Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, Veader is reminding us something wonderful. Each of us has received. Gift. You are gifted. I am gifted.
Verse 10: As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another. Your gift is to be used. Use it. to serve one another. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe, senior pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
What if you discovered you had a supernatural gift? The Bible teaches that every follower of Christ has received a grace gift from God. Today, John explains how to discover your gift and how the interconnected body of Christ needs precisely what you have to offer.
So here's Pastor John Monroe. I very much appreciate your listening to the verdict. Our goal is not to give a motivational talk, but rather to present people with the living word of God and the great hope of glory. Peter has reminded us that the end of all things is at hand. But this does not mean that we retreat into a Christian bubble.
Christ calls us To serve him. And this brings us to our subject today of spiritual gifts. How gracious of God that not only does He save us and call us to serve Him. He equips and empowers us to do His work. Peter is teaching that each person has received a spiritual gift.
So this is a very important and encouraging subject. God in His grace gives at least one gift to each of us.
Now, here's the wonderful thing we're going to learn today. As we serve God. As we do the will of God. God and His infinite grace. helps us.
And he gives us A gift. He gives us an act of grace. Not only the grace of salvation, that all of our salvation is totally dependent on the grace of God. He does more than that. as we begin to serve the Lord and to do his will.
He gives us all of the strength. all of the grace, all of the wisdom that we need. to do his will. And Peter. Helps us with that.
As you turn In your Bibles to First Peter chapter four, we're only looking at two verses. 1 Peter 4 verses 10 and 11. 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. brilliant verses that the Apostle Peter gives us. He presents here at least four important truths. Here's the first one. Every Christian, every authentic follower of Jesus Christ has received A gift.
That's good news, isn't it? If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you have received a gift. Look at the text, verse 10. As each has received a gift, No one is exempt.
Some are born into wealthy families, some are born into poor families.
Some are born with great athletic abilities, some less so.
Some are born with great abilities to think. Others less so. We are all different, and yet this is true of every single one of us. that we've received. A gift.
Each one has received a gift. Peter uses an interesting word for gift. He uses the word. Charisma. We talk about someone who is charismatic.
We talk about someone who is a charismatic. Personality, we talk about a group of Christians who are charismatic. Karis is a Greek word for grace. And Peter is emphasizing this gift. that you received.
It truly is a gift. Is an act of God's grace. It is a charisma coming from the Spirit of God Himself. And so, according to the clear teaching of the New Testament, every person. Saved by the grace of God, the youngest and the oldest, has received a gift, a gracious gift.
Okay.
Now turn in your Bible. to 1 Corinthians 12. where we will read a little more of that. 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians. Corinthians 14 are great chapters on spiritual gifts.
Going to learn here that your spiritual gift is sovereignly and freely given to you by the risen Christ. Through the Holy Spirit.
So here is Paul. writing to the w the church at Corinth, which was not the perfect church. but here he writes words of encouragement to them. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 4.
Now there are variety of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God. who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit.
That's the Holy Spirit. For the common Good. How wonderful. Differences, yet each person has received a gift. And Paul as he writes to the Christian that Ephesus reminds them That in the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, After his resurrection, he ascends to his father and his God.
And in that coronation of Christ the King, as he's about to be seated at the Father's right hand, he gives gifts. He displays gifts. Just as a sovereign on their coronation will give gifts to their subjects, so our great king, King Jesus, disperses various gifts to his subjects. And these gifts. Paul reminds us Our grace gifts according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Want you to get this. That your gift is a grace. Gift. It's a true gift. Totally of God.
A manifestation of the grace. of God And uh we see here, if your Bible is still open to 1 Corinthians 12. That in the body of Christ There is not only diversity of gifts. But there is interdependence of gifts. First Corinthians twelve.
For example, verse Yeah. For the body does not consist of one member But many. He's likening the body of Christ to the human body. You have just one body, but in that one body, there are various members. You've got an eye, you've got an ear, you've got a foot and a hand, and so on.
So in the body of Christ. It doesn't consist of one member. But many. Verse twenty-six. If one member suffers All suffer together.
If one member is honored, All rejoice together. No. You're the body of Christ. And individually Members Obvious. Every born-again believer belongs to the body of Christ.
But we also belong to one another. Each part of your human body needs the other parts. And isn't that amazing? Many of you have gone through this, how a small thing in your body. which is out of whack.
impacts the whole quality of your life. See that's the point. Whatever your gift is. If you don't use it, it impacts All of us. The body of Christ needs your gift.
We are interdependent. It's true all of us have received at least one gift, but none of us have received all of the gifts. We need one another. There is an interdependence, there is an interconnectedness, just as we have in a human body. In order for the human body to function to its full potential, the whole body must be working together for a common goal.
So there's the body of Christ. Journalize. As we come here at church, as we worship God, as we serve God, as we go into the community. How we impact one another. Interconnectedness.
Interdependence. That's why it's so important. that we do not neglect coming together. If you're isolated from your fellow believers, How can you grow? How can you mature?
How can we help you? How can you help us? No, the Christian faith is not just you and Jesus. You're part of the body of Christ. And Peter is reminding us something wonderful.
Each of us has received A gift. You are Gifted. I am gifted. And that's the first principle. The second one is this.
Use your gift. to serve others. First and As each has received a gift, Use it. serve one another. Your gift is to be used.
Use it. To serve. one another. Authentic Christianity is not a spectator sport. It's not one where you come and a few of us up here do what we're going to do and you applaud or criticize or totally bored or whatever it is.
Christianity is not a spectator sport. All of us are on the field. This is why the New Testament is full of one another's. He says, use it. to serve one another.
We're told to pray for one another, to encourage one another, to bear one another's burdens, to exhort one another, to admonish one another. You can't do that staying at home on your own. No, we come. And we use this gift which God in His grace has given us to serve one another. Again, the interconnectedness, the interdependence of the various members of the body, your gift.
is not to be used for your ego needs. Your gift is not to Prop up your sagging ego. Your gift is not to be used to show off and to draw attention to yourself. It's to be used. to serve one another.
After all We follow a master. Who himself said, I came not to be served, but to serve and to give my life a ransom. For many. Paul has said, as we read in 1 Corinthians 12, we're to use our gifts for the common Good. Looking not to myself, but what is going to help the body.
It is for the common. Good. We use our gifts. To serve. one another.
Well, you say that sounds well John, but I have no idea what my gift is.
Some people think if you do fill out a few questions and get a computer printout. Uh some Person through their technology can tell you what your spiritual gift is. That may be helpful to some. I haven't found it helpful. I don't really think that's the biblical way to do it.
The biblical way to discover your gift, obviously, you pray and you ask God, but you start serving. It starts. With a surrender of your whole self To the Lord. I'm available to him. I don't go down to the Christian bookstore and buy my spiritual gift, as it were.
No. It's sovereignly given. to me by God.
sovereignly given to you by God. You are then to serve. And here's the wonderful thing, as you serve. Many of you have experienced this. Through the input of others, but above all by the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
We realize In God's amazing grace, as we use our gift, other people are being blessed. As we use our gifts There is a joy that comes From the Holy Spirit of knowing, yes, you are serving. Yes, you're serving others, but above all, you're serving God. And that the Spirit of God. directors.
And we're very thankful. But here at Calvary, we have hundreds, yes, literally. Hundreds of you serving. What about you? Users as spectator.
Do you come? And serve. One of the Main ways we get to know each other It's true. Serving. We're generally serving.
In a team, we're serving with others. The biblical word for that is fellowship, koinonia. Fellowship is not just talking about who's going to win the Euros. Most of you don't even know what the Euros are. But uh It's a soccer game going on in Europe, by the way.
very important to some of us. Talking about that is not. Fellowship. Talking about the chances of the Panthers in the new season, unbelievers do that. No.
True fellowship. It's where we're serving together. And a spiritual goal. And as we do that, we're bound together as brothers and sisters in Christ. We get to know one another.
We get to bear one another's burdens. We get to pray for one another and encourage one another. And notice what Peter says here. He says, as each has received the gift, Use it to serve one another. As good stewards of God's Veried grace.
You are a steward. Greek word ekonomos, meaning a manager. meaning a a trustee. God gives you that gift. It's not yours.
He gives it to you as a steward. As a manager, As a trustee. When I was a criminal prosecutor, one of the First cases I got from my boss. was against two lawyers. Uh they were charged with embezzling.
their clients' money. There are a couple of Estates that they were administering. Man had died. That left widows. The men were quite wealthy.
And these unscrupulous lawyers rather than understanding they were stewards. They were managers of all that money. Began using some of it themselves. It's called embezzlement. Of course, they said they were going to pay it back.
Everyone who embezzles says they're going to pay it back. And so that it was And the more I investigated it, the angrier I got. I thought, here were these men. Administering funds, and instead of them protecting the interests of their clients. They would appropriate it themselves, and justice was done when they were sent away.
for several years. That's a bad manager. To take something that doesn't belong to you. and use it for yourself. Peter says, no, I don't want you to be like that.
God has given you a gift. God has given you resources. God has given you talents. God has blessed you materially. What are you, you're a steward of it.
Because it all belongs to God. You're to look after it. And you're to look after it in the interests of others. You're to look after it for the common good. You're to look after it, as we'll see in a minute, for the glory of.
God. What about it? You're taking that gift. And just used it. in a selfish way for yourself.
For your own selfish Needs. God gave you a gift. to use it as a good Stewart. Notice The gift is to be used. It's not just to be admired, it's not to be put on a shelf.
Remember, Jesus told the story of the men who received the talents.
Some of them used them very wisely. But there was one man who thought my master is very hard. And rather than investing this money or using it, I'm going to bury it in the ground. The master was very angry with him. He was a very poor steward.
He'd been given a gift. To be used for the benefit of the master, and he had buried it.
So, if you have a gift, don't bury it. Don't set it aside. Don't say well I'll get to that at some time, but I'm too busy at the moment Maybe when I'm older, when I retire, when I get married, or when my kids are out of home, then I'll start serving the Lord. Don't do that. Start now.
God has given you. A gift. to be used. is a good steward.
Someone said the only gift You bury the gift of criticism. In the church, there's always those of the gift of criticism. And over the years, I've found out that those who criticize the most. Serve the least. They're very good at telling other people what to do.
But they do very little themselves. Don't be like that. First principle You've received a gift. Second principle. Use it.
to serve others. Third. Our gifts are multifaceted. Notice again. Ten.
As each has received a gift, Use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's Buried. Great. I love that. God's grace is Multifaceted. It is Varied grace.
Some translations talk of God's manifold grace. One translation says God's grace in his various forms. Does that surprise you? Of course it shouldn't surprise you. Because think of who is the giver of the gift.
It comes from God. Who is infinite in his creativity. And these grace gifts, which come from a creative God, are multifaceted, they're multicolored. They're manifold in their diversity. Does God produce clones?
Of course he doesn't. All of us have unique fingerprints. All of us have unique DNA. We're told that no two snowflakes are alike. Think of the diversity.
of God. And Jesus says in the Gospel, look at the birds of the air. We have in our home a couple of bird feeders. And here are at least four of the birds that like to come and eat at the expense of the Monroes. There's the beautiful cardinal.
Look at that color. There's the yellow goldfinch. Seem to have disappeared. Go elsewhere in the summer, just come to us in the winter. There's a beautiful bluebird.
I think it's a hairy woodpecker. It's on a tree near us, we hear it. peck peck and every so often it comes for a free meal from the Monroes. Just think of them. If you'll look at them, I think, why doesn't Why hadn't God created all the birds alike?
I mean, why the different colours? Why are they not just all grey or? or a dull brown. And you think, of course. It shouldn't surprise us.
No more than we think of the variety. of different flowers. The different colors, the combination of the colors. We have a God. Who is infinite in his creativity.
And we see that in creation. And so are we surprised then? That this God When he gives gifts to us That they are Multifaceted, multi Coloured. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the first part of an encouraging message titled, You Are Gifted. We'll continue this study on Monday, so be sure to join us.
What an incredible truth John shared to day. Every single believer has received a supernatural gift from God designed to serve the body of Christ.
So the question isn't whether you're gifted. It's whether you're using your gift. As Jean emphasized, these gifts aren't trophies for your personal pride. They're tools for serving one another in love. Having a biblical perspective brings incredible focus and purpose to everyday life.
That's why we're excited to offer you John's insightful resource for the time is near. This study of biblical prophecy helps you better understand God's plan of salvation, his prophetic calendar, and the fact that Jesus is coming back soon. When you begin to grasp the bigger picture of what God is accomplishing, it will encourage you and transform your perspective. Request your free copy of For the Time is Near today at theverdict.org. Your financial support of the verdict helps neighbors worldwide discover and better understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When you contribute to this ministry, you're investing in God's kingdom. Every gift, $35, $75, or whatever amount you choose, multiplies through the lives touched by these teachings. Partner with us today at theverdict.org. Ready to dive deeper into this series? Subscribe to the Verdict Podcast for instant access to every message, plus John's weekly Avizandam commentary.
It's available on all major podcast platforms in addition to our website.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Do you know what your spiritual gift is? Are you using it? If you're unsure about your gift, don't be unduly concerned, but rather go ahead and start serving the Lord. You will soon know how the Lord is blessing you.
Pray about it. Get input from others. Experience the joy of the Lord as you serve Him. Everything we have, we receive from the Lord. You are accountable to the Lord for the resources, the talents, the opportunities and the gifts that He's given you.
Use your gift for the kingdom of God. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
