Thank you.
Uh how do you like doing responsive readings?
Uh
Uh six of you like it.
Some of you aren't so sure about it, huh?
Uh someone told me you haven't done responsive readings in a while, so I said, Oh, we'll start with uh some responsive readings and
And uh hopefully I won't forget as the year goes on, uh alternate some things.
But uh we had uh several here at the beginning of the year.
Um how many of you remember what we talked about two weeks ago?
Yeah, I'm testing your memory here.
I saw one hand, I did not hear anything, but uh
Yeah, God's role.
God's part, the part that God plays.
There are some things that God does.
Only God can do them.
Last week we talked about the role of the church
And as we looked at the role of church, we found out that we are a priesthood of all believers.
And as the priesthood of all believers, the church is supposed to be the gathering place for those individuals that are being saved.
Who's doing the saving?
God's doing the saving, but the church is his gathering place for those that are being saved.
And so today I want us to look at, so what is my role?
What is our responsibility?
Now the deacons are handing out a piece of paper to you right now.
That's going to be kind of a thing that we work through in just a few minutes.
Before we get to that, I'm going to continue on with my introduction.
Do you have a role that you play in life?
How many of you have parents?
Well, not every hand went up.
How'd you get here if your hand's not up?
So we we have parents, right?
So for all of us at one time or another, now maybe our parents have passed away or something, but we have had parents, we know what it's like to have the role of that as a child.
Now, how many of you have children?
So you know what the role is, those of you that have children, you know what the role is of being a parent.
How many of you are married?
You guys are doing pretty good here.
Or maybe I'm on a roll asking the right questions.
So you know what the role is of having a spouse, of being a spouse.
Those are different roles.
Now, your role of a child is very different than your role of a parent.
Now, maybe you are also have siblings.
Being a sibling is a different role than being a parent.
Maybe your spouse has siblings and
Then they are married and things, and that makes you a brother-in-law or a sister-in-law.
And that is a very different role to being a parent.
I mean, think about it for just a moment.
You have small children.
Your wife says to you, please watch the children as they go down to the park to play.
That's a role that you would play.
Now, would someone ever say to you, please watch your spouse as she goes to the park to play?
You probably don't want that role.
That's a different one.
We understand what it means to have roles.
In business, we understand what it means to have a role.
We have things like CEO, CFO, and COO.
Yeah, I had to write that out as well.
Chief Executive Officer, Chief Finance Officer, Chief Operating Officer.
Do they have different roles?
Very different things they do.
There are people that work in sales, they are people that work in distribution, there are people that work in installation, there are people that work in HR, there are people that work in delivery.
There are people that work in in creator, there are people that are writers, editors, publishers, assembly lines, manufacturing.
I mean, each of those things is a different role, and they don't really overlap well.
And we understand that.
Today I want us to look at spiritual gifts.
Now I was told that uh the Mesa Palms Church has already studied about spiritual gifts.
And I said, that's okay, I want to cover it again, but not as deep as what I heard you did last time.
unless you want me to go as deep.
And if you want me to go as deep, uh it's gonna have to be if some of you come and say, hey, I want more information.
Well then I'll start a spiritual gifts class and we'll get the more information because spiritual gifts are important.
So today we're just kind of cover the surface a little bit.
Spiritual gifts.
I'm going to start with who's responsible for assigning the spiritual gifts.
All right.
Holy Spirit is what was answered.
Do we know where that is found?
In the Bible, I love it.
Thank you.
First Corinthians chapter twelve.
Our scripture reading that we read today, 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
We'll go there.
If you'll open your Bible, 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
Start with verse 1 here.
It says, now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant.
Paul is saying here there are some things about spiritual gifts that that you, the the Church of Corinth, you are not understanding correctly.
In fact, if you read this, there must have been many things that the Corinthian church did not understand correctly.
But one of those things was about spiritual gifts.
In fact, if you read, he's going to talk about it for several chapters here.
2 Corinthians chapter 12, 13 and 14.
He talks about spiritual gifts.
In this talking about spiritual gifts, he wants them to make sure they get it right.
And there must have been a big problem on spiritual gifts about that gift of speaking in tongues.
Because the whole chapter 14 he talks about the gift of speaking in tongues.
Because he wants to make sure that there is a true understanding of what the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues is.
Okay, did you make it to 1 Corinthians chapter 12?
I gave you time?
Okay, we read verse 1.
Now I want us to come down to verse 11 to answer our question here.
It says, but one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills.
Who gives out the spiritual gifts?
The Holy Spirit.
Does he give you the one you want?
Not usually.
Sometimes, yes, but not usually.
Sometimes we are doing life and we look at other people and we say, wow.
I'd like to have a gift like that.
I wish I could do that.
Guess what?
He didn't give you that gift.
You have another gift.
And you're thinking, but I don't like my gift.
Ah
Sometimes we think that, and if you're thinking that, that means you know your gift.
And that means I can stop talking now.
Yeah, that's what I figured.
What is the specific purpose for the spiritual gifts?
Ah, somebody has the answers here.
He he's the one that was at the class last time it was taught.
And he remembers the answers, yes.
And that is found in Ephesians chapter four.
If you're turning your Bible over to Ephesians chapter four.
We'll read that in Ephesians chapter four.
Come down to verse eleven.
Ephesians chapter four.
We'll start with verse eleven.
It says, and he gave and he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
What is the purpose of the gifts?
Did you catch that there?
Verse 12 says, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry.
Now, some of you are still reading the King James Version.
And if you're reading the King James Version, that's a really good version to read.
But in this instance, it has an extra comma where it does not belong.
The same as that, when Jesus was on the cross and he talked to the thief, and Jesus said to the thief, Verily I say unto you today, or Verily I say unto you today.
Comma.
Where's the comma go?
Yeah, after today in that instance.
Here they have an extra comma.
In fact, in the King James it says, for the equipping of the saints, comma.
For the work of the ministry, comma, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
But the spiritual gifts really should be without the comma, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry.
The spiritual gifts are supposed to be so that you and I can do works of ministry.
And it goes a little bit further for the edifying of the body of Christ.
Those that ministry that we perform is supposed to do what?
Edify the Bible.
What does edify mean?
To build up, to encourage, to strengthen, to educate, to edify, to make better.
That's what our spiritual gift is supposed to do, according to the scripture.
If it's not doing that, maybe we're using it wrong.
Or we're using the wrong gift.
So for the next several minutes we're going to kind of work through the piece of paper that you have been given.
And will I start with asking the question: what are these gifts given out by the Holy Spirit?
We're going to start in the book of Romans, Romans chapter 12.
You'll go over to Romans chapter twelve.
Romans chapter twelve, we'll begin reading with verse six.
Romans chapter twelve verse six says, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.
If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith.
Or ministry, let us use it in our ministering.
He who teaches in teaching, he who exhorts in exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness.
There is a starting of a list of what the spiritual gifts are.
You see the gift of prophecy that is mentioned.
Now I'm going to tell you the gift of prophecy is mentioned several times
In each of the lists that are given in Scripture, the gift of prophecy seems to be always present.
The gift of prophecy is that
What is written there on your notes there?
The special ability to cause the authoritative word of God's truth to shine.
It includes congregational preaching and lay utterances which explain and apply God's revelation for correction and edification.
Sometimes we think the gift of prophecy means I know what's going to happen tomorrow.
And that's can be part of the gift of prophecy.
Or if I know what's going to happen in the future.
That's part of the gift of prophecy, but that's often the part that we focus on.
But that's not what the gift of prophecy is necessarily for.
The gift of prophecy is much larger than just foretelling the future.
The next one that is there, teaching, is a special ability to give detailed understanding of biblical truths to those willing to learn.
Now there are some people that ha that say, I have the gift of teaching, I have the gift of teaching.
And so we put them in as a Sabbath school teacher.
In with the early teen department, youth department.
And within six weeks they come out and say, I don't have the gift of teaching any longer.
How do you know you don't have the gift of teaching?
You may still have the gift of teaching.
You just need to apply it in the right place.
Maybe you have the gift of teaching.
Adults.
And we put you in with an adult class.
And you sit there with the adult class and you read to them.
And as you read to them, they tell you you don't have the gift of teaching.
But you're always so excited and so enthusiastic.
So we put you in with the three and four-year-olds.
And with the three and four-year-olds, oh man, you fall in love with the three and four-year-olds.
You enjoy the three and four-year-olds.
Suddenly you say, I do have the gift of teaching.
Do you see sometimes you can have a gift, but you have to apply it at the right place.
How do you know?
Experiment.
The church should be a safe place for us to experiment, to find out.
I know some of you
Last year, or maybe it was the year before, you took the test, you found out your spiritual gift, the test told you you had the gift of teaching, but you haven't experimented to find the right place yet.
I'm going to tell you, we need to try some experimentation to see how you can apply that gift that you have.
The next one there in the list in Romans was the gift of exhortation, the special ability to come along alongside another in the need of encouragement, challenge, and earnest advice.
That gift of exhortation is that gift of encouragement.
Now, my brother and I laugh.
My father had the gift of exhortation.
You can do it!
And he would exhort us, and sure enough, we could do it.
And my brother and I still talk about it when we're watching the football players on the on the TV.
They just need somebody to encourage them to do better.
They could do it.
That's not the kind of encouragement we're talking about.
Exhortation.
To encourage, to uplift, to to strengthen, to motivate someone, to walk with them in the in the process of
Accomplishing it.
Ministry helps is a special ability to provide timely assistance that releases other Christian workers for direct spiritual ministry.
That gift of helps is the person that is there behind the scenes that makes sure everything gets done.
You know, sometimes the the evangelist he he'll come to town and he has that big idea he wants to share Jesus Christ, but he's got
Slides, powerpoints that need to be run.
He's got cables that need to go all over the place.
He's got things that need to happen.
There needs to be somebody with the gift of helps to make sure everything
Is laid out properly.
That's the person with the gift of helps.
The next one is that gift of giving, the special ability to earn money, manage it well.
And wisely and give for the Lord's work.
Now some of you are are thinking, I don't have the gift of giving.
That means I don't have to tithe and offering anymore.
That's not what it means.
The person with the gift of giving is that person who is going to give you the coat off their back.
Or when it's cold outside, they're going to give you the shoes off their feet.
They have that gift, that love that they are willing to give.
anything and everything that that's the person with the the gift of giving.
See some of these these these these gifts
People are gifted in it, but all of us need to have a little bit of it.
So faithfulness in tithes and offerings is the little bit that we're supposed to have.
Those of us that are gifted in giving, we may end up giving 90% of our income back.
Or 95%.
Or you get the idea.
Go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor.
And come and follow me, Jesus said.
The gift of leadership is that special ability to picture a preferred future for a local ministry with biblical values and direction and motivate followers toward that accomplishment.
The gift of leadership is encouraging people.
Hey, it's possible for us to do this task.
And a lot of times you'll say, No, I don't think we can do that.
Yeah, it's possible.
I think we can.
I I I see the steps that we need to do.
We need to do this and then we need to do this and then we need to accomplish that, and then we will accomplish this huge goal.
I think we can.
That's the idea of a leader.
To encourage, to give us the biblical values to motivate us for the
The gift of mercy is that special ability to identify needs, to aid the suffering, the undeserving, and to spare them from punishment or penalties justly deserved.
I am sure glad Jesus had mercy on us.
We need to show mercy to
This is that person that is always forgiving.
We're talking that person that is forgiving the 70 times seven times, not just the seven times.
The one that is showing mercy over and over, the kindness over and over, even though it may seem to be undeserved, that's the person with the gift of mercy.
We're going to turn in our Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
1 Corinthians chapter 12.
Now, when you go to study spiritual gifts, remember it's Romans 12 and then 1 Corinthians 12.
So they're both in chapter 12.
First Corinthians chapter 12.
Come down to verse 8.
We'll start with seven.
Seven through ten here we'll read.
It says, but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.
For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge, through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit.
To another the work of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another interpretation of tongues
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills.
You notice in that list prophecy was there again.
But here we see some new ones, the gift of wisdom.
Wisdom is that that ability to apply knowledge effectively for the honor and glory of God.
Oh, it's so much joy to be around someone with the gift of wisdom.
As a shared.
Now, some of us think that just gray hair means wisdom.
I like to say that, but sometimes gray hair just means you're old.
Or sometimes it says means you had bad heredity.
Started grain when I was in my twenties.
So that's why last night Jamie George said I hadn't changed any because my hair has been gray for a long time.
Wisdom is that ability to use knowledge effectively with a reverential awe
of God.
Knowledge is special ability to master God's revealed truth in Scripture.
Knowledge is those those student type.
people, the ones that are always studying God's Word, that are finding something new in Scripture, that are digging deep, that are trying to to understand what God's Word has for us.
And they are wanting to to share.
And sometimes when they share, they uh don't have the gift of teaching to go along with their knowledge.
And so it's hard for us to understand what they're trying to communicate.
We need someone with the gift of wisdom that understands their knowledge to begin to help
us apply it so that somebody with the gift of teaching can communicate it so that people have understanding.
The gift of faith, the unusual ability to trust in the presence and power of God, and to act on this trust.
This is another one of those where I say: everybody has to have faith.
Right?
Because you're saved by faith.
So I'm praying that each of us have at least saving faith.
But you may not have mustard seed faith.
Because mustard seed faith is the faith kind of faith that can move mountains.
Mustard seed faith is the kind of faith that individuals like George Mueller had.
Boy, you read the stories about George Mueller and the things that he accomplished.
He had faith.
He I think of Danny Shelton when I think of individuals with faith.
One who started 3 ABN, he's another person that had great faith in order to uh accomplish what he thought God was telling him to do.
The next one on the list was that gift of miracles, the ability to do something supernatural, such as bring forth water from a rock, cause wind and waves to cease, or move a mountain.
I I just read a story this this last week about uh individuals that were with Cher Ham.
You know Sher Ham is is a
Taking evangelism to the world, getting individuals l that normally sit in the pew to stand up and preach, and they go to a third world country so that they can preach with a translator.
Not knowing what the translator's saying.
And so it it it helps us to feel better about ourselves when we work through translator, because the translator makes us sound better.
Someone went with Share Him to the country of India so that they could could share, and afterwards they called for people that had prayer requests to come up and they would pray for them.
They weren't expecting the mob of people that came forward.
But there was one man that that came forward that hit the right side of his body just wasn't functioning.
He limped as he came forward, his hand was all shriveled up.
The man tells the story how he began to
Pray for this man.
And as he prayed, it was like the man just seemed to blossom like a flower.
And by the time he quit praying, the man's leg, his whole side, his arm, his hand had opened up, and he was able to jump up and down for joy.
In his words, he says, it was just like something that happened that we read about in the New Testament.
That's the kind of person with the gift of of of healing.
Supernatural thing that occurs.
Something out of the ordinary that that we don't
Expect the gift of discernment, the special ability to distinguish between truth and error, good and evil, the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Antichrist.
Oh, sometimes I wish I had the gift of discernment.
People knock on the door, they come into the church, they give me a sob story.
They can tell me pretty much anything, and I want to help them.
And it's okay for me to help them because they need help.
I go home, I begin to tell my wife the story.
And she said, Did you ask this question?
Did you ask this question?
Did you
asked this question no I didn't ask those questions she says I think they're lying to you I said from now on you have to sit with me when they when they talk with me
She's got the gift of discernment.
I've seen it.
The gift of discernment is that special ability to distinguish between truth and error.
Good and evil.
Tongues and the interpretation of tongues, the ability to spread the gospel in a language that you do not know.
Now some of us might say, hey, that's the gift of hearing.
Because sometimes we read Acts chapter 2, it says they had the gift of tongues, but it seemed like the people were hearing what Peter said in their own language.
And so maybe it was the gift of hearing.
I'm not sure how it works, but what I know is the people are hearing in their heart language.
And they are understanding the gospel.
We're there in 1 Corinthians 12.
Come down to verse 28, because in verse 28 he reiterates some things and then adds a new one, verse 28.
It says, And God has appointed these to the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
Are all apostles or all prophets, or all teachers, or all workers of miracles, do all have gifts of healing, do all speak with tongues, do all interpret?
More excellent way.
We haven't seen before.
There in verse 28, we see the gift of administration.
That's the special ability of planning.
Of working with and through followers toward achieving biblical goals and organizational objectives.
We know the person that has the gift of administration, don't we?
I remember I was at a ministers' meeting, all the ministers were together, our families were there, the person had just gotten through speaking.
Our five-year-old daughter was walking around with a group, and she was had a group of friends that were with her, and she was giving orders.
She was instructing the children what to do and how to do it and where to go and what their place was to be.
And the speaker came to us and it says, It seems like at least one family around here needed the gift of administration.
So God gave it to you.
And sure enough, our daughter seems to demonstrate at the age of three or four that gift of administration.
We need the gift of administration.
The gift of apostleship is that New Testament role represented today by the Spirit given ability to minister cross-culturally.
With a goal of planting churches.
The desire to spread the gospel as apostleship.
The word apostle simply means one cent.
So if the church sins you, that means you are an apostle.
We'll continue on with our study by turning to Ephesians chapter 4.
So where do we find the spiritual gifts recorded?
Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4.
Ephesians 4, again, verse 11, says, and he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.
We have the apostle again, we have prophet again.
We have the gift of evangelism
The gift of evangelism is that special ability to act as a productive instrument of God in soul winning.
That's the person that that seems to be very aggressive.
The one that wants to share Jesus all the time.
When I think of evangelists, my dad comes to my to mind.
He has that special gift for doing evangelism, wanting to call people to Jesus Christ.
I remember when we lived in Tennessee, he came to visit us there, and our neighbor was walking down the road, and my dad went out to meet him.
And my dad asked him, What do you do?
He says, I'm retired.
What'd you retire from?
Selling insurance.
In the conversation, the man asked my dad, and what do you do?
My dad says, I sell insurance.
The guy says, really?
What kind of insurance do you sell?
My dad says, I sell fire insurance
The guy had sold insurance.
He'd never hurt any somebody that just sold fire insurance.
Well, what do you mean you sell fire insurance?
And my dad started to share the gospel.
In a manner that that man understood about fire insurance.
This is the person that's willing to go to the mall and sit down and talk to people and say, if you were to die tonight, would you have eternal life?
What a way to start a conversation, huh?
That's the person that that wants to share about Jesus Christ.
Has a desire to share the good news of who Jesus is.
The next one that was in the list there is that of shepherding.
I know it's the use of the word pastor, and it uses the word pastor teacher, but that pastor teacher word really should be shepherding.
It's that special ability to effectively guide, feed, and protect a flock of followers in Christ.
Christ, also known as pastoring.
That's where Jesus said to Peter, Feed my sheep.
Take care of my sheep, the gift of shepherding or pasturing.
There's another one on the list there that isn't in those three spots, and it is not written by Paul.
1 Peter chapter 4 also
has spiritual gifts listed as Peter lists them in 1 Peter chapter 4.
First Peter chapter four.
Uh, we'll just read the whole paragraph there.
We'll start with verse seven.
First Peter four verse seven says, But the end of all things is at hand.
Boy, is that true now?
Yeah.
The end of all things is at hand.
Therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.
Be hospitable to one another without grumbling, as each one has received a gift, minister to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
If any one speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.
If any one ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion for ever and ever.
Amen.
The last one that's there on your list is that gift of hospitality, that special ability to provide an open home for fellow believers.
to those in need of food, lodging, of fellowship, as a refuge to the bruised individuals.
Do you know people with the gift of hospitality?
That can make you feel at home.
Now, sometimes we say, oh, she's got the gift of hospitality.
She's always got her house open.
People are there all the time.
I'm not talking about selling Mary Kay.
Tupperware, Princess House.
That does not count as the gift of hospitality.
The gift of hospitality is that of of nurturing the church.
She is motivated by another m kind of motivation.
That's selling to Mary Kay.
Now that doesn't mean you can't sell Mary Kay with the motivation of using it for Jesus Christ.
But most of the time it is a different motivation of why we open the home for Tupperware parties.
You guys know it's nominating committee time.
Tap piece of paper you have if you'll just fold it in half there.
There's a place for you to write down your name.
The nominating committee needs some information from you, twofold.
One is what spiritual gifts do you have?
Now, maybe you haven't discovered your spiritual gift yet, and if you haven't, maybe you want to leave that blank.
Maybe you want to write there, I need a spiritual gifts class.
I need to take the inventory to find out what spiritual gift I should start experimenting with.
That's okay to do.
If you need that, write that down there, because maybe we need to have a spiritual gifts class.
But the second part we need you to fill out as well.
I have a heart, I have a passion for using my gift of teaching in
The youth and early teen department.
I have a passion for using my hospitality by
And maybe you have a passion for something.
I have a a a heart's desire for seeing that we have a
A men's ministry.
I want to make sure.
I think I can administer things correctly so that we are able to.
Where is your heart?
Where is your passion?
What is something that you would like to be involved in?
This is your opportunity to give some some feedback, some needed feedback to the nominating committee.
I'm gonna pause for just a second while you're writing down on that writing something down on that piece of paper.
You know, sometimes one minute of silence is hard
For us to handle.
Just a minute is really hard for us to handle.
I'm going to close here by reading First Peter chapter
Chapter four, verse eleven again
If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.
If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified.
Globified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.
Amen.
We want to use our gifts, our God-given gifts, so that God can be glorified.
And when you leave today, you can take these papers and you can just leave them there on the pew.
I will collect them later.
Okay?
You don't have to take them out, you don't have to give them to anybody.
You can just leave them there.
And I will collect them.
I invite you to stand at this time.
So we sing our closing hymn, hymn number three hundred and twenty-six.
Open my eyes.