Understanding and Embracing Spiritual Gifts

We do. We need to grow. We need to be more like Christ. And so in doing that, just recognizing the areas that we are falling short, we can see where He wants us to be. And so this is going to be a class that's really going to reveal what your nature, what your stream of people, the way that people are similar to you and think the way you think and see the world the way that you see it, how you can grow to be more like Christ. And so I am excited to go on this journey with you, and I'm going to be... I'm posting other videos on the topics as well. So we're gonna jump right in and forgive me because I have lots of papers so I'm gonna be looking down at them and reading from them. I'm not super techie and I'm just trying to do my best but I really want us to start in understanding what the difference is between the different gifts because there are three groups of gifts that are described in scripture and they often just get lumped all together as all the spiritual gifts and although they are all spiritual gifts they have different unique modes and ways that God distributes them to people In 1 Corinthians 12, 1 through 6, it says, Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. Because this was a topic that everybody wanted to know more about. Because when you see people speaking in tongues and having revelations and doing these miraculous things, everyone wanted to have those. And so he was wanting to shed light on what all of the gifts were and help them to have an understanding. So he says, Now there are varieties of gifts. And that word gifts there is charismation, and that can be broken down to charisma. And there are varieties of ministries or service. So I'm skipping some verses in between just to show you the main point of what he's speaking here. There are varieties of ministries or service. And that word is diakononon. I don't know how to pronounce it, but it means service. And then there are varieties. of effects or a manifestation. So enigma and ne'eros is result or effect. And so it's so interesting to see that the first group that it's describing, the one that would be a free gift, that is a motivation. It's like an inward bent. Charisma means joy or char means joy and charis is grace. So it involves God giving us the desire and power to accomplish his will. So it's already within us. There's already a thing that has just been gifted to us to see the world the way that he sees it and to bless the world the way that he wants it to be blessed. It's a basic inward drive that God places in each person to reveal himself to the world. And so we see this in our little kids. You can see your children. There's one of your kids might be super aware of people and is really sensitive. to the environment and to people within their environment without being taught without having to learn anything about jesus they just do this they just are very concerned with people and are very sensitive to spiritual and like emotional needs um and then you have another child who when there is something that needs to be done like justice is not happening and it's not fair they will speak up every single time and you don't have to teach them this you don't have to reveal to them that this is the nature of god to be just and to want there to be justice. They just have it within them and it comes out at a very young age. And so we also see this as people come into the church that have not known the Lord their whole lives. They've lived their lives. They've been successful. They've been using their gifts to please themselves. They've been using their gifts to prosper themselves. And then they have a revelation of who Jesus is and they come into the church and those exact gifts that they were using in the world are the same ones that God wants them to use within the body of Christ. They don't have to be given a whole new set. of giftings that's already within them. They've already been using them their whole life, just not for the right reason necessarily. So It's amazing to see how God has gifted all of us from birth within our mother's womb. He already placed within us exactly what he wanted us to do, but it's in coming to know him and being transformed by the Holy Spirit that we start to use that gifting to bless the body and to bless the world through that gift. So we each have a specific function that we were designed to do. in order to edify the entire body of Christ. No one, no one of us is meant to perform all the functions in the body. Likewise, each and every one of us is needed and has a specific and important role to play. So each one of us is needed and necessary in the body of Christ. And I just want to read this to you because sometimes the Bible, God's word speaks better than anybody can reword it. So I'm just going to read this to you because this describes what the body of Christ is. Christ is meant to look like and how each of us is meant to play a part, meaning that we have a part, that we each have a role that we're meant to play. We're not meant to wear 10 hats at once and try to be all of the body of Christ at one time. So this is what he says, for just as the body is one and yet has many parts and all the parts, though many, form only one body. So it is with Christ for by one Holy Spirit, we were all baptized into one body. spiritually transformed, united together, whether Jews or Greeks or Gentiles, slaves are free, and we were all made to drink of one Holy Spirit, since the same Holy Spirit fills each life. This is the amplified version, so it's got a little extra. For the human body does not consist of one part, but of many limbs and organs. If the foot says, because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body, is it not on the contrary still a part of the body? If the ear says, because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body. Is it not on the contrary, still a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But now, as things really are, God has placed and arranged the parts of the body, each one of them, just as he willed, and saw fit with the best balance of function. If they all were a single organ, Where would the rest of the body be? But now, as things really are, there are many parts, different limbs and organs, but a single body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. But quite the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are absolutely necessary. And as for those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, these we treat with greater honor. and our less presentable parts are treated with greater modesty, while our more presentable parts do not require it. But God has combined the whole body, giving greater honor to that part which lacks it, so that there would be no division or discord in the body, that is, lack of adaptation of the parts to each other, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another, and if one member suffers, all the parts share the suffering if one member is honored all rejoice with now you collectively are christ's body and individually you are members of it each with its own special purpose and function so that's what we're hoping you discover through this so god has appointed and placed in the church for his own use first apostles so he's giving us kind of an order of how things should look because they were putting them in the wrong orders. They were trying to elevate speaking in tongues or miracles above everything else. So they all were wanting those gifts, which is probably common enough today to people desire the gifts that are the most showy and the most amazing to see or to experience. So he's saying that the, sorry. So God has appointed and placed in the church for his own use first apostles chosen by Christ, second prophets, those who foretell the future, those who speak a new message from God to the people. Third, teachers. Then those who work miracles. Then those with the gifts of healings, the helpers, the administrators, the speakers of various kinds of unknown tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret, but earnestly desire and strive for the greater gifts? if acquiring them is going to be your goal. And yet I will show you a still more excellent way. One of the choicest graces and the highest of them all is unselfish love. And so I just wanted to share that with you because that really paints the picture of the body of Christ and how We are all parts of it and the parts that seem to be less honored like those people that are servants That's going to be one of the gifts that we're covering Servants and mercies and some of the people that seem to be behind the scenes God wants them to feel just as honored and revered as the people that are talking and speaking and on stage and doing all the Things that seem so glamorous All are necessary, all are needed, and we shouldn't sit and covet after the ones that we think are more important, because none are more important. They're all equally needed, and if we only had people that spoke all the time, there would be nothing done in a church, because everyone would just want to be on stage or leading classes, and there's nothing at the actual church, the business of things that need to get done, wouldn't be happening. And so every piece is needed, and he's speaking to the fact that there's... Not everyone is going to do all of them, so you're not going to have all of them. But you can pray to have the manifestation gifts. But these seven, you're not going to operate in all seven of them. You're going to have one that's your dominant one. And then you may lean towards other ones just based on your personal environment, what your parents were, how you were raised. This is really speaking to the fact that we do each have one that he wants us to reveal to the world. and that we each need to be doing it otherwise the body can't function we're going to be lacking we're going to be limping along if the people that are the feet don't want to be the feet then the body is suffering and we see this in churches we've been seeing this in churches for a long time um since right after jesus was here we saw how um there was the apostles were all meeting in jerusalem and they were being persecuted, so they needed to flee, and they actually stayed in Jerusalem while everyone else, all of the new believers, were the ones who left and continued to bring the gospel all over the world. And so these were people that weren't trained, that had not spent time face-to-face with Jesus, possibly, and would have been like the lay people. Like, they weren't the ones preaching and teaching in Jerusalem. They're the ones in the congregation listening. And now they have gone and have spread the gospel all over. the area that they were living in. And so it was perceived that by, this is in 300 AD, it appears that the entire civilized world was going to be evangelized by 500 AD. So within 200 years, at the rate that they were moving, the rate that people were just going and spreading the gospel, the whole world would have been evangelized by 500 AD. But that didn't happen because of Constantine. He declared that the Roman Empire was all Christian so that everyone in the empire was Christian and although that ended the persecution that was happening to the church it also created a mixed Environment where the barbarians and the people that didn't know the Lord they didn't have a relationship with Jesus We're now coming into the church and now we had this mix of people some were devout believers They knew and they had been persecuted for their faith and they had been running and telling everyone that they could who Jesus was. And then you had other people that were just declared Christians. And so now they're within this church. And so after a while, it became known within the leaders of the church that this, that we can't assume that the people within the church can go and spread the gospel because a lot of them don't even know it. They haven't been transformed by it. And so that kind of created a sense of stagnancy within the church, because now only the clergymen, only the leaders were able, the people that were trained and that were appointed to be leaders, we're not the only ones handling the gospel and the spreading of the gospel. And so we see that today too, in our churches of people coming into the church and they don't feel like they can do anything that I'm not trained. I don't have any education. I've not been ordained to be anything. So I can't preach the gospel. And that has really enabled the church to grow. We haven't been able to operate in the way that he wants us to operate because so many people don't know what gift they already have. and aren't operating in that gift and so my hope is that we will find that gift that you will be fully equipped and recognize the benefit of what you have to offer and how what you have is needed and necessary even if it seems little and menial it is so huge in the kingdom of god it is not there's not apples to it's just completely weighed in a different way in god's kingdom the things that we're doing and so um i'm gonna pray that that reveals to you how God wants to use you and he wants to use you exactly the way that you are. You don't need to be anybody else. You don't need to take classes and be ordained if you want to. Amazing. Take as many classes as you can. Become a pastor. Become a minister. Become whatever you want. But know that even if you didn't do all those things, God can still use you and he wants to use you right now. And the body of Christ needs you right where you are. And I know every church, our church, especially in churches all over the world, are wanting. their body to be mobilized. They want their congregation to grab hold of their own giftings and then operate in them. And it is my heart that that is what would happen, that there would just be a movement of people within the churches taking up the things that they're already able to do and just doing those things and just operating in their gifting right where they are and not trying to be somebody else's gift or be, well, I'm not going to do anything if I can't do that. If I can't be this gift, then I'm not, I'm not, if I can't be the hand, I don't want to be a part of the body. And I see that happens so often within churches. So we want to encourage you to find your role and then just operate in that one. So in Lamentations 340, in order to do this, we need to examine and probe our ways and let us return to the Lord. So there is a place in Scripture that calls us to sit and to examine ourselves and to probe our ways and to return to God. Because if we don't ever take time to do that, we may not realize in the ways that we've been straying. And so this is an opportunity in this season that we're in for you to do that, to really examine and probe your ways. And how can we know the characteristics and the nature of God in heaven whom we cannot lay eyes on if we cannot identify our own nature or the nature of those around us? So this is a great opportunity for us to really get to know ourselves and the people around us. And in doing that, we see the nature of God revealed in them because God is in every person and the way that he represents himself and other people we may not understand because it's not our own nature and that's my husband he is completely opposite from me in every single way but in learning and studying about these gifts it has given me such a new appreciation of how he's revealing an aspect of God that I don't know that I don't recognize that isn't my point of view but it's God's like there's still a part of him that is revealing this nature of God that I'm not as acquainted with And so I have become more acquainted with it because I've become one with my husband. And so I have learned all of these new things about who God is by seeing life through the perspective of my husband. And so I think you will find the same. It's true for you and through your friends and your family members. And so in Proverbs 28, 13, part of what we'll be doing is seeing some of the things that are not so good in our own natures. And some of the things that we may not want to talk about or we might feel really... exposed when I am sharing them because you might think how does anybody know this about me it might feel kind of exposing but in doing that it says in Proverbs 28 13 whoever conceals their sins does not prosper but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy so we're going to be talking about some things that might be hard to hear but in bringing them up and bringing them to the surface and recognizing them then we can move past them we can find mercy in them and we can give them to the Lord as ways that we have fallen short. So real change comes from being real. Like we have to be real with ourselves. I have done this class so many times and have had so many people sit through the whole thing and were being so dishonest with themselves. They were clearly whichever gift that it was and would not accept it. They didn't want to believe that that's who they were and so they couldn't change. It was just a waste of their time because they turned a blind eye to who they actually were and weren't able to receive the gift that God has already placed within them. He's not going to change your gift. You can't switch it out as you get older. It's with you your whole life. It's just the nature, just the way that you see the world. And so it's not something we can change, but we need to embrace it and live it to the best that we possibly can. So real change comes from being real, really honest with yourself. So I encourage you to do that. and often when we examine ourselves we are not happy with what we find and if we are not brutally honest with ourselves we will not grow or mature or prosper and god is calling us to our best so in second corinthians 5 10 it says for we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body whether good or evil so god cares about how we are serving in our church body and whether or not you're a part of a church body and what we do and don't do matters we will have to give an account for it and so what whatever church body you're a part of if you're part of mine or if you're part of a different church body um god cares about what we're doing with the gifts that he's given us and we are going to be called to account for this and so a lot of people are wandering around not even knowing what they have to offer so they're not offering anything And then others are trying to be every gift. They're trying to be the hands, the feet, the eyes, the nose. They're doing it all because they're not really sure what they should do, but they don't want to miss it. So they just do it all, which is actually creating a space for the people that could fill those roles can't because they're filling all of them. So we really do need to have balance and to recognize the one that we should be filling and fill that one to the best of our ability. And this is in 1 Peter 4, 10 through 11. It says, As each has received a gift, a gift, not all of the gifts, as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace, whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God. So out of the giftings, there's going to be some that are speaking giftings, which is mine and some of the others. And we're held accountable for the way that we speak. because a lot of people can speak and we could say all kinds of nonsense. And that's what we're seeing in the world. The people that are on TV are the speaking type. So you have the good and the evil that are represented within those speaking types. And we're held accountable to the way that we speak. And whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, not out of their own strength, not out of their own. Effort because there's other giftings that are more serving giftings that are more behind the scenes they don't want to talk they don't want to have any voice into things in the way that my gifting might and They're called to serve by the strength that God supplies because those types of giftings can do a lot of things out of their own selfish ambition like I'll get praise and credit for doing all these things and look at all the things that I'm doing and God's Like no, just do it out of my strength. You don't have to work above and beyond what I'm giving you and so in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. So when both of those types of giftings are working in the way that they should, it brings glory to Jesus and it brings honor to God. We just started to talk about the motivation of gifting, which is right here. So these were found in Romans 12, 6 through 8, and these are the gifts of the prophet, servant, teacher, exhorter, giver, administrator, and mercy. And then the next group that we talk about, the one where it said, and there are varieties of ministries or service, this group is totally different. So this is the opportunities of Christian service, which are open to us. for the exercise of our basic motivation. So no matter what our redemptive motivational gift, the one that you're born with, no matter which one of these seven you fall into, you can do any of these five depending on where God calls you and where you are asked to lead or to serve. And in some big churches, so these are the things like apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. These are things within the body of Christ, like within God's church. These ones are operating all over the world, whether you're in church or not. People are operating out of these because it's just your inward bit and your natural way of seeing the world. But when we operate in these gifts, we can operate in any one of these that are found in Ephesians 4.11. And those five, sometimes at really big churches, you might have someone who is just the evangelist. And he's... That's his only job. And another person might just be the pastor and another one might just be the teacher and they can just fill that role within a large church. But then you go to some of the smaller churches like out in the country and one man is called to serve all five of those roles because God gives him the grace in that moment to do those five. So it doesn't matter whether or not he was a giver or he was a servant. He could fill any of these five. However, God wants during that time. So this is. to edify and to build up the body of Christ. So whatever God needs to do, whoever he needs to use, he will use in these to edify the body of Christ. Now what's cool is when you're operating out of your gift, so say you're a mercy and you are a evangelist within your church, then when you're out on the streets, the manifestation can occur. So these manifestation gifts are found in 1 Corinthians 12, 8 through 10. And this was the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discernment of spirits, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. So the manifestation gifts, this is the one that says, and there are varieties of effects or manifestations in 1 Corinthians 12, 1 through 6. So the effect. So whenever I am operating out of my motivational gift, so say I'm a mercy, and I am. evangelizing in the streets whether that's my ordained role or I'm just doing it as a layperson out in the streets talking to people about Jesus in that moment the Holy Spirit could give me any one of these nine things he could give me one of them he could give me a prophetic word he could give me a gift of healing or he could give me all of them to reveal himself in that moment but these nine aren't things that you're born with they're not things that you will have the rest of your life might he use? a prophet prophecy to speak through me often absolutely could i be doing that for the rest of my life absolutely but does it mean i always have it and i can pull it up anytime i want no because it's the holy spirit that moves upon me and he gives it to me when i need it and only when i need it for the edification of the body but also to reveal his power these are to reveal his power the the manifestation gifts reveal god's power so when we see people that go on missions trips It says the actual results when we are operating in our gift and the Holy Spirit moves through us to accomplish God's will. So you see people go on mission trips and I've been on mission trips. And when you go, you feel like you're operating in way more of the manifestation gifts. Like you're just getting words of wisdom, words of knowledge, like things are just flowing through you because you were positioned in a place to be used by God. So he is going to use you as much as he can. And then we see when we come back to our lives. They're not flowing quite as easy and they're not moving the way that they were because we may not be positioning ourselves in a place to be used by God. And so it's only him. These are not things we can take pride in, that we can claim that I am always a, I don't know, someone that has faith. Faith will rise up in us in a moment, the supernatural faith. We should always have faith. But the faith that they're talking about, this manifestation of faith, is bigger and larger. So these ones are... just incredible to see. But what's happening in the old church during their time is they were only coveting these nine. They just wanted those nine because they're the ones that showed God's power and his greatness. And so they were more desirable to non-believers. They're more desirable to the people within the church. So everyone was trying to get these gifts. And even today, I think that can happen where we're wanting to know what our gifts are. We're hoping that it's one of those. And those ones are just... fully the Holy Spirit just moves upon you and he will operate in any of them and all of them as he sees fit. But we can't claim them as I am always a prophet. And I do feel like God gives me prophetic words, but I wouldn't say that I could just pull one up, like come and talk to me and I'll give you a prophetic word. Like it's not in my power to do that. That's the Holy Spirit will move and give me a word. If he feels that you should get a word in that moment. So it's a slippery slope and it can get really tricky, but these are the three different types of gifts. And we're just going to look at the motivational gifts. We're going to look at the ones in Romans 12, 6 through 8. And when we are exercising our motivation through our ministry, right here, through our ministry, the Holy Spirit determines what manifestation will benefit the receiver the most. So it might be something different depending on who you're talking to. So I hope that makes sense to you. I don't know if you've ever heard it explained this way. I had not before, but it really helped to clarify the difference between all of the gifts and helped me to see which ones I can really seek to find that I can hold on to and be a part of. Because throughout our lives we might move through these different ones in the middle, like depending on what season of life you're in, you might get to be an apostle for a time and then be an evangelist or a pastor. And these aren't things that you have to go to school and be ordained to be. Even as a student in your college, you could be a prophet. You could be someone who's bringing God's word and his truth everywhere that you go. And you can be a teacher wherever you are. You don't have to go to school to be these things. But there's offices that are held by God calling people into it. So within our churches, the people that are holding these offices are God. ordained and appointed and we need to honor them in those roles because they are filling a vital role within the body of Christ that we can't all do because we're out in the world doing the things that we're doing and they're able to minister specifically to the flock that God has given them and so I want to encourage you to honor and to give thanks to the people that are within our own churches that are filling these roles because some of them are wearing three hats or two hats or all of them they're wearing all of the hats at once because God's calling them to do it. And so no matter what roles that they're playing, know that you can also be called into one of those roles. And I encourage you to think about what roles right now in your life you're wearing. Which of those are you operating in? Which office are you operating in? The way that we're going to discover what our gifts are is by going through all of them and really allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you through each of these descriptions of the different gifts and kind of seeing. where you feel called to and where you feel like God is identifying your gift within. And oftentimes it's easier. We should all be operating. Jesus, Jesus was all of the seven in any given moment. He could rise up to be the prophet or be the teacher or the mercy. He was perfectly all of them because he was God. We cannot be perfectly all of them, but Jesus said to be like him. and to emulate him. And so in this life, the closer we are to him, the more we are going to exemplify all of the gifts. So as I go through and we teach about all these gifts, you're going to see in the positive things, if you're like, yeah, that does sound like me. I am being like that. That's awesome. You might find a lot of good in a lot of them. And that just means that you are close to the Lord and that you are trying to emulate him in as many ways as you can. But the ways that we're going to see. Our actual inward bent is going to be in the negative side, unfortunately, because when we aren't close to the Lord, there is a default mode that we all fall into. And so my default mode is going to be different than your default mode. And the types of sins that I would struggle with and the types of ways that I would be selfish will look differently than your ways. And so that's going to be kind of the defining point when we're looking at all of them, is the area where you feel like yeah i can be like these positives and these positives of all these different gifts but then when i'm not close to the lord and when i'm being sinful and carnal this is what i fall into like this is where my mind goes or where my spirit goes or where my actions go and that will help to identify which one you're meant to be um radiating and reflecting on your best days so i hope that is helpful and we will chat more next week or whenever you click on the next video but I hope that was helpful and I just want to pray us out. God, we thank you for all the ways that you reveal yourself to us. We thank you for the ways in scripture that you reveal yourself to us. And through nature and through the people in our lives, God, help us to recognize who you are through them and through nature, God. And I pray that this study would bring people closer to you, that we'd have a better understanding of ourselves, that we would be purified in mind and body and spirit through this. And that we would have a new understanding and appreciation for the people around us, God. That we would recognize their God-given nature and the part of them that is meant to reflect you. God, help us to see that in other people and to give grace where grace is needed. And help us just to love people better and to love them well the way that you love us. In Jesus'name we pray. Amen. Alright, well I will talk with you soon. Bye-bye.

We do. We need to grow. We need to be more like Christ. And so in doing that, just recognizing the areas that we are falling short, we can see where He wants us to be.

And so this is going to be a class that's really going to reveal what your nature, what your stream of people, the way that people are similar to you and think the way you think and see the world the way that you see it, how you can grow to be more like Christ. And so I am excited to go on this journey with you, and I'm going to be... I'm posting other videos on the topics as well. So we're gonna jump right in and forgive me because I have lots of papers so I'm gonna be looking down at them and reading from them.

I'm not super techie and I'm just trying to do my best but I really want us to start in understanding what the difference is between the different gifts because there are three groups of gifts that are described in scripture and they often just get lumped all together as all the spiritual gifts and although they are all spiritual gifts they have different unique modes and ways that God distributes them to people In 1 Corinthians 12, 1 through 6, it says, Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. Because this was a topic that everybody wanted to know more about. Because when you see people speaking in tongues and having revelations and doing these miraculous things, everyone wanted to have those.

And so he was wanting to shed light on what all of the gifts were and help them to have an understanding. So he says, Now there are varieties of gifts. And that word gifts there is charismation, and that can be broken down to charisma. And there are varieties of ministries or service.

So I'm skipping some verses in between just to show you the main point of what he's speaking here. There are varieties of ministries or service. And that word is diakononon. I don't know how to pronounce it, but it means service. And then there are varieties.

of effects or a manifestation. So enigma and ne'eros is result or effect. And so it's so interesting to see that the first group that it's describing, the one that would be a free gift, that is a motivation. It's like an inward bent.

Charisma means joy or char means joy and charis is grace. So it involves God giving us the desire and power to accomplish his will. So it's already within us. There's already a thing that has just been gifted to us to see the world the way that he sees it and to bless the world the way that he wants it to be blessed.

It's a basic inward drive that God places in each person to reveal himself to the world. And so we see this in our little kids. You can see your children.

There's one of your kids might be super aware of people and is really sensitive. to the environment and to people within their environment without being taught without having to learn anything about jesus they just do this they just are very concerned with people and are very sensitive to spiritual and like emotional needs um and then you have another child who when there is something that needs to be done like justice is not happening and it's not fair they will speak up every single time and you don't have to teach them this you don't have to reveal to them that this is the nature of god to be just and to want there to be justice. They just have it within them and it comes out at a very young age.

And so we also see this as people come into the church that have not known the Lord their whole lives. They've lived their lives. They've been successful. They've been using their gifts to please themselves. They've been using their gifts to prosper themselves.

And then they have a revelation of who Jesus is and they come into the church and those exact gifts that they were using in the world are the same ones that God wants them to use within the body of Christ. They don't have to be given a whole new set. of giftings that's already within them.

They've already been using them their whole life, just not for the right reason necessarily. So It's amazing to see how God has gifted all of us from birth within our mother's womb. He already placed within us exactly what he wanted us to do, but it's in coming to know him and being transformed by the Holy Spirit that we start to use that gifting to bless the body and to bless the world through that gift.

So we each have a specific function that we were designed to do. in order to edify the entire body of Christ. No one, no one of us is meant to perform all the functions in the body. Likewise, each and every one of us is needed and has a specific and important role to play.

So each one of us is needed and necessary in the body of Christ. And I just want to read this to you because sometimes the Bible, God's word speaks better than anybody can reword it. So I'm just going to read this to you because this describes what the body of Christ is.

Christ is meant to look like and how each of us is meant to play a part, meaning that we have a part, that we each have a role that we're meant to play. We're not meant to wear 10 hats at once and try to be all of the body of Christ at one time. So this is what he says, for just as the body is one and yet has many parts and all the parts, though many, form only one body. So it is with Christ for by one Holy Spirit, we were all baptized into one body. spiritually transformed, united together, whether Jews or Greeks or Gentiles, slaves are free, and we were all made to drink of one Holy Spirit, since the same Holy Spirit fills each life.

This is the amplified version, so it's got a little extra. For the human body does not consist of one part, but of many limbs and organs. If the foot says, because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body, is it not on the contrary still a part of the body? If the ear says, because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body. Is it not on the contrary, still a part of the body?

If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But now, as things really are, God has placed and arranged the parts of the body, each one of them, just as he willed, and saw fit with the best balance of function. If they all were a single organ, Where would the rest of the body be? But now, as things really are, there are many parts, different limbs and organs, but a single body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. But quite the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are absolutely necessary. And as for those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, these we treat with greater honor.

and our less presentable parts are treated with greater modesty, while our more presentable parts do not require it. But God has combined the whole body, giving greater honor to that part which lacks it, so that there would be no division or discord in the body, that is, lack of adaptation of the parts to each other, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another, and if one member suffers, all the parts share the suffering if one member is honored all rejoice with now you collectively are christ's body and individually you are members of it each with its own special purpose and function so that's what we're hoping you discover through this so god has appointed and placed in the church for his own use first apostles so he's giving us kind of an order of how things should look because they were putting them in the wrong orders. They were trying to elevate speaking in tongues or miracles above everything else.

So they all were wanting those gifts, which is probably common enough today to people desire the gifts that are the most showy and the most amazing to see or to experience. So he's saying that the, sorry. So God has appointed and placed in the church for his own use first apostles chosen by Christ, second prophets, those who foretell the future, those who speak a new message from God to the people. Third, teachers.

Then those who work miracles. Then those with the gifts of healings, the helpers, the administrators, the speakers of various kinds of unknown tongues. Are all apostles?

Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?

Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret, but earnestly desire and strive for the greater gifts? if acquiring them is going to be your goal.

And yet I will show you a still more excellent way. One of the choicest graces and the highest of them all is unselfish love. And so I just wanted to share that with you because that really paints the picture of the body of Christ and how We are all parts of it and the parts that seem to be less honored like those people that are servants That's going to be one of the gifts that we're covering Servants and mercies and some of the people that seem to be behind the scenes God wants them to feel just as honored and revered as the people that are talking and speaking and on stage and doing all the Things that seem so glamorous All are necessary, all are needed, and we shouldn't sit and covet after the ones that we think are more important, because none are more important. They're all equally needed, and if we only had people that spoke all the time, there would be nothing done in a church, because everyone would just want to be on stage or leading classes, and there's nothing at the actual church, the business of things that need to get done, wouldn't be happening. And so every piece is needed, and he's speaking to the fact that there's...

Not everyone is going to do all of them, so you're not going to have all of them. But you can pray to have the manifestation gifts. But these seven, you're not going to operate in all seven of them. You're going to have one that's your dominant one.

And then you may lean towards other ones just based on your personal environment, what your parents were, how you were raised. This is really speaking to the fact that we do each have one that he wants us to reveal to the world. and that we each need to be doing it otherwise the body can't function we're going to be lacking we're going to be limping along if the people that are the feet don't want to be the feet then the body is suffering and we see this in churches we've been seeing this in churches for a long time um since right after jesus was here we saw how um there was the apostles were all meeting in jerusalem and they were being persecuted, so they needed to flee, and they actually stayed in Jerusalem while everyone else, all of the new believers, were the ones who left and continued to bring the gospel all over the world. And so these were people that weren't trained, that had not spent time face-to-face with Jesus, possibly, and would have been like the lay people. Like, they weren't the ones preaching and teaching in Jerusalem.

They're the ones in the congregation listening. And now they have gone and have spread the gospel all over. the area that they were living in.

And so it was perceived that by, this is in 300 AD, it appears that the entire civilized world was going to be evangelized by 500 AD. So within 200 years, at the rate that they were moving, the rate that people were just going and spreading the gospel, the whole world would have been evangelized by 500 AD. But that didn't happen because of Constantine. He declared that the Roman Empire was all Christian so that everyone in the empire was Christian and although that ended the persecution that was happening to the church it also created a mixed Environment where the barbarians and the people that didn't know the Lord they didn't have a relationship with Jesus We're now coming into the church and now we had this mix of people some were devout believers They knew and they had been persecuted for their faith and they had been running and telling everyone that they could who Jesus was.

And then you had other people that were just declared Christians. And so now they're within this church. And so after a while, it became known within the leaders of the church that this, that we can't assume that the people within the church can go and spread the gospel because a lot of them don't even know it.

They haven't been transformed by it. And so that kind of created a sense of stagnancy within the church, because now only the clergymen, only the leaders were able, the people that were trained and that were appointed to be leaders, we're not the only ones handling the gospel and the spreading of the gospel. And so we see that today too, in our churches of people coming into the church and they don't feel like they can do anything that I'm not trained.

I don't have any education. I've not been ordained to be anything. So I can't preach the gospel. And that has really enabled the church to grow.

We haven't been able to operate in the way that he wants us to operate because so many people don't know what gift they already have. and aren't operating in that gift and so my hope is that we will find that gift that you will be fully equipped and recognize the benefit of what you have to offer and how what you have is needed and necessary even if it seems little and menial it is so huge in the kingdom of god it is not there's not apples to it's just completely weighed in a different way in god's kingdom the things that we're doing and so um i'm gonna pray that that reveals to you how God wants to use you and he wants to use you exactly the way that you are. You don't need to be anybody else. You don't need to take classes and be ordained if you want to. Amazing.

Take as many classes as you can. Become a pastor. Become a minister. Become whatever you want. But know that even if you didn't do all those things, God can still use you and he wants to use you right now.

And the body of Christ needs you right where you are. And I know every church, our church, especially in churches all over the world, are wanting. their body to be mobilized. They want their congregation to grab hold of their own giftings and then operate in them.

And it is my heart that that is what would happen, that there would just be a movement of people within the churches taking up the things that they're already able to do and just doing those things and just operating in their gifting right where they are and not trying to be somebody else's gift or be, well, I'm not going to do anything if I can't do that. If I can't be this gift, then I'm not, I'm not, if I can't be the hand, I don't want to be a part of the body. And I see that happens so often within churches.

So we want to encourage you to find your role and then just operate in that one. So in Lamentations 340, in order to do this, we need to examine and probe our ways and let us return to the Lord. So there is a place in Scripture that calls us to sit and to examine ourselves and to probe our ways and to return to God. Because if we don't ever take time to do that, we may not realize in the ways that we've been straying. And so this is an opportunity in this season that we're in for you to do that, to really examine and probe your ways.

And how can we know the characteristics and the nature of God in heaven whom we cannot lay eyes on if we cannot identify our own nature or the nature of those around us? So this is a great opportunity for us to really get to know ourselves and the people around us. And in doing that, we see the nature of God revealed in them because God is in every person and the way that he represents himself and other people we may not understand because it's not our own nature and that's my husband he is completely opposite from me in every single way but in learning and studying about these gifts it has given me such a new appreciation of how he's revealing an aspect of God that I don't know that I don't recognize that isn't my point of view but it's God's like there's still a part of him that is revealing this nature of God that I'm not as acquainted with And so I have become more acquainted with it because I've become one with my husband. And so I have learned all of these new things about who God is by seeing life through the perspective of my husband.

And so I think you will find the same. It's true for you and through your friends and your family members. And so in Proverbs 28, 13, part of what we'll be doing is seeing some of the things that are not so good in our own natures.

And some of the things that we may not want to talk about or we might feel really... exposed when I am sharing them because you might think how does anybody know this about me it might feel kind of exposing but in doing that it says in Proverbs 28 13 whoever conceals their sins does not prosper but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy so we're going to be talking about some things that might be hard to hear but in bringing them up and bringing them to the surface and recognizing them then we can move past them we can find mercy in them and we can give them to the Lord as ways that we have fallen short. So real change comes from being real.

Like we have to be real with ourselves. I have done this class so many times and have had so many people sit through the whole thing and were being so dishonest with themselves. They were clearly whichever gift that it was and would not accept it. They didn't want to believe that that's who they were and so they couldn't change.

It was just a waste of their time because they turned a blind eye to who they actually were and weren't able to receive the gift that God has already placed within them. He's not going to change your gift. You can't switch it out as you get older. It's with you your whole life.

It's just the nature, just the way that you see the world. And so it's not something we can change, but we need to embrace it and live it to the best that we possibly can. So real change comes from being real, really honest with yourself.

So I encourage you to do that. and often when we examine ourselves we are not happy with what we find and if we are not brutally honest with ourselves we will not grow or mature or prosper and god is calling us to our best so in second corinthians 5 10 it says for we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body whether good or evil so god cares about how we are serving in our church body and whether or not you're a part of a church body and what we do and don't do matters we will have to give an account for it and so what whatever church body you're a part of if you're part of mine or if you're part of a different church body um god cares about what we're doing with the gifts that he's given us and we are going to be called to account for this and so a lot of people are wandering around not even knowing what they have to offer so they're not offering anything And then others are trying to be every gift. They're trying to be the hands, the feet, the eyes, the nose.

They're doing it all because they're not really sure what they should do, but they don't want to miss it. So they just do it all, which is actually creating a space for the people that could fill those roles can't because they're filling all of them. So we really do need to have balance and to recognize the one that we should be filling and fill that one to the best of our ability.

And this is in 1 Peter 4, 10 through 11. It says, As each has received a gift, a gift, not all of the gifts, as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace, whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God. So out of the giftings, there's going to be some that are speaking giftings, which is mine and some of the others. And we're held accountable for the way that we speak.

because a lot of people can speak and we could say all kinds of nonsense. And that's what we're seeing in the world. The people that are on TV are the speaking type.

So you have the good and the evil that are represented within those speaking types. And we're held accountable to the way that we speak. And whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, not out of their own strength, not out of their own.

Effort because there's other giftings that are more serving giftings that are more behind the scenes they don't want to talk they don't want to have any voice into things in the way that my gifting might and They're called to serve by the strength that God supplies because those types of giftings can do a lot of things out of their own selfish ambition like I'll get praise and credit for doing all these things and look at all the things that I'm doing and God's Like no, just do it out of my strength. You don't have to work above and beyond what I'm giving you and so in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. So when both of those types of giftings are working in the way that they should, it brings glory to Jesus and it brings honor to God.

We just started to talk about the motivation of gifting, which is right here. So these were found in Romans 12, 6 through 8, and these are the gifts of the prophet, servant, teacher, exhorter, giver, administrator, and mercy. And then the next group that we talk about, the one where it said, and there are varieties of ministries or service, this group is totally different.

So this is the opportunities of Christian service, which are open to us. for the exercise of our basic motivation. So no matter what our redemptive motivational gift, the one that you're born with, no matter which one of these seven you fall into, you can do any of these five depending on where God calls you and where you are asked to lead or to serve.

And in some big churches, so these are the things like apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. These are things within the body of Christ, like within God's church. These ones are operating all over the world, whether you're in church or not.

People are operating out of these because it's just your inward bit and your natural way of seeing the world. But when we operate in these gifts, we can operate in any one of these that are found in Ephesians 4.11. And those five, sometimes at really big churches, you might have someone who is just the evangelist. And he's... That's his only job.

And another person might just be the pastor and another one might just be the teacher and they can just fill that role within a large church. But then you go to some of the smaller churches like out in the country and one man is called to serve all five of those roles because God gives him the grace in that moment to do those five. So it doesn't matter whether or not he was a giver or he was a servant. He could fill any of these five.

However, God wants during that time. So this is. to edify and to build up the body of Christ. So whatever God needs to do, whoever he needs to use, he will use in these to edify the body of Christ.

Now what's cool is when you're operating out of your gift, so say you're a mercy and you are a evangelist within your church, then when you're out on the streets, the manifestation can occur. So these manifestation gifts are found in 1 Corinthians 12, 8 through 10. And this was the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discernment of spirits, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. So the manifestation gifts, this is the one that says, and there are varieties of effects or manifestations in 1 Corinthians 12, 1 through 6. So the effect. So whenever I am operating out of my motivational gift, so say I'm a mercy, and I am. evangelizing in the streets whether that's my ordained role or I'm just doing it as a layperson out in the streets talking to people about Jesus in that moment the Holy Spirit could give me any one of these nine things he could give me one of them he could give me a prophetic word he could give me a gift of healing or he could give me all of them to reveal himself in that moment but these nine aren't things that you're born with they're not things that you will have the rest of your life might he use?

a prophet prophecy to speak through me often absolutely could i be doing that for the rest of my life absolutely but does it mean i always have it and i can pull it up anytime i want no because it's the holy spirit that moves upon me and he gives it to me when i need it and only when i need it for the edification of the body but also to reveal his power these are to reveal his power the the manifestation gifts reveal god's power so when we see people that go on missions trips It says the actual results when we are operating in our gift and the Holy Spirit moves through us to accomplish God's will. So you see people go on mission trips and I've been on mission trips. And when you go, you feel like you're operating in way more of the manifestation gifts. Like you're just getting words of wisdom, words of knowledge, like things are just flowing through you because you were positioned in a place to be used by God.

So he is going to use you as much as he can. And then we see when we come back to our lives. They're not flowing quite as easy and they're not moving the way that they were because we may not be positioning ourselves in a place to be used by God.

And so it's only him. These are not things we can take pride in, that we can claim that I am always a, I don't know, someone that has faith. Faith will rise up in us in a moment, the supernatural faith. We should always have faith.

But the faith that they're talking about, this manifestation of faith, is bigger and larger. So these ones are... just incredible to see. But what's happening in the old church during their time is they were only coveting these nine.

They just wanted those nine because they're the ones that showed God's power and his greatness. And so they were more desirable to non-believers. They're more desirable to the people within the church.

So everyone was trying to get these gifts. And even today, I think that can happen where we're wanting to know what our gifts are. We're hoping that it's one of those. And those ones are just...

fully the Holy Spirit just moves upon you and he will operate in any of them and all of them as he sees fit. But we can't claim them as I am always a prophet. And I do feel like God gives me prophetic words, but I wouldn't say that I could just pull one up, like come and talk to me and I'll give you a prophetic word. Like it's not in my power to do that. That's the Holy Spirit will move and give me a word.

If he feels that you should get a word in that moment. So it's a slippery slope and it can get really tricky, but these are the three different types of gifts. And we're just going to look at the motivational gifts. We're going to look at the ones in Romans 12, 6 through 8. And when we are exercising our motivation through our ministry, right here, through our ministry, the Holy Spirit determines what manifestation will benefit the receiver the most.

So it might be something different depending on who you're talking to. So I hope that makes sense to you. I don't know if you've ever heard it explained this way. I had not before, but it really helped to clarify the difference between all of the gifts and helped me to see which ones I can really seek to find that I can hold on to and be a part of.

Because throughout our lives we might move through these different ones in the middle, like depending on what season of life you're in, you might get to be an apostle for a time and then be an evangelist or a pastor. And these aren't things that you have to go to school and be ordained to be. Even as a student in your college, you could be a prophet.

You could be someone who's bringing God's word and his truth everywhere that you go. And you can be a teacher wherever you are. You don't have to go to school to be these things. But there's offices that are held by God calling people into it.

So within our churches, the people that are holding these offices are God. ordained and appointed and we need to honor them in those roles because they are filling a vital role within the body of Christ that we can't all do because we're out in the world doing the things that we're doing and they're able to minister specifically to the flock that God has given them and so I want to encourage you to honor and to give thanks to the people that are within our own churches that are filling these roles because some of them are wearing three hats or two hats or all of them they're wearing all of the hats at once because God's calling them to do it. And so no matter what roles that they're playing, know that you can also be called into one of those roles.

And I encourage you to think about what roles right now in your life you're wearing. Which of those are you operating in? Which office are you operating in? The way that we're going to discover what our gifts are is by going through all of them and really allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you through each of these descriptions of the different gifts and kind of seeing. where you feel called to and where you feel like God is identifying your gift within.

And oftentimes it's easier. We should all be operating. Jesus, Jesus was all of the seven in any given moment.

He could rise up to be the prophet or be the teacher or the mercy. He was perfectly all of them because he was God. We cannot be perfectly all of them, but Jesus said to be like him.

and to emulate him. And so in this life, the closer we are to him, the more we are going to exemplify all of the gifts. So as I go through and we teach about all these gifts, you're going to see in the positive things, if you're like, yeah, that does sound like me.

I am being like that. That's awesome. You might find a lot of good in a lot of them. And that just means that you are close to the Lord and that you are trying to emulate him in as many ways as you can. But the ways that we're going to see.

Our actual inward bent is going to be in the negative side, unfortunately, because when we aren't close to the Lord, there is a default mode that we all fall into. And so my default mode is going to be different than your default mode. And the types of sins that I would struggle with and the types of ways that I would be selfish will look differently than your ways. And so that's going to be kind of the defining point when we're looking at all of them, is the area where you feel like yeah i can be like these positives and these positives of all these different gifts but then when i'm not close to the lord and when i'm being sinful and carnal this is what i fall into like this is where my mind goes or where my spirit goes or where my actions go and that will help to identify which one you're meant to be um radiating and reflecting on your best days so i hope that is helpful and we will chat more next week or whenever you click on the next video but I hope that was helpful and I just want to pray us out. God, we thank you for all the ways that you reveal yourself to us.

We thank you for the ways in scripture that you reveal yourself to us. And through nature and through the people in our lives, God, help us to recognize who you are through them and through nature, God. And I pray that this study would bring people closer to you, that we'd have a better understanding of ourselves, that we would be purified in mind and body and spirit through this. And that we would have a new understanding and appreciation for the people around us, God.

That we would recognize their God-given nature and the part of them that is meant to reflect you. God, help us to see that in other people and to give grace where grace is needed. And help us just to love people better and to love them well the way that you love us. In Jesus'name we pray.

Amen. Alright, well I will talk with you soon. Bye-bye.

Transcript for:Understanding and Embracing Spiritual Gifts

Transcript for:
Understanding and Embracing Spiritual Gifts