This is the final message in a series of sermons I have been preaching on “spiritual gifts.” We began this series by talking about the 3 Categories of Gifts and they are Motivational gifts, Ministry gifts, and Manifestation gifts. The texts we will consider in applying Ministry gifts today will be 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 and verse 27.
Our emphasis has been focused on the 7 Motivational Spiritual Gifts listed in Romans 12:6-8 – Prophecy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Administration and Mercy. Characteristics of each of these gifts is listed on a handout for you to take home as well. I believe every Christian, every believer, every born again child of God is given one of these 7 gifts. Your heart gift is a desire, a drive, a motivation which the Holy Spirit gives and activates at salvation for the purpose of enabling you to help other Christians grow up spiritually. Most of our time has been spent seeking for the Holy Spirit to reveal to each of you what your motivational, spiritual, heart gift is because that’s who you are!
In this final message for the present time, because we will not get to touch on the Manifestation Gifts, I want to look toward utilizing these gifts in MINISTRY because the Ministry gifts is what you DO. As the Lord Jesus Christ calls you and you cooperate with Him, a ministry is performed by you from the point of view of your motivational gift. There are different ways of serving as J.B. Phillips translates verse 5. A ministry gift is the gift of a person to the Body of Christ. You are a love gift to other members of the Body. Verses 27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” And verse 12 also emphasizes that each of us has a unique and different function.
A lot of you that I have talked to about your spiritual gift have said to me, “I’m not sure. It could be one of two or three of the gifts.” Or you’ve said, “I’ve narrowed it down to a couple, but I’m just not sure.” I heard the testimony of a lady who said she had sat under the teaching of the 7 spiritual gifts and after hearing the first 3 or so, she said, “I didn’t think that was mine. Then when the last one was taught I knew it was mine. MERCY!” She said, “It was like the teacher had put my name up on the screen and said, ‘Now I’m going to tell you about her and he began to describe me. It’s like someone looks deep down inside of you and sees the you that you’ve known was you for a long time and that’s how I knew it was mine.” You may be saying, “I listened to all of those messages and I’ve read all of the characteristic sheets and none of those fit me.” One of them fits you! Well, today let’s look at:
I. Applying Motivational Gifts to Ministry
Let’s take the Ministry of Teaching for example. Think about which motivational gifts would be the most effective in the Ministry of Teaching. The obvious would be the gift of teaching, one who instructs, clarifies and preserves the truth. What about Exhortation? Sure, one who urges another to pursue a course of conduct, or encourages and admonishes another to choose a particular pattern of life towards growing spiritually. What about Prophecy – proclaiming God’s message? Without a doubt any one of these motivational gifts could be an effective teacher even serving or mercy or administration. What about a Sunday School Secretary – which gifts would be most effective in this ministry? Administration - maybe? Perhaps, mercy or serving? What about on the Baptismal Committee? Serving, Exhortation and on and on we could go.
The reason I mention this variety is to prod your thinking about your life and the fact that there is a place of ministry and service for every child of God. You have a gift God’s given you that can be exercised in one of many, many ways. You have one motivational gift, but there may be several ministries in your life through which God may manifest evidence and bring about results that He wants accomplished in the church and in His Kingdom.
But say you have filled out your “Ministry Commitment Form” and indicated your Spiritual Gift. Then we call you and say that there’s a ministry or task to be done and we indicate you have a certain gift. I want you to be honest enough and pray about that, asking the Lord if that’s a place you can serve Him. Many of you have discovered your spiritual gift and that excites you about how you can serve God. But some of you just don’t know what your gift is. I invite you to come and talk with me about it. For that reason let me talk about:
II. Alibis for not Applying Gifts to Ministry
Now there may be several reasons you’ve not discovered your spiritual gift. It may be as someone said, “I don’t really want that gift, I want something else.” Or it could be that there’s sin in your life and you’ve not been able to discern what God’s trying to do in your life. A clean heart is very important to discovering your spiritual gift if you’re having some question about it. It may be you’re just not committed to being obedient to what God wants you to do once He shows you what your gift is. Folk, a clean heart is essential and a committed spirit that says, “Lord, whatever you want me to do I’m willing to do.”
Now, God’s not going to ask you to serve in some area where you’re a square peg in a round hole. God’s not going to do that. You don’t have to worry about Him putting you where you can’t serve Him. He’s not that kind of Lord. He’s going to put you where your life can count the most for glorifying Him. Everyone needs to have a place of service, of ministry to exercise who you are! But here’s what so many say. “I know so many people who can do it better than I can” – that’s your opinion! You don’t know that as a fact. Maybe they can, maybe they can’t. But I think you should feel obligated to say, “Here’s my gift” and maybe you don’t know your place of service or maybe you already have it. Or you may say, “I’m not serving in the church house primarily, but I do have a gift and I’m exercising it outside the church ministry. That’s fine, as long as you know that every week all along you are exercising a God-given gift whereby you are a servant of the Lord and He’s using you to be a blessing to someone else. If you don’t know, please – come and let’s talk about it and pray about it because you’re going to find joy and happiness and a sense of peace and fulfillment in your life by understanding who you are in Christ. And at the same time you’ll be used of God to build up His church and help it grow in addition to building the Kingdom of God.
In conclusion let me emphasize one more time. Your ministry should be guided by your motivational spiritual gift. And your personal fulfillment is only possible as you discover and develop that spiritual gift. Furthermore, each gift is designed to perfect, complete and build-up the body of Christ. So God gives you a ministry that fits your gift. How many times do people say I would surrender my life to Jesus, but I’m afraid – afraid of what He’s going to ask me to do. That’s inexcusable beloved – because God’s only going to ask you to do what He’s gifted you to do. Therefore, whatever God requires, He’s going to give you not only the gift, but the power, energy, enablement and grace to do it. So if you’re saying, “I would give my total life to God BUT – you’re inexcusable. You don’t have to worry about what God’s going to supply.
If God the Holy Spirit gives you a gift, then the Lord Jesus Christ is going to choose an area of service. Then suppose nothing happens – that’s not your business. If He’s gifted you and shown you where to serve, it’s all His responsibility for the results. It has nothing to do with you. He said the Spirit gives you a gift – the Lord Jesus calls you to a particular ministry and it’s God’s responsibility for what happens. In fact, that’s where the Manifestation comes in! God is in charge of the results. That’s none of your concern. Therefore, when a person says, “I’m afraid.” You have no reason to be. It’s all God’s doing – the gifting, the calling to service, the results. So, all of you who are saying, “I can’t serve the Lord,” need to come forward and confess. There’s a place of service for you. You can’t tell God you can’t!
As I was preparing this message there was one passage of Scripture from Hebrews that kept coming to my spirit. It’s in Hebrews 12:9 and reads, “. . . shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of our spirits and live?” Maybe that’s how you need to respond today. Repent and confess! Or perhaps you were in VBS this past week and you prayed to become a Christian, you’ve talked to me and your parents and now you want to be obedient to Jesus and be baptized. You need to come let me know that and by doing so show others you have received Jesus life into your life.
