The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: If you are a Christian, God has equipped you to fulfill the purpose for which God has called you.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans is God has thought of everything when it comes to your spiritual gifts.

Dr. Tony Evans: Once you become converted, the gifting that you may have used for hell is now been confiscated into the Kingdom of God.

Guest (Male): This is The Alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.

Dr. Tony Evans: The Bible tells us that every believer is spiritually gifted, but identifying those gifts and figuring out how to use them is another story. Today, Dr. Evans takes a look at how what makes you special can also make you effective for God. Let's listen.

Today we want to look at your giftedness and your calling.

If you are a Christian, God has equipped you with the skills necessary to fulfill the purpose for which God has called you. Or to put it even another way, God never calls that which He does not equally equip for. He doesn't call you to do something you can't do.

So, if you can't do it, it's either because you're not in your calling or you don't know your gift. But God always equips for calling. He prepares you for the purpose that He wants to use you. Ephesians 4 is our central passage, your giftedness and your calling.

First of all, the nature of spiritual gifts, verse 7. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ gift. Therefore it says, when He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.

One of the great studies in the Bible is the study of spiritual gifts. A spiritual gift is a spiritual endowment for service. It is a divinely bestowed ability given to every believer in order to strengthen the church that it might optimally service the kingdom.

That is a spiritual gift is given by God uniquely to every believer to give them the ability to pull off the service for God's kingdom through the church that He wants them to pull off.

Please let me differentiate something before we go any further, the difference between a gift and a talent. A talent is a human ability all people are born with, whether they're saint or sinner, all people have varying abilities or talents to benefit mankind in general.

In other words, you don't have to be a Christian to be talented. There are some talented non-Christian singers. There are some atheists who are talented in science or mathematics or in building or in philanthropy.

So you don't have to be Christian to be talented, you just have to be human to be talented.

A gift is different than that. A gift is an ability given by God to believers as opposed to mankind in general. It's called a spiritual gift because guess what? It's given by the Holy Spirit and it is used by the Holy Spirit to accomplish God's spiritual purposes.

Therefore, if you're not in tune with the Holy Spirit, then it may be unclear what the Spirit has given you or if you're not using it spiritually, then there won't be any power in its use.

So a spiritual gift is a unique ability. Now sometimes the gift is brand new. You don't know you have it till you get saved. Or God may choose to sanctify one of your talents, that is, take a talent you had as a human part of the human race, and hover over it and use it for His purposes, therefore turning a talent into a spiritual gift.

But what makes it a spiritual gift is that it is servicing the purpose of God spiritually. That is, it has the presence of God's Spirit associated with it. Now we, we have a phrase, sometimes we don't use it quite right, but we capture the sense of it. When you hear somebody sing, hear somebody preach, or see somebody do something and you say, "He's anointed," or, "She's anointed." What you're saying is, that's more than an ability.

He says in verse 7, "to each one." So how many folk have gifts? Each one. If it's given to each one, then that means yours is unique for your purposes. Yours is for you, it's not for me. Now I may have the same gift as you have, but it's not supposed to be doing the same thing as you do. Because we all have different callings.

So it's more than a human ability, it's a spiritually endowed one. On the cross, Jesus Christ conquered Satan. One by one, God has been bringing men and women into His kingdom. Once you become converted, the gifting that you may have used for hell, including if you only used it for yourself, same thing, is now been confiscated into the Kingdom of God.

Your gift is to service the kingdom, which means that when you discover your gift and when you merge it with your calling, it is to show up in the marketplace of the kingdom. This leads him further now. Verse 11, He gave some apostles, prophets, some evangelists, and some as pastor teachers. This is the leadership in the church.

For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. Gifts are to empower the church and the church's job is to infiltrate the kingdom on behalf of Christ. It is to equip the saints to work.

Now, evidently some have not discovered yet that there is a job to do here, the work of service. Many Christians have the idea, I come to church, sing to me, preach to me, counsel me, encourage me, give me money from the deacon's fund.

Me, me, me, me, me. Do it for me. They want all the benefit, they don't do none of the work. That's a leech. That is a person who does not understand God did not save you to sit, soak, and sour. He saved you for the work of service.

Some of us have the idea, God did not call me to the ministry. If you're saved, you've been called to the ministry. Now, you've not been called in the traditional use of the word ministry, meaning professional church ministry. But some of you were called to be doctors, were called to be lawyers, were called to be business people, were called to be teachers.

You were called. That is the burning passion God has given you and then He equipped you to do it. But it is still a job. It hasn't yet transferred to a ministry. How do you know it? Because you're not using it to build up anybody in the church and you're not, you haven't taught to turn it into a ministry out in the marketplace.

And so he says it is for the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, the measure of the stature that belongs to the fullness of Christ. He says that the reason your work of service is needed is God is trying to get His whole family somewhere, not just you.

It's not just about you. You're not an only child. And that's why we often say, if you are a call this out Christian and not a can do it Christian, then you are blocking your own blessing. Because if God can't work through you, He won't work to you.

If you want to be blessed but don't ever want to be a blessing, then what you've done is cut short your blessing. Because you want to be a bless-ee and not a bless-or. You're only concerned about what God is going to do for you. Well, why should He show you your purpose so you can find your purpose and be more selfish with it?

Why should He show you your gift if He knows that gift will never come back to His kingdom? It will never bless His church. It'll only be used for you. First Corinthians chapter 12 has a whole chapter on the gifts, and it says, "Every member of the body is critical." And then He uses the human body because that's the illustration.

He says, "If the eye were the ear, where would the seeing be? If the ear were the eye, where would the hearing be?" God has placed each member in the body as He so willed for the common good. In fact, He goes on to say, "Some of the most important parts are hidden." So everybody's not going to be upfront. Everybody's not going to have a public well-known name.

But everybody is critical and your gift will match your calling. So watch this, you will be content. That's why it says in Romans chapter 12 verse 3, "When you find God showing you your gift, don't think too highly of yourself more than you ought to think."

Don't think you missed the big stuff now. Cause you found out God blessed you, you can do some things other folk can't do. Remember, it's a grace gift. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Don't get the big head. You are here for the common good. You are here to benefit the group. And you're just one cog in the wheel. And there's another thing you have to know and I, and I truly believe this, in God's kingdom, nobody, underline it, nobody is indispensable.

If the Lord got you, He can get somebody as good as or better than you to replace you. See, I have no illusions about that. Like Nebuchadnezzar, "Look at this Babylon that I have built." He got well after seven years, came back and said, "Look at this great Babylon that God has built." He says, in Romans 12:3, "to think soberly."

In other words, think correctly. Don't undervalue yourself, don't overvalue yourself. Moses went to two extremes. One time Moses said, when he was starting out, he went and saw the the Egyptian fighting with the Hebrew servant and he said he was going to deliver the whole nation himself. That's called overvaluing yourself. Okay?

And he wound up running for his life and spending 40 years in the wilderness, because he thought he could deliver them. Now, I don't know what he was thinking. What he was going to kill Egyptians one by one? I don't know what he was thinking.

But then after 40 years in the wilderness, he was humbled, he got too humble. God said, "Come on, let Israel go." "I can't do that." "Come on, now you, Mo. You the man! Remember? You going to kill them one by one, Moses, you the man!" "No, I can't. I can't. In fact, I can't even lead them. I can't even talk. You can't get me to open my mouth."

The Bible says God got mad at him. One minute he overvalued himself, "I'm going to do it by myself." Next minute he undervalued himself, "I can't do a thing. I'm nobody, I'm nothing." Well, let me tell you, first of all, if you overvalue yourself, a wilderness awaits you. If you undervalue yourself, then God is going to have to shake you up.

He says, "Think soberly." That is, put a right value on you. You are significant, you are valuable, you're just not God, nor are you indispensable. He says, "You ought to do this with the result that you're no longer children, tossed to and fro, carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming."

This is very important because what he's saying is the reason why you do this in the context of the local church is so that you have the right biblical, theological, and spiritual foundation so when you take this out into the marketplace, you're not tricked up by sinful people who have sinful or wrong theology who going to trip you up when you try to turn your career into a ministry.

Guest (Male): When Dr. Evans returns, he'll show why speaking God's truth is most effective when it's communicated with genuine love. First though, I'd like to tell you about a resource package that builds on what we've been learning, that God has an agenda not just for the world, but for each and every one of us, custom design to give us that deep sense of satisfaction that comes from making a real difference.

It includes all 12 full-length messages from Tony's current "Called for a Purpose" audio series, along with his companion "Called for a Purpose" devotional book, specially written to reinforce the biblical principles presented throughout this study. Together, these resources will help you better understand God's calling and faithfully pursue the unique purpose He's designed just for you.

The complete package is offered as our thank you gift to anyone who helps support our ministry with a contribution. We depend completely on your support to keep this program on the air. And this is one way we can show our appreciation for your faithfulness. Call us today at 1-800-800-3222 for more information on the "Called for a Purpose" resource package. That number again, 1-800-800-3222, or visit us online at TonyEvans.org.

Dr. Evans will return with part two of today's message right after this.

Guest (Male): When everything feels louder, faster, and more divided by the day, where do you find real peace?

Dr. Tony Evans: We live in a very frayed world.

Guest (Male): On The Unbound Podcast, Dr. Tony Evans explores timeless truths for today's toughest realities.

Dr. Tony Evans: Faith that doesn't escape the world but speaks directly into it.

Guest (Male): Prayer changes the chemistry of the brain. The Unbound Podcast with Dr. Tony Evans. Biblical truths in real life. Listen to The Unbound Podcast anytime of the day or night on your favorite podcast streaming platform.

Guest (Male): Right now, Dr. Evans is back with more insights on your giftedness and your calling.

Dr. Tony Evans: So we are a body to work together to become one man. That is all pulling to the same degree, verse 15. Speaking the truth in love. It's got to be two things, truth and love.

In other words, we minister caring for people. We don't just minister facts, truth. We minister facts in a context of relationship. Truthing in love. Speaking the truth in love ought to grow up in all aspects under Him who is the head, even Christ.

We're growing up in the Christ through the church. We're fanning out into the world to represent the kingdom. Then look at verse 16, the results of your use of spiritual gifts. From whom the whole body, the church, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies. How many joints are making a supply? Every joint supply.

Most churches, 10% of the people do 90% of the work, which means most of the work doesn't get done and the 10 quit. Cause they burned out. But when everybody does what they're gifted to do, it says the whole body is working properly.

I walked down the street, I stumped my toe. My toe hurts. But the only reason I know my toe is hurt is because there's a signal sent from the nerves that are tied into the muscles in my toe that sends a signal up to my brain. And my brain is told by my toe to tell my mouth to let everybody else know, "We hurt."

So my brain kicks into gear based on the signal from my toe and alerts my mouth to declare it to be so. My brain then tells my left arm to get ready to reach down and grab my right toe. Then it tells my left foot, get ready because all this weight is coming your way.

In a split second without thinking, all my body parts go into action because it functions by that which every joint supplies. And that's what He calls the church, a body. And it's a tragedy for believers not to understand it. And let me, let me explain something to you. If you are not serving, let me say that again. If you are not serving, tell somebody else. Look at your neighbor and say, "If you're not serving."

Congregation: If you're not serving.

Dr. Tony Evans: Okay, now look at somebody else and say, "If you're not serving."

Congregation: If you're not serving.

Dr. Tony Evans: All right. Just what you get this. If you are not serving, you will never find your gift. Because God only hits a moving target. You can't sit, soak, and sour and say, "When you show me, I'll then serve."

God said, "Not. When you serve, then I will show you." Folks been sitting around for 25 years, waiting on God to bang. Oh. That's my gift. It is while you move. And you will discover, you will like it, you will have the ability to do it.

Some people have found out they have abilities that they didn't know. Why? Because they were never stirred. So they've been just sitting, resting, as they sit and rest, rested. The other problem with gifts is that they're applied too narrowly. People apply it to only the stuff, the traditional church stuff. And that's why our view of ministry here is so broad. That's why it includes tutoring and fathering and mothering and and uh education and uh uh all all manner of things, because the kingdom is broad.

The kingdom involves everything that's used to have dominion over the earth. And that's why your gift can go in so many different directions. So it's not this narrow thing, it's a very broad thing. That which every joint applies and here we come to a conclusion.

According to the proper working of each individual part. I want to emphasize the word proper. Not sloppy working, not leftover working. If you are an employer, you want your employees to work properly, effectively, enthusiastically, energetically, timely, excellently.

I know a lot of pastors who live on Saturday night specials. They prepare their sermons on Saturday night. And to cover themselves, they say, "Well, the Holy Spirit gave me a word." They had to wait for the Holy Spirit to give them a word because they weren't in the word.

You want excellence about your calling and your giftedness. You want to be the best in your field that you can be. The proper working of each individual part. That's you, individual, that's you, causes the growth of the body. The whole because you are excellent.

Because God is worthy and you know it's a grace gift that He didn't have to give you. And He'd even give you the privilege to make money using it if your gift is also used in your career. And you say, "Wow, look at this gift." It causes the growth of the body and look at this phrase, "for the building up of itself in love."

Now, he's, remember he's using a body illustration. And he says, "When a body is working right, it builds itself up." Many of you do not know this, but many of you have already had cancer. You don't know this, but you've already had cancer.

But here's what happens. You know what cancer is. Cancer is basically renegade cells. Cancer are cells that decide they don't want to go along with the program anymore. So this cell decides, let me split off and do my own thing, which would be fine if it would leave your body to do it. But no, it wants to do its own thing in your body.

Not only that, but these renegade cells want company. So they reproduce after their own kind and then you got a lump. A renegade cell that doesn't want to be by itself, so it now reduplicates and they're hunkering tight. And they grow. Now you got a lump. Well, that would be okay if they would stay still. But no, do you think they want to stay still? No.

They want to investigate the rest of the body. So now they metastasize and now they spread out because they want to take a tour of the rest of you. Now let me tell you the goal of cancer. It only has one goal, to shut you down. That's it.

However, because our immune system was strong enough and vibrant enough and alive enough, the immune system said, "Hey, white blood cells. Get him." White blood cells, go over there, race over there to that independent cell and destroy it before you ever knew you had a problem. Why? Cause a healthy body heals itself.

When believers are using their gifts under the power of the Spirit of God, you ain't seen power then. That's power. Cause now stuff gets solved by itself. It doesn't even get up to the pastor's office because believers have hunted that thing down before it ever got that far. You are gifted. You have been supremely gifted for the purpose of God and for His calling. And if you are willing to serve your calling and build up the body with the gift, God will show it to you.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans encouraging you to take what God has given and put it to work. Part of his series "Called for a Purpose." This two-volume, 12-message collection is available on CD, USB flash drive, or instantly downloadable MP3s.

The set contains additional material we won't have time to present here on the broadcast. And if you make a donation and request it right away, we'll send you the complete collection along with Tony's inspiring "Called for a Purpose" devotional. Together, they'll help you continue discovering God's plan and encourage you each day as you learn to live it out.

You can get all the details about this package at TonyEvans.org. Or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. Again, that's TonyEvans.org or by phone anytime of the day or night at 1-800-800-3222. No one wants to miss out on their destiny because they were busy doing something else. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans reveals how the Holy Spirit can be your personal guidance counselor, as he explores the connection between your worship and your calling. Be sure to join us.