Determining Your Gift

Transcript

GR 1349
04-15-07
Determining Your Gift
I Corinthians 12:9, 27-30
Gil Rugh

We're studying the book of I Corinthians together and we've been looking into chapter 12 on the subject of spiritual gifts. You might turn to I Corinthians 12. We're going to be in two basic passages today—I Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. We have diverged from our normal pattern of just moving through verse by verse and considered somewhat topically this matter of spiritual gifts. And we will conclude that study together, that focus on chapter 12 and then we will be ready to resume our study of I Corinthians with chapter 13, and then we will go back to moving in a normal verse-by-verse pattern. We're not done with spiritual gifts when we leave chapter 12, chapter 13 continues on that subject and so does chapter 14. We'll be considering matters that we haven't directly considered.

We've divided the gifts into two basic categories—those which were temporary, gifts that God gave as a result of the resurrection and ascension of Christ, the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers, God-given special supernatural abilities, some of which were temporary, for the founding of the church, for the early stages of the church. We looked at those various gifts. Now we've been looking at what we call the permanent gifts, gifts that continue in the church down to our present day. We noted the gifts are given in the analogy of a physical body. So we talk about the local church, you have one local church but various parts, just like your physical body is one body but it has a variety of parts. So the spiritual gifts are the individuals who are gifted by the Spirit to contribute in a variety of ways.

The permanent gifts we've looked at are the gift of teaching, involves being able to communicate in an effective and understandable way the truth of God's Word. The gift of ministering or helps, and the general area of serving and helping covered in this gift, that supernatural ability to serve or help, all the variety of ways that go on that facilitate the functioning of the body and its growth. The gift of administration was to help in the oversight and cohesiveness of the functioning of the body and the exercising of its gift, a supernatural ability to provide leadership and oversight and guidance for God's people in the exercising of their gifts. The gift of evangelism was that special supernatural ability to be able to share the gospel with unbelievers and be used of the Spirit to bring conviction to them and see many of them come to know Christ. Then the gift of pastor/teacher which incorporates the gift of teaching, but adds to it that gift of pastoring and the oversight and shepherding of God's people. We noted in the construction in Ephesians 4:11, all pastors are to be teachers, but not all teachers will also be pastors. We talked about some of that distinction.

Want to look at what would really be the sixth in my list of the permanent gifts. Back up to Romans 12. Romans 12 is another major section on spiritual gifts in the New Testament. It is not nearly as extensive as I Corinthians 12-14, but very important section nonetheless. Verse 6, Paul says, "Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each of us exercise them accordingly." Then he goes on to talk about various gifts. And we've not taken these in the order either of I Corinthians 12 or Romans 12, but when we're done we will have covered them all.

Come down to verse 8. He is showing that you discern your gift, and we'll talk about how you discern what that gift is in a little bit, you function your prime energies in the exercising of that gift. So verse 8 says, "He who exhorts in his exhortation." The gift of exhortation is that ability to encourage and challenge other believers, to help them apply the Word to their lives and see the necessary response they should have, to encourage them to proper decisions, to comfort them with the Word in particular difficulties. This word translated exhortation here carries the idea of exhortation, comfort, admonishment, entreaty. Same basic word we have in John's gospel talking about the Holy Spirit who is the paraclete. And that's the same basic word as we have here. One who comes alongside of to give aid or comfort, encouragement, exhortation. So this is a person who is able to take the Word of God, and it's always with the Word of God.

Turn over to Romans 15:4, "Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement". There's our word, the encouragement, the comfort, the exhortation of the scriptures we might have hope. A person with the gift of exhortation he's referring to is able to take the scriptures and bring them to bear in a special way on the situations that a fellow believer is going through. We get an idea of the flavor of this word by its use in other contexts. Let me just read them to you, for time we won't turn there. I Thessalonians 2:11, Paul said he encouraged them, exhorted them as a father would his own children. That gives you an idea of the flavor of the word, just like a father encourages and exhorts his own children, to help them grow and develop. That's the flavor of this word. In II Timothy 4:2 Paul says that Timothy is to exhort with great patience and instruction. Important to understand, we talk about Biblical exhortation and encouragement and the gift of encouragement or exhortation, we're not just talking about a person who can give good advice, we're talking about a person who can take the Word of God and give Biblical advice and help a person to see what they should do in light of the scripture and what the scripture says about their situation, who can bring comfort to them from the scripture in the difficulty they're going through, help them with perhaps a difficult decision that has to be made in light of what the Word of God says. In Titus 2:15 Paul tells Titus that he is to exhort with all authority, and to exhort with all authority because you are doing it with the Word of God. So you're not just a listening ear. The gift of encouragement or exhortation is a person who brings the scripture to bear on whatever situation or circumstance a fellow believer is involved in.

We use the word generally today, the word counseling, but that word has become so corrupted by the secular connotations and influence. I think we ought to go back to the Biblical word here of exhortation and encouragement. This is just simply opening up the Word and helping a person walk through whatever they're going through and helping them do what needs to be done.

Again, as we mentioned, all of us as believers are involved in each of these areas to one degree or another. But those with the gift in a particular area are going to be exceptionally capable as a result of the Spirit's work in them, to be especially effective in this way. All of us can give encouragement from the scripture to a fellow believer, or to challenge a fellow believer to a particular right course of action. But a person with a gift of exhortation will be especially effective in this kind of ministry.

We'll stay in Romans 12, verse 8, the next gift after exhortation is he who gives, with liberality. And the gift of giving is very simply supernatural ability to give of your material possessions in a special way to support the Lord's work, in a way that involves unique liberality. If your gift is giving, you do it with liberality. That would fit. If your gift is giving it means you're going to give in a greater way out of your possessions, with liberality, generously, without ulterior motives.

In II Corinthians 9:7 Paul talked to the Corinthians about their giving as a church, but not limiting it to just those with the gift of giving. But he says our giving should be done not grudgingly or under compulsion, but cheerfully. That's true of all believers in their giving. But those with the gift of giving will lead the way in this. They give cheerfully, liberally and beyond what the average Christian perhaps would be giving. Now some commentators believe that this would probably mean that these Christians are given more by the Lord. That may be so in many cases, I don't know that it's required. Because a person may not have great material means but may give a large portion of what they have to the Lord's work. And that is an encouragement and a blessing to the body. That challenges the rest of us who do not have the gift of giving to be more faithful in our giving. The scripture warns that we are not to do our giving for display. In Matthew 6:14 Jesus rebuked the spiritual leaders, the religious leaders of His day because they did their giving for show. And Jesus said, they already have their reward—they did it for the approval and applause of men, and they got it. That's all they're getting, they'll get nothing from the Lord. But let me say something here about the gift of giving. Since it involves money and material things, we often make a point that this has to be kept secret. But as in all the gifts there is potential for abuse. I can be up here as a pastor/teacher doing this for the glory that comes to it. Everybody sitting here, all eyes are on me, and they're listening to me, and I want them to be impressed with what a good sermon this is. In case you don't recognize it, this is a good sermon. I can be doing it for the wrong motive, but that doesn't mean therefore since teachers or pastor/teachers or anybody with their gift can abuse it or misuse it, they shouldn't do it. I sometimes think we lose some of the blessing in the body of Christ that would come from those who have the gift of giving that encourages me. As a result of being a pastor here, I often have opportunity to be aware of some of the giving that goes on. I don't check your giving, I'm not privy to that kind of information generally, but I do become aware from time to time of gifts given, people make me aware sometimes of what they are giving. And I have to say I find a special blessing and a challenge to me, and an encouragement to me when I become aware of this. Sometimes I thought, I wish the rest of the body could know this, so that they could experience the encouragement and blessing that comes. I realize it becomes somewhat delicate because we say, we don't want to parade this. But it's no more fleshly than a person who is misusing their gift of teaching, or misusing another gift, their gift of serving, and they're doing it so people think, they work so hard. They may be working hard, people recognize it, but the motivation of their heart is to serve so that the body can grow.

Back up to Acts 4. I am encouraged and blessed as I work through a series like this. I can say in all the gifts I've looked at that God has blessed the church with today, I find myself as I work through each of these gifts, I've been here as your pastor for a long time, I find people coming to mind that clearly demonstrate this particular gift or this particular gift. And I'm just reminded, what a blessing it is in the ministry of our church. And we're just reminded that we have so many people that God has graciously brought to the body and gifted to contribute in each of these areas, it is so clearly seen.

In Acts 4, we're right at the end of Acts 4. "Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles, which translated means son of encouragement". You'll notice you have a marginal note in your Bible, it says exhortation or consolation. There's our word. Barnabas evidently had the gift of exhortation, but he perhaps also had the gift of giving. We'll say something about having more than one gift in a little bit. Not only did he encourage, but he also encouraged by his giving. Look at verse 37,"And he owned a tract of land, he sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet". This was clearly a public act and evidently when the church was gathered as a church for its meeting, Barnabas brought the proceeds from the sale of his land and presented it before the apostles, which was something the church was aware of. Now you know what followed through on that is chapter 5. A man and a wife named Ananias and Sapphira. They sold some property and they recognized the honor and recognition that Barnabas got for giving what he sold his land for to the church, so they came and pretended to give everything like Barnabas did. But they didn't, they just gave a portion of it. And Peter rebuked them, remember, and said, it was yours, you didn't have to give any of it. But you can't lie to the Holy Spirit and pretend you're giving more than you're giving. And they're both struck dead. Now we could say, what we learn from this is it is better to do your giving in secret because maybe if Barnabas had just silently come up to Peter privately and said, I want to give this gift anonymously, then Ananias and Sapphira wouldn't have had to die. But the scripture never handles it that way. Ananias and Sapphira were guilty, and Barnabas is honored and recognized here in scripture for his deed. All of that to say I don't think we should be overly sensitive on this matter. I can't discern the motives of a person's heart. You don't ultimately know why I'm preaching this sermon. You know we can't analyze other people's motives, when we start to do that we get into trouble and we try to play the role of God. We say, I know why they were really doing it. No, you don't. Paul says I don't even know for sure myself what my motives are. Remember he wrote to the Corinthians, I'll have to wait until God does the judging of the motives of my heart. So we want to be careful here. I say that in the area of our giving. It's rare that we bring these things publicly to mind, but I do think there is benefit in it. I think sometimes that you as a body lose the blessing. Now the body is blessed because the giving comes in and we benefit from that. And people with the gift of giving carry much of the weight financially of the ministry here. That is a blessing. We all give, but there are people who give exceptionally, and we do benefit from that. But it is a spiritual gift. If I would stand up and say, we are blessed that so-and-so gave so much, that ought to . . . Oh, why would he say that publicly? Well, I don't stand behind a curtain and teach, lest somebody know who it is. I mean, some people think they worship Gil Rugh out here. Well, that's their problem, you know you don't. And so in they are of the gift of giving. It is a great blessing we have people throughout our body who give generously and sacrificially, and it is a great blessing to the body.

All right another gift, still in Romans 12:8, is the gift of showing mercy. The last part of the verse, "He who shows mercy, with cheerfulness". And we're skipping some here, remember, because we've not taken the gifts in order, but we have covered these various gifts. He who shows mercy does it with cheerfulness. The gift of showing mercy is that supernatural ability to manifest compassion, mercy, pity, bring comfort and help to suffering believers. So it's particularly focused on believers going through difficult times. Maybe somebody is experiencing sorrow, physical illness, the loss of a loved one. This is not just feeling pity for someone, feeling sorry about something, but it is that supernatural ability to act upon that concern and be used of the Spirit of God to bring the necessary help in that particular situation. A person with the gift of mercy is to do it with cheerfulness, because by its very nature, when you're dealing with showing mercy, you're dealing with people having struggles, problems, going through pain. They don't need someone to come there and commiserate with them. I don't know how you're going through this, I couldn't take it, I don't know how you bear up. They need somebody who can come in and be the help they need, and that sometimes involves doing things for this person that they're not able to do for themselves. We have people in the body here who are gifted in this way and they are such a blessing to see them function. It's the Lord who enables them to be so effective in this context. We sometimes get the sense, I feel guilty, I should be able to do that. I can't be what someone else is. I can learn from them, doesn't mean I shouldn't show mercy, that I can't be a help to a person going through a trial and a difficulty. But I won't have the same effectiveness, supernatural skill in the doing of that. I've sometimes have been in situations and I observe people, and I go away, I'm just amazed at how the Lord has gifted them. They just know what needs to be done, they do it, they're cheerful in doing it. It's the gift that God has given them and many of us benefit from that gift when we are going through particular difficulty and trial. So the gift of showing mercy does focus particularly on those in special needs, going through a hard time, a difficult time, a painful time, sickness, death usually come to mind, but it can be in other kinds of contexts as well. And some of you have experienced that. They come in, they just do what needs to be done and they do it in a way that is such a help and such a blessing.

There is one other gift I want to mention here and I left it to this point. It's the gift of faith and it's mentioned in I Corinthians 12:9. "To another faith is given by the same Spirit". And I've put it here, I mentioned it under the temporary gifts. I can see this gift in either a temporary gift or a permanent gift, depending on how you define it. Some people define it as a temporary gift, and that fits I Corinthians 12:8-9, because the gifts in verses 8-9 are temporary gifts, as we've looked at already—the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, tongues. They are all temporary gifts as we know it, and so it would fit that the gift if faith He's talking about would have been that supernatural ability to trust God and move out even when they didn't have a completed New Testament. That faith that God would give certain individuals to act when they didn't have the completed Word of God to be a guide and give them the assurance they needed. So in that sense I am comfortable with is being a temporary gift. But I can also see that it could be classified as a permanent gift because there do seem to be people in the body that are gifted with that special ability. We all have to have faith, even as they had to in the New Testament, but there are people who have that special supernatural ability to trust the Lord and move forward when others are timid, even believers, and reluctant to do it. But they do have that confidence and faith that the Lord is leading this way. It always has to be rooted in the Word and consistent with that. So I can see it as a gift that can be placed either way, depending on definition and will leave that to you to sort out.

Now about whether people have more than one gift. I don't see any reason a person doesn't get more than one gift. In fact I can say for sure, people can have more than one gift. But it does seem that a person has a gift that stands out. Now the reason I would say a person can have more than one gift. Back up to I Corinthians 7:7. Paul is talking here about the marriage relationship, a husband and a wife, and the sexual responsibility within the marriage context. But in verse 7 Paul says," I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God". And that word translated gift there is the same word that we're talking about when we talk about gifts, normal word like in I Corinthians 12, spiritual gifts, a gift of grace. The gift he's talking about here is the gift of celibacy. Verse 9, "If they do not have self-control, let them marry. It is better to marry than to burn with passion". But God has gifted some with the gift of celibacy. They don't have the need for that sexual expression. So they have a choice, because the only way you can express your sexual desires is within the marriage context, otherwise it is an act of sin against God. And so here is one that matters. If you don't have that need, you can consider, perhaps God has given you the gift of celibacy, the ability to live an unmarried life. And Paul says that is a gift that enables you to have more time to devote to serving the Lord. Now obviously the gift of celibacy is not the only gift. It's a gift that enables you to exercise another gift more fully. For Paul, his prime gift is an apostle, but he also says in this context, verse 8, it is good for the unmarried to remain as I am. He's remained celibate, he has that gift. But his prime gift is apostleship. But since he did not need to be married, he was free in a way that others would not be free, traveling from place to place, spending years in prison, going here and there. He didn't have a wife and children to be responsible for. But the gift of celibacy is obviously not a prime gift. It is a gift from God to enable you to exercise another gift more fully.

So, can a person have more than one gift? I would say yes. The apostles had all the gifts, but that may be unique to their apostleship. Generally the pattern is you focus on a particular area. That's what Romans 12 is saying. This area is your gift, then focus on that. So even though you may have more than one gift, I think you will have one prime gift that will become the focal point of your ministry.

Are all the gifts listed in the Word of God? I don't know. We see a gift like celibacy and if it wasn't for that reference in I Corinthians 7 we'd never thought to include it as a gift. We can include all the gifts within the gifts that are presented. Gifts like serving and helps are broad enough to include all those abilities that enable the body to function together that aren't more specifically identified.

Come over to I Corinthians 12. Let me look at some comments at the end of chapter 12 and then I want to talk about discerning your gift and perhaps that will help in some matters as well. At the end of I Corinthians 12, verse 27, Paul says that now you are Christ's body, individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, and remember that emphasis on God's sovereign appointment. He's mentioned some of the gifts in verse 28, then verse 29 he asks the question. All are not apostles, are they? And that implies a negative answer, the way it is constructed. The answer is no. And the way we've phrased it in English gives you that same force. All are not prophets, are they? No. All are not teachers, are they? No. All are not workers of miracles. No. They don't all have gifts of healing. No. Do not speak with tongues. No. Do not interpret, do they? No. In other words, not everyone is going to be having all the gifts. So be careful about that. And that would have special impact on the gift of tongues. We will talk about that more in chapter 14. But we want to keep in mind that as Paul wrote this, this is a letter. There weren't chapter divisions or verse divisions. So he establishes the fact that not everyone is going to have each of these gifts, each individual is going to be gifted according to God's sovereign plan.

So whatever we say further about the gifts, we'll have an understanding that not everybody is going to have the gift of teaching. Nor is everybody going to have the gift of speaking in tongues. Anyone who would try to make one of these gifts a universal gift, and the big issue at Corinth will be the gift of tongues as it becomes today, it is a misunderstanding of scripture to imply that all believers should have this, because not everyone has the gift of tongues. We'll say more about that when we come to chapter 14.

Let me talk to you a little bit about how do you recognize your spiritual gift. Again, we're not done with spiritual gifts, we have much to say in chapter 13 and chapter 14. But when we come to this point, we've moved through all 18 or 19 spiritual gifts, depending on how you broke them down. How do you recognize what your gift is? Perhaps you've come to this local church, relatively recently, perhaps you're a relatively new believer. How are you going to know what your spiritual gift is? It's nice to talk about spiritual gifts, but how do I know what mine is?

Well I've made a list of some things here, some questions or some matters you ought to consider. 1) You recognize that every believer has been given a gift by the Holy Spirit. There are no exceptions. Just look in I Corinthians 12:7 to remind you, "But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good". To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit. So your spiritual gift is a manifestation, a demonstration of the Spirit's presence and working in your life as His child. Each one gets it, because you have the Spirit. Down in verse 11, "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually, just as He wills". So we recognize the Spirit has sovereignly bestowed a gift on you according to His purpose. It's to each one individually just as He wills, a sovereign act of the Spirit of God. Down in verse 18, "But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he desired". So you'll note, each individual believer is gifted by God, Romans 12:3, I Peter 4:10. Each time we're talking about the spiritual gifts in those passages, you have that emphasis—each one, each one. So every individual believer has been sovereignly gifted by God. The end of verse 11, it was just as He wills; the end of verse 18, just as He desires; down in verse 28, God has appointed in the church. So it's His sovereign authority and work.

Now with that, you look down in verse 31. While all do not have all the gifts or a variety of the gifts necessarily, verse 31 say, earnestly desire or be zealous of the greater gifts. Now this has caused some confusion. Sometimes our problems in the Bible come, we just jump in on a verse. People read verse 31 and say, see, you should desire or seek a gift you want. Isn't that what verse 31 says? That's what verse 31 says, what does verse 31 mean? Sometimes it helps to read what precedes verse 31. And so we just read verses like verse 11, the Spirit gives this just as He wills; verse 18, God has placed the gifts in the body just as He desires; verse 28, God has appointed or set in the body these gifts. So when I come to verse 31 I want to understand it in light of what the Apostle Paul has just said. Now really what verse 31 is saying, in light of the fact that not everyone has all the gifts, not everyone necessarily has a number of the gifts, the church is to put its focus on the greater gifts. Verse 31 is an instruction to the church. What's the problem in the church at Corinth? They were focusing on a gift that seemed so spectacular, the gift of tongues. All of chapter 14, much of it, is going to be about this particular subject and the problem associated with it. They're focusing on the gift of tongues. You'll note in the list in verse 28, Paul starts out and says, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers. Then he doesn't try to give an order, but he does place tongues last. And at the end of verse 30, after reminding them that not everyone has this gift or this gift or this gift, when you get to the end of verse 30, what does he put last? Tongues and the interpretation of tongues. Now you as a church, instead of putting your attention on the gift that may not be so important, you ought to put it on the greater gifts. A gift like teaching. Third there; apostles and prophets no longer present today, but teaching is. It is of great importance to the body because that is the gift that equips the body so that all the other gifts can function. The teaching and instructing gifts are for the equipping of the saints for the work of service. The church at Corinth ought to be putting the attention and emphasis on that which is most important for the development of the body. That's not to say these other gifts aren't important, but there are gifts of greater importance than the gift of tongues. And the church at Corinth ought to be zealous for the greater gifts. So it is fitting in our church that the gift of teaching is given a prominent place and a focal place in our ministry, because that's the gift which is basic to the function of all the other gifts. And that's why when the devil is going to undermine the church, he begins to weaken its teaching, because over time if the people of God are not nourished properly, then they will not be able to function properly. And so the whole body will begin to deteriorate.

So verse 31, be careful, people pull out and say, doesn't it say earnestly desire or be zealous for the greater gifts? Then of course we ought to be seeking a gift. Wait a minute, we just can't pull that out as though it didn't have a context. Read what Paul says leading up to this point. You don't get a gift because you wanted it, you get a gift because God determined it was your gift. Now the church ought to be focused, give its prime attention to those gifts which are most important, and that will facilitate the functioning of all the gifts.

All right, how you recognize or discern your spiritual gift. 1) Recognize that each individual is gifted by God sovereignly. So you're not looking to see what gift would I like to acquire for myself. No, it's a matter of I just simply want to come to recognize what the Spirit of God has gifted me to do. You already have it, because you have the Spirit if you're a believer. It's simply a matter of recognizing what the Spirit has enabled you to do most effectively.

2) Become aware of the opportunities to serve in the body. What are the possible ways you can become involved? Not sitting here saying, I don't know what to do. Well, that's why in our weekly newsletter we list opportunities. You look and say, there are several things here I could see myself being a help in. I don't know if I'm gifted in it or not, but they have a need here, an opportunity, I think I might be able to be a help. I think I'll volunteer. Well there are several things. How do I know which one? Well, pick one. Well, I'm having a hard time deciding. Well then, close your eyes and put your finger on one. Don't make it more complicated than it is. I mean, if you don't know for sure you can say, I can't do it all, I'll try this one.

3) To help narrow it down, what are your interests or desires? As I look at where there are opportunities, needs in the body, places I could be used, do I find myself drawn to a particular area? I look at this list and say, I could find that appealing and interesting. I think I would enjoy helping in that area. That helps narrow it down. You say, I don't want to do it selfishly. No, but the Spirit of God is controlling me, I live under His guidance and leadership. He has given me this interest and desire. So I begin to look toward that area.

4) Become involved. A gift is a way of serving. I Corinthians 12:5, there are varieties of ministries. Remember that word ministries is the word serving. There are a variety of ways of serving. Look at the next verse, verse 6, there are varieties of effects, and that word translated effects, we get the word energy from it. Means workings, operations, functionings, activities. A gift is something that God enables you to do so you don't discern your gift by sitting back and saying, here is the list of gifts. I think I'm going to take that one. That's not how you find your gift. You get involved, you find your gift, recognize your gift as you function. Don't be afraid to get involved and think, what if it's not my gift? Well, you learn, we all learn. It's like our children, as they are developing they do a variety of things. Sometimes they do things they don't even like to do. You say, well, it's good for you to learn to do what you don't like to do. That's the way life is. Sometimes you'll have to do things you don't want to do. So there's a need here. I don't know that I'll be the most effective, but I could help there now. And I get involved. It's part of my learning process and that helps me become more clear on where will I be most effective. And you get involved, don't think, well, I'll try for a week or two. No, I'll get involved and do it for the next several months. You may try it and immediately say, I just can't do this, it's just not going to be me. And that's fine. But don't bail out too quickly. I'll use myself as an example because I'm the only one I really know. I never thought I'd be able to stand up in front of people and talk. And I'm not talking about just when I'm in grade school, I'm talking about when I graduated from high school. The last thing I could ever see myself doing was standing up in front of people and talking. That would be the worst thing to have to do in your life—get up regularly in front of people. But over time, obviously, things develop. So don't just rule it out because your first experience you're not comfortable doing it. There are many things we're not comfortable doing because we never did them before. So be willing to give it enough time to really try it out. If nothing else, I'll have learned how to do something I may not do very well, but I've learned something about it and I've learned I'm not very good at it. And I can move on to something else. But become involved.

5) What areas do you find most fulfilling and satisfying? As you are involved, you look and see, is this an area the Lord is using me? Do I find enjoyment and satisfaction in doing this? There are things I'm going to have to do just because they need to be done, and it's not my most fun thing and I can't say I really enjoy it in that sense. But I do it because it needs to be done. There are also things I have to say, it's worth it, it's hard, but I do enjoy it. And I find satisfaction in it, and I find myself being effective, at least to some degree. So I evaluate myself, I try to see, is this an area the Lord seems to be using me? I do have some measure of effectiveness in this area and I do enjoy it.

6) This is the last point I've got. Previously I have made longer and shorter lists. Seek the input and advice of mature believers. I mean, people should recognize gifts in you. And we ought to be open. I have to be careful I don't wear my feelings on my sleeve and get my feelings hurt because someone said, I don't think this is an area you're effective in. Again, I use myself as an example. Periodically I have young men come and ask me for references to seminary. I don't get as many as I used to because probably word has gotten out. But I think for a man who is going to go and study for the pastoral ministry should have demonstrated the gift of pastor/teacher before he goes. Going to seminary won't make you gifted to be a pastor/teacher. I tell this to young men. And so for men who are going to go I try to have them in a context that they have demonstrated the ability to teach. They don't have to be fully developed, polished teachers. That's part of why they are going to go on for further training. But they ought to have demonstrated that they do have the gift of teaching and are able to communicate effectively the Word of God. They ought to have demonstrated they are able to provide leadership, oversight for the people of God as a pastor. Sometimes I've sat with men and I've shared with you before, I say, I can give you a character reference but I also have to note in there that from my observation and the observation of other godly individuals in this body, it's clear to us as much as it can be that this person is not gifted as a pastor/teacher. And that's true in other areas. Often it's an area of prominence, the greater gifts like teaching, where this does become a problem. A person decides I'm a teacher and my homiletics professor, professor of preaching in seminary used to say, men, it is a sin to bore people with the Word of God. And that's true. Now that doesn't mean every portion of the Word will be exhilarating and interesting, but I have to be careful. Sometimes they just drone on, but they're convinced they're teachers.

So I have to be open. Sometimes it hurts, I realize I always find the same thing. I don't like to sit down with a young man.......... God has called me to seminary, I can't wait to get there and get out and teach the Word. And I have to say, you know, not just my observation, but the observation of other godly men that you ought to take seriously, that is not your gift. And you have areas of giftedness and that's where you ought to concentrate your energies. There is no joy in trying to do what God has not gifted you to do. That's the focal point in your life. So we ought to be open. All of this to say, seek the input and advice of mature believers. And I've shared this before, that may not be your husband or your wife or your best friend. This is somebody who would tell you the truth. We all have been in a situation, a person says, "How do you like my suit?" It looks nice. You go away and say, where did he get that? He ought to get somebody to help him pick out a decent suit. Well, I didn't have the heart to tell him. So ask somebody who is blunt, truthful, who will tell you the truth. I've been teaching this class for a while now, I really would appreciate your observation. I mean, I told you I had a hard time starting out and being in front of people, and I tell you if it continued that way and I couldn't get up in front and explain the Word of God clearly, then I would have had to take it from the Lord through the advice of godly people. But godly people along the way encouraged me and said that indeed they believed that was the area I had a giftedness and I ought to pursue this and so on. That ought to be seen by others. I mean, a gift is given by the Spirit of God to impact others, they ought to see the gift.

So we're here to help one another. I mean, if you have a child and it becomes clear along the way that they are more interested in the arts, gifted as a musician but you're determined they're going to be a linebacker on the Nebraska football team, you're not helping them driving them to that point. I mean, you want to move them to where they're going to excel, and it won't be being a linebacker on a football team. It might be as a musician or an artist or something else. So if we do that with our kids, we ought to help one another in the body, we ought to be open to it. It was good that I heard young, you're not going to be a musician, you're never going to be a soloist. It's going to be difficult for you to be a groupist. Well, that wounded me, but it's just as well I didn't spend all my life taking music lessons, learning to sing. I'd like to be able to sing better than I can sing, Phil thinks there are no hopeless cases, but he hasn't tried me.

All we're saying is we do that with our kids, we're in the family of God, we do it in love, we do it because we care, we do it because everyone has a gift. Don't spin your wheels trying to be gifted where you're not gifted. I thought I was going to be an evangelist. It became clear that wasn't my gift. I enjoy doing it, it wasn't where I was most effective. I still want to share the gospel, but I had to come to honesty—I'm not going to be able to do what I think I really want to do. And I think I'm going to do what I really don't think I want to do, and that's be a pastor. And you know where the great joy comes for me? I thank the Lord every day that I get to be a pastor and not an evangelist. But I had to work through that. I am thankful for godly people who helped give me guidance.

We want to be concerned about serving. We could say this with all the gifts. We don't need any more examples because I'd have to use myself and I don't want to do anymore confessing. I'm a pastor/teacher, I don't have all the gifts. Some pastor/teachers I think are more broadly gifted than I am, and God places them in the ministry where they are most effective. Some pastor/teachers are more strongly gifted than I am and God places them where they can be most effective. So I can't compare myself to someone. I'm not saying that every teacher has to be this level. There is variety, but every teacher has to teach. Doesn't mean that everybody is gifted the same way. Some people have the gift of showing mercy, they're going to have a greater effectiveness in it than someone else who has the gift of showing mercy. There will be variety in our gifts, that's the beauty of the body, the beauty of God's work.

We'll close with one other passage—I Peter 4:10. As each one, again that emphasis each one, has received a special gift. You have the word special there because it is the word for a grace gift. Employ it in serving one another. That's our concern. That's why we started out by looking for opportunities, how can I serve. That helps me develop it. Employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, do it as one who is speaking the utterances of God. So those who have speaking gifts, they're not to get up and talk. They are to get up and speak the truth that God has given, the utterances of God. Whoever serves, do it as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies. You'll note here are the two basic classifications of gifts—speaking gifts and serving gifts. But in another sense, they all serve as verse 10 says. The end of verse 11, "So that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever, amen". This spiritual gift is ultimately not about me, it's about God. It's about that act of grace that He has accomplished in my life to enable me to serve Him in a way that will bring glory to Him. And that's the desire, isn't it? I don't have to be afraid, I wanted this gift, I wanted to be an evangelist and I'm stuck being a pastor/teacher. Well, am I stuck? What I want to be is about what God has gifted me to be, that will bring Him glory. And whatever that gift is, it could not be any more important in that sense, that I an instrument am used to bring glory to God. That's what happens as we function in the exercising of our gift as a member of the body of Christ.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your great grace, a grace that has brought us salvation, brought cleansing from sin, made us new creatures in Christ, provided your Spirit to dwell within these physical bodies and then by your grace you have specially gifted each one of us. You have sovereignly determined according to your purposes and plan that each one will have a special part to play in the functioning of your church, that each one would have a contribution to make that would make the body more effective, that will enable the body to grow and develop and be a stronger testimony of your grace, to bring greater glory to you. Thank you, Lord, for this body, your church, that you have gathered in this place. Thank you for the many people that you have added to this body. Thank you, Lord, that each one is special and you have enabled them to contribute and make the body more effective in the ministry you've given us to do. Thank you for the willing service of hundreds of people. And Lord I pray for those who are looking for how they might be used, Lord, I pray that we will be instruments that you use to draw them in so they will have the joy of functioning as a vital part of your church. Thank you for your truth, thank you for your Spirit, thank you for your work in our lives. In Christ's name, amen.