Living Like A Christian By Using Our God-Given Gifts

What would you think of a tall, athletic member of a basketball team who never wanted to play in the game?

Or what about a talented trumpet player who's in the band but never wants to play in a concert?

Neither would make sense, would they?

Well, what do you think about a gifted Christian who joins a church but never uses their gift in any of the ministries of the church?

That really doesn't make sense either, does it?

But most of us, we're sensible people.

We are.

So there must be a reason why every church member is not involved in the ministry of their church.

It may be that they don't understand.

It may be that some church members just don't understand that when God saved them, He gifted them.

Or maybe just chose to use the natural talent that they were born with and developed.

But God has gifted them in some way to serve Him and other people in and through their church families' ministries.

Well, what we're going to do this morning is educate those church members that do not know that.

The only other thing could be a church member just doesn't care.

But I can't imagine a Christian who understands God has gifted them

and that God has actually commanded them to use what He's given them in the life of their church.

I can't imagine them just absolutely not caring and saying,

God, I'm not going to do it.

So I want to give everybody the benefit of the doubt this morning

that there's just some things you're unclear of if you're not involved in service.

And our prayer this morning is that God will open your eyes,

clear up the uncertainty as we go through Romans chapter 12, verses 6 through 8.

Romans 12:6–8

We began looking at this two weeks ago under the heading,

Living Like a Christian by Thinking Rightly About Ourselves and Our Church.

But we didn't finish it last week.

I wanted to wait until this week when we're doing the graduate recognition.

And at one point later on in this message,

I want to really focus on some things that I hope you'll think about

as you think about what you're going to do next in your life.

Not just in church, but everywhere.

Let's look.

Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Let's do a quick review of what we saw two weeks ago in verses 3 through 5.

First thing we saw was we need to think objectively about ourselves.

Think objectively about yourself.

He's talking about in verse 3.

First, he says, don't think too highly of yourself.

Look at what he says.

I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.

Don't be prideful.

Don't be arrogant.

Don't think more highly of yourself than you should.

But look what else he says.

Instead, think realistically.

Think with sober judgment is the actual phrase.

Some people would have the idea,

if when Paul writes, he says, don't think too highly of yourself,

then he's talking about what we should do then is think just very low of ourselves.

Well, no, that's not the case.

Don't be arrogant, but don't think, I don't have anything to offer.

I don't have any gifts or talents or abilities.

No.

He just says think with sober judgment.

New Testament scholar Leon Morris tells us what he's talking about there.

Look at what he says.

Being sober minded means recognizing what God has given us

and being zealous in its use as well as humble.

Thinking objectively about ourselves will cause us to realize

I'm not the most gifted and talented person in the church or wherever,

but I am talented, I am gifted.

God has given me something that I need to humbly accept,

take ownership of,

and use in a way that will honor Him and help other people.

We also learned two weeks ago to think biblically about your place in the body of Christ.

That's in verses 4 and 5.

Paul explains that the church is the body of Christ.

You may be more familiar with the idea that the church is the family of God,

but either way, the church is not a building.

One of the great mistakes people today think of is

when you ride down East Main Street and you look over here,

this is not Dickens First Baptist Church.

This is our church.

We are the body of Christ together.

We are the family of God.

The church is a group of individuals,

like different parts of the human body.

We come together and function like one body.

Look at what Paul says in verse 4.

For as in one body we have many members or many body parts.

Verse 5.

So we, though many body parts,

are one body in Christ.

On one hand,

we're the church.

We're the family of God.

We're the body of Christ.

We're one.

But on the other hand,

each one of us as individuals,

we're a certain body part.

Look at what he says in verse 4.

The members do not all have the same function.

Verse 6.

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,

let us use them.

Every member of our church is important

because every member of our church

has been given gifts, talents, or abilities by God.

And God wants you to use what he's given you

like a part of your body works.

Some people in this room,

from this analogy,

you're like the hands of the church.

Some are like the feet.

Some are like the eyes.

Some are parts we won't mention this morning.

The key to us being a healthy and effective church

is for each of us

to recognize what part we are

and function accordingly.

So let me ask you,

which part of the body are you?

And I know we have people here today

who are not part of our church family,

but a lot of you are members of another church,

so you apply it to your church.

You're not off the hook this morning.

This applies to you

and how you serve

the ministry you're involved in

or should be involved in

in your church.

That leads us to

what we're going to look at new today,

Romans 12, verses 6 through 8.

Romans 12:6–8

Let's look at it.

Beginning in verse 6,

having gifts that differ

according to the grace given to us,

let us use them.

If prophecy in proportion to our faith,

if service in our serving,

the one who teaches in his teaching,

the one who exhorts in his exhortation.

Let's talk about giving encouragement

or the word exhortation

really sort of means

firm counsel,

direct instruction.

That can be encouragement

and some translations use the word

encourage here

instead of exhort.

Go back to where we were there,

the one who contributes,

the one who gives in generosity,

the one who leads with zeal,

the one who does acts of mercy

with cheerfulness.

These verses are telling you

to think responsibly

about your spiritual gifts.

Think responsibly.

Paul's telling us,

you've got gifts,

use them,

take responsibility for them.

They're in verse 6.

Now,

what we're talking about

is you're looking at verse 6,

we're talking about gifts

of God's grace,

God's undeserved favor.

God chose to give

each one of his children

certain gifts.

And God just,

within himself,

it's not because

you deserved it,

it's not because

you have done something

to earn it,

no,

God just chose you

to gift you

or give you the talent

that you have

because he wanted you

to have it.

Because his plan

was to use you

and that gift

to serve his purpose

in this church

and really in this world.

Paul provides us

with more details

about these gifts

in 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

If you ever want to

do a serious study

of spiritual gifts,

things we're talking

about this morning,

look at 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

There's a lot of things

he tells us

that'll help us

better understand them.

Here's two things.

God assigns us

the gift

he wants us to have,

we don't get to choose it.

Look in 1 Corinthians 12, 11.

He alone

decides which gift

each person should have.

That's from

the New Living Translation.

Then God gives us

the gift that he gives us

for the benefit of the church.

Not to make us a star

if it's something

where we're up

in front of people.

But to benefit the church

in some way,

look in verse 7

of 1 Corinthians 12.

A spiritual gift

is given

to each of us

so that we can

help each other.

Now,

we're talking about

spiritual gifts here.

What is a spiritual gift?

There's a lot of different ways

people define that.

Some of you here

have studied it.

We've done studies

at various times

over the years

Sunday morning,

Sunday night,

and Wednesday night.

Here's my favorite definition.

It's from Wayne Grudem,

the theologian.

He defines these gifts

as any talent

or ability

which is empowered

by the Holy Spirit

and able to be used

in the ministry

of the church.

Your spiritual gift

may be something,

really,

that God gave you

at birth.

A talent

that you have developed.

And when you became

a Christian,

God has channeled

that talent

or moved you

to serve Him

in that way.

Let's take for example,

some people are just

natural born singers.

Now,

they may develop

that gift,

but you may be

when you were little.

Some of you,

y'all have grown up

in children's choir.

Grew up singing.

Some of you

playing instruments.

Some of you still do it

every Sunday.

Well,

some of you had this talent,

this musical ability.

And as time has gone on,

God's just used it

as you have become a Christian

and started being serious

about living after your faith.

God's using you

with a talent

He gave you

many years ago

to serve Him.

Some people,

though,

when God saves them,

He gives them

a new gift,

something that's maybe

totally out of character

from the way

they used to be.

I know a man today,

one of the most kind

and easygoing guys

you'll ever meet.

He has the gift

of service.

He just wants

to serve people,

meet people's needs.

He also has

the gift of mercy.

He has a real heart

for people.

He cares

as well as serving.

That guy told me

when he was younger,

teenager,

growing up

and in the military,

in the Navy.

He said,

back in those days,

I was not what I am today.

God has changed me.

Back in those days,

I was basically mean,

I was selfish

and self-centered

and the way he put it is,

I didn't take anything

off anybody.

But when God saved him,

God changed him

in ways that a lot of people

never change.

Instead of being

that selfish,

self-centered,

I don't take anything

off anyone kind of guy,

he became a more

humble,

focusing on the other person,

recognizes when people

have needs,

they're hurting,

his heart goes out to them,

and he really wants to help.

He really cares.

It's his gift

to serve people.

It doesn't matter

where it comes from.

If you want to call it

a talent,

a gift,

or an ability,

a spiritual gift

can be any talent

or ability

which is empowered

by the Holy Spirit

and able to be used

in the ministry

of the church.

But let's don't forget

something.

Throughout this whole message,

the key statement,

use your gifts.

Verse 6,

having gifts that differ

according to the grace

given to us,

let us use them.

That's what we're talking about.

Using our gifts.

Then Paul gives seven examples

of spiritual gifts

in verses 7 and 8.

He wants to emphasize

whatever your gift is,

just do it.

Use it.

Now,

the fact is,

if you read

these verses,

you see seven gifts.

If you can read

1 Corinthians 12,

you see a bunch more.

If you read

Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

and verse 11,

you see four more

actually gifted people

God gives to the church.

If you put all these

lists together,

there are some duplications

and some people

would even debate

what is duplicated.

But all the gifts

that you read

that Paul writes about,

there's probably 18 or 19

or even more of them.

And the point

I want to make is,

when you read about

the spiritual gifts

in the New Testament,

in Paul's letters,

Peter has something

to say about it too

in his first letter,

chapter 4.

The gifts are always,

there's a different

group of them

every time.

Some of them

are in different groups.

But there's never

just one list

of spiritual gifts.

Some are listed here.

Some are listed here.

Some are listed

in different orders.

What that means is,

when Paul is writing

about spiritual gifts,

he's not trying

to tell us

what they all are.

He's just trying

to say there's

a bunch of them.

And what you need

to do is,

be aware of which one

it is that God

has given you,

or which ones

God has given you.

Now, in this list

we're looking at

in Romans,

verses 7 and 8,

prophecy is the most

difficult one

to understand.

The ESV study Bible

has this comment

explaining what

he's talking about here.

Prophecy here,

speech that reports

something that God

spontaneously brings

to mind or reveals

to the speaker.

But since this is

human speech,

we're not talking

about an infallible

word from God.

Because it is

human speech,

it must be tested

or evaluated

as 1 Corinthians 14,

29 points out.

Now, there's

differences of opinion

of what the gift

of prophecy is

in today's church.

Some people would say

it's just clearly,

plainly, boldly

preaching

the word of God.

Either way,

Paul's point

is that

this is your gift.

Use it in proportion

to your faith.

Use it to the extent

that you believe

God is leading you.

The other gifts

are basically

self-explanatory.

And if you just read it,

you understand.

Paul is just saying

this is a representative list.

If your gift is this,

just do it.

He's saying to us,

recognize what your

spiritual talent,

gift,

ability is.

Recognize it.

Acknowledge it.

And use it.

If it's to teach,

teach.

If it's a gift

of service,

serve.

Whatever it is,

do it.

Now the question is,

the question we need

to be asking ourselves

right now,

am I?

Am I using

the gifts,

the talents,

the abilities

that God has given me

in the ministry

of this church?

And we have a lot

of people who are.

You've seen some people

this morning already.

They have been

exercising their gifts

in helping us worship.

Some people you've heard

sing,

teach.

Some people you've just

seen what they're doing.

Things with a screen.

Things with a sound.

There are some people

whose spiritual gift

is such,

you see them

or you see what they do

on Sundays.

Some people use their gifts

and you never see them

on Sunday.

They're serving the Lord

during the week

outside of our gatherings.

Some people,

let me rephrase that

for an example.

We've got over 70 people,

70 members of our church

who have volunteered

to use their talents,

gifts,

and abilities,

and time

in our Truth Journey

sports camp

that's coming up

in just a few weeks

out at J.C. Park.

Over 70 members

of our church

are using the talents,

gifts, and abilities

they have.

They're doing everything

from teach children.

Some of them

are not going to teach.

They're going to try

to herd children.

Some of them

are going to set up games.

Some of them

are going to come up here

and get water

and ice

and bring it out there

for people to have.

Some people are going

to do security.

Some people are going

to run the games,

make sure everything

is in order

what it's supposed to be.

We've got also

over 40 individuals

who have signed up

to use their gifts

and abilities

in a music camp

that'll be a couple

of weeks after

the sports camp.

Now some of those,

some people,

some people are gluttons

for punishment

and they're doing

both weeks.

And we thank you

so much

that you're a glutton

for punishment.

But not all 40

who are doing

the music camp

are doing

the sports camp.

I say all that

to say there's a lot

of people in our church

who are using

their gifts.

They are using

the talents

God's given them.

They are using

what they have learned,

what they have developed,

their abilities.

And in all of this,

I want you to think,

what these people

are doing,

they are choosing

to use their time

to serve God

this way

and serve other people.

sometimes on Sunday,

sometimes during the week,

sometimes both.

Now,

many people in our church

are involved

and that is great.

But are you?

We're not talking now

about many people.

I want you to think,

what are you doing

if you're a Christian

with the gifts,

talents,

and abilities

that God has given you

for the purpose of,

according to His Word,

serving in

or through

the ministry

of this church.

Now,

it may be,

as I said

at the beginning,

you don't really

understand this

or you don't know

how or where

you should be involved.

And I want to try

to help here.

Rick Warren

has put together

what I think

is the best little tool

to help a person

understand

how they're gifted

and where they ought to serve.

And it's a one-word acronym,

SHAPE.

You know,

a lot of us,

we don't want to really

think about how we are

shaped

this morning.

But all of us

can look at

how God

has shaped us

for ministry

and profit from it.

We can be either

affirmed in what we're doing

or we can learn

how God wants

to use us.

So right now,

let's real quickly,

I want you to think

about your shape.

As we go through this,

you graduates,

I hope you'll think

about how God

shaped you to serve

in this church.

But also,

I want you to think

about how God

has shaped you

to work in this world.

What I want to show you

here is very practical.

It can help you

if you don't know

what you need to be doing.

This can help you see

how God's made you

and maybe help you

zero in on

where to go to school,

what to major in,

what kind of profession,

what kind of job

to pursue.

One thing,

it's not going to come out

in this

that I want to say here

so I don't forget it.

Whatever you do,

whatever you think

your shape is

when it comes to

working in this world,

you make sure

you can make a living at it.

God has not shaped you

to go out

and spend four years

and a ton of money

for an example,

majoring in philosophy

just because you want

to be a deep thinker.

There are very few jobs

even for PhDs

in philosophy.

I give that as an extreme example

because I don't think

any of y'all

are going to do that.

But I also want to say

to parents,

you students,

you're making an investment

as you go to college,

you go to tech school,

you go to whatever

you're going to do next.

You parents,

you're making

a big financial investment.

It's none of my business

but I'm going to say it anyway.

I wouldn't invest

my money

in something

that there's absolutely

zero percent chance

of them being able

to make a living at.

That's foolish.

They need to be able

to work in this world

and get off your payroll

and make a living.

But don't just find something

that pays a lot of money.

That is not the way.

But whatever you are

shaped to do,

you've got to be able

to make a living.

You can't live

with your parents forever.

And if they're smart,

then it won't let you

live with them forever.

Now, let's think

about our shape.

Number one,

spiritual gifts.

We've been talking

about that.

Any talent or ability

which is empowered

by the Holy Spirit

and able to be used

in the ministry

of the church.

Listed in the scriptures

as we point out here,

still on the screen.

If you don't know

what your spiritual gift is,

try something.

Experiment.

What gifts do people

affirm you in?

What gifts do you just sense

this is what God

made me to do?

Think about it that way.

Number two, heart.

You're thinking about

your shape.

How has God gifted me

to work in this church?

How has God gifted me

to do whatever I do

with my life?

Think about your heart.

What's your heart's desire?

What's your passion?

What do you enjoy doing?

Now, that doesn't mean

it's easy.

Some of the things

you enjoy doing,

it takes a lot of time.

It takes a lot of sweat.

It takes a lot of mental

toil maybe.

But what are you

passionate about?

What excites you?

You're thinking about

your spiritual gifts

or in the case of your job,

think about your strengths.

Next, think about your heart.

What do you want to do?

What are you passionate about?

Number three,

your abilities,

your natural talents,

your developed abilities.

What can you do?

What are you good at?

What do other people affirm?

I can think in my mind

that God's given me

the gift to sing.

And I can be passionate about it.

I can sing the top of my lungs

in the shower

because it thrills my soul.

But I can't do it.

Last week,

I had the opportunity,

I was asked

to sing with those twins,

Stewart girls.

I only had two words,

one line.

He said,

I said,

no,

I can't do that.

When they sung it

and Brian did that part,

Lisa looked at me

and said,

I'm glad you didn't do that.

So I'm saying,

that's all that to say,

your shape

will include

what you can do.

This is not talking

about some kind of

wishful thinking,

pie in the sky stuff.

If God's given you

a spiritual gift

or a strength,

he's given you

a heart's desire,

you will be able to do it.

You may have to work at it.

You may take some time

to develop it.

But you need to think about

what can I do?

What are my abilities?

Number four,

personality.

Your uniqueness,

your temperament.

Are you an outgoing person?

Are you a people person

who thrives

on interaction with people?

Or are you a more

task-oriented person?

You don't want to be

around a lot of people.

You don't want to,

for certain,

get up in front of people.

But you love to be quiet.

You love to be

behind the scenes.

You love to work

on something,

do stuff.

This doesn't require

a whole lot of people

interaction.

That's how you're made.

There's nothing wrong

with that.

There's people in this world

who are people-oriented

and they do well.

There's people in this world

who are task-oriented

and they do well.

Number five,

experiences.

What have you done?

God sometimes prepares us

for a particular ministry

in the church

or vocation even

by enabling us,

causing us

to have certain

life experiences,

good and bad.

That's why it's important.

This is sort of

on the side here.

All of you,

I don't know what

all of y'all have done,

but I know some of y'all

have done a lot of stuff.

I don't mean the bad stuff now.

I know you've done that too.

We're talking about

good stuff you did.

You know,

you worked different kinds

of jobs,

tried different things.

That's good.

You've learned some things

that you like

and that you don't like.

You've learned some things

that you're good at

and some things

you aren't good at.

That's what every person

ought to learn.

You ought to get your children.

Don't let children

just sit in the house

and watch TV,

play video games.

They need to get out

and learn some things

about life.

Get life experience.

That is vitally important

for all people.

It helps us to understand

who we are,

how we're made,

what God wants us to do

in the church

and in the world.

If we will seek to serve God

according to our shape,

our gifts,

our heart,

our abilities,

our personality

and experiences,

if we'll seek to serve God

faithfully

in the church

and in the world,

we will not only honor God,

but we'll find joy

and satisfaction

in what we do.

We'll like it.

And we will make a difference

in some people's lives

because we're doing

what God called us to do

and what means something

to us.

If you're doing something

right now in ministry

that you find no joy

or satisfaction in,

you just dread coming,

you hate it,

you don't see that

you're doing any good,

you probably are not shaped

for that ministry.

So don't do it.

You shouldn't do things

in the life of the church

just because somebody else

wants you to do it.

Because your friend does it,

you think you've got to do it

with your friend.

Because somebody inflicted guilt

on you.

Serve God according to the way

He has shaped you.

And there is a way

He has shaped you

that you can plug in

to some way of ministry,

some type of ministry

in our church

that'll matter to you

and it'll matter to the people

who are involved.

And you'll look forward

to doing it.

People will look forward

to you doing it.

Serving God according

to our shape,

let me reemphasize,

it is not always easy.

It may take a lot of time,

it may be a lot of work,

but serving God

according to our shape

will be worth it.

It might be a labor of love.

Now if you haven't figured out

what your ministry is,

or you haven't figured out

what your calling in life is,

take the time

to just talk to God about it

on a regular basis.

Ask God to help you

to understand

how He has shaped you.

Seek His guidance.

Pray.

Ask God for wisdom.

He wants to give it to us.

Evaluate what we're looking

at this morning.

Take some time.

Ask some other people.

Experiment.

Ask other people

who know you well

and will tell you the truth.

You know,

a lot of people

will just tell you

what you want to hear.

A lot of people

will tell you things

that make you feel good,

especially when you're young.

A lot of times

people don't,

people are just not willing.

They may love you a lot.

They're just not willing

to say,

you stink at this.

Or you just can't do this.

Or you got a long ways to go.

When I was first called

to preach

and I used to preach

and different people

take the risk

and let me preach

when I was 20 years old.

Everybody used to come up

to you after.

No matter what.

Oh, you did just a good job.

Blah, blah, blah.

Just making you feel good

about yourself.

Well, I went to one church

one time.

There was this older lady there.

She knew my family.

Thought she knew me.

But I didn't know her.

Well, I was there

and people came up

making you feel good.

She came up to me

and looked me in the eye.

She said,

don't worry about it, son.

You're going to get better.

And that's the exact word

she said.

I remember to this day.

Don't worry about it, son.

You're going to get better.

She was telling the truth.

And I needed to hear that.

Our children,

people we're trying

to influence,

they need to hear the truth.

It's spoken kindly.

She wasn't mean about it.

She was just matter of fact.

A healthy physical body

requires all the individual body parts

to function properly, doesn't it?

Well, healthy church body

requires all the individual parts

to function properly as well.

I want to encourage everyone here.

Use your God-given gifts,

talents, and abilities

in the life of our church.

Whatever that means for you to do,

whether it's on a Sunday,

during the week,

once a week,

once a month,

whatever it is.

And I believe when we all use

what God's given us

the right way,

three things will happen.

Other people will be helped.

God will use us

to touch other people's lives

in a meaningful way.

Number two,

we will be fulfilled.

We'll be satisfied.

We'll be content

because we're functioning

as God designed us,

as God shaped us to function.

Number three,

and most importantly,

God will be glorified.

God is pleased

when His children

serve Him

like He made them

and intended them to serve.

Question again,

one more time.

How are you serving God

in the life of this church

or some other church?

Let's pray together.

Dear God,

we thank You

that You

love us

and have made us

like we are

as individual

parts of this body.

Help us, dear God,

to understand

who we are,

how You've shaped us,

and help us to serve.

Lord,

I pray that You

will affirm

each person in this room

who is serving You

this way,

and many people are.

I pray, dear God,

that You'll just give them

a sense of just rightness.

They're seeking to please You

with what You've given them.

Father,

if there are people

in this room

who are not serving,

help them to know

that there is no excuse.

Help them to know

that for them

to be a Christian

and a member of a church

and not serve

makes no more sense

than a person

who chooses to be

on a baseball team

and never wants

to be in the game.

Convict them, dear God,

of the need

to serve You

in and through

this church

or whatever church

they're a member of.

Help them, dear God,

to get serious

about discovering

how You've shaped them

and then get involved

in some kind

of ministry.

Father,

for people in this room

this morning

who think to themselves,

I don't have a clue

as to what's been said.

I don't understand.

Help them to know, dear God,

that it's because

they're not a Christian.

Your Spirit

does not dwell in them

and they can't understand

the things of God,

the things of the Spirit,

the things of gifts.

But I pray, dear God,

that You will use

this message

to give them

what they need

to understand.

They're separated from You.

They don't have

a relationship with You.

They're doomed

unless something changes.

Help them to know

that what needs to change

is for them

to admit their situation,

to turn from their sin,

to change their mind about it,

to grieve over it,

and to put their faith

and trust in Jesus

that when He died on the cross

He actually took

their punishment.

Help them, dear God,

right now

to call upon Jesus

to save them.

Help that man

or woman

or young person

to commit their life

to Jesus

as their Savior

and Lord,

leader of their life.

And just in an attitude

of prayer,

let's listen to the Lord,

all of us,

and respond to Him

in obedience.

I'll be here at the front

of the Lord.

I want to pray with you.

Be happy to do that

if you'll come

during this time.

But the main thing

is that we just do

what God tells us to do

and make the kind of commitment

He's made clear to us.

Amen.