Spiritual Gifts From God

Sometimes we put people on pedestals and we say, "Wow, I wish I was like that! I wish I had his brains! I wish I had his money! I wish I had his car!"

And even Christians can get envious of other people. We might say, "Oh, I wish I knew the Bible as well as this person. He knows the Bible inside and out, and I have a hard time finding John 3:16! Oh God, help me in this area!"

Or we might say, "I wish I could fix things like Dave can. Because he can fix almost anything that needs fixing. and the only thing I know how to fix is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Oh God, help me to be more like Dave!"

Or we say, "I wish I could be a good conversationalist like Susie. She always has something interesting to say. She’s always making people laugh. But when I get around people, my brain is so frazzled that I can barely remember how to say ’Hello." Oh God, help me to be more like Susie."

Too many of us stumble through life with a inferiority complex: We say "I’m not special. I’m not smart. I don’t have anything to bring to the table in terms of serving God." But today’s Bible passage proves that everyone has a ministry. Every Christian has a gift that they can use to make their mark for the kingdom of God. Romans 12:6 says that "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." God blessed each of us differently so that each one of us would play a special role in His kingdom.

This morning, we’re going to look at the gifts mentioned in verses 6-8. And we’ll talk about how we can use these gifts.

In Romans 1-11, Paul talks about the greatest Christmas gift of all: The gospel of Jesus Christ. He talks about how we are made righteous through faith in Him. He tells us how it is God’s desire to have mercy on each one of us, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Now in chapter 12:1, Paul is saying ’In response to God’s mercy on our lives, we should present ourselves to Him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.

And one of the ways we can present ourselves to the Lord is by using our gifts for the Lord.

Verse six tells us that "If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it!" In fact, every single time Paul mentions a Christian with a gift, he says to the church "Let him use it.’ Don’t try to stop him. Don’t try to tell him he’s out of line. Don’t try to tell him that he’s too young. Don’t try to tell him that ’it’s never been done that way before.’ If God has given him a special gift to serve the Lord, then do everything you can to encourage this person to use his gift for the Lord."

Tthe first gift Paul mentions is prophesying. We tend to think of prophecy as the gift of being able to tell the future. Sometimes that’s what it is. There’s a story in Acts 21 where the prophet Agabus comes down from Judea. He takes Paul’s belt and he ties up Paul’s hands and feet. And he says "In the same way the Jews will tie up the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles."

Now if I was Paul, I would have said, "Man, get off my belt! What are you trying to do?" But Agabus was a prophet, and God was using him to give Paul a prophetic object lesson on what was going to happen to him in the future.

And God still speaks prophetically through His people today. You may have a friend down the street who’s going through a painful divorce. And they feel like it’s the end of the world. That they will never