The Gifts that Keep Giving | Gifts of the Spirit

You're listening to A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God.

Visit our website and learn more about Harvest Partners at harvest.org. It would be better if they were full of the Spirit. They may be gifted, but they are arrogant. And if you want to see God work in your life, you cannot be an arrogant person.

You need to see yourself as you really are. Whether you're a woodworker, a steelworker, or in another form of construction, you know that the tougher the job, the more the need for power tools. Hard to build a skyscraper with just a tape measure and a good idea. Well, spiritually speaking, with some of our assignments, the Lord gives us power tools. And today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out the importance of putting them to work. It's part of a series in the book of Acts, a series called The Upside Down Life. Alright, so let's grab our Bibles and turn to Acts chapter 2 and Romans chapter 12.

Acts chapter 2 and Romans chapter 12. And the title of my message is The Gifts That Keep On Giving. Question, how many of you have ever received a gift for Christmas or any other time you did not like? Raise your hand up, okay.

Not everyone's raising their hand, so some of you have always liked the gift you've received. So you get that gift, and let's start with the fruitcake. What is the deal with the fruitcake? Does anyone here like fruitcake to eat?

You think it's good? Get out. No, no don't.

He's leaving, no don't. Maybe as a weapon, maybe as a doorstop, or something to step up on, but really to eat? They're awful. And my theory is there's one fruitcake on the face of the earth, and we just keep recirculating it decade after decade. Well question, have you ever seen two fruitcakes next to each other?

No you have not. So fruitcakes, I don't get that as a gift at all unless you don't like the person. But then there's a person that gives you clothes.

Can I give you a word of advice? Don't give clothes to people unless they specifically said, I want that dress, or I want that shirt, because you probably have bad taste, all right? And then you receive the gift, and you open it, and you have to lie.

Oh wow, oh, thank you. And you're immediately looking to receive a receipt on this so I can return it. When I give a gift to someone I say, look, I didn't know what to get you.

I thought you might like this. If you don't like it, please take it back. The receipt's in the box. Get what you want.

Maybe let me know what you got. I'm fine with that. Because I want people to be happy with the gift I gave them.

No, there's a person. First they give you the ugly shirt. That's the first insult. Then a week later, when are you gonna wear that shirt I gave you? In your mind you're thinking, never.

Oh, sometime soon. You know, and you never get around to wearing it. It's just those gifts. So then you think, maybe I'll re-gift it. How many of you have ever re-gifted? Re-gifted means you take a gift given to you and you give it to someone else.

How many of you have done that? Here's the key. Remember who gave it to you. Don't re-gift a gift to the person who gave it to you in the first place.

Awkward moment. Yeah. So gifts. We give them.

We receive them. Did you know God loves to give gifts? He loves to give gifts.

And He has specific gifts just for you. We call them the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And in the book of Acts we're looking at the work of the Holy Spirit through the lives of very ordinary people. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes this book is titled The Acts of the Apostles. By the way, the Bible doesn't call it that.

That was added later. I think we could more accurately describe it as The Acts of the Holy Spirit. Because we see the Holy Spirit at work in this book, moving through the lives of people.

And I want to take just a moment to think about what this means. We started out by pointing out these men and these women were filled with the Holy Spirit. And every Christian needs to be filled, refilled, and filled again after that with the Holy Spirit all the time. When you get up in the morning, you should start your day by saying, Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit. If you're young, you need to pray this prayer. If you're old, you need to pray this prayer. If you're a man or a woman, you need to pray this prayer. Dads need to pray this prayer. Mothers need to pray this prayer.

Everybody needs to pray this prayer. Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit. And then having done that, God has certain gifts He wants to put in your life.

And listen to this. The gifts of the Spirit are here for us and God wants to distribute them among us. In fact, He tells us that this is something we should desire.

1 Corinthians 14, 1 says, earnestly desire the spiritual gifts. So why is it that there is an apprehension in us about this topic? Well, probably because we've seen some abuse.

We've seen some excess. We've seen some misuse of the gifts of the Spirit. And maybe you've watched some show on TV and the preacher who usually sounds like this.

He's just always like this, you know. And he's praying for you. Receive the Holy Spirit.

Yay, I say unto thee. And you go, wow, what's that all about? It's a holy spirit. Ok. Now people are falling down. They're rolling around on the ground.

They're barking like dogs. You're saying, if that's the Holy Spirit, I don't want anything to do with it. That's not the Holy Spirit.

That's weird people doing weird things, ok. The Holy Spirit's power in our life is a practical power. Acts 1, 8 says, you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you to become a raving lunatic. No, I don't think I've read that verse. It says, you shall receive power, Acts 1, 8, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you to be witnesses unto me.

See. It's power that enables us to do what God has called us to do. And with that power comes supernatural gifts or abilities we did not previously have. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not toys to play with. They're tools to build with. And they're weapons to fight with.

And we want to find out what those gifts are that God has given to us so we can start using them. And I think if we try to stay away from it, we end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater. By the way, where did that expression come from? Did someone actually throw a baby out with bathwater once? I think back in the old days of the West, you know, they didn't have hot and cold running water so they'd heat up the old tub, you know. And every family member would go in the same bathwater. And by the time the ninth member of the family was in, you'd probably get dirtier being in the bathtub and staying out of it. And I guess the last one to go was the baby. And where's the baby? Oh, she or he was thrown out with the bathwater.

Whatever. We don't want to miss out on this great blessing of the gifts of the Spirit. 1 Timothy 4.14 says, Don't neglect the gift that is in you. Whereas another translation puts it, Keep your gift dusted off and in use. I like that translation.

Keep your gift dusted off and in use. So Paul's talking about our place in the church and how we can use our gifts. Here's one word I would use to sum up the early church. Together. They did things together.

Remember my last message was better together. So these folks engaged together. They learned together. They loved together. They worshiped together. They took care of one another. If one believer was in need, other believers would help to meet that need. And this was a powerful testimony to lost people. And in the same way, a unified church is a powerful witness to a divided world.

Let me say that again. A unified church is a powerful witness to a divided world. Because our culture is so divided right now, isn't it? Oh, we are divided over politics.

We are divided over pro or against vaccine. We are divided over everything. And sometimes that even finds its way into the church.

And these are secondary issues. So together, that was the early church. The story is told of a visitor who came to visit the city of Sparta. And the king of Sparta was boasting about the walls of his famous city. The visitor looked around and said, I don't see any walls. And then the king of Sparta said, see in Sparta every man is a brick.

And then he pointed to his army and the king said, these are the walls of Sparta. And the same is true in the church. Every man is a brick, as the great theologian Pink Floyd once told us. All in all, you're just another brick in the wall. Every person matters.

Every brick matters. You are the walls of the kingdom of God. And as we stand together, we can get a lot more done than when we're pulled apart. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. So many listeners have commented on the help they receive from the resources we make available at A New Beginning.

Like this listener. Pastor Greg, I was sitting at my grandmother's funeral this weekend talking to my cousin about the recent loss of his father. During the conversation, I found out that my uncle was given a copy of your New Believers Bible.

On the last day of his life, just before he died from a brain tumor, he understood the simple faith that you spoke of, and he knew where he was going after this life. I thank God for the hope of the gospel and its power. Thank you for being bold and using so many avenues to get out the gospel. If you'd like information about Pastor Greg's New Believers Bible, just contact us at Harvest.org.

That's Harvest.org. Well, as a part of his series called The Upside Down Life, Pastor Greg is presenting a message today called The Gifts That Keep Giving. Let's continue. So let's think now a little bit about the gifts of the Spirit, and let's go over to Romans 12 and see what Paul says. Romans 12, 3, Paul says, I give each of you this warning. Don't think you're better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith that God has given us. Point number one, you are not all that in a bag of chips. Yes, that's an actual sermon point. You are not all that in a bag of chips. You've heard that expression, right? And some people think they are.

They just think they're the cat's meow, whatever that means. But, you know, they may be gifted, but they are arrogant. And if you want to see God work in your life, you cannot be an arrogant person. God gives grace to the humble, you see, and goes out of His way to use unexpected people.

You know, I've had the opportunity to meet famous people and powerful people, and so many of them I think of are very down-to-earth, humble people. I think of Darryl Strawberry. The guy's an icon, you know.

I interviewed Darryl Strawberry at Angel Stadium. Darryl's walking around. He's a pretty noticeable guy. When you walk with Darryl, you feel very small. Because Darryl's very tall, and everyone recognizes him.

That's Darryl Strawberry. People are running up to him, shaking his hand, and he's such a chill person. Oh, he takes time for people. He prays for people. He uses that fame, if you will, well.

I find that interesting. Here's a really gifted, talented person who's genuinely humble. Then I meet someone who isn't really that talented or gifted, and they're arrogant. My attitude is, dude, you're not even talented enough to be arrogant. You should be the most humble person of all. You know why? Because you're not all that and a bag of chips. And if you want to be used by God, you need to see yourself as you really are.

Know this. Cemeteries are full of indispensable people. You think God's dependent on you? I know God's not dependent on me. He could replace me in a nanosecond. So it's a privilege when God works through me, or when God works through you.

So here's what Paul is saying. Don't think you're better than you are. Don't think you're worse than you are. Think realistically. If you are given a gift by God, use that gift.

Point number two. Whatever gift you have is just that, a gift. Whatever gift you have, it's been given to you by God. It's a gift. Romans 12, verse 5. We being many are one body in Christ, having gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us.

So let us use them. Listen to this. If God is giving you a gift or gifts, and more likely, it's a few gifts. Most people I know have multiple gifts of the Spirit. And I'm only going to touch on the topic in this message. But in future messages, we'll go a little more in depth on some of these other gifts. But if you've been given these gifts, it's irresponsible to not use them.

Let me take it a step further. It could even be sinful to not use the gifts that God has given to you. Because we're told over in the book of James, chapter 4, verse 17. To him that knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. So you've got to use that gift that God has given you.

Number three. We all have a part to play in the church with our spiritual gifts. We all have a part to play.

Romans 12, verse 4. Just as our bodies have many parts, and each part has a special function, so does with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. Think of the human body. Now when you meet someone, you might notice their eyes, you might notice their hair, you might notice whatever.

And you don't notice internal organs. But the reality is, what's more important, how beautiful my hair is, or how well my heart is functioning? I can tell you, you can function without hair. You miss it. You wish you had it. And any bald person that says, oh I like being bald, they're lying.

Right? We wish we had hair, but we don't, so we've just accepted it. Other people don't accept it, and they wear like a little bird's nest. Also known as a toupee. Or a hairpiece. But, you know, you can function without hair to be technical. You can function without sight. You can function without the ability to hear. But you cannot function without your heart beating properly.

You cannot function without certain organs functioning as they should. So the point of it is, I don't know what part you are in the body of Christ, but we all have a part to play. We're not all the same. Some are more outgoing, some are more reserved. Some are more big picture, some are more detail oriented.

But everyone has a role. So let's look at a partial list of the gifts of the Spirit. By the way, if you have a pen, or you're taking notes on your phone or tablet or whatever, if you want to read more on the gifts of the Spirit, go to 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. So let's read a few more verses. Romans 12 verse 6.

In this grace God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. If God has given you the ability to prophesize, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. Prophecy. Is that gift still for today?

I believe it is. When we think of a prophet, we think of someone that predicts the future. And the gift of prophecy can include this. However, if you claim to be a prophet, and I don't know if we really have what we would call prophets today, but if we do and you claim to be one of these prophets, you better be accurate in your predictions. Otherwise, yes, you're a prophet with one word in front of it. False. So I see these people making these predictions. This will happen and it doesn't happen. False prophet.

Not going to listen to you anymore. But the word prophecy means to speak for another. So the gift of prophecy is a supernatural insight into something that didn't come from your mind. Something the Lord shows you. The gift of prophecy. So if you have this gift, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you're a teacher, teach well. If your gift is encouraging others, that's a gift of exhortation. Be encouraging. If your gift is giving, then give generously.

If God has given you leadership ability, take that responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. I'll stop there.

Certain terms bubble up here. Do it well. Generously.

Gladly. Take this responsibility seriously. So the gift of service is mentioned right next to the gift of prophecy. We might think of the person who prophesies or speaks for God as having the more important gift. And the one working behind the scenes has the less important gift.

The Bible doesn't make that distinction. They're right next to each other. To serve behind the scenes is just as important as being up front. And who is this person? This is the person that finds a need and meets it. That's what it means to have the gift of serving. You find a need and you meet it. I think some people honestly think they have the gift of criticism.

I always find myself, I don't like this. I disagree with this other thing. And I wouldn't do it this way. Alright. What would you do?

I wouldn't do anything. I remember hearing the story of some woman that criticized the great evangelist D.L. Moody. She said, Mr. Moody, I don't like the way you do evangelism. He said, well ma'am, I'm always open to suggestions. How do you do evangelism? She said, well I don't. He said, well I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it. The church isn't perfect.

We're going to do everything perfectly every time. So you see a need, how about helping to meet that need? Hey, I'll step in there.

What is your need? One of the best ways to find out what your spiritual gifts are is literally volunteer for everything. You'll know quickly if you're good at something or if you aren't. You might say, I want to help out in children's ministry. So you go and help and teach a class and they find you at the end of the class tied up to a chair. Maybe this isn't your gift. Try to help people out in the parking lot.

Cars are running into each other. You don't seem to be that person. You think you're gifted in music. A lot of people think they're good musically who aren't. I have to tell you.

They think they have a great voice and they don't. So maybe that's not your gift. But maybe you have a gift in another area you never thought of before. So the main thing is you volunteer for everything.

It's like process of elimination. Mark that off. Mark that off. Mark that off. Mark that off.

Oh, whoa. I'm gifted at this? Why would I be gifted at this?

This is like not what I would normally do. The supernatural gifts are different than your natural talents. You might have natural talents in certain areas but then a gifting from God in an area you never thought you would have a gifting. And sometimes other people will tell you what your gift is before you even know.

You might say, you know, I love it when you do this. Or, well, you have a real ability in this one area. Well, I never thought of that before.

Maybe that is your gift. Some very practical insight today on a new beginning. Pastor Greg Laurie is leading our study of Acts 2 and Romans 12 in his message called The Gifts That Keep Giving. And then this month we're making available Pastor Greg's popular book, Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon. Pastor Greg, Steve McQueen's life story, including the troubles he faced as a kid, sounds a lot like your own story.

Is that why he resonates with you so much? Yeah, you know, Dave, the way this whole book started, and I've written a number of biographies, as people may know. I wrote a book called Johnny Cash, The Redemption of an American Icon.

My newest book is called Lennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus, sort of an exploration of the spiritual life of a lot of iconic rock stars. I also wrote a biography on Billy Graham called Billy Graham, The Men I Knew. But it all started with Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon.

And that book started with a Google search. I had heard that Steve had become a Christian, but I never really knew if it was a true story. So I simply put in the search engine Steve McQueen, Christian.

And I started seeing some names pop up. One of them was Leonard DeWitt. So I wanted to find out if Leonard was still alive, and indeed he was.

Leonard DeWitt was the pastor of Steve McQueen. I tracked him down, we had a long conversation, then I went out to interview him. And as I began to meet other people that were a part of this story, it became so amazing to me.

I interviewed Steve's widow, Barbara McQueen, who was there when Steve came to Christ. So in my exploration of Steve's life, I was really amazed to find that our childhood was almost exactly the same. I've never met anybody with a childhood quite like mine. And just starting with this fact, both Steve and I were born not knowing who our biological father was. Number two, both of us went out looking to meet our biological father. Number three, both of us had beautiful alcoholic mothers who really had no time for us. Number four, both of us were sent to live with our grandparents. And number five, both of us were sent to reform-type institutions.

He went to a boy's home and I went to a military school. So I could really understand him a little bit as I was beginning to tell his story. But then he became the number one movie star in the world, and I did not.

But, you know, when you really get down to the bottom line, everybody needs Jesus. And Steve discovered that after he had kind of been there, done that, you know, bought the T-shirt and been the T-shirt. He was a cultural icon, a fashion icon, a movie icon. He was everything.

He was called the king of cool and for good reason. And his face still pops up in ads for products today because he's just one of those guys that's transcended time. But Steve McQueen, who in his day was the number one movie star in all of the world, came into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. So that's what I wrote about in my book, Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon. You're going to be amazed at the twists and turns his life took and how God intervened. And guess who else pops up in the Steve McQueen story? None other than Billy Graham himself.

I won't tell you what happened, but Billy played a key role in Steve's life toward the end. And so if you would like a copy of this book, Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon, we will send it to you for your gift of any size. Now, what that means is if you give a little, we'll send you a copy.

If you give more, of course, we'll send you a copy. The point is we want everyone to have a copy of this amazing book so they can hear this amazing story. And when you're done, you might pass it on to a friend who isn't a believer yet. But whatever you send, large or small, we'll take those gifts and we'll use them to continue to fulfill our mission here at Harvest Ministries.

And what is that mission? Here's our mission statement, to know God and to make him known. So every day we seek to make God known, get the gospel out.

We like to fish in as many ponds as we possibly can. But then there's the other part, knowing God, that's the teaching part. That's what you hear every day on A New Beginning, where we're teaching you the Word of God. And we offer so many resources to help you grow spiritually, like our daily devotional and our online teachings through books of the Bible. So if you want a copy of this book, Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon, get it now and send us that gift and we'll put it to good use.

Yeah, that's right. And thank you so much for your generosity. It's a gift that changes lives. So we hope you'll let us hear from you today. With your donation, be sure to ask for Pastor Greg's book, Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon. You can call us at 1-800-821-3300.

We can take your call anytime. Again, that's 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.

Or just go online to harvest.org. Well, next time, more insights on how we can use the spiritual gifts God freely makes available to believers. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins.