Exercising our gifts

Like physical health, spiritual health consist of eating the right foods, as well as not putting things in your body that are harmful. Another crucial aspect of good health is regular exercise. In fact the more obese our society becomes the more health professionals stress the necessity and benefits of consistent exercise.

God has made your body in such a way that it must exercise in order to obtain and remain fit and healthy. A person who simply eats and eats without ever exercising is one who will eventually grow more obese, unfit and unhealthy.
The same is true of one's spiritual health. We need proper nourishment, regular fellowship with God's people and our Lord, consistent Christ-centered worship, kingdom focused prayer and a way to put all that into practice on a regular basis.
The apostles exercised the gifts God gave them by finding those in need and serving them. (see Acts 2:43.) The church followed their lead and example not by doing the miraculous per se, but by using what God gave them to serve their churches and communities. (see Acts 6:1-6 and Acts 9:36-39). One of the most important lessons learned from Acts 6 is how the use of gifts was necessary to further the work and witness of the church. Acts 6:7 reads 'And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.'
You should know that the biblical use of your gifts is vital to the ongoing witness, mission and work of your local church. If the first deacons had decided to sit back, refuse to serve and just criticize and complain about what wasn't happening then the church would have been torn by division resulting in the effective silencing of the word of God (that is the message of the gospel). I wonder how many communities aren't hearing the glorious liberating message of the cross of Christ because we refuse to serve faithfully and humbly in our local churches?
In the first part of Romans 12 the apostle Paul gives sound, biblical direction concerning the right attitude toward and use of our spiritual gifts. The following lesson is based on Romans 12:1-8.

Exercising spiritual gifts starts with a proper consideration of God's mercy. vss. 1-3
His mercy refers to the compassion and pity He showed us in not condemning us for our sin.
God's mercy moves us to use our gifts to serve out of gratitude which prevents us from using gifts as a way of trying to gain more favor with Him. His mercy also propels us into a lifetime of personal holiness. This prevents us from believing that use of gifts is in and of itself a measure for spiritual maturity. Using gifts without regard to personal holiness will lead to arrogance, pride and hypocrisy. Serving from God’s mercy also prevents us from being deceived into thinking that the Lord must be pleased with us because of how He uses our gifts.
We mustn't be deluded into thinking that the use of gifts means that we're more valuable, more important or more necessary than anyone else in our fellowship. Remember your value does not lay in the gift you have to serve the church. You are valued and favored because of the mercy God has shown in Christ.

Exercising gifts must be done in connection with the local church. Remember the church is the vehicle through which God manifests His wisdom, witness, worship, authority and power in our Lord Jesus. It was always God's will and intention to have local expressions of His one church in which believers existed in mutually beneficial and accountable relationships. Vss. 4-5.
This is the model described in Acts 2:42-47 and followed by the largely Gentile church in Antioch. (Acts 11:25-26) It's especially important to remember that apostolic, biblical teaching always came with authority and accountability. It is God's will and way for you not only to receive regular biblical teaching, but to receive it in an authoritative church setting in which you can be held accountable for that teaching.
This was the model Paul and Barnabas applied during the missionary efforts. Acts 14:23 (ESV)
And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Unless there is an especially unusual circumstance, every believer in the ancient church belonged and was accountable to a local church. Paul and Barnabas were accountable to the leaders at the Antioch church. They were not free agents doing ministry their own way with no accountability. God called them not to separate from the wider church, but to be an extension of the church's work, mission and witness. Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off, Acts 13:3. This was a gesture of conveying God's authority as exercised through His leaders. This same practice was done to Joshua under the authority of Moses recorded in Numbers 27:18-23. (you find the same practice in Acts 6:6 referring to the ordination of the first deacons)
It's not surprising then that Paul and Barnabas reported back to the church that had sent them once they completed their initial mission trip, Acts 14:26-27.

The metaphor of the body refers to the interconnectedness and interdependence of believers. Just as God designed our physical bodies with a variety of parts that must work together so He's intentionally designed the body of Christ to function effectively as various gifts work together. There is a wide variety of gifts, abilities and functions within Christ's body. There is something of value that you have to contribute to your local fellowship. Without that contribution the fellowship will be lacking in some way. God has arranged the Body just the way He wants it, we should therefore be content with the gifts He’s given us as well as our place in the church, see 1 Cor. 12:11 and Hebrews 2:4. We are to use gifts to serve each other for the good of the entire body, 1 Cor. 12:7.

We are to cultivate our gifts by following Biblical patterns of service. Vss. 6-8.
Become apart of a local fellowship in which you are submitting to the leadership of that church. This may mean that you have to leave a sinfully dysfunctional church.
Find opportunities to serve in your church by helping where needed. E.g. Acts 6. Acts 6:1-6 (ESV)
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

Notice that there was a daily distribution and it is likely that those selected to be deacons already participated in serving that distribution. Those selected were already apart of the church. (vs. 3 pick out from among you) They were men growing in holiness and displaying the characteristics of sound spiritual health.
Use your gifts according to the imperatives taught in Scripture. For example, if prophecy is your gift (i.e. you’ve been gifted to speak God’s message with clarity; to proclaim God’s Word; to preach; to make the truth known.) you must preach that which is in agreement with the faith.

So that we don’t get caught up in identifying ourselves by the use of gifts the Scriptures emphasized that we are to be known by the love we have for each other.

Make sure your life is characterized by love, not the use of your gifts, 1Cor. 13.
This is the unconditional love displayed by Jesus Christ. This kind of love is an act of one’s will in which we seek the highest and best good of those we love. This love isn’t to be faked, but genuine and real. We aren’t called to act like we love each other, but to really and truly love one another. Our example for this kind of love is Jesus Christ.
                 Questions For Reflection

Have you fallen into the trap of thinking that God will love or approve you more once you begin using your spiritual gifts?

How does reflecting on God's mercy in Christ motivate you to adopt and pursue a lifestyle of holiness for a lifetime?

Are you a member of a local church? If not what is keeping you from doing so at this time? Have you endured a bad church experience and need to pursue the process of healing, forgiveness and restoration?
Do you see and conduct yourself as a vital and important member of your church or do you feel like you're on the outside looking in? If so have you spoken with your pastor about this?

When you see a problem in your church are you more likely to sit back and be critical about it or do you find ways to seek a solution?

Do you know what your gift is and if so are you using it to build up the fellowship to which God has called you? If not are you open to approach your pastor and speaking with him about discerning your gift?

Do those of your fellowship view you as someone growing and developing in holiness such that if your church needed to select ministry leaders you'd be one of those who came to mind?

In what ways are you seeking to love those in your fellowship in the way our Lord Jesus Christ loves you?

To Him Who Loves Us…
Pastor Lance