Are We Doing Our Part? (Finding Your Gifts pt. 5)
Sunday Morning
Pastor Jim Lowe III
Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream
6/013/21
{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}
Have you taken your Spiritual Gifts test?
Here is the online link:
https://giftstest.com/test
This is part 5 talking about Spiritual Gifts
We’ve learned:
God has given us spiritual gifts.
Each of us has a spiritual gift.
1 Corinthians 12:7
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
To each one meaning we EACH have the manifestation of the Spirit.
We all have gifts.
Why do we have them?
For the common good.
We have been talking about the various gifts.
So far we’ve done:
(From Part 1:)
Prophecy
The ability to hear a message from God and to relate that to others.
Sometimes involves foresight or visions of future or information of past events.
(Starting in Part 2:)
Administration
The ability to organize, plan and govern
Discernment
The ability to distinguish what something is vs what it isn’t.
Evangelism
The ability to share the gospel with others.
Exhortation
The ability to inspire someone to do something.
(Starting in Part 3:)
Faith
The ability to believe God for something big.
Giving
The ability to be generous with your finances or resources to help others.
Helps/Serving/Ministering
The ability to work to meet the needs of others.
(Starting In Part 4:)
Knowledge
The Spiritual Gift of retention.
Knowing details of God’s word…
What it says vs what it doesn’t.
Mercy
The Spiritual Gift of having concern and compassion for others.
They hurt when others hurt.
They are concerned for all people.
Pastor/Teacher
The Spiritual Gift where people have a heart for people to see them the best they can be.
It doesn’t mean we have to start a church.
If we’re trying to help others be the best they can be, that’s a Pastor.
Teachers are supernaturally gifted to make the difficult things easy.
Wisdom
Similar to knowledge, wisdom is the ability to know God’s word and apply it to current circumstances.
You can liken situations you/others in to those in the bible and help encourage others with that.
i.e. Someone feeling defeated:
“Sometimes we go through a lot because there’s something big on the other end. Look at Jacob. Look at Joseph. Look at Job.
If You Have The Gift Of Wisdom, You Can Apply Your Biblical Knowledge To Things Happening Today
Many of us have taken our tests.
We NOW have an idea of what our gifts are.
So, for the message for today:
Are We Doing Our Part?
One of the scriptures we’ve used a lot when talking about gifts.
Romans 12:6
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. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 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.
We have different gifts…
according to the grace given to us.
We’ve used this to talk about how each of us has different gifts.
In this scripture alone:
Prophesying
Serving
Teaching
Encouraging
Helping
Giving
Administration
We’ve talked about how each of us has gifts that are IMPORTANT.
But let’s actually read what the scripture says BEFORE this in Verse 4:
Romans 12:4
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Just as each of us has one body with many members.
In Christ we all form one body.
In simple terms.
We all have ONE physical body.
We have 2 arms, 2 legs, 10 fingers, 2 ears, 1 nose.
Each of these things have different functions.
But they ALL benefit the body.
This is how things work in the Body of Christ.
We together form “the Body of Christ.”
Many of you know this…but we gotta re-cover it.
1 Corinthians 12:27
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
You are the body of Christ.
But the scripture in Romans made a reference to our own bodies.
This is because it helps make it all make sense.
1 Corinthians makes that connection as well.
1 Corinthians 12:12
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
Again…OUR physical bodies have different parts.
But they make US up.
YOU are known as YOU…not hands…not feet…not nose…
This is how it is with Christ now.
1 Corinthians 12:13
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
It doesn’t matter who you were before.
It doesn’t matter what you believed.
You are now part of the body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:14
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
This is still talking about our physical bodies.
Paul is using his Spiritual Gift of Teaching to make complicated things easy.
1 Corinthians 12:15
15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
If our foot decided today that it didn’t want to be part of our body anymore…
What’s that gonna change?
It’s still part of your body.
How Does Your Foot Protest Anyway?
Stay asleep all the time?
1 Corinthians 12:16-20
16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
So we see the model God used in our creation.
Everything has a purpose.
Everything has a reason.
God didn’t give us useless stuff.
Every part has a function!
Every part has a purpose!
The same way, with US being part of the Body of Christ,
Each one of us has a function.
Each one of us has a purpose.
You Are Just As Important As Anyone Else!
Don’t think your gifts aren’t important!
Your gifts are important!
Your gifts are needed!
1 Corinthians 12:15
15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
Let’s use that analogy.
Your role might be considered a “foot.”
You might find all types of reasons to compare yourself to a “hand.”
Hands are good at grabbing and controlling things.
Feet aren’t good at grabbing things…
Hands are good at carrying things.
Feet aren’t good at carrying things…
But while the foot is looking at the hand…it’s not noticing what IT can do.
Feet provide support to the WHOLE body.
A Hand can be injured and cause some problems.
If the foot is injured…the WHOLE body is unstable.
While the hand may be able to grab and carry…
The FOOT it what allows it to actually get to a destination.
Don’t Look At Others! Your Gift Is Important!
Some of us might think God made a mistake giving us some of the gifts we have.
But God didn’t make the mistake.
Your gift is meant for you.
Your gift is meant for the body.
And we all work together!
It’s The Combination Of Our Gifts That Make Everything Work!
The bible says in Eph 4:11 that he gave some…
Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers,
To prepare God’s people for works of service…
WHY??
Ephesians 4:12
12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
He gave some…
to prepare God’s people…
for works of service…
so the body of Christ may be built up.
The work we do is so the BODY MIGHT BE BUILT UP!
Just like in the starting scripture:
1 Corinthians 12:7
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
The COMMON GOOD.
We Are Here To Build Up One Another!
We are here to strengthen one another!
We are here to support one another!
Back to Ephesians 4:14
WHEN THE BODY IS BUILT UP…
Ephesians 4:14
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
Before breaking this down…let’s look at another translation
Ephesians 4:14 {New Century Version} (NCV)
14 Then we will no longer be babies. We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be influenced by every new teaching we hear from people who are trying to fool us. They make plans and try any kind of trick to fool people into following the wrong path.
We will no longer be babies. (Immature)
We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way then the other. (We won’t be beaten up so easily)
We will not be influenced by every new teaching from people trying to fool us. (We will be Solid…Not easily influenced.)
This shows why we HAVE to start building each other up!
We get caught in these traps all the time!!
This is what happens when the BODY IS BUILT UP!
We spend too much time questioning GOD.
We are asking when God is going to do something about this!
When is God gonna stop letting this happen…
When is God gonna do this?
God Gave Us The Gifts! When Are We Going To Use Them?
Christ told us in Matthew 22:
2 things:
Love God
Love your neighbor as yourself.
You love yourself…now love someone else also.
Building The Body Means To Think About Others!
1 Corinthians 12:7
COMMON GOOD…
The Spirit is given for the COMMON GOOD…
WE are given his spirit….
For the COMMON GOOD.
Who is the common good?
Your neighbor!
Someone else!
I Am Here To Help Others
Why?
Because the body is only as strong as the weakest part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:26
26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
When we are strong…we are ALL strong.
When we are weak…we are ALL weak.
When you have aches and pains…they can easily effect the way your whole body operates.
When your head hurts, it changes the way you move.
When your back hurts…you adjust to protect it.
We Each Have To Do Our Part
We are part of the body of Christ!
Ephesians 4:16
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.
Christ holds the whole thing together…
As it builds itself up in love…
AS EACH PART DOES IT’s WORK!
We are working to grow the body.
We are working to change the world.
Here is it:
Change Starts With You
We change the world when we all start using our gifts and purpose for God and one another.
We Now Know Our Gifts!
Administration
Discernment
Evangelism
Exhortation
Faith
Giving
Helps/Serving/Ministering
Knowledge
Mercy
Pastor/Teacher
Prophecy
Wisdom
- Are You Helping Your Ministry?
GLC is working to help others.
We need people with YOUR gifts and YOUR purpose.
We need Administrators.
Those with Discernment…(etc).
There are ministries here that need help.
There are Small Groups that need assistance.
There are Small Groups that need to be made!
- Are You Helping One Another?
Are you doing something for someone else?
Your gifts are for one another.
When someone hurts, we ALL hurt.
We have to make a difference for others.
It’s for the common good and we need you!
We Have To Do Our Part!
It’s not up to one person to do it.
It’s not up to a few people to do it.
God gave ALL of us our gifts.
What are we doing with them?
Have you taken your Gifts Test?
Online Spiritual Gifts Test:
https://giftstest.com/test
This test will tell you the top 5 gifts you have.
The physical copy will rank 12 different gifts for you.
If you haven’t taken a test like this in over a year, you should retake it.
One gift might have gotten stronger than the other.
Because we are working towards purpose and achieving your divine potential here.
We want to know your results so we can help you find a place in ministry to help us.
Many times we want to serve but don’t know where to start.
Knowing your spiritual gifts is a GREAT start!
