I invite you to turn with me this morning to Romans chapter 12, Romans chapter 12, and we'll be looking at verses 6 through 8, Romans 12, 6 to 8. Well, what have we discovered so far from these studies? We saw the truth that a true experience of God's saving grace will issue in a life of surrender, of consecration to the Lord. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, Paul says, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. So first of all, surrender to the Lord, surrender of ourselves to the Lord, and then secondly, such a life, such an experience rather, will issue in separation from this age. Because Paul says in verse two, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. And then thirdly, a true experience of God's saving grace will lead to self-evaluation that's sober, that's level-headed. Paul says there in verse 3, For I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, righteously, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. And the central idea of our study this morning is this, that a true saving experience of the grace of God will issue in service to the Lord and his church through divinely imparted gifts. And for this, we turn to Romans chapter 12, verses 6 through 8. And here's what Paul says. Here's what the word of God says, having gifts, that differ according to the grace given to us. Let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. In the New Testament, we find four lists of spiritual gifts. And they are found here in Romans 12, 6 through 8, Ephesians 4, 11, 1 Peter 4, 10 and 11, and 1 Corinthians 12, verses 8 through 10. Last time, we intimated that a spiritual gift, we can know that we have a particular spiritual gift based on the measure of confidence with which we exercise that gift. And we want to make some other observations this morning. And the text for that, of course, the confidence that we have, Paul says, according as God has dealt to every man a measure of faith, faith there being used in connection with confidence. Whatever we are able to do, whatever we find ourselves doing with confidence and by extension with relative ease, that might be an indication or that oftentimes is an indication of our spiritual gift. Well, let's make some introductory observations concerning this matter of spiritual gifts. The first thing that I want to point out is this. According to the word of God, 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 7, Spiritual gifts are manifestations of the spirit. Spiritual gifts are manifestations of the spirit. That is to say, they are more than just talents. To say that gifts are manifestations of the spirit means that by them and through them, the Holy Spirit displays his power in and through believers. so that whenever one is exercising his or her gifts, what we have is a manifestation of the Spirit of God at work in the midst of the church. Secondly, the Word of God teaches that each believer has at least one spiritual gift. Every believer, without exception, regardless of spiritual maturity, regardless of age, has at least one spiritual gift. As members of the Body of Christ, beloved, you have gift or I might add gifts certainly no one has all the gifts there's no indication in scripture that anyone has all the gift but some may have more than one gift You have a spiritual gift which is a spiritual endowment, a special endowment by the Spirit of God by which you have been equipped for some area of service to the body of Christ. And yours is a responsibility to discover that gift, to put that gift to work in the body of Christ. Here's a third suggestion we have in scripture concerning spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts, and this is very, very important because many get lost at this point. Many get carried away at this point. And the point I want to bring here is that spiritual gifts have nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with spiritual maturity. One could well be a gifted preacher, for example, and yet be spiritually immature. In fact, be even, as some would say, carnal. And how do we know that spiritual gifts are not related to spiritual maturity? Well, the Corinthian church, classic case in point, had, according to Paul, been enriched in all speech and knowledge and was not lacking in any gift, 1 Corinthians 1, 5, and 7. And yet, it was a church that was riddled with quarrels and divisions, 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 10. In fact, it was a church in which immorality, sexual immorality, was rife. 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 1. And believers were actually taking one another to the courts, taking out lawsuits against one another. It was a scandalous church. And yet, that church was abounding in gifts. They spoke in tongues. And they had teachers in their midst. And yet, Paul, writing them in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 says I could not write to you brethren as unto spiritual but as unto babes for you are carnal you are not yet able to hear what I have to say to you so just because one is gifted just because one even manifests the power of God in one's life does not necessarily mean that one is spiritual, that one is godly. Many Christians are confused, many Christians are mesmerized because they see someone who has what might be called spectacular gifts and they associate that with godliness, that the person must be godly, must be spiritually mature. Here in our text, we come to our text and we find fourthly that spiritual gifts are to be used. They are to be used. Look at verse 6. He says there, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us what? Use them. They are to be used not for self-glory. They are to be used not for prideful show. So as to impress others, spiritual gifts are not for our private benefit, for our private enjoyment. Rather, they are to be used for the glory of God, and they are to be used for the good of the Church. Here's how the Apostle Peter expresses this truth. 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 11, here's what he says. As each has received a gift, so there you have it, every believer has at least one spiritual gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's very grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. Spiritual gifts are to be used for the good of the Church. Spiritual gifts are to be used for the glory of God. It's not for showiness. It is not about us. In fact, 1 Corinthians 12 verse 7, to each, Paul says, is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. And that being the case, whenever we fail to use our spiritual gifts, whenever we fail to identify our spiritual gifts, that particular gift with which God has blessed us for the good of the church and for his glory, then what happens is this, the effectiveness of the church's ministry, both within its ranks and in the world, is stymied. Let me just say before I forget, the list that you find in those four passages that I gave you can be categorized under two major headings. If you have a spiritual gift, they fall under one of two major categories, two major headings. What are they? They are number one, speaking gifts, and number two, supportive gifts. Speaking gifts and supportive gifts. In other words, if you have a particular gift, if you have identified a particular gift that does not involve speaking, which would embrace teaching the word of God, Anything else would be what we call supportive gift. That's just a rough categorization. It's not a biblical category that we find in scripture, but we can, as we analyze it, that's what we find. Well, let's consider the various gifts Paul cites, and bearing in mind here that what we have in verses 6 through 8 would not be an exhaustive list. We have other gifts mentioned in the other three passages I gave you earlier. First of all, the gift of prophecy. The gift of prophecy. In scripture, prophecy is essentially concerned with what? With delivering a message from God. With delivering a message from God. A message, notice, received by direct revelation from God. Direct revelation from God. Paul, in fact, uses the word prophets and prophecies in that way. Ephesians chapter 3 verse 5, prophets obtained revelation from the Spirit of God. Now as spokesmen for God, the Old Testament prophets were engaged in foretelling the future as revealed by God or in telling forth Proclaiming, that is, proclaiming the already known Word of God, the written Word of God, or both. The prophets of the Old Testament were not always foretelling. Sometimes they were telling for the Word of God as found in scripture. So I would say that prophecy in that regard, as we have it in the Old Testament, was either predictive or hortative. Question is, what is this gift of prophecy to which Paul refers here in verse 6? And the key to answering this is to determine how the first century readers, that is to say, how the readers of Paul's day, the Roman Christians, the Corinthian Christians, when they heard Paul spoke of prophecy, how did they understand Paul's usage of the word prophecy or prophesying? And my answer to that is this, they would have understood the term both based on how the activity of prophesying occurred among them, and that is prophecy was by and large a matter of receiving some direct word or revelation from God. If you search through the New Testament, that's what you'll find consistently, that prophecy had to do with receiving an immediate divine word straight from God. Acts chapter 11, 27, 28, now in those days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, and one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world. This took place during the days of Claudius. You know, notice here, Luke is careful to tell us that the prophecy came through. Why is that important? We have a lot of prophets today who tell you things after the fact. And many times, what they venture to tell you before the fact is skewed. The true prophet was always right, not 7 out of 10 times, not 8 out of 10 times, not 9 and a half out of 10 times, but every time, 10 out of 10 times, he was right on target. If not in the Old Testament due to Roman chapter 18, he was what? Stoned to death. Thank God we're not under the Old Testament today. A lot of people would be killed. Acts 21 verses 10 and 11, Luke records that while he and his colleagues in ministry were staying at the home of Philip the Evangelist, here's what he says. A prophet named Agabus came down from Judea and said, thus says the Holy Spirit, this is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. Did that come through? Yes. And that's how Paul eventually ended up at Rome. 1 Corinthians 14, 29, and 30 listen to how a gift of prophecy was put to work. Paul, in fact, instructed the church at Corinth how they should proceed in exercising this gift of prophecy. And here's what he told them. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. Here's what he says. If a revelation is made to another, Sitting there, let the first be silent. You notice what he says? He links prophecy with revelation. Well, what do we do with this? Because here's the point. The truth is, if we hear someone saying today that they received a word from God, God told them this, God told them that, I would suggest we hold that with suspicion. And I'm going to suggest to you why. And I'm making the case that today, you and I do not receive. direct, immediate revelation from God. Now, sometimes you'll hear preachers say, and even in conservative churches, you'll hear preachers say, you know, the Lord spoke to me and he gave me this message for you from this passage. Well, let's put it this way. The preacher, many times, you see, he says he hears God telling him and he actually hears the voice of God. We ought to be wary and we ought to be suspicious of these things. Question, does God, does God guide the preacher? to certain texts, I believe so. And it's what we call it by his divine providence. But I don't know, the Word of God tells that you and I can definitely, definitively, dogmatically say, God says, and to preach this morning, Romans chapter 12, verses six through eight. No, what does God say to me? What did God say to us? He says, preach the whole counsels of God. And then God the Spirit does what? Take the Word of God, apply it to the lives of his people. You and I do not receive revelation from God. Well, what do you and I receive? You and I receive, here it comes, illumination. Illumination. And illumination has to do with this. It has to do with the Holy Spirit shedding light on His Word already revealed in Scripture so that we come to understand the truths of the Word of God. Here it comes, already revealed in Scripture. The Holy Spirit enlightens our minds so that we might clearly understand its truths and see the application of those truths to our lives. And what we suggest, beloved, as we look at the Word of God, there's every indication, listen, there's every indication that certain gifts went with the passage of time. I'm being dogmatic at this point, and here's why. Paul was an apostle, and Paul says, God has set forth in the church, first prophets and apostles, and so on, and he comes down to land, where we are today, teaching, teaching. There are no apostles today, and just as there are no apostles today, there are no prophets in the classical sense of the term. Why can we say that? There's a suggestion in the Word of God that that is the case. 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, here's what he says. is breathed out by God and profitable for what? Teaching, for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and trading in righteousness. Verse 17, that the man of God may be what? Complete, equipped for every good work. We talk about what? The sufficiency of scripture. If, let's assume, if there is that situation today where somebody could get up in this congregation and declare that God has given them a word, then that would effectively undercut what is taught here, namely the what? The sufficiency of scripture. Everything that God would have us know, beloved, everything that God would have us know for faith and godliness is already, has already been revealed in the Word of God. You see, in the regular sense of the term, a prophet heard and spoke directly from God, from the mouth of God, to the people. In fact, prophets wrote the scriptures. And with the completion of the written revelation of God, the canon as we refer to it, that is to say, the books of the Bible that we have with the writing, the completion of the canon, there's no longer the need for The gift of revelatory prophecy. There is no longer the need for revelatory prophecy. You see, if we go that route, to hold to the idea that today God can tell somebody in this church something or another, then what would happen, as I said, is this. The scriptural declaration concerning the sufficiency of scripture would be undermined. Not only that, it would be purely subjective. It would be purely subjective. Paul says something very interesting. And before we get that, note that in Ephesians chapter 2, 19 and 20, Paul explicitly identifies the apostles. He explicitly identifies in Ephesians 2, 19 and 20 prophets as the foundation on which the church is built. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, he says, you are built upon what? The foundation, the foundation of the apostles and who else? The prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Now, you'll notice he says here, the one who prophesies must prophesy in proportion to the faith. And not our faith as we have it in the ESV. There's actually the definite article in the Greek. Prophesy in proportion to the faith and the word that's used there for proportion is the Greek word Analogia from which we get our English word analogy He is saying the one who'd prophesy must prophesy according to the analogy of faith What is the analogy of faith the analogy of faith there in that context would be understood as what that? Body of truth that whole system of truth that is to be found in scripture. So go back to first Corinthians and chapter 14 29 and 30 and notice how this was carried through Paul says let two or three prophets speak and that's assuming of course they heard from God they got a divine revelation from God he says let two or three prophets speak and let the others weigh what he said so you notice there weren't gullible the early church there weren't gullible they did well God spoke we must listen And he says this, if a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. So there was what? Checks and balances. It had to line up with the word of God. It had to match the already existing word of God. You see, Jude speaks of the faith once delivered to all the saints. Jude verse 3, right? The faith has been once for all delivered. There's no need for revelations. There's no need for visions and dreams. Well, let's look at the second gift, the gift of service. And here we come to the first of the supportive gifts that are mentioned here in this text. The first was a speaking gift. And we are saying that with the passage of time, prophecy that is understood in the classical sense as direct revelation from God has ceased. Now, we have the gift of service. The Greek word that's used for service The Iaconia gives us our English word deacon. And it was a word that was popularly used in connection with one who served or waited at a table. The gift of service, then, is oriented to helping others. In fact, it is evidently the same gift that's identified in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 28 as the gift of helping. Now, whereas all believers should serve by way of helping in situations of need, the Word of God suggests, and in fact, as we'll see with all of these various gifts, the Word of God suggests that there is a special gift of service that God gives to some believers. Many a believer who has volunteered for tasks which involve serving others often succumb to burnout, and they soon give up. And the fact is, to have a constant disposition of readiness, of willingness to help others is by no means an easy task. It's by no means easy. Hence, this has to be a real gift from God. We're not talking about just occasionally doing this or that, helping here, helping there. We're talking about consistently, faithfully sticking to the task of serving in whatever capacity that person has been assigned. And so those who have the gift of service will be those who have a tireless passion, a lifelong desire to help those who are in any kind of need or crisis. You're the kind of person who is very sensitive to the needs of others, and there are people like that, I have no doubt, in this church. You are particularly, you are keenly sensitive to helping. You see situations of need, you see situations where people need help, and if you're that kind of person, always ready to come alongside, to offer service, then you may have the gift of service. Now, lest anyone should think that the gift of service is some menial, commonplace, trivial gift, just think of the qualification the word of God lays for those who would be involved in this kind of ministry. You remember back in Acts chapter 6 when the church was growing and Diversity was taking place in the church. The Hellenists were complaining that their widows were being neglected. And so what happened? They came to the apostles and they said, look, we have a problem. Our people are not being taken care of in the daily ministration of foods. And what did the apostles say? They said, look, it's not right for us to leave the word of God and serve tables. Now stop there for a moment. The apostle Peter was not dedicating service He was not belittling soup kitchens. He was not belittling taking care of the physical needs of the church. What Peter was suggesting there was that the call to the minister of the word take precedence over everything else that the church does. He says it is not right for us to leave the word of God and to serve tables. Now, here's what he says. Listen, he says this. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of, here comes, good repute, full of the spirit and wisdom whom we will appoint to this duty. Can you imagine? Some would say to serve in soup kitchen, to serve catering to the physical needs of the people. Do I need to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Yes, Peter says. He says there had to be men of good report, they had to be full of the Spirit, and they had to be full of wisdom for this task. Here's the point. Doing even what we would call the menial simple things, you see, If they're not done with the right attitudes, if God is not in it, then you believe that people, they're working out in the unsafe world. We need people in the church at all levels who are of good repute, who are controlled by the spirit of God, who are endowed with wisdom, who will serve. Why? Because service for God, even with regard to those areas that we consider menial and commonplace, is, at the end of the day, spiritual work. Why is it spiritual work? Because we are working for God. We're working for God. It's big. It is huge. Do you have the gift of serving? The church cannot strive, the church cannot survive without people coming alongside one another and helping, helping, being of service. Thirdly, the gift of teaching. The gift of teaching. We see that in the B part of verse 7. And whereas the gift of prophecy involves a reception of revelation from God, the gift of teaching does not involve revelation from God. The teacher does not receive revelation from God, does not, quote unquote, hear from God in the literal sense of the word. Rather, the gift of teaching is all about what? It is all about explaining the Word of God. unfolding those truths which have already been revealed by God and recorded in scripture. The gift of teaching, what is the purpose of the gift of teaching in the church? The gift of teaching in the church, beloved, is designed to help believers grow in their knowledge of and obedience to God and to better understand their faith. That's the whole purpose of teaching. It is to expose us to the truths of the Word of God so that having heard the Word of God and having applied the Word of God, we might grow into maturity in Christ, that we might be Christ-like. In other words, teaching is not simply for the purpose of imparting academic information. It's not for the purpose simply of giving us information, biblical knowledge. Biblical teaching is geared toward transformation of life. And to the extent that that is being accomplished, then the work of the teacher is being what? Blessed by God. According to 1 Timothy 3 verse 2, Titus chapter 1 verse 9, every elder, every pastor, and by the way, elder and pastor, one and the same. Every elder pastor must be able to teach giving instruction in sound doctrine. Yet it doesn't seem to be the case that they have, listen, there's an indication in scripture that they have to be gifted in the strictest sense of the term. Gifted in teaching. They must be able to teach. And by the way, when we talk about spiritual gifts, there are different levels, of course, of proficiency, of handling the word of God. Perhaps the closest intimation of this is 1 Timothy 5, verse 17, where Paul instructs Timothy. Paul says there, let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor. And then he says this, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. We learn something there that every elder rules. In some churches, you have what is called the ruling elder. Listen, the Bible doesn't really teach that. All elders rule. And what Paul says here, there are those elders who specialize, they labor in preaching and teaching. Somebody asked, what's the difference between preaching and teaching? What is the difference between preaching and teaching? Well, somebody puts it homely like this. The preacher yells it. The teacher tells it. If we must get more precise, preaching really is what? Preaching is heralding. Preaching is proclaiming. Here's an example of preaching. The Bible says, God loves you, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. What is teaching? Teaching is what? Explanation. And so what the teacher does, the teacher defines the nature of God's love. What is this love? And he traces scripture and he shows you how that love, the various aspects, the various facets of the love of God. Preaching is heralding, is proclaiming the word of God. Teaching is explaining, it is expounding, it is unfolding the truths of the word of God. And suggested by that last clause, those who labor in preaching and teaching is that the gift of teaching does not preclude the need for diligent preparation and study. As Kenneth Gangland in his book, You and Your Spiritual Gifts, says regarding the gift of teaching, he says this, quote, there seems to be a clear indication of study, mental and verbal skills, and reliance on the Holy Spirit in the ministry of teaching. That's why Paul could say to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, verse 15, do your best to present yourselves to God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly handing the word of truth. And the Greek word translated there, do your best, carries the idea of what's training every nerve, exerting oneself in order to be a capable, efficient teacher of the Word of God. It's hard work. Even though it's a gift, it does not preclude the need for study. Now, generally speaking, as we talk about the gift of teaching, generally speaking, scripture encourages believers in Christ to teach one another. We see this in Paul's statement to the believers at Rome in Romans 15, verse 14, and here's the idea that teaching is not confined to the pulpit. Teaching the word of God is not confined to a formal worship setting. Because here's what Paul says to the church of Rome. He says, I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. By the way, notice in that verse that teachers of the word of God are expected to be people of spiritual character. It is not all about the knowledge. It's not all about how knowledgeable they are. Notice what he says. You are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. Listen to his instruction to the Colossian believers in Colossians 3.16, suggesting that teaching is not confined to a formal setting. He says in Colossians 3.16 to the church, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom. What that suggests is that the activity of teaching is clearly not confined, as we said, to an appointed, to a formal setting, nor to the appointed elders of the church. Of course, the fact that Paul stipulates that believers are to be engaged in this activity of teaching in all wisdom suggests what? A level of spiritual maturity. If one is not in the word of God, if one is not exemplifying the word of God, then one is actually disqualified from attempting to teach until that is rectified. Also in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 12, the writer of Hebrews, Mark Hill, takes it for granted, he takes it for granted, that from the time his readers were converted, it was high time that they ought to have gotten to the place of being teachers rather than being dependent on someone to teach them again the whole principles, the beginning principles of the doctrine of Christ. And the point we're making this morning is this, that whereas all believers are encouraged to teach and instruct one another, it does not necessarily follow that all believers have the gift of teaching. This leads to the question, what is this gift of teaching? What is the gift of teaching? And I put it like this. The gift of teaching may be defined as the spirit-empowered ability. That's what makes it a gift. It is a spirit-empowered ability to communicate in a clear, understandable, compelling, and effective way the word of God and its application to daily living. It is a spirit-empowered ability to communicate in a clear, understanding, compelling, and effective way the word of God and its application to daily living. Another question for us to answer is this, is the gift of teaching just for men? Is the gift of teaching confined to men? Can women have the gift of teaching? Well, here's the answer. Scripture does not say they can't. What scripture clearly says is that a woman is not permitted to teach or exercise authority over a man Rather, she is to remain quiet. First, look at chapter two, verse 12, and notice that was not simply a cultural issue. Why? Because Paul premises his prohibition on the creation mandate. He says, for the man was first formed, and then the woman, and it was not the man who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived. Paul establishes there God's order for men to take the lead in the public teaching of the Word of God, such as we have this morning. It's not because men are better than. In fact, truth be told, there are some women who would have better communication skills than even this preacher. Note also 1 Corinthians 14, 34, 35, the women should keep silent in churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the law says, if there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. The context that's in view here in these verses is that of congregational instruction in the word. Paul is saying that that is reserved for men. According to Titus chapter 2 verses 3 to 5, women have a teaching role in the church. Women may teach other women. Paul instructs in Titus 2, 3 to 5 that older women are, here's what he says, to teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands and the assumption is there what is the material they're going to use to teach those kind of things but the word of God. No pause instruction does not prohibit in a wholesale fashion Women teaching, nor does this instruction necessarily preclude women from having the gift of teaching. In fact, truth is, no, they are very good, very good and able female teachers of the word of God. But they are not to be teaching and preaching in public corporate worship where men are gathered. Question then is, how can one know, how can you know, how can I know if I have the gift of teaching? And here are some suggestions. Do you have a knack for thoroughly, diligently, and systematically studying the scriptures? What's my scriptural base? 2 Timothy 2.15. Do your best. The King James Version says study, but the Greek word really has to do with the exertion of oneself. It carries the idea of straining. It was a word that was used in the Olympics. Do your best to present yourselves to God, a workman who needs not be ashamed, right to dividing the word of truth. Do you have that disposition? of you like to be diligent. You like to dig. You're not satisfied with daily bread. And I'm not denigrating daily bread. Wonderful piece of literature. But if one is going to be a serious student of the word of God, it cannot be some little devotional. It has to be solid stuff. Get your Bible dictionary, your doctrinal books. And you find that people who have that knack, right, So that's one. Here's a question. Do you have a passionate desire to know, to communicate, and apply the word of God? If you're not the kind of person who is given to arduous, diligent study of the word of God, then you need to question whether you have the gift of teaching. Every person, every gifted teacher, has these qualities. Let's illustrate from scripture, Acts 18, 24, 25. suggests that those who have the gift of teaching are like Apollos. Here's what the word of God says concerning Apollos. He was competent in the scriptures, having been instructed in the way of the Lord. And as a result, what happened? He accurately taught the things concerning Jesus. Like Ezra described, they are skilled in the word of God. They set their heart to study it, to do it, and to teach it, Ezra 7, 6, and 10. Like Apollos, they greatly helped the church, Acts chapter 18 and verse 27. And so in seeking to determine whether you have the gift, then the question is, looking at Apollos, looking at Ezra, we need to ask ourselves the question, are these things true of us in some measure? What are others saying when you Take a passage of scripture or you're sharing your ideas concerning the Word of God. What do people say to you? Are they blessed? Are they challenged by your handing of the scriptures? Are people generally tuned in to your teaching or do they tune out as soon as you begin teaching? Someone says, if you claim to have the gift of teaching and yet no one has the gift of listening to you, then it may well be that you don't have the gift. And let me say here, if you think you have the gift of teaching, the church should be able to recognize it. Any gift for that matter that one comes forward with, any suggestion of a gift, and the church does not recognize it, chances are One does not have the gift. The question this morning as we close is, how can I discover my spiritual gift? How can I get to the place where I discover my spiritual gift? And here are some suggestions. What is your spiritual gift? If you're not sure, here are some practical suggestions. Number one, pray to God for guidance. Pray to God for guidance in this matter. Ask the Lord to help you. Go back to Romans chapter 12, verse 3. Ask the Lord to help you to properly evaluate what? Yourself. Paul says, I say to you, not to every man, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. And he's saying that in the context of his discussion of gifts. In other words, We must so assess ourselves by God's help that we do not overestimate ourselves and our abilities. That's the idea. And that's where we need to begin. Ask the Lord to help you to properly evaluate yourself in relation to the various spiritual gifts. Then secondly, to identify your spiritual gifts, and this is practical, ask yourself, what do I enjoy doing? What do I enjoy doing? Or what would I like to do? That sounds unspiritual. But let me say, it is actually scriptural. It's actually scriptural. How do we know that? 1 Corinthians 14, verse 1, Paul says, desire spiritual gifts. So spiritual gifts can be desired. We can ask God to give us a gift. That's a suggestion. Seek earnestly spiritual gifts, he says. So it's legitimate to desire spiritual gifts. And in this regard, ask yourself what task comes relatively easy or natural to do. Bearing in mind, of course, that that is relative because spiritual gifts, spiritual gifts also have to be developed. And spiritual gifts do not preclude the need for training. OK? Spiritual gifts do not preclude the need for improvement. So just because a person is not sharp At the beginning stages, with respect to a particular gift, whatever that gift is does not necessarily mean that that person. We can actually grow into it. And then thirdly, here's a third indication. Are others blessed by what you say, speaking gifts, or do supportive gifts? At the point where you bless and impact others in very special ways, whether you say something from the word of God or you do something in terms of service, Then there you could well find your spiritual gift. Fourthly, follow the instruction of Romans 12, 1 and 2. And what is that? Present your bodies, a living sacrifice. Present yourselves to God. Consecrate yourselves to God. And be transformed by the renewing of your mind, as a result of which you should be able, or you would be well on your way to being able to discern the will of God. And then fifthly, and with this we close, if you're still not sure as to what your gift or gifts are, then the thing to do is what? Yes, you can keep on praying, but get into some area of service for the Lord. Start somewhere, and as you serve in this area and that area, then chances are you're gonna what, find your fit? You're going to find what you're at home with. We always want to be busy serving God, so we're not in suspense, waiting on our particular gift. Put your hand to some task, some opportunity that arises, and therein may be your gift. At the end of the day, why are we saved? We are saved to serve. Every believer in Christ is to be involved in some way or another in building up the body of Christ, whether through speaking or through some supportive gift. We ought to be doing everything for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. May God grant that these things might be so, for His name's sake, amen.