Discovering and Using Our Spiritual Gifts

In early May, the United Church of God had its annual General Conference of Elders, and the theme this year was Edifying the Body through Spiritual Gifts. The word edithi means to build up, and so it's building up the body, that is, building up the Church of God. This means that we need to consider, and maybe even discover, and then use our spiritual gifts to edify God's Church. When we think of spiritual gifts, what do you think? What comes to your mind? To some, it may be that we're thinking more spectacular things like speaking in tongues and healings and miracles and things of that type.

But I want to show today that actually, even though those are among the spiritual gifts that God grants, that they are not the major ones that He has granted to His Church down through the years.

Let me begin by reading from a letter that was sent from our chairman, Robin Weber, just after the conference. He brought out this year's theme of Edifying the Body through Spiritual Gifts. This spiritual reality is one that needs to be approached with godly wisdom so as to maturely utilize them to His glory and not us. Several years, United Church of God began describing the concept of a whole church effort and serving together in a loving united or unified manner to achieve the godly work set before us.

We then saw the need to establish a vision for United Church of God. Undergirded with spiritual principles of a—and here are some quotes from Ephesians 4 and Hebrews 2—a church led by God's Holy Spirit joined and knit together by what every member supplies with all doing their share and growing in love to fulfill God's great purpose for humanity to bring many children to glory. We have now come to see the God-given blueprint for achieving such a vision has been embedded in the Scriptures all along for two thousand years.

But to each of us has been given according to the measure of Christ's gift. This is given an even broader definition in 1 Corinthians 12. Such gifts from God need to be unwrapped with understanding and thoughtfulness to ensure that God alone is glorified and that His body, the church, is edified or built up.

So we want to also unwrap the gifts that God has given to us with understanding and thoughtfulness and use those gifts to the honor and glory of God to edify His church. Today, let's think about then discovering and using our God-given spiritual gifts to glorify God and to build up His church. I'd like for us to study at some length four passages of Scripture that give us a lot of information about spiritual gifts. We'll begin in 1 Corinthians 12. Do you know that there are three chapters here in 1 Corinthians that deal with spiritual gifts in chapters 12, 13, and 14. We're not going to have time to read and comment about all three of these chapters, but we will read some excerpts from these chapters, and I think we will be given a lot of instruction about spiritual gifts.

This will begin to open our minds to what the important spiritual gifts are, the greater spiritual gifts, we might say, and which are the lesser ones. In 1 Corinthians 12, verses 1 through 11, there are nine spiritual gifts that are listed. As we read on down, we'll see what these gifts are.

In verse 1, Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. So God does not want us to be ignorant concerning spiritual gifts. You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.

Therefore, I have made known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Now, there are diversities of gifts, different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit. There are differences of ministries. Ministers have different strong points, differences in the way they serve and minister. There are differences of ministries. Of course, members do ministry. We all are servants of God, and there are different ways that we serve, but the same Lord.

There are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. Many different things going on in God's church today. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one, and why?

The way that God gives His Spirit to different ones, He gives the different gifts to different members of the church, the manifestation of the Spirit, all these different manifestations, is given to each one, why? For the prophet of all. In other words, to edify, to build up. God gives His spiritual gifts so that it can edify or profit everyone. To one is given the word of wisdom. Notice the ones which are listed first here, the first three.

One is given the word of wisdom. There are those who seem to have an extra measure of wisdom in God's church. To another is given the word of knowledge. Those who are very skillful in knowledge, whether it's historical or prophetic or current events going on.

The word of knowledge and understanding events going on now in the light of Bible prophecy. The word of knowledge by the same Spirit. To another, faith by the same Spirit. So we notice the first three, wisdom, knowledge, and faith. To another, gifts of healings by the same Spirit. And we've had healings in God's church. To say we've had the same extent as when Jesus was here or as when in the early church we would not go that far. But we certainly have had healings by ministers of God's church. 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.

But one and the same Spirit works all these things distributing to each one individually as He wills. Now these nine that are listed here are not all of the gifts of the Spirit at all. As we develop in these very chapters we will see that there are more important ones than some of the ones that are listed here. It brings out in verse 12 that the body is one but it does have many members.

And in verse 14 the body is not one member but many. And it talks about the foot and the hand and the eye. And in verse 18 it talks about how God has set the members, each one of them in the body just as He pleased. And so brethren, we see that in the church, don't we? We're different. Each and every one of us is different. No two of us is exactly alike. And we have different functions in the body. We're all part of that one body but we have different functions in the body. Just like the eye and the ear and the hand all have different functions.

But, and it goes down in verse 24 to say, breaking into it just a little bit, God, but God composed the body. God's the one that has put us together, having given greater honor to the part that likes. And He brings out in verse 27 that you are the body of Christ and members individually. So we're one unified body. The church is not divided. It's not two.

The church of God is unified but the members, we're all members individually. And God appoints some to provide leadership. He mentions that in verse 28. God has appointed these in the church. It's not something that any person should have ambition toward. If anyone ever begins to be ambitious for himself to have a position, he's just got the wrong approach. That's not the right thing to be thinking about. That is a decision that God makes. God has appointed these in the church. Apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, the gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles or all prophets or all teachers or all workers of miracles? No. Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? Certainly not. But then He gets into something that really leads us to the most important gift of all in verse 31. But earnestly desire the best gifts. There are gifts that are better than others. And He says, and yet I show you a more excellent way. And where does He show that more excellent way? Well, the very next chapter, chapter 13. And we call chapter 13, what? The love chapter. So Paul is going to show a more excellent way, and it is the way of love. You know, we want to edify the church of God. The gift of love, the love of God, and how that will lead us to serve and minister and look out for our brethren is the greatest spiritual gift of all. That gift comes from God, the love of God through His Holy Spirit.

And so He's going to show a more excellent way in chapter 13. Though I speak with the tongues of men. Oh, what a great gift, a noticeable gift that would be. And angels, and have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and have all faith, so that I could remove mountains.

How about that for a gift? Be able to even remove mountains.

But if I have not love, I am nothing. Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give... and that would be great generosity, if that's a spiritual gift that one is given. And though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing. And then it gets into those verses we often read. Love suffers long in its kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself. It's not puffed up. It does not behave rudely. It does not seek its own. It's not provoked. It thinks no evil. It does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

And so some of these other things that he goes on to say, like tongues and like even knowledge, these things will vanish away. But in verse 13, he ends this chapter, the love chapter, by saying, now abide faith. And how great that is. Faith is a great substance. We cannot be saved without it. Hope. We need hope as well to be filled with hope. Love. These three great things.

Hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. So we want to ask for the greatest spiritual gift, then ask for more of God's Holy Spirit to instill in us more of the love of God.

And he then begins the next chapter with that idea. Chapter 14 in verse 1, pursue love, then.

He has shown a more excellent way, and that more excellent way is love.

Love for God and love for his work and love for the church of God. A love that will lead us to edify the church and to serve the members of the church and use our natural talents and abilities and use our God-given spiritual gifts. You know, God enhances our natural talents and abilities that we were given at birth. His Holy Spirit enhances those natural abilities, and God adds to them. You know, we have many people in the church of God who have done things and are doing things that they would never be able to do on their own natural abilities. So we're talking about some spiritual gifts that God has granted in doing the work of God. And God's given us, then, all spiritual gifts, and he wants us to recognize those gifts and to use them to edify in his church. Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. Why that? We'll explain what he means by may prophesy in just a moment. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God.

If I came here today speaking some other language and praising God in that language, what would you get from it? That's what Paul is beginning to get to here. He does not speak to men, but to God. For no one understands him. However, in the spirit he speaks mysteries, but he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. Those are, quote, that is where we really get help when someone is helping to build us up, helping exhorting us to go the right way and giving us comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. Now the word prophesy here is from the great prophet AO, and it means to tell forth divine counsels. You know, this every time, every Sabbath day our ministers get up and expound God's Word, they are telling forth divine counsels for telling the future. We might have prophecy as a part of the divine counsel from God's Word. Jamison Fawcett Brown explains prophesy here as explaining obscure scriptures. We do that as well. Many times explaining scriptures that are misused or twisted even, explaining obscure scriptures or illustrating questions of Christian doctrine and practice. We illustrate Christian doctrine and practice all the time. So our speakers are prophesying, and they are doing it as he brings out in verse 3 for edification, for exhortation, for comfort, to help us then. Prophesying here means inspired speaking then, inspired preaching of the Word of God. Paul goes on in verse 5 to say, I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied, that is, that you gave inspired teaching and preaching. For he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues.

See, there are gifts of the Spirit that are greater, and there are gifts of the Spirit that are lesser. The one that prophesies, one that gets up and gives an inspired message that moves us, is greater than someone that got up and gets up and speaks in tongues. But yet, which, you know, in the world many times people think of spiritual gifts, and they would think speaking in tongues is about as high as it gets. You know, some, in fact, feel that you don't even have God's Spirit, unless you can speak in tongues. That's the proof of the Spirit. And yet, Jesus never spoke in tongues, and most of God's people down through history have never spoken in tongues. No indication Abraham did, David, other holy men of God in the Old Testament, and that most of the people in the New Testament era did not speak in tongues, and most of God's church down through the ages has not spoken in tongues. But I'll tell you what there's always been of God's people. There's been prophesying. There's been the inspired speaking of the Word of God to edify and to comfort and to exhort. So we've had the greater gift of God's Spirit all along, but maybe didn't recognize that it is greater than some of the other more outward things that people take note of, like speaking in tongues or even like healings. The inspired preaching of God's Word, then, is right up there at the top of the list as far as the gifts of God's Spirit. It helps to point out God's way of life that He wants us to live. But Paul goes on down to just bring out that speaking in tongues, then, needs to be put in its proper perspective. Let me just quickly mention that Corinth was a crossroad city.

You work to look on the map, the southern part of Greece, and people were coming through from east and west. Many different languages were spoke in Corinth. It was a very cosmopolitan city.

And so in that city, God granted to members in the church, at least some of the members in the church, the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. The thing is that when these came to church and began to speak in a tongue, the spiritual gift that God had given to them, that there was confusion going on. And nobody understood what was being said. So Paul had to try to set it straight.

And so you can read on down to—he just brings out that unless it's made understandable to the members, then it's of no value because nobody understands what is being said. In verse 19, Paul went on to say, in the church, I would rather speak five words with my understanding that I may teach others also than 10,000 words in the tongue. So because you could speak 10,000 words, I could speak 10,000 words today in some other language that you didn't understand, and you'd just sit there and you wouldn't know a thing that was being said. Five words that you did understand would do more good than 10,000 you did not understand. He brought out that speaking in tongues could be a sign to unbelievers. In verse 26, how is it then, brethren, whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. He said—then he goes on to add something very important—let all things be done for edification. And he brings out that if anybody does speak in a tongue, then let there be two or the most three, and then let one interpret. In verse 28, he says, if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church and let him speak to himself and to God. So unless somebody could interpret the tongue that was being spoken, then it doesn't benefit anyone.

In verse 31, for you can all prophesy one by one. You can have your inspired teaching one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. So being a person is in control of what happens and what he says. In verse 33, for God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

So Paul was getting—showing them that they were abusing this spiritual gift of God, and it was causing a lot of confusion in the church there in Corinth.

And he ends the chapter by saying in verse 39, therefore brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy. Let the inspired teaching from God's Word and do not forbid to speak with tongues. Those who were given that gift, if God decides ever to give the gift of tongues in the church, we have some rules here to go by in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. That's up to God whether he does that. We're not grasping for being able to speak in tongues. But if God grants that gift of that ability, then that's—and there could be a situation where he might do that. Certainly he could if he chooses. But verse 40, let all things be done decently and in order, and not in confusion.

So these chapters, chapters 12 through 14, are three excellent chapters, giving a lot of instruction and perspective on spiritual gifts and how they should be used.

The great lesson here is that spiritual gifts are not for personal glory. Some of the people were apparently glorying, and they were all very inconsiderate in the way they would come forth.

It was causing a lot of confusion at their service. It's not for personal glory. It's not some great show of spirituality. But spiritual gifts are to serve and to help, to edify the church and others, not ourselves. So this first passage, 1 Corinthians 12 through 14, is a very good one to keep in mind as far as spiritual gifts. Let's go to the second one now in Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, beginning in verse 3. Romans 12 verses 3 through 8.

For I say through the grace given to me, to every one 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. We notice in introducing the spiritual gifts here that there's a warning that we not glory in ourselves, that we not begin to think more highly than we should of ourselves.

But all the glory goes to God. He's the one that's dealt to each one the measure of faith.

Verse 4, For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, and we know that is true. Our physical bodies are an amazing thing.

All the different members of our physical body, but when they all work together, it's amazing what can be accomplished. And of course, the human brain directs the members of the body to all work together. But the different members do not have the same function. So we being many are one body in Christ and individually we're members of one another. Having then gifts, differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. We want to use our spiritual gifts. If prophecy, the ability to speak forth and inspire preaching and teaching, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. Or ministry. And the word ministry simply means to minister or to serve.

Service. If our strong point is serving and giving and helping others, let us use it in our ministering.

He who teaches in teaching. Some are just very good at teaching. He who exhorts in exhortation.

See, all of these are gifts. Serving and prophecy or preaching God's Word. Exhorting. He who gives with liberality. There are people that give of themselves and their time. They give of their possessions or their things. And they are able to do so with liberality. He who leads has leadership ability than with diligence. And he who shows mercy with cheerfulness. How many of us think of mercy as a spiritual gift? And yet there are those who just have a special amount of compassion for those who are going through special trial and difficulties. Some are just excellent in putting together cards that are comforting toward and sending them to those who are sick.

So showing mercy, that gift that God grants. And that's something really that the love of God will help all of us to have some measure of that gift, I'm sure. So these are gifts of God's spirit listed here as well. And we are to use them with humility and not to think more highly of ourselves than we should. Let's go to the third passage of Scripture on spiritual gifts. And that's in 1 Peter chapter 4. 1 Peter chapter 4 and verses 7 through 11. 1 Peter chapter 4 verses 7 through 11. But the end of all things is at hand. Therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another. For love will cover a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. We'll be using some of our spiritual gifts if we will love one another, be forgiving, be hospitable. But notice in verse 10 now, as each one has received a gift. Does that appear that anyone is left out? Sometimes we may think, well, I don't think I have any spiritual gifts. Or you have spiritual gifts. No one is left out. You have natural talents and abilities that you were born with. But you also, all the members of God's church, has been given God's Spirit which enhances those natural abilities and adds to them as a gift. Each one has received a gift. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another. Whatever your gift is, if it is to be compassionate and merciful and have sympathy for the sick and elderly, the needy, then use that. Whatever your gift may be, minister it to one another. In other words, serve one another. In other words, edify the body of the church. Minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 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 along the glory and the dominion forever and ever. So this is an excellent passage, too. It shows that God is to be glorified in all things, not us. All the glory goes to God. You know, any natural talents that we have, natural abilities, who gave that to us, who made it possible. Well, the giver of life is also the giver of our talents and our abilities that we have naturally. And then our spiritual gifts, on top of that, that he gives through his spirit. It all goes back to God. But it is so easy to let pride and vanity rise up in our hearts. It's so easy to begin the glory in our abilities. Look how good I can do this particular thing. So we glory in our abilities and talents. But it's God that gets all of the glory. The fourth passage on spiritual gifts is Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 and beginning in verse 7. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 7.

Again, we notice that no one is left out, verse 7, but to each one of us. See, there's no one left out. Everyone has talents and abilities, even naturally, but also as far as the gifts that come from God's spirit. You know, the love itself, the love of God, the ability to really serve and love brethren, is a gift from God. And to be able to minister, to be able to have mercy, to visit the sick, and all of that with a godly love is a spiritual gift that God provides. To each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Therefore, he says, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. Some of those gifts are described in verse 11 as first leadership in the church. He himself gave. So God is one God in Christ gave some to the apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. So there is this leadership that God has provided for the church. And why? For the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for edifying the body of the body of Christ. That's what it's all about. That's what spiritual gifts are all about. Edifying the body of Christ. Till it shows a process of time, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. To a perfect man. So perfection is what we're working toward. To the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. No longer children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine and trickery of men. And the cunning craftiness by which they lie and wait to deceive.

But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into Him who is the Head, Christ. That's what this church is all about. We're being built up. We're growing toward spiritual perfection, maturity. And look at verse 16 now. That brings together what spiritual gifts are all about. From whom the whole body, that is from Christ who is the Head, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies each and every one of us according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. So brethren, this verse shows that each and every one of us does need to think about our spiritual gifts, don't we? And be using them to help build up the church, to edify the church. God expects us to do that. Every member must use his spiritual gifts to help the church grow and be edified or built up, every part doing its share. At the conference in May, one session brought out that there are three general types of these gifts. So we've read the four passages that have a lot of comment about the gifts. And number one, service gifts.

There are those who are good administrators. Their ministry is that of administering or administrating. They are excellent in providing leadership, and God has given them that gift. I think we have many at the home office that certainly have that spiritual gift of administration and leadership. All service gifts would also go on to include exhortation, faith, giving, and help. There are many helpers at the home office in any local church area.

Much service is going on. And mercy was included also under this service area. The service gifts of the spirit. So again, going over some of that, administration, leadership, exhortation, faith, giving, helps, service, mercy. The second category was perfecting gifts. Perfecting gifts. The apostles were for want the equipping of the saints and certainly helping the body to come to perfection. So the apostles and the prophets and evangelism, pastors, teachers, wisdom, knowledge.

All of those were listed as perfecting gifts. Again, apostles, prophets, evangelism, pastors, teachers, wisdom and knowledge. All those leading these gifts of the spirit, leading toward perfection, the perfect man. The third category of spiritual gifts was the sign gifts. Signs, like an outward sign that people might pick up on. But I'll put it third here because it would be not at the same level, perhaps, as some of the others.

It would be lesser, some of the lesser spiritual gifts. It would be things such as tongues, interpreting of tongues, miracles, healings. Maybe you could throw in discerning of spirits. So again, that would be things like tongues and interpreting of tongues and healing miracles and healings and discerning of spirits. But these certainly are spiritual gifts that God has granted in this church. We see it in the Bible and we have seen some of these very things in our time as well.

So these are some of the different types of spiritual gifts that God has granted. But from the four passages, we can clearly see that the greatest spiritual gifts are love, as in the love chapter. The love of God is the greatest spiritual gift of all. Inspired preaching and teaching, certainly one of the greatest spiritual gifts. Wisdom and knowledge and faith are at the top of the list in 1 Corinthians 12. They would certainly be among the greatest spiritual gifts.

Giving liberally of ourselves, of our time, our lives, and our things and our possessions would certainly be among the greatest spiritual gifts. Showing mercy and compassion would be right up there as well among the greatest spiritual gifts. Some of the lesser spiritual gifts would be things like speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues and maybe some of the others in category three. Some of the signs might be among some of the lesser of the spiritual gifts.

Again, why does God grant spiritual gifts? In all four passages, He gives us spiritual gifts for us to use, for us to serve, to edify, to help the church to grow spiritually. It's not the gifts are not given for vanity or some kind of show of spirituality like the Corinthians were doing with the gift of tongues. Some of them were given the gift of tongues and they were misusing it. They were some kind of show of spirituality and even apparently a lot of confusion and inconsideration toward others. Scriptures are clear that certainly God then grants spiritual gifts to each of us, men and women and children.

Also, that God certainly as a child begins to obey God and God's spirit is with Him, then God begins to impart some of the spiritual gifts. Certainly, we know that the ladies are not going to be speakers at the public church services and yet can ladies teach? Can they have inspired? Can they prophesy in that sense? Can they have inspired teaching? Maybe I shouldn't use preaching but teaching. Certainly, we have some ladies that are excellent in teaching our children.

We appreciate the ones here that are teaching our children. But turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. No, the ladies do not have inspired preaching at the public services because that's what God's Word instructs us and we follow this teaching in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verses 34 and 35. And it says here, let your women keep silent in the churches. 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 34, let your women keep silent in the churches for they are not permitted to speak but they are to be submissive as the law also says. If they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home. It's a shame for women to speak in the church.

Apparently, that was going on in the Corinth church. They were not doing it this way and Paul had to instruct them that the ladies ought not to be participating in public speaking in the church. The Expositor's Bible commentary says this, the command seems absolute. Women are not to do any public speaking in the church.

That men were to lead and worship. So that's all we have. That's why our services then, as far as the sermons and the sermonettes and prayers and song leading are by the men based on this scripture also one in 1 Timothy 2 verses 8 through 15. Now for the men, do we see why we need to have training? Yes, we are spokesman clubs in times past, our speech classes. We need to have special meetings and special instruction for men so that they are able to speak and lead songs and offer prayers. So about several times a year, we will have a meeting with our men to go over some of these things so that we can grow in being able to fulfill these responsibilities. But does this leave the women out on just public speaking and services? But think of all the ways that ladies are able to serve and to help. They can give inspired teaching in children's Bible classes. We have ladies club also where ladies can learn and grow and develop. We have areas where ladies are just excellent in having well showing mercy, compassion, and sympathy. And mercy, remember, is one of those gifts being able to have that compassion and sympathy for those going through special trial, visiting the sick, cards, serving at services in so many ways. Why, you know, the ladies certainly then have many opportunities where they can develop and grow and use their spiritual gifts. Music, children's Bible classes, food and drink service, of course, the whole maintenance itself, including bathrooms, community service projects. We could go on and on. So certainly so many areas where ladies can grow and develop in their and using their spiritual gifts.

Let me just ask you then, are you? Take a good look at yourself and are you striving to use the spiritual gifts that God has given to you? We should be. There are many responsibilities and many jobs in God's church and certainly many, many ways that we can use our spiritual gifts and talents and abilities. God is the giver of our talents and abilities that we're born with. He's the giver also of our spiritual gifts. He expects us to use them. If we're just strong, we've always been strong in certain ways, certain abilities, then we should use those. And with God's Spirit enhancing, use them even more, those natural talents that God has given to us. We should also use the spiritual gifts that He gives to us. Use these gifts to serve and to edify in the church.

Let's read a couple of verses in conclusion from Timothy. First of all, 1 Timothy 4 and verse 14.

What we've talked about today is important. It's important to identify our talents and abilities and our spiritual gifts that God has given to us and to use them. God expects us to use our spiritual talents, well, our talents and our spiritual gifts. In 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 14, the apostle Paul wrote, do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, where gifts of the spirit or spiritual gifts are mentioned, the word for gifts in the Greek is charisma and or charisma. And this gift is one that God gives to us. It means a special gift for serving and for helping. And the word here in verse 14 is do not neglect the gift, the charisma, that is in you, which was given you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Now, was this the gift of God's Spirit at the time of baptism? Or was this the gift that was given to Timothy when he was ordained into the ministry? It's not real clear, but the main point is that he was not to neglect it. The charisma, which was to be used to serve and to edify in the church, do not neglect the gift that is in you. We don't want to neglect the gift that is in us either.

And that God is given to us. In 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 6, 1 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.

So, you know, we should also stir up that gift. Again, the word is charisma, or charisma, and it does mean a gift that we are to use for serving and for edifying. The word in the Greek actually means like an endowment. It's almost more than a present. The word for gift in Acts 2.4 is a different word that means more like present, that after we repent and are baptized, God will give us the gift of the Holy Spirit. But this word, charisma, means like an endowment, something extra that God endows us with, and we are responsible then for using it to serve and to edify in the church. So, Paul reminds Timothy to stir up the gift of God. Stir it up.

Stir up the spiritual gift then that God has given. So, we should then be sure that we stir up that spiritual endowment, the spiritual gift or gifts that God has given to us. Use our spiritual gift to serve and edify the church. I hope this sermon has expanded your understanding of spiritual gifts a bit. I think we need more discussion on it in the month of July, and I would like to discuss it further by thinking about how we can discover and how we can use our spiritual gifts to serve and edify the church.