to steward what has been entrusted to us.

Pray about how you can use your gift for the Kingdom and how you can serve in the local church in the days to come.

As we move on from our spiritual gifts study, I want to look briefly tonight at how we’re supposed to operate as Christians. We’ve been saved, we’ve been given a gift, how are we supposed to act day in and day out? What do we do now? Paul addresses this question and shares that we must walk by the Spirit in several different places.

Paul talks about the struggle taking place in our heart each day as Christians as we attempt to walk by the Spirit but we struggle with our flesh. He shares this in Romans 7:18-19

Romans 7:18–19 CSB

18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. 19 For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do.

Paul shares that he doesn’t do the good that he wants to do but instead he does the evil that he doesn’t want to do. Why? Because of his flesh. We all have this struggle! How do we fight against it? How can you and I grow in our walk and walk in the Spirit? We find this advice in Ephesians 4 as

Ephesians 4:1–3 CSB

1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Walk in a manner worthy of our calling with humility, gentleness, and patience.

As people who follow Christ and who desire to walk worthy of our calling, we must not listen to our heart but to the Spirit - we must exhibit the fruits of the Spirit.

Could someone read for us out of Galatians 5 for us as we examine what we should do?

Galatians 5:19–21 CSB

19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of works of the flesh, but this is a good starting list. As we studied a couple of weeks ago in Romans 5, this is where we all start. We all start out as sinners as Romans 3:23 tells us. We must be born again because if we are not, we continue to indulge the desires of the flesh and walk in them. Paul’s warning here is found in verse 21 as he says, “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” This is a serious threat! Yet, so many people in our world seem to not heed it whatsoever.

Why do people continue to live under the rule of their flesh in our world today? Are there consequences for doing this?

People seem to be confused as to the severity of doing this. They think that this world is all that there is. They think that there are no eternal consequences and, as a result, they should do whatever feels right in the moment.

At this point we might arrive at a bit of a conundrum, what saves us? Paul says that people who practice these things will not inherit the Kingdom.

Is Paul saying that bad works destroy us and good works save us?

Short answer, no. Good works can’t save us as we are unable to save ourselves regardless of how hard we try! The only thing that can save is faith in Jesus Christ and Ephesians 2 shares this with us

Ephesians 2:8–9 CSB

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

Our works can’t save us, but truly being saved and born again should lead to some significant changes. David Platt shares this, “Our good works do not save us, but true salvation leads to fruitfulness and faithfulness.” We are a new creation and we don’t walk by sight - we walk by faith. We don’t indulge in the desires of the flesh, we live out the fruit of the Spirit as Paul lays out in the verses to come.

Could someone read verses 22-23?

Galatians 5:22–23 CSB

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

These are the things that we are encouraged do live out as Christians and we grow in these areas. You could say that as we abide in Christ (John 15) then all of these fruits get produced over time. As we use our spiritual gift, as we dive into the Word, as we pray, as we worship, and mature in our walk these fruit will grow and grow. Some scholars divide them into 3 triads:

Love/Joy/Peace -

Patience/Kindness/Goodness -

Faithfulness/Gentleness/Self-Control -

Think for a moment about each of these qualities. Are these things natural for us as humans? Is it natural to love someone who has wronged you? Is it natural to be full of joy in a difficult time in life? Is it natural to be kind to someone who is mean? Is it natural to be gentle to someone who has hurt you before? No, all of these things are not natural… But through the Spirit, we can live these things out just as Jesus did to His enemies!

At this point, we need to pause and reflect: Are the fruit of the Spirit evident in your life today? Are you growing in these areas?

As we come to know Christ as Lord and we spend time in church, our knowledge and understanding of God’s Word, theology, doctrine, and other things will increase. Knowledge isn’t a bad thing - but knowledge can puff us up. We don’t want that. We want the fruit of the Spirit to be evident. We want to grow in being like Christ. If you’re here this evening and you’ve been in church your whole life but you aren’t producing these fruit, run a diagnostic check this evening and consider why that’s the case. Consider where you’re walking.

Could someone close us up tonight by reading the rest of Galatians 5?

Galatians 5:24–26 CSB

24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Here we see the Gospel in a condensed form. We read that those who live by the Spirit belong to Jesus Christ and have crucified the flesh. We are still tempted by sin, but sin is not our master. Once you belong to Jesus Christ you face no condemnation. Once you belong to Jesus Christ, you are filled with His Spirit. Once you belong to Jesus Christ, you are under new ownership. This should give you hope in the midst of difficult times and joy at all times because you know that you’re not fighting by yourself.

How can we “keep in step with the Spirit” better as Christians?

Through spiritual disciplines - Prayer, Worship, Bible reading, Accountability, Serving, and Sharing the Gospel. Ultimately, the only way we can keep in step with the Holy Spirit is by being a Christian. The only way that we can do this is by laying out life down and following after Jesus Christ each and every day of our lives! The Christian life is one of self-sacrifice and one of following.

As we looked at earlier regarding spiritual gifts, we know that we are given them for a purpose: to use them. This requires us to actively do something today! Likewise, when it comes to daily conduct, we can’t just coast… We are called to do certain things. We are called to share the Gospel, make disciples, glorify God, and we are also called to walk in the Spirit as we produce the fruit of the Spirit.

How can we encourage one another in this process?

Prayer!