Walk As Christ Walked, Part 2
This is the second of a 3 part series on discovering who you are, how you're built, and what you should do about it. We'll cover God's Will For You, Spiritual Gifts, and Your Playbook. I want you to take in what you're reading and dwell on it all day, then come back tomorrow for the next part and continue growing yourself.
Prelude To Gifts
If you've ever struggled with serving, it might be that you haven't discovered how God built you. People with the gift of teaching are not going to want to do manual labor, but people with the gift of serving will. People with the gift of exhortation can easily encourage people, while people with the gift of generosity can't keep their wallets closed.
Have you found yourself fatigued trying to serve? You may not be doing what God built you to do. As we explore our spiritual gifts, I want you to keep an opening mind of who you are. Once you discover how you're built, I want you to take the desire of your heart and intersect it with those gifts. There you find all the joy in the world.
Serving God with Your Spiritual Gifts
Romans 12:3-8 3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
1. Be Humble
12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Stay humble and don’t think too highly of yourself. This could be difficult, but we need to remind ourselves that we’re doing God’s work, not our’s. He is our source of power, we’re not out doing amazing things by ourselves. Without God, we cannot do anything.
John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
God is the vine and we are the branches. Likewise, we learn another important lesson. Because we have the power of the Holy Spirit, the doors are wide open.
Phillippians 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Now let’s examine “To Think Soberly” – The greek words here is “phroneō”, “To have understanding, to be wise.” and “eis”, “into” or “go into”. We all know what being sober is. We all understand the concept of not being sober. Any such wisdom that we might have or use is going to be ignored with an unsober mind.
Sobriety here also doesn’t necessarily mean the influence of alcohol. It could any anger, drugs, or falling victim to your human self. We must remain focused and let God stay in control. We often times ignore the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us and empowers us.
God has given us all a measure of faith. This allotment by God keeps us from thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. Think of it as a check and balance system against your ego.
To learn more about “Measure of Faith”, you can find a great write up here:
https://www.gotquestions.org/measure-of-faith.html
What are some examples of thinking too highly of yourself in the context of Romans 12:3?
What are some ways to humble ourselves?
2. Be Your Part of Christ’s Body
12:4-5 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
We all have our own unique functions in the body of Christ. Even within our church buildings, we some people keep the things working. Others teach our kids. Some are part of the security team. Our Pastor runs the service. All of these people have a different part in God’s plan. We all serve one purpose. If we had a church filled with people only of the Pastor or Teacher gift, we’d never grow because we’d too busy battling for the microphone.
Romans 8:28 teaches us that all things work together for good for His purpose.
Ephesians 4:16 teaches us that as we work together as one body, we will grow.
I Corinthians 12:12-31 reminds us that each part cannot function without the other. This is a terrific passage to read over and over again. It really gives you perspective on how the body of Christ functions.
What purpose does the body of Christ service?
How does this change your view of the church body and your part of it?
3. Different Functions of the Body
12:6-8 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
“Having then gifts differing” – We all have different gifts. The Holy Spirit grants these gifts when you accept Christ as your personal savior.
After we receive Christ, we should explore what gifts we were given. This part of Romans 12 gives us a look at some of those gifts that are passed out.
Romans 12:6-8
There are more spiritual gifts mentioned as you read other parts of the Bible as well.
Ephesians 4:11-12
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
1 Peter 4:10 - Peter simply categorizes them as serving gifts or teaching gifts.
There are also other spiritual gifts mentioned here and there in the Bible. Intercession, Hospitality, and others. Some have even argued that “Leading Worship” is a gift. I would encourage you to check out spiritualgiftstest.com for more information on each gift, and to take the test if you’re searching for your’s. It’s a good starting point.
Another method is to right down each of the gifts. Make a grid, with columns “Yes”, “No”, and “Maybe”. Put a check in each box. Start by filtering out the Maybe and No columns. After that, you can work on exploring the “Yes” items.
Chip Ingram has a study called “Your Divine Design”:
https://livingontheedge.org/series/your-divine-design/
1 Corinthians 12:11 says “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
We can’t choose which gifts we receive, nor should we want too. The Holy Spirit gives them out to people as He sees fit. God has a plan, and His plan is perfect. You should never want to claim you have gifts that you don’t, or falsify what certain gifts are. Even so, we are instructed to “earnestly desire the best gifts” in 1 Corinthians 12:31.
I personally believe that when the Holy Spirit gives us our spiritual gifts, we begin to desire to use them, almost naturally. People that are given the gift of teaching will always be uneasy if they’re not teaching. Those who are gifted with evangelism cannot sit idle and watch people go by. Even people with the gift of faith don’t sit there trying not to have any faith.
Why do you think we all have different gifts?
What is one of your spiritual gifts?
What spiritual gift have you noticed about someone else?
Come back for Part 3 tomorrow!
Dan Joseph, Executive Pastor
Prelude To Gifts
If you've ever struggled with serving, it might be that you haven't discovered how God built you. People with the gift of teaching are not going to want to do manual labor, but people with the gift of serving will. People with the gift of exhortation can easily encourage people, while people with the gift of generosity can't keep their wallets closed.
Have you found yourself fatigued trying to serve? You may not be doing what God built you to do. As we explore our spiritual gifts, I want you to keep an opening mind of who you are. Once you discover how you're built, I want you to take the desire of your heart and intersect it with those gifts. There you find all the joy in the world.
Serving God with Your Spiritual Gifts
Romans 12:3-8 3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
1. Be Humble
12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Stay humble and don’t think too highly of yourself. This could be difficult, but we need to remind ourselves that we’re doing God’s work, not our’s. He is our source of power, we’re not out doing amazing things by ourselves. Without God, we cannot do anything.
John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
God is the vine and we are the branches. Likewise, we learn another important lesson. Because we have the power of the Holy Spirit, the doors are wide open.
Phillippians 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Now let’s examine “To Think Soberly” – The greek words here is “phroneō”, “To have understanding, to be wise.” and “eis”, “into” or “go into”. We all know what being sober is. We all understand the concept of not being sober. Any such wisdom that we might have or use is going to be ignored with an unsober mind.
Sobriety here also doesn’t necessarily mean the influence of alcohol. It could any anger, drugs, or falling victim to your human self. We must remain focused and let God stay in control. We often times ignore the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us and empowers us.
God has given us all a measure of faith. This allotment by God keeps us from thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. Think of it as a check and balance system against your ego.
To learn more about “Measure of Faith”, you can find a great write up here:
https://www.gotquestions.org/measure-of-faith.html
What are some examples of thinking too highly of yourself in the context of Romans 12:3?
What are some ways to humble ourselves?
2. Be Your Part of Christ’s Body
12:4-5 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
We all have our own unique functions in the body of Christ. Even within our church buildings, we some people keep the things working. Others teach our kids. Some are part of the security team. Our Pastor runs the service. All of these people have a different part in God’s plan. We all serve one purpose. If we had a church filled with people only of the Pastor or Teacher gift, we’d never grow because we’d too busy battling for the microphone.
Romans 8:28 teaches us that all things work together for good for His purpose.
Ephesians 4:16 teaches us that as we work together as one body, we will grow.
I Corinthians 12:12-31 reminds us that each part cannot function without the other. This is a terrific passage to read over and over again. It really gives you perspective on how the body of Christ functions.
What purpose does the body of Christ service?
How does this change your view of the church body and your part of it?
3. Different Functions of the Body
12:6-8 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
“Having then gifts differing” – We all have different gifts. The Holy Spirit grants these gifts when you accept Christ as your personal savior.
After we receive Christ, we should explore what gifts we were given. This part of Romans 12 gives us a look at some of those gifts that are passed out.
Romans 12:6-8
- Prophecy
- Ministry
- Teaching
- Exhortation
- Generosity
- Leadership
- Mercy
There are more spiritual gifts mentioned as you read other parts of the Bible as well.
Ephesians 4:11-12
- Apostleship
- Prophecy
- Evangelism
- Pastors and Teachers (paired in this context)
- Ministry
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
- Wisdom
- Knowledge
- Faith
- Healing
- Miracles
- Prophecy
- Discernment
- Speaking Tongues
- Understanding Tongues
1 Peter 4:10 - Peter simply categorizes them as serving gifts or teaching gifts.
There are also other spiritual gifts mentioned here and there in the Bible. Intercession, Hospitality, and others. Some have even argued that “Leading Worship” is a gift. I would encourage you to check out spiritualgiftstest.com for more information on each gift, and to take the test if you’re searching for your’s. It’s a good starting point.
Another method is to right down each of the gifts. Make a grid, with columns “Yes”, “No”, and “Maybe”. Put a check in each box. Start by filtering out the Maybe and No columns. After that, you can work on exploring the “Yes” items.
Chip Ingram has a study called “Your Divine Design”:
https://livingontheedge.org/series/your-divine-design/
1 Corinthians 12:11 says “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
We can’t choose which gifts we receive, nor should we want too. The Holy Spirit gives them out to people as He sees fit. God has a plan, and His plan is perfect. You should never want to claim you have gifts that you don’t, or falsify what certain gifts are. Even so, we are instructed to “earnestly desire the best gifts” in 1 Corinthians 12:31.
I personally believe that when the Holy Spirit gives us our spiritual gifts, we begin to desire to use them, almost naturally. People that are given the gift of teaching will always be uneasy if they’re not teaching. Those who are gifted with evangelism cannot sit idle and watch people go by. Even people with the gift of faith don’t sit there trying not to have any faith.
Why do you think we all have different gifts?
What is one of your spiritual gifts?
What spiritual gift have you noticed about someone else?
Come back for Part 3 tomorrow!
Dan Joseph, Executive Pastor
Posted in Bible, Romans, Spiritual Gifts
Posted in romans, romans 12, spiritual gifts, gifts, spirit
Posted in romans, romans 12, spiritual gifts, gifts, spirit
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