Happy Father’s Day to all of you. On Mother’s Day, the most phone calls are made. On Father’s Day, the most collect phone calls are made. Now that’s ok because we dads like to be needed. On average, children spend around three more minutes talking to their mothers on Mother’s Day versus fathers on Father’s Day.
Sometime over the past twenty years of being a dad, I have discovered the difference in how I view me and how my 3 kids view me.
Here are the Top 5 Great Reasons to be a Man:
#1 You don’t need a gift to visit someone’s house.
#2 Gray hair and wrinkles only add to your reputation.
#3 Car mechanics tell you the truth.
#4 You can admire Clint Eastwood without starving yourself to look like him.
#5 The line for public bathrooms is so much shorter.
In all seriousness, I hope you take the time to honor your father. Many of these men make tremendous sacrifices for you. I want to spend our Father’s Day together by looking at how God has gifted us and why God has gifted us.
I hope today’s message will help you discover your gift and develop your gift. Keep your Bibles open to Ephesians 4 with me.
1. You’re Gifted by God
Jesus Christ gave you a gift at your conversion: “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:7). When the Spirit of God comes into your life, spiritual gifts also come into your life. If we are saved, then you have a spiritual gift.
A spiritual gift is a God-given spiritual ability for service and ministry. You cannot choose it. And you cannot earn it.
1.1 You Are Gifted
Did you know that you are a gifted child? Some of you are even wondering if you were a wanted child! Yes, you are wanted and you are gifted! You are a gifted child, and you have been given a gift by the resurrected Savior.
When I was a child, we had this thing in our schools called “gifted and talented.” The select group of children who performed well in school had a special class called “gift and talented.” I am not sure what to call the rest of us!
The Bible says, “You are a gifted child.”
1.2 What is a Spiritual Gift?
What is a spiritual gift? A spiritual gift is any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church. Let me say that again: A spiritual gift is any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church.
When a believer serves in her spiritual gift, she is bringing healing to those in need. Christ, Himself is moving through you and you feel this power surge. For those of us who have discovered our gift, you know what you were made for. And Paul offers a sample of spiritual gifts in verse 11: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers…” (Ephesians 4:11).
• You’re gifted to speak for Christ (speaking God’s words to me or over me);
•
• You’re gifted to let people know the compassion of Christ … when you touch them, it is more than a touch of a human (you touch me and I feel Him).
Get this: I read about one young man who went for a hair cut weekly just so he could have safe human touch – WOW!;
• You are gifted to serve others as you cook and care for children;
You’re like the Good Samaritan. You do mercy, you help, and you serve.
• You’re gifted with a mind for ministry (you can dream and plan).
And there are so many more gifts than what’s listed here (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28; Romans 12:6-8; 1 Peter 4:11). Spiritual gifts mean that each of us has a ministry ability that’s part of the ministry ability of Christ. Now, your talents come in when you’re born physically but your spiritual gifts come when you’re spiritually reborn.
This means that you are not an accident in the body of Christ. When you received grace, it was because Christ gave it in a measure suited to His good purposes for the body. All of us have been saved to serve and all of us have gifted for service.
1.3 Jesus Determines the Gift
Now, not all of us have the same gifts. And not all of us have the same strength of gifts or the same potency of giftedness. You’ll find some people who have the same gift but less of the gift. You’ll find others that have more of the very gift you have.
Jesus measures the gifts out and the potency of our gifts: “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:7). Jesus is the One who determines what gift this person is to have and what gift that person is to have. But every one of us has a spiritual gift. And the grace of God determines your gift.
You’re saved by grace; you’re secured by grace, and you also serve by grace. Specifically, the grace of Jesus Christ determines your gift.
1.3.1 Roman Generals
Paul goes on to use an illustration that confuses us today: “Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’ 9 (In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)’ (Ephesians 4:8-10).
Again, this is confusing for us. What’s the Bible saying here? Remember that at this time the Roman Empire was ruling the world. Paul is referring to this ancient military tradition. A Roman general would win in battle, he would come back to Rome, the Eternal City for a lavish parade. The general would led a triumphal parade through the Arch of Triumph in a great victorious display. Like Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Chicago, this was a big event and everyone immediately recognized what Paul was talking about here. They would stain the general’s face with red pigment for the celebration. And he would have all the people that he’d conquered there —perhaps kings or rulers — chained to his chariot. These conquered souls would be drug along, chained to his chariot. And he would have wagonloads of bootie and the spoils of the battle to give to people that he wanted to give to—things that he’d brought back. He had won the victory and now he is leading captivity captive. He’s coming back glorious.
That’s exactly what Paul is talking about here in this passage of Scripture.
1.3.2 The Ascension
Verse 8 says, “When he ascended on high…” (Ephesians 4:8a). Paul is referring to the ascension of Jesus here. “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).
This lifting off from earth means Jesus is no longer visible to the naked eye. This is Jesus ascending to Heaven. We don’t talk about the ascension of Jesus as much as we do His resurrection. And while Jesus cannot be seen with the psychical eye, He can be seen with the eye of faith. The ascension of Jesus is essentially the crowning of Jesus. Think of this act as the crowning of Jesus – a public display to show Jesus’ authority.
At the birth of Jesus Christ, He was given gifts. But at Easter, at His resurrection and ascension, Jesus gives gifts to us. The gifts are distributed by Jesus Christ. The whole reason Jesus Christ is able to give out these gifts is that He descended down to battle our enemies, and then He ascended. And when Christ ascended, He came back as a victorious captive. “Each one of us” is given grace not according to the measure of our worth or merit, but according to the measure that Christ decided to give. The head knows what is good for the body.
1.4 Do You Know Your Gift?
Do you know your gift is, Christian friend? Do you know what your spiritual gift is? Many of you know Jesus as Savior but you do not know the power of God surging through you. When you operate your spiritual gifts, you feel the power of God surging through you. You can see the difference God makes through you! Now, some of your gifts may come out much later and be drawn out by a situation. You can take an online gift inventory on our church’s website. You can also discover your gift by seeking to serve in ministry.
Find a place to serve and listen to the wisdom of others – they’ll often confirm your giftedness. Find a place to serve – keep searching – and you will just know when you are operating in your gifts.
By the way, I love mission trips! If I had my way, every person in our church would go on a mission trip. People go a mission trip and they experience, for the first time, God used them, and there is absolutely nothing like it!
Many of you feel unfulfilled and bored spiritually because you’ve never experienced the power of Christ surging through you. Find a place to serve – keep searching!
1.3 Quick Summary
Again, you have a gift. Christ determines your gift. Your gift isn’t based on your merit but based on the grace Christ gives. Every saved person has a spiritual gift — that is, a God-given ability to serve Jesus Christ in a particular way.
1. You’re Gifted for Us
2. Your Gifted for Growth
2.1 You Need to Exercise Your Gift
This whole section is about your growth. Ephesians 4:15 says, “we are to grow up in every way…” (Ephesians 4:15b). Ephesians 4:14 says, “so that we may no longer be children” (Ephesians 4:14a). God wants you to grow. There’s nothing worse than an adult who still lives like a child. No girl wants to marry a 35-year-old guy who has no job and still lives in his momma’s basement and plays “Minecraft” until 3 a.m. each morning.
To grow spiritually, you must stay connected to the body. Again, to grow spiritually, you must stay connected to the body.
2.2 The Body of Christ
Paul’s favorite “go-to” metaphor for the church is the body. While we read verses 7 through 10, down in verse 16, the church is referred as a body: “from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:16). Paul uses the word body, as a synonym for the church, more than any other synonym, when he wants to talk about the church.
2.2.1 We Need Each Other
Why do fish travel in schools? Why do birds fly in formation? Why do cattle move in herds? Hyenas move in packs? Because they understand that they cannot reach their maximum potential, apart from the group.
Lions prey on animals that stray from the group. Bears look for fish that are no longer moving with the school. The Bible says the devil is like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). He seeks anyone that may devour. And one of the easiest Christians to devour are those who are no longer part of the pack.
What’s true in the animal kingdom is true in the kingdom of God. Spiritual growth is a group project. I need you and you need me. We need one another.
2.2.2 Cutting Off a Baby’s Finger
I know the following illustration is a little gross but listen carefully: cut off a finger of a baby, and see how big it gets. This is the “Don’t try this at home” part of today’s message ?. Cut off a toe of a baby, and see how large it gets. I hate to be gross but I think you’ll get my point quickly. The toe can only grow because it’s connected. The finger can only grow when it stays connected. The moment you disconnect it so it won’t grow.
If the church is the body, you will not grow if you are cut off from the body. Many of us are stymied in our growth because we’re not a part of the body. We must stay connected to the body to exercise our spiritual gift.
2.2.3 Staying with the Pack
When embers burn together, there’s a greater chance that those embers burn hotter and brighter. But when an ember is separated from the fire, its fire will extinguish in no time. Over my time as pastor, when a member quits the church and stays home, it’s often not long before you cannot distinguish them from anyone else in the world. Their “Christian ember” has smoldered out.
You must stay with the pack. Again, why do fish travel in schools? Why do birds fly in formation? And hyenas move in packs?
2.3 We Need Your Gift
Now, let’s reverse this. We have talked about why YOU need to operate your gift. But others in the body are depending on you to use your gift. Did you hear about the guy who talked about himself for so long? And everyone at the party was so bored even though he was impervious to their reactions? He finally came for air and said, “Enough about me. Why don’t you talk to me for a while?”
Seriously, other people in the body need you to operate your gift. You are not only gifted for your growth. You are gifted for our growth as well.
2.3.1 Every Part of the Body is Needed
If the church is a body, then every part of the body is needed. I need every part of my body to function. And each member of the body grows by staying connected to the body. We need your spiritual gifts to be healthy. You need my spiritual gifts to be a healthy body.
Again, you are gifted uniquely. We have unique fingerprints, footprints, lip prints, and even voiceprints. My dear friends, every person in this room is as unique as a snowflake, as unique as a thumbprint. This means there are some people in the world only you can help. I need your spiritual gifts to be a healthy body.
Don’t you see there are some people that you and you alone can reach? That’s the reason why God says he has prepared good works for you beforehand to walk in them. If we don’t have your gift operating, we are not at our full capacity.
PAUSE
If we don’t have your gift operating, we are not at our full capacity. Using your gift in the body is a major way of loving your neighbor as yourself. You have to stay connected. We have to stay connected.
2.3.2 Stir Up
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Do you know what the word “stir up” means literally in Greek? Some of your translations have the word “spurring” instead. It means to irritate each other – some of you are really good at this! It’s a command. It’s a word that means to sharply disagree, to sharply confront. UNLESS you have some people around you whom you allow sometimes to sharply confront you, you’re not going to grow. Unless these people are in your lives regularly, you’re not going to become a person of love and good deeds.
The Bible commands we meet together. The Bible commands that we confront one another. We have to stay connected! God fills gives you spiritual gifts, where you experience Him not just working for you and in you but also through you. You’re gifted, my dear Christian friend. We need your gift. And you need to exercise your gift.
2.3.3 Congregation, Not an Audience
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
That word meeting is a Greek word where we get our word synagogue. The word means a congregation. You’re not an audience; you are a congregation. An audience comes to hear a speaker but a congregation shares their lives with one another.
You really need to be in a small group of believers where you give and receive. Jesus Christ went through a lot of hard work, a lot of shedding of blood, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to create what you are here celebrating this morning.
On the cross, Jesus Christ on Friday paid for our sins. On Sunday He validated that payment with a receipt, the resurrection. He loved the church so much that He died for the church. We need to value the assembly.
2.3.4 An Audience vs a Church
I love having 1,000 people here, but Jesus did not die to create an audience, he died to create disciples and worshippers. An audience is like a bag of marbles with all the marbles slipping and sliding all over each other. But a congregation is like a cluster of grapes, in which all the grapes are organically related to each other. A congregation is a community where our lives touch one another. You don’t just come together to hear a speaker or to have an experience.
You eat together.
You pray together.
You learn together.
You love one another.
You confess your sins to each other.
When you arrive here, be ready to teach and be taught.
And it’s easy to see that so much of this doesn’t happen in the big setting. To truly encourage one another, love one another, honor one another, and learn from one another, you need a different setting. You could come to “Big Church” every week and not do any of this. This is why you need to add a small groups experience as a habit.
Do you have people you are looking at and saying, “What do I have to do to help this person grow?” Are you that intentional about helping each other? Again, we need to develop the habit of worshipping together. When it’s the Lord’s Day, I need to be in the Lord’s House TO CONFRONT, irritate, and spur ONE ANOTHER. There are times when you need somebody to say to you, “Suck it up. Grow up. Stop blubbering. Life is tough. Stop feeling sorry for yourself; it’ll kill you.” You need somebody who does that.
The Three Musketeers famous line was “All for one and one for all.”
1. You’re Gifted for Us
2. Your Gifted for Growth
Conclusion - The Gospel
