Turning Point

Guest: The Bible clearly states that every believer has been given one or more spiritual gifts to be used in ministry. What happens if you don't use your gifts? Today on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah shares the answer and explains how leaving your gifts unused can cost others the blessings they were meant to receive. Listen as David introduces the conclusion of his message, the Gifts of the Spirit.

Dr. David Jeremiah: And thank you for joining us today for this edition of Turning Point. We continue our discussion that we began on Friday on the gifts of the Spirit. Did you know the Bible says that there are approximately 19 different gifts that have been given to the members of the body of Christ, and every member of the body has a gift?

No one is without a gift. I don't care who you are. You may think you're the most ungifted person in the world, but the Bible says when you became a Christian, you received a gift from the Spirit. And that gift is a gift for serving God.

We've been talking about them, and we'll get started on that again in just a moment, but first, let me remind you that the resource for the month of June is the book, The Holy Spirit, You May Not Know. I'm so excited about this book because of the three persons of the Trinity, the most unknown of the three is the Holy Spirit. We know about God, we know about Jesus, but the Holy Spirit is a mystery to many people.

And the Bible is filled with information about it. We've pulled it all together in this book. It's 250 pages, it's a hardback, and it's yours for a gift of any size during the month of June. Could I encourage you by telling you that this is one of the most important giving months in the year for us? It's the end of our fiscal year. We really want to encourage those of you who listen to us every day and are a part of what we do to reflect that in a gift that you would make during this month. Be sure to ask for your copy of The Holy Spirit, You May Not Know.

Here's a part of that truth that has to do with the gifts of the Spirit. This is part two.

Dr. David Jeremiah: We encourage one another, we strengthen one another. We go through difficult times with one another, and we together help one another in their faith. Paul wrote in Romans, "I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift that you may be established."

You might ask, "How do I get established?" Well, when people use their spiritual gifts within the church, they bless us with those gifts. They help you and me become more established in what we believe. When I use the gift that God has given to me, my great honor and purpose is to build you up and to establish you in the faith.

As I've been asked today, what I want you to know is what the Bible says about spiritual gifts so that when someone comes and tells you something that's not true, you know where to find the truth. What am I doing? I'm using the gift that God has given me to instruct and encourage and to build up and to establish.

Here's the last thing that spiritual gifts do, and this is really neat and pretty special. The Bible says that when you and I use our spiritual gifts, we bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ. We exalt him. Listen to First Peter 4:11. "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

What is Scripture saying? It is saying, "If you have the gift of speaking, speak for the glory of God, and God will be glorified. If you have the gift of serving, serve God with all your heart, and God will be glorified." The Bible says, "Let men see your good works that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven."

If you have the gift of teaching, study diligently, teach creatively, do it with the strength and skill within you, and the God of glory will gain even more glory because of what you're doing. Bringing glory to God is one of our chief purposes as Christians, and we might as well roll up our sleeves and in the power of the Spirit, get after it. Use your gift, and when you do, you bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's not just for people like me, that's for all of us because as we've learned so far in this little tutorial, we all have a spiritual gift from God.

Now, in the whole doctrine of spiritual gifts, there are some issues that come up. Let me just deal with three of them before we bring a conclusion to this message. I don't know that there's anything that has been more controversial among Christians than this. Sometimes it's just that we don't know. First of all, I'd like to call out the spirituality problem. Have you ever encountered somebody who's got a spiritual gift, and it may be obvious to you that they do, and because of that, they flaunt this gift, and they make you know that they're spiritual people?

Well, I'm here to tell you something that will surprise you. You can have a spiritual gift and be a carnal Christian. The Bible says about the Corinthians, they fell behind in no spiritual gift. In other words, they had all the gifts. Yet the church in Corinth was the most carnal church in the New Testament history book. When I was a pastor in Fort Wayne, Indiana, there was another church there that was quite large, and they decided to open a bookstore, and lo and behold, they opened the bookstore, and they called it the Corinthian Bookstore.

I called the pastor one day. I said, "Have you ever read Corinthians?" And he said, "What do you mean?" I said, "Why in the world would you call your bookstore the Corinthian Bookstore? It's the most carnal church. I wouldn't want to be Corinthian anything." About two months later, he changed it and got it right. Corinthians were not good people. They were carnal people. All of this information that you read. Go home and read it today. You'll see what I'm talking about.

But that church we are told was number one in spiritual gifts. They all had spiritual gifts, but because they had spiritual gifts, they weren't spiritual. They held those gifts because they were from God, and they used them in many cases for their own purposes, and they got into a lot of trouble, and Paul castigated them. In First Corinthians, he lets them have it, and he should have because of what they were doing. The ironic fact is you can be greatly gifted and still not be walking with the Lord.

So don't let spiritual gifts be the standard of your Christianity. The second problem is what I call the specialist problem. This is really common, believe it or not. Sometimes someone will say to me, "Pastor, you've been encouraging us to share our faith, but I don't do that because I don't have the gift of evangelism." Well, that doesn't get you off the hook, not even close. Because while there are people who have the gift of evangelism, all of us are called to go into the world and share our faith.

Somebody says, "I don't give because I don't have the gift of giving." Come on now. You know, there are people, according to the Bible, who have the gift of giving, and it says, "If you have that gift, you should use it liberally." Did you see that? But the Bible also knows that we might not have that gift, but we still have the responsibility. All of the gifts have both a special and a general application. Generally speaking, we all should be evangelists. We should all be serving. We should all be speaking the truth. But sometimes the Lord comes along, and he puts his hand on someone and gives them a special ability in one of these things, and that is a spiritual gift. But it doesn't take you away from your responsibility to do the things that the Bible tells you to do.

Just because you don't have the gift of evangelism doesn't mean you can't share the gospel with somebody you love. You may feel like you don't do it well, but do it. Because that's what God has called us to do. God calls every one of us to teach, to encourage, to serve. These are not just gifts for a few. They're a part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, there's the self-centered problem. There are other people who fall into a self-centered problem. They start to think, "My spiritual gifts are for me." That's not true. God didn't give you a gift for yourself. That's not what God is up to. God gave you gifts to help others. Once again, Scripture says that these gifts are to profit all.

There was an old adage that goes something like this, "If God has given you a gift, use it, don't abuse it, or you will lose it." And that is a good admonition. You can let a gift atrophy. A gift that isn't used is ultimately lost in terms of its effectiveness for God. Once you figure out what God has gifted you to do, your goal should be to polish that gift. Sharpen that tool, use it all that you can for the glory of God while there is still time.

When I was a senior at Cedarville College, as a student, God called me to preach. He did so by taking me every week to a little church up near Columbus, Ohio, to the Fairfield Baptist Church in Thurston, where there were about 30 people, and I went up there to preach. I was so shocked because when I got done preaching, people would come up and tell me they understood what I said. That was a major thing, knowing that people were listening. But when I knew that God had called me to preach, I didn't say, "Okay, that's it, God's called me to preach. Go preach." No, I realized I wasn't prepared yet to preach.

I needed to work hard to learn how to do that. So I went to seminary and polished my gift. That's what all of us should do. If God calls you to do something and he gives you an ability, don't just sit on the ability and say, "Well, I guess I'm okay now. I got an ability." Take that ability and take it as far as you can and make it as strong as it can be and use it for the glory of God to affect as many people as you can for as long as you can. That's what the Bible teaches. Amen.

So, some of you are going to say, "Pastor Jeremiah, how do I know what my gift is?" So here's the practical part, five things. They're real quick, and they're really important. Number one, investigation. First Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4. Go through there, write down all of the gifts. There are supposedly 19 of them. You'll see some of them listed in more than one passage. Get the gifts on a list. Now you know what the spiritual gifts are that the Bible tells us are available.

Begin by finding out everything you can about them. Learn what they are, how they work, and whether or not you see them evident in your life. Number two, after investigation, I want to throw in this word, involvement. This is so important because you might say, "Pastor, until I know what it is that God wants me to do, I'm just going to sit here and wait." Let me tell you something I've learned, "You cannot steer a parked car."

If you aren't moving, God's not going to tell you what to do. You cannot steer a car that is not moving, and once it's rolling, you can guide it in the right direction. That's true in your spiritual life. When God sees you serving the best you know how, from where you are right now, he can direct you and redirect you, but it is hard for you to receive God's steering and direction when you're standing still. Don't use your desire to know your spiritual gift as an excuse for not doing something until you find out what it is.

You will delay the process by doing that. So get involved. Try different kinds of ministry. How else are you going to know what you're gifted to do if you never experience it? I keep a little saying in my office that goes like this, "Lord, someday I hope to do something perfectly. In the meantime, help me to do something. Amen." You know, isn't that true? If you wait until you got it all figured out, you will never go anywhere. Start where you are, do what you can do, and watch how God leads you.

There's a passage in the Old Testament where this little phrase is so paramount. It says, "I being in the way, the Lord led me." That's how you find out what God wants you to do. Be in the way. Do what God has called you to do now. Start today to follow his direction, and when you do that, God will take you to the next step. So investigation, find out what the gifts are. Involvement, get started doing what you know to do now.

The third word is interest. Ask yourself, "What do I really enjoy doing for the Lord?" Usually, what you enjoy is what you are capable of doing, and God often uses your interests to point you towards your gifts. When I was a student, as I've told you on occasion, one of the things that I loved to do more than anything, I was a radio fanatic. Believe it or not, before I ever spoke on the radio, I was one of those kids who bought allied radio kits and the Heathkits. I got those. I got the magazine every week. I bought the kits. I built them.

My little bedroom growing up in my parents' home was like an electronic nightmare. My mother said I was going to electrocute everybody before I was 20, but I didn't do that. I loved radio. I became a shortwave person. I loved listening to the shortwave. I would find missionary stations all over the world on shortwave. I loved it. When God called me to preach, one of the things I thought, "Well, I guess my radio career's over."

You know what the Bible says? The Bible says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." You do not need to be afraid of what God might ask you to do. He will give you both the desire and the joy to do what he equips you to do. Can you imagine God being anything other than that? Do you think he's sitting up in heaven saying, "I'm going to give him a gift, and then I'm going to frustrate them to death until they give up?" God doesn't do that.

If God calls you, he's obligated to help you. If he equips you, he's using that in your life, not only for your own spiritual growth and enjoyment and joy, but to help other people. So don't get caught up in "find out what God wants you to do," and usually it goes along with some ability you've noticed in your life, something that you love to do, something that you're good at. I know some gifts I don't have, and I wouldn't have to ask too many people if I have those gifts or not. They would say, "Absolutely not, Pastor, you do not have that gift."

That's probably true of you. One of the great things about discovering your spiritual gift is discovering what it is not. You can get off that track when you know what God has called you to do. So investigation, involvement, interest. Here's introspection, is the fourth thing. Ask yourself, "Where do I seem to be most effective?" The Holy Spirit gives abilities for certain kinds of ministry, and the effectiveness is often a good indicator of where you are gifted.

Let me tell you something. If you think you have the gift of leading, and you look around, and nobody's following, you do not have the gift of leading. We've said this about music, we've said it about others. When you determine what God wants you to do, there will be evidence in your life and affirmation in your life, "Yes, this is the direction I want you to go."

Dr. H.A. Ironside once said that he often thought of the sad situation of those who believe they have the gift of preaching but complain that no one has the gift of listening. Isn't that true? If you have the gift of preaching and you notice nobody's got the gift of listening, you probably don't have the gift of preaching. If you have the gift of preaching and communicating, it will resonate with people. They will understand. You may not be the greatest, but there will be evidence that you have that gift.

Over 100 years ago, the Holy Spirit gifted an Irish farmer named Jeremiah Maneli with the gift of evangelism. That great awakening in Northern Ireland began when Jeremiah and three young men met nightly in an old schoolhouse to pray for revival. For three months, nothing happened until New Year's Day when one person came to Christ. Soon conversions were happening nightly, and 50 men joined the prayer meetings.

When crowds of unbelievers began showing up, they urged Jeremiah to preach, which he had never done before, but he agreed, and many were saved. Later, Jeremiah was invited to preach in a nearby town. The building overflowed. He preached once and dismissed the crowd, but no one left. So he preached again, and then again, and after the fourth sermon, he went outside and wrung the sweat from his shirt, put it back on, and preached one more time before going home at night.

Moments later, he was at home, and a man stood there asking how to be saved. It was after dark, it was late. Jeremiah cried out to his neighbors, "What in the world? I'm lying in bed, and souls are seeking Christ." What happens when you start to use your gift? The Holy Spirit comes alongside and helps you to understand. God is using me in this. He's helping me to be effective in this. Effectiveness matters. Look at where God seems to be blessing your efforts, and that's often where you will find your spiritual gift.

Finally, one more thing, interaction. Another helpful key is interaction. Talk to others about what they see in you. Ask trusted friends or leaders where they have noticed God using your life. I've been doing that a little bit this week from some staff members and telling them what I view and see in their life. It's so much joy in that because sometimes you can just see what their gift is. If you're around them very long, they got this gift, and you notice it. When you tell them they have that gift, you can see the smile on their face because they know it themselves.

When you ask people about yourself, they will give you honest feedback if you give them the opportunity. I mean, if you say, "Do you think I have the gift of preaching?" And nobody says anything, they just look at you, what's the second thought you have about what you're gifted is? Investigation, involvement, interest, introspection, and interaction. These steps will help you understand how God has gifted you.

One of the best parts of discovering your gift is, as I said before, finding out what it is not. That can lift a heavy burden from your shoulders when you know what God wants you to do and you realize he doesn't want you to do something else. I believe it is absolutely impossible, listen to me carefully, absolutely impossible for a believer who sincerely wants to know how God can use them not to find out.

God delights in showing his will to hearts that are humble and open before him. Come with a spirit that says, "Lord, show me what you want me to do, and I will do it." And that kind of heart is the heart that God always guides. My father was a Baptist preacher, and some of you are old enough to remember about 40 years ago, there was an absolute craze about spiritual gifts in the church. They were doing seminars everywhere. You could go to conferences. My dad was a little bit reluctant. He wasn't sure about that.

One day he said something to me that was among the many things he told me when I was growing up that I've never forgotten. He said, "David, I don't know about all the spiritual gift stuff. What I do know is this. The greatest spiritual gift you will ever get is the gift of availability." Was he ever right about that? If I could say one thing to you after all of this talk today about spiritual gifts, it would be this, "You can find out what your spiritual gift is if you are absolutely determined to do it. If you say, 'Lord God, I don't know what it is you've called me to do, what you've created me to do, but I want you to know, I am available. Here am I, Lord, send me. I will do what you call me to do.'" If you do that, you will know what your gift is before next week is here because that's how God works.

Leo Buscaglia, affectionately known as Dr. Love, was a professor at the University of Southern California, one of the most engaging speakers of his time. He taught a class called Love, and it became so popular that students filled every seat. They sat on the floor, and they lined the hallway into his classroom so they could hear what he said.

After losing one of his students to suicide, Leo realized how many people go through life never knowing that they are loved or gifted by God. From then on, he made it his mission to help people see their worth. He was known for striking up conversations with strangers in the elevator and for saying, "We need five hugs a day to survive, eight hugs to maintain, and 12 hugs to thrive."

But his most memorable words were these, "Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God." That is true for the gifts of the Spirit. Your gift is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. He was talking about talents, but the same is true of spiritual gifts. God has placed something unique inside of you, something that's not inside of anyone else, and someone else's blessing will depend on whether or not you use that gift.

If you'll just use it, you might be amazed at what God will do through you. So spiritual gifts are for all of us. I've given you the path that I understand from the Scripture. Here's what you do. Take those steps. Follow those things, and all of a sudden you'll be coming to someone saying, "I think God has gifted me to do this." And then you'll begin to do it, and you'll find joy in your life. That's how the body works, and that's why I'm so excited to share this truth with you.

Before we say our final concluding statement, let me remind you that the gifts of the Spirit are important, but they're not as important as the gift of eternal life. If you haven't received that gift, you won't get any of the other gifts. They're subsequent to receiving the gift of eternal life. In other words, if you're not a Christian, you won't get spiritual gifts. But you can become a Christian by accepting the gift of God, which he has provided for you through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He wants you to have forgiveness of your sin. If you will receive that, the Bible says you will get the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. When you become a Christian, you are gifted with eternal life. When you get the gift of eternal life, then you proceed to understand the gifts of the Spirit. But my main concern for you today is this, the gifts of the Spirit are important, but the gift of God, which is eternal life, is way more important than that.

Because if you don't have the gift of eternal life, the gifts of the Spirit are a meaningless discussion. You only get the gifts of the Spirit when you accept Jesus Christ. If you've never done that, you have to accept the main gift before the gifts of the Spirit are bestowed. Let me ask you to do that. If you've never done that, would you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior? He will change your life. You will look back on the moment you do that as the changing moment in all of the history of who you are.

But you have to make the decision. You have to say, "Lord, I turn away from my own thoughts and I turn to you. I turn to you to be my Lord and Savior and ask you to come into my heart and forgive me of my sin and give me the gift of eternal life, the original gift, the most important gift." He will do that. He promises to do that. Tomorrow we're going to talk about the strength of the Holy Spirit. If you're feeling a little weak, don't worry. We got some news for you that will really encourage you tomorrow, right here, on this good station.

Guest: Today's message originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church and Senior Pastor Dr. David Jeremiah. Drop us a note to let us know how God is using this ministry in your life. Write to Turning Point, PO Box 3838, San Diego, California 92163. Visit our website at davidjeremiah.org/radio or call 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's new book, The Holy Spirit, You May Not Know. A valuable resource that's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also download the free Turning Point mobile app for your smartphone or tablet, or search in your app store for Turning Point Ministries to access our content. Visit davidjeremiah.org/radio for details. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue The Holy Spirit, You May Not Know, on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah.