The Support Gifts

Father, we come together this morning ready to receive instruction from your word, knowing, Lord, that you give words of eternal life. And in those words, Father, is a clear indication, Father, of how you want us to live and behave. And Lord, most of us are not very intelligent when it comes to your word, me included. And it seems like the more we study it, the more ignorant we realize we are before, Lord, what we do not know and what needs to happen in our lives.

And so, Lord, we pray and ask that this morning you would open our eyes, that we might see, Lord, more about spiritual gifts and how they relate to our lives, and how Father we can be used in the life of one another to move us towards maturity in Jesus Christ. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you've been with us, you know that we've been studying spiritual gifts, and a couple of weeks ago we talked about the special gifts. Special gifts meaning gifted men that are given to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors, teachers. Last week, we talked about the speaking gifts: word of knowledge, word of wisdom, exhortation, prophecy, and teaching. The special gifts were given to equip the saints for ministry. The speaking gifts were given to explain the scriptures.

And this morning we want to talk about the support gifts. For the support gifts enable the service of the church. Without the support gifts, there is no service in the church. Without the support gifts, there is no maintaining the church. Without the support gifts, you lack that encouragement, that motivation, that drive, that ability for every person to see themselves as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So these become very crucial, and we'll see as we study them this morning their importance as they relate to the body of Christ.

When you come to the church in the morning, we don't know what kind of things are ailing you. We don't know what kind of problems you're having. We don't know if there's something wrong with your foot. We don't know if there's something wrong with your arm because we can't see those kinds of things, but you know. And if you have something wrong with a finger or an arm or a toe or something wrong with your foot or your leg, it can hinder how you think, your perception, what's going on in your life. It begins to affect your entire body.

Likewise, if the support gifts don't function, they're the gifts that are happening behind the scenes. And because they don't function, they make what happens in front of everybody not go so good. You understand what I'm saying? If you came this morning and there were no chairs, you'd all be on the floor sitting down. See? So, although it happens behind the scenes, when you come, the chairs are set up. If they weren't set up, you'd be on the floor.

When you come, you have a bulletin, you have an outline. If someone didn't fold that bulletin and put that outline together, you wouldn't be able to tell the players without a scorecard. You wouldn't know what song we were singing next. You wouldn't know when the offering was. Shoot, I don't even know what the offering is. But you wouldn't know anything. And so you have to understand that the support gifts are so crucial to the function of the body that without them we fail miserably.

And so we're going to talk about them this morning. I believe that there are eight that are spelled out for us in Scripture. The first one is found in Romans chapter 12. Turn there in your Bible with me if you would, please. Romans chapter 12. Our outline is as last week. We want to identify the gift. We want to illustrate the gift. And then we want to give some insights about that gift. Very simple. There's a chart that's there. We've tried to fill in most of it for you so you can listen and take just a few notes.

First of all, the gift of service. Romans chapter 12, verse number 6. "And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us each exercise them accordingly. If prophecy according to the proportion of his faith, if service in his serving." The gift of serving is that spirit-given ability to perform any task or responsibility with joy which benefits others and meets practical and material needs that exist.

The word service, diaconia, is where we get our word deacon and deaconess. It refers to any act of service, whether it be waiting on tables, whether it be providing meals, whether it be performing any kind of specific duty, that is the gift of service. Which a lot of people in our congregation have this gift.

And it's illustrated in different ways in Scripture. It's illustrated in Acts chapter 6, verses 1 to 3, when the apostles came together and they said, "Hey, listen, we cannot neglect our priority. Our priority is to pray and to study the word so that we can effectively give the word out. And because there are so many needs within the church, we need you to look for seven men, seven key men full of the Holy Spirit who can perform this task of service."

Evidently, the widows in that congregation had needs, and those needs were not being met. Spiritual overseers see that need not being met, and instead of them doing it and neglecting their responsibility, they say, "Look, we need people who can do this service. Because we can't neglect what God has called us to do." And that's what I believe where deacons came about, although the word is not necessarily an office that's assigned at that time. I believe that that's where we get our term deacon from, where deacons serve and deal with appointed tasks in the scripture, in order to relieve the elders and those in leadership of their responsibility so that they can fulfill their responsibility, that is, to study and to preach the Word of God.

Another way it's illustrated is with Martha in Luke chapter 10, verse 40. Turn there with me, if you would, please. Luke chapter 10 and verse number 40. Very familiar story to most of us. Luke chapter 10 says in verse number 38, "Now as they were traveling along, he entered a certain village," that is Jesus, "and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who, moreover, was listening to the Lord's word, seated at his feet. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations. And she came up to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.' But the Lord answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only a few things are necessary, really, only one. For Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.'"

Martha had the gift of service. But there's something here you need to understand: that although you have a gift, if you don't keep a proper perspective on how God wants you to use that gift, you'll be distracted. Martha was distracted. She was anxious. Why? Because Mary, her sister, was not helping her with the work. Now, there's nothing wrong with Martha in her service. If you read John chapter 12, verse number 2, you realize the phrase says Martha was serving. Martha was a servant. And that was the week before or the week of the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. But Martha was still serving in John chapter 12 because that was her gifted area.

And the point of Luke chapter 10 is that we can't be so focused on the work that we forget about our worship. See that? And so many times that happens, is it not? We get so focused on the ministry that we forget about the one who ordained the ministry. We are so focused on serving God, we forget to seek God. And so there's a warning for those who have the gift of service. You can begin to complain because people aren't helping you. You can begin to complain because things aren't getting done the right way. Instead of exercising your giftedness as God has ordained it, because you focus in on who He is. That's why the Lord said, "Oh, Martha, there's only one thing that's needful, and Mary has done that one thing. Sit at the feet of Jesus and worship Him." That keeps your perspective.

Another illustration is in Hebrews chapter 1. Turn there with me if you would, please. I find it very interesting that in Hebrews 1:14 it says, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation." Angels are servants. They perform the work of service. They are ministering spirits. Isn't that interesting? That angels do that kind of work.

Now, you're going to ask me, like I was asked a couple of weeks ago at one of our adult Bible fellowships: how do angels do that? The answer, folks, I don't have the foggiest idea. All I know is that the Bible says angels are ministering spirits. I don't have to explain it. I just got to preach it and tell you that's what the Bible says. Now, I believe that.

If you read Mark 1:13, you realize that during the temptation of Christ, the angels came to him and ministered to him during those 40 days. What do they do? I don't know, but they came and ministered. If you read Luke 22, why Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane—Gethsemane? That's where Jesus went to seminary, by the way. In case all those of you wanted to know that. Oh boy, I gotta get back focused here. Anyway, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was being strengthened by an angel. Luke, I think it's Luke 22:43. That an angel came and ministered to our Lord while he was in agony. What did he do? I don't know, but the text says it came and strengthened him. Came and strengthened him.

Remember Elisha in 2nd Kings chapter 6? His servant was so taken back by the incredible horror that was around him by the army, he didn't see the invisible hosts that surrounded that horror, and that's what Elisha saw. And so, Elisha prayed that God would open his servant's eyes that he might see the army of angels that surrounded them. Angels protect us. I believe we all have an angel, I believe, we all have many angels. And they protect us. You read Matthew 18. What happens to Matthew 18? It talks about not letting a stumbling block come to those of God's little children. "Be careful that you don't cause them to stumble?" If so, it would be better for you that a millstone were hung around your neck and that you were cast into the deepest sea. And it goes on to say, why? Because the father's eyes are always upon his children.

And I believe that the angels observe the eyes of their Father. And when concern comes over the eyes of our Father in heaven, the angels are immediately dispatched to the needs of his children. And what do they do for you? I don't know. But I believe they protect you. I believe they'll strengthen you. I believe that they'll encourage you. How does that happen in your life? I don't know. And one day we'll know. Because one day we'll judge the angels. Did you know that? The Bible says we're going to judge the angels, but in the meantime, they're serving us. Because that's how God's ordained it.

Some insights about the gift. One word: operation. In order for the church to operate and to function correctly, this gift is incredible. Has to happen. 1 Peter 4, verses 10 and 11 says that if you have the spiritual gift of serving, which these whole categories of gifts are in that whole aspect, if you have a speaking gift, speak the utterances of God. That is, if you're going to speak forth for God, make sure you speak His word. If you have a serving gift, Peter says, make sure that you are strengthened by the strength with which God supplies. That is, make sure you walk in the Spirit. Make sure you operate your gift in the Spirit, energized by the Spirit in your serving kind of gift.

Over in Luke 22. Turn there with me if you would, please. I know we're giving you a lot of verses and we're turning to some and not to others, but we've got a lot of things to cover this morning, and so we want to get through them as quickly as possible. But Luke 22. The night before Christ died, it says, "And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And he said to them, 'The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them. And those who have authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. But let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant. For who is greater? The one who reclines at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.'"

I want to let you know that if you have this gift and you exercise it, you're one of the greatest in the kingdom. So you can talk about all those special gifts: the apostle, the prophet, pastor, teacher, and evangelists. God never calls them great. But he calls those who serve great. We're all to be involved in serving. But if you have the gift of service and you exercise that in the spirit of humility to minister to other people's lives, you are reflecting Jesus Christ so accurately that people can't help but understand the love of Jesus Christ.

You read Luke chapter 4. You realize that when Christ healed Peter's mother-in-law, she immediately got up and began to fix meals and began to serve. Immediately, you know why? Those that get to service, they got to serve. They got to serve. And she was sick, even to the point of death. And when Christ raised her, she got right back up. She went right back to doing her ministry, to serve. And those with the gift of service, they don't ask to be used by the church, they come and want to be used, and so they come to the church and say, "How can I be used? I want to exercise my gift. How can you use me? I'm at your disposal." That's what the gift of service does.

Second of all, the gift of helps. 1 Corinthians 12, 28. Turn there with me if you would, please. Now, a lot of people put the gift of service and the gift of helps together in the same category. I believe that there's a distinction. There's a distinction because I believe there's two different Greek words. For the word for service, the diaconia, and the word for helps, antilipsis. So there's two different words that are used.

And over in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse number 28, it says, "And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers. Then miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues."

Did you get the emphasis there? You got tongues, right? You got healings, right? You got apostles, right? You got teachers, you got prophets, all those big, showy gifts. And Paul puts that other gift in there, doesn't he? Right among all those grandiose gifts, all the gifts that everybody wants, those upfront kind of gifts, Paul makes sure the Spirit of God through the Apostle Paul makes sure that he puts in that major gift. Helps. Administrations, those who lead and direct in the church, helps. Tongues, prophecy, helps. Isn't that neat? So, those of you who had this gift, don't think that you're not as important as anybody else is. You're just as important in the eyes of God.

The gift of helps, that spirit-given ability to bring immediate support and help to someone in the performing of a task in order to relieve his burden and responsibility. The gift of service means you come along and you assist and you take on a task and you accomplish that task. The gift of helps comes along and relieves somebody of a burden that's weighing them down. That's what the gift of helps does.

It's illustrated by Paul in Acts 20:35 when he says, "Help the weak" in the context of financial helping them. Over in Romans 16:3 and 9, Aquila, Priscilla, and Urbanus are called helpers in Christ. Paul calls them, "These are my fellow helpers in Christ." Somehow they ministered to Paul. Maybe they made a meal. Maybe they made a tunic for him. Maybe they put some sandals together for him. I don't know what they did. Maybe they gave him a bed to sleep in at night. But they helped him. They're helpers in Christ.

But the greatest example is of Onesiphorus in 2 Timothy chapter 1. Turn there with me, if you would, please. 2 Timothy chapter 1, verses 16 to 18. Onesiphorus. "The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. But when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me. The Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus."

Onesiphorus, his name means bringer of profit. Paul says he often refreshed me. You bring profit to people by cooling them off. And Onesiphorus was one who relieved Paul of burdens and cooled him off and refreshed him. That's what the gift of help does. It cools people off because you relieve them of a burden and a responsibility.

The key word here is mobilization. For serving, it's operation, but for helps, it's mobilization. Because you take those who are immobile, you mobilize them. You're able to move them. Why? Because you take them at a point of difficulty in their lives and you help them. You sustain them. You support them. You strengthen them. You cool them off. You bring them profit. That's what the gift of helps does. To those who can't make it. To those who can't get along? Those with the gift of helps come alongside.

Like Epaphroditus over in Philippians chapter 2. Over in Philippians chapter 2, it says this, verse number 25. "But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need, because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but also on me, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow."

Isn't that interesting? Here's Paul who was in sorrow, and Epaphroditus, who was sick to the point of death, but because he was so in tune to ministering to Paul's need that even though he was sick unto death, came alongside of him and helped him. That's the gift of helps. That's somebody who wants to exercise their giftedness.

Thirdly, the gift of leadership. Back to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, verse number eight: "He who leads with diligence." Leadership is that spirit-given ability to lead others in meaningful endeavors that demonstrate personal care and concern to meet their needs and encourage their growth. The word lead, prohistemi, means to rule. It means to stand before. And those with the gift of leadership are the ones who rule, not in a dictatorial kind of way. But in a way to help people understand the objective and to meet and reach that goal. So it's a word of motivation, and that's the key word for help is mobilization. For service, it's operation, but for leadership, it's motivation. These people are able to motivate people to accomplish a goal in a way which would honor and glorify God.

Turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter 3, and we'll see how it's illustrated. 1 Timothy chapter 3. It says in verse number 4, talking about the qualifications of those who are elders in the church. "He must be one who manages or rules," prohistemi, "his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity. But if a man does not know how to rule," manage, same word, prohistemi, "his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?"

Same thing for deacons over in verse number 12: "Let deacons be husbands of only one wife and good rulers of their children and of their own households." If a man is going to lead in the church, he has had to have demonstrated his leadership in his family. That means he's able to motivate his family, move his family to reaching the desired objectives. And to be able to have that oversight that encourages them and supports them as a father with his own children. That's what the gift of leadership is.

And so, elders in the church possess this gift. They have the gift of leadership. They must have it. And they demonstrate it in their homes. But if you can't rule in your home, if you can't manage your home, you can't manage the church of God. Fellas, if you can't manage your finances in the home, you can't manage a church of God. You can't do it. If you can't manage your children in the home, you can't manage a church of God. If you can't manage the spiritual well-being of your home, you can't manage in the church of Jesus Christ. That's very important. And so, the qualifications for an elder are very important when it comes to church leadership.

It's exemplified in Moses over in Exodus 18. When his concern for meeting the needs of the people, he developed leaders to be leaders of leaders, to be leaders of people, so you can minister to those two and a half million Jews.

And notice what it says in Romans chapter 12, verse number 8. "He who leads with diligence." In other words, he who leads, he leads with haste. He leads speedily. If you have this gift, you are able to see a need and you go and you meet that need. A leader is an initiator. A leader doesn't sit back and say, "Oh, I see a need. Hope somebody meets it." A leader makes sure the need is met. If you lead, Paul says, you make sure you do it with diligence, you do it speedily, you do it with haste.

And the issue in leadership is the ability to take care of. That's why Paul emphasizes it in 1st Timothy chapter 3. "If a man can't take care of his own home, how can he take care of the church of God?" So the idea of leadership is a protective, nurturing, caring kind of thing. You see that? And so the priority of leadership is to protect and to care and to nurture the people which God has entrusted to you.

And leadership goes beyond just those who lead in the church because you need leaders of small groups. You need leaders of ministries. You need leaders in our children's ministry. And so there are big L's and there are little L's, but there are gifts of leadership that manifest themselves in different ways throughout the church. So you can have the gift of leadership, but that doesn't mean that you're qualified to be an elder in the church, right? Because you've got to meet all the other standards too. So again, the leadership can be exercised in a wide variety of ways throughout the church.

But take note the old Chinese proverb: "To him who thinketh he leadeth yet hath no one following only taketh a walk." Isn't that good? I want to let you know, there are a lot of people today taking walks in the church. They think they're leaders, but they're taking a walk because nobody's following, right? The Chinese proverb has something to say that was truthful. "To him who thinketh, he leadeth, yet hath no one following, he only taketh a walk." And that's the issue. So, if nobody's following you, guess what? You don't have the gift. All right? If you think you're a leader, yet nobody wants to rally behind you and follow you, you don't have the gift. Very important to understand that.

Turn back with me to 1 Corinthians 12:28, the fourth gift, administration. Again, a lot of people put these two gifts together. Administration and leadership. I believe that there's a difference. I believe that the gift of leadership deals with motivation primarily, and the gift of administration deals with direction and decision within the church. And again, I believe there's a difference because there's two different Greek words that are used.

1 Corinthians 12:28. "And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, and gifts of healings, helps." Here it is, "administrations." Kubernesis. It's a very interesting word. It's where we get our English word cybernetics. Cybernetics is a science that studies the brain and its relation to the nervous system and the rest of the body. And that's where we get that from the Greek word kubernesis, which deals with administrations.

So as the brain governs the function of the body, so he with the gift of administration governs and functions those in whom he leads. All right, the definition meaning the spirit-given ability to give direction and to make decisions in behalf of others that results in efficient operation and accomplishment of goals. The word kubernesis means to steer a ship, to pilot a ship. The helmsman, the one who charts the course, determines the destination, and makes sure the ship gets there. That's the person who has the gift of administration.

You see, most of us have thought through the years that the gift of administration is the one who loves to do lots of paperwork. That's not true. We think just because somebody loves to do paperwork and make all these kind of charts and is well organized, that they had the gift of administration. Not necessarily, it just means they're well organized. All right? The gift of administration is a person who's able to give direction. And one of the keys of giving direction is in the midst of a storm. We'll talk about that in a moment.

Acts 27:11 is a way in which it's used. With Paul on a ship to Rome. Acts twenty-seven, verse number 11, it says, "But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what Paul or what was being said by Paul." So here they are, and Paul's saying, "Hey, listen, don't go on this ship because there's going to be a great storm." And the centurion was persuaded, was not persuaded. And the pilot of the ship was going to continue on and go anyway, but the issue is that that pilot, that helmsman, that kubernesis, was the director of the ship.

It's used also in Ezekiel chapter 28 when it says, "Your wise men, O Tyre, were aboard. They were your pilots." They were, in the Greek Septuagint, your kubernesis, your decision makers, your helmsmen, your directors.

So there's something about wisdom that's attached to this gift. Those with the gift of administration have wisdom. They don't have the gift of the word of wisdom. That's a speaking gift. Oh, they might have it. But it's not a prerequisite. But they do have some kind of wisdom attached to their gift so they can give proper direction and decisions in the process. You see that? And so these are the people who are able to be the helmsman of the ship, to be able to guide the ship and protect the ship from error and from false ways.

And they're also able to weather the storm. A man with the gift of administration, a woman with the gift of administration, is able to weather the storm. As a pilot of a ship is able to weather the storm and rise to the occasion to make sure the ship gets to port safely, so does the person with this gift. When you have this gift, you can be being battered by all kinds of weather and all kinds of bad storms, but you keep the ship on course. You make sure that you reach your final destination no matter what it takes.

If you can't weather the storm, you don't have this gift. If you can't stand strong amidst difficulties, amidst persecution, this gift is not yours because this gift demands that you stand firm, keep the ship on course without ever wavering in your belief system, without ever wavering in your doctrine, because you want to make sure that the ship gets to port safely. That is, the Church of Jesus Christ gets to maturity the way it ought to get there. Follow me? That's the gift of administration.

So the gift of serving deals with the operation of the church. The gift of helps deals with the mobilization of those within the church. The gift of leadership deals with the motivation of the people in order to perform the work of ministry within the church. And the gift of administration deals with giving direction to the people in the church.

Fifthly, and we must hurry, the gift of giving. Back to Romans chapter 12, verse number 8. It says this. "He who gives with liberality." Romans 12 verse 8, the spirit given ability to give your material goods and financial resources with joy and eagerness without any motives that would benefit you.

Now that's a very important definition. "He who giveth," there are two—there's a word didomi, which means to give, and metadidomi is a compound word which means to super give. Romans chapter 12, verse 8. You are going to super give, and that's the one who has this gift. We're all commanded to give, right? We're all commanded to sow bountifully. If you sow bountifully, you'll reap bountifully. We wrote the letter to you this past week about giving and what the Bible says about how we are to give to the Lord. So we're all to give, but these people here don't have to be prompted to give because they've got the gift. And they're super givers. They really live to give.

It's illustrated by the church of Philippi in Philippians 4, verses 15 and 19, when Paul said that they gave too much. They gave too much. But that's how those with the gift give. Over in 2 Corinthians 8:1 to 5, the Macedonian believers gave out of their poverty.

But a great illustration is over in John chapter 12. Turn there with me if you would, please. John chapter 12, which gives us great insight about this gift. John chapter 12, verse number 1. "Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made him a supper there, and Martha was serving. But Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. Mary, therefore, took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard. And anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was intending to betray him said, 'Why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor people?'"

Sounds noble, doesn't it? Now, a denarius was a day's wage. What Mary did was she broke a year, almost a year's wages on Jesus by breaking that bottle of perfume over his feet. That would be like you going to work for 300 days and taking all your money and giving it to the Lord. That's the gift of giving. That's the gift. Because you give with no strings attached. You give with not expecting anything in return or nor wanting anything in return. That's the gift of giving. That's what Mary did. That's where her heart was.

And this gift is characterized by the word implementation. Without this gift, the Church of Jesus Christ would fold because it takes money to run an operation. And those with the gift of giving keep afloat the ship. Now we know that Jesus Christ, of course, does that because he's going to build his church. But he uses those with the gift of giving to be able to supply needs of those within the church.

Remember, Romans 12:8 says, "He who gives, give what? With liberality." Give with simplicity. That is, give with one pure motive, and that's it. How do most of us give? Two motives. We give because we want to give to the Lord, and the other motive is to make sure we've got enough left over to buy what we want to buy, right? So we give with two motives. But the one with the gift of giving, you can forget about this one. He just gives with this motive. So Paul says, "He who gives, gives with simplicity. Give with simplicity. One motive only." And that's the motive to worship God, to honor Him, to meet the need. Without expecting anything in return.

Remember Acts 2:44 to 45? In Acts chapter 4, people sold their possessions so that there was no need among the assembly in that early church. 3,000 people were saved on the day of Pentecost, and 3,000 people began to minister to one another. And whenever there was a need, they sold property. They sold their houses and they gave to the church because they want to make sure that all the needs of the people were met. That's the gift of giving.

People with this gift, they just love to give. They love to write checks. They do. "You love to write checks?" "Yeah, when I'm buying something." But you love to write checks to give, which you get nothing materialistic in return. But just because you want to honor God. That's the gift of giving.

The gift of mercy, showing mercy. The gift of showing mercy. Romans chapter 12 again, verse number 8. "He who shows mercy with cheerfulness." The Spirit given ability to have immediate compassion for those suffering, combined with great joy in meeting their needs.

It's illustrated by the Good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10 verses 30 to 37. When he went by the side of the road and saw the man, he not only saw the man, but he sympathized with the man. He not only sympathized with the man, but he settled the man's account. And he satisfied the man's condition. That's what the gift of mercy does. Luke 10, verses 30 to 37. The Good Samaritan had the gift of showing mercy.

You read Acts 9:36 to 42. It talks about Dorcas, who had deeds of kindness, deeds of kindness. Evidently, she would good at being a seamstress, and she would make things for widows and for orphans. And she was used in a mighty way, and she died. And all those people who had things being made for them, well, they were all saddened because now they weren't gonna get anything made for them anymore. And so Peter raised her from the dead, and now they're all excited again because now they're gonna get more tunics and more things made for them.

But that's the way Dorcas was. She did deeds of kindness. She had the gift of showing mercy deeds, mercy, kindness, the text says. That's the way Dorcas was. And of course, it's manifested in our Lord Jesus, isn't it? Remember Mark 10, blind Bartimaeus? "Lord, have mercy upon me," he said, and God had mercy upon him. Read Luke 17, the ten lepers. "Lord, have mercy upon us," and God had mercy upon them. It's characteristic of our Lord. He sees the need, he sympathizes with the need, he settles the account, and satisfies the soul. That's what the gift of mercy does. You have that gift?

The key word for here is commiseration. You're able to sympathize with those who are in need to the point where you not only feel it, but you meet it because you want to relieve them. And the text says that he who shows mercy, do it with cheerfulness. Remember 2 Corinthians chapter 9? God loves a hilarious giver. This is a hilarious mercy shower. This is the guy who laughs all the way to the hospital and laughs all the way home. Not because of your condition, but because God's going to use him to meet the need of your condition. See that? He who shows mercy, he does it with cheerfulness, with joy, hilarious kind of mercy-giving. That's what he does.

He loves going to the convalescent home. He laughs all the way there. He laughs as he pushes you around in the wheelchair. He just laughs in his heart because he knows that God's going to use them to meet the need of somebody else. That's the gift of mercy.

Of course, all of you out there saying, "We don't have that gift. I don't have that gift." I'm gonna let you know something. Judgment will be merciless to those who show no mercy. James 2:13. My friend, if you are a partaker of the divine nature, you are a partaker of God's mercy. Therefore, you are never alleviated from the responsibility of showing mercy to somebody else. But we think we are because we don't have the gift of mercy. But James says, judgment will be merciless to those who show no mercy.

That's why he said earlier in James 1:27: "Pure religion, true religion, and undefiled before the Father is this: to visit the widows and orphans in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." True religion is mercy-giving. To visit the widows and orphans in their affliction.

Next, discerning of spirits. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse number 10. 1 Corinthians 12, verse number 10. It says, "To another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues." Discerning of spirits is a spirit given ability to give an immediate evaluation of what was spoken and the person who said it as to whether it was of God or of Satan. To discern diacrino means to see through, to judge through a matter to the truth.

It's illustrated in the Church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians 6:5 when it talks about discerning between legal matters. 1 Corinthians 14:29 when it discerns between the prophets of the church, whether they're true prophets or false prophets, and used over in Acts 16. Turn there with me, if you would, for a moment. Acts 16 of the Apostle Paul. Acts chapter 16, Acts 16, verse number 16. "And it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain slave girl, having a spirit of divination, met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Following after Paul, and thus she kept crying out, saying, 'These men are bondservants of the Most High God who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.'"

Now, wait a minute, that sounds like pretty good PR, doesn't it? Here's somebody going after Paul and yelling, "Hey, these are ministers of the true holy God. They are ministers of the gospel of salvation." Everybody would want that kind of publicity, wouldn't they? Can you imagine somebody walking after you as you were going down next Saturday canvassing the streets? "Hey, these people are prophets of God, they're ministering the gospel of Jesus Christ." Listen to what happens. "And she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed and turned and said to the Spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And it came out at that very moment."

Now, wait a minute. I thought the Spirit was saying something good. But Paul was able to discern that it wasn't the Spirit of God who was saying those things, it was another Spirit. That's the gift of discernment. To be able to see through an issue, to be able to judge a matter to whether it's the Spirit of God or the Spirit of error.

And this key word for this gift is protection. This gift protects the church. It protects the church from heresy. It protects the church from false doctrine. It protects the church from carnality. Because those with this gift are able to discern between good and evil. They're able to discern between right and wrong, and God has given them that gift to be able to judge those things.

It's similar to what John says in 1 John 4:1, where we all are to test the spirits. But the one with the discerning of spirits is able to discern to see through a matter to judge and see whether it's of God or not. It's what A.T. Robertson calls the gift on the gifts. This gift judges the other gifts to see whether or not they're energized by the Spirit of God or not. It's the gift on the gifts. It's very important to the church of Jesus Christ for its protection.

And lastly, the gift of faith. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse number 9, says this. "To another faith by the same Spirit." The gift of faith is that spirit-given ability to see what others cannot see and to trust God in the midst of difficult circumstances.

The gift of faith. This one key word for this word is vision. Is vision in the Church of Jesus Christ, the gift of faith. It's a supernatural ability to believe God. You read all about it in Hebrews chapter 11 in the hall of faith, where those people looked beyond the obstacles to an omnipotent God who had all things under control. You read about it in Acts chapter 6 and in Acts chapter 7 about Stephen, who was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. And they began to condemn him and call him a liar because he proclaimed the truth. And the Bible says in Acts chapter 7 that his face shone like an angel. He was able to smile amidst all the persecution and all the difficulty because he was a man of faith.

Men of faith are not deterred by persecution and problems. They're able to smile amidst all those things because they're able to look beyond the obstacles to the omnipotent God of the universe who controls all those obstacles, you see. That's what the gift of faith does. As you read Acts 7 and read further on, and as they begin to stone him with those big boulders, he was able to look up into heaven and say, "God, be merciful on these people. Forgive them, for they know not what they do. Hold this. Hold not this charge against them," it says. A man of faith can do that because he sees God. Same thing.

Used of Paul in terms of the insights about the gift over in Acts 27 when he was on the ship and an angel came to him. He told him, "Man, be of good cheer. They're in the midst of a storm. Be of good cheer. We're all going to arrive safely." And they're in the midst of a storm. That's the man with vision. He's able to see beyond the storm to a savior and know that they're going to reach port safely. You have that gift? The gift of faith.

We need that gift in the church. I believe that the gift of faith is so important because so many of us are focused on what? Today. The gift of faith is focused on tomorrow. We all need our vision changed, don't we? Most of us come to church with impaired vision. We come to church with cataracts. We're not able to see the way we're supposed to see, are we? And people with this gift help us focus on the presence of God. Don't they?

What did Paul say? "We walk by faith, not by sight." That's why he could endure the light momentary affliction in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 16 and 18. That light momentary affliction was not going to beset him because they walked by faith and not by sight. He was able to focus on that which was unseen, not on that which was seen. And a man of faith focuses on God's presence.

And a man of faith follows God's plan, doesn't he? Sure, he does. Because he's able to see beyond the immediate. When Moses stood before the Red Sea, all the people could see was the army bearing down upon them and the water before them. "Ah, Moses, that we would have perished out here in the wilderness. Would it be that we'd be better off back in bondage in Egypt?" And what did Moses say? "Stand still and watch God work." God had a plan. Moses followed that plan. Men of vision, men of faith followed that plan no matter what the obstacles. Why? Because they focus on God's presence.

And they're also fueled by God's power, aren't they? Sure, they are. Like the ten spies who came back. "Oh, the land's too big. The enemy's too big. We'll never be able to handle it. We can't go in. They'll kill us all." And Joshua and Caleb said, "Yeah, we can. We can do it. Because God has fueled us. God has promised us, and with Him, we can't fail." And they are fueled by God's power.

It gives them drive, it gives them determination. And men of faith have that drive. They don't give up. Because they see God for who He is. Those of you with the gift of faith need to exercise it a little bit more within the body of Christ. Because so many of us are focused on the here and now. All we can see is our difficult circumstances. All we can see is the pain of our lives. We need to see God. And people of vision are able to say, as Paul did, "Be of good cheer, because God's in control."

The spiritual gifts, the support gifts. Without them, we cannot function. Without them, we will fail. Without you exercising your giftedness, our church will fail. May you, by the glory of God, and may you, because you're committed to God, seek to honor Him by exercising your gift through the body of Jesus Christ.

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today and a chance to look at these gifts. There are so many more things that we could have covered. But, Father, our prayer, Lord, is that we would get a better glimpse of how you want to use us and that we would be stirred to study the scriptures even more. So we can be the kind of people that exercise those God-given gifts in a way that build the body of Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name, amen.