WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.300 But in the previous session, the aim was to give you a basic overview of the spiritual gifts, how to think about spiritual gifts overall. 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:18.719 And did that by defining some of what they are and defining them against that which they are not. 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:22.339 Things like talents and offices and responsibilities and spiritual fruit. 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:25.179 So this session we're going to get a little more specific. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:30.859 My wife asked me after the last session, so are you actually ever going to talk about the spiritual gifts? 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:33.379 And I said, that's a good idea. 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:34.539 Maybe we should do that. 00:00:34.899 --> 00:00:35.980 So we're going to do that now. 00:00:36.539 --> 00:00:40.119 And so what we're going to talk about, first we're going to talk about the gifts themselves. 00:00:41.340 --> 00:00:47.060 And by the way, the Bible, I don't think there's any reason to think that they're the list of gifts that we get in the Bible. 00:00:47.100 --> 00:00:48.079 And there are several lists. 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:49.879 You look at Ephesians chapter 4. 00:00:49.980 --> 00:00:51.280 You look at 1 Corinthians 12. 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:52.719 You look at Romans chapter 12. 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:55.359 There's even a reference in 1 Peter 4, right? 00:00:55.859 --> 00:00:58.579 That these lists are not exhaustive. 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:03.719 And I think it's very possible and very likely that there are more spiritual gifts. 00:01:04.379 --> 00:01:09.219 But what we're going to do is to focus on some of the gifts that we see in Scripture. 00:01:09.960 --> 00:01:13.480 And then we're going to talk about how those gifts are distributed. 00:01:14.039 --> 00:01:16.500 And that will make hopefully a little more sense when we talk about that. 00:01:16.500 --> 00:01:21.439 And then lastly, I want to offer you a few ways to think about discerning your spiritual gifts. 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:27.500 My hope would be that everybody leaves here with at least a somewhat clearer sense of what your gifts are. 00:01:28.399 --> 00:01:32.920 And then we're actually going to take a spiritual gifts assessment. 00:01:33.179 --> 00:01:34.179 Yes, we are. 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:36.140 Get fired up. 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:39.159 The Christian Myers-Briggs. 00:01:39.219 --> 00:01:41.859 We're going to do it right here, right now. 00:01:41.859 --> 00:01:45.900 But before that, we're going to actually talk about what the Bible says about spiritual gifts. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.420 So we said in the first session that the gifts are what? 00:01:52.500 --> 00:02:04.480 They are the continued ministry of Jesus Christ through individual Christians by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:04.700 Right? 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:06.319 They are the continued ministry of Jesus. 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:16.079 As we said in Ephesians 4, that Jesus distributes his power and his ministry among his people to continue his work. 00:02:16.340 --> 00:02:26.060 So traditionally, we see Jesus playing three roles in the redemptive historical narrative, God's salvation history. 00:02:27.019 --> 00:02:28.959 Does anybody know what those roles are? 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:30.759 Boom. 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:32.479 Man, beat you to the punch. 00:02:32.799 --> 00:02:34.180 Luke, out of the gate. 00:02:34.180 --> 00:02:35.379 Spiritual gift of knowledge. 00:02:35.379 --> 00:02:36.800 Spiritual gift of knowledge. 00:02:39.140 --> 00:02:40.700 Just whipping that gift out. 00:02:42.920 --> 00:02:44.360 Spiritual gift of knowledge. 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:49.840 No, Jesus plays the roles of prophet, priest, and king. 00:02:50.420 --> 00:02:55.659 And when we say that, what we mean is that Jesus is the ultimate of these three roles. 00:02:55.819 --> 00:02:57.159 He's the ultimate prophet. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:02:58.260 What does a prophet do? 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:01.620 What is the essence of the role of a prophet? 00:03:01.620 --> 00:03:04.200 They speak for God. 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:09.900 They speak the word of God. 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:10.400 Right? 00:03:10.480 --> 00:03:11.520 They speak God's truth. 00:03:11.640 --> 00:03:15.840 Who is more qualified to do that than the word of God incarnate? 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:18.420 So he's the ultimate prophet. 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:20.360 He's the ultimate priest. 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:21.740 What is a priest's job? 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:25.560 It's to intercede. 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:33.500 It's to facilitate and bring you into relationship with the God of the heavens and the earth. 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:33.800 Right? 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:35.800 It's to mediate that relationship. 00:03:36.540 --> 00:03:40.760 And the Bible says that Jesus, I think, did we just lose power for a second? 00:03:41.160 --> 00:03:43.900 Jesus is the ultimate high priest. 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:45.780 He's the great high priest. 00:03:45.780 --> 00:03:46.219 Right? 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:50.780 Priests in the Old Testament offered sacrifices to... 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:51.920 Am I... 00:03:51.920 --> 00:03:52.680 I'm popping still? 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:53.780 It's good. 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:55.099 By the way. 00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:55.479 Okay. 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:56.860 How's this? 00:03:57.500 --> 00:03:57.900 Better? 00:03:58.180 --> 00:03:58.439 Okay. 00:03:58.620 --> 00:03:58.879 Thanks. 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:00.219 Can you all just do... 00:04:00.219 --> 00:04:03.280 If I start getting close and fired up, can you just do this and I'll back up? 00:04:03.539 --> 00:04:04.599 Just give me a little hand signal. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:05.080 Thank you. 00:04:05.340 --> 00:04:06.539 Sonia will give me the hand signal. 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:07.500 Okay. 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:12.080 So the priest would offer sacrifices to atone for sin. 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:12.340 Right? 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:17.899 Who better to do that than Jesus who is himself the ultimate sacrifice? 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:19.399 So he's the ultimate priest. 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:20.800 And what do kings do? 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:23.600 They rule. 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:24.019 Right? 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:31.000 So Jesus, after his life, death, and resurrection, ascended to take the throne and is the king, 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:34.439 the ultimate, the great high king of the heavens and the earth. 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:34.639 Right? 00:04:34.699 --> 00:04:36.699 So Jesus is the ultimate prophet, priest, and king. 00:04:36.699 --> 00:04:40.959 So when we think about those roles, one of the helpful ways, I think, to think about 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:46.319 spiritual gifts is that they, as we think of Jesus distributing his ministry, we can 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:53.300 categorize the spiritual gifts in terms of prophetic gifts, priestly gifts, and kingly 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:53.680 gifts. 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:56.399 And so those are the categories that I want to use. 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:58.959 And so first I want to look at prophetic gifts. 00:04:59.620 --> 00:05:02.019 So as we said before, the role of a prophet is to what? 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:05.980 It's to speak God's truth, speak God's word. 00:05:05.980 --> 00:05:11.500 And so prophetic gifts tend to be gifts that center around understanding and communicating 00:05:11.500 --> 00:05:13.840 truth based on the word of God. 00:05:14.960 --> 00:05:17.660 That's what prophetic gifts concern themselves with. 00:05:17.819 --> 00:05:24.300 So the first gift is one that we read about in Ephesians 4, 11, and 1 Corinthians 12, 10. 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:26.360 It's the gift of prophecy. 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:28.879 That's your phone. 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:30.040 You can put it on airplane mode. 00:05:30.220 --> 00:05:31.199 It is on airplane mode. 00:05:31.319 --> 00:05:31.879 That's interesting. 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:32.400 I'm curious. 00:05:33.259 --> 00:05:33.960 Somebody else's phone. 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:34.560 Everyone's heard? 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:39.199 Somebody's phone is getting picked up. 00:05:39.259 --> 00:05:40.220 Yeah, mine's on airplane mode. 00:05:40.220 --> 00:05:47.260 But prophetic gifts are our gifts that center around speaking and communicating and understanding 00:05:47.260 --> 00:05:48.720 truth based on God's word. 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:54.540 So the gift of prophecy, what do we often think of when we think of prophecy? 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:57.600 Right, right. 00:05:57.960 --> 00:05:58.840 Clairvoyance, right? 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:01.380 Predicting future events. 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:02.640 Nostradamus, right? 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:11.579 In the Bible, prophecy is not so much about predicting the future, although people with 00:06:11.579 --> 00:06:17.620 the prophetic gift can say things, can communicate things that have implications for the future. 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:22.860 But the gift of prophecy is not necessarily about clairvoyance. 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:27.779 It's not necessarily, it's not the same as the office of prophet in the Old Testament. 00:06:27.779 --> 00:06:33.839 Right, people who were actually speaking God's word before it was written down. 00:06:34.500 --> 00:06:37.859 Right, so we're at a different point in the salvation history. 00:06:38.099 --> 00:06:40.719 So we actually have God's word written. 00:06:41.339 --> 00:06:43.599 We have what we call the biblical canon. 00:06:43.819 --> 00:06:49.219 We have a body of writings and scriptures that we believe are divinely inspired. 00:06:49.899 --> 00:06:57.079 And there's a sense in which there are places in that scripture where there are warnings against adding to scripture. 00:06:57.079 --> 00:07:00.399 And so we believe in what we would call a closed canon. 00:07:01.359 --> 00:07:05.699 God has ultimately revealed himself through his son and through the scripture. 00:07:06.159 --> 00:07:10.919 And Jesus actually says, if you want to understand the scripture, you have to understand it is all about me. 00:07:11.039 --> 00:07:17.740 Right, so because Jesus has come, we don't believe that prophets are people who can add to God's revealed word. 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:33.939 But what we do believe prophets are, and what this gift is about, is it's about speaking God's truth effectively in ways that edify people, in ways that pierce hearts, in ways that expose truth. 00:07:34.460 --> 00:07:36.639 Not only about God's word, but about people. 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:43.860 So there's a place in 1 Corinthians 14 that describes the impact of prophecy on the hearer. 00:07:44.419 --> 00:07:50.259 It talks about an unbeliever or an outsider entering, and then that person is convicted. 00:07:50.979 --> 00:07:53.180 And then that person is then called to account. 00:07:54.019 --> 00:07:56.579 And the secrets of his heart are disclosed. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:07:59.860 And so falling on his face, he will worship God. 00:07:59.860 --> 00:08:17.960 It's a fascinating passage that talks about prophecy as being the gift of preaching or speaking or sharing, either one-on-one or in groups, God's word in ways that reveal the human heart, expose sin, and draw people into worship. 00:08:18.259 --> 00:08:19.860 Right, so that's an amazing description. 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:24.100 It's the ability to speak God's truth in ways that pierce hearts. 00:08:24.100 --> 00:08:30.480 And as Melissa said a moment ago, it involves both foretelling and foretelling. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:39.100 Speaking things openly, authentically, honestly, truthfully in a revealing way, and also communicating implications. 00:08:40.220 --> 00:08:45.379 Helping people understand the future implications and the direction that they're on, the path that they're headed down, right? 00:08:45.680 --> 00:08:47.300 And how they need to think about that. 00:08:48.560 --> 00:08:49.639 So that's prophecy. 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:53.939 Along with that, there's another distinct gift we read about in 1 Peter 4. 00:08:54.279 --> 00:09:06.240 And this is kind of a categorical gift, the categorical gift of speaking, which is essentially the ability to communicate publicly in an articulate and a compelling way. 00:09:07.580 --> 00:09:09.439 Right, so this can be a spiritual gift. 00:09:10.899 --> 00:09:13.799 Along with that, there's the distinct gift of teaching. 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:18.839 And again, teaching and speaking and prophecy are not all exactly the same thing. 00:09:18.939 --> 00:09:31.799 Because teaching is not just about knowing a lot, but it's specifically being good at explaining things clearly and helping people to understand and to learn effectively, right? 00:09:31.939 --> 00:09:33.419 So it's not just being a good speaker. 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:39.519 And it's not necessarily, as the prophetic gift would be, speaking in ways that would pierce hearts. 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:51.759 But, you know, there are certain people who are able to teach and break down complex concepts in ways that make them accessible, in ways that you can understand, in ways that you remember, right? 00:09:51.939 --> 00:09:54.960 And some of you have that gift, the gift of teaching. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:59.519 There's another, and that's in 1 Corinthians 12, 29, by the way. 00:10:00.100 --> 00:10:04.680 We see the gift of evangelism in Ephesians 4, verse 11. 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:08.400 The ability to relate well and to draw in non-Christians. 00:10:08.540 --> 00:10:10.480 The ability to help people come to faith. 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:12.480 This is a gift. 00:10:12.560 --> 00:10:20.820 And again, it's not necessarily always found in winsome people or in people who have good speaking skills, right? 00:10:20.820 --> 00:10:26.220 This is a distinct gift from speaking and from prophecy and from teaching, right? 00:10:26.379 --> 00:10:30.700 So a number of you know my story of coming to faith when I was in college. 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:34.020 And I came to, I mean, God had been at work in me for years. 00:10:34.020 --> 00:10:36.440 But one of the people that God used is a guy named Gabe. 00:10:37.020 --> 00:10:42.020 And Gabe was a guy, you know, kind of a goofy, fun guy, just kind of part of our friend group. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:48.760 And, but, you know, not particularly winsome, not the kind of person that you would think would kind of go out and preach on a street corner. 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:50.559 And Pentecost 2, thousands are saved. 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:52.639 He's not that kind of person at all, right? 00:10:53.139 --> 00:10:56.220 I mean, he was fun and interesting and funny and a great guy. 00:10:57.139 --> 00:10:59.399 But Gabe had the gift of evangelism. 00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:02.240 And Gabe, God used that gift in my life. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:10.319 In other words, when I sat down to talk about Scripture and to ask questions about the Bible and about God with Gabe, 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:13.319 I felt immediately that I could trust him. 00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:17.200 I felt immediately that he had my best interest in mind. 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:23.620 And more than that, I felt that even as I was talking to him, that I was dealing with something that was more than him. 00:11:24.580 --> 00:11:28.720 In other words, I felt like our conversations were somehow opening my heart. 00:11:29.820 --> 00:11:36.140 I felt that I felt myself becoming more and more and more receptive to God's truth simply in, 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:38.680 and it wasn't that he was trained in apologetics. 00:11:38.780 --> 00:11:42.180 There were many questions that he, that I asked where he would say, that's a great question. 00:11:42.259 --> 00:11:42.740 I don't know. 00:11:42.740 --> 00:11:43.139 Right? 00:11:44.340 --> 00:11:47.680 But there was something about those interactions that opened my heart. 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:51.060 It was the gift of evangelism, God working through him. 00:11:51.299 --> 00:11:51.480 Right? 00:11:52.299 --> 00:11:56.200 There's also the gift of knowledge in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 8, 00:11:56.360 --> 00:12:03.180 which is the ability to have deep understanding and insight about God's word and or other people. 00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:09.799 And the key is it's kind of levels of insight and understanding that only God can give. 00:12:10.439 --> 00:12:10.639 Right? 00:12:10.819 --> 00:12:17.739 The ability to understand and to hold together lots of concepts, to see connections between things, 00:12:17.859 --> 00:12:23.879 to understand how different ideas relate to one another, to be able to hold all that clearly in your mind. 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:24.179 Right? 00:12:24.179 --> 00:12:33.039 People who are particularly good at memorizing scripture and recalling that scripture in appropriate moments. 00:12:33.179 --> 00:12:39.939 You know, one of our bishops, who's now semi-retired, Bishop Thad Barnum, is incredibly gifted in this area. 00:12:40.079 --> 00:12:51.599 One of the most compelling sermons I ever heard was when Thad Barnum preached by reciting the entire book of 2 Timothy from memory. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:56.440 But he delivered it as though he were Paul speaking to us. 00:12:57.019 --> 00:13:01.960 And everybody in the room, every single person was weeping. 00:13:03.180 --> 00:13:10.379 Now, I don't know that you've ever had an experience hearing God's word proclaimed to you in a way that immediately made you weep like that. 00:13:10.420 --> 00:13:12.340 But an entire room full of people weeping. 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:14.639 And part of that was his ability. 00:13:14.740 --> 00:13:16.160 There were other gifts at work there. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:22.919 But part of that was his ability to take in and to remember and then to recall vast amounts of scripture. 00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:23.279 Right? 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:27.139 Along with knowledge, there is discernment. 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:28.980 1 Corinthians 12.10. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:33.179 The ability to tell the authentic from the false. 00:13:34.259 --> 00:13:34.480 Right? 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:37.939 The ability to tell the genuine from the counterfeit. 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:47.560 People who just have a gut instinct and they have a sense when something is true and they have a sense when it's fake or when it's false or when it's not of the Lord. 00:13:47.780 --> 00:13:47.980 Right? 00:13:48.100 --> 00:13:49.920 The ability to test the spirits. 00:13:50.100 --> 00:13:54.940 To know what is of the Lord versus what is not of the Lord. 00:13:55.300 --> 00:13:55.480 Right? 00:13:55.520 --> 00:13:58.000 A lot of things are said and done in the name of the Lord. 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:01.480 People with discernment can tell what things are actually. 00:14:01.680 --> 00:14:03.340 They have a sense about it. 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:03.700 Right? 00:14:03.700 --> 00:14:08.580 So these are some of the gifts that would fall into the prophetic category. 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:14.820 Now if we move to the next category, we're shifting our attention to the priestly gifts. 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:23.920 And again, I'll say with all of these, I understand that there may be slight nuance differences in how we define these gifts. 00:14:23.919 --> 00:14:34.500 What I'm trying to do is to represent the best of my understanding of what scripture has to say and the teachings of Christian history and tradition have to say about how we understand these gifts. 00:14:35.099 --> 00:14:39.099 And to give you some general ways of thinking about them and distinguishing between them. 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:46.919 The priestly gifts are abilities related to, as we said, understanding and meeting the basic needs of other people. 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:53.339 So they're marked by empathy, by compassion, right? 00:14:53.459 --> 00:14:56.659 By a willingness to enter in. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:02.279 A willingness and a joy and a desire to show that selfless love. 00:15:02.599 --> 00:15:05.079 The desire to see others formed and healed. 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:07.579 These are the priestly gifts. 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:07.959 Right? 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:13.879 So the gift of encouragement in Romans chapter 12 verse 8. 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:23.120 The word there is parakaleo, which is incidentally also the word that is used to describe the Holy Spirit, the paraclete. 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:23.600 Right? 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:25.280 So parakaleo. 00:15:25.940 --> 00:15:28.620 Encouragement is not just saying nice things all the time. 00:15:29.700 --> 00:15:34.379 You know, a lot of people will just kind of like spout off compliments and, oh, they have the gift of encouragement. 00:15:34.540 --> 00:15:35.960 What a Barnabas that person is. 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:36.220 Right? 00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:37.379 Not necessarily. 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:40.720 Has anybody ever heard that before? 00:15:41.420 --> 00:15:42.160 Annika has. 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:43.340 Not necessarily. 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:46.620 Not necessarily, right? 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:53.420 The gift of encouragement or the gift of exhortation is the ability to come alongside someone in their struggles. 00:15:53.420 --> 00:15:55.180 That's what parakaleo means. 00:15:55.879 --> 00:15:57.639 To come alongside someone in their struggles. 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:02.660 To encourage them, but to do it by sharing their burden. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:04.120 Right? 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:07.259 By walking alongside them. 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:09.379 Sharing their burden in a healing way. 00:16:09.379 --> 00:16:15.840 So a lot of really good counselors in some summer in the stream, a lot of really good counselors have this gift. 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:16.659 Right? 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:23.159 To enter in and to speak meaningfully and encouragingly alongside someone. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:25.899 Which is very different than speaking to someone. 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:26.919 You understand? 00:16:26.919 --> 00:16:27.839 There's a big difference. 00:16:27.839 --> 00:16:32.659 That's one of the things that differentiates a prophetic gift from a gift of encouragement. 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:37.419 The one with encouragement speaks as they come alongside. 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:37.899 Right? 00:16:38.939 --> 00:16:40.639 There's a helping gift. 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:42.500 1 Corinthians 12 verse 28. 00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:44.919 Let's just be honest. 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:47.860 Not all help is helpful. 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:54.019 Not all helpers are helpful. 00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:54.600 Right? 00:16:54.700 --> 00:16:56.840 Sometimes, hey, no thanks. 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:57.440 I got it. 00:16:58.539 --> 00:16:59.480 I'm all good. 00:16:59.700 --> 00:16:59.879 Right? 00:17:00.379 --> 00:17:00.720 Why? 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:02.700 Because not all help is helpful. 00:17:02.860 --> 00:17:04.640 And I think it's okay to admit that. 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:10.480 But people with the gift of helping are able to understand and intuit what is helpful. 00:17:11.320 --> 00:17:11.580 Right? 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:15.900 They're able to offer help that is actually helpful. 00:17:16.040 --> 00:17:18.100 So these are people who are capacity builders. 00:17:18.540 --> 00:17:23.180 These are people who in a group, they make everybody else better at what they do. 00:17:23.340 --> 00:17:30.500 If you've ever been around a person like this, they're the people who may not necessarily even need to be told by you how to be helpful. 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:32.980 They just know and they just go ahead and they do it. 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:33.200 Right? 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:40.539 And they build everybody else's capacity by freeing them to do what they're called to do more. 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:41.100 Right? 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:43.819 This is what a person with a gift of helping does. 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:46.740 The gift of healing. 00:17:47.600 --> 00:17:52.019 Now this is sometimes categorized in the kind of miraculous gifts category. 00:17:52.180 --> 00:17:57.400 And so this is one of those gifts like prophecy or tongues that people have debated over. 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:00.440 But hey, read James chapter 5. 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:05.180 James chapter 5 clearly calls us as Christians to pray for healing. 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:07.059 It says in verse 14, 00:18:07.140 --> 00:18:08.240 Is anyone among you sick? 00:18:08.320 --> 00:18:14.640 Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:21.279 And you know, there are many stories in the Bible and many stories since the Bible was written and the canon closed. 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:27.099 There are many stories throughout church history, many stories in the present day of God miraculously healing people. 00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:32.139 And that's just a mystery that we as Christians have to wrestle with. 00:18:33.679 --> 00:18:36.740 God sometimes miraculously heals people. 00:18:37.099 --> 00:18:40.659 But there are also many times when we pray for healing and it doesn't happen. 00:18:40.660 --> 00:18:46.560 You know, it's very instructive that Paul himself had a thorn that would not be healed. 00:18:47.620 --> 00:18:49.700 It doesn't happen all the time, right? 00:18:50.100 --> 00:18:55.920 And that's why we said in the first session, we made it hopefully very clear that gifts are manifestations of the Spirit. 00:18:56.080 --> 00:18:59.259 In other words, they're not manifestations of my innate ability, right? 00:18:59.360 --> 00:19:01.800 If you have a gift, you can't just flip it on like a light switch. 00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:03.140 Right? 00:19:03.259 --> 00:19:08.960 They're manifestations of the Spirit working through us, ultimately determined not by our will but by God's will. 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:13.600 But some people, God chooses to work through them to bring healing. 00:19:13.940 --> 00:19:15.519 And this can be physical healing. 00:19:15.700 --> 00:19:17.120 It can be emotional healing. 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:19.200 It can be psychological healing. 00:19:19.600 --> 00:19:24.620 There are certain people who are just simply, they kind of have a healing presence. 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:28.299 You feel more whole when you're around them. 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:32.360 So the gift of healing. 00:19:32.779 --> 00:19:35.640 There's a gift of pastoring, Ephesians 4.11. 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:40.200 These are people who are marked by a, and also shepherding, right? 00:19:40.300 --> 00:19:41.240 Pastoring or shepherding. 00:19:42.360 --> 00:19:46.420 People who are burdened with the desire to see others grow spiritually. 00:19:47.580 --> 00:19:51.820 And they're endowed with the ability to provide what people need to grow. 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:52.240 So, right? 00:19:52.320 --> 00:19:53.900 So they have the burden and the desire. 00:19:54.259 --> 00:19:56.460 Now, as I said before, gifts are not offices. 00:19:56.600 --> 00:20:01.020 So there are a lot of people with pastoral shepherding gifts who may not be pastors, right? 00:20:01.019 --> 00:20:09.359 You may work at a bank or you may work in a business or you may work in a restaurant or you may stay at home with your kids or you may do any variety of occupations. 00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:15.519 But you may, at the same time, have the spiritual gift of shepherding, right? 00:20:17.379 --> 00:20:20.639 You're good at encouraging others to grow in their faith. 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:27.480 You take holistic responsibility for the nurturing and the care of other people in the community. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:29.540 There's a serving gift. 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:31.060 Romans chapter 12, verse 7. 00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:38.640 And by the way, I want to say, I would encourage you to be thinking about yourself and the people you know as we're going through these gifts. 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:42.660 Think about how God uses you and think about how God has used other people in your life. 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:49.420 As we say these gifts, reflect, have I ever experienced this from someone, right? 00:20:49.420 --> 00:20:52.340 Because in a little while we'll talk about discernment. 00:20:52.779 --> 00:21:03.680 And I'm going to encourage you, if and when you see the gifts of the Spirit at work in the lives of other people, especially if they're impacting you, you should always tell them, right? 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:09.060 You should always speak up when you feel like you're seeing a spiritual gift at work. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:10.300 What's it going to hurt? 00:21:10.299 --> 00:21:11.299 Right? 00:21:11.299 --> 00:21:12.299 Right? 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:20.399 So there's the gift of serving in Romans chapter 12, which is the ability to see and to meet practical needs, kind of like the gift of helping. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:25.960 Again, these are people who just know what needs to be done and they do it. 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:28.480 And they're the first people there, right? 00:21:28.500 --> 00:21:33.619 We always have people, we always have needs that exist within a church service. 00:21:33.740 --> 00:21:35.500 You know, we need people to read and we need people to pray. 00:21:35.500 --> 00:21:38.839 And we never have any problem getting volunteers for those positions. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:42.819 But then we say, you know, we also need people to come and to help set up. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.980 And that requires coming a couple of hours early. 00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:48.779 And we always have a hard time getting those spots filled. 00:21:49.420 --> 00:21:53.500 But there are certain people with the gift of serving who are simply willing to do that. 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:55.160 They're willing to be selfless. 00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:57.400 They're willing to give up their morning or their early afternoon. 00:21:57.519 --> 00:21:58.460 They're willing to come. 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:01.440 They're compelled to do it in a way that other people aren't. 00:22:01.480 --> 00:22:02.880 That's a spiritual gift, right? 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:06.520 There's the gift of giving, Romans 12, 8. 00:22:07.280 --> 00:22:13.720 People who are readily and sacrificially giving in ways that benefit others above and beyond what is expected, right? 00:22:13.780 --> 00:22:16.880 Every Christian is called to give sacrificially. 00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:27.520 And yet I know I've told the story a number of times of the husband and wife professor couple who I knew were some of my mentors in seminary. 00:22:27.600 --> 00:22:31.060 And they had worked up over the years to giving away 50% of their income. 00:22:31.059 --> 00:22:33.339 They both felt called to it. 00:22:33.399 --> 00:22:35.559 They both got tremendous joy from doing it. 00:22:36.159 --> 00:22:39.399 They shared the gift of giving and generosity, right? 00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:49.539 There's the gift of hospitality, which is the burden and the ability to welcome people and to serve them and to make them feel at home. 00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:55.339 Not necessarily being a good cook, not necessarily having a nice house, has nothing to do with Martha Stewart. 00:22:55.639 --> 00:23:02.240 This is the ability and the burden to welcome and to serve and to make people feel at home, to include people. 00:23:02.359 --> 00:23:04.839 We'll say that more in a little while or more about that. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:08.519 And then lastly, in this category, the gift of mercy. 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:10.700 Romans 12, 8. 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:12.559 And this is worth talking about a little bit. 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:20.279 Because if anybody has the gift of healing, I would really appreciate you healing my cough. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:21.220 It's driving me crazy. 00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:27.920 The Greek here in Romans 12, 8 literally says, mercy in hilarity. 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:30.019 Isn't that interesting? 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:32.579 Mercy in hilarity. 00:23:33.339 --> 00:23:36.559 But this is often translated mercy with cheerfulness. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:39.339 And that's really important. 00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:47.279 People with the gift of mercy have the unique ability to be able to deeply empathize with those who are struggling and in pain. 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:52.460 And yet they're able to do it in a way where they do not lose their cheerfulness. 00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:54.420 They do not lose their perspective. 00:23:54.899 --> 00:23:56.819 In other words, they don't get pulled under. 00:23:57.399 --> 00:23:57.519 Right? 00:23:57.660 --> 00:24:05.639 One of the things that you learn if you do lifeguard training is the idea that a lifeguard can jump in like you see in Baywatch. 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:08.519 And, you know, grab a drowning, struggling person. 00:24:08.619 --> 00:24:11.839 And by sheer force of their skill and ability, pull them out. 00:24:11.899 --> 00:24:14.859 You know, kind of one arm around their neck and swimming for the shore. 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:15.139 Right? 00:24:15.379 --> 00:24:16.759 That just is not realistic. 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:17.759 And the reason is simple. 00:24:17.879 --> 00:24:24.140 That somebody who is drowning is much more capable of pulling you under the water than you are pulling them out of the water. 00:24:24.279 --> 00:24:33.160 And so rule number one is always don't dive in without a rope or a float or something that you can use to help bring that person to shore. 00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:38.000 You have to stay tethered, if at all possible, to the side to be able to pull yourself out. 00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:39.839 Otherwise, you might drown along with them. 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:47.319 So people with the gift of mercy, you might think of that gift as that buoy or that float or that rope. 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:53.879 It's that spiritual power to dive deep into somebody's struggle and yet to not get pulled under by it. 00:24:53.879 --> 00:24:54.059 Right? 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.599 Sometimes you're meeting with somebody who's in pain and they kind of share their perspective. 00:24:58.039 --> 00:24:58.319 Right? 00:24:58.419 --> 00:25:00.399 And this is all the reasons why I'm hopeless. 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:03.060 And at the end, you're kind of sitting there like, yeah. 00:25:07.660 --> 00:25:08.960 I'm kind of hopeless now. 00:25:09.360 --> 00:25:09.580 You know? 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:11.920 And you kind of don't know where to go from there. 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:12.060 Right? 00:25:12.120 --> 00:25:23.660 So people, I think, with the gift of mercy are able to maintain that broader perspective and they have that extra spiritual power to be able to pull people out of the darkness of suffering. 00:25:23.800 --> 00:25:23.960 Right? 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:25.160 And you know people like this. 00:25:25.220 --> 00:25:27.820 Certain people that they are able to remain even keel. 00:25:28.680 --> 00:25:29.000 Right? 00:25:29.820 --> 00:25:32.980 They connect with you, but they're not destabilized by you. 00:25:33.120 --> 00:25:33.380 Right? 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:35.180 So that's the gift of mercy. 00:25:36.340 --> 00:25:38.900 Third category, final category, the kingly gifts. 00:25:38.900 --> 00:25:51.460 So kingly gifts, very obviously, concern the ability to lead and to know what direction a group needs to go and to organize and to communicate vision and to motivate people to move in the same direction. 00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:55.940 So first we have the apostolic gifting. 00:25:56.100 --> 00:25:56.920 Just want to be clear. 00:25:57.240 --> 00:25:59.540 Again, not the office of apostle. 00:25:59.800 --> 00:26:02.519 This is not like Paul or Peter. 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:06.960 But this is the small a apostolic gifting. 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:08.960 But it concerns the same function. 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:13.559 People who have the ability to start something new. 00:26:13.740 --> 00:26:15.759 People who can plow new ground. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:21.200 People who are able to envision something that does not yet exist and to bring it into being. 00:26:22.380 --> 00:26:27.860 And by the way, many missionaries are people with apostolic gifting. 00:26:27.859 --> 00:26:41.779 Because they're able to go into other cultures and with other languages and other practices and outside of their norm and outside of their comfort zone and to begin to build relationships and start ministries. 00:26:41.779 --> 00:26:42.179 Right? 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:44.559 So that is the apostolic gifting. 00:26:44.719 --> 00:26:52.000 But it happens just as often and just as well right here in our community as it does in any other place. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:53.240 So that's the apostolic gifting. 00:26:53.779 --> 00:26:55.519 Along with that, leadership. 00:26:56.099 --> 00:26:56.940 Romans 12, 8. 00:26:58.660 --> 00:27:02.019 The Greek literally translates leading in zeal. 00:27:03.619 --> 00:27:04.079 Right? 00:27:04.200 --> 00:27:08.819 So leadership is the ability to inspire and unite people around a common vision. 00:27:09.400 --> 00:27:09.920 Right? 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:18.619 Certain people have the ability to communicate direction, to communicate vision in a way that where other people respond, I want to be a part of that. 00:27:18.940 --> 00:27:19.140 Right? 00:27:19.140 --> 00:27:21.320 So that's the gift of leadership. 00:27:22.259 --> 00:27:27.259 A distinct gift alongside leadership is the gift of administration. 00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:32.020 But when we say administration, you should not necessarily think of a secretary. 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:38.800 Administration, the word actually for administration, literally means shipmaster. 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:43.740 So a shipmaster is someone who is very good. 00:27:43.859 --> 00:27:43.919 Right? 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:48.240 The shipmaster sits and they oversee the whole operation of the ship. 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:50.059 And they run the crew. 00:27:50.159 --> 00:27:50.980 They manage the crew. 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:52.919 They make sure everybody's doing what they need to be doing. 00:27:53.079 --> 00:27:56.039 And they're the people who know the best way to get from A to B. 00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:56.980 Right? 00:27:57.119 --> 00:27:59.019 They know how to navigate the waters. 00:27:59.180 --> 00:28:01.619 They know how to run the crew in an efficient way. 00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:03.799 They know how to get where they need to go. 00:28:04.919 --> 00:28:05.220 Right? 00:28:05.220 --> 00:28:12.480 So the gift of administration is somebody who's gifted at operations and logistics and knowing how to organize and knowing how to get things done. 00:28:12.940 --> 00:28:13.220 Right? 00:28:13.880 --> 00:28:18.279 So sometimes you see the gift of leadership and the gift of administration together. 00:28:18.279 --> 00:28:21.539 But very often they're distinct gifts and distinct people. 00:28:21.539 --> 00:28:24.500 There's another gift, wisdom. 00:28:24.659 --> 00:28:25.980 1 Corinthians 12, 8. 00:28:26.920 --> 00:28:30.259 These are people who are especially good at solving problems. 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:32.559 At finding solutions. 00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:35.839 They're people with a high level of insight. 00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:37.240 Right? 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:41.960 They're people who have a very reliable sense of gut feeling about things. 00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:45.579 And there's the gift of faith. 00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:47.859 1 Corinthians 12, 9. 00:28:48.379 --> 00:28:49.980 Now this is not saving faith. 00:28:49.980 --> 00:28:53.120 You know, sometimes I think we can confuse that. 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:59.980 This is the gift of faith that enables people to trust God in tremendous ways. 00:29:00.740 --> 00:29:05.680 Which often means that they set huge goals with tremendous confidence. 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:06.339 Right? 00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:12.980 Now the way to distinguish it is the people with the gift of faith, their goals actually happen sometimes. 00:29:13.819 --> 00:29:14.039 Right? 00:29:14.940 --> 00:29:17.299 These are not pie in the sky delusions. 00:29:17.299 --> 00:29:24.940 These are actually goals and hopes that are established through this gift. 00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:32.940 They enable people to dream of possibilities and to pursue things that other people would immediately write off as being impossible. 00:29:33.159 --> 00:29:33.279 Right? 00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:37.220 The gift of faith is also not necessarily opposed to doubt. 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:38.519 Right? 00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:40.299 Because doubt exists in everybody. 00:29:40.700 --> 00:29:40.920 Right? 00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:48.279 As we say many times in this church, there's not really a distinction between belief and unbelief. 00:29:48.339 --> 00:29:50.039 Because everybody believes something. 00:29:50.579 --> 00:29:53.700 And doubting one thing simply means that you're believing something else. 00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:54.839 Right? 00:29:54.839 --> 00:29:58.240 So it's not necessarily opposed to that. 00:29:58.299 --> 00:30:04.740 But the gift of faith is the ability to trust God and to act on that trust in tremendous ways. 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:07.339 So that's the gift of faith. 00:30:08.419 --> 00:30:09.919 So those are some of the gifts. 00:30:10.019 --> 00:30:12.740 I do want to say a little bit about the gift of tongues. 00:30:12.740 --> 00:30:20.579 I know that in this room with all of the backgrounds, and maybe this came up in your discussion group, that there are people who are totally freaked out by that. 00:30:21.099 --> 00:30:25.900 I know that there are people who have had maybe negative or weird or off-putting experiences. 00:30:25.900 --> 00:30:34.620 There are people who have maybe seen instances or heard of instances where people were speaking in tongues, and they knew that it was totally fake. 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:40.280 You know, you have the kind of, you know, wisecracking friend who goes and pretends to speak in tongues. 00:30:40.340 --> 00:30:48.280 Or at least I had that friend who goes into a charismatic Pentecostal community and pretends to speak in tongues just to see if somebody will interpret it. 00:30:48.360 --> 00:30:48.540 Right? 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:50.320 And not even a Christian. 00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:50.880 Right? 00:30:51.300 --> 00:30:52.300 Just hummina, hummina. 00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:53.680 And what does that mean? 00:30:53.780 --> 00:30:54.000 Right? 00:30:54.000 --> 00:31:03.480 And so there's all ways that we maybe have experienced negative aspects of this gift, and it's often very misunderstood. 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:13.740 But again, the simple reality is that the Bible acknowledges that this is a manifestation of the Spirit that does happen in the life of God's people. 00:31:14.279 --> 00:31:21.880 And along with all the negative experiences, I also know for a fact that there are people right here in this community, in this room, who do speak in tongues. 00:31:21.880 --> 00:31:23.320 Who pray in tongues. 00:31:23.800 --> 00:31:24.060 Right? 00:31:24.460 --> 00:31:26.380 And so there are some things to think about with this. 00:31:26.460 --> 00:31:31.880 The problem really comes when this gift becomes distorted or overblown or disruptive. 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:36.240 And that is always Paul's main concern with this gift. 00:31:37.080 --> 00:31:41.280 He says in 1 Corinthians 12.30, not all Christians speak in tongues. 00:31:42.260 --> 00:31:44.180 I mean, that's as explicit as you can get. 00:31:44.360 --> 00:31:45.980 He says, do all speak in tongues? 00:31:46.200 --> 00:31:47.200 Do all interpret? 00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:49.220 And the clear answer is no. 00:31:50.779 --> 00:31:54.180 And it's worth pointing out that he also says in Romans 3, 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:58.420 we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law, 00:31:58.860 --> 00:32:04.039 which means faith alone is the means by which we're united with Christ and justified. 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:12.119 So anytime somebody says, unless you speak in tongues, you are not a true Christian, point them to Romans 3. 00:32:12.659 --> 00:32:12.940 Right? 00:32:14.139 --> 00:32:21.019 But if you look at 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 and 14, Paul is dealing with tongues by trying to minimize their use. 00:32:21.559 --> 00:32:25.019 In other words, he's saying, you know, he's putting caveats around it. 00:32:25.059 --> 00:32:26.259 There needs to be an interpreter. 00:32:26.259 --> 00:32:31.339 And when you gather, you should only have one or two people stand and do this. 00:32:31.480 --> 00:32:35.059 And the sense is, is that this had become very disruptive in the life of the church. 00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:39.619 And lots of people were standing up and they were saying things that other people had no idea what they were saying. 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:43.240 And Paul's trying to say, no, worship needs to be ordered. 00:32:43.359 --> 00:32:44.240 It needs to be structured. 00:32:44.599 --> 00:32:46.519 It needs to be focused on Christ and the gospel. 00:32:46.859 --> 00:32:51.480 You don't need to be carried away with these things and allow them to become too big in the life of your community. 00:32:51.480 --> 00:33:04.779 And so his central teaching on tongues is that they always need to be done in love and in ways that build up the church. 00:33:05.019 --> 00:33:05.140 Right? 00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:07.920 And he uses the image of a clanging gong. 00:33:09.099 --> 00:33:09.579 Right? 00:33:09.819 --> 00:33:16.720 And he, you know, that tongues not done in love and without interpretation are like a clanging gong. 00:33:17.059 --> 00:33:17.240 Right? 00:33:17.240 --> 00:33:23.640 Now that's a very specific reference to idol worship when they would think that the gods and goddesses were asleep. 00:33:24.059 --> 00:33:29.079 And so they would hit a gong really loudly, literally to wake the gods up. 00:33:29.839 --> 00:33:34.980 And so he says, what he's saying is actually kind of a, kind of a, you know, it's kind of a shot to the kidneys. 00:33:35.140 --> 00:33:35.279 Right? 00:33:35.339 --> 00:33:42.299 He's saying all of that speaking in tongues that you're doing, that you think you're so great in doing that, that's no better than idol worship. 00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:43.759 Right? 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:49.079 If it's not done in love and if it's not done in ways that edify and build up the whole body. 00:33:50.379 --> 00:33:52.480 So he doesn't argue against it. 00:33:52.500 --> 00:33:53.900 In fact, he argues for it. 00:33:54.279 --> 00:33:56.980 And I think it's pretty clear that he has this gift himself. 00:33:57.119 --> 00:34:02.440 And yet at the same time, he says it needs to be kept in balance and we need to keep perspective. 00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:04.279 So those are some of the gifts. 00:34:04.380 --> 00:34:06.299 Again, not an exhaustive list. 00:34:07.700 --> 00:34:09.500 That, I wanted to go through all those. 00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:16.260 And now I want to say a word about how the gifts are distributed and then a word about how we might go about discerning the gifts. 00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:28.200 I like the way Tim Keller talks about, and you know, he's an odd one to maybe go to in talking about the spiritual gifts given his background as a PCA minister. 00:34:29.040 --> 00:34:32.440 But, and some of you don't know what that means, but that's fine. 00:34:32.440 --> 00:34:40.760 But, but I do think that, I do think that he's really helpful when he talks about thinking in terms of people having what he calls a gift matrix. 00:34:41.940 --> 00:34:45.119 In other words, everyone has a different gift matrix. 00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:49.440 Which means there are a number of factors to consider. 00:34:49.619 --> 00:34:56.139 It's not nearly as clear cut as saying, oh, well, Luke has this gift and Laura has this gift and Tommy has this gift, right? 00:34:57.400 --> 00:35:02.119 That the gifts that we have, and most of us probably have multiple gifts. 00:35:02.779 --> 00:35:04.679 There's no reason to think that you just have one. 00:35:04.920 --> 00:35:06.199 You probably have a number of gifts. 00:35:06.299 --> 00:35:07.059 Paul certainly did. 00:35:08.519 --> 00:35:10.519 But that that's not the only factor. 00:35:10.940 --> 00:35:12.719 That there are other factors to consider. 00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:19.099 And you might think of them in terms of your gift cluster, your gift context, and then your gift capacities. 00:35:19.980 --> 00:35:21.679 So just a quick word on what that means. 00:35:21.939 --> 00:35:23.039 You don't just have one gift. 00:35:23.099 --> 00:35:25.039 You have a cluster of gifts. 00:35:25.059 --> 00:35:27.599 And what you need to understand is, is that they interact with one another. 00:35:28.359 --> 00:35:30.099 To produce very unique results. 00:35:31.559 --> 00:35:32.000 Right? 00:35:32.079 --> 00:35:38.839 So you, you can have two people who share one gift, but because of the other gifts that they have, that plays out very differently. 00:35:38.840 --> 00:35:42.660 They're not, again, like distinct light switches that we turn on and off. 00:35:42.760 --> 00:35:44.059 They blend together. 00:35:44.180 --> 00:35:44.380 Right? 00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:51.120 So you can see this most evidently in different kinds of preachers who are all effective, but for different reasons. 00:35:51.220 --> 00:35:51.380 Right? 00:35:51.440 --> 00:35:54.900 So think about the effective preaching that you've heard in your life. 00:35:55.160 --> 00:35:57.160 And think about why it was effective. 00:35:57.159 --> 00:36:05.039 So you may have one person who has a gift of speaking that is clustered with a prophetic or an evangelistic gift. 00:36:05.619 --> 00:36:10.980 And maybe that person is particularly effective at preaching to skeptics and unbelievers. 00:36:11.179 --> 00:36:16.759 Particularly effective at opening people's hearts to God's truth in ways that they haven't been before. 00:36:16.940 --> 00:36:17.059 Right? 00:36:17.059 --> 00:36:23.920 And then you may have another preacher with a gift of speaking clustered with healing or mercy gifts. 00:36:24.759 --> 00:36:33.519 And maybe they're not necessarily as effective at preaching to skeptics and unbelievers, but they're really good at preaching to the brokenhearted. 00:36:34.179 --> 00:36:39.139 And they're really good at preaching and speaking words of comfort and healing. 00:36:39.739 --> 00:36:40.039 Right? 00:36:40.619 --> 00:36:45.500 And so you have different kinds of preachers because of their gift clusters. 00:36:45.719 --> 00:36:45.900 Right? 00:36:45.900 --> 00:36:51.619 Or to move out of that category, maybe you have somebody with a gift of hospitality and encouragement. 00:36:52.680 --> 00:36:52.780 Right? 00:36:52.860 --> 00:36:54.059 Think about what that would look like. 00:36:54.360 --> 00:36:58.880 And maybe they minister particularly well to people best over dinner in their home. 00:36:59.900 --> 00:37:00.220 You know? 00:37:00.380 --> 00:37:07.720 That you come in and you are welcomed and you feel like you're one of the family and your needs are provided for and you are built up. 00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:12.920 And you feel like they have entered in to your life as much as you have entered in to their home. 00:37:13.680 --> 00:37:14.059 Right? 00:37:14.059 --> 00:37:17.279 That's the gift of hospitality and encouragement at work. 00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:17.779 Right? 00:37:18.019 --> 00:37:22.320 But you also might have somebody with the gift of helping and serving. 00:37:22.799 --> 00:37:26.360 And maybe that person ministers best without ever saying a word. 00:37:28.159 --> 00:37:28.679 Right? 00:37:28.779 --> 00:37:31.460 So again, this isn't about introverts versus extroverts. 00:37:31.460 --> 00:37:37.360 Not always does it entail talking and interacting on a deep level with people about their lives. 00:37:37.720 --> 00:37:37.840 Right? 00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:42.380 There are some spiritual gifts that happen and work through you without you ever having to utter a word. 00:37:43.659 --> 00:37:44.539 So gift clusters. 00:37:44.960 --> 00:37:45.740 That's the first thing. 00:37:45.840 --> 00:37:47.619 What is your cluster of gifts? 00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:48.019 Right? 00:37:48.119 --> 00:37:49.320 And how do they interact? 00:37:49.320 --> 00:37:59.720 The second aspect, as 1 Corinthians 12.5 says, is there are different kinds of service, meaning there are different contexts where we serve best. 00:38:00.660 --> 00:38:01.180 Right? 00:38:01.179 --> 00:38:04.659 Some people are best suited to work with adults. 00:38:05.639 --> 00:38:08.000 Some people are best suited to work with children. 00:38:08.319 --> 00:38:08.440 Right? 00:38:08.699 --> 00:38:11.940 Some people's best context is an urban context. 00:38:12.059 --> 00:38:14.980 And some make more sense in a rural context. 00:38:15.399 --> 00:38:20.199 Some make more sense, particularly good sense, in an overseas or a cross-cultural context. 00:38:20.859 --> 00:38:21.059 Right? 00:38:21.059 --> 00:38:24.759 Some people do better with less structure. 00:38:24.920 --> 00:38:27.420 And some thrive and need more structure. 00:38:27.559 --> 00:38:27.739 Right? 00:38:28.259 --> 00:38:34.420 Some people are particularly well suited to learn new languages or adapt to new situations. 00:38:34.420 --> 00:38:36.380 So all of these are contextual things. 00:38:36.759 --> 00:38:40.039 So you can have somebody with a gift of prophecy or the gift of healing or the gift of mercy. 00:38:40.799 --> 00:38:47.460 But they also have certain kinds of service that maximize those gifts. 00:38:48.199 --> 00:38:48.480 Right? 00:38:48.480 --> 00:38:48.539 Right? 00:38:51.059 --> 00:38:58.840 And then the last thing is that 1 Corinthians 6.12.6 describes not only different kinds of service but different kinds of working. 00:38:59.019 --> 00:39:03.299 Which I think essentially means different capacities that people have. 00:39:03.360 --> 00:39:07.320 So in other words, your gifts can occur with different levels of strength. 00:39:07.840 --> 00:39:08.019 Right? 00:39:08.199 --> 00:39:12.759 Some people are particularly effective at teaching and speaking in small group gatherings. 00:39:13.239 --> 00:39:18.059 Some people are particularly good at speaking in much larger group gatherings. 00:39:18.199 --> 00:39:18.400 Right? 00:39:18.400 --> 00:39:25.180 Some people can minister at certain levels with certain kinds of pain or hurt or suffering. 00:39:25.539 --> 00:39:29.519 And some people are particularly suited for deeper levels of suffering. 00:39:29.680 --> 00:39:29.800 Right? 00:39:30.280 --> 00:39:34.420 We used to differentiate in the counseling world between the worried well and the walking wounded. 00:39:35.240 --> 00:39:35.500 Right? 00:39:35.579 --> 00:39:38.500 There are the people who are generally okay but they just need support. 00:39:38.619 --> 00:39:42.980 And there are the people who are struggling just to meet basic needs of hygiene. 00:39:43.860 --> 00:39:44.160 Right? 00:39:44.159 --> 00:39:48.019 And some people are better suited to care for one versus the other. 00:39:48.139 --> 00:39:48.319 Right? 00:39:48.420 --> 00:39:49.199 Different capacities. 00:39:50.420 --> 00:39:52.079 So the point is this. 00:39:52.179 --> 00:39:53.759 Each one of us is unique. 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:55.519 And no two people are the same. 00:39:55.619 --> 00:39:59.599 And no two gifts look exactly the same from person to person. 00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:05.480 And our job is essentially to figure out what our gifts are and figure out what our gifts are not. 00:40:05.579 --> 00:40:09.239 And then by the way, once you know what you are called to do and what you're not called to do, 00:40:09.380 --> 00:40:13.619 then you should start praying for God to send people in your life with complimentary gifts. 00:40:14.900 --> 00:40:15.259 Right? 00:40:16.119 --> 00:40:22.500 So, you know, we, our parish council, realize that there are certain gifts that I have and strengths that I can bring. 00:40:22.500 --> 00:40:29.199 But those are part of a larger list of things that this church needs in terms of its leadership. 00:40:29.619 --> 00:40:35.440 And we recognize that while I may have a gift of leadership, I do not necessarily have a gift of administration. 00:40:35.760 --> 00:40:36.780 I am no shipmaster. 00:40:37.280 --> 00:40:37.519 Right? 00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:38.639 And we need a shipmaster. 00:40:38.780 --> 00:40:38.940 Right? 00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:43.860 And so that's why we made the shift to bringing on Deborah. 00:40:44.139 --> 00:40:50.719 Because we realize that Deborah has the ability to do those things in ways shipmaster. 00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:59.099 The children's ministry is in that building. 00:40:59.319 --> 00:40:59.899 You guys are in it. 00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:12.000 Oh, man. 00:41:13.679 --> 00:41:16.039 Shipmaster. 00:41:16.219 --> 00:41:16.879 Boatmaster. 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:19.019 Captain. 00:41:19.519 --> 00:41:19.939 Captain. 00:41:20.719 --> 00:41:23.639 So many better words I could have used. 00:41:25.359 --> 00:41:26.619 We needed a captain. 00:41:26.759 --> 00:41:32.879 We needed somebody who could come in and organize the ship and get us where we need to go. 00:41:33.059 --> 00:41:34.779 And that's why we hired Deborah. 00:41:34.980 --> 00:41:38.919 You're welcome, Deborah, that that will now be living on in infamy forever. 00:41:39.779 --> 00:41:41.199 I did that just for you. 00:41:41.459 --> 00:41:45.199 Now, how do we discern our gifts? 00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:47.500 How do we discern our gifts? 00:41:47.500 --> 00:41:51.579 There's not a lot in scripture about how to discern your gifts. 00:41:51.639 --> 00:41:56.599 There's very, very, very frustratingly little in how to discern our gifts. 00:41:56.699 --> 00:41:57.920 I think there's a reason for that. 00:41:57.980 --> 00:41:58.920 I'll tell you in a minute. 00:42:00.440 --> 00:42:03.380 Before we get there, though, I do want to suggest a few ways. 00:42:03.380 --> 00:42:13.579 The easiest but by far the least preferred method is to take a spiritual gifts inventory. 00:42:13.579 --> 00:42:16.539 Now, let me caveat that. 00:42:16.660 --> 00:42:20.519 They can be very useful in giving you a general idea, right? 00:42:20.519 --> 00:42:21.619 Helping you narrow things down. 00:42:21.619 --> 00:42:25.339 Especially if you're somebody for whom all of this is new territory. 00:42:25.779 --> 00:42:32.339 A spiritual gifts inventory could be very helpful in orienting you and pointing you in the right direction, right? 00:42:33.559 --> 00:42:36.839 The problem comes, and I said we're going to do this in just a little bit. 00:42:37.199 --> 00:42:41.339 The problem comes if this is the only thing that you use to discern your gifts. 00:42:41.359 --> 00:42:45.460 If you just kind of, you know, fill it out and kind of show it to your church and say, 00:42:45.460 --> 00:42:46.559 All right, well, put me to work. 00:42:46.720 --> 00:42:48.380 This is what I'm here to do, right? 00:42:49.199 --> 00:42:51.079 That causes problems. 00:42:51.539 --> 00:42:56.199 Because at the end of the day, they depend entirely on self-reporting. 00:42:57.920 --> 00:43:03.780 And maybe you all are much better at this than I am, but I don't think we always know ourselves as well as we think we do. 00:43:04.420 --> 00:43:11.320 And I think that other people's experience of us may not necessarily be the same as our experience of us, right? 00:43:11.320 --> 00:43:15.720 And so they're not always that reliable. 00:43:15.960 --> 00:43:21.620 Moreover, you could have gifts that are up to this point more or less dormant, right? 00:43:21.680 --> 00:43:27.500 And you may answer no or zero or none of the time when in fact other people would say, you know, 00:43:28.620 --> 00:43:31.900 you might ought to consider that that's a gift that God has given you, right? 00:43:32.760 --> 00:43:36.180 And thirdly, they don't always line up necessarily with what we'd like to do. 00:43:36.240 --> 00:43:37.100 Now, sometimes they do. 00:43:37.180 --> 00:43:39.000 Sometimes our gifts are things that make us come alive. 00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:44.320 Sometimes our gifts are things that we look at God and we're like, how in the world do you give me this gift, right? 00:43:45.059 --> 00:43:48.039 So everybody wants to read scripture and pray, right? 00:43:48.619 --> 00:43:53.159 Nobody, very few people want to sign up for children's ministry or set up sound equipment, right? 00:43:53.380 --> 00:43:56.840 It's because we would all prefer to have certain gifts over others, right? 00:43:56.980 --> 00:43:58.619 But what are the gifts that God has given you? 00:43:58.780 --> 00:44:01.480 So least preferred but still useful. 00:44:01.480 --> 00:44:10.119 Another method that might help in kind of order of least to most preferred, another, the kind of second one that I want to suggest, 00:44:10.480 --> 00:44:18.460 is to think and introspect about the issues and the needs and the deficiencies that you tend to notice first. 00:44:18.460 --> 00:44:25.760 Because your gift set, your gift matrix, so to speak, is not just, again, a set of light switches. 00:44:26.179 --> 00:44:37.760 This more likely than not shapes how you are oriented to the world and it shapes how you are oriented to the problems and the needs of the world, right? 00:44:37.760 --> 00:44:43.060 It informs how you perceive problems and where you go to first, right? 00:44:43.980 --> 00:44:50.000 So in a church context, when there are lots of needs and lots of holes and lots of gaps and lots of things that always need to be done, 00:44:50.740 --> 00:44:53.960 what are the things that you notice first, right? 00:44:54.360 --> 00:44:59.620 What are the things that you respond to first and feel most competent to respond to? 00:44:59.619 --> 00:45:09.699 So for instance, my wife is always tuned in to the aesthetics of a space in terms of how the aesthetics are going to make people feel. 00:45:09.819 --> 00:45:10.880 Does it feel warm? 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:12.099 Does it feel inviting? 00:45:12.299 --> 00:45:14.219 Or does it feel cold and sterile? 00:45:14.339 --> 00:45:16.679 How does it, how does the space affect? 00:45:16.819 --> 00:45:24.900 And then on top of that, she's always tuned in in groups of people when there is somebody to whom no one is speaking, right? 00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:28.420 She just tunes in and it burdens and bothers her tremendously. 00:45:28.420 --> 00:45:31.440 Nobody is talking to that person or that person doesn't, right? 00:45:31.639 --> 00:45:35.460 And she notices these things and she feels the burden to fix it, right? 00:45:35.900 --> 00:45:41.260 Now I would say that those are things that would indicate that she has a gift of hospitality, right? 00:45:41.780 --> 00:45:47.940 She wants a space and she wants an environment and she wants factors that make people feel welcome and included. 00:45:48.059 --> 00:45:49.440 That's a gift of hospitality, right? 00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:53.980 So some people tend to notice disorganization and they notice inefficiency. 00:45:53.980 --> 00:46:02.280 And more than that, they can imagine exactly how they might streamline or organize a system or a process, right? 00:46:03.340 --> 00:46:05.360 They're like, I could make this so much better. 00:46:05.480 --> 00:46:07.340 I could make it so much more efficient, right? 00:46:07.800 --> 00:46:11.340 We've been blessed to have a number of those people serve in our parish council. 00:46:11.440 --> 00:46:14.300 And that is the right place for people with that gift to serve. 00:46:14.420 --> 00:46:18.199 They know how to make things work in efficient, organized ways, right? 00:46:18.199 --> 00:46:21.219 So that's a gift of administration potentially coming out. 00:46:21.599 --> 00:46:23.839 Some people notice things no one else notices. 00:46:24.739 --> 00:46:29.579 And they just intuit and they respond to those things without even having to be asked. 00:46:29.719 --> 00:46:33.500 So that's the help or serving gift coming out. 00:46:33.659 --> 00:46:36.519 So what are the things that you notice, the things that burden you? 00:46:36.519 --> 00:46:38.699 I'll say this. 00:46:38.780 --> 00:46:51.840 If there are things that you tend to criticize in this church or in your small group, often when people come to me with good-hearted, well-meaning critique, one of my first questions will be to say, 00:46:52.360 --> 00:46:58.480 have you considered what role you might play in fixing this or alleviating this need? 00:46:58.519 --> 00:47:01.360 Not necessarily because I'm just trying to recruit somebody. 00:47:01.360 --> 00:47:08.599 It's an honest question because I think sometimes the things that we can tend to be most critical of can actually be windows into our gifting. 00:47:09.480 --> 00:47:13.059 Maybe you're noticing it because God is calling you to do something about it. 00:47:14.660 --> 00:47:17.200 And you should always ask that question, right? 00:47:17.519 --> 00:47:24.380 So if you're in your small group and you're like, nobody ever takes the initiative to make it clear whether or not we're going to have food. 00:47:24.500 --> 00:47:30.420 And I always find out at like 4 o'clock and then I have to like run by Chipotle on my way to small group and it drives me crazy, right? 00:47:30.420 --> 00:47:33.980 Maybe you're noticing that because that's a role you're called to play. 00:47:34.599 --> 00:47:38.000 So don't, you know, maybe before you hammer your small group leader, right? 00:47:38.159 --> 00:47:40.760 Or just quietly resent them, right? 00:47:41.760 --> 00:47:43.539 Let's just be realistic, right? 00:47:44.440 --> 00:47:51.539 You should think maybe this is related to a spiritual gift that I have that I need to be activating in the life of this group, right? 00:47:51.539 --> 00:48:04.059 So the first two ways that I just mentioned are self-assessment, self-assessment inventory, and noticing your burdens, your issues, the areas that you tend to be critical of. 00:48:04.159 --> 00:48:05.059 Maybe that's a window in. 00:48:05.380 --> 00:48:06.279 Those are both great. 00:48:06.360 --> 00:48:12.659 But again, the one problem with both of these methods is they both rely pretty much on introspection. 00:48:12.659 --> 00:48:21.219 And you will never actually really successfully discern your spiritual gifts if you're only relying on introspection. 00:48:21.619 --> 00:48:22.739 It's not enough. 00:48:23.940 --> 00:48:31.079 So coming back to the thing that I said a moment ago, I think that the reason that the Bible doesn't really tell us much about how to discern our gifts 00:48:31.079 --> 00:48:43.559 is because every place that the Bible talks about spiritual gifts, it is assuming that everyone listening is actively involved in serving in the life of the church. 00:48:44.039 --> 00:48:53.179 It assumes that the people that are wanting to do the discerning are already involved, already doing things in the life of the church. 00:48:53.179 --> 00:49:02.159 And that is by far the best way to discern your gifts is to roll up your sleeves and to plunge in and to serve in a variety of ways, right? 00:49:02.299 --> 00:49:05.279 Don't necessarily wait to figure out what calls to you. 00:49:05.359 --> 00:49:12.379 A lot of the work of the church does not necessarily always make you come alive and like butterflies and rainbows in your heart. 00:49:12.419 --> 00:49:14.139 It doesn't always happen that way. 00:49:14.259 --> 00:49:16.699 Sometimes it's just hard work that needs to be done. 00:49:16.699 --> 00:49:25.599 But I guarantee you, if you roll up your sleeves and you plunge in and you serve, you will begin to learn more about yourself and your spiritual gifts. 00:49:26.759 --> 00:49:29.239 So you may have undiscovered gifts that come out. 00:49:29.579 --> 00:49:32.639 God may have ways that he wants to use you that you would never expect. 00:49:32.879 --> 00:49:38.719 So find the holes and the gaps and the needs and begin to plug them as best you can. 00:49:38.719 --> 00:49:46.459 And by the way, don't assume that your occupation will necessarily have anything to do with the way that you are called to serve in the church. 00:49:47.519 --> 00:49:48.259 It may. 00:49:49.339 --> 00:49:50.299 It may not. 00:49:51.059 --> 00:49:58.000 But if you're employed as an accountant, you may not necessarily be the one that's called to be the church treasurer, right? 00:49:58.219 --> 00:50:02.480 It could be that there are other spiritual gifts that you have that you're not even aware of. 00:50:02.480 --> 00:50:07.379 It could be that you would be best utilized teaching and leading a Bible study, right? 00:50:07.380 --> 00:50:11.420 Or leading in a mercy outreach in the city, right? 00:50:11.559 --> 00:50:16.119 There are ways that God may want to use you that you have not yet come across. 00:50:18.320 --> 00:50:20.000 And the last thing I'll say is this. 00:50:20.119 --> 00:50:24.700 As you plunge in and as you serve, do your best to allow yourself to be known. 00:50:26.460 --> 00:50:27.800 Which means two things. 00:50:28.579 --> 00:50:29.559 Presence and persistence. 00:50:30.460 --> 00:50:31.579 It doesn't happen overnight. 00:50:31.740 --> 00:50:33.320 Some of you are here because you're hoping to make friends. 00:50:33.400 --> 00:50:34.300 It's not going to happen overnight. 00:50:34.300 --> 00:50:47.680 But I can guarantee you that if you are present, meaning you show up, when people plan a happy hour or a hymn sing or go to a movie or dinner at their house, go. 00:50:48.680 --> 00:50:49.600 Be present. 00:50:50.340 --> 00:50:51.580 And then be persistent. 00:50:51.860 --> 00:50:52.700 Keep showing up. 00:50:53.360 --> 00:50:54.539 Keep seeking relationships. 00:50:55.120 --> 00:50:56.560 Don't wait for people to come to you. 00:50:57.220 --> 00:50:57.840 Go to them. 00:50:58.240 --> 00:50:58.780 Initiate. 00:50:58.940 --> 00:50:59.780 Stick out your hand. 00:50:59.960 --> 00:51:00.600 Make it happen. 00:51:00.599 --> 00:51:10.779 And by opening yourself up to those relationships and then opening yourself up to the feedback from the people who know you best, you're going to learn what's working and what's not. 00:51:10.860 --> 00:51:12.239 You're going to learn where you're bearing fruit. 00:51:13.480 --> 00:51:20.880 And along with that, and this is the last thing I'm going to say, we're responsible not only to discern our own gifts but to help people discern theirs. 00:51:20.880 --> 00:51:36.300 And so I want to, it's equally important not only for you to serve and you get involved, but as I said a moment ago, whenever you see people's spiritual gifts at work, whenever you look at somebody and you say, that was a particularly encouraging experience, or I noticed something unique about the way that happened. 00:51:36.539 --> 00:51:42.280 Whenever you notice that, even if it's just a hunch, just go to that person and say, you know, I really think that you should think about this. 00:51:42.280 --> 00:51:45.340 This is an area that I feel like God uses you. 00:51:46.060 --> 00:51:48.620 And the best way to do that is when it happens in your own life. 00:51:48.720 --> 00:51:51.880 God really used you in my life in this way. 00:51:52.160 --> 00:51:53.000 That's just feedback. 00:51:54.080 --> 00:51:54.380 You know? 00:51:55.160 --> 00:51:56.680 We can't know that conclusively. 00:51:57.160 --> 00:51:58.440 But offering each other feedback. 00:51:58.660 --> 00:52:00.019 Again, what's the risk? 00:52:00.140 --> 00:52:00.860 What's the harm? 00:52:00.860 --> 00:52:06.460 So that's some ways that we can go about discerning our spiritual gifts. 00:52:06.519 --> 00:52:08.079 So I'm going to stop right there. 00:52:08.480 --> 00:52:13.260 And I think I'm going to invite Deborah to come up and give us some announcements. 00:52:13.300 --> 00:52:21.920 And then I'm going to ask Melissa to come and help us understand how to take this spiritual gifts assessment. 00:52:22.220 --> 00:52:23.140 And what we're going to do is this. 00:52:23.160 --> 00:52:24.380 We're going to send you guys back out. 00:52:24.380 --> 00:52:27.920 So what I want you to do is to grab an assessment, a spiritual gifts assessment. 00:52:27.920 --> 00:52:30.360 And I want you to reform your groups. 00:52:30.940 --> 00:52:33.380 And I want you to go and I want you to fill out these assessments. 00:52:34.320 --> 00:52:37.119 And once you're done, so sit together with your group. 00:52:37.460 --> 00:52:38.260 Fill out the assessment. 00:52:38.680 --> 00:52:41.760 And then just share your results, you know? 00:52:41.920 --> 00:52:43.380 And your feelings about your results. 00:52:43.460 --> 00:52:44.260 Wow, this is interesting. 00:52:44.360 --> 00:52:45.180 I didn't expect this. 00:52:45.240 --> 00:52:47.139 Or this totally confirms what I already thought. 00:52:47.320 --> 00:52:48.220 Or, you know, this is something. 00:52:48.460 --> 00:52:52.280 You know, and just kind of react to it together and process it together. 00:52:52.740 --> 00:52:54.840 We're not going to reconvene here before lunch. 00:52:54.920 --> 00:52:56.360 So lunch is at 1230. 00:52:56.360 --> 00:52:58.740 And then after that, we are wide open. 00:52:58.820 --> 00:53:01.019 And I think Deborah may tell us a little bit about the rest of the day. 00:53:01.300 --> 00:53:04.460 So the point is, you can continue into lunch. 00:53:04.539 --> 00:53:06.880 Maybe your group can just grab food and continue talking. 00:53:07.039 --> 00:53:08.360 Or you guys can break up. 00:53:08.579 --> 00:53:12.420 But regardless, you have between now and 1230 to do that. 00:53:12.539 --> 00:53:15.140 And so let me ask Deborah to come up and give us the deets. 00:53:15.140 --> 00:53:15.240 Thank you. 00:53:15.240 --> 00:53:15.340 Thank you.