The Supercharger Gifts
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The remaining spiritual gifts are gifts that enhance normal human abilities, such as administration, serving and helping. These are all activities we are familiar with and there is no need for me to define them. I am classifying them together as the “supercharger gifts”.
If you are not familiar with a supercharger, it is an enhancement to a normal stock engine that makes it more powerful. This is a good analogy to help you understand what the Holy Spirit is doing with these seemingly “normal” gifts.
I have chosen two of these gifts as examples. The first, the gift of distinguishing spirits, and second is the gift of craftsmanship. After looking at these examples, I am going to conclude this sermon with an exhortation to serve God with the strength He provides. This final truth is based upon 1 Peter 4:10-11, which reads:
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied 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. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
May God now add his blessing to this the reading of His holy and infallible Word.
We begin with...
The Example of the Gift of Distinguishing Spirits
The Example of the Gift of Distinguishing Spirits
Perhaps the activity of “distinguishing spirits” seems specialized—a task only pastors do. Pastors should of course be doing this work; especially in light of the calling, they have received from God to protect the flock of God. However, the Apostle John’s first letter not a letter that is addressed only to pastors, such as Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus, it is a general letter addressed to whole congregations. This letter is to you and John says:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
There are spiritual forces behind all the activity of this world. Behind all that is good is the Holy Spirit and behind all that is evil are demonic spirits. The month of November is a month that is being set aside for prayer for the persecuted church. On the surface we see human opposition to the Gospel, but behind every evil institution, movement, idea and teaching are spiritual forces. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminds us that we “struggle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12)
The spirit of the antichrist is at work both inside and outside the church and every Christians is called to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God”.
John gives us two tests to use:
Do they rightly confess who Jesus is?
Do they believe and obey the apostolic message?
In other words, we are to test everything by the Word of God. Scripture is a gift of God given to the church by the Holy Spirit as he “carried along” the Apostles and Prophets (2 Pet 1:20). Paul urges the young pastor Timothy to devote himself to the Word of God because it is “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, in order that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17)
Do you want to have clarity in a world that is filled with conflicting truth claims, then saturate your hearts and minds with the Word of God. In this post-modern world in which people claim certainty is impossible, you can have certainty. This ability to “test the spirits” is open to all believers.
However, sometimes the spirit behind a person is difficult to discern. The most dangerous and effective lies are those that camouflage themselves in the truth. In Acts 16, we have an interesting story of a girl who was following Paul and his companions crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”
On the surface, this girl was proclaiming the truth, but behind her words was an evil spirit. Paul was given insight to distinguish this spirit and he cast the demon of divination out of her. Many see this as an example of the spiritual gift of distinguishing spirits spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:10.
The interesting thing about this story is it is an example of the ordinary and extraordinary gifts of discernment working together. On the ordinary level, Paul knew from Scripture that divination comes from evil spirits. However, it also appears the Holy Spirit supernaturally enhanced Paul’s discernment as well.
There is one more example I want to give you before I conclude with application.
The Example of the Gift of Craftsmanship
The Example of the Gift of Craftsmanship
The gift of craftsmanship is not found in any New Testament list, but it is found in the Old Testament.
The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.
Clearly, Bezalel was a gifted craftsman before God filled him with the Holy Spirit. Our natural gifts and talents are gifts from God. I hope you recognize this. We are who we are by God’s providence. I hope this fills you with thanksgiving for the people around you. Everyone around you is a gift of God!
However, God can and does supernaturally enhance our natural gifts, in order that we may serve Him at a higher level.
As the story of God’s redemptive plan unfolds, it becomes clear that the Tabernacle and Temple point to a higher reality. They point first to Christ and then to His church. Therefore, it became critically important that the men and women who built and furnished the Tabernacle and Temple did their work perfectly. For example, the women who spun the thread and weaved the cloth that made the garments and tapestries had to do their job flawlessly. Not a fiber could be out of place!
This humanly impossible task was accomplished by the filling of the Holy Spirit!
I like this example, because it reminds us that normally mundane tasks, take on a greater significance when done for God. All of us bring different gifts and talents as we come into the church, with these gifts and talents we can serve God, but as we serve Him, we must not serve Him by our natural strength alone, but by the strength He provides.
Serve God by the Strength He Provides
Serve God by the Strength He Provides
When it comes to the topic of Spiritual gifts, our Scripture text today is one of the most neglected. This is unfortunate, because Peter has some very important things to say. To make sure you hear them, let me read the passage again:
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied 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. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Notice how God centered our service should be. We serve with God in mind.
The first example Peter gives is of someone speaking, just as I am doing right now. Consider how I could be speaking to you right now.
I could be speaking to you in a way that advances some human agenda.
I could also be speaking to you in a way that feeds my human pride.
Finally, I could be speaking to you as one who speaks the “oracles of God”. This means I have to use all the skills I have gained in bible study, but it also means I have to rely upon the supernatural power of God.
How are you going to serve God?
People mistakenly believe that the most important question concerning spiritual gifts is, “What is my spiritual gift?”
The most important question is this, “Whose strength will I rely upon as I serve God, my own or God’s?”
You see, as you serve God by relying upon the Holy Spirit, you will be “gifted” by the Holy Spirit with spiritual gifts.
In that story I spoke of earlier from Acts 16, Paul as he was serving God by the strength that God supplies, was given the gifts of Apostle, teacher, evangelist, discernment and miracles all at the same time! Once again, we come to those all-important verses:
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
and
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Where there is a need, the Spirit moves!
The only question, each of us must ask ourselves is this, “Will I be in the place of that need?”
You will never receive a spiritual gift if you are not endeavoring to serve God by the strength He provides. You can gaze at your belly button all day long. You can take “spiritual gift inventory tests” until you wear your pencil to a stub, but you will never receive a spiritual gift until you are actively serving God!
Finally, don’t be afraid to serve. If you judge yourself as lacking, you are looked at yourself rather than God. The Lord will provide!