Amen. And it is Romans 12 that we turn once again. Romans chapter 12, and we're gonna deal with verses six through eight today, but I wanna read verses three through eight. Romans chapter 12. It's almost like it's night when I look out there. So bright in here. It looks much darker because of the shading and everything out there that we have. So, gotta get used to this. Gotta get used to making eye contact in a new place. It's almost like visiting another church, except I feel very much at home. Romans chapter 12, verse three. For I say through the grace given to me, to everyone who's among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. As we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. And we've already dealt with those, but we continue to deal with that concept. Here, as we come to gifts. Having then gifts, differing according to the grace that's given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. Or ministry, let us use it in our ministry. He who teaches, in teaching. He who exhorts, in exhortation. He who gives, with liberality. He who leads, with diligence. He who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. And then there's, I believe, 21 exhortations that are given in the verses to follow. We won't read them today, but they do continue and are part of the entire context. By the way, I would ask you to pray for Matt Wiersma today. The Wiersmas are not with us because Matt is preaching at Providence Reformed Baptist Church. And I know he'd appreciate your prayers, even as he preaches the word right now, as we're worshiping here. There's seven gifts that are listed there, and we'll go over them one by one. We won't spend a great deal of time on any of them. We'll probably spend the most time on prophecy for reasons that I hope will become obvious here. But there's seven gifts. They're often called motivational gifts. And if you're a Christian, guess what? You have a gift. And you say, well, are you going to tell me what my gift is? No, I'm not, sorry. And you may not know what your gift is, maybe you do, but we're gonna talk about how you can find out, or at least you can kind of get an idea of what God has gifted you with in these broad, overarching categories that we have here. They're given by God, they're given as he wills, and they're given for the good of the body. Now, I will say, even the lost, can have some measure, because they're made in the image of God, of some of these factors that we're talking about today. These are not necessarily miraculous as such. But they're always perverted, always used in the wrong way, unless they're being used to the glory of God. So the best gifts, these gifts, are for believers, and they help the body of Christ, and they help us with each other to the glory of God. Now, I would just say this, last week we saw 1 Peter 4, verses 1 through 10 through 11, and we had two categories of gifts given. There was speaking gifts and service gifts. We find two more gifts given in 1 Corinthians 7, verse 7. You can turn there if you want to, you don't need to. 1 Corinthians 7, 7 says, Paul writes, For I wish that all men were even as I myself, but each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and one in that manner. And the word there, but each one has his own gift from God, is the word charisma. And that's where, that just means gift. And we find that in other forms even today being used, charismatic and such like that, which would mean gifted ones. Charisma, very common word, means gift. And there are two gifts that really apply to every single person in this room here. as you fall into one of these two gifted categories today. There's the gift of marriage, and there's the gift of singleness. The gift of marriage, the gift of singleness. That's what it says. If you read the context in 1 Corinthians 7, which I'm not bothering to take us all the way there. I don't want to make a sermon on that. But there is the gift of marriage and the gift of singleness. And on Mother's Day, it seemed to me appropriate to bring that up as part of the message. What a blessing to have a godly mother. What a privilege to be raised at the foot of a woman who wants nothing more than for her children to know the very God she knows. What a responsibility to train a child. And the child has a responsibility to listen and to obey. This is God's plan for the family, and marriage is a blessing, and it's even a gift from God. But what about singleness? Okay. What about singleness? Well, if that's God's calling for you, and if that's God's purpose for you, then you can serve God, and you can serve him in a great way by being single. These things get perverted because people live together as though they were married, but they're not, and they're still single. That doesn't work. And we should look around society and see how that doesn't work. Both marriage and singleness are gifts from God. And it almost all has to do, well, I should say it all has to do with the providence of God in our lives and the circumstances that he's been pleased to put us into. And what I mean by that, you know, Some of you are single, but you used to be married. Maybe there was a divorce, or maybe your spouse died. And that happens. That's part of what life is about, you know? And if your spouse has died, you're free to remarry, as the Bible says, but only in the Lord. And so, It depends on what particular situation we happen to be in in the providence of God for these two gifts that we have. Now, with that being said, I move on. What about extraordinary gifts? Extraordinary gifts or miraculous gifts? And the question is often asked, can God do miracles today? And if you frame it like that, can God do miracles today? Obviously the answer is yes, of course he can. And of course he does. Why would we pray for healings if he doesn't heal? Why would we pray for God to work in people's hearts supernaturally and show them Christ as the only savior of sinners? Why would we do that if he doesn't do that? Of course he does that. But as we see, miraculous gifts as given in the scripture, it's really important for us to realize that the bulk of the extraordinary gifts were given to attest to the truth of the gospel message and given primarily to the Jewish people who did not believe so they would understand their Old Testament scriptures and they'd understand that Christ Jesus is Lord and come to Him by faith. And of course there would then be the Gentiles too. The Gentiles course pagans and all sorts of things going on the gospel goes out to them and they too come to the Savior and we have one body a church made up of Jew and Gentile alike where it doesn't even matter if you Jew or Gentile in the bottom line of things because they're all the people of God. We get criticized sometimes saying, well, you believe in the church taking the place of Israel. And we get criticized for that. And it's really not a fair criticism. because we don't believe the church took the place of Israel. We believe God brought Jew and Gentile together into a new Israel where he works and he does his thing. And so we may have great empathy for the people there in the land of Israel or in our own country, Jewish people like that, but they need the Savior as much as anyone else needs the Savior. So to call them God's special people, Christians are God's special people. Now, saying all that, and without really dealing with what we would call miraculous gifts, God does do things, and he may do things for individuals that are what we call experiences. Every experience that we have should line up with scripture. But God will do things at times, maybe for some, not all, but sometimes, what we'd call experiences. And maybe it's a deep spiritual experience. He ministered to us in some unusual way. And there's a danger here when that happens. There's a real danger. Because you say, how could there be a danger in God working in my heart and life, you know? There's danger because we're sinners, danger because we're selfish, to danger because we can become proud. Natural sin still resides within us, talking Christian friend. And if we have an extraordinary experience and great feelings that surround us, maybe we're in prayer and then we just feel lifted up to heaven almost. And then you go to prayer and you don't feel lifted up to heaven. And then you go to prayer and you don't feel lifted up to heaven. You go to prayer and you don't feel lifted up to heaven. You say, but I did, and now I don't. You know what the natural tendency is to do? Figure out some way to get that back. Figure out some way that you can get that feeling back that was such an unusual thing. The temptation's to make it happen again. and sometimes even to emotionally try to reduplicate what God sovereignly gave by his grace. And if you do that, you're accepting a man-made counterfeit for the real thing. This is up to God. It's up to God to move our hearts in unusual ways. And if you don't believe that and you try your best, you're exchanging emotionalism for true spirituality. So how do we judge our experiences? We judge our experiences by staying within the safe confines of the Word of God. Don't ever stray from the Word of God. And remember, if God gives you some feeling of experience, it could be a one-time thing. that you'll never have again. And we need to remember that. That's important. I'll give you an illustration, maybe an application. Illustration application, here we go. There was a preacher named John Brown. Now that's not unusual at all, because there have been a lot of preachers named John Brown in England, Scotland, and such over the years. And maybe the most famous one is John Brown of Haddington, But that's not the John Brown I'm talking about. I'm talking about a lesser known one. An ordinary preacher doing a good work, but it was a very ordinary work. He didn't have outstanding skills. He wasn't an orator that people flocked to hear. He was a plotter, if you will. Faithful to the word and an expositor of the word, but he was not memorable in style. He wasn't a Spurgeon, so to speak. Okay, there aren't many Spurgeons, that's the truth. But he was faithful. But in God's providence, God broke into his ministry and broke into that town and for a two year period of time, God was doing tremendous things. People were being saved. Christians were serious about the things of God. Prayer meetings were breaking out. His words came with an unusual power, even though he wasn't speaking any differently than he had been. But God was using it in a powerful way. He didn't do anything differently. He didn't change his techniques. He didn't change his style. I suspect if we heard his sermons on tape, we might not be able to tell if it was during that two-year period or a different period. Wouldn't, I don't know. It's the way the Lord was using it. And then as suddenly as it began, it ended. And John Brown continued to preach for another 15 years in a very ordinary way, with very ordinary results. Things had gone back to the way that they were. But you know what? Here's what makes John Brown a great man worth talking about. He was still faithful. He was still a good preacher. He was still expositing the word. He was still doing everything that he had done before. The results weren't the same. But aren't the results God's prerogative? Aren't the results what He ordains and what He decides? And people, again, fall into the horrible trap of trying to relive experiences that God has given. And many people add substitutes for the true work of God. And there's just all these emotional techniques that are even used in churches to try to give you an emotional experience. And it can work. I mean, Hollywood does it in movies, too, right? Maybe you're not like me, but they can make me cry. They can make me cry. But it's not spiritual, and it didn't change my life. There is no substitute. We need to be content to live in the ordinary, seeking to be faithful. And if God breaks in in an unusual way, then to him be the glory, but we shouldn't be trying to live our lives in the extraordinary. Now, as we get to the text, And I'm gonna go over the seven gifts pretty quickly to tell you the truth. But as we do that, I've been reading a lot of older commentators in regard to the issue of spiritual gifts. And they address them much different than the newer commentators that I've read too. And I actually think the older guys were correct in their views. And for a good overview of what the older guys had to say, I would recommend to you, I think it's probably still in print, I have an older edition of it, but Haldane's excellent commentary. And he quotes so many of the older guys. And he wrote it in 1874, and it's been printed many times since. So if you want a good commentary on the book of Romans, I would really commend you Haldane's commentary. It's still standing the test of time. Okay, now the seven gifts that we're talking about found in verses six through eight. They're prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, ruling, and mercy. That's why you don't have an outline today because, what would I put on the outline? I put prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, ruling, and mercy. Ruling or leading. So let's go over each of them. Prophecy, first of all. Prophecy is literally telling forth the word of God. John Murray makes a compelling case that what is referred to here is the office of prophet as an organ of God's revelation in the early church. Ephesians 2.20. and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. And in those New Testament days, prophet was a vital ministry. Apostles and prophets, men that spoke forth the word of God. There was no completed New Testament. They helped the early church have pure doctrine until the scriptures would be completed. That first generation of Christianity is so important. And of course, that first generation of Christianity before 70 AD becomes vital for Jew and Gentile alike. And the warning is given here. Having then gifts differing according to grace that's given to us, use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. Not to go above and beyond. The analogia of faith, the analogy of faith, it's a mathematical term. It's the correct portion or the proper relationship. Don't try to go over and beyond. Don't try to be impressive. Say what God says. Now in this day, we have a completed canon of scripture. We don't have apostles. We don't have prophets in the same exact way, but we have an apostolic word, and we have prophets that study the apostolic word, prayerfully study it, and desire for you to know God's word, and bring to you God's word. Well, one thing that is a trap, the circles that some of you have been in, where people tell you that they're a prophet. And they're gonna tell you what you ought to do. And sometimes what they're telling you you ought to do is something you ought to do, because they're really quoting the Bible. But when someone comes to you, and says, this is what you ought to do, and this is what I see God telling me about you and what you need to do. You know what you ought to think about that? You think, well, I heard what you said, but I could have went down to the LA County Fair where there's a palm reader that would tell me what I ought to do. My friends, if God wants you to do something, I'm gonna be blunt about this. God's not gonna miraculously tell someone else what God wants me to do. I'm gonna follow his word and do what he tells me to do. And I think that's important because people go astray that way. They rely on prophecies that really aren't prophecy at all. The word of God. The apostolic word, it's perfect, it's correct. Yeah, it does take study, but you can understand it, and you can understand it deeper, and you can understand it deeper, and you can understand it deeper, and you can keep on going, and you will not live long enough to understand it all, even in eternity. That's how deep it is. There's a book that was written by Puritan, his name escapes me, but it's called The Art of Prophesying. Interesting book, great book actually. It's written to preachers, how to preach. Well, we don't believe in ongoing revelation. We believe that the word of God is sufficient. and the value of preaching isn't in opinions. True preaching says what God says. Okay, ministry. Ministry is basically a Greek word that you're familiar with, dekonia, talking about deacons, you know, and it isn't exclusively to deacons. We saw a lot of this taking place. Deaconia taking place this week. As people worked hard and did so much to get us ready to meet in here today. And it goes on on a regular basis. So it does apply to deacons, of course it does. But it also applies to Christians as we serve the Lord. It can apply to really anyone that serves, in whatever capacity they serve. And just like the first exhortation was to prophets, but can apply to preachers, this exhortation is to deacons, but can apply to all of us who serve. The exhortation is to do your job with diligence. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with might. Do your very best. You know, the first deacons waited on tables. It's not very glorious, but it was important. The widows needed to be provided for. And most jobs in the church are not glorious of themselves. All of us really should seek what God would have us to do here. And all of us should be willing to do whatever God would have us to do. And there are so many things to be done. So many things that can be done. Do them. And it just thrills my heart when I see somebody take a job up and then do it. And there are jobs that I know that get done that I don't know who did them because they just got done. Or sometimes I find somebody doing that job and I can only thank them. for serving the Lord in that quiet way. That isn't gonna get any applause. No one's gonna be patting them on the back, telling them how great they are. If we wanna be patted on the back and be told how great we are, there's something wrong with us, to tell you the truth. That should never be our motivation. The next gift is teaching. So be a servant, is what I'm trying to say. And some have that role especially because that's where they're pointed towards and directed towards by the Spirit of God. Teaching. Ongoing need for teachers. Those who can bring God's truth to men and women and children and make it understandable. Really, as a pastor and a preacher, one of the most important things to me is to be understood. You know, really, I'm not gonna do any good to preach to elephants. Spurgeon said, we'll put the cookies on the bottom shelf, okay, so that they can be understood. And that's really vital, we need to understand. You know, we need to be understood. Make sure that my preaching and the preaching that we have here at Sovereign Grace can be understood. And I don't consider it an insult when somebody says, well, that was really simple. Well, good, good. Then hopefully everybody got it, you know? And of course, it's the word, it's the spirit of God that's gonna apply it to hearts and such like that. We don't wanna be muddled, hard to understand, strange, esoteric, you know, that's not what we want. But you know, it's good to go into depth. It's good to go into depth and take the time to explain it. Pastor Ken does a great job with that, and he's doing it at the 10 o'clock hour. I hope that you'll come. You know, and hear what his studies have brought forth. And, you know, bring them out in a way that you can understand it. Okay. That's what we want to do. Okay. Well, I want to be understood by even the children in our building. They're not going to understand everything that we say. No, they're not. You know. But they'll pick up here, they'll pick up there. A little here, a little there. That's the way the Bible says to it. So even our children can learn and grow. And I pray, come to see the Lord Jesus Christ as, like I say over and over, the only savior of sinners. And you can actually do your part to help in the teaching. in your own particular household. You can talk about the sermons at home. You can talk about the teachings at home. You can rehearse them around your dinner table, improve upon the things we've studied. It'll do your soul good, and it'll be good for your family. How about exhortation? That's the next one. Exhortation. Exhortation, I believe, is very, very important. And may the Lord give us good exhorters. This is teaching that's directed to the heart, teaching that's directed to the understanding. It's even not teaching. It may even be common speech to one another. We're to exhort one another daily while it's today. Exhortation takes place in preaching. Exhortation takes place in our conversations with one another. Exhortation takes place or should take place on a daily basis. And again, I have to warn us. Because every gift has its own warning that comes with it. If we think about how it can be abused. This is not the gift of unsolicited advice. That's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about being an encourager. We're talking about being one that tries to lift each other up. This world is a difficult world to live in. Because of sin. It's a difficult world to live in. You know, and we find opponents all of the time. We saw it in our Pilgrim's Progress class the other day. We saw Christian and faithful as they seek to encourage one another along the way. I heard about a man one time, I knew who this fellow was, he was in a different church. But he actually claimed that he had the gift of rebuke. Now, if I knew somebody that thought they had the gift of rebuke, I would probably, yeah, they're over here, I'd go over there. There is no gift of rebuke, okay? But there is a gift of encouragement. There's a gift of building up. There's the gift, we could even call it a comforter, a comforter. which is a far idea from rebuke. Sometimes we need a good rebuke. Yeah, we do. We all do. We do. But there should be at least two or more encouraging words for every word of rebuke. There should be. Well, how can you be an encourager or a comforter? It's easier than it used to be. You can pick up the phone and call. You can send a card, and that's cheap and easy, but it's encouraging. You can send an email. You can send a text. There's so many ways if we'll just do it. And then the gift of giving. Giving is given next, but literally the one who shares with simplicity. Not drawing attention to ourselves. We have an offering box. You notice we don't take an offering here. And there's nothing wrong with taking an offering. That's fine. And many churches do. But we don't. We decided many years ago that we wouldn't do that. And we have a box in the back room there. Go into what's called the book room there. There's a box. You can give your gifts there. And we don't want to draw attention to ourselves. We don't want to make ourselves out to be some great one by giving. Thomas Watson, one of my favorite Puritans, said this. It's kind of a long quote, but I'll try to break it up here so we get it well. Thomas Watson, written in the 17th century, said this. A hypocrite has a squint eye. squint eye. He's usually pretty understandable. That's not real understandable. Well, listen to the rest of it and you'll understand. The hypocrite has a squint eye, for he looks more to his own glory than to God's. Our Savior deciphers such and gives a caveat against them in Matthew 6.2. Now he quotes this scripture. When thou givest alms, do not sound a trumpet. A stranger would ask, what is the meaning of this trumpet? And the answer would be, they're going to give alms to the poor. Thomas Watson continues, and so they did not give alms, but sold them for honor and applause that they might have the glory of men. Verily, they have their reward, end quote, from Thomas Watson. And he was right then and still right today Give to God with joy and singleness of heart. It's a gift to be able to give. And thank God while you're on the job. You're earning money you can use to the service of God. You're serving Him. This remodeled building is an example of people regularly giving to the work of the Lord and then digging just a little bit deeper. And then the Lord did something else that really made it possible for us to be in here. It is worth mentioning, and I'm not sure we've mentioned, we probably have mentioned it, I don't really know. But there was a widow lady who left a goodly sum of money in her will that made it possible that we could do this, made it possible. Well, She was a giver during her life, and she was a giver in her death. It's an amazing thing, but that's what she did. And we've reaped the benefits of it by God's grace. And I know from talking with her that God put that on her heart to do. The gift of giving doesn't mean that you're wealthy, and it doesn't mean that you give large sums. It means you willingly give, and you don't give grudgingly. You give to God's work, you give to meet needs, talked about with each other, and you give to be a blessing to others. That's the gift of giving. That's a wonderful gift. And if you're not giving, or if you're giving grudgingly, I'm not surprised that you're not receiving joy from this gift. It's a pleasure and a privilege to give. It's not the amount that's given, it's the sacrifice and it's the end too. How about the gift of ruling or the gift of leading? Probably should read these gifts again just to remember. Verse seven, ministry, let's use it in our ministering. He who teaches in teaching, he who exhorts in exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence. Leading or ruling or we could even say administration. or organization. That's to do with the work of oversight, making sure things are done decently and in order. God gave pastors to the church because sheep need a shepherd. It's true. And not all elders are gifted preachers. But they must be apt to teach, not necessarily involved in preaching every Sunday or such like that. Elders must care for the sheep, must care for them, and rule them without being rulers over God's heritage. Not like the lost. What is Christian leadership? Christian leadership is being a servant. The Lord Jesus Christ modeled that when he washed the disciples' feet. Amazing thing. Being a servant. Satan's always walking about like a roaring lion, seeking to be devoured. He's also watching over the sheep so they don't get devoured. And then showing mercy, the gift of mercy. I don't know about those tests that you can take in Christian circles. I imagine they're online. I imagine they're on the internet now. Used to be you had to do them when I was in college, Bible college. We had those tests. We took them to find out what our spiritual motivational gift was. And mine turned out to be showing mercy. I don't know if that's right or not. But I do know it's right to show mercy. That much I do know. And what is the exhortation to those that show mercy? He who shows mercy with cheerfulness. Because sometimes the work is difficult or disagreeable that you have to do. Sometimes it's hard to show mercy. Calvin said this, nothing gives more solace to the sick or to anyone otherwise distressed than to see men cheerful and prompt in assisting them. So to observe sadness in the countenance of those by whom assistance is given makes them feel themselves to be despised. You help them, but you also let them know what a terrible inconvenience it was to help you. Who wants to be helped by someone that's letting them know that you're a murderer? No, be kind, show mercy, do it with cheerfulness, do it with an eye towards the glory of God. We're to love the unlovable because we're to think how unlovable we are to God, but he loves us. Visiting the sick, helping the elderly, giving a listening ear to a lonely person. These are ways that we can show mercy. You might say, well, I don't see myself gifted in any of these ways. But I assure you from the Bible that you have a gift. Because the Bible says that. Having gifts, so we in many are one body in Christ, individually members of one another. Having gifts differing according to grace that's given to us, let us use them. And then he mentions the seven broad categories. If you're a child of God, You are useful. You have things you can do for God and for the cause of Christ. So how do I know what I should do? The best advice I can give, and it is advice, is look for opportunities, get involved in the lives of others, seek to help out. Don't consider any job too small or beneath you. Be proactive. Come up with ideas, even. Go to the elders, if it's a spiritual nature. Go to your deacons, if it's a material matter, and get involved. Well, that's how things get done. Remember this, as you walk through the property today. Remember this. Everything that got done was done by somebody. Okay? Truth is, everything that got done was done by somebody. And everything doesn't have to be a title or some official ministry to be a Christian. Give that phone call to the person you're thinking about, someone that really could use a lift up, and pray for each other. Pray for each other often and doors will open for you. Don't be so concerned with yourself as what you can do for others. Brother Pat actually read that from Romans 13 today. Most of what you do as a Christian will be unspectacular, never receive any accolades, applause of men. Why would we care? It's God that we serve, it's God that we love. You have abilities, you have talents, use them for God. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Oh, Lord, we look to you today, asking you for practical help. We know in the Book of Romans, we've been through chapters 1 through 8, and we've seen the doctrinal basis laid for all these things that we're going to talk about now as we come to the end of the Book of Romans. And then we saw chapters 9 through 11, and we see the absolute sovereignty of our great God. And Father, how you work in such tremendous ways. And you give us examples of how you have worked and examples, Father, that we can still use today to see how you can work. And then, Lord, we've seen your plan of Israel through the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. We see that expanded out to the entire world through the work of the apostles. And we see Israel's place. and we see the church's place, and we see how you're working in the world today. Now, Lord, we come to practical applications of these things in the next 12, 13, 14, and 15 chapters, and then some kindly benedictions as we get to chapter 16. Book of Romans is an amazing book, Father. We thank you for your wisdom in giving us an inspired word that we can turn to with confidence. Oh, some things are a little harder to understand than others. Certainly, that's true. Some things are a little more difficult than others. Certainly, that's true. But Father, some things are out in the open, they're plain as can be, and then we can dig deeper, and dig deeper, and dig deeper, or as Pastor Ken mentioned at the 10 o'clock hour, to peel that onion layer by layer. Help us to be onion peelers, Father, to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we give you thanks. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.