{"id":18481,"date":"2018-05-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-06T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/ecclesiology-022-spiritual-gifts-2\/"},"modified":"2018-05-06T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-06T05:00:00","slug":"ecclesiology-022-spiritual-gifts-2","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/ecclesiology-022-spiritual-gifts-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecclesiology 022: Spiritual Gifts 2"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[54],"series_event":[484],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18481","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-1-samuel","series_event-ecclesiology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Ecclesiology 022: Spiritual Gifts 2","sermon_date":"20180506","sermon_month":"5","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":5745,"sermon_slides":5747,"sermon_mp3":5752,"sermon_id":"56181343170","series_or_event":484,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":54,"chapter_and_verse":"16:13-14","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nEcclesiology 22\n\n5-6-18 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lesson 22\n\nFather, we\u2019re grateful for this morning, grateful today and grateful for the work that You\u2019re doing in all of our lives.\u00a0 We\u2019re grateful for Your church, grateful for the Word of God, the ministry of the Holy Spirit to us and I do ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit would be illuminating to us truth that You would have us to learn so that we might continue to grow and develop into the full stature of Christ.\u00a0 And if there\u2019s anybody here that comes here today that is unsaved I ask that the Spirit would convict them of their need to trust in the Savior for the Word of God says \u201ctoday is the day of salvation.\u201d\u00a0 And we ask that You\u2019ll do that great work of conviction.\u00a0 And the rest of us that are saved help us to continue to grow in spirit and truth, particularly as we partake of the Lord\u2019s table today and fellowship following the service.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give You all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen!\n\nLet\u2019s take our Bibles if we could and open them to 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verses 13-14.\u00a0 And in this Sunday School class we\u2019re continuing to deal with the whole issue of the church, the issue of ecclesiology.\u00a0 And I wasn\u2019t here last week so I hope you enjoyed Pastor Jim\u2019s material.\u00a0 I heard a few yes\u2019s Jim, so that\u2019s a good sign, amen!\n\nBut as we have tried to explain the church basically has three primary functions; it\u2019s to glorify God, edify the saints and fulfill the great commission.\u00a0 And we\u2019re spending just a little bit more time on number 2 here, edification of the saints.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve seen that God has given a spiritual gift to the church called the gift of pastor-teacher.\u00a0 And the pastor-teacher is to teach the Word of God so that the listeners, the hearers, may be adequately equipped for every good work.\u00a0 So if that\u2019s not happening in a church you really don\u2019t have a church.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0\u00a0 You can call it whatever you want to call it but it\u2019s not church.\n\nAnd there\u2019s the famous passage in Ephesians 4:11-16 indicates why the gift of pastor-teacher is in operation.\u00a0 It\u2019s to build up the saints for their work of service.\u00a0 [Ephesians 4:11-16, \u201cAnd He gave some as<\/em> apostles, and some as<\/em> prophets, and some as<\/em> evangelists, and some as<\/em> pastors and teachers, [12] for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. [14] As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; [15] but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects<\/em> into Him who is the head, even<\/em> Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.\u201d]\n\nAnd you might be saying to yourself well how do I know what my work of service is in Christ as I\u2019m being built up?\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s largely determined by what your spiritual gift or gifts are.\u00a0 Normally the issue of spiritual gifts is covered under pneumatology, the doctrine of the Spirit, but we\u2019re making an exception to that rule, we\u2019re covering them under ecclesiology because the church is going to live or die, basically, in a local environment, depending on whether believers\u00a0 use their gifts to help the body of Christ or not.\u00a0 So spiritual gifts are very important to the life of the church.\n\nPaul, the apostle, in 1 Corinthians 12:1 says, \u201cNow concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.\u201d\u00a0 And over in Ephesians 4:7-8 Paul later would write, \u201cBut to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ\u2019s gift.\u00a0 [8] Therefore it says, \u2018WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.\u201d\u00a0 And this is in a context where Paul is describing the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Christ.\u00a0 And part of that, the benefits that were procured because of what Jesus did for us 2,000 years ago, is the manifestation of spiritual gifts in His church.\u00a0 So spiritual gifts are part of the grace package that Christ\u2019s death has accomplished.\u00a0 We have many benefits because we are \u201cin Christ\u201d by way of faith.\u00a0 And one of those benefits is the manifestation of spiritual gifts.\n\nSo because of the importance of spiritual gifts to the development of the church we\u2019re trying to, in this section of our study, ask and answer four questions about spiritual gifts.\u00a0 Number one, what are some general observations about spiritual gifts?\u00a0 Number two, are all the spiritual gifts for today?\u00a0 Number\u00a0 three, what are the spiritual gifts as outlined in the Bible?\u00a0 And number four, how do we discover our own unique area of gifting?\n\nSo we focused the last time I was with you and this morning on number one. We were in the process of making eighteen observations about spiritual gifts.\u00a0 Now numbers 1-11 we already covered, and we\u2019re going to cover 12-18, strike that, 12-19 because I found another one last night that I wanted to include this morning.\u00a0 So let me just sort of go over the observations that we have covered and let me sort of highlight a few things that perhaps we missed last time.\n\nGeneral observations about spiritual gifts.\u00a0 Number one, spiritual gifts are Spirit empowered abilities to serve God in a special way.\u00a0 So God has called us to service and how exactly you serve Christ depends on how He has gifted you.\u00a0 Number two, spiritual gifts are sovereignly bestowed by God Himself.\u00a0 And I had you, last time, look at a couple of verses; one was 1 Corinthians 12:11, it says, \u201cBut one and the same Spirit works all things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.\u201d\u00a0 The Greek verb for \u201cwills\u201d is boulemai<\/em>.\u00a0 Hebrews 2:4 says \u201cGod also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.\u201d The Greek noun for will is thel\u0113sis<\/em>.\n\nSo at some point there was a conference call, a skype meeting between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 And when the three got together and met they made a sovereign determination as to who would get which gift.\u00a0 So your gift and gifting has already been determined by the will of God.\u00a0 A school can\u2019t give you a gift, a diploma can\u2019t give you a gift, the only thing a school can do is sharpen your skills in\u00a0 your area of gifting.\u00a0 A church can\u2019t give a spiritual gift, the only thing a church can do is recognize a gifting in a person and try to channel them in the right direction.\n\nNumber three, every believer has at least one spiritual gift.\u00a0 I had you look at many passages to prove that but one of them is Ephesians 4:7, it says, \u201cBut to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ\u201d and it goes on in verse 8 and talks about how Christ gave gifts to men.\u00a0 So every believer has at least one spiritual gift, probably I would guess most believers have more than one because certain gifts seem to run in tandems, like knowledge and teaching seem to go together, administration and leadership seem to go together, etc.\u00a0 So the ministry does not just belong to the preacher and the piano player; it belongs to the people of God.\u00a0 And a church basically rises or falls based on whether people step up and use their area of gifting to help the body of Christ.\u00a0 This is the design of God.\n\nNumber four, spiritual gifts, believers obtain their spiritual gifts at the point of salvation.\u00a0 They are called spiritual gifts for a reason\u2014they are manifestations of the Holy Spirit, Hebrews 2:4.\u00a0 [Hebrews 2:4, \u201cGod also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.\u201d]\n\nAnd when do you receive the Holy Spirit as a New Testament Christian?\u00a0 At the point of faith alone in Christ alone.\u00a0 So that\u2019s the moment the Spirit takes residence in you and at that point gives you a certain spiritual gift and\/or gifts.\u00a0 And one of the exciting things to discover in the Christian life is exactly how God has wired you.\u00a0 The process of discovery sometimes takes some time but the gifting is there, at least at the point of salvation.\n\nTherefore, number five, spiritual gifts are not always the same thing as natural abilities.\u00a0 And we saw the difference between natural talents determined at physical birth and spiritual gifts determined at spiritual birth.\u00a0 But since God is the giver of both sometimes He takes a natural ability and re-channels it in an area of special service under the rubric of spiritual gifts.\n\nNumber six, spiritual gifts are given in order to edify or build up the body of Christ.\u00a0 1 Corinthians 12:7 says, \u201cBut to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.\u201d\u00a0 And all of those verses we saw last time demonstrate that.\u00a0 So gifts really are not given so much for the gifted person as much as they\u2019re given for the purpose of blessing somebody else.\n\nAnd this is a pattern of God going all the way back to the Book of Genesis.\u00a0 God blesses people so they can be a blessing to others.\u00a0 Remember what God said to Abram in Genesis 12:2?\u00a0 He said \u201cI will bless you\u201d and the verse doesn\u2019t stop there, does it?\u00a0 It says, \u201cAnd so you shall be a blessing;\u201d To who?\u00a0 Verse 3, \u201c\u2026in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0[Genesis 12:2, \u201cAnd I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; [3] And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.\u201d]\n\nSo God blessed Abram for the purpose of being a blessing to the rest of the world; that\u2019s the pattern of God.\u00a0 So when God gave you a spiritual gift He didn\u2019t just have in mind you, He had in mind all the people that would be reached through your area of gifting.\n\nNumber seven, spiritual gifts are very diverse.\u00a0 We saw that in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6.\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 12:4-6, \u201cNow there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. [5] And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. [6] There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.<\/em>\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 There is tremendous variety on how God uses these gifts.\u00a0 I mean,\u00a0 you think about the gift of teaching.\u00a0 Think of all the different ways you can be a teacher. We think a teacher is someone behind a pulpit.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s just one area.\u00a0 But over in Acts 18:26 you have Priscilla and Aquila who took Apollos aside and began to explain to him the way of God more accurately.\u00a0 [Acts 18:26, \u201cand 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.\u201d]\u00a0 So here the Holy Spirit is using a husband and wife team in the area of teaching, not so much behind a pulpit but in private conversation.\n\nSo the gift of teaching comes out in many different ways.\u00a0 It can come out in writing.\u00a0 Where would we be today if Paul hadn\u2019t expressed his gift of teaching in the thirteen letters that we have in the Bible called the Pauline epistles?\u00a0 I mean, here we\u2019re still being blessed by his teaching 2,000 years later because he taught not just one way but he taught through written format.\u00a0 So that\u2019s just an example of how much variety there is in these spiritual gifts.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have a \u201cone size fits all\u201d equation with God.\n\nNumber eight, spiritual gifts represent different manifestations of God\u2019s grace.\u00a0 1 Peter 4:10.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [1 Peter 4:10, \u201cAs each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.\u201d]\u00a0 I tried to show you last week it kind of gives you the picture of a rainbow, multicolor, technicolor, and every time someone begins to\u00a0 use their spiritual gift [can't understand word] another color is added in the rainbow.\u00a0 This is why Satan doesn\u2019t want you to use your gifts because he wants to make the color unattractive.\u00a0 I mean, a rainbow is not much fun to look at if it\u2019s just one color. Right?\u00a0 What makes rainbows so interesting is they\u2019re multicolored and that\u2019s what happen in the body of Christ metaphorically when each of us begins to faithfully deploy what God has given us.\n\nNumber nine, no single believer possesses all the gifts.\u00a0 Paul says, \u201cAll are not apostles are they?\u00a0 All are not prophets are they?\u201d\u00a0 And he goes on like this for a couple of verses. \u00a0[1 Corinthians 12:29, \u201cAll are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they?\u00a0 [30] All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?\u201d]\u00a0 And in the Greek when he asks the question like that it\u2019s implying that the answer is going to be negative or no!\u00a0 So we don\u2019t have super human Christians, Superman, Superwoman Christians, we each are gifted in one, two, sometimes three ways, some are gifted in even more than that but nobody possesses every single gift which means we have to depend upon each other.\n\nNumber ten, God uses spiritual gifts to promote unity in His church.\u00a0 You have a gift I don\u2019t have and I have a gift you don\u2019t have, and guess what?\u00a0 We have to get along with each other, even if\u00a0 you don\u2019t like me and I don\u2019t like you.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 I mean, that\u2019s a pretty interesting thing that God has done there.\u00a0 If we\u2019re all interdependent on each other based on this issue of gifts we have to, whatever petty differences divides us, we have to work those out because we\u2019re part of a body.\n\nWhat does Paul say over in 1 Corinthians 12:20-22, \u201cBut now there are many members, but one body.\u00a0 [21] And the eye cannot say to the hand, \u2018I have no need of you\u2019; or again the head to the feet, \u2018I have no need of you.\u2019 \u00a0[22] On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.\u201d\n\nNumber eleven, spiritual gifts are not to be confused with the fruit of the Spirit.\u00a0 And I gave you last time the example of the Corinthians, where Paul says concerning the Corinthians, \u201cso that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift.\u201d\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 1:7, \u201cso that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,\u201d]\u00a0 I mean, when you talk about gifted people that\u2019s what you had in Corinth, gifts of the Holy Spirit were abundant.\u00a0 What was in short supply was the fruit of the Spirit.\u00a0 The fruit of the Spirit is who you are; a gift of the Spirit is what you do.\u00a0 The fruit of the Spirit deals with character; gifts of the Holy Spirit deals with abilities.\u00a0 And we think that a lot of people, because they\u2019re gifted they should automatically be advanced in ministry and when you look at the qualifications of elders and deacons what you\u2019ll discover is Paul says not so fast.\n\n1 Timothy 3:1-13, you have to look at a person\u2019s character.\u00a0 And as you go through the qualifica\u00adtions of elders and deacons in 1 Timothy 2:1-13 Paul doesn\u2019t spend a lot of time, if any, speaking of talent of people.\u00a0 He spends it dealing with character issues.\u00a0 So fruit of the Spirit is things like this: \u201clove, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.\u00a0 [Galatians 5:22, \u201cBut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.\u201d]\u00a0 That\u2019s character.\u00a0 That\u2019s the fruit of the Spirit.\u00a0 Gifts of the Spirit are abilities.\u00a0 So you have a very sad situation in many places where you have gifted people that don\u2019t really have Christ-like character.\u00a0 And so we ought to be careful not to confuse these two concepts.\u00a0 I believe that catches up from last week.\n\nSo this takes us to number 12, the twelfth observation about spiritual gifts, this is why I had\u00a0 you open up to 1 Samuel 16:13-14, spiritual gifts are not always the same as an office.\u00a0 An office is a recognized position within a church.\u00a0 And we would hope that the people occupying that office have the gifting to be there but that\u2019s not always the case.\u00a0 I\u2019ve run into situations where people have an office but no gifting and I\u2019ve run into other situations where people have a gifting but no office.\u00a0 In fact, the gentleman that led me to Christ back in 1983, he was 27 years old at the time, he had no pastoral title.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t even have a theological education.\u00a0 In fact, at that time he was working for Sears and this guy was probably one of the most gifted people I\u2019ve ever run into in the area of evangelism, in the area of\u00a0 mercy, and in the area of shepherding.\u00a0 Now over the course of time his life has changed and he now, to my understanding, is involved in formal leadership within a church.\u00a0 But you see, he had those abilities long before he was recognized by any licensing board of denomination or anything like that.\n\nIn fact, notice, if you will, 1 Samuel 16:13-14, it says, \u201cThen Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.\u00a0 [14] Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him.\u201d\n\nSo the Spirit comes upon David and leaves Saul.\u00a0 That happened in 1 Samuel 16; David is not enthroned over the nation until much later, after Saul\u2019s death.\u00a0 David doesn\u2019t come to power until \u00a0\u00a02 Samuel 1:2, right in there.\u00a0 All the way from 1 Samuel 16 to the end of the book David has a gifting of some kind, in the Old Testament sense of the word, but he had no office.\u00a0 And Saul was the exact opposite, Saul was in the office but the gifting in the Old Testament sense had been taken away from him.\u00a0 So very clearly from that verse you can have a gifting with no office and\u00a0 you can have an office with no gifting.\u00a0 And so the two are not always the same.\n\nNumber 13, spiritual gifts are not the same as a sphere of influence.\u00a0 Spiritual gifts are abilities; Spirit influence is an ability to reach people through that gif and you can be gifted but you can have no audience.\u00a0\u00a0 You could be gifted but have nobody to minister to.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0\u00a0 Because the apostles\u2026 would you say the apostles were gifted?\u00a0 I would think so.\u00a0 What were they always asking for?\u00a0 That God would open a door.\u00a0 Why were they asking for God to open a door?\u00a0 For opportunity because they wanted the opportunity to use the gifting they had to minister to other people because the two are not always the same.\u00a0 So God did a work in your life when you got saved; He gave you a spiritual gift, but what you need to start asking Him for is the right venue through which to employ that gift.\n\nActs 14:27 says, \u201cWhen they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.\u201d\n\n1 Corinthians 16:9, Paul says, \u201cFor a wide door for effectiveness has been opened to me.\u201d\n\n2 Corinthians 2:12 says, \u201cNow when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord.\u201d\n\nColossians 4:3 says, \u201cPraying at the same time for us as well, that God will open to us a door for the Word.\n\nRevelation 3:8 Jesus says, \u201c'I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut\u2026.\u201d\n\nSo once you discover your gifting, which has already been done in you, you have to start praying for the right door to open for that gift to be used.\u00a0 And you want the doors to open for you that God opens because spiritual gifts and the sphere of influence are not always the same thing.\u00a0 In fact they\u2019re not the same thing.\n\nWhich takes us to number 14, spiritual gifts this side of eternity are irrevocable, which is a term from contract law meaning once an offer is made in a contract and it\u2019s accepted by the offeree the offer can\u2019t be withdrawn.\u00a0 So Paul, in the Book of Romans, chapter 11, verse 29 says, \u201cfor the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.\u201d\u00a0 Now in context Romans 11 is talking about God\u2019s covenant with Israel, how it can\u2019t be withdrawn, but I think\u00a0 you can still take that concept and apply it to the issue of spiritual gifts because these are called, Hebrews 2:4, \u201cgifts of the Holy Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 [Hebrews 2:4, \u201cGod also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.\u201d]\n\nQuestion: once you get saved how long is the Holy Spirit in you for?\u00a0 Forever!\u00a0 John 14:16, Jesus says, \u201cI will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s very different than what Saul had; he had the Spirit, the Spirit left.\u00a0 That can\u2019t happen to you in the church age.\u00a0 We need not pray Psalm 51:11, \u201cDo not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.\u201d\u00a0 We don\u2019t need to pray that because we\u2019re living in the church age where there are different rules at work and one of the rules that\u2019s at work is the Holy Spirit is in you forever.\u00a0 So since the Holy Spirit gave you a gift at the point of faith alone in Christ alone that gift cannot be withdrawn.\u00a0 So as long as you are alive God apparently wants to use you, wants to use us for some sort of purpose.\n\nBut, don\u2019t let your identity rest on your gifting because Paul says also the day will come when there won\u2019t be any need for spiritual gifts.\u00a0 When is that going to be?\u00a0 When we see Jesus face to face.\u00a0 1 Corinthians 13:9-13 says, \u201cFor we know in part and we prophesy in part; [10] but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. [11] When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. [13] But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.\u201d\n\nNow there\u2019s a debate as to what \u201cthe perfect\u201d is, \u201cwhen the perfect comes\u201d certain gifts will disappear.\u00a0 And this gets into the whole debate with the charismatic movement about what \u201cthe perfect\u201d is and I\u2019ll make some comments about that, probably next time we\u2019re together in Sunday School.\u00a0 But everybody agrees, whether they are charismatic or not charismatic, Pentecostal or not Pentecostal, everybody agrees that when you see Jesus face to face, I mean, are you going to need anybody to stand up and preach a sermon?\u00a0 What would you add to it, you\u2019re already seeing Christ face to face.\n\nSo one of the errors that we make is we let our identity rest on our gifting.\u00a0 We think we\u2019re important because we have a particular gift when the reality of the situation is in eternity the gift will be unnecessary.\u00a0 But until that point in time comes the gift that you have can\u2019t be withdrawn, if that makes any sense; spiritual gifts are irrevocable this side of eternity.\n\nThis takes us to number fifteen, spiritual gifts do not cancel, and this is very important, spiritual gifts do not cancel the basic duties of all believers.\u00a0 Now you might say to yourself, well, God hasn\u2019t given me a gift of giving so I don\u2019t have to give to my local church.\u00a0 God hasn\u2019t given me the gift of evangelism so I don\u2019t need to evangelize anybody.\u00a0 God hasn\u2019t given me the gift of mercy so I don\u2019t need to be merciful.\u00a0 God hasn\u2019t given me the gift of discernment so I don\u2019t need to be discerning.\n\nAnd this is one of the problems I have with these so-called spiritual gift tests, not that those can\u2019t be helpful. My problem with it is it\u2019s never explained to people that just because you don\u2019t score high in a particular area that doesn\u2019t cancel your responsibility in other areas.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve been in churches where people are asked to do the simplest things, like lock the doors or fold bulletins or count money or maybe clean up a little bit the sanctuary and you get this response: oh, that\u2019s not my gift brother, my gift is not cleaning toilets.\u00a0 Well, I don\u2019t know if any spiritual gift is cleaning toilets but the toilets have to be cleaned by somebody.\u00a0 The floor has to be vacuumed by somebody.\u00a0 Somebody has got to support this ministry or it\u2019s not going to make it financially.\u00a0 And so just because you discover who you are in Christ it doesn\u2019t somehow cancel other basic responsibilities that God has given to every single Christian.\n\nSo the analogy that I like to use for this is a softball team.\u00a0 You all played on a softball team before?\u00a0 In the typical softball team everybody gets a turn at bat. Right?\u00a0 But guess what?\u00a0 There are some people that are a lot better at hitting the ball than others.\u00a0 I mean everybody is up there swinging away but some people have the ability to connect and make that thing go over the fence.\u00a0 And people that have the ability to do that we say wow, they\u2019re gifted in that area.\n\nSo if you\u2019re exercising your basic duties and responsibilities as a Christian and yet in a particular area\u00a0 you\u2019re able to go way beyond the normal Christian in terms of effectiveness then the Holy Spirit is showing you that that is your spiritual gift.\u00a0 That\u2019s to be your primary emphasis but it doesn\u2019t cancel your basic responsibility as a Christian in other areas.\u00a0 I wish I had the gift of evangelism, which I don\u2019t.\u00a0 But you\u2019ll notice that after every single meeting that we have here on Sunday I still give the gospel.\u00a0 Do I see a lot of fruit in that?\u00a0 Not necessarily, but I do it because when Paul wrote to Timothy, who was gifted in the area of pastor-teacher, he said do the work of\u00a0 an evangelist.\u00a0 And so evangelism is still a responsibility whether we have any particular gifting in it or not.\u00a0 So spiritual gifts, number fifteen, do not cancel the basic duties of all Christians.\n\nNumber sixteen, spiritual gifts need development.\u00a0 Just because you have a spiritual gift doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that gift is ready to be used.\u00a0 A lot of times it needs to be developed.\u00a0 So Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6, Timothy was gifted as a pastor-teacher, and he says to Timothy, \u201cFor this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.\u201d\u00a0 Now here he talks about the presbytery, which is not the Presbyterians, the presbytery is just the elders; the elders laid hands on Timothy, as you study the two Timothy letters and through that process they discovered that Timothy had the gift of pastor teacher and Paul doesn\u2019t say to Timothy, okay, you\u2019re done.\u00a0 No, he says to \u201ckindle it afresh.\u201d\u00a0 In other words it needs development.\n\nAnd he writes to Timothy in that same chapter, 2 Timothy 2:15, \u201cBe diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.\u201d\u00a0 Yeah, you\u2019re gifted in the area of teaching, Timothy, but you have to be diligent in that so you know what it is you\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 So a lot of people ask, should I go to seminary, should I not go to seminary, these kind of questions.\u00a0 Well, that largely rides on what your gifting is because if you\u2019re gifted as a teacher you should pretty much know what you\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 Does that mean\u00a0 you should go to seminary?\u00a0 That\u2019s between you and the Lord but I can tell you it means this much: you need to be in the area of study; you need to be in a position where you\u2019re learning or reading or however you\u2019re going to do it, and there\u2019s so many ways to do it today, with internet, computers.\u00a0\u00a0 You should be getting the right teaching so you can properly teach others.\u00a0 So that\u2019s an example where the gift of teaching is going to have to be exercised by someone who is diligent and kindles afresh what God has already given us.\u00a0 So a gift of the Spirit doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s ready to be\u00a0 used; in many cases it needs to be developed before it can be deployed, even though it\u2019s there in a person.\u00a0 See that?\n\nWhich takes us to number seventeen, spiritual gifts can be neglected.\u00a0 And I think this is probably where about 80% of the body of Christ is today.\u00a0 They have things within them that God has given them to use but they don\u2019t use it.\u00a0 1 Timothy 4:14 says to Timothy, as Paul is writing, \u201cDo not neglect the spiritual gift within you.\u201d\u00a0 Now you can\u2019t neglect something unless you possess it.\u00a0 If someone says you\u2019re neglecting your wife, well, that means I have to have a wife to neglect.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 Is my wife in here by the way?\u00a0 Okay, no public comments please.\u00a0 So the concept of neglect means you already possess it or else the word \u201cneglect\u201d wouldn\u2019t make any sense.\u00a0 So the gift can be inside of a person yet it could be unused, it could lie dormant.\u00a0 So Paul writes to Timothy and he says, \u201cDo not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery,\u201d the elders.\u00a0 The elders laid hands on Timothy, apparently there was some sort of prophetic utterance or insight that the received from the Lord and the Holy Spirit was marking Timothy as God\u2019s man to be the pastor-teacher over the church at Ephesus.\u00a0 And just because he had that gifting that was recognized by the body doesn\u2019t mean Timothy didn\u2019t have the ability to take that gift and neglect it.\u00a0 So a spiritual gift can be neglected.\n\nWhy do people neglect spiritual gifts?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t people use their spiritual gifts?\u00a0 I think there\u2019s basically three reasons for that.\u00a0 You\u2019ll find them in the parable of the talents over in Matthew 25:25-26.\u00a0 Remember Jesus assigned the different talents, which is a monetary sum, to folks and they were to invest it and when he was going to come back he was going to hold them accountable for what they did with what they were given.\u00a0 And people say well, aren\u2019t we all equal?\u00a0 No, you\u2019ll notice that the Lord handed out different talents to different people.\u00a0 So as much as I want to I cannot sing like Frank Sinatra, nor in my basketball days could I dunk the basketball like Michael Jordan, because those guys were gifted completely differently than I was.\u00a0 So it\u2019s the same with this issue of spiritual gifts.\n\nI mean, gifts are different, there are different varieties, there are different affects, but at the same time\u00a0 you can take whatever it is God has given you and hide it in the ground, like that one gentleman did in the parable of the talents.\u00a0 And when he took his talent and hid it in the ground he gives his reason why he did that, because the Lord came back and said what did you do with what I gave you?\u00a0 And this is what this man said: \u00a0[Matthew 25:25]\u00a0 \u201cI was afraid,\u201d that\u2019s reason number one, \u201cand I went away and hid\u00a0 your talent in the ground.\u00a0 See, you have what is yours.\u00a0 [26] But his master answered and said to him, \u2018You wicked,\u201d that\u2019s reason two, \u201clazy slave,\u201d \u201clazy\u201d is number three, \u201cyou knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, you should have done something, at the very least you put it in the bank and get interest on it.\u00a0 But this gentleman, individual, didn\u2019t do that and he gives his three reasons why he didn\u2019t do it.\n\nNumber 1, fear,\u00a0 \u201cI was afraid.\u201d\u00a0 That probably is the reason why so many people never step out in faith and begin to use the things that God has given them.\u00a0 I know this for a fact, because when I was coming of age as a Christian I, to be honest with you was totally 100% terrified of public speaking.\u00a0 By the way, they\u2019ve done\u00a0 surveys and public speaking (next to death) \u00a0is the second greatest fear in people.\u00a0 Do you realize that?\u00a0 And we use the word phobia today, but what I was going through was just that.\u00a0 I mean, I would get up and literally my hands would start shaking like this.\u00a0 It was something I hated to do.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to do it, and I hated God even more because I felt he was calling me to do it.\u00a0 Which, by the way, is one of the ways you can discover your gift; if there\u2019s something the Lord keeps bothering you about, over and over again and you keep pushing it away, chances are that\u2019s the area that you\u2019re supposed to be in.\u00a0 So I would literally, this would be around college age, 18-21, right in there, I would go into classes and if I looked on the syllabus that there was some kind of oral report, oral presentation that was part of the class I would do everything within my power to drop the class and take it with somebody else that didn\u2019t require that because this was a fear that I had.\u00a0 And I didn\u2019t start crashing through that fear barrier until I took a speech class.\u00a0 And I said to myself, well, this is really getting embarrassing, I mean I don\u2019t want to public speak and yet almost without variation when someone would get sick in Campus Crusade they wanted me to get up and talk which I didn\u2019t want to do.\n\nI had to get over this and so I took this speech class and of all the classes I ever took in college that\u2019s really the one that helped me more than any other.\u00a0 And I got up and did my talk and the professor wrote on the paper, you know they grade you, he wrote down the time that I was up talking and it said, \u201csix minutes and forty-seven seconds.\u201d\u00a0 Now you guys laugh at that because I talk a little longer than that today.\u00a0 But I was astonished that I could stand up in front of a class for six minutes and forty-seven seconds.\u00a0 So that was one of the things that the Lord used to sort of push me onward.\u00a0 Which is sort of funny today because all I really do, for the most part, I mean that\u2019s not all I do but most of the things I do relate to public speaking.\u00a0 So apparently God had that design on my life; I had that gifting at the point of spiritual birth, but I was\u2026 I would say from age 16 when I got saved probably to age 22, 23, there\u2019s seven years there where that gift was dormant and unused simply because of the issue of fear.\u00a0 And apparently fear is not an excuse because when this guy that hid his talents because he \u00a0was afraid Jesus doesn\u2019t say okay,\u00a0 you have a phobia, that\u2019s okay, He calls him wicked and He calls him lazy.\n\n2 Timothy 1:7 \u201cFor God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.\u201d\u00a0 If you\u2019re feeling anxiety or fear about something I can tell you this much; that\u2019s not from God, that\u2019s not the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 That comes from the devil, that comes from your fallen nature, that comes from the world system but it doesn\u2019t come from God!\u00a0 And when you\u2019re afraid to do something you need to just acknowledge positionally that God has not given you a spirit of fear and to step out in faith.\n\nYou can\u2019t discover your spiritual gifts until you step out in faith and try something.\u00a0 And we\u2019re so afraid of failure that we stay on the side of the beach, there on the Sea of Galilee, and don\u2019t get out and walk.\u00a0 Remember what Jesus said to the disciples?\u00a0 Come out and join me on the water.\u00a0 And the only one that I can think of that took him up on the offer was Peter, and everybody badmouths Peter because he sunk.\u00a0 I mean he was good as long as he was walking in faith but then his eyes got off the Lord and onto the wind and the sea and the waves and he started to sink and everybody jumps all over Peter\u2019s case.\u00a0 But think about this.\u00a0 Where were the rest of the disciples?\u00a0 Where were the other eleven?\u00a0 I mean why was Peter the only guy that walked out?\u00a0 I think the rebuke, if you want to rebuke someone don\u2019t rebuke Peter, at least he gave it a shot.\u00a0 Rebuke these other guys that were too afraid to do anything.\n\nSo \u201cI was afraid\u201d and Jesus said \u201cYou wicked and lazy slave,\u201d [Matthew 25:25, \u201c'And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 [26] \"But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.\u201d]\u00a0 Now \u201cwicked\u201d is self-centered.\u00a0 A lot of times\u00a0 we\u2019re just too busy doing our own thing to be bothered with the work of God.\u00a0 And so narcissism, self-absorption, dedication to the sin nature, all of these things keep people from using their gifts.\n\nAnd a lot of folks, verse 26, are just plain lazy because it takes work.\u00a0 You know, if you guys, my wife sees it, if you saw, I\u2019m not boasting in myself, I mean, I\u2019m nothing were it not for Christ, but if you saw the amount of work I go through to try to understand passages, teach passages correctly, you would probably be tired just watching me study.\u00a0 I\u2019m tired just thinking about it.\u00a0 But the reality of the situation is when you use a gift, particularly the gift of teaching, where James 3:1 says let few of you presume to be teachers, knowing that they \u201cwill incur the stricter judgment.\u201d [ James 3:1, \u201cLet not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.\u201d]\u00a0 You can\u2019t effectively use that gift as a lazy person.\n\nSo whatever your area of gifting is\u00a0 you have to understand that it\u2019s going to require some sweat, it\u2019s going to require some diligence, it has to require some effort and so a lot of people simply don\u2019t use their gifting because they\u2019re afraid or they\u2019re wicked or they\u2019re lazy.\u00a0 So spiritual gifts very clearly can be neglected for those three reasons.\n\nThis takes us to number 18, spiritual gifts can be abused.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 I know that because the church at Corinth was gifted.\u00a0 Paul says to the church at Corinth, \u201cso that you are not lacking in any gift.\u00a0 [Corinthians 1:17, \u201cso that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,\u201d]\u00a0 There was not a spiritual gift available that wasn\u2019t flowing in Corinth.\nNow watch this order in the Bible very carefully, particularly the New Testament letters to the Corinthians.\u00a0 Paul deals with the issue of spiritual gifts in Corinth and their proper use in chapter 12, that\u2019s where he deals with the body concept, we are all different parts of the body.\u00a0 And he deals with spiritual gifts in another chapter, very close by, chapter 14.\u00a0 And this is where he deals with the gifts of prophecy and tongues, don\u2019t talk in tongues publicly without an interpreter.\u00a0 And prophets shouldn\u2019t prophesy over each other, they ought to wait their turn.\n\nWatch this very carefully, spiritual gifts, 1 Corinthians 12; spiritual gifts, 1 Corinthians 14.\u00a0 Does anybody know what chapter comes in between 12 and 14?\u00a0 Chapter 13!\u00a0 Does anybody know what chapter 13 is about?\u00a0 That\u2019s the famous love chapter.\u00a0 I mean, you already know the chapter, love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own, it is not provoked, it is not take an account when wrong, (wow, that one hurts), does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices in truth.\u00a0 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.\u00a0 Love never fails, but where there are gifts of prophecy they will be done away with.\u00a0 If there are tongues they will cease, if there is knowledge it will be done away with.\n\nWhy in the world would Paul, in a section, chapters 12-14 where he deals with the subject of spiritual gifts, all of a sudden very strangely start talking about love?\u00a0 Well the answer is what was going on at Corinth is people were gifted but there was no fruit of the Spirit of love in how they were exercising their spiritual gifts.\u00a0 Apparently they were exercising their spiritual gifts for purpose of narcissism, self-promotion, maybe they were doing it in an angry way, a retaliatory way, and so Paul, in that very deep discussion he gives on the issue of spiritual gifts inserts the concept of love.\u00a0 And to me that opens the door to the reality that spiritual gifts can be abused.\u00a0 It is very easy to get your eyes off, not what you\u2019re doing for Christ but why you\u2019re doing it.\u00a0 We have to watch our motives very, very carefully.\u00a0 And we have to understand that these gifts are to be\u00a0 used in love because Paul says at the second coming, the day is going to come where the gifts will disappear. But what will always remain?\u00a0 Love.\u00a0 In 1 Corinthians 13:13 he says, \u201cBut now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.\u201d\u00a0 A day comes where the gifts disappear. I think that\u2019s related to the second advent.\u00a0 A day comes when\u2026 watch this, faith and hope disappear.\u00a0 What is faith?\u00a0 Faith is trusting what you can\u2019t see. Right?\u00a0 Hebrews 11:1, [\u201cNow faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.\u201d]\u00a0 When you see Jesus face to face you don\u2019t have to exercise faith anymore because you\u2019re going to look at Him; you\u2019re no\u00a0 longer trusting in something you can\u2019t see.\u00a0 When you see Jesus face to face you\u2019re not going to have to hope any more. What is hope?\u00a0 It\u2019s an expectation of a coming reality.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, in the second coming Jesus is face to face; no need for faith any more.\u00a0 No need for hope any more.\u00a0 No need for spiritual gifts any more.\u00a0 But what will always continue?\u00a0 It starts with an \u201cl\u201d, love always continues.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why Paul says you Corinthians, you\u2019re focusing on gifts but you ought to be focusing on love because the way you\u2019re using these gifts is unloving.\n\nYou know, a lot of people pull this one, well, if I don\u2019t get my way in this church I\u2019m taking my offering money and I\u2019m taking my sphere of influence and I\u2019m taking my gifting and I\u2019m going to leave and I\u2019m going to go down the street to a church that does things my way and I will employ myself over there.\u00a0 And they kind of use their gift as like they\u2019re holding the rest of us hostage.\u00a0\u00a0 And this happens over and over and over again in pastoral ministry.\u00a0 And the moment it happens you say to yourself, you just took your eyes off the prize,\u00a0 you\u2019re being selfish, self-centered, narcissistic, rude, demanding, and you\u2019ve forgotten why God gave you that gift to begin with.\n\nSo gifts can be very clearly abused and misused, or else the insertion of the love chapter in a spiritual gift\u2019s context wouldn\u2019t make any sense.\n\nThis takes us to number 19, and this is the last observation.\u00a0 Awareness of spiritual gifts render us (watch this very carefully) accountable to each other (I added that clause \u201cto each other\u201d) to each other and to God.\u00a0 The moment you begin to feel comfortable in terms of how God has wired you is the moment you become accountable to your fellow members of the body of Christ and to God Himself.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because why are the gifts given?\u00a0 To edify the church.\u00a0 1 Corinthians 14:12 says, \u201cSo also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.\u201d\u00a0 Once you discover your area of gifting you start to understand that you know what?\u00a0 Those folks over there have something that I can give them for the development of their church, which makes you, in a certain sense, accountable to your fellow members of the body of Christ to exercise that gift.\n\nBut even more important than that is you become accountable to God because what are spiritual gift?\u00a0 1 Peter 4:10 describes them as a stewardship.\u00a0 1 Peter 4:10 says, \u201cAs each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good\u201d what? \u201cstewards of the manifold grace of God.\u201d\u00a0 What is a steward?\u00a0 A steward is not an owner but a manager or a caretaker.\u00a0 To quote that great theologian, Rush Limbaugh, and Rush Limbaugh actually said some things that are actually biblically true.\u00a0 Do you guys know that?\u00a0 Don\u2019t throw rocks at me, whether you like him or dislike him one of the things he says is he talks about talent on loan from God.\u00a0 I used to listen to him on the radio and say that was the most arrogant thing I\u2019ve ever heard---talent on loan from God? \u00a0\u00a0But actually that\u2019s a very biblical thing when\u00a0 you think about it.\u00a0 You have in the area of a gifting talent that\u2019s not yours; you don\u2019t even determine whether you would receive, it was determined by God Himself. So it\u2019s yours but it\u2019s really not yours.\u00a0 You\u2019re the steward.\u00a0 Who does it ultimately belong to?\u00a0 God.\n\nNow what do you do as a steward?\u00a0 \u00a0You manage on behalf of somebody else.\u00a0 And how do you do that?\u00a0 1 Corinthians 4:2 says, \u201cIn this case moreover it is required of stewards that one be found\u201d what? \u201ctrustworthy\u201d or faithful.\u201d\u00a0 The moment\u00a0 you discover what it is you have and how God has wired you in the area of spiritual gifts is the moment you\u2019ve got to start coming to the realization that what you have is not yours, it\u2019s loaned to you temporarily.\u00a0 And since God is the giver of these things the day will come where He will actually hold people accountable for how they deploy what they have.\n\nSo with spiritual gifts we have three basic responsibilities: discover, develop and deploy.\u00a0 And we\u2019re going to be talking about how you discover your area of gifting a couple weeks down the road. But I want you to understand something, God one day is going to hold you accountable as a church age believer at the Bema Seat judgment of Christ---what did you do with what I gave\u00a0 you?\u00a0 That\u2019s an accountability that we\u2019re all destined for.\u00a0 It\u2019s not an accountability to determine salvation; it\u2019s an accountability to determine what?\u00a0 Reward!\n\nMatthew 25:19 says, \u201cNow after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s the \u201clong time\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s the interadvent age; it\u2019s the time period between the two comings of Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s the interim age we\u2019re living in, where we have these things and God\u2019s expectation is that we would invest these things on His behalf. Well, why do I need to do that?\u00a0 Because after a long time, and I think a \u201clong time\u201d is pretty much a short time now because we\u2019re living in the 21st<\/sup> century.\u00a0 Jesus can come back at any minute.\u00a0 Of course the rapture could have happened 2,000 years ago; it can happen for every generation but I\u2019ll tell you this much folks, we\u2019re one day closer than we were yesterday.\u00a0 2018 is a lot closer than 2017.\u00a0 I mean\u2026 I don\u2019t want to start talking about this or I\u2019ll bust the clock but I just am astonished at the things that are happening in our world and how fast the end time scenario is happening.\n\nI mean, do you realize\u2026 here I go [laughter] that there is, I think it\u2019s in one of the countries of the world and I don\u2019t want to give the country because I don\u2019t remember if I\u2019ve got the right one, but it\u2019s all on the internet and you can find it, there is a full blown retina scan where you, unless you\u2019re fingerprinted or your retina in your eye is scanned you can\u2019t do what?\u00a0 Buy or sell.\u00a0 My goodness, I\u2019ve read that somewhere in the Bible.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that over in Revelation 13:16-18 where no man could buy or sell unless he receives a mark on their right hand or their forehead.\u00a0 [Revelation 13:16-18, \u201cIt also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, [17] so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.\u00a0 [18] This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. \u00a0That number is 666.\u201d]\n\nI\u2019m not saying that this scanning thing that they have is the end product of the mark of the beast but doesn\u2019t it look like the technology is moving in that direction?\u00a0 So the coming of the Lord for His church has to be very near in terms of the pretribulational rapture.\u00a0 And what\u2019s going to happen at the point of the rapture?\u00a0 You\u2019re translated, you\u2019re brought up into heaven and God says at the Bema Seat Judgment, what did you to with the spiritual gifts that I gave you. So we have to live like this with the attitude of expectancy and accountability.\n\nRomans 14:12 says, \u201cSo then each one of us\u201d not some us, \u201ceach one of us will give an account of himself to\u201d who?\u00a0 to the Sugar Land Bible Church elder board?\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say that.\u00a0 \u201cto God.\u201d\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 So the discovery of spiritual gifts is an exciting thing but you have to understand that \u201cto whom much is given, much is expected.\u201d\u00a0 He who is faithful in the little things will be faithful with what?\u00a0 \u201cmuch.\u201d\n\n[Matthew 25:21, \u201cHis master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'\u201d Matthew 25:23, \u201cHis master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Luke 16:10, \u201cHe who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.\u201d]\n\nThe moment you start to move in this area of spiritual gifts is the moment you have to understand that your accountability just shot up.\u00a0 So I hope you enjoyed those 19 observations about spiritual gifts.\u00a0 Next time we\u2019re together we\u2019re going to deal with a very neutral tame topic that nobody disagrees on (I\u2019m being facetious there)\u2014are all gifts of the Holy Spirit for today?\u00a0 And I\u2019ll try to be fair to both sides and also give you where the differences of opinion lie on that and where we stand here at Sugar Land Bible Church.\n\nAll right, I\u2019m going to stop talking, we\u2019ve got time for a question or two.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t