Serving Successfully Among the Saints, Part 1a

1 Peter chapter 4, verse number 11. Just one verse, looking at what Peter has said about preparing for end times. He says we need to look expectantly for the Lord's return. We need to think biblically, pray intelligently, love fervently, show hospitality, and minister supernaturally. And we want to spend some time helping you understand what that means to minister supernaturally. How is it I am to use the gifts God has given me? In the body of Christ? How is it I am to decipher what my spiritual gift is?

What are the spiritual gifts? And how is it? I am able to put them into practice on a regular basis so I can be used of God in the body of Christ to help build up that body so it matures to Christ's lik. Peter says, 1 Peter 4, verse number 11, who speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterance of God. Whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies. So that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

If we are going to give glory to God, if we're going to honor His name, we must understand what it means to minister our gifts supernaturally within the body of Christ. And Peter throws this in in his fourth chapter to help us understand the importance of how we relate to one another in the body. Now Peter covers two aspects of giftedness. Understand that there are special gifts There are speaking gifts, there are support gifts, and there are sign gifts. If you want to understand spiritual gifts, you must understand they fall into four categories.

The special gifts are gifted men given to the church to equip the saints for the work of ministry. You find them in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 and 12. There are apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. They are gifted men given to the church for a specific purpose. And that purpose, Paul tells us, is to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Over the next couple of weeks, we are not going to cover the special gifts. We're not going to cover the sign gifts because Peter doesn't mention them either.

He deals specifically with two sections of giftedness: the speaking gifts. And the support gifts, or the gifts of service. The special gifts are designed to equip the saints for the work of ministry. The speaking gifts are designed to explain the scriptures. The support gifts are designed to enable our service. And the sign gifts are designed to endorse God's sovereignty. In a nutshell, that is what spiritual gifts are about. Our purpose is to help you understand how you might serve successfully among the saints and not serve stressfully among the saints.

There's a big difference. And so we want to help you understand that. Tonight, we're going to look at the speaking gifts.

And help you understand what they are and how they are designed in the body of Christ to meet the needs. Next time we gather together, we're going talk about the support gifts. And all that that entails, and how they minister to one another. There is no level of importance in terms of the giftedness. There's not one that's better than another. There's not one that's more valuable than another. They all are important, and they all function in a way that makes the body complete. The question is, what is it you are supposed to be doing in order to make our body at Christ Community Church complete?

We want to help you understand that. Okay? So. We're not going to look at the special gifts. We're not going to look at the sign gifts because Peter doesn't cover those.

If you want to know more about those, we have a whole series on spiritual gifts. We're going to look specifically at the speaking gifts this evening. With me so far? Good. Spiritual gifts are found in four passages in the Bible. Ephesians 4. 1 Peter 4, Romans 12, and 1 Corinthians 12. Alright? Those four passages embody spiritual giftedness. So, you'll have to study them to understand what they are and how they function. We're going to look at five speaking gifts.

They're in your notes. Number one is the gift of prophecy. Number two is the gift of teaching. Number three is the gift of exhortation.

Number four is the gift word of wisdom. And next is the gift word of knowledge. They are all Speaking gifts. And Peter says these words: who speaks, that is, whoever prophesies, teaches, exhorts, has the word of wisdom or the word of knowledge. Make sure that he speaks the utterances of God. That's a very important statement. If you have a speaking gift, that gift is designed specifically and primarily to speak the word of God. Nothing else. The word of God. That's the importance. Okay? So, gift number one.

Prophecy. I will identify the gift for you. I will illustrate the gift for you. And then we'll give you some insights about the gift. Okay? You with me so far? We'll identify the gift. Illustrate the gift and give you insights about the gift to determine whether or not you have this gift. That's important. Now, let me say at the outset.

That no one can say, because I don't possess that gift, I don't have to do that gift. You can't say that. That's like saying, because I don't have the gift of mercy, I don't have to be merciful to anybody. That doesn't work. Because the Bible says you've got to be merciful.

You also can't say, Well, I don't have a speaking gift, so I can't have the gift of teaching, so therefore I don't have to teach anybody. But the Bible says that we're to go into all the world, make disciples, baptize them, and teach them.

So if we're going to be involved in disciple-making, then we have to be involved in the teaching process. So, just because you might not have that giftedness does not mean that you can't exercise to some degree some of the elements of that giftedness. Please understand that. Timothy was not an evangelist, but Timothy was to do the work of an evangelist. Okay? None of us are exempt from sharing Christ. That doesn't make us evangelists. It doesn't make us one of the gifted men in Ephesians 4 given to the church to equip the body of Christ.

But it doesn't mean that we cannot do evangelism because we don't have the gift. That's one of the misnomers that people have about spiritual gifts. Just because God has gifted you in one specific area, it does not mean you can't do any of the other areas. Quite the contrary. Throughout the Bible, throughout the Bible, there are exhortations. For us at one time or another to do all the gifts. Okay? Because they are a responsibility for us. That's important for all of us to understand just at the outset.

Because some of you here tonight say, Well, I don have a speaking gift. I'm just going to tune them out and put in the Red Sock Yankee game and this year over here and listen to see who's winning. You know, can't do that because you have to exercise part of these gifts on a regular basis because God's commanded you to do some of these things. And I'll show that to you this evening. Let's identify the gift. Prophecy is. The ability to proclaim God's truth to others without compromise or explanation.

Resulting in edification, exhort, and comfort for the believer and conviction for the non-believer. Say, whoa, can you slow down a minute? Buy the tape. That's how it works. Just buy the tape and you'll be all right. We'll be here all night. If I got to wait for you guys to write all this stuff down. That's a working definition of what it means for the gift of prophecy. Let me say it to you this way: pro amplifies the truth.

Prophecy amplifies the truth. Teaching clarifies the truth. Exhortation specifies the truth. Word of wisdom applies the truth. And word of knowledge simplifies the truth. Did you get that? I can't be any more basic than I just than I just was. I, that's about as basic as I can get. Okay? Now, I'm going to explain all that to you at this time. Let me illustrate to you the gift of prophecy.

If you got your Bible, turn over to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 for a second. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Paul says this. He says in verse number 16, rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not des prophetic utterances, but exam everything carefully. Hold fast to that which is good, abstain from every form of evil. Paul says, don't douse the Spirit. Don't dampen the Spirit. Don't throw water on the fire of the Spirit of your lives, the Spirit of God How do we do that?

We do that when we detest or despise prophetic utterances. When we despise the speaking forth of truth. The gift of prophecy is the gift that speaks forth the truth. The gift of prophecy amplifies the truth, it speaks it forth. And therefore, Paul says, don't despise the prophetic utterance. Instead, you need to make sure that you examine every prophetic word. If someone speaks the word for God and speaks forth for God, you need to examine everything He says. And how do you do that? If you turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 14, it says this.

Verse 37. Paul says, If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment. If anybody thinks they're a prophet, if anybody thinks they have the gift of prophecy, then you need to examine what they say according to the Lord's commandment, in terms of what I have already written, in terms of what the Lord has already said. That's how you measure prophetic utterances. And Paul says that we are not to despise them, we are to uphold them after examining them.

And abstain from those things that are not true, and hold fast to those things that are tr. Now let me help you understand something.

Prophecy does not talk about the revelation of truth, it speaks of the re. Of truth. It is not receiving new revelation from God because we have a closed canon. Because God is no longer giving new revelation. That's what the Mormons believe. That's what Jehovah's Witnesses believe. We don't believe that. God has given us His revelation, He has revealed all that we need to know in His Word. So the gift of prophecy. The word to speak forth means that you speak forth God's word. You reiterate the truth and you amplify it by speaking loud concerning the truth of God.

That's important to understand. Now, turn over to 1 Corinthians 12 for a moment. Paul says this. Verse 29, all are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? Not everyone is a prophet. Now please understand, we talk about a prophet, we talk about a prophet little P, not a prophet big P. Prophet Big P would be Jeremiah, Isaiah, Micah, Daniel. Those are big P prophets. Little P pro are people who speak forth the revealed word of God. And Paul says. not everybody's an apostle. Not everybody is a prophet.

And yet he says this in 1 Corinthians 14 verse number 31. For you can all prophesy one by one so that all may learn and all may be exhorted. Now he says, you're not all prophets, or you might not have the gift of prophecy, but all can prophesy. That is, all can speak forth the Word of God, all can amplify the truth of God. So, you see, you can't get out from under and say, well, I don have the gift of prophecy, so I can't speak forth the truth. Yes, you can, because Paul says you can. See? And if Paul says you can, and what Paul says is the Word of God inspired by him, then we know that it's true.

We need to understand that. That's so important. So prophecy carries with it the idea of public speaking. Let me give you a few insights about prophecy.

1 Corinthians 14, verse number 3. The one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and cons. That is the goal of prophecy: edification, exhort, and consolation. Comfort. Prophecy is very important to the church. Why? Because what it does to the believer, it encourages the believer. It comforts the believer. It instills courage in the believer. It exhorts the believer. It helps him understand where he's going wrong and what he needs to be doing to do it right. That's important in the church.

Remember, prophecy is speaking forth the word of God. Peter said, if you have a speaking gift, you speak the utterances of God. That is, the written word of God, what God has already said. So, therefore, when you have to get the prophecy and you speak forth the word of God, when you amplify the truth, you are then telling people what God has said concerning a particular area of their lives. Understand this. 1 Corinthians 14:2. If all prophesy and an unbeliever or ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all.

He is called to account by all. The secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. Paul says that when the unbeliever comes into your assembly, and in the context of 1 Corinthians 14, he's trying to help those in court understand that. Here you all come and you're speaking in tongues. Nobody understands what you're saying. It's a bunch of gibberish. The problem with that is that it doesn't do what it's designed to do.

What does do is the gift of prophecy. And so, if you all prophesy and the unbeliever comes into your assembly and you're speaking forth the word of God, it's the word of God that convicts the unbeliever. It's the word of God that causes the unbeliever to fall on his face before God and worship God and declare that God is among you. Why? Because the word of God is powerful and strong, you see. And that's why the gift of prophecy is important. Romans 12, verse number 6 says this. Speaking of spiritual gifts, it says in verse number 6, and since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly.

If prophecy, or literally, the prophecy, According to the proportion of the faith. In other words, Paul says: if you had the gift of prophecy, Then you prophesy according to the proportion of the faith. That is, the measure of standard is the word of God. It is the limited measure. Amount of the faith because it's already been given. So when you prophesy, you prophesy according to the proportion of faith. That has already been given. That's why Jude said that we need to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

And so Paul is saying, listen, if you have the gift of prophecy, then you prophesy according to the proportion of the faith. There is a measure already given. And that measure that's given is the measure that is to be spoken forth to an unbelieving world as well as to a believing world. Revelation 19, 10 says that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And therefore, we need to understand that. Those with the prophetic gift, the speaking forth of God's word, in order to edify, to exhort, and to encourage the believer and to convict the unbeliever.

Does so because it gives glory and honor to God. That's the gift of prophecy. Number two, must hurry, the gift of teaching.

If prophecy amplifies the truth authoritatively and accurately, then teaching clarifies the truth system. Systematically as well as sincerely. Teaching clarifies the truth. Romans 12, 7. Maybe you're already there. If service in a serving, or he who teaches in the teaching. Same thing Peter said at 1 Peter 4:11. If you have a teaching gift, then you do it in the realm of what has already been given, the teaching of the faith. Now, this gift is very interesting because it deals with the systematic teaching of something Verse upon verse, precept upon precept, one element built upon another element, built upon another element.

This word is used of the choir director. When you use the Greek terms did and did and did, they are words that deal with the choir director. When training a choir to perform, they have to rehearse. They have to go over all the notes. They have to go over all the parts so that when it's all said and done, it comes out right. That's what teaching does: it goes over all the parts. It helps explain all the parts. So when you're all done, it comes out right. That's what the teacher does. It is the ability.

To explain the meaning of God's truth to others so that there is understanding and application for both the believer and the non-. It's the ability to pass on the truth in a systematic kind of way. Prophecy will proclaim truth to audiences. Teaching will proclaim truth to people on an individual basis, on a small group kind of basis. Understand this, that the curriculum of the teacher is always the word of God. It can be used one-on-one. One on two, one on four, one on ten, one on a hundred. It can be used with a mother and a son, it can be used with a father and a daughter, it can be used in all kinds of ways, but that's how the gift of teaching is used.

Paul is a great illustration of this, along with Apollos and Aquila and Priscilla. Turn over to Acts chapter 18 for a second.

Acts chapter 18. This is a great illustration of the gift of teaching and how it's used in one couple's life to help another man understand how he can become a better teacher. It says this in verse number 24. Now, a certain Jew named Ap, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, and he was mighty in the scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John.

This man did not know that the Spirit of God had come. The church had been born. He did not know that. All he knew was the baptism of John. And he was accurate in what he knew, but his knowledge was not complete. Because the Spirit had come, the church had been born, and great things had taken place. So read on. And it says, And he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. They took him aside and, Listen, let me tell you what's happened since John the Baptist.

He was the forerunner to the Messiah. Well, the Messiah has come. Not only did he come, he died. Not only did he die, he rose again. And not only that, he sent to us the Spirit of God. And now the Spirit's in us. And we're able to carry on the work of God. And only that, He's coming again. So they will explain to him the way more accurately. Now listen to this. And when he wanted to go across to Acha, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. And when he had arrived, he helped greatly those who had believed through grace.

For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. He demonstrated with the Word of God that Jesus was the Christ. How did he do that? He took them from point A to point B to point C to point D. He took them to the Old Testament that they would understand the prophecies about Messiah. Then he takes them to what has happened in their lifestyle to prove that Jesus was the Messiah. That is the gift of teaching, and that's what Apollos did. Aquila and Priscilla had that same gift, and they would take him down, set him down, teach him concerning the way of the Messiah.

Very, very important. Peter said this in 2 Peter chapter 1. He said, Therefore, verse 12 I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them and have been established in the truth, which is present with you. I like that verse because Peter says, Look, I know what you know. And I know what you don't know. But I'm going to remind you of what you think you know. Because you need to know what you think you know. You know? And then he says, And I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder.

So, as long as I'm in this body, I'm just going to keep reminding you. I like that because that's what I feel my responsibility is: just to keep reminding you the same thing over and over and over again. It makes my sermon prep a lot easier. Knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me, and I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind. He says, I want to remind you these things.

I want them to be so indelibly etched in your mind that when I'm dead and gone, you'll never forget. That's the gift of teaching. Just keep remind. Just keep building. Just keep teaching the same things over and over and over again. Step one, step two, step three. This is how it happens. That's the gift of teaching. This gift is limited to the teaching of the Word of God, Romans 12:7. This gift is not referring to one's amount of education, know. Or understand. You might not be very educated at all, but have the gift of teaching.

There are a lot of people who are very well educated but can't teach and shouldn't be teaching. See? But the giftedness, remember, it's a supernatural endowment. The ability to communicate biblical truths so someone else understands them and implements them in their life. That's a spiritual gift.