Understanding The Gifts Of The Spirit

The Holy Spirit Series #3

Understanding Spiritual Gifts

Dr. Marty Baker / April 21, 2024 / 1 Corinthians 12:7

Welcome to Stevens Creek Church. I am so glad that you are here today. I want to welcome all of you in our Grovetown Campus and in our South Campus and all of those watching online.

Today, we are continuing our series on The Holy Spirit. In this series, we're diving into the Bible to uncover the truth about the Holy Spirit. Too many people misunderstand the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

In this series, Pastor Dave and I want to clear up any confusion and show how the Holy Spirit plays an active, transformative role in our lives. Here's the big idea:

The Holy Spirit is God's power and presence within you. When you receive His gifts, your life will be changed.

Today I want to talk about spiritual gifts. A genuine sign of being a Christian is the strong desire to identify your spiritual gifts and to them to help others.

I know there is a lot of confusion about spiritual gifts. Some folks even believe that these gifts are a thing of the past, and that what happened in the Bible doesn't happen today. They call this belief Cessationism—the idea that miracles and spiritual gifts stopped after the early church.

But let me tell you, we do not believe that. We stand firm in the belief that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. There’s not a single verse in the Bible that suggests these gifts have an expiration date.

In fact, Jesus himself said: "Greater works than these shall you do, because I am going to the Father."

Jesus didn’t perform miracles just to be remembered as historical footnotes. No, He was paving the way for us. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to empower us so that we can make a difference in our community.

What are spiritual gifts?

A spiritual gift is a special God-given ability given to every believer, so that together, we can advance His purposes in this world.

Here’s the foundational scripture for today’s message:

1 Corinthians 12:7

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

Spiritual gifts are ordinary abilities that God touches, God anoints or God empowers and as a result, something extraordinary takes place.

We see this in the life of Moses in the Old Testament.

God used something ordinary in his life to do something extraordinary.

Exodus 4:1-2

Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ’The LORD did not appear to you’?" Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied."

At this point, Moses was 80 years old and tending sheep in the Midean wilderness. He encountered God in a burning bush where God gave him his marching orders to lead the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Like most of us, Moses initially protested. He wanted to duck out and let somebody else do the work.

God promised Moses supernatural power. He provided it through an ordinary old shepherd’s staff. If you read the story in the first few chapters of Exodus you’ll see how that stick was empowered. It turned into a snake and then back to a stick again. It struck the Nile River and turned the waters of Egypt into blood. It summoned disgusting swarms of frogs and then gnats.

Most amazing of all, that simple staff stretched out over the Red Sea parted the waters and allowed the Israelites to escape the Egyptian army. It was just a stick, but with God’s power added to it, that staff performed wonders.

In the same way, God has given ordinary people, like you and me, extraordinary abilities through spiritual gifts. He empowers you with these abilities to accomplish His will on this earth. Now, all of God’s empowerments do not result in miraculous feats of nature, but in their way, they point to the greatness of God.

God has given you gifts and He wants you to do three things with them. First of all, he wants you to open them.

What does God want me to do with my gifts?

1. Discover the gift that God has given you.

What kind of gift do you have? Seriously most of us have never taken the time to try to figure them out. Every single believer has at least one. You have been given a spiritual gift from God.

William and Darlene Fishburn: South Campus

When it comes to using your spiritual gift, I think about people like William and Darlene Fishburn. They came to a point in their lives where they went “all in” … they said, “God, we will do whatever you want us to do.” Sometime later God led them to our South Campus. When they walked through the doors, they found a place where they could use their gifts.