Spiritual Gifts, Part 5

Let's see. First, let me make sure everyone got a copy of the two handouts. Did anyone miss any of those?

Okay, good. All right.

Okay, very good.

Today, we will be hopefully wrapping up our series of studies on the subject of spiritual gifts.

This is the fifth in a series of sermons on that topic. To briefly cover, remind us of what we have covered. In the first, we gave an overview of what the Bible teaches about spiritual gifts. In the second, we went through and saw how the Bible defines the various spiritual gifts that are mentioned in Scripture. In the third, we had an exercise to determine what our spiritual gifts might be. From the list of seven, they're given in Romans chapter 12. In the fourth one, we covered the context of Paul's writings about spiritual gifts in three chapters, Ephesians 4, Romans 12, and 1 Corinthians 12, and how they all relate to his comments about the body, about the church being a body of believers, and how important it is for the body to work together, to grow together as a body. When I first started this series, I wasn't sure how long it was going to take, because I wasn't sure how much material I would choose to cover. As I sat down earlier this week, trying to put together this last one, I realized I had enough material for three more sermons on the subject. But with the feast coming up, I wanted to wrap this up so we can get going after the feast back into our series on the Gospels. That's one reason why I gave you these two handouts today, because that was material that I was planning to give in the other two sermons, which I won't be giving, but it is reference material for you. I won't be going through that today. I'm just giving it to you as a reference. I'll refer to it here briefly. One of the requests I had, well actually before I get into that, I'd like to... what we'll be talking about in the sermon today is three basic themes that relate to putting our spiritual gifts to use. That is the title for today's sermon, Putting Our Spiritual Gifts to Use. Today, we'd like to talk about three different aspects of that. Those are namely, how do the seven gifts or personality types contribute to the church, several key points to remember about spiritual gifts, and the importance of being right stewards over what God gives us. All of these are very important aspects of this.

First of all, then, how do these seven gifts or personality types contribute to the church? How do we put them into practice? In other words, this is a question that one of our members asked me to cover in this series. This is where the two handouts come in because there are several ways. I'll cover some specifics here. But also, what I would encourage from the assessments that we went over, I would encourage all of you to look at these handouts in light of what the assessment showed to be your primary strength or area there in terms of personality type. One of the handouts, the single page one, has a number of different biblical examples of individuals who appear to have had that as their primary strength.

What I would encourage you to do is go through and read all of the scriptures relating to that and see how they exercised that particular gift. Then the other is how Jesus himself exemplified all of those different gifts. Many different example scriptures there for you to read over. This is one way that we can do that is to study the biblical examples and see how the individuals with those gifts exercise those gifts in service to God and to other people.

Again, please go through that as a reference. We won't be going through that in services today. Now let's look at some specifics of how we would utilize these gifts as it would relate to our congregation here. Our congregations in the United Church of God are obviously fairly small. Consequently, we may not have as many types of responsibilities or jobs as there might be in a congregation of 100, 200, 300 people, something like that. We are somewhat limited in the number of programs and types of service that we would offer.

By way of example, I've mentioned this book before, Discover Your God-given Gifts, and I've given some material for it. It's rather interesting this book is written for a much broader audience, but he actually has five pages of types of jobs in a church setting where people could utilize their gifts and describes which are more appropriate for each of those areas. But again, that's oriented more toward a church of 500 to 1,000 or more people.

And again, due to our size, we're just not going to have that number of different types of programs and activities and so on in the church. So I'm tailoring this what I'll be covering now more to our local congregations here along the front range or the typical size of most of our United Church of God congregations. So let's look at the seven different personality types in order as they are given in Romans 12, which we've talked about before.

And I might mention, too, that after the feast we'll be going through and updating our organizational charts and our duty roster here along the front range for our congregations. We've had different people move in, move out, move from one church area to another. So we do need to update those, and I felt it would be an appropriate time to do that after we finish this series on spiritual gifts. So as I go through these areas, think about ways in which you might like to serve here in the congregation here locally.

So the seven personality types that we've talked about are perceiver or prophesying as it's referred, which would encompass the meaning of someone with a gift of perception here. Those people, the strengths that they have, are they are very good at identifying good and evil or right or wrong, you might say.

They tend to see things in black and white, as opposed to a number of shades of gray. They can be quite outspoken there as well. Some of the ways that are helpful for people to utilize this particular gift are in counseling, because they are perceivers. They tend to have a better insight, deeper insight into peoples and groups of people, into a number of different things like that. They're good at visiting for that same reason, for helping people in that way. They're good at intercessory prayer.

We all should be praying for one another, but what makes it different with someone with a gift of perceiving or perception is that because they have that gift, they are able to have more insights, generally, into where a person needs help, where they really need prayers, what would be most helpful to the individual at the time. Same thing goes with visiting. That's one way they can be very helpful with visiting other members.

They tend to pick up on things that others would not pick up on, and are consequently able to better help in that way. They're also good at teaching adults or older youths. They're not necessarily so much with children because if you're frank and outspoken, that's not necessarily going to be good for interacting with children there. Moving on to the other area, those with the gift of serving. We find that some of the characteristics and strengths of those with this gift are they see needs and meet them.

They're good at working with hands, doing things like physical setup here, taking care of that type of thing. They're very detail-oriented, generally hospitable. They generally do more than is asked. They have high energy, and they are doers, not just sitting back and watching things, but they're actually in their doing things.

They're also, in terms of seeing needs and meeting them, it's not just in a congregational setting here at church services on the Sabbath or Holy Days, but also individual needs, shut-ins, helping people like that, or people who need help in other ways, taking care of their house, some maintenance problems, things like that. So some of the ways they can utilize these gifts are through physical service, through things like setup for services, through assisting others in need, again, in any number of settings, through hosting events.

I like the suggestion Mr. Hines brought out in his sermon at there for the feast. It's a wonderful way to serve people, strangers that you don't know who are part of the body of Christ. And they're also good at using physical talents such as choir, special music, that type of thing. They are artwork, any number of ways to serve, and that way as well. Next on our list from Romans 12 is those with the gift of teaching.

These people are generally, their strengths are they are self-disciplined, they are logical, and they are good at applying scripture to life and instructing others in how to apply scripture to life. Some of the ways that they can be effective in using this gift are teaching in a spiritual setting, as it's Sabbath services, Bible studies, youth, young adult, or youth, or teen Bible studies. They're good at public speaking, good at mentoring younger generations, good at writing, good at research of biblical and other types of topics. Next on our list is, and I'm going through these fairly quickly.

If you miss writing these down and would like to get that, feel free to write or email me later. Next are those with the gift of exhortation.

These are people, their strengths are they love to encourage others, they like to, they're more concentrated on applying truth rather than research. That means, for instance, if they're studying giving a message, sermonette, or sermon, or Bible study, they're better at emphasizing how you apply that information rather than just researching the information itself. They're often quite willing to help, they want to see change, both in themselves and in others, and they see trials as a growth opportunity, not just a grievous affliction on somebody. They see it as an opportunity for growth. Some of the ways to use this, if you're an exhorter, you exhort generally through public speaking there, through supporting other individuals, through encouraging others in trials. That can be through writing, cards, phone calls, visiting there as well. They're also generally good at teaching all ages, from pre-teen on up.

There, this here are some of the ways that can utilize this gift. Next on the list, for moment 12, is those with the gift of giving. Their strengths are the give of time, money, and energy.

Some people have money to give. Some people don't have the money, but they have the time to give. Some can just give gifts if they don't have either time or money. Maybe something handmade, a nice card, something like that. Often these people give without other people knowing about it, because they're not doing it for public recognition. They're doing it because they feel drawn to use that gift that God has given them. They generally are good at handling money wisely. As a result of that, they have money that they can share and help out with others.

As in the announcement I just read about the needs of the members there in Africa, our generosity and the members here have been very generous and donated help to members in that way there in Africa. They're generally quick to volunteer. Because they believe that God is the source of all, they don't see it as a loss to them if they give things that they have of their time or of their money. Because if God is the source of everything, He can replace that money. He can help make up for what they have given. Some of the ways to utilize this gift are in visiting others again and helping others in any number of ways. If you find out a need that needs to be met, they're good generally at hospitality, having people over again, that sort of thing, inviting people over for lunch or dinner after Sabbath services or other nights of the week.

They're good at serving and various activities, and they are also good at teaching as well because of that gift. Next, we come to those with the gift of leading or administration, as it's called, in Scripture. Their strengths are they are generally highly motivated to organize.

They're generally clear communicators in what needs to be done. They prefer to be under authority in the sense of seeing that everything is done decently and in order. However, they will assume responsibility if no leadership exists because they don't want to see things descend into confusion and that sort of thing. They're generally visionary, and they enjoy delegating and supervising people there to get whatever job needs to be done. Some of the ways to utilize this gift in service to the church are in organizing programs, events, and activities.

That wouldn't necessarily be here in the local congregation, although that would be the biggest need, but also serving at the feast. I know we have men along the front range and ladies too who help out with things such as mother's room at the feast. Some have organized cards up there for sending to shut-ins, helping and supervising with ushering, with sound crew, with video recording, any number of things like that. So they're good at organizing these programs, events, and activities, and overseeing them as well. They are also generally good at teaching or on the adult level because they are operating on a somewhat higher level in terms of overview of things. They're not necessarily good at working on the level of children, but rather on a higher level there because the children can't necessarily understand a lot of those concepts and so on.

Let's see, last but not least, we come to those with the gift of mercy or compassion. These people have a large capacity for love. They look for the good in people. They're generally attracted to those who are hurting. They can sense when something is wrong. By the way someone is acting or their tone of voice, things like that, they can pick up on those clues and cues that others of us may not. They generally take action to help and remove the hurt that others are experiencing, and they do thoughtful things for other people all the time. They generally avoid conflict and confrontations, and they are generally involved in good causes, whatever that might be, not necessarily within the church but elsewhere as well. Some of the ways they are good at utilizing these gifts would be in visiting others. Again, ties right in with showing mercy and compassion.

Good at calling, phone calls, sending cards, letters, that sort of thing. Often they're very good at simply listening to others, which is a great gift, just having people to listen to you. Sometimes that's all you need when you're going through a problem or trial, just the proverbial shoulder to cry on. They're also very good generally at helping children, because children tend to operate more on the emotional level rather than the logical level. So because these people are tuned in emotionally, they can identify well with children and help them out in that way.

Also, in teaching children in pre-teens, Sabbath school settings, things like that, or becoming kind of a big brother or big sister type programs there would be very good.

So these are some of the specific ways, and again we'll be updating our organizational charts and duty rosters after the fee. So be thinking about these ways that you might be able to utilize what God has given you in terms of serving in the congregations here. Now another question I need to bring out here that ties in very much with this is, if we have a particular gift, is our gift the only gift that we are to exercise? In other words, if your gift is teaching, is that the only thing you are to do? If your gift is giving or serving, is that the only gift that you would exercise?

And the answer to that question is from Scripture, no! We are to exercise all seven in our lives, and there are clear biblical instructions about this. I have many, many scriptures that I won't have time to cover all of them, but we will cover some key ones here. Now, by way of background, answering this particular question is, what we do isn't always what we are. We each have these innate personality characteristics that we've been discussing in this series that God gave us, and that is what we are. That is also how we will likely primarily serve within the church, within the body, because that is where we will feel most drawn to serve because of our natural inclinations, and also that is where we are probably best at serving. Consequently, we will get a certain amount of satisfaction out of that. However, God's Word tells us that we are to all exercise all of these gifts that we've been discussing. Now, why does He tell us to do this? Why does He tell us if He's given us one particular gift or a combination of gifts, why does He tell us to exercise all of them or to put all of them into practice? Well, a couple of different reasons for that. One is that the needs are always there. There are always going to be needs there. Perhaps we may be in a congregation where those needs are being overlooked because nobody recognizes or nobody knows about those particular needs. Perhaps we're in a congregation that could use some servers, but there aren't any servers in that congregation. So what happens to those people who have needs? The shut-ins, people who are sick, people who need meals brought over, that type of thing. What happens? Well, if other people don't pick up and contribute to serving in that way, those needs are going to be unmet there. So the needs are always there and God wants us to be on the lookout for ways to serve the body in every way. Another reason that we are to exercise all seven is that we serve in these ways for our benefit, too. Now, don't get me wrong. I've discussed a lot in this previous series that the whole point of exercising our gifts in the right way is to serve the body, to build and to edify the body, and not for self. And I'm not contradicting this. What I mean when I say that we serve in these ways for our benefit, too, is because by doing this, by stretching ourselves, you might say, in ways that we're not perhaps naturally comfortable in doing, what does that do? Well, that helps us become better overall people, to become more well-rounded.

It helps us to meet, again, the different needs that are out there in the church that perhaps are not being met. So, in this way, they benefit us as well because we become better servants.

There. That's the whole point, is serving and exercising these gifts.

Let's see. Another point for this is that we are told to exercise these gifts so we can perhaps better identify our gifts. We've gone into great detail discussing all of this material over a number of different sermons, probably material that you've never really thought about before, never heard before in the context of the church. I think we all have learned, those of us who've been getting on up there in years, that we function best when we are functioning in those areas that we are best at. We're most productive there. We get the most done when we know what our strengths are and able to build and utilize those strengths. In the church context, it's very important when we are utilizing those strengths to help and serve others. It's where we are most effective, where God has placed us within the body. So if we don't know our gifts, we can kind of stumble around figuratively in the dark for perhaps years in the church and never really quite find a place or a way to fit in and really serve the body. So by God telling us to exercise all of these functions within the church, we can find out what we're good at and then serve the church in that way.

And last but not least, another reason we are to exercise all of these is for all of the above.

All of the above. I think they're all very valid reasons why God tells us to do all of these things. So let's notice now God's instruction about our need to serve in all seven of these ways.

And this does not mean that we'll be serving in all of these ways all of the time by any means, but that we will be doing all of these at some point during our tenure in the church. So the first of these, prophesying or perceiving. I'll just give you one scripture and a few others you may want to write down here. This is for lack of time. I don't have time to cover all of these.

But Paul tells all of the church, pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. Now again, that's not saying that you may get up and stand and speak in an inspired way. It services every Sabbath, but rather it's referring to the same concept, the Greek, that is to have the kind of insight and understanding that we should have into what's going on.

There, some will share that in a public speaking type of way. But again, we do see that Paul tells people to desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may have this particular gift.

Other references there are 2 Timothy 4 and verse 2 and Proverbs 1 and verse 2.

Moving on, the next of these is serving, the area of serving. Galatians 5 and verse 13.

Paul says, Through love, serve one another. No exceptions. Through love, serve one another.

Again, it shows the attitude, the motivation there. You do this out of love. Serve others out of love. Other scriptural references, Matthew 25 and verse 40. Colossians 3, 23 and 24.

Psalm 100 and verse 2 and John 12 and verse 26. Again, I'm going through these fairly quickly, so if you want to catch me later to fill in any of this, feel free to or you can listen to the tape on this later. The next area, that of teaching. Very famous scripture, but hopefully we understand this a bit better now. Also, as a result of going through our gospel series, Matthew 28, verses 19 and 20. This is his instructions to all the church. Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So we see here a command for all of the church to teach others to become disciples, to become followers of Jesus Christ. And this again is one of the reasons for going through the Gospels in such details as we're doing. Because how can we teach everyone how to observe all the things that Christ has commanded if we're not familiar with his life, with his teachings, with his example, all of that. So all of this ties in very much together here. Some other scripture references Colossians 3 and verse 16, and 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15. Next we come to exhorting from Hebrews 10 verses 24 and 25.

Notice what I said here, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. So this is very important for us to assemble together, to not forsake coming together for God's Sabbath services, but to to do that and even more as we see the times in which we live. And every Friday night I send you out an update about different things going on in our nation, in our culture, in the world around us that show the increasing depravity of the society and the culture in the world in which we live here. That's why I send that so we'll understand the nature of what is going on in the world around us and where things are heading. Some other scriptural references here, Hebrews 3 and verse 13 and 1 Timothy 4 and verse 13. Next we come to the area of giving. I have a quote here from Luke 6 verse 38, Jesus Christ's words about our attitude toward giving.

Give and it shall be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together. In other words, you know, taking what he's referring to as a basket of wheat or barley, something like that, and shaking it so it settles down and you can fit more into it. That's how generous God is.

He's going to give us back in return for what we give.

Something is just packed with his blessings here is the point that is made here.

Shaken together and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. So if we give generously, God promises to give back to us generously. If we give stingily or begrudgingly, that's the way God is going to give back to us.

A few other scriptures to refer to. Matthew 10 and verse 8 and Romans 12 and verse 13.

Regarding this, next the gift of leading or administrating. 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 40, instruction to everyone, let all things be done decently and in order. Here that applies to everyone here and that is what leading and administering are all about. Have things done decently and in order. Not chaotic, not confused. Other scriptural references for this. Mark 10 verses 42 and 43. Matthew 25, 21 and 1 Timothy 3 verses 4 and 5. Finally, the area of showing mercy and compassion. Again, instructions to all of us from 1 Peter 3 and verse 8. Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another. Love as brothers. Be tenderhearted.

Be courteous. Other references, Matthew 5 and verse 7. Galatians 6 and verse 2. Colossians 3, 12 and 14. And Zechariah 7 and verse 9. So we see from all of these passages that we've gone through, that even though we may have just one or two key strengths or gifts that God has given to us, we're to put all of these into practice in our lives here. They are clear scriptural commands, as we've seen and gone through, and not just ones we've read, but all the others as well that cover the same type of instruction there, that we are to exercise all of these different gifts that God has given us. Now we'll move on to the second major aspect of this sermon. I've broken it into three parts. The next section we'll be talking about is key points that we need to keep in mind or remember about spiritual gifts. I have seven of these here, seven key points. Some of these are taken from material we covered previously, some not so much. But one of the first key points, we talked about this quite a bit last time in particular, relating the spiritual gifts to the body. How that in the three chapters where Paul talks about spiritual gifts, he also talked about the church being a body and how we are all members of that one body. But the first point is we are not placed in the body of Christ randomly or by chance. God puts us in the body for His purposes to carry out His purpose. I'd like to back up for this 1 Corinthians 12, one of the chapters on spiritual gifts, verses 18 through 27. Reading from the NIV, which makes us more clear, Paul says, but in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. And then skipping down several verses to verse 24, but God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

And continuing in verse 26, if one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

So again, to summarize, God has placed us all in the body for His purpose. And not randomly, not by chance, God has a place and a purpose for each of us. And He's given us gifts, talents, abilities that we can use to serve the church in the way that He has placed us. So God has fiddly framed, to use a biblical phrase, the body, and put us there for a purpose for that.

Again, we talked about this quite a bit last time. If you missed that sermon or that material, you may want to go back and listen to the recording or download that sermon from our website there.

Next key point to keep in mind regarding spiritual gifts is the purpose of our gifts. I've emphasized this many times, but I don't think I can emphasize it enough. The purpose of our gift or gifts is to strengthen and build up the body.

Major problem the Corinthians had, and this is why a lot of people have negative views about spiritual gifts, is the Corinthians were abusing those gifts horribly. They were using it to compare themselves among themselves. I'm better than you because I have the gift of speaking in tongues. Well, no, I'm better than you because I have the gift of healing. No, I'm better than you with your gift of tongues because I interpret tongues. And that makes me better because without me, your gift is useless. And they're having these arguments and divisions and schisms in the church because of that. Because they lost sight of the whole point and the purpose for God giving those gifts, which is to strengthen and build up the body. And this is spelled out here very clearly in 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 12 from the NIV. Paul says, "...since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church." Excel in those gifts. That is the whole point to build up, to edify the church, the body. Another scripture we've read before, but to remind us of it again, Ephesians 4 and verse 16. Talking about how Jesus Christ, from whom Jesus Christ, the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint, it's actually talking about ligaments that hold the body together at the joints, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. And again, this is from one of the chapters of spiritual gifts here. Every part has its share for the edifying of itself in love. So the purpose of our gifts is to strengthen and to build up the body so that we might become... well, ultimately, what is our goal? Let's talk about this same chapter, verse 13. What is the point? Ultimately, our goal should be that of perfectly mirroring Jesus Christ, becoming like Him in every way. We see that from Ephesians 4 and verse 13. This is after He talks about the different ministerial roles in the church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and so on. He says that God gave those gifts. Why?

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. So that is the goal we are to work for. Realistically, however, we all have a long way to go toward reaching that goal.

However, God requires us to work together as a body to compensate for each other's shortcomings.

Again, that's why we have different gifts. Not all the same, not all with the same gift.

But God requires us to work together to compensate for those gifts and add our own unique gifts and talents and abilities to the mix until we are collectively and individually at the point where we reach the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

That's the whole point, that we grow to become like Him in every way. None of us are whole or complete when we're born, and none of us are whole or complete when we are called to be a part of God's church. It's a growth process. And as we submit to one another, as we serve one another out of love to build a body, as we gain new perspectives from interacting from one another, as we allow the proverbial iron to sharpen iron there with one another, what happens as a result of that process? We gradually become more and more like Jesus Christ in every way, which is the whole point. And the church, you might say, is the workshop in which that process takes place, becoming more Christ-like through the power of God's Spirit and through the whole body edifying itself together in love. A third key point to remember about spiritual gifts is, though we are all in the same body, we all have different functions and gifts. This ties in a bit with the first point where God has placed us in the body as He sees fit. But the point is that we are one body, but we all have different gifts, different functions within that body. Romans 12, one of the chapters on spiritual gifts from the NIV, so in Christ we who are many form one body.

And notice this, each member belongs to all the others. As I talked about quite a bit in the last sermon on this, what He's saying here is what good is a finger that's off by itself? What good is an eyeball that's off by itself? What good is an ear that's off by itself? Or a toe or an ankle or something like that? No, each member belongs to the one body and it's all one interrelated body where all the parts of the body rely on the other parts of the body to survive and carry out their functions. There's a whole point that He's making with the analogy of the body. Verse 6, we have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. Verse 7, if it is serving, let him serve. If it is teaching, let him teach.

If it is encouraging or exhorting, let him encourage or exhort. If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously. If it is leadership, let him govern diligently. If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Again, this is the passage from which we draw, those seven gifts that I've talked about here. Leading, serving, giving, exhorting, perceiving, teaching, and so on there. We all are part of the same body but with different functions and different gifts that are different from all the others. I'd like to elaborate a little bit on this point again here. That is, why do we have different gifts? Why aren't we all alike?

In other words, wouldn't things work more smoothly in the church if everybody was just like me?

I mean, we'd like to think that, wouldn't we? Every church member should be just like me.

Why does God give us different gifts, different combinations, different talents, different abilities? Well, the reason he does this is because our different spiritual gifts allow us to see needs in the body or the church that others overlook. I have my unique gifts. You have your unique gifts, your unique way of looking at the world and looking at other people. Because we have those different ways of looking at different people and seeing or not seeing their needs, some of us are going to pick up on ways that that person can be served and help, and others will pick up on different ways there. My wife, I'm very blessed to have Connie. She's very perceptive in a lot of ways that I'm not. She's continually pointing out different things to me that just go right over my head. I'm just not geared. I'm not wired in the way that she is. I think most of our men can identify with that. I know the Shribers could because they talked about quite a bit in our marriage seminar that we had down in the Castle Rock area here not too long ago.

This is one reason why God gives us different types of gifts there. Another is that so that we can meet the needs in the body in ways that others cannot. Again, some with a gift of exhortation, for instance, people, one person may need cheering up. They need to be somebody with that gift of exhortation who can encourage them in ways that other people might not.

Some may have a physical need, a home repair, a car repair, something like that, where somebody with a gift of giving might be able to help them with some money or know how to do the repairs, the labor that's needed there. So God gives us different gifts so that with our combined collection of different gifts, the needs of all of the body can be met through that combination of gifts that God gives to all of us. Another is a reason that He gives us different gifts is to help the entire body be strengthened in love. Again, to help the entire body so that everyone's needs are met and being fulfilled and taken care of. Not just physical needs, but emotional needs, spiritual needs, mental needs. We all have many different types of needs. Another reason He gives us different spiritual gifts is, again, the point we just covered, to help the entire body grow to become more spiritually mature like Jesus Christ. And as the individual parts of the body grow and mature, so does the whole body grow and mature. I know just digging into this subject of spiritual gifts has opened up all kinds of areas in the scriptures for me to see and to understand. I've tried to share all of this with you. Hopefully, as a result of that process and others doing the same types of things, that's how the whole body can grow and understand how we interrelate, how we work with one another, how we serve one another out of love there. So as the individual parts and grow, the whole body collectively grows and matures in that way. And a final reason that God gives our different spiritual gifts is to reflect the fruit of God's Spirit in our lives. The fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

The points of Mr. Hines mentioned there in his sermon at there, the fruit of the Spirit, that we're to exercise in our lives. And we will each exercise those fruits in somewhat different ways as we serve one another, as we serve the body there. So another key point to remember about spiritual gifts is, I haven't really talked about that this much before, but we are expected to stir up the gifts that are in us. Both the gift of God's Holy Spirit, which he gives us through the laying on of hands at baptism, as well as our individual spiritual gifts. And we find this reflected in Paul's instruction to Timothy. Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. We're not sure whether it's referring to receiving God's Holy Spirit at baptism, which is a gift that God has given to all of us, one of the greatest, probably the greatest gift he has given us, his Spirit. Or whether perhaps it's talking about different gifts of the ministry that Timothy received through the laying on of hands of Paul and other elders here. We just don't know, but it applies equally either way.

But another passage, it ties in with this, again from Romans 12, one of our chapters on spiritual gifts, verses 6-8 from the NIV. Again, we just read this, but it makes the same point of using those gifts, of stirring up those gifts, not letting them go to waste within us. Let's read it quickly again. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve.

If it is teaching, let him teach. If it is encouraging, let him encourage. If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously. If it is leadership, let him govern diligently. If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Paul's point is, use these gifts.

Don't let them go to waste. We'll talk more about that in the last section of this sermon in just a few minutes. But we should be asking God for understanding of what our gift, or gifts, are and asking him to guide us in how to best utilize those in serving the whole church.

God has given us those, so let's ask him how we can best use those to effectively help build, and edify and serve the body of Christ. We should realize that it is a privilege to have received our calling to be a part of the body of Christ, and ask God to help us become a more effective part, to serve the body, to best fulfill the specific role that He has placed us in the body to play, utilizing the gifts that He has given us. Tying in with this is another point, and that is, if we're to stir up the gifts of God that are within ourselves, we should also recognize, appreciate, and encourage the use of others' spiritual gifts. Not just our own, but others as well. We see this reflected in Hebrews 10, 24, and 25. Again, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works in others. And the way we do that is by not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. I was referring to Sabbath services. Coming together is part of God's commanded, assembly on the Sabbath, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the day approaching. So His whole point is, again, to stir up love and good works, service, in other words, within the church, among the entire body. So we shouldn't just be stirring up the gifts God has given us, but also encouraging others, and that way as well, to help them to see how to utilize their gifts as well.

Let's also look at 1 Peter 4 in verse 10. Another passage it ties up, ties in with this. This is instruction to the entire church. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others. Again, the whole point. Faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. We heard an excellent sermon on grace from Mr. Kubik. Two Sabbaths ago here. God's grace in its various forms. God's goodness, His love toward us, that is exhibited in many, many ways in how He loves us, and loves the body of Christ, and gives us gifts for serving and building the body there.

Sixth point here. The overriding motivation for use of all gifts and talents, whether spiritual or physical, should always be love and an attitude of humility. Again, 1 Corinthians 12, 31 through 13.8. You'll recognize this as the love chapter here.

Chapter 12, Paul goes through the different spiritual gifts we've been talking about and others. But he concludes that discussion by saying, but earnestly desire the best gifts.

And yet I show you a more excellent way, something that is even better than these gifts I've discussed here in 1 Corinthians 12. And what is that better way? There's no chapter break in the original. He goes right into what we know as the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. And then he says, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And I discuss this at some length in the sermon last time. Paul goes through and he talks about these different gifts that he's just talked about in chapter 12, and goes through and points out that if they're not exercised out of the right motivation, which is love, they don't do any good. They're useless in the long run. Continuing on, verse 12, though I have the gift of prophecy, one of the gifts he talked about, and understand all knowledge and all mysteries and all knowledge, one of the gifts he talked about. And though I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, one of the gifts he talked about. But I don't have love, I am nothing.

And continuing on, verse 3, though I bestow all my goods to feed the ports, one of the gifts he talked about, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

And then he goes on and explains why love is a much better gift. The love that God has given us and the love that flows through us to serve others. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself. It is not puffed up. It does not behave rudely. It does not seek its own. It is not provoked. It thinks no evil. It does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, one of the gifts he talked about, they will fail.

Whether there are tongues, they will cease. One of the gifts he talked about. Whether there is knowledge, one of the gifts he talked about. It will vanish away. His whole point is that ultimately, when we are all a part of the family of God and His kingdom, that all of these different gifts of healing, speaking in tongues, knowledge, wisdom, whatever they may be, they're all going to vanish away. There's not going to be any use for them when everyone is perfected like Jesus Christ in His kingdom. That's the whole point He makes. So if our motivation is not love, we're in trouble because love is what is going to remain. Love is what is going to carry over when we are transformed at the resurrection to become a part of God's family. Because if we don't have that love, we're not going to be a part of that resurrection of the dead. We're not going to be a part of that kingdom and that family forever. So if our actions aren't driven and motivated by love, we're not going to be there. That's the whole point of what He's saying here. And that's why all of these other things are going to vanish away. But love is what matters. Love is what is going to remain there through the end. Continuing on, the last of these seven points here, I want to mention here briefly, is an important role of the ministry is to prepare the body for works of service and to build and bring unity to the body. And that's why I felt it incumbent on me to share this information with you here about spiritual gifts. Because that's what Paul says. Ephesians 4 verses 11 through 16 from the NIV. It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers. And it went through these different roles and responsibilities in the second sermon of this series. So we won't go through that again. But why does He do that? Why does He appoint these different roles and responsibilities in the church? He tells us in verse 12 to prepare God's people for works of service. Of service, of serving one another. Why? So that the body of Christ may be built up. So it might be edified. So that it might mature. To what end? Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature. First we just read a few minutes ago, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Let's see. Yeah, instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the head that is Christ. That is the goal. That is what we're oriented toward. And verse 16, from Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. That's how the body grows again, by each part doing its work.

So our role as elders within the church is to help each member understand and utilize the unique gifts, the abilities, the talents, the passions, the strengths of each individual. That's a part of our responsibility as the ministry. After all, what is our future? What is the end game for this? What is it all pointing to? It's all pointing to, as we see in Revelation 20, verses 4 and 6.

This describes the future for us. I saw thrones, on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. They came to life, referring to the first resurrection, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Blessed and holy are those who have a part in the first resurrection. They will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

So the future for all the members of the body, both individually and collectively, is to reign with Jesus Christ over the entire earth, in the millennium, and then beyond that, in the period of the Great White Throne Judgment. So we should all be preparing for that future role. In the ministry, our role is to help prepare you for that role. So we should be preparing for that, not burying our gifts, not letting them atrophy, not utilizing them.

So we all work together to learn where God has placed us in the body. As we do that, we need to pray for guidance as we come together to work together as a body, to grow together as a body, to appreciate one another as a body. And by recognizing and utilizing those gifts, we all become involved in the work of God, which is not only preaching the gospel, but also preparing a people to meet this future that we see here, becoming kings and priests in God's family and His kingdom. The last third and final area that I want to talk about in this sermon is that of stewardship. I want to ask the question, what kind of steward are you?

What is a steward? It's a word we probably recognize from many times in the Bible. It's used fairly regularly there, but it's not a word we use much today. We don't hear about stewardship. We don't hear about somebody being a steward, maybe an airline steward or stewardess. That's probably where we'd hear the word. But even there, what is their role? What does it mean when we talk about a steward? Even though we don't use the word that much today, it is a concept that is very real because, in effect, a steward is simply someone who manages or takes care of something for someone else. Someone who manages or takes care of something for someone else.

A steward is not an owner. A steward is someone who is responsible to the owner for properly taking care of and using what the owner has entrusted to him. Let's break it down to real life because, whether you realize it or not, most of us are stewards. If we're not currently, we certainly are at some point in our lives. For instance, if you work for someone, you are a steward. For example, if most of us work on computers in some form or another in our jobs, if you're working on a computer that belongs to your company or to your boss, you are a steward over that boss's property, that computer. You've been given that computer why? He's given you that computer to help you be more profitable, more productive in your work, in the service that you're doing for him.

How is your boss going to take it if you break that computer or if you just let it sit on your desk and gather dust and you don't utilize it? You don't figure out how to turn it on, how to make the software work, how to utilize it for the job that he's given you to do using that computer. How's your boss going to take it if you don't do that? He's not going to be very happy, is he?

There's a direct analogy to that with what God has given us to use. Maybe you don't work with computers, maybe it's just tools that you use in some form or capacity. Maybe your job involves a vehicle, perhaps a company car or something, and that car isn't given to you for your pleasure. It's given that vehicle, that car, that truck, whatever, those tools. Why? To help you carry out and serve the person who has given you those things to be a profitable servant for him, to be productive for him, to produce more than what you could do otherwise without that computer, those tools, or that vehicle, or whatever. So in other words, you are a steward over those things. They don't belong to you. They belong to somebody else. And you have been given those things to produce a profit for the owner of those things, which is your company or your boss.

But what are the implications of that then when it comes to spiritual gifts?

Well, who do our gifts really belong to? Who do we really belong to? We belong to God.

And consequently, the gifts that he has given us belong to God. And we are stewards over those gifts. The gifts that he has given to us really belong to him in the bottom line. Why did he give us those gifts? We've talked about that many times. He gave us those gifts to build the body, to encourage, to build the body and love, to edify the body, to strengthen it, to help others, to serve others. In other words, to produce a profit, to be profitable servants, to do things we would not otherwise be able to do for him if we did not have those gifts.

That's why he gave them to us. So thus, my question, what kind of steward are you over what God has given to us? Let's look at a few scriptures here. 1 Peter 4 and verse 10. We read this earlier, but it relates directly to this. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another. How? As good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

So Peter tells us here that we have received a gift from God. We received a gift to minister or to serve, use that gift to serve others. How? And in recognition of what? In recognition of the fact that we are stewards of the manifold grace, the goodness, the love, the generosity of God.

So it tells us directly we are stewards over the gifts that God has given us.

Let's notice another scripture, 1 Corinthians 4 and verse 1 and 2.

Let a man so consider us, he's referring to himself as an elder here, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

What happens to a steward that isn't faithful? It's not going to be a steward for very long.

So what does this mean for the spiritual gifts that God has given us?

Paul says plainly here twice that we are to use the gifts we have received as good stewards of the grace of God. So what does that mean for how or whether we use the gifts that he has given us?

Jesus Christ gave a parable, actually two parables, but we'll only cover one of them, that directly relates to this concept here. Matthew 25 verses 14 through 30. We'll wrap this up with discussion of this particular parable because it has a lot of lessons here regarding gifts, regarding talents, regarding abilities, regarding the things that God has given to us. Jesus Christ says, For the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, he's using heaven as a synonym for God, for the kingdom of God is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. He gave them something to be stewards over, in other words.

And to one he gave five talents, or abilities, or gifts, you might say, to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability, and immediately he went away on a journey.

So what's being talked about here? Well, in that culture, a talent was a unit of weight.

So the value of a talent would vary depending on whether the item that is given is copper, or bronze, or silver, or gold. Christ doesn't give a specific value on it. So regardless of the metal, though, Jesus is talking this amount of five, or two, or one talent. He's talking about the equivalent of thousands of dollars that he's given to his servants.

And of course, the man who is traveling to a far country, who is that? It's Jesus Christ.

He's going away to a far country, and he gives gifts to his servants to do things with while he is gone, and before he comes back. You can see the obvious analogy there of Jesus Christ going away and coming back and requiring an accounting of us for what we have done with the gifts that he has given us. Now, talent in that day was a Greek word that meant money, or again, a unit of weight, which meant money, depending on, again, whether you're talking copper, bronze, silver, gold, whatever. It's from this parable that we actually get our modern use of the term talents, as we would think of artistic talent, or singing talent, or something like that.

Again, in context, Jesus is talking about money, but in the intent of the parable, talents would apply to everything, anything and everything that God has given us, whether it's our material possessions that he's given us, whether it's our abilities, our talents, whatever they may be, our skills, our gifts that he's given us. All of these are things that God has given us. And as this parable makes clear, we are expected to produce a profit for God from what he has given us. And just as in this parable, the man who is going away to a far country gives these talents to his servants and goes away and expects them to generate a return on his investment, so does God. Expect to generate a return on his investment in us by what he has given us. Again, considering he gives different amounts to different servants based on their innate abilities, you might say, their innate level of ability. He expects more from those he gives more. He expects less from those to whom he gives less, in other words.

Christ distributes spiritual gifts in this way, considering our innate abilities or disposition there. So both the Father, God the Father and Jesus Christ, are aware of our innate abilities there, our individual strengths and weaknesses and so on. Consequently, they have chosen and placed us in the body as we talked about earlier as they see fit. So let's continue then with the parable, verse 16, with that type of background there. So the man representing Jesus Christ has gone away to a far country and now he's coming back to settle accounts with his servants.

Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents. And likewise, he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his Lord's money. After a long time, the Lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So when the master returns, he is demanding an accounting, requiring an accounting of these servants. How had these three individuals used the talents and abilities that God had given them? Verse 20, so he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, Lord, you deliver to me five talents. Look, I have gained five more talents besides them. As Lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You are faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.

Enter into the kingdom, in other words, is what this is referring to. Verse 22, continuing on, he who had received two talents came and said, Lord, you deliver to me two talents. Look, I have gained two more talents besides them. As Lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things.

Enter into the joy of your Lord. Then he, verse 24, we come to the third servant, then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid.

And I went and hid your talent in the ground, literally buried it. Look, I'm giving back to you what you gave me. No more, no less. What was the reaction?

But his Lord answered and said to him, verse 26, you wicked and lazy servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have at least deposited my money with a banker so that at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. That's the least you could have done, but you didn't even do that. You went and buried it in the ground. Therefore take the talent from him and give it to him who has ten talents.

Verse 29, for to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance. But from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. Now, to many people they read that and say, that's not fair. Why take it away from the guy who didn't do anything with it and give it to the guy who's already got ten? Redistributing wealth here. But what does God say? God's point is I expect you to increase. I expect you to work with what I have given you and produce more. If you don't do that, you're an unprofitable servant. You know, if you've got a financial advisor, somebody that you're investing your retirement funds with or whatever, who are you going to give your money to? You're going to give it to the guy who comes back and doubles your money in a year. You're going to give it to the guy who comes back and says, well, this is a bad year. You know, we you gave me ten thousand dollars and here's ten thousand dollars back. You're going to give anything more to that guy? No way! You're going to take your money out of him and give it to the guy who doubled your money.

God's the same way. God expects us to produce. God expects us to grow. God expects us to contribute to the body for the edification of the whole body, as we've talked about so much here.

Verse 29, for to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

Again, the question, what kind of steward are you?

God's given us gifts. Are we using those gifts?

If we're not, what's God going to do with them?

They're his. If we don't use them, he's going to take them away.

Going to take them away. And what happens then?

And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So we see from this parable that two of the servants are rewarded for doubling their talents. And one is condemned for burying his talent, for doing nothing with it, for not utilizing it.

Discovering our spiritual talents is one thing. But utilizing them and multiplying them is critical. It's a critical aspect of our obligations, our responsibilities as Christians.

The point of this parable is, again, that God expects us to use the talents, the gifts, the abilities, the skills, the strengths that he has given us. And that to neglect those will lead to two things. Having them taken away from us and eternal punishment. It's that simple.

Although God is the source of spiritual gifts, each of us has our part to play in how we utilize those gifts. How we develop those gifts, how we build those gifts that God has given us. We can be a profitable utilizing of those gifts. We can regard those gifts and do all within our power, our means, our abilities, and our time to serve the body. Or we can be neglectful. We can be irresponsible. Or we can ignore those gifts with the result that ultimately they're going to be taken away from us. As we read earlier, Paul tells the Corinthians to earnestly desire the best gifts, but then he goes on to show them a more excellent way as we covered there. That the using of the gifts that God gives us in love and outgoing concern for others, reflecting the love of God toward others, as well as exercising and building godly character is what he expects of us and the gifts that he has given us. So again, what kind of steward are you? What kind of steward will you be? In conclusion, I'd like to wrap this up with some of the words of Jesus Christ found in Luke 12 verses 42 through 44.

And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food and do season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. So let's utilize the gifts that God has given us properly with wisdom, with humility, motivated by love and service to God and to one another, pleasing God as good steward so that ultimately, as he promises here, he will share with us and make us rulers over all that he has in his coming kingdom. So I look forward to seeing you all this coming Thursday on the Feast of Trumpets down here in the auditorium. So have a good Sabbath!