Unwrapping Your Spiritual Gifts

SPEAKER 01 : 0:00

Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here’s Adrian Rogers.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:17

Back to the basics. Christianity 101, and I want you to take your Bibles today and find 1 Corinthians chapter 12. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and today we’re going to be talking about spiritual gifts. If you want real joy and fulfillment in your Christian life, I’ll tell you how to have it. Get right with God, then discover, develop, and put to work your spiritual gift. You are a gifted child, and the title of the message today is Unwrapping Your Spiritual Gift. Now look, if you will, in chapter 12, verse 1. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren… I would not have you ignorant. May I say that the world is saturated with ignorance on the subject of spiritual gifts. The devil wants to keep you ignorant, but you are a gifted child. You have, if you are a child of God, if you’re born again, you have a spiritual gift. Now, sometimes when we talk about spiritual gifts, people get a little antsy. They’re afraid of spiritual gifts. But that fear is rooted in ignorance. Most prejudice is rooted in ignorance. We’re so afraid of wildfire that we end up with no fire. Dr. Vance Happner said, we’re afraid we’re going to get out on a limb. We haven’t even been up the tree. Out on the limb is where the fruit is. And so we’re going to be talking to you about spiritual gifts. And there are three things I want you to see. First of all, spiritual gifts described. The description of these gifts. Secondly, I want you to see the diversity of these gifts. And I’m going to give you a long list of gifts, and you’re going to say, ah, maybe that one is mine. And then last of all, I want you to see the discovery of the gifts, how indeed you can discover your spiritual gift. And we’re going to get it right from the Word of God. Now let’s describe the gifts. Look, if you will, in verse 1. Now concerning spiritual gifts. The very first thing I want to say is this. They are spiritual gifts. The word here is pneumatica, spiritual. We’re not talking to you about a gift of money, a gift of beauty. a gift of health a gift of fame if i were to tell you how to have a brand new automobile maybe some of you would get out and begin to take notes but the problem is we’re not all that interested in spiritual things i’ve often heard it said oh we’re so heavenly minded we’re no earthly good but the truth of the matter is we’re so earthly minded we’re no heavenly good these are Spiritual gifts. What a tragedy to fail to understand that you have a spiritual gift. Not only are they spiritual gifts, they are supernatural gifts. Look, if you will, now in verse 4, there are diversities of gifts. Now the word for gift is a different word. One word was used in verse 1, pneumatica. Now here’s a word that is used, charismata. It’s the word we get our word charismatic from. The word charis is the word grace. And so a charismata is a grace gift. And what is grace? Grace is that which is completely, totally unearned. It is the sovereign work of God. It is the saving work of God. It is the supernatural work of God. And so if you have a grace gift, it’s different from talent. A grace gift is not something that is earned. It is not something that is learned. It is the grace gift of God. Therefore, if you have a spiritual gift and you do, there’s no room for pride. You see, every Christian is either supernatural or he is superficial. Now, here’s the third thing I want you to learn about these gifts. First of all, we say that these gifts are spiritual gifts. Secondly, they are supernatural gifts, verse 4. Thirdly, they are service gifts. Look, if you will, in verse 7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all. Now, what does it mean to profit with all? It means to profit the others, to profit the whole body. If you have a spiritual gift, it is not a means to an end. And you do have a spiritual gift. It is not for your selfishness. It is not to make you feel good. It is not to prove something to you. These gifts are not for evidence. They are equipment. They are not for your enjoyment. They are for your employment. They are to put you to work for the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not that you have a little gift that’s going to make you feel good. It is that God has given you a gift to profit with all. That is to profit the whole body. Again, it is not for your enjoyment. It is for your employment. Now here’s something I want you to notice very carefully. Your gift not only is a spiritual gift, a supernatural gift, and a service gift, but your gift is a sovereign gift. Look, if you will, in verse 11 of this chapter now. Verse 11, “‘But all these worketh that one and selfsame Spirit,’ he’s talking about the Holy Spirit, “‘dividing to every man severally or individually as he will.'” Now, you don’t decide what gift you’re going to have. You couldn’t decide what gift you’re going to have any more than you could decide in the natural realm what talents you’re going to have. Or to decide how tall you’re going to be. Or the color of your skin or the color of your hair. You can’t decide that. Well, some people do decide the color of their hair. But what I’m trying to say is this, that your gift… Your gift is a sovereign gift. The Holy Spirit of God chooses your gift. Your joy and responsibility is to discover the gift that God has given you. Now some people get the idea that in verse 31 that we’re told that we are to seek a particular kind of gift. Look in verse 31, “…but covet earnestly the best gifts, yet I show unto you a more excellent way.” Some people think that we’re to pray, oh God, give me this gift or give me that gift. But the word covet here, zaleo, usually used in a bad connotation. And what he is saying here is this. THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH. THEY WERE SEEKING, THEY WERE COVETING THE BEST GIFTS AND TO THEM THE MORE SHOWY GIFTS LIKE TONGUES AND MIRACLES. AND WHAT HE IS SAYING HERE IS THIS, HE IS SAYING YOU COVET THE BEST GIFTS. This is not imperative, it is indicative. What he is saying is this is what you’re doing. You’re coveting the best gifts. But he said, I’m going to show you a more excellent way. And then he speaks to them in one entire chapter about love. What is a spiritual gift? A spiritual gift is a sovereignly bestowed gift. You’re not to want or covet somebody else’s gift. You’re to say, oh God, thank you for the gift that you have given to me. These gifts are sovereign gifts. Now next they are salvation gifts. Look if you will now in verse 12 and find out when you got your gift. For as the body is one and hath many members, and all of the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ, that is the body of Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. Now some people say, have you gotten the baptism of the Holy Spirit? If you’ve been saved, you’ve gotten the baptism of the Holy Spirit. For by one Spirit have we all been baptized into one body. Not some of us, all of us. If somebody asks you, have you gotten the baptism of the Holy Ghost? You can say, yes, I got the baptism of the Holy Ghost when I was saved and put into the body of Christ. For by one Spirit have you all been baptized into one body. And when you were put into the body, you were put into the body of Christ with a function. Your spiritual gift enables you to function as God puts you in the body. You may be put in as a hand, a foot, an eye. But wherever you were put into the body, that is the way that you are to function. Now, when you got saved, you got your spiritual gift. Just as you got your natural proclivities when you were born naturally, you get your supernatural proclivities when you are supernaturally born. And your spiritual gift is a salvation gift. When the Holy Spirit came into you, He did not come in empty-handed. When you were born, you were born a gifted child. Do you have that? When you were born spiritually, when you were born again, you were born a gifted child. And for by one Spirit have we all been baptized into one body. The moment the Holy Spirit of God placed you into the body of Christ, He placed you into the body of Christ to do a particular thing. Every body has a ministry. Now, you may not have a ministry because you don’t know you have a ministry, but you have a ministry. That is that when you were saved, you had a sovereign, supernatural gift that God equipped you with. Now, you may not yet have discovered it. A little baby that’s born in the natural world has hands. Have you ever watched a baby discover his hands? That little baby when it’s born doesn’t know it has hands, but later on that baby can become an artist, a pianist, a violinist, a surgeon, as he learns how to use these hands. But he didn’t get the hands later on. The parents didn’t take the baby back to the hospital and say, now put the hands on. The hands came at birth. The child has to discover his hands. The child has to develop his hands and then deploy his hands and put his hands to work. Do you have it? These gifts are salvation gifts. Now let me say something else. They are support gifts. Look, if you will, in verse 17 of this same chapter. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? Wouldn’t that be grotesque? Some of you today wore a 195-pound eyeball. If the whole body were an eye, you couldn’t hear a thing, could you? But you could sure see good. If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? In other words, suppose you are a great big ear, but you can’t smell anything. But now notice, but God has set the members, every one of them in the body as it hath pleased him. And he goes on to say that the eye needs the ear and the nose needs the rest of the body and so forth. What’s he saying? That God gave us different gifts. And the reason that God gave us different gifts is to make us one. Now, if you don’t learn anything else that I’m trying to say to you today, I want you to learn this, that God made us different that he might make us one. God gave me some gifts he didn’t give you. God gave you some gifts he didn’t give me. And each of us have individual gifts. And together we must depend upon one another. And that is what makes the church the church. These are support gifts. And therefore, if you try to exercise your gift apart from your relationship to the body, it’s going to be absurd. Now my hand, there’s my hand. There’s nothing particularly wrong with that hand. I think it’s a pretty nice hand myself. And I don’t think you’re necessarily repulsed by it. But if it were cut off from my body and flung out there on the floor, I think you’d say, ugh. If you walked in and saw a hand lying on the floor this morning, you’d say, that’s grotesque. That’s repulsive. The hand is significant only as it is a part of the body. Your spiritual gift is here to support the rest of the body to profit the whole body. God made us different that He might make us one. The Bible says when one member suffers, every member suffers with it. When one member rejoices, every member rejoices with it. You ever hit your thumb with a hammer? Boy, if you have, you know there’s hardly a pain like that, hitting your thumb with a hammer. I’m talking about one that makes the thing turn blue later on. I wasn’t there when it happened, but if you did, I can tell you I know just about what happened. The very first thing you did was to grab it. I’ll tell you what else you did. The next thing you did, you put it in your mouth and sucked it. Now I’ll tell you the third thing you did, you did a little dance like this. Now, what do your knees have to do with your thumb? I don’t know. But I’ll tell you that dance helps. When one member suffers, every member suffers with it. These gifts are support gifts. God put us in the body and God gave us gifts to support one another. It is sheer pride for you to say, I don’t need the church. You need the church. And I’m going to tell you something else. The church needs you. Now, here are the gifts described, and I have given you six descriptions of these gifts. Now, let’s talk about the diversity of the gifts. There are many, many gifts. You say, well, Pastor, if I am a gifted child, I want to know what my spiritual gift is. Well, I’m going to read some of the gifts here, and I want you to see if you can hear your name called. Look in verse 4. There are diversities of gifts. Diversities of gifts. Now let’s skip down to verse 8 and begin to look at them. In verse 8, he mentions wisdom. For by one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. What is wisdom? wisdom is a spiritual gift. Have you ever known people who are gifted with wisdom? I’m not talking about common sense. You can be unsaved and have common sense. I’m not talking about horse sense. You know what horse sense is? That’s what keeps a horse from betting on a track meet. That’s horse sense. But I’m not talking about that. Wisdom is not common sense. It is uncommon sense. People who have the gift of wisdom make wonderful, wonderful counselors. Maybe that is your gift. Or in verse 8, a word of knowledge. It doesn’t say that you know everything. Nobody knows everything. But the charismatic gift of knowledge is the ability to know things that you could not know apart from the anointing, the guidance, the giftedness of the Holy Spirit of God. The devil’s counterfeit of this is clairvoyance. But you can know things through the Spirit that you couldn’t know any other way. As a matter of fact, Simon Peter knew that Ananias and Sapphira were telling a lie in Acts chapter 5. How did he know that? He wasn’t there when they carried on the transaction. He had a word of knowledge, a word of knowledge. I’ve had that happen to me on a few occasions. I don’t think that’s my gift, but I was preaching in South Georgia in a revival meeting one time. And while I was preaching, there was a man that people were praying for. Somebody came in and tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him to come out. He was the sheriff of that county. As he walked to the back of the congregation, right in the middle of the message, I felt impressed to say this. There goes Sheriff so-and-so. There most likely has been a wreck. Liquor has been involved. And somebody has been killed. He left. About 1130, that night, he came and knocked on my motel door. I came out. He said, I need you to lead me to Jesus Christ. I want to be saved. There had been a wreck. A car hit a logging truck. A broken liquor bottle was in the front seat. And the man who was killed was the man who ran against this man, the sheriff of that county. Now, how did I know that? How did God put that in my mind? I don’t know. It wasn’t part of my sermon. I was surprised when I heard myself say it. I just believe and answered a prayer for this man as people were praying. God wanted him to be somehow convicted and convinced by that. I don’t have the gift of knowledge, but I think sometimes we can have flickers of these things. There is the gift of knowledge. There’s the gift of faith. Look, if you will, in verse 9, to another faith by the same spirit. Now, all Christians have faith in the general sense. But this is in a very specific sense, the gift of faith. He describes it in chapter 13, verse 1, if I have faith that could remove mountains. This is mountain moving faith. If you want to find the story of somebody who had the gift of faith, read the story of George Mueller of Bristol. This was a man the whole Christian world knows who had unusual faith. He had the charismatic gift of faith. He could believe God for certain things. And I thank God that he puts in the church people who have this kind of faith. And I know some in this church how they encourage me because of their great and strong and mighty faith. There’s a little lady in this church I believe has the gift of faith. She is a constant encouragement to my heart because of her faith. Let me tell you that George Mueller of Bristol was a preacher. He raised millions of dollars for orphans without ever telling a person about his need. Incredible stories. One day he was off the coast of Newfoundland and there was a great fog and he went to the captain of the ship and he said, why aren’t we moving? And the captain said, I’m sorry, we can’t move in this fog. It would be unsafe. And Mueller said, but I’ve got a speaking engagement and I, I cannot miss it. And it’s very important. You must get the ship moving. He said, we’ll move the ship when the fog is lifted. He said, very well, let’s go to the chart room and ask God to take away the fog. The old sea captain, knowing the ways of the sea, just went with George Mueller just to humor him. They went into the chart room and got down on their knees. And Mueller prayed like this, God, you know I’m supposed to be in thus and such a place at thus and such a time. And the captain says, he won’t move the ship till the fog is gone. So God, I ask you to take away the fog. Thank you, Lord. Amen. Now, the… The captain later reported this. He said he prayed a prayer that was so simple that it was like a child would pray. Then he said, I began to pray and Mueller rebuked me and said, don’t pray. He said, why not? He said, two reasons. Number one, you don’t believe he’ll do it. Number two, he’s already done it. And the captain said he got up and went out and looked and the fog was gone. Now, you explain that I don’t have that kind of faith. I wish I did. I believe in God. I have faith. But there is that kind of faith that he’s talking about which is the gift of faith. And then in verse 9 he speaks of the gift of healing. Actually, the Greek word is healings, plural, because there are all kinds of healings. There are physical healings, mental healings, spiritual healings. And there are some that God has given the ability to heal. This does not mean if you’re a doctor that you have the gift of healing. You can be saved and have the gift of healing and not be a doctor. You say, well, pastor, I’m going to ask you about a certain preacher. Do you think he has the gifts of healing? Well, God has given me permission not to answer you. Let me tell you, that man or whomever you’re thinking about. will report into God. But I believe with all of my heart, because I can read black print on white paper, there are people who have the gift of healing. You can do with that what you want, but I do believe there is a supernatural charismatic gift of healing. You can read the Bible and you can see that there are gifts of healing. But of course, God uses medicine and thank God for medicine. Jesus said, they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Jesus said, sick people need a doctor. That’s pretty good advice to me. They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But there are the gifts of healing. Then there are gifts of miracles. Now look, if you will, in verse 10. To another, the working of miracles. pastor do you believe in miracles of course i believe in miracles why number one i believe the bible number two i believe there is a god and to say there cannot be miracles is simply to limit god and to say that god is the prisoner of the world that he has uh created are there miracle workers today there probably are do you know any no i don’t do you think it would be wonderful if we had some miracle workers in our church Well, they’d be nice. But I’ll tell you this, that miracles are not much good in converting the unsaved. As a matter of fact, Jesus had to step over the miracle mongers in order to do his ministry sometime. But there are miracles that are performed. And you’re going to find as you study the Bible that miracles came mostly in clusters. There were the miracles surrounding the creation. There were the miracles, for example, surrounding the ministry of Elisha and Elijah. There were the miracles surrounding the ministry of Jesus, the miracles surrounding the ministry of the apostles, and the miracles that are prophesied for the last days. And so there are gifts of miracles. You say, well, if you’re Spirit-filled, will you do miracles? Not necessarily. The Bible says that John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb. But notice what the Bible said about John the Baptist in John 10, verses 41 and 42. And many resorted unto him and said, John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true. That is, everything that John said about Jesus is true. And many believed on him, on Jesus there. What a blessing. I’ll tell you what, I’d rather have the power to point men to Jesus like John did than to raise the dead. I mean that with all of my heart and soul. John did no miracle. He was a spirit-filled man. But the ministry of John was that he pointed men to Jesus Christ. Now, maybe miracles are your gift. Then there’s the gift of prophecy in verse 10. Now, what is prophecy? Prophecy is not primarily foretelling. It is foretelling. telling, although the prophets did sometimes foretell. There is the office of the prophet, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, and there’s the ministry of prophecy. You say, Pastor Rogers, what do you think your gift is? I think it is prophecy. I think it is prophecy. Well, what is prophecy? Prophecy is not telling people off. That’s not what the gift of prophecy is. Friend, not at all. If you want to know what the gift of prophecy is, 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verse 3. He that prophesieth speaketh unto men unto edification and exhortation and comfort. There you have it. That’s the threefold ministry. Edification, exhortation, and comfort. What is edification? To build up. What is exhortation? That is to fire up. What is comfort? That is to shore up. I believe that that is one of the gifts that is greatly needed, and especially to preach the Word of God. As a matter of fact, if you read chapter 14, you’re going to find out that he spends almost an entire chapter showing the superiority of prophecy over tongues. And there is the gift of prophecy, to build up, to fire up, to shore up people. Now there’s another gift in verse 10, and that is the discerning of spirits. Now that, what does that mean? Well, we live in a world that is filled with malevolent spirits, wicked spirits, evil spirits, vile spirits, demon spirits. Do you believe in demons, pastor? Yes, I believe there are demons. I’m not trusting them, but I believe concerning them that demons exist. And I believe these demons are lying spirits. And Satan himself has transformed himself as an angel of light. And God gives some people a spirit Spirit of discernment, they can look in and say that is of the devil. It’s the devil parading around in an angel’s garb. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And we need in the church today those who have the discerning of spirit’s giftedness. It’s a greatly needed gift. Then he mentions in verse 10 the gift of tongues, glossa, glossolalia, speaking in tongues. The word glossa means tongue or language. In the back of your book is a glossary in many books. That means it’s a listing of words, an explanation of words. And what is the gift of tongues? The gift of tongues is a supernatural gift to praise God in a foreign language that you have never learned. On the day of Pentecost, the apostles who had this gift began to praise God. And people from every nation under heaven that were there in Jerusalem heard them speak in his own language. They were praising God, not in an unknown tongue, but in a known tongue. The word unknown is supplied by the translators. It’s not there in the original. It simply is the word tongue, language, a foreign language. And these people were impressed. They were impressed. They said, how did you learn these languages? We never learned them. The Bible says that tongues are not for assigned believers, but to unbelievers. Tongues are not assigned to God’s people about anything. They are assigned to unbelievers. Paul said, I speak with tongues more than you all. Where did he do it? On the mission field. And God supernaturally gifted him. And it may be that God would give you the gift to praise him in a language that you’ve never learned to convince unbelievers that they might come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then there’s the gift of the interpretation of tongues. What is the gift of interpretation of tongues? Well, the word interpretation is the normal word which means the translation. Let’s suppose that we had a busload of Russian tourists to come in here today. Let’s say they’re Russian Jews because tongues were primarily assigned to Jews. And let’s say that they were to come into this service and sit down today. And suppose that God were to touch me and give me the ability in perfect fluent Russian to begin to praise God. I don’t know Russian, but I began to praise God in a foreign language. I began to speak and say, Jesus, you’re wonderful. How I love you. I praise you. And these people come to me and they say, Where did you learn Russian? I don’t know Russian. Well, friend, they are convinced that something supernatural is going on. If I’m up here speaking in Russian, you’re saying, what on earth is the pastor saying? You don’t know. Well, then he’d have to have the gift of interpretation or somebody because nobody’s to be in the dark. I am praising God in a language I have never learned. You’re interpreting a language supernaturally. God has given you the ability and so everybody is blessed and everybody is convinced and nobody is sitting in the dark. These are spiritual gifts and God does that. Now does God still do that today? He can if He wants. He’s God and I’ve resigned from being God. Now let me tell you something friend. God is God and God can do whatever He wants whenever He wishes. But if he does do what he does, he’s not going to contradict his word right here in the Bible. Well, you say, Pastor, I’ve been going down the list. I haven’t found mine. All right. Just turn to Romans chapter 12 and let’s look at the other list because this is not the only list. Romans chapter 12, beginning in verse 4, he speaks of some more spiritual gifts. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another. That is, these are support gifts. Now look in verse six, having then gifts differing. All right, we’re still on the same subject, still tracking. Okay, having then gifts differing according to the grace, the word grace, charismata, according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy. What is prophecy? We’ve already mentioned that. Might be your gift of preaching, jail services, mission work. Or ministry. Look, if you will, in verse 7. Ministry is acts of service. And oh, we need this gift. Thank God for this gift. This is general church work. Those who type, those who usher, those who coach, those who work in the nursery. You say, it doesn’t take supernatural strength to work in the nursery. Hello? Hello? Listen, the gift of ministry, a greatly needed gift. You ought to do every committee meeting, every choir practice, everything that we do ought to be done in the power of the Holy Spirit. Then he mentions the gift of teaching. Thank God for the gift of teaching. Now, a gift of gab won’t make you a teacher, but the Holy Spirit of God can. In Sunday school, whether you’re a missionary teacher, in mission organizations, if you’re a mother, you might have the charismatic gift to teach your children at home. Thank God if you have it. Then he mentions the gift of exhortation. What is the gift of exhortation? It’s greatly needed in the music ministry. Have you ever heard a singer stand up and sing? Maybe not have the same voice quality that somebody else has, but when they sing, God is all over them. And the message just comes home to your heart, and you are blessed and moved. Why? Because it is more than just a display of beautiful music. They are exhorting you. They are firing you up. That’s the gift of exhortation. If you have it, fine. There’s the gift of giving. Now all of us are to give like all of us to have faith. But thank God there is the gift of giving. What is the gift of giving? It is the ability to make money and to give money wisely and to give money sacrificially. There’s the gift of ruling. He mentions that here in this same passage. What is the gift of ruling? It is the ability to administrate. People on church staffs often have the gift of ruling. Committee leaders, people in leadership. You might be a coach. And you’re coaching for Jesus and leading boys and girls. And you have the gift of ruling. It means administration and leadership. There’s the gift of mercy. Oh, how we need the gift of mercy. And maybe that is your gift. What is mercy? It is showing the love of Jesus Christ. These people have the gift of mercy. We have many of them in our church, in hospital visitation, benevolence committees, in counseling. They are the people who love and wrap arms of love around people. Thank God for a church that has the gifts of mercy. Let me talk to you about the discovery of your gift. How can you discover your gift? Let me give you three principles. You’re here still in Romans chapter 12. First of all is the principle of lordship. Look in Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. Now he’s talking about your service to the Lord. And he says, Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You want to find the will of God for your service? Then just present yourself to God. Say, Lord, here I am. Here I am. You see, your gift has to have the power to operate it. Suppose you got married and you got a lot of gifts. You got a waffle iron, you got a toaster, you got a blender, you got a television set. Then you moved into an apartment and there’s no power. What good is the gift if you can’t plug it in. You see, God gives you the gift when you get saved, but the gift begins to operate when you get the power to operate that gift. And the power to operate that gift comes when you present yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ and you say, here I am, Lord, I give myself to you. First principle is the principle of lordship. Second principle is the principle of stewardship. Look if you will in verses 3 and 4. For I say through the grace, the charis, the charisma given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Three times there he says think, think, think. Now… God has given you a gift. You’re to be a steward of that gift. You’re not to sit, soak, and sour, but you’re to say, now, God, if you have given me a gift, what is my gift? Now, in verse 2, the Bible says that you’re going to renew your mind. Well, if God gave you a renewed mind, what do you think you ought to do with it? May I suggest that you think with it? Wouldn’t that be a good idea? If God gave you a renewed mind, wouldn’t it be a good idea if you have a renewed mind that you began to think? And how does he say to think? To think not more highly than you ought to think. Not to think that you have some gift that you don’t have. You know, not to say I have this gift or I have that gift. But on the other hand, don’t say you don’t have a gift. Because if you say you don’t have a gift, you insult God to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man a measure of faith. God has given you a gift. You’re a steward over it. There’s the principle of lordship, the principle of stewardship. Now here’s the key and the wonderful thing. There is the principle of fellowship. Look if you will now in verses 4 and 5. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given unto us, and so forth. Now, there is the principle of lordship, the principle of stewardship, and the principle of fellowship. Now what does that mean? Well, in plain English, listen, in plain English it means this. You belong to me and I belong to you. Do you know how you can discover your gift? Let me tell you how you can discover your gift. Get in the body of Christ and go to work. It’s hard to steer a ship that’s not moving. How does my hand know it is a hand? It can function in the body. How does my mouth know that my hand is a hand? My hand feeds my mouth. Now, what I’m trying to say is this, that if God is giving you a gift, God will be confirming that gift to somebody else. And your gift is going to bubble up. It’s going to come out as you get in the church and you go to work and you’re going to find your brothers and sisters saying, would you do this? Would you help me here? May I talk to you? May I counsel with you? Would you please sing this song for me? Would you tell me what this verse of scripture means? And on and on, you’re going to find your gift coming to the surface. Why? Because we’re members one of another. And you put those three principles together, the principle of lordship. You just say, Lord, I present my body to you. He’ll renew your mind. Then the principle of stewardship. God, if you gave me a gift, I’m going to think, what is it that I like to do? What is it that I feel good about doing? You need a ministry, and God has given you a gift. And the word charis means both grace and it means joy. When your grace gift comes and you put it to work, then the joy of the Lord is going to begin to flow in your heart.

SPEAKER 01 : 35:11

If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with Him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.