Spiritual Gifts

Take your Bibles, if you would please, and turn to the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 4, verses 7 through 12 — that's where we're at today, Ephesians chapter 4, verses 7 and following. The gifts God endows the church members with ultimately serve to mature the church and to magnify Christ. We're going to talk about the gifts today from the text, and I look forward to seeing how we are all encouraged in the fact that God has endowed each of us with gifts.

Read with me in the text, in Ephesians chapter 4, verses 7 all the way down to verse 12, and we'll begin to open up the subject of the gifts. Verse 7 says, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, when He ascended on high He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. Now this expression, He ascended, what does it mean except that He also had descended to the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things. And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body." And then unity follows.

And so today, as we start to open up this vast subject of the gifts, I wonder however if the Ephesian congregation would not have had to have been threatened with losing their lampstand in Revelation, if all of the congregants had been fully engaged with utilizing the gifts that Christ had given them.

Let's for just a moment turn to Revelation chapter 2. Hold your place there in Ephesians, and I want to take a look at the Ephesian church in Revelation chapter 2. Take a look at chapter 2, verses 1 through 7, and see where the gifts were being utilized in the Ephesian church — and where the gifts were not being utilized. By observation you'll see that the gift of discernment was being used in verse 2, but the fact that they left their first love in verse 4 helps us to see that they were not using their gifts, because the gifts ultimately mature the congregation and magnify Christ. And so let's read Revelation 2:1–7 together.

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The one who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles and they are not, and you found them to be false." And so right there you can see where the church was using discernment — the gift of discernment is a real gift. "In verse 3, and you have perseverance and you have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love."

And now when you take all the gifts in the local church and all the people, and they're ultimately aiming at Christ, they're ultimately lifting up Christ, they're ultimately loving Jesus — and so to have this statement that they have left their first love is staggering. It means the majority of the Ephesian congregation was no longer focused on Christ. And verse 5 says, "Therefore remember from where you have fallen and repent and do the deeds." You see, when you exercise your gift, you're doing a deed — you're doing a good work. Here it's a work of service. "Do the deeds you did at first, or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."

And so gifts are for the maturing of the saints. That's your gift that you have from God. It's not for you — it's for the maturing, it's for others. Maturing the saints — your service gift will benefit others and ultimately it magnifies Christ. So if the rich Ephesians — you see, there's a play on words in the book of Ephesians — so where Paul says how rich the Ephesians were in proximity of being able to become wealthy through trade, Paul says the riches in Christ are far more rich in comparison. And so if the Ephesians, who were rich, would have remained focused on Christ and using their gifts to magnify Him, then they would not have become dangerously close to losing their lampstand.

And so first of all, I'd like to say to you: each Christian has gifts of grace. Each Christian has gifts of grace. Back in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 7, it says, "But to each one" — each one of you. Now in the text in verse 7, there's a transition here from verse 6. The transition is from unity — okay, corporate — to uniqueness. And so now the transition in the text moves from talking about the body corporately to each individual Christian. And this is important now because this uniqueness is based upon you and your gift. So to each one there is a gift.

So all Christians are gifted. Turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. First Corinthians chapter 12 is a place where we can see that each person has a gift. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12 you'll see differing gifts and different personalities and experiences, and all these things are vital. Here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 you'll notice the seven major gifts of prophecy and teaching and mercy and encouragement and service and giving and administration — these things are all brought up. But I want you to focus on the fact that each one has a gift.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 4: "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit." Okay, so the source — the Spirit — is the Spirit of God, but there's varieties of gifts. Okay, in verse 7 it says, "But to each one is given." So each one has one. Every single believer has at least one gift, and that gift — you'll see — can be packaged with other gifts. Okay, I'll explain more later. In verse 11 it also says, "But one and the same Spirit works all things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills." If someone has a unique gift that you recognize, recognize the fact that it was Christ who gave that gift to that person. So give glory to God, not to the person, when you see a uniqueness of a gift being used.

And so none of us have all of the gifts, right? And all of the gifts are necessary for the church to be the church. And so therefore it's a clear case that we all need each other. We are not individuals who can survive alone apart from the local church. And so even if you were to go off the grid and to be able to grow your own food and provide your own energy for your house, tap into a source of water underneath the ground, have your own well, and you've got everything you'd need — guess what? You still got to go to church.

You still got to go to church, because we need each other. Every single person in here is gifted with a wonderful gift, and they all work together to achieve the purposes of the local church. It's beautiful.

Now in verse 7 — not only to each one do we all have it — but it's a grace gift. Back to Ephesians, if you would. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 7 says, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ." And so you can call it a grace gift. This is to emphasize the fact that it is unmerited, it's undeserved. Whatever gift you have, you didn't deserve it. God gave it to you, and we use it for God and for His glory. And it's not a point to be able to brag or to think highly of oneself. If you have any type of giftedness, that is the fact here — that grace indicates undeserved favor. Not only is our undeserved favor from God in the form of grace and salvation, but also in this area of gifted service. And so it's an unmerited gift when it comes from God. We did not earn or deserve it.

When it comes to gifts, it's almost like you can look at it as five-faceted. These are amazing. Number one, it's from God. Number two, it's by grace. Number three, it's for serving. Number four, it's energized for action. And number five, it results in a strong church glorifying God.

Now I'll go back through those real quickly, because these gifts being five-faceted are how you can think about them. Number one — it's from God. So we can't brag about the gift that we may have been given. And so whatever the gift you have received from the Lord, it's not a talent, it's a gift. It does need to be honed in and worked and developed, and you have to strive in that gift. It doesn't make it easy, but it is from God. And so number two — it's by grace. God has graced you with this gift or gifts. And then number three — it is for serving, for others. It's for the purposes of the local church, and the church is to mature the saints and to glorify Christ. And then number four — this grace gift, let me tell you, it is supernaturally energized, way beyond any type of energizer battery. It is supernaturally energized. When you are operating in the area of your giftedness, the Holy Spirit's power works through a clean vessel to achieve God's ends and means.

It is absolutely humbling when a Christian is used by the Holy Spirit of God to do anything. It's like, well, I didn't accomplish that — but God did it through me. Why did He choose me? I don't know. God did what He wanted to do when He wanted to do it, and He supernaturally energizes by His grace what He wants accomplished. He is sovereign. And number five — it results in a strong church that glorifies God.

This is just a little bit about these gifts. A gift is a divine enablement, and these gifts are oftentimes packaged together as perhaps one gift. Have you ever got a package from Amazon and within that package there's more than one item, right? Well, that's kind of like your gift from God. Within this gift, you could have all kinds of different abilities, and it could be packaged into one. And some of these abilities and some of these supernatural gifts that God gives us — some are stronger than others. You may have a little bit of administrative strength and a whole lot of teaching strength, or you may have a whole lot of administrative strength and a little bit of teaching strength. Well, whatever the case might be, you're expected to utilize that gift. So your gift can be just a few abilities wrapped up into one gift. Most have more than one gift; one gift may be stronger. Generally speaking, we are all a combo deal.

The gifts that we have — remember this — they're spiritual gifts. Not only the grace gifts, but they're spiritual gifts for spiritual purposes. That is opposed to natural talent. Spiritual gifts are for spiritual purposes, not natural talent. Okay, so spiritual gifts have spiritual results, and are associated with the Holy Spirit. And so your ability to cook or design or build or read or calculate — these talents, okay, these things that you can do — these are not spiritual gifts. But if you utilize your talents for God's purposes, and God is supernaturally working through you and the gift that is your giftedness, think of it this way: it's not just the meal that you're making to serve a church, but it's the actual service of it that makes the difference. And so it's you that makes the difference. It's God through you that blesses someone.

And so it's not a spiritual gift such as cooking and helping through cooking that is effective in uplifting people. Remember, it's you — not the food — that has the spiritual impact. Or it's you and your service through God, through you, that helps erect buildings and such. That is great. So God's spiritual gift to you is a unique capacity to minister to the body of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to serve and mature and unify the church, which ultimately glorifies God.

Now in the Bible, especially in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Romans chapter 12, and 1 Peter 4, it has lists of gifts, and these gifts are not limited to these lists that we have. And so these are not exhaustive lists that we have for the gifts. And so therefore we don't need to count the gifts, and we don't need to test you in these gifts, and we don't need to micromanage you in these areas. These are some things to help whet our appetite and to see what Christ has done inside of you. And so that is pretty neat, to be able to see these things.

You're simply a steward of God's gift. So you know that you don't own it — you just simply manage it. And I want to help us to become really good managers of the spiritual gift. And perhaps you think to yourself, man, I have been mismanaging my spiritual gift. As well, First Peter, in chapter 4, verses 10–11, talks about being a good steward of this. And then Paul encourages Timothy not to neglect the gift that is within him. And so we're going to continue to get better as a church when it comes to understanding the gifts and employing these gifts from God, because it's by His free grace that He has given us a supernatural ability that contributes to the health of the local church.

And by the way, for those of you who are already engaged in utilizing your spiritual gift — you know what God has given you. Isn't that like the happiest place for you? Isn't that the place where you just thrive? And those types of places are where you just come alive. And for those of us who perhaps need to find out more about these spiritual gifts and abilities and how God can work through me to contribute at the local church level — to glorify God, to mature saints, and to magnify Christ — you're going to tap into a source of joy that perhaps you've never even been enabled to see and feel and have before. I'm truly excited for those of you who are not yet engaged. But for those who are engaged with these gifts, you know exactly the joy that surpasses all kinds of understanding, to be able to utilize these gifts.

Now I want to give you a little conviction to be able to utilize these gifts. In verse 8, back to Ephesians chapter 4, in verse 8: "Therefore it says, when He ascended on high He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men." What does this mean? Well, let me just simplify it and say that in Christ's death and resurrection and His ascension, in that He conquered sin, He now holds the power that is captive to Him, and sin no longer has power over you. Christ conquered that. And as He ascended up on high, conquering death, hell, the grave, and Satan, and all of these bondages that keep us from Christ — guess what He did? He gave gifts to men.

Can you imagine? Think about this: after the death and the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, He gave gifts to men. How important then are the gifts? Well, let's continue to learn more about them. Let's extract out of Ephesians chapter 4 exactly what the gifts are in this text contextually.

And keep reading in verse 8, where it says, "Therefore He says when He ascended up on high, and He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. Now this expression, He ascended — what does it mean except that He also descended?" Okay, that's from heaven to the lower parts of the earth — not a reference to hell. In verse 10: "He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens" — such as perhaps what Paul said, the third heavens — "so that He might fill all things."

Verse 11: "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers." Okay, now you have a list here of some gifts that He gave. Paul mentions apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. I have it abbreviated A-P-E-P-T in my notes. These are the gifts that he brings up.

Now, apostles — in Luke chapter 6, verse 13, he lists the twelve, and then in Acts chapter 9, Saul became Paul and became an apostle. Those have accomplished their tasks, and that's good — that's done. What about the prophets? Well, turn with me if you would — I want you to see in Hebrews chapter 1 where the prophets have completed their job, and God is now speaking through His word. So apostles no longer have their role, and the prophets' role is completed. And so they live on in the scriptures.

Now in Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1–2, the Bible says, "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days" — which we're living in, the last days — "in these last days He spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He made the world." This is really neat right here because God now speaks to us in the Son. And John 1:1 says that that is the Word of God. And so God now speaks to us through His word.

You know, one of the little sleights that Satan has is to try and get you out from underneath the authority of the word of God, and make you an authority of your own life, and make you think what you think about your life is important. And I have old news for you here: our thoughts about our own life do not matter a whole lot. It's what God says. And so what the Bible says is true, and if it's true, it's not new. So if you have a new idea, well, verify it with the Bible — make sure it's an old idea and that God is already saying it. And so when it comes to the gifts, you do not have the gift of new prophecies today, and you don't have the gift of being an apostle.

Younger in my years, in one of my first staff member positions, there was a guest apostle come to speak at the church, and I just scratched my head. I don't know about this. There's a lot of self-appointed apostles today, and I hope that maybe they just don't understand. But nevertheless, we cannot utilize what the Bible does not say is true. And so apostles — they fulfilled their roles. Prophets — they have fulfilled their roles. But what about evangelists, pastors, and teachers?

Well, today God still gifts men to be evangelists and pastors and teachers, and He still gifts men and women to be teachers. And so this is great. Back to Ephesians chapter 4, verse 12: "All of these gifts are for the equipping of the saints." So these gifts are not for themselves. They're not to build their own platform. They're not for making money — filthy lucre. They're not for taking advantage of the masses. They're for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to build up the body. And so God has graciously given to each one of us these gifts. He's graciously given us still evangelists and pastors and teachers to equip us to use our grace gift for the local church.

Now back to verse 7. All of this comes to us in a measured way, and it is Christ who by His own authority and His own divine design — and how He designed you — has measured to you what you have. And so some have certain gifts and certain amounts of capacities. Okay, in verse 7: "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift." And so the kind of gift and the size of the gift is up to Christ, and we should be happy and content with that. And we should not compare ourselves to others and become discontent, because you are showing a disgruntled attitude towards what Christ has done in you. So we should focus upon what Christ has done in you, know the gift that God has given you, and focus on that and be happy there, and be very confident in what the Lord has done in your life. And so for the extent for which you have — be faithful with that, and don't live your life comparing yourself to others and think, "I'm not in the limelight," or "I can't do this," or "I can't do that." All that kind of stuff — don't think that way. Focus upon how Christ has specifically designed you, and use the gift that has been prepared before the foundation of the world for you.

This is so important because you are an individual. You are unique. You are designed by God, and you are irreplaceable. Your value cannot be replaced in the local church. You are necessary for the whole church to achieve what Christ wants to be done. And so even the usage of the gift has been prepared. Here in Ephesians, turn back to chapter 2, verse 10. When it comes to your work and your service and your usage of the gift, it has been prepared before the foundation of the world. In Ephesians 2:10 it says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

And so this is something that He alludes to as being prepared before the foundation of the world. But not only is your gift something that God designed before He created the world, but He also has empowered that gift. And so this gift is empowered by God. In John chapter 15, verse 8, it says that "you may bear much fruit." And so you don't have to be a big tree to produce a lot of fruit, right? You don't have to be a big vine to produce a lot of strawberries or a lot of blueberries. In Philippians 2:13 it says, "For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." This is an amazing concept — that God works in and through you. You are designed by Him specifically for the work that He wants you to do, and it's irreplaceable.

In Colossians chapter 1, verse 29, it says, "For this purpose I labor, striving according to His power which mightily works within me." Do you see that this grace gift is empowered here? As Paul was discipling men, he said that he strives according to the power that mightily works within him, and he gives God the glory for all that he was able to accomplish.

So now we see that God sovereignly designed the gifts, and He's measured them out to each of you to work out His providential plan. He's got individual portions which He has dished out to you.

Turn with me now to Romans chapter 12. I want to see just a little bit more about these gifts. Romans chapter 12, verses 3 through 8, talks about the gifts as well. And as you're turning to Romans chapter 12, I'd like to note that the Puritan preacher John Trapp is known for his pithy statements and his quotable statements. And his remark regarding the measure of gifts is this: "Those of greater gifts are put upon hotter service." And I thought, oh, how well said was that. And so those who have greater amounts of gifts are put to hotter service. One person said it like this: "Higher levels and bigger devils." Whatever, you know, but it is a battle. So it's not easy having these gifts, but you're empowered to use them.

In verse 3 it says, "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." And so you see — it's measured out here. Your faith that you have is measured out. Some of you have a gift of faith, and it's not necessarily the faith that was given to you to be saved. But the gift of faith is saying, "I just believe — no matter what. No matter what happens, I just believe. I have simple faith that God is in control. I am unshakable because I have faith that God is God." And that is wonderful, and that is a wonderful gift, to be able to encourage others and such.

Now in verse 4 you'll see this: "We have one body but many different functions." "For just as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function," right? So we are not expected to have one person do everything — we have different functions, we have different members. Verse 5: "So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." This is just a beautiful reminder that we belong to each other. And so if you ever want to, or if you ever feel like pulling yourself away from the local church, just remember that not only do you belong to Christ — He's purchased you with the blood that He shed on the cross — but you also belong to the church. You belong to one another. You belong to somebody else. And you really understand that if you're married.

Verse 6 says, "Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly." Okay, you have a gift — you are expected to exercise. What a good word that is. It's not like it's going to come easily; it requires training. It requires failure. It requires getting back up, strapping your boots on, again and again and again. For those of us who have worked hard at perhaps the little gifts that we have, to do the best that we can — we know that it's difficult. But the effort glorifies Christ. And so continue to exercise them according to whatever God has gifted you with.

And you see in the text: prophecy — "if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith." Now here, prophecy is speaking forth. It's not foretelling. Okay, sometimes we get that mixed up because gifts can be counterfeited, and they are — they're counterfeited all over our nation. Like, as if the gift of foretelling prophecies — all these different things — the fake prophets, the false prophets out there constantly miss the mark, and they are abusing this area of gifts. They're claiming to have gifts they don't have, and they're using it for their own profit. And so here the gift of prophecy in the Greek means "speaking forth publicly." Okay, prophecy in Bible times was revelatory, but prophesying today is non-revelatory. It is simply communicating God's word publicly. If you are a prophet, if you are given to prophesying today — to prophesy is to preach. Then you have the gift of publicly proclaiming God's word. You're a prophet — you are like the Old Testament prophets who would stand up and herald God's word fearlessly. You would be able to have a spiritually charged and enabled ability to clearly communicate what the public needs to hear about God. You know how to clearly communicate with urgency the importance of lost people repenting and placing their faith and trust in Christ and His death and burial and resurrection, lest they spend an eternity in hell separated from Christ who died for their sins.

And so for those who have this gift of prophecy, I would say: develop that gift. Study the preachers in the Bible. Study the sermons in the Bible. And learn how to articulate these things well. Learn how to utilize your gift well. Preach every time you can find an opportunity to preach, prophesy.

And not only in verse 6 do you see that, but you also see in verse 7: service. And then also teaching. And in verse 8 you see exhortation. Now, to back up just a little bit — service is the same Greek word here for deacon. Deacons are servants, and similar to the gift of helps as said in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 28. And so we are helping and serving.

And again, I want you to know that these grace gifts are not for you — they're for others, right? So the gift of helps, the gift of service, especially the gift of teaching — it's not about you. If a teacher is about themselves, they are not gifted of God. If a teacher is centering everything about what they are saying around themselves, then they are not gifted — they're a false teacher. And so teaching is the ability to rightly divide God's word and clearly explain it. A teacher is gifted at rightly dividing and rightly interpreting and getting the meaning out of the text, and then clearly being able to communicate that to others. That is a gifted teacher.

And then one who exhorts is one who exhorts and calls people to obey God's truth. One who is an exhorter is one who is able to correct and admonish and then encourage someone on the right path. They're able to point out what is wrong — truth and grace, right — and then they're able to encourage them in the right direction. They're able to show them where to repent and where to chase Jesus. An exhorter is able to be strong in encouraging someone in the right way, and that is fantastic, based upon the word of God.

You also see giving in the text here in verse 8. Not only exhortation, but "he who gives." Now this is important because one gifted in sharing sacrificially is one who is able to give of themselves to meet needs. See how all these gifts are about others — they're meeting needs. And then there's also the gift of leadership. "And he who leads, do it with diligence," in verse 8. The Greek word means "guide." If you're a leader, you're a guide. You're one who stands before others and guides them. Acts 27, verse 11, uses the term here for one who steers the ship — that's a leader. A leader is able to guide people in the right direction. That is a true leader. The New Testament usage refers to leadership both in the home and in the church. And so we need strong leadership. We need strong leaders who are able to lead homes and lead churches.

There's also a gift here called mercy, and I want to kind of dive in on this a bit, because this is important. One who actively shows sympathy and sensitivity is one who has mercy. Do you cry when there's something to cry about when you're watching a movie? You have the gift of mercy. I don't know. But here's a lesson here that needs to be learned — okay, it's got a qualifier. All these other gifts may be self-explanatory to a certain extent, but this one — mercy — comes with cheerfulness. "With cheerfulness, he who shows mercy." And then it says you're supposed to show mercy with cheerfulness.

Now this is important because those who have the gift of mercy, who can cry with those who are crying, weep with those who are weeping — you need to make sure that you do not enable the one who is having a pity party. Okay, mercy is a gift that sometimes can be wrongly applied. And when you apply mercy to a situation, the qualifier is to do it with cheerfulness, which means that no matter what happens, God is good. No matter what happens, God is in control. If you're filled up with mercy and you go to the hospital filled up with mercy, and someone's lost a loved one — filled up with mercy and you're just overcome with emotion — make sure that you communicate on behalf of God confidence that He is good and God is in control, and we might not know why now, but we trust Him. This is important: not to enable someone in a situation to perhaps become disgruntled against a good God. And so Romans chapter 12, verse 15, says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." There's a balance in this.

So here in Romans chapter 12, you see the gifts of preaching and service and teaching and exhortation and giving and leading and mercy.

As we start to wrap this up, I want you now to think about using your gift zealously. Turn to the book of Titus and see how we are to use our gifts zealously. And Titus 2:14 gives us a strong reason as to why we should use our gifts zealously. Titus chapter 2, verse 14, is a verse I want you to see in your Bible. Turn there if you would. Titus 2:14 is a reason why we need to utilize our gifts with passion, with regularity. We need to be all about serving Christ our King. There's conviction behind Titus chapter 2, verse 14. It's talking about Christ who gave Himself for us.

So picture Christ being tortured on the cross. And I know that thinking about torture is one of the most difficult things to actually think about and watch, especially like if you're watching a movie or something like that — to see somebody, an innocent person, being tortured is difficult. Think about Christ on the cross being crucified. Okay, He gave Himself to crucifixion.

Titus 2:14: "He gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." Zealous for good deeds. Jesus was tortured. He was crucified. He was beaten, battered, and bruised to redeem a people who would not only be saved but that they would also be sanctified, and not only be sanctified but they would be zealous in their service for Christ. This is so important for us to see that not only does Christ redeem us in the act of giving Himself to a torturous crucifixion on the cross in our place as a substitute, but also to purify us — and so also that we would serve Him passionately, zealously.

And so retrospectively, we should look back and ponder Christ on the cross in our place, and be prompted to serve Christ zealously. I think of Isaiah 53:3–6. It says, "He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom men hid their face. He was despised and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore and our sorrows He carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening of our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, and each of us has turned to his own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him."

The accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John of the crucifixion are graphic. And I think of when the robe was ripped off of Jesus's back after He had already been scourged, and how those scabs must have already been dry, and they took and ripped it off — how awful a crucifixion that was, how awful it was for them to scourge and beat Him even going before the cross. And so you think about all of that retrospectively, and just know that Christ died on the cross not just to save you and redeem you, but also that you would serve Him zealously.

And so this gift that He has given to you — after He died on the cross and rose again and ascended into heaven, He gave you gifts. And these gifts were to further the purposes of the church. You have been called to sanctify the saints, to worship God, to take careful observance of the ordinances, to pray, to have fellowship with one another. These church purposes are really designed for all that you really need for life and godliness. All of your happiness and all of your joy and all the needs that you have — you have been custom designed with gifts to be able to meet the needs of others, and it all works within the local church.

You know that 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all stand before Christ to be judged." And so as we now think about the fact that gifts are for the maturing of the church and the magnifying of Christ, we see that we need each other. Everyone needs to be doing something according to the gift that God's given them. We're all servants — especially the leaders.

Christians are contributors, not consumers. Okay, we don't come here looking to consume and get and get and get — we're looking to give and give and give. And your cup is refilled by giving, not getting. And so this means that every individual here is irreplaceable. Your intrinsic value is custom designed by God. And I'm so happy you're here. And I'm so happy to see the church functioning well. And I'm so happy to see our services strong and our Bible studies strong and our Wednesday night theology studies strong. Our worship is strong. Our prayer is strong. And I want to continue to strengthen this local church by now diving into this subject of gifts and helping us to better move forward — with ourselves glorifying the Lord.

And so I have three take-home truths quickly. Number one: don't ignore your gift. Don't ignore your gift. You'll give the devil an opportunity in your life if you ignore your gift. Ephesians 4:27 says this: "And do not give the devil an opportunity." Okay, and so if your life is more self-centered than Christ-centered, it's giving the devil an opportunity. We should be more Christ-centered and utilizing our gift.

Number two: gifts are for others. Whatever that ability that you have — perhaps you haven't discovered it yet. Keep coming. Okay, keep being around good believers. Keep jumping in and serving in different areas of the church. You will come alive in one of these areas, and take it on and you'll do great. So gifts are for others. Just recognize that I am here for other people. Believe me — if you're not here, others feel it. You know, but if you are here, others feel it. You concur? When those whom we love are not here, we really miss them deeply. We wonder, we pray. But when others whom we love are here, we are overjoyed. Every soul matters. Every person matters. And so our gifts are for others. Your presence matters. We might not know how our spiritual walk with Christ impacts others around us, but God does — and they do.

And so we need not to think self-centeredly. We need to think and live sacrificially, like Christ our King demonstrated, and to be here every chance you can, to be around the church. You see, we have at Beulah Baptist Church cut away all the fluff. We don't do stuff for the sake of doing stuff. We're not busy just for the sake of having something to do. We do exactly what the Bible says to do as a church. And so everything that we are doing is specific, is scriptural, and it matters. And so you don't have to think to yourself, "Does it really matter?" No — what we do here is specific, it's spiritual, and it matters. And it's going to align with salvation, sanctification, service, and to our King.

Number three: God's giftedness doesn't make it easy. There was nothing about Paul's ministry unto Ephesus that was easy. In fact, when he was going to Jerusalem, the elders came to him and they met in a different town, and they wept together as Paul was heading to Jerusalem. And as Paul wanted to be there in Ephesus, as well as wanted to go and see the Colossian church — there's nothing easy about the gifts that God gave the Apostle Paul. Paul suffered more than anybody else, it seems, in so many different ways. His life was difficult. But his joys matched the depths that he went through. And so don't be fooled. Okay, don't take and look at gifts and say, "Okay, this is where life is cake." When you engage in this gift, it takes work. You're going to be learning. You're going to be practicing. You're going to be failing. You're going to be recovering. You're going to be trying. You're going to be crying. And you're going to be persevering and then winning.

This is a wonderful walk with Christ, and we're all here for each other as we learn together. We all are going through the stages of spiritual growth — when it comes to being lost to found, as a newborn baby in Christ, and growing from a baby to a child, and from a child to a youth in the faith, into becoming a father in the faith. These are word pictures. We're all growing and supporting one another together. And so I implore you then to come next week as we continue to learn about the gifts here through the book of Ephesians.

Let's pray together. Father, we do love You and give You due thanks and honor and glory for helping us to understand what Paul really meant behind his words when he said that You gave the church gifts. And thank You for the impactful, weighty emphasis upon gifts and how we all are going to be judged one day according to how we served You and how faithful we were to You — especially according to how we utilized the gifts that You've given us.

And now Lord, I pray on behalf of us all, and ask if You would help to reveal to us exactly how You have gifted us, so that we can be faithful to You. Now I pray, Lord, that You would lay it clearly upon our hearts, that we would be able to see it in the scriptures and align ourselves with this and just start trying. And Lord, You know that this church here is so gracious and so kind, to be able to come alongside one another and to help one another, and never to point and condemn when we fail. But Lord, I pray that everyone here would feel the safety net of this local church to give it a try, to do something.

I pray, Lord, that everyone here would feel the freedom to come to the eldership to discuss what perhaps You may have on their heart and mind, to be able to serve You in this dear local church — whether it be as an extension of this church by way of reaching people and evangelizing the lost, or where it may be in regards to discipling the members that are here, or may it be teaching or preaching, or whatever the case may be. There's such a plethora of wonderful gifts, and there's room for everyone whom You have gifted here.

Jesus, I pray that You give us the confidence to start taking baby steps forward, to exercise and try these wonderful gifts which You have given us. God, if there's one here that has never been saved — they do not know yet what the gifts are, because You give them the gifts at salvation — I pray, Father, that they would repent of their sin and place their faith and trust in You and be saved. I pray if anyone here was not saved, dear Jesus, that You would draw their heart into a sorrowful disposition, to where they fully comprehend that their sin is why You had to die on the cross and be tortured and beaten, battered and bruised. And after they recognize the fact that sin has a payment — and that payment is death for eternity — that they then would recognize that You paid it for them, and be overwhelmed with Your love and grace and kindness and be saved.

Father, I pray that You would continue to save many souls here at Beulah Baptist Church, and through the saints to see many baptized, to see many who come and not only be members and belong here, dear Jesus, but that they would truly learn how to rightly divide the word for themselves and to go forth and make disciples. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.