Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661
Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org
OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”
Nobleton Community Church
Date July 21, 2024
Text: I Corinthians 12:27-31
Pastor Paul Lehmann
So the question is: How do you identify your spiritual gifts? There are a couple of ways.
One, as you read about spiritual gifts in the Bible, many times one item on the list will jump out at you, and you’ll know immediately: That’s me, that’s my gift: I’m a giver … or … I love to show hospitality … or … I love serving others, and so on. Many times you’ll just know which gift is your primary gift because it resonates with who you are. Another way to identify your spiritual gift is through the input of spiritual leaders and mature believers. Sometimes others can see gifts in you that you may not be able to see for yourself. So, as you seek to understand exactly how the Holy Spirit has gifted you, listen to the leaders around you. In fact, there are even tests you can take (you can find them online) from reputable ministries that will help you discover your spiritual gifts.
Here’s the good thing about knowing what your spiritual gifts are. When you know your spiritual gifts, you often know what God is expecting you to do in certain situations.
For instance, suppose you are at someone’s house for a party and the host or someone comes into the room carrying a tray filled with glasses of iced tea. They trip and fall over a footstool that was stuck out too far. The glasses fall off and break and there is a mess on the floor. The one with the gift of mercy will run over and say: “are you okay?{ “Yes I’m okay!” But there is a cut from the glass so the one with a gift of mercy asks about a first aid kit to take care of it. The one with the gift of administration begins to make sure that it is found and also asks about a broom and dustpan, or mop or sweeper, whatever is needed. If the cut or cuts are severe they would call 911. The one with the gift of serving would immediately begin to clean up the mess. The one with the gift of generous giving would hand the host money to take care of the loss of the broken glasses and replenish the drinks that spilled.
If, your spiritual gift is giving, you are always looking for an opportunity to give, and you have the wherewithal to contribute, then you can be sure that God is calling on you to exercise your spiritual gift of giving in this situation. The same can be said for service, leadership, administration, mercy, and on and on. When you know your gift and the opportunity to use your gift presents itself, you know what God is prompting you to do. Now another spiritual gift may be present. The gift of prophecy, but it may not always be made known. That person may also have the gift of mercy or another practical gift, but they are thinking and maybe will say; “If you would have watched where you were going, you wouldn’t have tripped over the footstool” We will talk a little more about the gift of prophecy in a few minutes.
Now, one more quick note about spiritual gifts. Though there may be one or two primary gifts through which God uses you the majority of the time, you also need to be aware that at some time or another God will work through with you with some of the other spiritual gifts, at least for a short time.
For example, your primary gift may not be teaching, but there will be times when he uses you to teach others in a specific situation. Your primary gift may not be leadership, but there will be times when he uses you to lead others in a specific situation for a specific amount of time. For this reason you need to be open to receive every gift of the Holy Spirit, which, Paul said in verse 11, he gives to us “as he determines.”
Today’s message can only highlight the beginning of the journey of the Spirit-filled life, because walking in the Spirit is a long-term process of learning, seeking, and obeying …and then learning some more and seeking some more and obeying some more.
It’s a journey that the church in Corinth desperately needed to take because they were floundering in virtually every area of life. Paul penned these words in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 to help them get back on track.
It’s the same for us. Sometimes we find ourselves floundering, in desperate need to get back on track. In this case, Paul wrote these words for us, as well.
If you want to live a spiritually vibrant life, you begin by deciding simply to learn more about it — to study the Word and learn how Christian leaders have taught this subject over the years.
Now, back to one of the manifestation gifts: PROPHECY. The gift of prophecy is an example of the three different gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12:7 we read; …” Not all have the same function. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to us. If a person’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.: (Romans 12:4b and 6) “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good…to another prophecy….: verse 7 and the first part of 10. In Ephesians 4:11 we read: “ It was he who gave…some to be prophets….” We need to define Prophecy. The first way to understand this is; One who has insight into the divine will and Word of God, and possesses the power of inspired utterance. ( Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament).
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament words says; One who speaks both the mind and counsel of God. Also: A proclaimer of a divine message, denoted among the Greeks as an interpreter of the oracles of God. So this means anyone who preaches or brings forth the Word of God by preaching or teaching.
But then the gift of prophecy can also mean one who foretells the future –a foreteller. The word was used in Greek society of soothsayers who announce beforehand the will of the gods with reference to the future, but this is only a secondary and derived sense because the prefix (pro) must be regarded not as having reference to time (meaning before), but rather as local, in the context of space. Prophets means one who speaks openly before anyone and is the technical name for an interpreter of a divine message. This technical term came also to mean the interpreters of future events. In the Old Testament, it indicates to whom and through whom God spoke…also one to whom God made known His mysteries. So generally, one to whom God revealed His purposes, one to whom God spoke… It is clear that what really characterized the prophet was immediate communion with God, a divine communication of what the prophet had to declare. This was primarily how God communicated to his people in the Old Testament. Now that we have the complete Word of God, that is still God communicating His will purpose, and plan for our lives through preaching and teaching The Word of God.
When it means more than just having specific scriptures come to mind to share with people, in the context of preaching or teaching, is when it is declaring a specific “prophecy” for someone or the church, the declaration of that which cannot be known by natural means. It is the forth-telling of the will of God, whether with reference to the past, the present, or the future. So the one who prophesies speaks forth the divine counsels of grace already accomplished. The one who prophecies fore-tells the purposes of God in the future.
So Prophesying in Romans 12:6 for instance is one who finds it especially natural to speak forth the mind and counsel of God. It is natural for them to speak forth the divine counsels of grace already accomplished. It is also natural for prophets to fore-tell the purposes of God for the future.
Brandon Dale Biggs a Christian from Oklahoma prophesied 4 months before the attempted assassination of former President Trump that it would happen. He saw in a vision God gave him, a bullet hitting Trump’s ear. He said that Trump was God intervening in this country to bring us back to God. He also correctly prophesied other world events. o
If you want to live a spiritually vibrant life, then you also need to decide to: Seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit in your daily life by asking God to fill you with his Spirit — asking in faith, with your whole heart. This isn’t a one-time experience, it’s a day-to-day experience.
And if you want to live a spiritually vibrant life, you need to decide to:
Take the necessary steps to be used by the Holy Spirit, by putting into use the gifts he has given you for the common good — for the benefit of all.
So I am encouraging you to discover all that you can about the Holy Spirit. Get to know about him, get to know him … and let him get to know you because he can make your life a masterpiece.