In the months of September, October, and November
of 1951, an evangelist and his team came
to my hometown, and I'll never forget the
opening service nor the ones that followed.
When the first meeting got underway, the temporary
tabernacle that had been built specifically for this
great crusade was filled to capacity.
Now, it was designed to seat about 18
,000 people, but over 20,000 had crowded
in and another 20,000 were standing around
just outside.
When the song leader began to lead the
great 1,000-voice choir and then turned
to lead the additional 40,000 folks in
the audience to sing the great songs of
the faith, believe me, it was a wonderful
sight to see and even more wonderful to
hear.
During the weeks of this great campaign, I
observed each member of the evangelistic team and
came to the conclusion that each one was
an individual that had been highly trained in
his area of service.
Each seemed to have a specific spiritual gift,
and a spiritual gift was being used to
its fullest capacity in just the right place
so as to make this great campaign function
properly.
And I also noticed that each one of
these gifted men were supremely happy as he
went about his task.
The reason I tell you all this is
because I want to make a very important
point.
I remember saying to myself over and over
again as the campaign progressed, wouldn't it be
wonderful if every Christian in the whole wide
world could have some active part in such
a campaign as this?
I said to myself, wouldn't it be wonderful
if every Christian had some spiritual gift given
to him from God?
Wouldn't it be wonderful if every Christian could
discover his spiritual gift and then get into
the right channel where he could exercise it
to its greatest quality and quantity?
Well, my friend, it gives me great pleasure
to be able to announce to you at
this time that God has given at least
one spiritual gift to every single Christian.
And the Bible teaches that it is the
individual responsibility of each and every Christian to
discover his gift and then refine it and
exercise it to its greatest quantity and quality.
We're going to find also that this great
truth is the real key to living the
happy, successful Christian life.
In other words, if we don't know what
our spiritual gifts are, we can't possibly be
exercising them to their fullest extent.
And if we're not exercising them, there is
bound to be a certain area of our
lives where unhappiness, discontentment, unrest and lack of
vision prevails.
A Christian who has not yet discovered his
own personal spiritual gift usually doesn't know what
God wants him to do.
He doesn't know where God wants him to
be.
He has very little vision, even though he
is sincere in his life.
Consequently, because he doesn't know what he should
be doing and where he should be doing
it, he often feels unimportant, insecure, and very
often, to say the least, feels critical towards
others who are actively serving God in a
dedicated manner.
Once again, let me say that the Bible
teaches that every Christian should know precisely what
his spiritual gift is and should be constantly
refining his gift by using it.
Maybe at this point you're saying to yourself,
all of this sounds good, but show me
in the Bible where you get these facts
and then I'll be convinced.
Then I'll get excited.
Then I'll begin looking for my spiritual gift
and then when I find it, I'll start
using it to its fullest capacity.
Well, my friend, if this is the case,
prepare yourself for some wonderful news.
It may be that what we have to
say could change the entire course of your
life.
At this point, let me suggest that you
go ahead and listen to the rest of
this side of the record before searching the
Scriptures for yourself, but as soon as it
is over, by all means, read the following
portions of Scripture before listening to this side
of the record again.
Here are the verses that you should look
up and read.
Matthew chapter 25, verses 14 through 30, Romans
chapter 12, verses 3 through 8, 1 Corinthians
chapter 7 and verse 7, chapters 12, chapter
13, and verses 1, 12, and 37 through
40 of chapter 14.
Ephesians chapter 4, verses 7 through 16, 1
Timothy chapter 4 and verse 14, 2 Timothy
chapter 1 and verse 6, Hebrews chapter 2
and verse 4, and 1 Peter chapter 4,
verses 10 and 11.
Now, before we get into the mechanics of
our subject, there is one other thing that
should be said.
It is not our purpose to make an
exhaustive study of the subject of spiritual gifts,
the main purpose for our conversation is to
determine the biblical key to discovering these gifts.
But in order to do so, we must
first look at the subject from an overall
view.
When you examine the verses that we have
given to you, I think you will make
a few observations that shall be obvious and
without controversy, and here are some of them.
Number one, all of the spiritual gifts, talents,
enablements, or whatever you are accustomed to calling
them, are from God.
They are delivered to members of God's church
by way of the Holy Spirit.
You will find this truth elaborated upon primarily
in all of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, but
for now let us read only verses 4,
5, and 6 of the chapter.
Now, there are diversities of gifts, but the
same Spirit, and there are differences of administrations,
but the same Lord, and there are diversities
of operations, but it is the same God
which worketh all in all.
The second thing that we should point out
is this.
Every Christian has received at least one spiritual
gift from God.
Now, there are many clear, unmistakable truths in
the Bible, and this is one of them.
Listen to what the Bible says in 1
Corinthians chapter 7, verse 7.
Every man hath his proper gift of God,
one after this manner, and another after that.
1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given
to every man to profit withal.
1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 11.
A third observation you'll make is this.
Each Christian has a spiritual gift that is
exclusively his.
You'll find that a large section of 1
Corinthians chapter 12 is devoted to this point,
but at this time we only refer you
to Romans chapter 12, where it says, having
then gifts differing according to the grace that
is given to us.
Did you know that you possess at least
one spiritual gift that no one else in
all the world possesses?
Did you know that if you do not
exercise your spiritual gift properly, the whole church,
which consists of every genuine born-again believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ, suffers?
That's right.
The whole church suffers if you do not
exercise your spiritual gift properly.
By the way, you do not have to
be some type of public figure to exercise
most of the spiritual gifts found in the
Bible.
As a matter of fact, those who possess
unseen gifts are more honored, it seems, than
those who stand in the spotlight.
You'll find this truth in 1 Corinthians chapter
12, verses 22 through 24.
And if you take the human body for
an illustration like the Bible does, you'll agree
that there are more unseen parts of Christ's
mystical body than parts that are seen.
There are more unattractive members than attractive ones,
but one spiritual gift is no more important
than the other.
Before we make our fourth observation, let me
say this.
We cannot scripturally limit the gifts to only
those 12 or so found in 1 Corinthians
chapter 12, because, you see, the word helps
in verse 28 refers to literally thousands of
different things.
Romans chapter 12, verses 6 through 8, lists
all sorts of other gifts not found in
1 Corinthians chapter 12.
Frankly, according to Romans 12, 6, where it
tells us in so many words that each
has a gift differing from all other gifts,
I'm of the opinion that if there are
at this present time 10 million Christians on
the face of the earth, there are 10
million different spiritual gifts that should be in
operation.
Now, the fourth observation is the most important
one of all, so before we consider it,
let us quickly review all that we have
learned thus far.
We have learned that the universal Church is
described as one human body in 1 Corinthians
chapter 12.
We have learned that each individual believer is
one, but only one, member of this body,
Romans chapter 12 and verse 5.
As members, we have an assignment from God,
Romans 12, 4.
Our assignment is exclusively ours, Romans 12, 6.
No one else can do our job, and
we cannot do anyone else's job.
We have learned that God has given each
member of His Church an exclusive spiritual gift
through which he may accomplish his exclusive assignment.
We have learned also that the spiritual gifts
possessed are just the gifts that are needed
to make the great body of Christ function
properly.
Without your spiritual gift, dear friend, the function
of the Church would not be at its
best.
Now, all of this may be hard to
believe, but it's every bit true.
We come now to the most important observation
of all, observation number four, and incidentally, this
is the real reason why this side of
the record was made, so listen carefully.
Permit me to introduce this point by asking
this question once again.
What is the biblical key to discovering your
spiritual gift?
Well, I think that the answer is the
most clearly stated in Romans chapter 12 and
verse 3, and for the sake of clarity,
I want to read that verse in three
different translations of the Bible.
First of all, I wish to read it
in the beloved King James Version.
Quote, For I say through the grace given
unto me, to every man that is among
you, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think, but to think
soberly, according as God hath dealt to every
man the measure of faith.
End of quote.
Now, let's listen to the J.B. Phillips
translation of the same verse.
Quote, I
think that you should hear the amplified New
Testament on this verse also.
Quote, For by the grace, unmerited favor of
God given to me, I warn everyone among
you not to estimate or think of himself
more highly than he ought, not to have
an exaggerated opinion of his own importance, but
to rate his ability with sober judgment, each
according to the degree of faith apportioned by
God to him.
End of quote.
Dear friend, I think that we should take
a long look at this verse.
First, you'll notice that we're told not to
think that we're better or more capable than
we really are, and isn't that human nature
in a nutshell?
But you'll notice that we are told to
think, and we're told to think soberly.
We're told to make a sane estimate.
We're told to rate our ability with sober
judgment.
In other words, take a conservative inventory of
our capabilities.
Now, again, I can just hear someone saying,
how do you do that?
So, with your permission, let us use an
illustration.
If you were a member of the armed
forces and the commanding officer wanted you to
fight the enemy tanks, he'd send you to
wherever the tanks were, and he'd also equip
you with something to fight the tanks with,
wouldn't he?
If he wanted you to fight enemy submarines,
he'd likely relocate you to wherever the subs
were and equip you with something more suitable
for fighting subs.
Now, the whole point is this.
Whatever God wants you to do, he has
equipped you to do.
For instance, God gave the little bird wings
long before he learned to fly.
He gave the little fish fins long before
he learned to swim.
Dear friend, if you'll read the scriptures carefully
on this subject, I think you'll agree that
the teaching of the Bible is this.
Whatever you're basically capable of doing at this
moment, that is exactly what God wants you
to do now.
If you do not have the necessary spiritual
gifts to accomplish some particular work, don't worry
about it, because God never intended you to
be active in that work at the present.
As far as the future is concerned, we'll
come to that.
But for now, let us think of the
present.
Well, you may say, how can we apply
this to our personal lives in a practical
way?
And in answer to that, let me make
a suggestion.
If you will take a piece of paper
and draw a line down the middle, and
then on the left-hand side of the
line, write down all the things that you
cannot do, and on the right-hand side
of the line, write down all the things
that you can do, you'll begin to see,
first, what God does not want you to
do, and second, what God wants you to
do.
Now, the negative side of this inventory is
just as important as the positive side, because
it should immediately give you a release from
many of the uncertainties you may have been
harboring in your mind.
For instance, I know a certain Christian who
has for years been mourning over the fact
that he wasn't a preacher.
On the other hand, he has a wonderful
singing voice, and can sing very nicely, but
doesn't want to be a singer for the
Lord.
Now, I believe that if this person would
simply follow the directions of the Word of
God, he'd soon realize that the Church needs
his singing more than it does his preaching,
that is, in an official capacity.
But let's get back to ourselves.
If you have not settled this problem in
your own personal life, listen to this side
of the record so many times that you're
familiar with its entire contents, and then get
yourself a pencil and some paper, and begin
your own inventory of your personal spiritual gifts.
Maybe the negative side of your list shall
read something like this.
I cannot at the present play any musical
instrument, therefore I cannot and should not at
this time want to be a great organist,
pianist, or instrumentalist of any kind.
I cannot carry a tune at the present,
so I know that I cannot and should
not want to be a great singer or
soloist at this time.
On and on your list, both positive and
negative sides shall go, but in due time
you'll come to an end, and when you
do, you'll be making great headway on the
road to success.
At this point, let me say that this
list doesn't come easy.
You must be absolutely truthful with yourself.
You must spend much time in prayer and
soul-searching before the Lord, before you write
down a thing, and as you write down
each word.
The completion of this list may require an
undue amount of patience.
Actually, if you're a young Christian and unfamiliar
with much of the Bible, it may take
many, many months or maybe years before this
list is complete, but in most cases you
should be able to get started using your
spiritual gifts in just a matter of days.
But the time shall eventually come when your
list shall be complete, and after you have
satisfied yourself that all the major areas have
been covered, then it's time to crystallize your
thinking a little more.
So here's what to do.
Number one, forget the negative side of the
list.
These things aren't really important to you at
the present.
Number two, take all the things listed on
the positive side and rearrange them in the
order of your capabilities.
For instance, you may be able to give
out gospel tracts or pray better than you
could preach behind a pulpit at the present.
So be realistic and put down what you
can do best first.
Eventually, you shall develop a list of things
that you can do, and the one you
can do best shall be first.
Incidentally, the thing that you can do best
should also be the thing that you enjoy
doing most.
Now you're really getting somewhere.
Once you have discovered your most obvious spiritual
gift, then crystallize your thinking upon it until
you see a work that only you can
do, because you haven't fully discovered your gift
until you see the exclusiveness of it.
After you have developed this list to maturity
and then rearranged the positive side of the
list so as to show your most capable
gift listed first and your second most capable
gift listed second and so on, it's time
to go to a few faithful Christian friends
one at a time and share your findings
with them.
The Bible says in Proverbs 11, 14, in
the multitude of consulars there is safety.
It would be wise to go to those
who are elders or pastors in your church
group.
Play this record for them and explain that
you're trying to locate your best spiritual gift
so you can be as effective as possible
for your Lord.
If these friends of yours are faithful, matured
ministers of God, they'll understand your problem and
they'll help you because it is their God
-given responsibility to do so.
I might also add here that the Bible
says in Proverbs 27, 6, faithful are the
wounds of a friend and you should be
prepared to be corrected if necessary.
However, if you've been absolutely true with yourself
and with this person you have approached, I
think you'll find that your friend shall agree
with you.
If all your friends give you the same
advice and directions, then you can pretty well
rest assured that you're on the right track.
If there is some difference of opinion, then
continue going to various matured friends and seeking
their help until your mind is cleared of
all doubt about what your spiritual gift is.
Now you know beyond all doubt what you
can and should be doing and this knowledge
has been confirmed by a variety of reliable
sources.
The next step is to get busy exercising
your spiritual gift for you see, whatever God
has equipped you to do, this is exactly
what he wants you to do and he
wants you to get started immediately.
There are many verses in the Bible that
could be turned to that would tell us
how to get started but I think that
it's all summed up in Revelation 3, 7
where the Bible says, quote, He that openeth
and no man shutteth and shutteth and no
man openeth, end of quote.
The reference is to our Lord Jesus Christ
and the opening and shutting refers to the
opportunity he gives his servants to serve him.
Because you have a gift that is exclusively
yours, no one else in all the world
can do your job.
So this means that the use of your
spiritual gift can never be made void by
someone else's gift regardless of what you may
think or feel.
If you'll just look hard enough and study
your circumstances thoroughly enough, you'll find a way
in which you can use your gift right
where you are.
Maybe you'll have to begin in an insignificant,
unnoticed way but remember, you're out to please
the Lord, not the people so seek his
approval first.
It won't be long, however, before the Lord
will commend your use of your spiritual gift
if you're using it humbly and to the
best of your ability and if you're sticking
to it.
Many a Christian has given up too soon
and consequently lost his opportunity to be of
real service and help to the great body
of Christ, the Church.
Here's something else for your encouragement.
2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 18 says
For not he that commendeth himself is approved
but whom the Lord commendeth.
Now you'll notice that it says the people
will approve you if God commends you.
For you see, the word approved refers to
the attitude of the people.
When God commends your work, he also sees
to it that the right people shall be
aware of it.
For instance, you may go down to a
skid row mission and through the proper use
of your spiritual gift lead a soul to
the Lord Jesus Christ.
If this were to take place, God shall
see to it that eventually others shall know
about your accomplishment.
You do not have to go back to
your local church blowing your own horn.
God will take care of your success so
leave it with him.
Don't try to figure out how God will
do it.
That's his job, so leave it there.
Many a young Christian has made shipwreck of
his life because he had the disease known
as inflammation of the wishbone.
So don't be hasty.
Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 16 says He
that believeth shall not make haste.
Don't try to force yourself to greater heights.
Let God do it.
If you're serving him, he's responsible for your
success and your promotion.
For Psalm 75 verses 6 and 7 says
Promotion cometh neither from the east nor from
the west nor from the south but God
is the judge.
He put us down one and set us
up another.
Remember now, your responsibility is only to keep
your heart clean before the Lord.
1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse 7 says
Man looketh on the outward appearance but the
Lord looketh on the heart.
Incidentally, if you're keeping your heart right with
the Lord you'll put your heart into your
work.
I think of 2 Chronicles chapter 31 and
verse 21 that says He did it with
all his heart and prospered.
What the Lord enables you to do do
it with all your heart and the Lord
shall prosper you, I'm sure.
Now, before we consider some of the dangerous
misunderstandings of exercising your spiritual gifts let us
think together about the future.
You'll notice that in Matthew chapter 25 verses
14 through 30 where the Lord is commending
his servants for the profitable use of their
talents the servant with the two talents earns
the same commendation as the servant with the
five because he was equally faithful, though he
possessed less.
Now, I'm aware that the talents here are
money according to verse 27 but the application
is the same as though they were spiritual
gifts.
The whole point is this if you will
take all the spiritual gifts you possess and
put them to work for God He will
increase the number of your gifts.
For you see, spiritual gifts are obtained at
three times in life.
First, through natural birth although not spiritually ignited
until after conversion.
Number two, through conversion itself when the Holy
Spirit comes into your life to live for
he it is who really brings the gifts
in the first place and thirdly, when you
earnestly exercise the gifts you have for the
Lord shall faithfully reward you with more spiritual
abilities or gifts when you use what is
presently within your ability.
So don't be concerned about the future work
with what you've got where you are and
leave the future with the Lord.
If your gifts are of such a nature
that they could be used on a national
or international level God will see to it
that they shall be used to their fullest
capacity by first blessing them as they're presently
used and secondly, causing others to recognize that
you are talented in this manner and thirdly,
open the doors for greater areas of service.
Your only obligation is to be faithful to
his direction.
This is the sure way in which one
can know that he is serving God in
the right manner.
Now before our conversation comes to a close
let us consider two things that often shipwreck
some as they seek to serve the Lord.
Number one, do not settle for less than
a full knowledge of your spiritual gifts and
do not ever slow down the use of
your gifts except only as the Lord may
lead.
In 2 John, we find that we may
lose our reward of faithfulness if we begin
and then quit.
Number two, good is often the worst enemy
of best.
Don't get so involved doing what you can
do nominally that you never have time to
develop your main gift but never turn down
the opportunity to serve.
The task of staying in the middle of
the road here is difficult.
Folks shall often misunderstand you but nevertheless, keep
your hand to the plow.
So child of God, now you know the
problem.
Now you know the answer to the problem
and now you know how to apply the
answer to the problem.
The rest is up to you.
If this is the first time you've heard
this recording and if you are one who
cannot announce to the world what your spiritual
gift is let me suggest that you play
this recording over and over again and search
the scripture verses given until there is no
trace of doubt about your spiritual gift and
then get into that channel of service where
you can exercise your gift in the greatest
quality and quantity.
Let us conclude our conversation by referring to
Matthew chapter 25 and verse 21 where we
learn that the basis of true joy in
the Christian life is being a faithful servant
of the Lord with the talent he has
given you.
Shall we pray?
Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the
gift of your Son for the securing of
our salvation.
We thank you for the gift of the
Bible which tells us of this great redemption.
We thank you for the gift of the
Holy Spirit which enables us to understand this
message of the Bible and to live the
victorious Christian life.
And we thank you for the gifts that
you've given each Christian.
We would at this time rededicate ourselves as
weak and faltering as we may be to
you and ask you to help us to
serve you in the best possible quality and
quantity.
This we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.