Our scripture is also printed inside just opposite the hymn, Ephesians chapter 4 verses 7 through 13. This is God's holy word. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. Now this expression, he ascended, what does it mean except that he also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens so that he might fill all things. And he gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Thus far, God's holy, inspired, and infallible word. It will please the Lord to take his word and transform it in our lives into service for himself. Thanks be to God. Let's pray again. Father, we thank you for all that you are doing right now in our lives and pray that you'll continue to do so and even increase what you are seeking to accomplish in us. We thank you for the gifts that you give to us. Help us to use them in the power of the Holy Spirit as we should. And Lord, may we see the results of what we have done and be glad. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Well, Paul wants to encourage the Ephesians to be active Christians. And this means to become builders of the kingdom of God. Although we must always wait on the Lord and not run ahead of Him, once we are aware that He has given gifts of service to us, we should want to use those gifts, not just to admire them. People always ask, well, what are my gifts? Or what is my gift? Usually it's pretty obvious, but sometimes we have to do a bit of self-examination. I want us today to think about spiritual gifts. So our points this morning are these. We have first the gifts that He has given, then the origin of the gifts, Third, the use of the gifts. Fourth, the arena of the gifts. And finally, the outcome of the exercise of gifts. Now, you'll notice a phrase here in the passage, right in the first verse that we read, verse seven, where it talks about the measure of Christ's gift. And what Paul means there is that God has given us gifts that are suitable for the way He made us. In other words, He's measured them out to fit us just right. During my growing up years, I had several bicycles. Some of them were well-fitted and some of them were not. Sometimes I could hardly reach the pedals. Sometimes my knees were bumping against my chin because I was too close to the pedals. It wasn't quite fitted just right. It wasn't measured out to me, but I'm thankful to say that a lot of times I did have one that measured up just right. To each one, grace, we read, was given according to the dimensions of Christ the measurements that he has laid out for each one of us. We can be thankful that the Lord does measure us. Now sometimes when it talks about the way that the Lord measures us, it has to do with whether we're living godly lives or not so godly lives. But in this case, he's talking about how these gifts are fitted for each one of us. So why do I have a gift? Maybe you don't have that gift. Well, there's a gift that was suitable for me, that was measured out for me, but not for you, but then you have gifts that don't fit my situation particularly. So, to each one, grace was given according to the dimension Christ has measured out. We can be thankful that the Lord is perfect in the way that he measures those gifts out to us. We should not be then angry with the Lord. Why wasn't I given a beautiful singing voice? Or why wasn't I able to work 18 hours a day instead of eight hours a day? There's different gifts that have been given unto people. Now, there were in the days of the apostles what we call extraordinary gifts. And the purpose of those extraordinary gifts were to meet what was lacking in terms of the scripture at that point. The whole Bible hadn't fully been written. When the Bible was completed, when we had the last book of the Bible, then the Lord said, all right, the extraordinary gifts are not quite necessary now. But then there are those gifts that are, and I hate to use the word ordinary, but they're the gifts that a Christian can find everywhere all around him and even in himself or herself as the case may be. Now let me just touch on these so-called extraordinary gifts so you'll know what I'm talking about. There's one called wisdom, another called knowledge, another called faith, Those are kind of obscure to us, but let us just say that they're given so that people can understand the will of God better than they could without the completion of the Bible. They don't need those anymore. There's also healing, for example. I know there are people on television people that put up tents and say, come to this healing meeting. And I've certainly had parishioners who came up to me and said, well, I went to so-and-so and I had arthritis or I had some other problem and I was healed. And there's no point in arguing with people about that. Let us just say that if you need healing, all you need to do is go to the Lord and ask Him to heal you, and if you do need it, then you'll be healed. But we don't have the gifts of healing anymore, or miracles of different kinds. There is one called prophecy, and I'll come back to that in a moment. But there's the gift of tongues, speaking in tongues, and there's the gift of interpreting tongues. I just want to give you some idea of what I'm talking about when I say they're extraordinary gifts. And also to just let you know that that's not something we should be pursuing. God has basically finished with those gifts, but he has given us other gifts that are just as important and gifts that work well with the finished Bible and the working of the Holy Spirit through the Bible. So, here are some of the gifts that are intended for every era. Prophecy. Now, wait, wait, you said prophecy before, okay? I want to come back to that one again. But there's service, the gift of service. Some people are really good at certain kinds of Christian service. There's teaching, exhortation, liberality. That means you make a lot of money and you're able to give and support the work of the Lord. There's mercy, fervency, Joy. Leadership. Perseverance. That means you keep on. You don't give up. There's prayer, of course. And hospitality. Some people are blessed. I'm thankful for those who are blessed with the gift of hospitality. It's helped me many times. Okay, so I've laid out for you the gifts that have gone away and the gifts that remain with us, and I don't claim that I've touched on every one, but basically I've pulled these from Romans and from 1 Corinthians, and there are lists there, and you can take a look at them sometime, but I think both the twelfth chapters of each book, these gifts are set out. Now about prophecy. Prophecy appears in both of these lists. How come? Well, the first gift of prophecy that's mentioned in those extraordinary gifts is what we call revelatory. That is, God reveals things that are now in the Bible, but in those days they weren't there. And so that kind of prophecy, that's ended with all the extraordinary gifts. But then there's another kind of prophecy, which is what we would say is interpretive. And that is that some people can open the scriptures and explain them in a wonderful way. And that's a gift that hasn't gone away. And we need to be thankful for anyone who can open the scriptures and tell us, well, this is what this means. This is how it's applied. So you have two kinds of prophecy, and that's why it's mentioned twice. One is revelatory, new things that God reveals. But they're all in the Bible now. And then there's the interpretive prophetic gift, which means that a man can stand in the pulpit or even a neighbor can go to a neighbor. He's got that gift and he can explain the scriptures. Because we do have the Holy Spirit now, in full measure, and we have the complete Bible, then these are the only gifts that we need. Those that we say are intended for every era of history right up until the Lord comes back again. So these are the gifts then that God has given. And when Paul here says, to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. It simply means that given the right situation, the right time in the history, God has provided the gifts that are needed at that time. Let's talk then for a moment about the origin of gifts. Where do these gifts come from? Sometimes we say these are gifts of the Holy Spirit, and that's accurate too, but they're also gifts of Christ. They're gifts of a loving father. They're gifts of the triune God. When I lived in Egypt, it was kind of a joke. there that tourists who came would go into these shops that sold souvenirs, you know, and they would get pyramids and sphinxes and things to take home. The only thing is that when you turned it over and looked at the bottom, it said made in Japan. So they weren't really from Egypt. But the origin of gifts is important. These gifts especially, the gifts that God has given to us so that we can serve him and serve one another effectively. These gifts are from heaven above. So it would be interesting, wouldn't it, if you could find a label on some gift that said, made in heaven. You know, you've heard this thing, this is a marriage made in heaven. Sometimes it seems true and sometimes not. But these gifts here are gifts that are from heaven above. And I just quote from James 1.17. I mentioned it in prayer a while ago. Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. These gifts come from heaven, from the Father. They're gifts the Father has put into his plan for the church. Now, it's true to a certain extent that as individuals, and of course we talked about things being measured out for us and so forth, it's true that our gifts, they bless us personally, they bless others, but primarily they are gifts for the church, to be used in the church, and if the church has an outreach, to be used in that way too. But they're gifts that the Father has put in His plan for the church. Specifically, Christ Himself creates, distributes, and assigns these gifts. So yes, they are gifts of the Holy Spirit. They're gifts of the Father. But they are gifts that really relate to Christ Himself and to serving Him and His plan and purpose as the Savior of the world. And we're allowed to be a part of that. And Christ works through His church, you see, the great majority of the time. So specifically, let me say again, Christ creates distributes and assigns these gifts. If you have a gift from the Lord, then I think the first place you ought to go is to your Savior, the Lord Jesus, and say, thank you, Lord, for gifting me in the way that you have. Now, though they originate in heaven, they don't operate in heaven, they operate here on earth. They're operative in and through the church. And they are superintended, and this is where we get the idea of gifts of the Holy Spirit. They're superintended by the Holy Spirit. And we can call them the gifts of the Spirit. Yes, of course they are. But they're gifts that have been put into His purview, as it were, to see that they're used in the right way, to see that they're used when they're needed, where they're needed, and how they're needed, All the gifts that originate from heaven as gifts of the Father and the Spirit and Christ Himself, they are intended to be used to accomplish God's plan and purpose. So, He has given gifts unto men. They come from heaven, from the triune God. And now then, what is the use of these gifts? Well, I've listed five here. validation, explanation, entrance, power, and assurance. And let me tell you what I mean by them. Validation. Spiritual gifts validate both the message and the messenger. If you have a spiritual gift, And I think this is especially to be seen in those days before we had the whole Bible. But someone gets up and preaches Christ crucified, calls men to salvation. How do they know it's true? Well, this was backed up by spiritual gifts. But that still can happen today as well. When a preacher is especially gifted in putting forth the word, then you can say, thank the Lord that he validated what was said. He validated what was put forth in the Scriptures by this ability and power of the message and the messenger. So that's validation. The use of these gifts is to validate the message that God wants you to know. A lot of people come along with a lot of messages, but there's only one validation. Then there's explanation. Spiritual gifts are used by the Holy Spirit to make the Word understandable. And again, this is a personal gift in many respects, the ability of someone to explain things to you and so forth. But it is a gift to make the Word understandable. The Word doesn't do us any good if we don't understand it. I've got some Arabic Bibles at home that I brought back from Egypt or were given to me. I couldn't tell you a thing hardly that they say. Well, didn't you learn Arabic? Well, I learned some Arabic, but I didn't learn enough to be able to tell you exactly what's there in the Arabic Bible. It has to be explained to me if I want to know what does this verse say and so forth. There are gifts that help us to understand. And this is their use, to be explanatory. And why is it important to go to church? Why come to a meeting like this? because we need to understand more. And God has given gifts to people to help us understand what the Scripture means, what it says. And then there's a use that I call the entrance. Entrance where? Well, entrance where the way is blocked, as it were. Spiritual gifts help open the way when we face obstacles or opposition. How am I going to get through to somebody who's absolutely unable to understand what I'm saying? Well, the spiritual gift is Spirit working through you. to open the mind and heart of that person to understand the Scriptures. Before, it was just like water off a duck's back. It didn't make sense. I never will forget a man in the church over in Maywood. I was just a boy. But his testimony was, I sat in that with my wife because she wanted me to come to church with her. I sat in that service week after week. It didn't mean a thing to me. And then suddenly, my eyes were opened. Suddenly, it all made sense. Of course, it's the work of the Spirit. He doesn't need any help. But the way He works is through the pastor. Somehow that pastor, that preacher, set it out clearly, set it in such a way that it was understandable, and the way was open. The obstacles were removed. And then in another situation, here's a missionary or a minister in some situation. He wants to reach a certain people, but they won't listen to their laws against it. He can't get through. In fact, the Lord will open the way. He'll give some people a gift. Whereas maybe one person just can't get through another person, he may have the right words, he may have the right personality, but it's all the working of the Lord and the way is opened. So, there's validation, there's explanation, there's entrance, and then there's power. Spiritual gifts play a role in moving people to believe and to commit to the Lord. Power. Now, the power is in the Word, yes. The power is in the Spirit, of course. But He works through people. He works through people so that when they put forth the Word, the Spirit just rides along it and changes the whole attitude and mind of the person. It's powerful to that extent. And then assurance. Spiritual gifts help us to overcome doubts and to be at peace with the will of God. Wonderful thing, assurance. Wonderful thing to know that you're saved. Wonderful thing to know the Lord is coming back. Wonderful thing to know that your sins are all forgiven. It's assurance. And it's the use of the gift of the work of God in you. maybe through a person, maybe through a book, some way by which you're made to understand your salvation. So this is just, again, the way the gifts are used, to validate, to explain, to open the way, to be powerful, to give assurance. And then I want to talk about the arena of the gifts. We should be very familiar with arenas around here. We just had a new football stadium opened up over there in Englewood somewhere and then they built a new basketball arena over there and we have other arena that was there in Staples Center, it used to be called, it's something else now. But they have all of these arenas around here, the Rose Bowl and this and that, the other thing, but the spirit needs arenas in which to work and to apply these gifts. There's the arena of the heart. The Holy Spirit does wonderful things in the hearts of men and women. Wonderful things. You can't see it. There's no crowd flowing to it, as it were, but you have a heart in which the Lord works. That's an arena for the use of these gifts. There's the family. God made family the core unit of all societies. He expects us to bless our homes by the exercise of these spiritual gifts. That's another arena. You have the heart, but you have the family. Bringing your wife, your husband, your extended family, your children, bring them to know the Lord. That's an area where the Lord works. And there's the assembly, the church, the local church. The local church really thrives only when we exercise our gifts among the brethren. Some people say, well, you need the right preacher. And I hope the Lord does give you the right preacher or give people in their churches the right preachers. But we need to realize that the church is not just a building over there. The church is all the people of God, and the Spirit is working between all these people. It's the same Spirit in every believer, but He's working in the church. And that's when the church is going to thrive, when the Spirit is working in all those who are part. of that assembly. And then there are the authorities, and I'm talking about the government now. Jesus said that we would be equipped, among other things, but we would be equipped to deal with the authorities. And sometimes we have to stand up to them. I was proud of John MacArthur back in the days of COVID. He said, we're not going to stop worshiping here. We're not going to turn people away. We're going to keep preaching the word. Now, how was he able to do that? Was he just a courageous man? Well, he certainly did have courage, and I think that was a blessing, a gift from the Lord. But it was the gift of God to all the people who came anyway and who worshiped and who stood up for the Lord. Conversions were able to take place even among the authorities and in the world. The world, of course, is where Jesus told us to go. Go into all the world. But it's also a command to go and use the gifts of the Spirit, the gifts of the Father, the gifts of the Son, to use them as He's given them to us. Where? In our hearts, in our families, in the church, before the authorities, and in the whole wide world. The arena, I should say, of the gifts. of the Holy Spirit. Then one last point this morning, and that is the outcome of the exercise of the gifts. You know, if someone gives you a fine pen as a gift, maybe you'll get one this Christmas, I don't know, but what can you expect? You should expect that it will write beautifully, smoothly, putting the ink down in just the right amount, providing for that beautiful handwriting to come forth. That was the purpose of the pen. If it leaks, and if you can't get the ink onto the paper, and it's a flub-a-dub of a pen, you just want to take it and throw it in the trash can. But these gifts of the Spirit have an expectation, a certain outcome. Of course, first there's the glory of God. If we're really using God's gifts, He will be glorified. You may be trying to use some other gifts. You may want to substitute this and that, but if you're using the gifts that God has given, then God will be glorified. And then there's the maturity of the saints. That would be one outcome apart from evangelism. And we'll get to that in a minute. The gifts are meant to cause us to grow spiritually. What's the outcome? Are these people growing in the Lord? Or are they just vegetating and maybe even going backwards? Mature saints. They're the outcome of the exercise of the gifts. Now, evangelism. Conversions. When the Spirit of God is working through people by the gifts that He has given, people are reached, people who are lost, people who have no hope, they're reached with the Gospel, and we're seeing them converted to Christ. Maybe it'll just be a small number. Maybe it'll be a great huge number, a multitude. But the point is that the outcome of the exercise of the gifts of the Spirit, the gifts of Christ, the gifts of the Father, This is conversion. New life. New people in the kingdom. And there's kingdom growth. You see, it goes right with it. Kingdom growth. When the gifts are working all together, they produce a wonderful product, namely a glorious kingdom. Kingdom grows. Then finally, there's judgment. You say, well, I wasn't expecting that gift. Well, the sad outcome of gifts that are rebuffed, and it happens all the time, the sad outcome is judgment and wrath. If you perceive the gifts, if these gifts touch you, and you say, go jump in the lake, I'm not interested, then there only remains an outcome of judgment and sorrow for those who have turned themselves away from what God has brought to them. So I say again, it's a wonderful thing to have these gifts of the Lord. And I've listed a number of them for you that are operative today. They come down from heaven. They validate, explain, open the way, a powerful assurance. They work in the heart, the family, the assembly, before the governments, before the whole world. And they have a great result unless you don't believe, unless you don't give your heart to the Lord. May his gifts to you today result, if you're a Christian, in growth and the glory of God, and if you're not a Christian, may he bring you to himself so that you will say, I don't have the gift of judgment, I have the gift of everlasting life. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for all your gifts. Help us to discover more and more what they are in us, how they're measured and fitted to us. Help us to use them enthusiastically. Help us, Lord, to see that there are many arenas in which they can be used. And Lord, we pray that above all else, you would be glorified in Jesus' name. Amen.