THE HOLY SPIRIT ADVANTAGE SERIES PART 4 THE SPIRIT GIFTS YOU2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

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Date: 2010-11-17

Title: The Holy Spirit Advantage Series Part 4 The Spirit Gifts You

Teacher: Jerry B Simmons

Series: 2010 The Holy Spirit Advantage Series

Teaching Transcript: The Holy Spirit Advantage Series Part 4 The Spirit Gifts You

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010. Evening as we continue the Holy Spirit Advantage series, we're looking at the fourth study in this series. And the title is, or the subject is, The Gifts of the Spirit. The Spirit Gifts You.

Now here in John chapter 16 verse 7, it's the verse we've been looking at every evening, understanding what it is that is our advantage. When Jesus says in verse 7 of John chapter 16, he says, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you.

Jesus tells his disciples it's better for them if he goes away. And this verse is the core verse for this study, for this series, as we understand the advantages that we have because Jesus has left. And because Jesus has left, he has sent to us the helper, the Holy Spirit. As we've been talking about throughout the week, life changes.

is hard. There's a lot of difficulties in life from beginning at a very young age into our adult life. There's a lot of things that we face. There's a lot of trials and life is very difficult.

And then you add on to that the Christian life, and you have all of the same difficulties and trials of the non-Christian, but then you add on the difficulties and trials of the Christian life, and the world that is out there and offering continual seduction into sin. And you have the flesh that is continually desiring to dive in and to practice those old ways and to go on.

and the path that's away from God. And then you have the enemy who is analyzing us and strategizing and seeking to trap us and cause us to fall away from God. You have the spiritual warfare that goes on, the temptation, the laziness of our flesh. All of those things involved in the Christian life make life very difficult. There are some tough things that we face. And so we need all the advantages we can get. We need the Helper who is the Holy Spirit.

And so Sunday evening as we began the series, we looked at the indwelling of the Spirit. How we have this great advantage in that the Holy Spirit abides within us forever.

And a key part of that is forever. The Holy Spirit dwells within believers always and forever, no matter what, whether you're in a good mood or a bad mood, whether you've been practicing good things or whether you've messed up and fallen into sin. For those who are believers, the Holy Spirit indwells you always and forever, continually. He does not come and go.

And so Sunday night we saw nine advantages that we have because the Holy Spirit is dwelling within us. Some powerful things that are the result of the Spirit's presence in our heart. And how do we partake of these advantages? Well, we saw as we went through each one that the way that we receive the advantages we have by the Spirit dwelling within us is by asking and then walking. We ask God to give us His Spirit and then we walk in

in faith and in obedience, knowing that the Spirit is there dwelling within us. Well, then Monday night, we looked at the fruit of the Spirit. Looking at Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23, we learned there about the things that the Holy Spirit produces in us.

9 things that the Spirit produces in us that are listed as the fruit of the Spirit. And some powerful things, some desirable things like love and joy and peace and these things that are highly sought after, that the world seeks after, they're produced in us. And we learned that we don't have to generate them.

We don't need our own resources to produce these things, but the Holy Spirit produces them in us. And so the way that we partake of these fruits, the way that the Spirit is able to produce these qualities and characteristics within us...

is by cultivating our spiritual lives, by digging into the things of God. And as we do, spending time in fellowship and in the Word and spending time with Jesus, allowing God to prune us and those things that we talked about for cultivation, as we cultivate our spiritual lives, then the Holy Spirit has the resources to be able to produce the fruit of the Spirit and produce these qualities in our lives.

Well, then last night, as we continued the series, we looked at the baptism of the Holy Spirit, looking at Acts chapter one and two and several other passages in the book of Acts, where Jesus promised that we would receive power to be witnesses to him.

And we learned that it means to be an expert witness, to be an authorized agent, that when the Spirit comes upon us, we are these expert witnesses to Jesus, that we are able to tell people about Jesus, to share with them who He is and what He has done. And we saw last night five results of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, five things that take place when the Spirit comes upon us and what that looks like in our lives.

And how do we receive the Spirit coming upon us? We ask and then we walk. We ask God to baptize us, to fill us with His Spirit, and then we walk in faith, knowing that the Holy Spirit is upon us to accomplish the works that God has set before us. And so as we consider the difficulties of life before Christ and then the difficulties of life as a Christian,

I want to add to that a little bit. And then now you consider that as Christians, God has called us to minister to people and to be a part of changing their lives, to help people change their lives, to make some radical differences in the lives of the people around us. Now, if you don't know this already, but then you need to know that

Changing people's lives is hard work. It's very difficult. If you are not stubborn, you're delusional.

You don't even know that you're stubborn. But we're stubborn and change is hard. If we try to change, you and I know that change is very difficult. And yet God has called us as Christians to minister to one another and to be a part of change that not just is a little bit temporary change, but change that lasts for eternity. It's some hard work.

And it's a work that cannot be done without the power of the Holy Spirit. And this hard work that God has called every believer to, although it has its challenges, we also have an advantage. And that God has called us to this hard work, He's given us the advantage of the Holy Spirit. And that is the subject of our study this evening. This advantage that we have in ministering to people and helping them change their lives is

The power of the Holy Spirit is evident in the gifts of the Spirit.

But as we start out looking at the gifts of the Spirit, I want to start out with an overview. And for that, would you please turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

1 Corinthians chapter 12, here the Apostle Paul is dealing really in great depth with the gifts of the Spirit and spiritual things. Here in chapter 12, also in chapter 13 and 14, we have a lot of instruction about the gifts of the Spirit. We'll only be looking at small portions of this chapter, but we'll get a good understanding of the outline or the overview of spiritual gifts.

Here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, we want to look at verses 4 through 6. It says this, There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. There are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. Here in verses 4 through 6 of 1 Corinthians 12, we have this.

What I believe is an outline of spiritual gifts. An outline to give us understanding into the different aspects of the gifts that have been given to us and that we've been called to walk in.

Now when you're looking at the subject of spiritual gifts, there's three main passages that we can look at and we can turn to. The first one is found in Romans chapter 12. We'll look at that a little bit this evening. The second one is 1 Corinthians chapter 12, where we are right now. And then the third one is Ephesians chapter 4. These are the three primary passages for studying the gifts of the Spirit and understanding these gifts that God has given to us.

Now, each of those passages in dealing with the gifts also deal with the subject of the church as the body of Christ. All of them relate to you and I and the fact that we are members of the body of Christ. And because, that is because rather, that as members of the body of Christ, God gifts us in order to be able to fulfill our

That role within the body that we have been given. There's a relationship between these two concepts. The gifts of the Spirit and the body of Christ, or the church as the body of Christ. And so here in verses 4 through 6, in considering the body of Christ and the gifts that are given to the body of Christ, we have these three things. Paul makes a distinction here. In verse 4, verse 5, and verse 6, he speaks of it a little bit differently each verse.

and outlines for us really three distinct aspects of spiritual things or the gifts of the Spirit. There in verse 4, we have diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And so we have the gifts of the Spirit there in verse 4. But then in verse 5, there's differences or diversities of ministries, but the same Lord referenced to Jesus. And so you have the gifts of the Spirit, but you have the ministries of the Lord.

And then in verse 6, you have the diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. And so you have the diversity of activities, but it's the same God. The diversity of ministries, but the same Lord. And then the diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And you see the triune nature of God at work in the spiritual gifts.

The Holy Spirit is gifting. The Lord Jesus, He is ministering, or He's giving the gift of ministry. And then God, He is the one who gives the activities, and that's what we'll be talking about tonight. Now, we tend to kind of lump all of those into one big group and call them spiritual gifts, and that is okay. But I want to break them down because I think that understanding the distinctions that Paul is making here will help us learn to operate spiritually.

in the gifts of the Spirit and the gifts that God has given to us. And so the first gift we want to look at in considering the body of Christ, and here we have a little image, there's the body of Christ, right? You have Jesus and all of us make up the body of Christ. And considering the body of Christ, we understand that Jesus has given a gift to His body and that gift is leadership.

Jesus gives leadership to the body of Christ. Verse 5 again here says, There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. The word ministries there, it's the word that means service. But it is also used as an office, a role or a position of ministry within the Christian community or within the church.

And that's what Jesus has given to the body of Christ. He's given the role or the position of ministry, a position of authority within the body of Christ. Turn with me really quickly. We'll come back to 1 Corinthians 12, but turn with me to Ephesians chapter 4. It's just a couple books to the right. Ephesians chapter 4.

This is one of those primary passages in dealing with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And in Ephesians chapter 4, the Apostle Paul, he's talking about the things that Jesus has done. And we see in verse 8 of Ephesians chapter 4, it says, Therefore he says, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.

There Paul is talking about Jesus and he's making reference to the fact that Jesus has given gifts to men. Well, what gifts has he given? Well, verse 11 says,

Gives us the details. It says, Now that's Jesus. So Jesus gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, verse 12, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And so there's gifts that Jesus has given.

And the gifts that Jesus has given is the gift of leadership. Roles, positions of authority and leadership within the body of Christ. The role of apostle, the role of evangelist, the role of prophet, and the role of pastor-teacher.

These roles or these positions within the body of Christ is Jesus' gift to the body because he knows that we as Christians, that we as a church need leadership and we need authority. We need those who are above us spiritually to help us live the Christian life and learn the things that we need to learn. You see, the purpose is

of Jesus' gift to the body there in verse 12, where it's for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry. And so Jesus has given this gift of leadership and authority to the body of Christ so that the saints can be equipped and prepared to do the good works that God has called them to do. So these gifts that Jesus gives are not really to the individual.

but they are to the church as a whole. Individual churches or the global church, whichever way you want to look at it, but it's not a gift that's given to an individual so much as it's a gift that's given to the church.

So back in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, we see that the ministries that are given, but the same Lord is a reference to the fact that Jesus gives that position and those roles of leadership and authority within the body of Christ. So Jesus gives leadership. And then looking at verse 6, we find that God gives membership. That is a reference to the Father.

Jesus gives leadership. The Father gives membership to the body of Christ. There in verse 6, he says, That word activities, it means operations.

Now this is the subject that we're going to get into tonight after I finish up this short overview. And so I'm not going to get into great detail here, but here in chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, you can see in verse 18, it says, But now God has set the members, each of them in the body, just as he pleased. It's very clear that God is the one, the Father is the one who has given us life.

membership into the body of Christ. And He's designated specific roles for us to fulfill, specific parts that we are to operate in.

And so there's diversities of activities or operations. There's a lot of different members of the body of Christ and a lot of different ways that we are called to fulfill our role within the body of Christ. But it's the same God, it's the Father, who has granted us membership into the body of Christ. Each of us has different activities or operations. We have different responsibilities, right? Just like your body, right?

Each member of your body, each finger, each hand, each arm, each part of your body has its own unique and specific operation and activity and how it contributes to the body. In the same way, each of us as members of the body of Christ, we have our own unique roles and responsibilities, activities and operations within His body. And the purpose...

Of God giving us membership in the body of Christ. He tells us there in verse 18. Now God has set the members each one of them in the body just as he pleased. It's for his pleasure. He's granted us to be members of the body of Christ for his own pleasure. To bring him glory. To bring him pleasure. That's why we have been granted into the body of Christ.

And so Jesus gives leadership, God gives membership, and then looking at verse 4 again, and here in chapter 12, we see that there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And so Jesus gives leadership, God gives membership, and the Spirit gives spiritual gifts.

The Spirit is the one who gives the spiritual gifts. He says there's diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. The word gift here, it means that it's a gift of grace or it's an undeserved gift.

We'll be talking about that in the next couple of nights. And so I encourage you to be a part of that. The spiritual gifts that are given by the Holy Spirit. And how that they are undeserved. That we don't earn the right to have these gifts. And we don't have to do enough good things to get enough spiritual points to be able to exercise these gifts. It's not a video game. You have to get so many points to be able to access that level or something. It's all about the grace of God.

Now we learn about the spiritual gifts or the gifts that the Spirit gives us here in chapter 12, verses 7 through 11. And it says this, So these are specific things of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 8, 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 healings by the same Spirit, to another the workings of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

Notice verse 11. But one in the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills. So the gifts that the Spirit gives are given to whoever he wants to give them to according to his will. He gives them individually whenever he wants to.

And these gifts, and we'll be studying them the next couple of nights, these are gifts that I believe are available for every one of us. That as we are performing our role within the body of Christ, the Spirit is able at any time to gift us with any of these things to help us complete the task that God has assigned to us. And the purpose of the gifting of the Spirit is

Notice he says there at verse 7, he says, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. And so the purpose of the gifts of the Spirit is for the benefit of the rest of the body, for the benefit of all those around us.

And so this is the overview, kind of the outline of spiritual gifts. You have Jesus giving the role and the position of leadership within the body. You have God giving you and I as believers membership within the body. And then you have the Holy Spirit who gives us gifts to help us fulfill our role as a member within the body of Christ.

Jesus gives you and me leadership. And Jesus gives you, I'm sorry, and God gives you a place within the body of Christ. And then the Spirit gives you gifts to help you fulfill your role that God has given you in the body of Christ. And so as we go forward this evening, I want to focus on that verse 6, the activities of God. Focus on your role within the body of Christ.

Now, as we look at your role within the body of Christ, and every night as we've been studying this Holy Spirit advantage, we've been really trying to focus on the personal application, the real life, what does it look like? And so as we consider the fact that we have a role within the body of Christ, that we are members of the body of Christ, and we have a specific function to fulfill,

I want to start out by asking the question, and hopefully answering it for you as well, how do you find your role? How do you know what your role and your purpose and your function within the body of Christ is? How do you know that place or that position that God has given you within the body of Christ? And as you consider that, you need to understand that it's not a one-time thing.

you as a member of the body of Christ you know you don't just have that that one limited role within the body but but throughout your life as you grow it transforms and God changes it over time as God grows you up and works in your life there's different seasons in your life and so God will use you in different ways let me give you a simple kind of dramatic example so a person who has been

given the role of leadership within the body of Christ, let's say a pastor within the body of Christ, is not instantly a pastor the moment they get saved. So, I didn't get saved and...

I was a pastor and I was fulfilling that role within the body. You know, there was some growth. There was quite a bit of growth there. There was a lot of things that, that God allowed me to go through to shape me and transform me and change me to prepare me so that then I could fulfill the function that he was going to give me, uh, to be a pastor here at Calvary Chapel Living Water. In the same way in your life, uh,

The role and the function that God has you fulfilling at the beginning will probably be very different than the end of your life because as you go forward and as you grow, He will use you in different ways and capacities.

And so it's going to change. And that's the point. It's something that we need to be considering because it's not just, well, I already know what my role is, but it's something that we continually need to take back to the Lord in seeking him and saying, Lord, what position do I have? What function am I to fulfill within the body of Christ?

And so how do we find that out? Whether it's for the first time trying to find out our role, or maybe we need to re-examine and say, "What is my role? What is my function within the body?" How do we find that? I think it was a couple of weeks ago now, I stumbled across a website online that had a test that you could take online.

You fill out this test, you go through these steps, and then supposedly it would tell you what your spiritual gifts are and the role that God has called you to fulfill within the body of Christ. I went through it just for fun, just to see what would happen. And as I went through it, I realized, you know, in those kinds of tests, there's many of them available, all you really learn is

is what you are naturally good at, or perhaps the things that you like to do, or perhaps the things that you want to do. That's what you learn by answering those questions, and they think that they can determine your spiritual gifts by the questions that they present. But I would suggest to you that that is not a very good way to find out what role that you have been given within the body of Christ.

Instead, there's a better way. And for that, would you please turn to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. Here the Apostle Paul gives us some insight. Now he's going to go into the subject of the body of Christ and the gifts that God has given to us. And we'll deal with that in a few minutes. But here as we start out in chapter 12, we want to look at verses 1 and 2.

And here in Romans 12, 1 and 2, I believe we have the answer that we need for how to find out our role within the body of Christ. Romans 12, verse 1 says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,

that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Here in Romans 12, 1 and 2, we have the keys that we need to

To be able to find out what our role is within the body of Christ. God has granted us membership within the body. How do we find out what function we're to fulfill? Number one, present. Paul says, present your bodies a living sacrifice. The first thing we need to do if we desire to find out

What our role is, is we need to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. That is, Lord, here I am, all I am, my body, everything is yours. Do with it what you will. We need to present ourselves to God in prayer, in availability, in service, in making ourselves available to be used by God in whatever way that he desires or sees fit.

I like the way that Charles Ryrie puts it. He says,

Ryrie says, look, if you want to find out your role within the body of Christ, just serve in whatever capacity and whatever opportunity is presented to you. Don't try to determine or distinguish or try to think, well, I'm not good with kids, so just scratch that one off. No, keep your list wide open and just serve God at whatever opportunity you get. That is, present yourself as a living sacrifice.

Lord, here I am. Whatever opportunities you want to give me, that's what I'll do. If you need to find your role within the body of Christ, don't start with your list of your dream job and all the things that you want to do. I just want to kick back all day and only work on Sundays, so I think I'll be a pastor. And some people have that mentality. Instead, keep a blank slate and present yourself to the Lord and say, Lord, whatever you want me to do, just give me the opportunity.

And try things. And go in different areas. Even if you think, I don't think I would be good at that. You know, it does not matter so much if you are naturally good at something. Because remember, what we're talking about is the Holy Spirit advantage. God is going to supernaturally gift you to accomplish the role that He has given to you.

And so it's not about what you're good at or what you like so much. It's about what has God called you to do? What opportunities are before you? We need to have the attitude like Isaiah, Here I am, Lord, send me. Whatever it is, whatever you want, that's what I will do. If we want to find out our role within the body of Christ, we don't write down the list of what we want and give it to God and say, Lord, pick one of these. We say, Lord, here I am, a living sacrifice.

Wherever you want me to go, whatever you want me to do, I'm going to do it. And so the first thing we do in finding our role within the body is we present. We present ourselves. And then the second thing that we do is we prove. We prove. There in verse 2 of Romans 12, again, he says, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You see, in presenting yourself to God as a living sacrifice,

In keeping yourself from being conformed to the world and being transformed by the work of God in your life, the results will be that you will be able to prove what is the will of God. And so as you present yourself to God, you will be learning how to determine what God's will is. The word prove, it means to test or to try something.

In order to bring forth good. It's to test something to bring forth good. Not to test something to make them fail or to bring forth evil. But to test something to bring forth good. And I really believe that's how we find our role within the body of Christ. We present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. We say, God, whatever opportunity you want to give to me, I'm going to try it. I'm going to go for it. I'm going to test it. I'm going to prove it.

And so I'll serve in children's ministry for a season and I'll see what good comes out of it. I'll see if that's where you've gifted me. I'll see if that's what you've called me to do. And if that's not what you've called me to do, okay, well, I've served my season there, then I'm going to jump into the youth ministry. And let's see what good comes out of that. Let's prove, Lord, is this the function that you've given to me? Is this the area where you want me to be involved?

Maybe that's not youth group. And so I served my season there. Okay. Well, maybe the Lord wants me to start a Bible study at work. And so you prove that for that season. And you test and you go and you go through the doors that God is opening. Maybe you've never considered being on the worship team, but maybe that's what God has given to you as a role, as a function within the body of Christ. Don't be limited by what you think or what you want.

Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Lord, whatever you want. And then test it. Prove it. Go through that season as God gives you the opportunity to serve and see what comes out of it. And so if you want to find out your role within the body of Christ, I suggest to you that you find that by presenting and then proving.

And in doing so, you'll find the activity or the operation or the function that God has given to you within the body of Christ. And what are those activities? What are those operations? Well, we get a little bit of insight into that here in chapter 12 of Romans. Look at verse 4. He says, For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly.

So here Paul goes on now from presenting and proving to find out the will of God and where he's called you. He says, Notice the connection there. He's connecting these two thoughts.

God has dealt to each one of us a measure of faith. And then in verse 4, for again, he says, we have many members, but all the members don't have the same function. And so all of us have different functions. We all are unique. And God has given us slightly different roles within his body. Paul says we all have different functions as a body has many members and many different functions. Our role is according to the measure of faith that God has given to us.

And he gives some examples of the roles that are in the body of Christ in verse 6 through 8. He says,

He who shows mercy with cheerfulness. Here are some examples, seven examples of roles, functions, responsibilities that we might have within the body of Christ. Now, I think this is just a sample because, well, as there are many members in our own body, there's many different roles within the body of Christ. There's a lot of variety, huge variety of

in the functions of our body and in the functions of the members of the body of Christ. But the point here in chapter 12 of Romans, also in chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, is that every believer has a place and has a function within the body of Christ, that every believer as a member of the body of Christ is necessary and important and essential in order for the body to grow.

We need to fulfill our role. We need to perform the function that God has given to us so that the body of Christ can attain to maturity, so that the body of Christ can reach the potential that God has set for it. And so we need to fulfill our roles. And so I want to look at these seven examples that Paul gives us here of roles or functions or responsibilities that

Within the body of Christ. These seven things that he lists here in verses 6 through 8. And talk about how they apply or what it looks like. As these roles are fulfilled in different ways throughout the body of Christ. And so the first thing he lists is there in verse 6. He says, if prophecy, if that's your role, if that's your function. He says, well then prophesy in proportion to your faith.

And in all of these things, he says, look, if this is your role, then perform your role. That's kind of the emphasis there. Whatever your role is, you need to be fulfilling that role. You need to be performing it. You need to be accomplishing it. And so if you have been given the role of prophecy by God, if that's the function that he has given to you, then you need to be involved in prophesying. The word prophecy, it means to speak forth the word of God.

When we think of prophecy, we very often think of future things, things that are yet to happen, you know, proclaiming and declaring the things that have not yet taken place, like the book of Revelation that we're studying on Sundays. But prophecy is not limited to the future things. In fact, prophecy primarily is just speaking forth the word of God.

I would share it this way or describe it this way, that prophecy is giving the right word at the right time to the right person or to the right people. It's delivering God's word to a specific situation or a specific group of people. The exact word, the exact message that he has for people. And so if that is your role, if that is your function, if that is what God has...

given to you as your activity or your operation within the body, Paul says, well then use that. Fulfill that role that he's given to you and share, speak forth the word of God as he gives you those opportunities. There are those within the body of Christ who have a special role of prophecy. We see it in the book of Acts chapter 21 verse 9 and 10.

A couple different examples right there in those two verses. We have the four daughters of Philip who prophesy. They're called prophetesses. Then we have Agabus who comes and he's described as a prophet. He has that specific role, that specific function. And the four daughters of Philip also had that role, that function within the body that they brought forth prophecy. They spoke forth the word of God.

Now this function, this role of prophecy is often fulfilled in teaching, like what I'm doing here today, and also in counseling situations. That while I'm teaching, God will bring forth a specific word to a specific individual and

It's a supernatural thing and it's a function that is performed often by pastors and teachers. But also in a counseling situation when there's this one-on-one sharing, when there's this one-on-one ministry going, that there's a special function that God has given where a person is able to bring the right word, the right message for the individual that is seeking counsel. And within the body of Christ...

There's a lot of different ways that prophecy is played out. Now, I'm going to be looking primarily at things that happen, you know, within the church. But these roles as members of the body of Christ extend beyond, you know, this property. And please understand that and seek the Lord on that. But as we consider what goes on here...

I think we need to consider that these roles that God gives to us as members of the body of Christ apply in a variety of ways. And so you might be given this specific function of prophecy, but perhaps it's to a particular age group. Let's say children's ministry. That God may have given you the role or the operation of being able to speak forth His Word

At a level that four-year-olds can understand. You see, back in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 6, there was diversities of activities, but it's the same God. And so that function, that role of prophecy is not limited to one particular thing or one particular way of being fulfilled. But some people are given a specific role in that they are able to minister to kids and bring forth knowledge.

The right word at the right time to that right child. And to speak forth the word of God and impact a child's life. Consider the youth ministry, junior high and high school. And if there's ever a time that individuals really need to hear from God directly and powerfully, I think junior high and high school would be that time. These guys, these kids, these girls, they need that right word delivered to them. We need people to perform that function, to perform that role.

to bring forth words of prophecy to our youth. And that's not just from teaching, but that's individually sharing and ministering. Parents ministering to their children, leaders ministering, members of the body of Christ ministering to one another. The same would go for the college age group. And there's a great need there for those who are of that 18 to 25-ish range to hear the specific word that God has for them.

We need those who will perform the function that God has given to them, that prophetic ministry that He has called them to. Maybe God has given you the gift or that role of prophecy, but it's in a very specific context, perhaps like a home Bible study. You might not be called to pastor a church, but there within the home Bible study, you are able to fulfill the role that God has given to you.

And you're able to bring the right word to the right people at the right time. And to speak forth the word of God into the lives of those that God brings. Or maybe you serve as an usher. And as an usher, you've been given this prophetic role. And so you have the opportunity to minister to people individually. Maybe as they come in or as they walk out, as they're hanging out after service. You have the opportunity, maybe while you're showing them to the seat, that...

you could speak forth the right word at the right time to that person. Maybe you're uniquely called with the role of prophecy to minister to men. And George would love to have you be a part of the men's ministry. To speak forth the word of God to these guys, individually or corporately, however God desires to fulfill that role in your life. And the same thing with the ladies. Kim would really desire for those who are

called to perform the function of prophecy to minister to the ladies and to fulfill that role. We could go on and on looking at the different ministries, the marriage ministry. The worship ministry, I think, is another good one. I think the worship ministry is a very prophetic ministry. And the role of prophecy in worship is fulfilled by the choice of songs, by the encouragement and exhortation that is given between songs, that we can speak together.

The right word to the right people at the right time who need to worship God. And God can really do a great work prophetically through those who are leading in worship. So again, there's diversities of activities, but it's the same God. It's that prophetic role. It's the speaking forth of the word of God. But depending on how God calls a person, and depending on the function that he's called them to perform, it will be played out. It will look a little bit different than

Although it's essentially that same thing, the speaking forth of the Word of God. And perhaps God has given to you this role, this operation of prophecy that He's called you to perform that function. How can you find out? Present and then prove. Present yourself to God, dive into the opportunities that He gives you, and then test it out. See what good comes of it. Is this what God has called you to? As God speaks to your heart, share it with people.

Try it out. Test it out. On Wednesdays, as we have the opportunity to minister to one another, it's a great opportunity for you to see, Lord, is that something you've called me to? And so the first role that we see here is prophecy. The next one that we see is ministry. Ministry. The word ministry means service, or it means to have a compassionate love toward the needy. It means to have compassion and to serve people.

It means to see a need and then fulfill that need, to meet that need. It's not just being willing to do what you're asked, but it goes beyond that. It's seeing the needs and not needing to be asked because you see it, you have compassion, and you desire to meet the needs. It's fulfilled by serving with joy. And there are those within the body who have a special role of serving that's been given to them by God.

You remember in Acts chapter 6, there was the problem there with the distribution of food to the widows. And so the apostle said, well, hey, let's get seven guys who are full of the Holy Spirit, who are faithful, and we'll appoint them over this ministry. They're going to be serving the widows. They're going to take care of these things. They're going to be involved in this service, this compassionate love towards the needy.

And so they give that role, that function within the church to these specific guys. And so there are those within the body who have a special role of serving, of ministry in that way. Again, it might be to a particular age group. It might be to children's ministry. And maybe God has given you the function, the role of changing diapers. It may not sound very exciting, but that's the role that God has given to you.

And he's gifted you uniquely to serve the body of Christ by ministering in that way. Watching the babies. So that the parents can be free to be hearing from God. And it's not an unimportant part of the body of Christ. It's an essential element of the body of Christ. As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Or maybe it's in youth ministry. That God has gifted you or he's called you to fulfill your function in serving Christ.

specifically to those who are in the youth group or of that age range. And maybe it's serving them by tutoring, by ministering to their educational needs, by helping them grow up and overcome the obstacles that they face. Or maybe it's by cleaning the sanctuary before the youth group meets so that they're able to have toilet paper and they're able to be able to focus and enjoy the service and hear from God.

Or again, you could move into the college age, or you could look at the men, or you could look at the ladies. Maybe it's in the particular context of your home, and that you have been given by God this role of ministry to people who come into your home. Maybe we would call that the gift of hospitality, right? That you're able to meet people's needs, to love on them, to show compassion to them by feeding them, by feeding.

taking care of their needs while they're in your home. Or maybe as an usher, you've been given this role of ministry, you've been given this role of serving the body, and so you do so out in the parking lot or helping people to their chair or giving them a Bible, whatever the need may be, you see it, you have compassion on those who come, and so you involve yourself and you engage in the function that God has called you to.

Another role, I think, is a good example of ministry is the sound ministry. And we're in great need of someone who would really engage in the sound ministry. We're really in need of someone who would function in this way if God has called you to it. You know, a lot of times on Wednesdays, I'm the one who's doing sound. And then Royce and I kind of swap once he finishes worship. And then I come up to teach. And that can be difficult. Sometimes there's ministry requests.

Other kinds of ministry that needs to happen, you know, besides just moving the sliders and taking care of those kinds of things. But it's hard to find someone who will, well, fulfill their function and be faithful in that type of thing. But maybe that's you. Maybe that's something that God would speak to your heart about. That he has given you a role, an operation within the body of Christ. And you need to be involved in fulfilling it. Or maybe you...

You've been given the role, you've been given the function by serving the body of Christ, by maintaining the book table or the church website or the landscaping outside. All of those are areas of ministry, areas of service that are a part of the work of God and the body of Christ and their roles and functions that God gives to specific individuals. How do you know if you've been given this role of serving? You present yourself.

And then you prove. You present yourself to God. You go through those open doors. You seek those opportunities. You find out. You try it out for a season. You prove it. The good come from it. Is this really where God wants me? If so, great. I perform my role. I perform my function. If not, well then I'll move on and maybe the next role, the next function, number three we look at this evening is the role and the function of teaching. Teaching means to instruct by word of mouth.

Now, as I shared earlier, teaching often goes hand in hand with prophecy, but they're not the same. And the body of Christ needs both. Teaching really is instruction, instruction in doctrine, instruction in truth. It doesn't have to be in front of people. It can be in a one-on-one scenario or a small group study. It can be played out in many different ways.

And there are those within the body who have a special role of teaching. That God has given them a specific function to teach the body, to teach people, to train them and instruct them in the ways of God. Whether it be theologically or practically, that they've been given this role of teaching. In Acts chapter 11, verse 26 says,

We have the account of Barnabas seeking out the Apostle Paul, before he was called Apostle Paul. He seeks him out, he brings him to Antioch, and it says that it was for a whole year they assembled the church and taught a great many people. For that season, they were going to be sent out as missionaries, but for that season, God called them to fulfill that role of teaching there at Antioch. And then we see the result, it says the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

The result of their teaching was their witness. And so the body there was instructed and edified and built up and had a noticeable result in that people began to call them Christians. The world began to recognize them as little Christs because they were fulfilling that function, fulfilling that role of teaching that God had given to them.

So you may have this function. You may have this role. This might be the operation that God has given to you. And perhaps it's to a particular age group. Again, the children's ministry. You're able to instruct and help kids understand the Bible. That's a great possibility. And that's a great need for kids to be taught the truth. Or again, looking at youth ministry.

I think if God is giving you the function or the role of teaching and specifically towards the youth, it'll be evidenced by your ability to hold their attention. But you're able to engage and to help them understand the truth and instruct them in the things of God. Maybe it's in the college age range or maybe it's

specifically to the men's ministry or the women's ministry. Again, this extends beyond this property, but I'm just looking at some of the things that go on here in this place. Maybe it's in the marriage ministry, that God has given you a function or a role of specifically instructing and helping people understand their roles within a marriage.

Or families. Again, it might be in front of a group or it might be one-on-one. But how do you know if you have been given this role of teaching? Well, you present yourself to God as a living sacrifice. You go through the opportunities and the doors that He opens in front of you. And you prove it. You test it out. You find out, what is the will of God for my life? And if it's not in this capacity or that capacity, well, maybe...

Moving on to number four, maybe it's exhortation that is your function. That's what God has given to you as a role within the body of Christ. The word exhortation, it means to call to one side. Very similar to the word that's used of the Holy Spirit as the helper. To call to one side and it has the meaning of to bring comfort or to encourage the ones that you're calling to their side. Am I behind? Sorry guys. Exhortation, there we go.

to bring comfort or to encourage those as you go alongside them. There are those within the body of Christ who have a specific role or a special role of exhortation. In Acts chapter 4, verse 36, we're introduced to this man named Joses. And who's Joses? Well, it goes on to say, "...who is also named Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated, Son of Encouragement."

We know him as Barnabas. His real name is Joseph. But the apostles all started calling him Barnabas because, well, he had this special and unique role that he was always encouraging people. He had been given this function. His operation was that he came alongside people and built them up and encouraged them up. And we see that played out with his ministry to the Apostle Paul and then later on to John Mark. He was always coming alongside people and building them up and encouraging them.

It also can mean, though, to come alongside to bring comfort. So those who are hurting deeply, those who are grieving, those who have that great need in that way, you can come alongside to exhort, to encourage, to build up, and to minister to that need. Pastor Chuck says that people with the gift of exhortation encourage and urge us to put into action the things we know we should be doing.

It's not so much about instruction. It's about, hey, you already know, but now let's do it. Let's accomplish. Let's go forward in those things that God has spoken to us. And maybe God has given you that specific role of exhortation. And it might be played out in many different ways. Again, it might be with the kids. That maybe God has given you a specific role of really encouraging the kids to live life.

Their faith to walk with god to know god to share with others Maybe that's the role that god has given to you or maybe he's given you the role of exhortation within the youth ministry Or within the college age group or maybe just in the parking lot after service You know that that you're able to come alongside people and engage with them and encourage them individually throughout the week on the phone It could be done in many different ways

But maybe you've been given this role of exhortation, coming alongside to comfort and encourage other members of the body of Christ. How do you know? Present and prove. Present yourself to God as a living sacrifice. Try it out. Come alongside people. Pray for them. Talk to them. Encourage them. Help them to engage in the work that God has called them to do. Help them to obey the Word of God and put it into practice and prove themselves.

Test it. Try it out. See what happens. See if that's God's will for your life. And if so, then great. If not, well then, maybe the next function, number five, giving. Maybe giving is the role and the function that God has given to you. The word to give means simply to give or to impart. He says, if that's your role, then to give with liberality or I think a better translation would be simplicity. Not with hidden motives, but with a genuine heart.

If God's called you and that's the role that he's given to you, then give with sincerity, with simplicity, not having some ulterior motives or trying to get something back or, you know, accomplish your own purposes. But just give as God gives you that opportunity. There are those within the body who have a special role of giving. God gives them supplies and resources and they give them away. That's their role. That's their function.

That's what God has called them to do. And we see that in Acts chapter 4. There was that situation in verse 34 and 35 where there were people who had extra property and extra homes and things. And so they sold those things and then they gave to the church to be able to supply the needs of the people who were there in the church. Because in those days to receive Jesus Christ and walk with Him often meant you lost everything. And so those people who still had things...

who still had resources, were able to perform the function of giving and to minister to the needs of those who didn't have it. And how do you know if you've been given this role, this function of giving? I think for one thing, if you have something to give, then that's a good starting point. But present and then prove. So present yourself to God and say, Lord, here's my bank account. Lord, here's my possessions. Lord, here's what I have.

And then prove it. Give it away. See what happens. See what good comes of it. See what God will do. Prove if it's God's will or not. Test it out. Try it out. As God gives you those opportunities. So maybe giving is a function that God has given to you. If not, the sixth thing we find here is leading. Maybe leading is the function and the role that God has given to you.

The word to lead here, it means to oversee. And there are those who are within the body of Christ who have a special role of leading, overseeing specific areas or specific people. In Acts chapter 14, verse 23, it tells us that they appointed elders in every church. There needed to be leaders. There needed to be overseers wherever the believers were gathered. And maybe God has given you that role of leading in the children's ministry.

Or maybe within the youth ministry, or maybe within the college ministry, or maybe within a homesteading, or maybe within the usher ministry, or the men's ministry, or the women's ministry, or the marriage ministry, or the worship ministry, or wherever else God may call you to lead. To be a part of overseeing and directing, bringing structure and stability to believers. How do you know? You present yourself to God as a living sacrifice, and you prove, you test, you try it out. If God gives you opportunity, then walk through it.

See what good comes of it. Prove what is the acceptable and perfect will of God. Well, finally, number seven here that Paul lists for us in Romans chapter 12 is mercy. Mercy. Perhaps mercy is the role and the function that God has given to you. Mercy is a great one. The word mercy means to have pity or to be compassionate. It also has the specific role of extending help for the consequences of sin.

It's seeing those who are hurting. It's seeing those who have need. Seeing those who are broken down and rejected and dejected and cast off. And having pity and showing compassion for them and reaching out to help them. There are those within the body who have a special role of mercy. Again, Barnabas is a good example of that. You remember John Mark blew it on the first missionary journey. He gave up. He took off. It was too hard, too difficult.

And so then the next round, when Paul and Barnabas are getting ready to head out in Acts chapter 15, Barnabas says he's determined to take John Mark. And Paul says, no way. At that time, at least, Paul wasn't called to operate in the gift of mercy or the role of mercy. But Barnabas, he's reaching out to John Mark who failed, who blew it, who messed up.

And so you see, you know, the encouragement that Barnabas has, also the mercy, these overlap. It's not, you know, you're only one. You can only be a teacher or you can only be a prophet or you can only show mercy or you can only be giving. It's not like that. I mean, many times God will use all of these things and cause us to have those types of roles within the body from time to time. But so he shows mercy to John Mark who's messed up. I think mercy is often exercised in counseling.

It's those who have that role, that position, or that operation of mercy who are really good at reaching out and helping those who have been broken down and messed up. And they've reached the consequences of their sin. Maybe you've been given this role or this function specifically with kids, that you're really able to minister to troubled kids. You're really able to be compassionate to them and to meet their needs, to help them through those difficult times.

Or maybe, you know, with the youth ministry and the hard family situations or the difficult things at school, those who are kind of like the loners, you know, those who are cast off by the rest. Maybe God's given you the role or the function of tracking down those stragglers, reaching out and ministering to them. Maybe it's in the realm of recovery. You know, those who are wanting to get out of addiction to drugs or alcohol or

Maybe God has given you that function, that role of being able to have compassion, to show pity, to extend help to those who are in that need. How do you know? You present yourself to God. And if He gives you opportunity, then you go through the doors. You test it out. You prove it. You find out what is the good and acceptable will of God. So these are seven areas that Paul lists here in Romans chapter 12 as roles and functions, operations within the body of Christ.

It's important for you to know the place that God has given to you within his body because you need to do your part. Again, the emphasis here, Paul says, look, if it's prophecy, then prophesy. If it's teaching, then teach. If it's mercy, then do it. Do it cheerfully. Go forward. Perform your function. Perform your role. Do the things that God has called you to do. Paul will tell us in Ephesians 4, verse 16,

That it's necessary for each of us to do our part in order for the body to grow. We cannot grow as the body of Christ unless each part is doing its share. Check it out, Ephesians 4.16. You're necessary. You're essential. You've been given a specific role, a specific function. And it's not just to warm a chair. God calls you to minister to His people. And you need to find out what it is that He's called you to, that function that He's called you to perform.

How do you do that? Present yourself to God as a living sacrifice. Lord, whatever you want. And as He gives you opportunity, then go for it. Try it out. Wherever there's a need, don't discriminate. Don't just be like, well, this is the things that I want to do. Here's my list of stuff that I'm willing to do. No, just be willing to do whatever. Try it out. Test it out. Prove what is that perfect and acceptable will of God. And then perform that role, that function, as God reveals it to you. Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for the great privilege and honor, Lord, of having a role and a part to play within your body. Lord, we don't know why you would use us. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. We're messed up. But yet, Lord, you've called us to be part of the work of your kingdom and to impact people eternally. And so, God, I pray that you would help us. Lord, reveal to us the roles that you've given to us, the operations, Lord, that you've called us to fulfill.

Lord, help us that we would present ourselves to you as a living sacrifice. However you want to use us, God, we say, here I am, send me. And Lord, as you set before us opportunities, Lord, as we see needs around us and in the ministries, Lord, I pray that we would jump in and we would try it out and we would prove what is the perfect and acceptable will of God. In doing so, Lord, help us to find out how you've called us to operate

And then, Lord, in your strength and in your power, with the gifts that you will give to us, help us, God, to do our part, that your body could grow, that people could come to know you, that we would be strengthened and equipped and prepared and brought to maturity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.