THE HOLY SPIRIT ADVANTAGE SERIES PART 6 THE SPIRIT GIFTS YOU FOR SERVICE2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

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Date: 2010-11-19

Title: The Holy Spirit Advantage Series Part 6 The Spirit Gifts You For Service

Teacher: Jerry B Simmons

Series: 2010 The Holy Spirit Advantage Series

Teaching Transcript: The Holy Spirit Advantage Series Part 6 The Spirit Gifts You For Service

You are listening to Fervent Word, 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.

We start out in John 16 looking at the key verse, the core verse for this series that we've been looking at each night. And in John 16:7 it tells us, "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." And so once again, Jesus is here and he's speaking to his disciples and he is explaining to them that it's better for him that he goes away. It's better for him, or for them, for him to go to the Father,

because if he goes to the Father, he will be able then to send to them the Helper, which is a reference to the Holy Spirit, that great Helper who will come alongside and supply their great and many needs. And the Holy Spirit, as we've been looking at,

has a very important role in the life of a believer and is essential for us to live the Christian life. And so we have this advantage in the midst of this life that can be very difficult, with some difficult seas to navigate, some difficult decisions to make, some pressures that are around us.

There are a lot of things that can trip us up, that can cause us to go astray, and we need all the help that we can get. And so for that, Jesus has sent to us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our advantage in the midst of this crazy and complicated life.

The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us what we need to stay faithful and true and to live the life that God has called us to live. And so we started out the series looking at the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, how the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us. We dealt with that back in John 14:16-17,

where Jesus tells his disciples that the Holy Spirit will abide with them forever. It's a permanent condition for believers, that the Holy Spirit dwells within us. It's always and it's forever and it's no matter what. It doesn't matter the kinds of things we've been involved in.

If we're believers in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells us. He does not come and go. He remains within us. And so we saw nine advantages on the indwelling of the Spirit and the fact that he dwells within us. And how do we benefit from those advantages? How do we receive those advantages?

We learned that we need to ask. We need to ask God to give us of his Spirit. And then we need to walk in obedience and walk in the things that he is giving to us. Well, then we looked at the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 the next evening. And in Galatians 5 we learned that the Holy Spirit produces in us the qualities,

the characteristics of the nature of God. And we saw the nine different aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. And we learned that in order to receive that fruit of the Spirit, we need to cultivate ourselves spiritually, that we need to dig into the things of God.

And as we do, then the Spirit will have the resources he needs to produce in us the fruit of the Spirit. Well, then we saw the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And we looked at the book of Acts and the examples there throughout with the Holy Spirit coming upon the believers.

And we learned that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is primarily to receive power to be a witness for Jesus. And we learned that as the Spirit comes upon us, you and I are authorized agents. We're expert witnesses to be able to tell people about Jesus. That is the purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

And so we saw five results of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And those things are visible in our lives in the testimony that we're giving for Jesus Christ. And to receive those benefits, those advantages of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, again, we learned that we need to ask. We need to ask God to fill us with his Spirit.

And then we need to walk in faith, trusting that he has filled us and in obedience to those things that he has set before us. Well, then on Wednesday we began the discussion of the gifts of the Spirit. And we saw that Jesus gives us leadership. He gives leadership to the body of Christ. And we dealt with that a tiny bit.

But we focused on the next aspect, which is that God gives membership to you into the body of Christ. God gives you a place, a role, a function, an operation. He gives you something to do within the body of Christ.

And so we saw seven examples of the operations or roles within the body of Christ on Wednesday. And how do we find out what is our role? What is the place that God has given to us? Well, we learned there on Wednesday that we need to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.

And then we need to prove his acceptable and perfect will of God. That is, that we need to present ourselves to God and be willing to serve in whatever capacity that he opens before us and to serve at whatever opportunity comes our way. And as we do, we're proving what is the perfect and acceptable will of God.

We're testing. We're seeing what good comes out of this. Is this where God has me? Is this what he wants me to be doing? And so we're proving and testing and trying out those different aspects, those different opportunities that God is giving to determine and find out where he desires for us to serve him. Well,

last night we continued looking at the gifts of the Spirit and looking at how the Holy Spirit gifts us for fellowship. The Spirit gives us particular gifts that are important and essential for our connections with one another. When we're spending time together at church, when we're hanging out together after service,

when we're bumping into each other in the grocery store or there at the market, wherever we might happen to be talking on the phone, those connections that we have with one another, that fellowship that we have, the Holy Spirit gifts us for those times of fellowship that we might be able to minister to one another and impact one another.

And we learned that in order to receive those gifts that the Holy Spirit bestows for our fellowship, we need to pursue love and then desire spiritual gifts. We need to pursue love and desire spiritual gifts. Well, this evening we're continuing the discussion on the gifts of the Spirit.

And again, I want to remind you of the body of Christ that exists, that the Scripture says that the Church is the body of Christ. Now, the body of Christ has leadership. That's Jesus's gift to the body. He sees us. He knows, hey, you need some authority.

You need some structure within the spiritual life. And so I'm giving some authority to the body, apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastor teachers. And we see that in Ephesians 4 very clearly. And then we see the next thing is that God gives us membership.

Paul is very clear in 1 Corinthians 12 that every one of us, as believers, are members of the body of Christ. We belong to the body of Christ. We have a role within the body of Christ. There's no member that's unnecessary. There's no member that is weaker or less important than the other members.

We are all equally important and we're all necessary within the body of Christ. Well, then the third part we see here is within the body of Christ and in the roles that God has given to us, then the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts to help us fulfill our role.

He gives us spiritual gifts to be able to do the function that God has given to us. And so the spiritual gifts are the tools that God has given to us in order to complete the task that God has given to us. And so it's God who gives membership. And that membership,

that role that you have within the body of Christ, I want to remind you of those examples that we saw there in Romans 12 on the roles and functions within the body of Christ. So there on theright hand of the screen you have Roles in the Body. It's also on the handout that I gave you as you came in this evening.

And so the first role that Paul talked about in the body of Christ was Prophecy. And so prophecy is a role or it's a function within the body of Christ. And God gives this role to some people so that they can give the word of God, the messages of God, the things he wants to deliver,

theright word at theright time to theright person. And there are those within the body that God has given that role. And ideally within a church, the pastor has been given that role, that he is bringing forth the word of God to the people. And it's more than just a random thing.

It's a special message that is for the people that God has gathered there for the study and for the services.

And so the role of prophecy is a role that's fulfilled not just within the role of pastor within the church, but within the children's ministry and within the youth ministry and within the usher ministry and within home Bible studies and fellowships and gathering togethers of believers, that the Lord will give,

God will give the role of prophecy for the bringing forth of his word to the people. Well, then we also see the next role is ministry, or you could also call it service. It's the idea of serving. It's real practical meeting of needs and showing compassionate love to meet some practical needs.

And that may be including things like vacuuming or cleaning the toilets or helping people to their chair or whatever practical thing needs to be done. And that is another role that is necessary within the body of Christ. Well, then we also have teaching, which is the role of instruction in doctrine and truth and practice.

And we see this as essential and necessary in the body of Christ as well. Well, then we also have exhortation. And exhortation is the idea of coming alongside someone to bring comfort or to encourage them to obey God and trust God. It's that personal, the more one-on-one connection that takes place.

And it's a ministry where, if you need a practical example of this, then just hang out with Pastor Sisco, because he's one of those guys who can just come alongside you and just uplift you and encourage you and help you to trust and obey God and lift you up when you've stumbled and when you've fallen. And so that is the ministry of exhortation.

Then there's also the role of giving. And this is a role that God gives to some when he gives you the resources and the role to meet physical and practical or financial needs. It's the role of giving out that which God has given to you in order to minister to others and to meet their practical needs.

Well, then we also see the role of leading. And God gives some the role of leading that is overseeing or organizing. You could think of it also as administration. Some parts of it are vision, but some parts of it are just practical, putting things in theright order so things happen as they ought to. And there's an importance and a value,

a necessity of there to be this role of leading within the body of Christ as well. And then finally, the seventh example Paul mentions is the role of mercy. And that is showing compassion to the broken, to the weary, to those who are discouraged or to those who are experiencing the consequences of sin.

It's kind of like the restoration ministry or role that they step in and those who have stumbled, those who have fallen, those who are downtrodden, those who are messed up, they're able to reach in, to minister, and to bring them back to health and restore them to full fellowship within the body of Christ.

Well, I go through those, again, this evening as we get started here, because as we look at the gifts of the Holy Spirit this evening, it's important to remember these roles that are given within the body of Christ.

Because the gifts that we receive from God are to equip us and enable us to fulfill the role that God has given to us. And I would suggest to you that every church needs all of these roles to be functioning in order for it to be healthy. And I would extend that even further.

You know, here within the church here, we have the different ministries that go on: the men's ministry, the women's ministry, the children's ministry, the youth ministry.

And I would go so far as to suggest to you that each ministry needs to have these roles functioning within it in order for it to be a healthy ministry. If it's going to be worked, you know, doing the work of God and being powered by the Holy Spirit,

these roles are going to be active within the ministry. These roles are going to be fulfilled in the ministry. And they're fulfilled in a variety of ways. There's great variety to these things.

In the children's ministry, for example, the role of prophecy will look a lot different than it does here in the main sanctuary or over in the youth ministry. It looks different. It's acted out differently.

But the function is the same, that the word of God is being delivered to theright person at theright time and in theright way. And so there's the role of prophecy in the children's ministry where God can reach a young child's hearts through the person who is given that role and the person who is performing that function.

And then over in the youth ministry, God is able to speak through those who are sharing so that the hearts of the youth are reached and that their lives are changed by the word of God. And the same goes for the men's ministry and the women's ministry and the marriage ministry.

Every ministry needs this role of prophecy within it because otherwise it's without power because we need that function of God really grasping hold of the hearts of the people that we're ministering to. On our Wednesday services and our Sunday services and our home Bible studies, we need that function.

We need that role of the prophetic element of the word of God in action.

And I would go on to say that of all of them, although I won't give all the different examples, but all of these roles are necessary and important for each of the ministries here within the body of Christ, within the church as a whole and within the individual ministries as well. And so as we consider that, I would challenge you to consider this evening,

what is your role? If God has called all of us and given all of us membership into the body of Christ, what is your role? What is the function that God has given to you? There's no part that is unnecessary. There's no member that is not essential. We are all vital elements of the body of Christ.

And so what is that element that he has called you to? What is the function that he has entrusted to you? Now, it does go beyond the scope of this property and what happens here at Calvary Chapel Living Water. And so your role and the, you know,

function that God has given to you might take place in your home. It might take place in your work. It can happen, you know, God's universal. He's not just here. But as we talk about these things this evening, I'm going to be specifically focusing on the things that happen within a church, within church services and ministries and such.

And so as we look at the gifts of the Spirit this evening, again, we're looking at those tools that God has given us to help us fulfill our role. What is your role? Well, whatever your role is, you need some equipment. You need some help to fulfill that role. And that is what the gifts of the Spirit are for. And so we'll be looking at the gifts of the Spirit,

particularly within the context of the church and our services and our ministries and how the gifts of the Spirit are important and essential for that. And so let's take a look at 1 Corinthians 12 once again. 1 Corinthians 12 and look at verses 7 through 11.

Here in 1 Corinthians 12, we have the Apostle Paul dealing with the subject of spiritual things, spiritual gifts. Chapter 12, 13, and 14 are very crucial in that study, and I would encourage you to be very familiar with those portions. But we just want to look at verses 7 through 11 here in 1 Corinthians 12.

It says this: 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 healings by the same Spirit,

to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills.

Each one of us, Paul explains, individually are able to receive any of these gifts as the Spirit wills. Each one of us individually are candidates for the manifestation of the Spirit in any of these ways.

These nine different things that he lists are manifestations or evidences of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit can manifest himself in these ways in each of our lives. None of these gifts are limited to certain roles. And so, well, only pastors, you know,

are given that gift, or only children's ministry workers are given that gift, or only, you know, everybody else but me is given that gift. No, we are we are all able to receive any of these gifts. It's subject to the will of the Holy Spirit, and he gives the gifts that we need in order to fulfill the function that God has given to us.

If you would imagine it this way, we all have the same toolbox, and it all has the same tools in it. We've all been called to different tasks, though. And so when the situation isright, the Holy Spirit will hand us the tool that we need to perform the function that God has given to us.

Now, there's some gifts that the Holy Spirit gives that are listed here that function very well, that go particularly well with your role within the body. And so those gifts you will probably exercise very frequently.

You'll be exercising, you know, this gift because it goes along with what God has called you to do within the body of Christ. And so you might pull the hammer out of the toolbox, and that might be the the tool that you use the most, but don't exclude the other tools. In other words, don't discount yourself and say,

well, you know, I could never receive that gift or the Spirit couldn't use me to accomplish that. The Holy Spirit can work in any of those capacities within each of us.

I think it's important to remember that each gift that is listed here, or each manifestation, is as equally easy for the Spirit to give us as the rest. And so the gifts of healings are not more difficult for the Spirit to give you than the gift of prophecy, or a word of wisdom, or a word of knowledge.

It's the same. It's as easy as the rest. There's no difference for the Holy Spirit. He can give us whichever one that he wants. And so again, the question is, how do we receive these gifts? And we talked about this yesterday, but it's worth looking at again and reminding ourselves, how do we receive these gifts?

Well, 1 Corinthians 12:11,right there it says that these are distributed to each one individually as the Holy Spirit wills. And so first, in wanting to receive these gifts, we need to understand that it's according to and subject to the will of the Holy Spirit. I shared last night the example of the doctor.

The doctor, in the midst of surgery, holds out his hand. He says, "Scalpel," and then a scalpel is placed in his hand by the assistant, and then he goes to work. He knows what he needs. He asks for it, and then he does what he needs to do with it. But you and I, as believers, are a little bit different. We're like the doctor in that we're performing the function,

and many times what God calls us to do is similar to heart surgery, only it has bigger, uh, and and longer-lasting results. It has, you know, an eternal impact. But we, like the doctor, are there; we're involved in the function, but we don't know the tool that we need many times because God is working on the heart,

and we're limited to what we can see on the outside. And so, as God is working on the heart, he knows what is necessary for the conversation that we're in, for the Bible study that we're teaching, for the ministry that we're involved in. And so our job is not to tell God what we need, but to hold out our hand and say,

"Okay, Spirit, what's the tool that you need me to use in this function that I'm performing, in this conversation that you have set up for me, in this task that you have called me to perform?" We don't hold out our hand and say, "Okay, give me a word of wisdom." It's not at our command. We hold out our hand and say, "Lord,

whatever you want to give me to help me fulfill the function that you've given to me." And so we hold out our hand as an invitation for the Lord to gift us appropriately for the situation that we face. In 1 Corinthians 14:1, Paul tells us to pursue love and desire spiritual gifts.

And that is really the key on how to receive the manifestations of the Spirit, or the gifts of the Spirit. We pursue love. That means that we follow after love, that we chase after love, that we press toward love. And of course, love is agape love.

It's the perfect and selfless and unconditional love that does what is best for people. Not necessarily what people want, but what is best for them. That's what agape love is. That's the way that God loves us, and it's the way that we are to love one another. And so when I want what's best for you,

when I love you in that way, unconditionally and and selflessly, well,

that's the first part of preparing myself to be gifted by the Holy Spirit to minister to you. The second part of preparing myself to be gifted to minister to you, Paul says, desire spiritual gifts.

There needs to be a desire to be used by God to minister to you. There needs to be a desire within your heart to be used by God to minister to others. That goes along with the love because when you love them and want what's best for them, then you'll also be willing to say, "Okay,

Lord, use me however you desire to," to minister to them, to reach to them, to help them grow and recover, or whatever the situation may call for. The word desire, when he says desire spiritual gifts, means to burn with zeal, to strive for it, to desire earnestly and zealously.

It's a passionate desire. It's not a passive desire. It's like, "Oh, okay, yeah, you know, be kind of nice if it happened one day." But it's a passion. It's a zeal. It's a burning. "Lord, I want to be used by you. I want to be part of your work. And I love this person. I love these people. And Lord,

I want to be a part of your work in their lives. And I want to see them go forward and accomplish the things that you've set before them. And to be in the center of your will and experience the blessings of God and enter into eternity with you. Lord, involve me in that process." And when that is our heart, when that is our attitude,

when that is our desire, it's the love for people, accompanied with the desire for spiritual gifts. When those two things are together, then we're at the point where God can use us, and the Holy Spirit can gift us to perform the function that God has set before us.

And so how do we receive these gifts? We pursue love, and we desire spiritual gifts.

And so I want to take a look at these gifts that Paul lists here in verses 7 through 11, and take a look and consider what it looks like and how these gifts are used or in operation within the different aspects of the roles that God has called us to,

particularly looking at serving God, how these gifts manifest themselves, or how they are practiced or used. In fulfilling your role within the body of Christ, the Holy Spirit may give you any of these gifts. And so we want to consider, what does that mean, and what would that look like in my life?

Well, the first gift of the Spirit that we see here in verses 7 through 11 is the word of wisdom. And the word of wisdom is when God gives you the solution to a dilemma or a problem, or if he gives you guidance or direction.

Now, we spent some time yesterday kind of building a foundation on these gifts and looking at some different examples and how the gifts are used. And so I'm not going to spend a lot of time explaining each of the gifts.

And if you want a little bit more depth on that, then I would encourage you to spend some time looking at or listening to the study that we did yesterday. But the word of wisdom is when God gives you the solution to a dilemma or a problem, or if he gives you guidance or direction.

The word of wisdom is a gift that the Holy Spirit can give, and it is an important gift that is necessary and needed within the church and, again, within the different ministries that are functioning within the church.

For example, one of the things that has been expressed recently is a real desire to hear from God and to learn from God how to reach the youth kids. Jonathan has expressed several times to me that there's a great challengeright now.

There's great difficultyright now in that the kids seem to be less impacted by the Gospel and less caring about the things of God than in the other time in the ministry that he's experienced. And so, you know what we really needright now in the youth ministry is a word of wisdom, for insight,

for God's direction to how to reach the kids and how to reach their hearts and how to minister to them. There's a dilemma. There's a problem, and they need some guidance. And so it's something that they could really benefit from.

Maybe you're serving in the children's ministry, and there's one particular kid who is just always causing problems, always making things difficult. And it's an issue. It's a situation. It's distracting to the other kids.

And the Holy Spirit may give you a word of wisdom as you're serving in that capacity, how to resolve that issue and how to minister to that kid who's always causing trouble. Maybe it's a technical thing. You know, Mario is up there in the sound boothright now, and he's not super familiar with all of the sound things anymore like he once was.

And so if there was to be feedback all of a sudden, which does happen from time to time, uh, the Lord could give him, the Holy Spirit could give him a word of wisdom on how to resolve that technical issueright here in the middle of service. Uh, I'm just throwing out some different examples to give you an idea of of how these gifts,

uh, can operate within, uh, the the the the service or within the church activities. I think the word of wisdom is often used and and functioning, uh, while there's teaching going on.

And while I'm preparing to teach, while I'm studying and preparing for a message, I'm praying for the Holy Spirit to give me words of wisdom, that as I share and as I throw out silly examples, uh, that that the Lord would take the things that I share and that he would make it, uh, something that would be,

uh, specific and particular to an individual who finds in the message, in that that that the the word that's being delivered, uh, the guidance that they need or the answer to the questions that they've been asking. It's a word of wisdom, and many times it it's in operation,

whether or not the person delivering the study or the person sharing knows it or not.

Another role in the body of Christ that we looked at is giving,right? The role of giving is a function that God gives to some, and the word of wisdom, I think, would be an important element of that role.

Because as you're seeking to give, as you're seeking to meet those needs, you would be praying for the how, looking for guidance,

looking for God to show you how to meet those needs and how to serve in that role that he's given to you. And so there's a lot of examples that we could look at, but that's the word of wisdom. It's God giving a solution to a dilemma or a problem, guidance or direction.

It's something that's needed within the church. It's something that's needed within every ministry, and it's something that the Holy Spirit can give to each one of us at any time. Well, the next gift we see in verses 7 through 11 is the word of knowledge. And the word of knowledge is when God gives you information that you could not know naturally.

It's not something that you could know by studying or you could know by, you know, looking it up online. Google doesn't have the answer. It's something that God supernaturally reveals to you. And again, uh, for myself personally, this is something I often pray for. As I'm studying, as I'm preparing to teach,

I'm asking God to to give words of knowledge. And while I'm teaching, uh, I I often ask again for God to give these words of knowledge. And so I will often have freedom to share things that are not written in my notes, uh, as the Spirit leads. Now, it doesn't mean we follow every tangent,

you know, that comes to our mind, but where where the Spirit is prompting, uh, we'll go in that direction. And sometimes I'll follow a path that I didn't prepare for, uh, because God is giving me insights to something I didn't know previously, and he's addressing an issue, uh, as I'm sharing the word.

Sometimes this gift is important and essential for the ministry or the role of exhortation. Again, remember, exhortation is that coming alongside to bring comfort or counsel or encouragement. And I remember Pastor Chuck sharing about a time that the word of knowledge was given and functioning, and it took place with his wife.

That his wife shared with him that there was this particular guy in the fellowship, and she said that the Holy Spirit revealed to her that he was having an affair with his secretary. And Pastor Chuck and Kay, they kind of taught, and they said, "Oh man, we shouldn't have such evil thoughts." And so they didn't really bring it out. They didn't do anything about it.

Well, six months later, uh, the the guy and his wife call up Pastor Chuck, and they're they're sobbing, and they're not even really able to say, you know, what's going on or what the problem is. And, uh, and he remembered, you know, what what she had shared with him and the Spirit had revealed to her. And he said, "It's okay. I know what the problem is." And he explained to them,

"You've been having an affair with your secretary for, you know, six months, and why don't you come on in and we'll talk about it?" And it was exactly what had taken place. And so it's a word of wisdom that is useful and important for sometimes the ministry of exhortation to be able to come alongside. The Holy Spirit gives you insight into what someone is going through that you're able to help them,

that you're able to be alongside them to lift them up and encourage them when the time isright. If you have the role of giving within the body of Christ, a word of wisdom would be important to know a need even when it's not expressed, even when someone doesn't say, "Hey, you know, I have this need," that the Holy Spirit can reveal to you and show you,

"There is this need that exists," and then you are able to meet that need. If you have the role with leading within the body of Christ or perhaps leading within a particular ministry, the word of wisdom is often given in those cases to give you insights into the callings of other people and to see and to know what God has in store for them,

that you might better train them and disciple them and prepare them for that role that God has given to them. And so the word of knowledge is that insight, that knowledge that you could not know naturally that God reveals to you. And it's important and it's necessary within the church and within each of the ministries, within each,

you know, thing that is going on, we need that supernatural insight from the Holy Spirit. And it's something that God can give to any one of us whenever he desires. How do we receive this gift? How do we operate in this gift? We pursue love, and we desire spiritual gifts.

Well, the third thing that we see is the gift of faith or the manifestation of faith. And faith is when God gives you the faith to say or do something special and specific. The faith to say or do something special and specific. Now,

looking at the role of prophecy, again, that role of bringing forth God's word to the people, that is something that I believe requires the gift of faith to operate in. Because you have to trust God. You have to have some special faith to be able to deliver that word and to be able to deliver that truth.

So that is something that operates within the gift of prophecy or the role of prophecy, rather, many times. Exhortation, that role within the body of coming alongside others, requires faith to be able to encourage others to take steps of faith.

You have the gift of faith so that you can also encourage them to believe God and trust God for big things. And you're holding them up and you're helping them take that step of faith and encouraging them to go forward into the things of God.

And the role of giving, sometimes the gift of faith is necessary because sometimes God asks you to give away something that you know you don't have or to give away the last of something that you have. And and and there's lots of examples of that that we could share. But you know, you just give away your last dollar, and it's and it's an act of faith.

It's a special faith that God gives you to trust that your needs will be met and supplied for. When you have the role of leading, there's vision that accompanies that, that God gives you insight into what's coming and what people need to be prepared for and what you need to be prepared for.

There's special faith that is necessary for that so that you can go forward and fulfill that vision that God has given. The role of mercy, remember again, the role of mercy is reaching out to the broken-hearted, to those experiencing the consequences of sin, to those who have been just, you know, messed up and need compassion.

And so the role of mercy requires also faith. There's a lot of times that we will look on a situation and in our own mind and in our own resources, you know, that person is beyond hope, that person is beyond help.

But God will give the gift of faith to some who have the role of mercy so that they will believe that God can heal even the most broken heart and even the one who's in the worst condition, that they will have compassion and believe God to be able to heal and do a full restoration in a person's life. And so the gift of faith operates in many different ways.

And how do we receive this gift? We pursue love and we desire spiritual gifts. Going on to number four, we have the gift of healings. And the gift of healings is when God gives you the supernatural ability to heal a person, the supernatural ability to heal a person.

And this can take place in times of prayer and prayer meetings and home Bible studies and ministries. This is something that God can do at any time whenever he desires.

It can take place if you have the role of exhortation and you're spending time with someone and counseling them and they they have some really mental issues going on and God is able to give the gift of healings and cause you to pray for them and to restore them,

to restore their mind or some spiritual oppression is going on and the Holy Spirit may give you a special gift of healing to be able to release them from that spiritual oppression. And I can testify of that type of event happening. There was a situation in my life where I had just come back from a mission trip and it's kind of hard to explain,

but there was just some very serious and powerful, heavy spiritual oppression that I was experiencing. And I walked around and I continued to go about my business, but I was kind of in a, you know, like a cloud of funk. I don't know if that makes any sense, but I was just down and discouraged for several months.

And then there was just, you know, something the Lord did that the Lord put it upon Pastor Tom's heart to call me in and to lay hands on me and pray for me. And there was a relief. There was a release of that spiritual oppression. It was a gift of healing that was being operated at that time to set me free from that situation.

And so that's something that can take place as we minister to one another or as we're sharing or as we're, you know, preaching the gospel, that these gifts of healing can go forth. A lot of times as we look at the book of Acts, the gifts of healing were accompanied with the preaching of the gospel.

And so the role of prophecy and proclaiming forth the word of God often is accompanied by these gifts of healings as as a testament to the truth of the message that is being delivered. Well, this gift is a gift that God can give to any one of us. The Spirit can give us this gift whenever he desires.

And so we need to be pursuing love and desiring spiritual gifts, desiring for God to use us as we love people and want God's best for them. Number five, in verses 7 through 11, we see the working of miracles. And the working of miracles is similar to healings.

It's when God gives you the supernatural ability to do something contrary to natural laws. And so, like healing, it's something that often accompanies the preaching and proclaiming of the gospel. And we see that all throughout the book of Acts.

And it is done as a testament, as giving authority or credence to the message that is being delivered. And it's a work that God may choose to use you to do. And so we need to be pursuing love and desiring spiritual gifts. We also see here the next thing, number six, is the gift of prophecy.

Prophecy, again, is when God gives you a message that edifies, exhorts, and comforts. It's a message that edifies, exhorts, and comforts. 1 Corinthians 14:3 tells us this. Now, one of the roles or the elements of membership that God gives is that of prophecy.

And so I think it would be very easy to understand that the one who's given that role of prophecy will often and frequently exercise the gift of prophecy that's given by the Holy Spirit. And so the one who's given that capacity and role will be gifted by the Spirit to deliver those words from God that edify and exhort and comfort.

And again, I believe in considering, you know, the youth ministry, not to pick on them, but it is Friday night and it's their service night, so we'll pick on them a little bit. The youth ministry is in need of this prophetic element in a new and fresh way. They need a new, fresh work of the Holy Spirit for Jonathan to be gifted with the gift of prophecy,

uh, or maybe someone else if that's what God wants to do, but for the word to come forth and for the hearts of the people to be reached. That's really what prophecy is all about. We usually think of prophecy as, you know, something, you know, telling the future. And that's an element and that's a possibility that is part of prophecy.

But prophecy simply means to speak forth on behalf of someone else. And so in relation to spiritual things, it's speaking forth on behalf of God. And so it's bringing God's heart and speaking forth God's message to an individual, to a congregation, to a group, a ministry, a home Bible study,

wherever it may be, it's the bringing forth of that message, that heart of God. It's different than teaching in that it's not really, um, you know, the the the verse by verse or the instruction. And teachings can include elements of prophecy, but it's that delivering forth of that special and unique and particular message to the people,

uh, that is being addressed. And so the gift of prophecy is the gift that the Holy Spirit can give. And while I'm preparing to teach, I am often, uh, uh, uh, before the Lord, seeking the Lord, praying for prophetic elements to the teaching that God would give to me, specific, uh,

points and specific things to share that are for the people that He will have me sharing with. And so sometimes we're teaching doctrine and we're going through the, you know, the verse by verse and going through those instructions, but then also God works into that, uh, those elements of prophecy which which really speak to people's hearts.

We also see the gift of discerning of spirits, number seven. Well, let me back up just a little bit. I don't know why I'm rushing ahead on that one. So we need to pursue love and desire gifts. The gift of prophecy is something that God can give to any one of us, that we would be able to deliver His word to the people around us.

So that you're in that conversation, you're in that Bible study, you're serving in that capacity, and you're able to say, this is what God says to you. This is God's word to you. Not just this is what, you know, God's word in general, or this is what I think, or this is my idea.

But it's that special authority of God has given me a special message for you. And that is a powerful thing, and God uses that powerfully. And so as we pursue love and desire God's best for people, then we need to be desiring spiritual gifts and even asking God, Lord, give me this gift.

Paul says several times in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 to desire to prophesy. This is a specific and particular gift that Paul says, you should really want to exercise this gift because it's beneficial, it's powerful, and God uses it greatly.

And so desire spiritual gifts and desire specifically that you would be able to prophesy and bring forth God's word to people around you. Well, then we have the discerning of spirits there, number seven. And the discerning of spirits is when God gives you knowledge of the spirits behind an activity or behavior.

It's understanding and knowing what is the source of something that is going on. I think a good example of discerning of spirits could take place within the ushers' ministry.

You know, the ushers' ministry has a certain responsibility to protect and to guard the sanctuary so that the people of God can worship freely and can hear from God without distraction and without worrying about, you know, something happening that would bring chaos or destruction. And so the ushers need discerning of spirits, I believe.

They need to be gifted by the Spirit to discern and recognize troublemakers when they want to come in. You know, discern and recognize, hey, there's something wrong here, that's notright, that's not of the Lord, and then they're able to address that situation. Now, I think also the discernment of spirits is is is practiced in the inverse of that as well.

In other words, yeah, that person looks like a troublemaker, but it's really a person. Although they look bad, God has brought them and they're here to be ministered to. They're here because God has them here. And so the discerning of spirits is that knowledge that the Holy Spirit gives to understand what is the source,

what is the inspiration behind something that is going on. And that is something that God can give to any one of us. And as we desire God's best for people, as we pursue love, we need to desire spiritual gifts.

And we need to pray that God would give us discernment and discerning of spirits so that we have a good understanding as we're ministering to people, as we're taking care of the youth ministry or the kids' ministry or the college ministry or the marriage ministry, that we have discernment to understand the source behind the things that are going on and the disruptions that are happening.

Well, the last two gifts of the Spirit I'm going to group together, the gifts of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. The kinds of tongues or the gifts of tongues is when God gives you the ability to pray in a language that you do not know.

You haven't studied it, you haven't learned it, but God has gifted you with the ability to pray in this language, even though you have not studied it. And then the interpretation of tongues is when God gives you understanding of a prayer that is expressed in a language that you do not know or do not understand. And so it's not the same as,

you know, studying Spanish and then being able to translate that. It's a supernatural gifting of a language that you've not studied before or known. Now, I think in dealing with the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues, we need to be reminded that these are real spiritual gifts, that they really do exist,

that God really does work in this way, and they have their place within a person's personal relationship with God. But then also, the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues has its place in the corporate gathering together of believers. And it needs to be, uh,

kept and done indecently and in order, but but it really does have a place. In services or times that we call like an afterglow, uh, there's two specific gifts that Paul mentions, actually three gifts that are mentioned, uh, by Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, that are to be commonly exercised,

uh, in a gathering together of believers. That is the gift of prophecy, the gift of tongues, and the gift of interpretation of tongues. And so as we gather together as believers, it's appropriate, if it's done in theright order, if it's done according to the scriptural guidelines, it's appropriate for there to be prophecy, it's appropriate for there to be tongues,

and it's appropriate for there to be the interpretation of tongues. And the order that God gives is that it is to have, you know, the interpretation along with it, if a word is spoken in a tongue, that it's to be done one at a time, and two or at the most three are to speak. And the same goes with prophecy, that two or at the most three are to speak.

And I share this because I think it's important that we give time for the minute for the Spirit to work within our ministries.

You know, on our services on Wednesday evenings, one of the reasons why we've devoted our Wednesday evenings to this ministering to one another and sometimes ministering to the congregation is because we need the power and the working of the Holy Spirit.

And so we want to give God that opportunity to work in our midst and to empower us and for these gifts to be active and to be working in our lives in that way because we need the working of the Holy Spirit. We need God to be doing these things in our lives. Again, the Holy Spirit is a great advantage to us. He's our helper, and we need all the help we can get.

And so I want to encourage you that as you gather together with other believers, you know, as you're involved in different ministries or Bible studies, that that you would be seeking God and being open to the working of the Holy Spirit and perhaps, uh, you know, bringing forth words of prophecy or tongues or interpretation of tongues.

And maybe it's, you know, a youth Bible study, but you know what? The youth need to experience and know the power of the Holy Spirit working in their lives. Or maybe it's a marriage study, but the the married couples, they don't just need good counsel and they don't just need good Bible study.

They need the the power of the Holy Spirit working in them and the words that God will bring forth and the work that God will do and the power of the Spirit will be long-lasting and very effective.

Now, in the Spanish ministry or in the college ministry, within a home Bible study, it's appropriate for these gifts to be in operation within the order and within the things that Paul lists there in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. And so these things are real.

The Holy Spirit really does gift us in these ways to help us fulfill the role that God has given to us. And so as we spend time this evening considering these gifts that God has given to us, I want to encourage you to be praying for spiritual gifts, to be desiring spiritual gifts, to be pursuing love,

chasing after that perfect love that God has, uh, for us and that He calls us to have for one another, that selfless and unconditional love where we want God's best for the people around us, and then desiring, praying for spiritual gifts.

Because these are gifts that we need as we participate in church life, as we serve in different capacities, whether we're just, you know, coming alongside in the children's ministry as a helper, uh, whether we're watching the little kids, the the babies, whether we're serving in, uh, as an usher, or whether we're involved in,

you know, the youth ministry or the Spanish ministry, uh, whether we're involved in reaching out, you know, maybe it's not an official ministry that that is operating, but but maybe God's giving you that special function of finding those that that kind of are left out and and you go and you spend time with them and encourage them and disciple them.

Maybe God's giving you that kind of function or role within the body of Christ, that whatever your role is, that you would be seeking after the gifts of the Spirit to equip you and enable you to fulfill your role. Let's pray. Heavenly Father,

I lift up, Lord, this gathering together, those who are watching online, those who will be watching it later on. Lord, as we desire to fulfill the roles that You've given to us, Lord, I pray that You would pour out Your Spirit upon us. And Lord, that You would supernaturally gift us with these gifts of the Spirit,

according to the need and according to the situation. God, help us to be pursuing love. Lord, that our motivations would be pure. Lord, that our desires would not be for our own glory or for power trips or anything of us, Lord, for attention on us.

But Lord, I pray that our motives and our hearts would be pure as we pursue love and desiring Your best for the people around us.

I pray, Lord, that You would help us to have a burning passion, a zeal, and a desire to be gifted by You to do Your work in the hearts and lives of the people around us. So Lord, I ask that You would pour out Your Spirit upon us. Lord,

I pray that You would do a new, fresh work in our midst and in our hearts, in this ministry, in all of the different ministries that go on. Lord, in all the different roles that You've given to us as members, Lord, that there would be a fresh and powerful new work of You.

Lord, that You would be accomplishing Your purposes by giving us the gifts that we need to fulfill the role that You've given to us.

So Lord, we invite You to come and work. Lord, I pray that You would baptize us with Your Holy Spirit, fill us afresh and anew, that we might serve You effectively.

Lord, that Your work might be accomplished in the lives of the people that You've entrusted to us. 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.

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