If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Romans 12.

At a potluck one Sunday after church, someone dropped a plate full of dessert on the floor. This is how people with different spiritual gifts would respond.

Gift of service: Oh my, let me help you clean that up. Gift of teaching: The reason that it fell was because it was too heavy on one side. Gift of exhortation: It’s okay, don’t be discouraged, but next time, maybe you should let someone else carry it.

Gift of giving: Here, you can have my dessert. Gift of mercy: Don’t feel too bad. It could have happened to anyone. Gift of ruling: Jim, would you get the mop? Sue, please help pick this up. Mary, could you get her another dessert?

Gift of prophecy: I could have told you that was going to happen. Gift of evangelist: It’s good news that the dish didn’t break! Gift of pastor: In Matthew 15:27 it says, “the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.”

We’ve all been gifted differently and so we act and react differently and we serve the Lord differently according to how God has gifted us.

Every believer has unique God-given abilities. They are many emotions and reactions with the gifts.

A lot have uncertainty over the gifts, with what theirs is and what gifts are in operation today. Many have guilt over their gifts, unsure if they are using them or doing well with them. Some expect everyone to do what God has gifted them at.

Some compare their gifts with others and feel proud of their gifts or they feel like theirs are not important by comparison.

Some selfishly want the more public gifts and try to serve by a gift they haven’t been given by God. Others try to claim all the gifts, and end up frustrated and disillusioned.

We need to discover our gifts and be content with how God gifted us. And we need to know that each of us with our gifts are vital to the church.

R. W. DeHaan writes: “If God made you a teacher—be a teacher, and study diligently. If He’s given you the gift of compassion—do it cheerfully and don’t expect others to do what you do. Accept your spiritual gifts. Cultivate your capabilities. Stop comparing. Use what you have!”

Romans 12:1-2 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

For the first 11 chapters of Romans, Paul has shown the mercies of God in saving us, empowering us to live for Him, choosing to set Israel aside for a time and to have a program for the Gentiles under grace.

Here we are begged in light of these mercies, as an act of worship, to present our bodies a living sacrifice, or to offer ourselves to the Lord, our whole soul, body, mind, will.

This is the basic desire of God that He lays down for every believer. It’s no different for you than it is for me. God wants my life. That is the entrance into being used by God.

Vv. 1-2 show there is unity at the level of commitment, as this is God’s desire from all of us in the Body, but then vv. 3-8 show there is great variety at the level of service.

Paul shows here that there is oneness, we are “one body in Christ,” but then that there is diversity in that oneness as like a body that has many members, so the body of Christ has many members, and verse 6 says, we each have differing gifts.

There are no two believers alike. There are no two of us who serve the Lord exactly alike. There’s oneness with distinction and differences in the church.

These verses together demonstrate to us that though we all enter the place of being used by the Lord with the same self-sacrifice, from there on there is great variety.

A common question is: How do I know what gift or gifts God has given to me? There are surveys with questions and checklists out there on the internet you can take. There are seminars on this that address this question.

But the simple answer is Romans 12:1,2. We will never find or know our gifts, and we will never know their potential, until we first live out Romans 12:1 and 2.

It’s when we make that one-time and daily decision to offer myself as a living sacrifice, and strive by His Word to live a set apart and acceptable life unto Him, being not conformed to the world, but transformed above it, by my mind being renewed by God’s Word, through prayer, and by fellowship with other believers, that you are going to prove, test, demonstrate the good, perfect will of God in regards to your service and your gifts.

The perfect will of God in this context is referring first to the gifts, to what Paul first talks about after mentioning the perfect will of God. It’s His will to live by our gifts.

We won’t find out God’s will regarding our spiritual gifts if we are not living for the Lord.

We can’t fully define our gifts or see them develop or at work if we only give the Lord none, or a small percentage, of our lives and our time.

But as we give ourselves as a daily, living sacrifice and serve Him faithfully, we’ll begin to see our gifts shine, defined, and see their potential and fullness.

So how do I know my gift? First, know you’re gifted, then present yourself a living sacrifice, serve with your whole heart. And it’s good to seek confirmation from those you know and trust spiritually. And then when you begin to see it, go for it, do it.

Romans 12:6-8 says, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

“Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

I don’t believe that we can over-simplify and say cut and dried that these people have the gift of teaching, and these people have the gift of showing mercy and group them.

You have a gift and it’s a blending of giftedness and strengths and talents into a uniqueness that makes you like nobody else.

You take a person, with varying amounts of Bible knowledge and different life experiences, a unique personality, different pasts, strengths and opportunities, and when you get it all mixed together, every Christian comes out distinct so that every one of us stands alone in the body of Christ with a ministry that no one else can do except you.

In these gifts you may see things that you do in each of them, but your gifts are more dominant and I believe they come the most naturally and enjoyably to you.

Prophecy was a gift at that time, but it has since ceased. 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail,” or cease or pass away. That happened with the completion of the Word of God.

We don’t need any more supernatural revelation from prophets. We have the whole revelation of God in the Word of God. Having “prophecy” listed first, however, shows the primacy and importance of God’s Word and His revelation for us to live by.

“Ministry” is the gift of serving. It says if you have the gift of serving, then get after it, in light of the mercies of God, be serving.

It’s a support gift, a gift of practical help. It could come in a million ways, unique as each individual. There can be all kinds of dimensions to it.

It’s seeing a need and stepping in to a gap to help. Those with this gift rarely have to be told what is needed. They discern needs, know how to help, have the ability to help, then do so without request, without any need for notice, or expectation of applause.

This gift being high in the list is interesting also. The Spirit wants to highlight the fact that serving, the least public, the least honored gift is an exalted position in the Body.

It’s Christ-like. Christ said in Mark 10:43-45 that: “…whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”

Doug Sparks writes: In the mountains of Taiwan, I met another Navigator missionary who said he had met Navigators founder Dawson Trotman. “I’ll never forget Dawson Trotman,” he said. “He was one of the most outstanding men I ever met.”

When asked what Dawson had said that impressed him so much, the missionary replied, “Oh, I don’t remember anything he said.” “Well, what was so outstanding about him?” “I’ll never forget it,” he said. “He cleaned and shined my shoes.”

Dawson Trotman is said to have been that kind of person. He loved doing things for people. He found enjoyment in discovering little needs they had and then making it his objective to meet those needs.

Servanthood marked his entire Christian life and he even died as he lived, giving his life to rescue someone else from drowning in 1956.

In Dawson Trotman we see a man who had a gift for ministering to the needs of others and who had the mind of Christ in becoming a servant to all.

We see the gift of service at local churches in so many ways, with the music ministry, weekly bulletin, cleaning, repairs, nursery, church dinners, grass cutting, snow shoveling, meal ministries, etc. The church is dependent on the helpers, the servers.

Next is the gift of teaching. We get our word “didactic” from the Greek word. This speaks of an informative, educative, systematic training.

The gift of teaching is the function of systematically training people in the Word, taking them from point A to point B to point C systematically. This can be done one-on-one, in small groups, in large groups.

You see it constantly taking place in the ministry of the local church in the adult and young people’s Sunday School classes., Junior Church, and various Bible studies, ladies, men’s, group studies, that take place in the church.

Teachers have the ability to communicate the revealed truth of God with knowledge, ease, and clarity. They are gifted in bring the Word to life, by expounding, interpreting, unfolding the meaning clearly so that people may understand.

By the Holy Spirit, who is the Teacher of the Word, they are gifted by God help others to learn God’s Word.

These gifts from God are to be used anywhere. Not just the church. You can minister it any place. And the best place to start is at home.

If you have the gift of showing mercy, show it to you family. If you have the gift of giving, give to your spouse and children.

If God uses you to exhort or to teach, encourage your family and teach your children the Word of God. If you have the gift of ruling, lead your family first.

We should also recognize that these are all things God wants us to do. We can rationalize and make excuses by the gifts, saying, “Well, that’s not my gift, I can’t do that.”

Such as: “Sorry, I’d certainly like to give to this person in need, but my gift is not giving.” Inside: Phew. Or more convicting: I know that person needs to hear the gospel, but my gift isn’t evangelizing.

We may not be gifted or have strengths in these areas, but God uses our weaknesses for Him too, and He makes them strong. He uses our faith.

We may not have the gift of teaching or ruling, but we can teach God’s Word to and show leadership in our families.

And we should help, encourage, show compassion, and be giving towards the church and toward all people.

Next, “exhorteth.” This speaks of the gift of encouragement. It can come in a lot of ways. It’s a very broad thing. It’s to put strength in others. The world can tear us down, break us down, put us down. We need encouragers in the church to build us up.

Exhorting is also about advising. One with this gift also comes alongside to urge to do what is right, and to drive God’s truth home. They can give tough talk without offending.

They give wise counsel by the Word. They give you just the right verse which is exactly what you needed at that moment. They say the right thing at just the right time.

They pray with you and lift you up. They send you a card, a text, or email that keeps you going forward in the encouragement of what they said for days. If that’s your gift, don’t keep it to yourself. All of us in the church need it, and need you.

Next, “giving.” Charles Swindoll writes: My life has been crossed by men who have the gift of giving. Maybe yours has also. When I was at Dallas Seminary, God used a man in my life and in the lives of ten other fellows at the school at that time.

Howard Kane chose to underwrite our tuition. Absolutely unsolicited. Each time tuition came due, there was a check in the mail. I remember one time he came to Dallas and got all eleven of us together and said, “I want us to take a drive downtown.” After a sandwich, he took us several blocks away to a men’s store.

Inside he suited us up in new suits, new sport coats, one fellow after another. He sat there and just beamed! He was happier than we were!

He wasn’t wealthy, but there was something inside of him, a spiritual gift, that was not satisfied until there was an outlet for that gift. That’s how it is with the gifts. We need outlets for them, and we find joy through them as we live out how God has gifted us.

This isn’t the normal word for “give” in the Greek. It’s intensified, and means to “super-give.” All of us are to give, but some have the gift of super-giving. They’ll give you the shirt off their back. They take joy in it. They do it without thought.

People with this gift look for opportunities to give, offering what they have beyond normal. Sometimes they’re wealthy, but more often they are people of average or below average means who give of their means and earthly possessions, and their time, energy, and expertise. They do it without needing recognition.

Gifted givers don’t want bronze plaques or buildings named after them. They prefer anonymity. They see needs, it jumps at them, then they react quickly to meet it.

Give “with simplicity” Paul tells those with that gift. Simplicity speaks of a simple, single purpose: to give for the glory of God, for Him. It’s a gift not done with a division of motive, hoping someone notices your generosity. It’s done just for Christ.

Then Paul mentions the gift of “ruling.” And he says if you have the gift of ruling do it with diligence. It means to stand in front, to oversee, to lead. It’s a gift to be done with diligence, or earnest care, not in a careless, haphazard, halfhearted fashion.

This is the ability for administration, to organize, make things happen, cover the details, get people together, get them moving in the same direction, accomplish the job.

The church can’t function without this. It needs leadership. God has designed the church to have leaders. The church needs administrators who can keep the church on course with fairness, with wisdom, with vision, with efficiency, with humility.

All the gifts need the humility instructed in Romans 12:3. All of us are “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly.”

Finally, the gift of “showing mercy.” It speaks of those who show compassion. The gift of compassion and mercy is about people who sense the need of those who are hurting and they know how to comfort, when to speak and when to remain silent, when people need space and when they need someone there. They comfort by the Word & prayer.

They show mercy toward those who are in pain or suffering or deprived. They’re in the jails. They’re down at the hospital. They’re at the rescue mission.

They make house visits to the home bound or lonely. They’re at the nursing homes. They reach out to the hurting, the down and out.

Paul says that those with this gift are to do so with cheerfulness, because that’s what people in those kind of situations need: cheering up. Don’t go to people who are in misery and be miserable around them. Bring cheer to them by your joy in Christ. Cheerfulness is important in ministering to people in hardship.

It’s interesting how Paul writes this passage. He doesn’t get into a technical definition of each gift, as much as he writes saying to get at it. It’s a call to get moving.

He says, you, who have been recipients of the mercies of God, present your bodies a living sacrifice and get busy doing what He has called you to do on His behalf.

If you have the gift of service, get serving. If it’s teaching, get teaching. If it’s encouragement, then encourage. If it’s giving, do it, with simplicity. If it’s ruling, do it, with diligence. If it’s showing mercy, do it, with cheerfulness. It’s all a call to action.

Because Antonio’s voice was high and squeaky, he did not make the tryouts for the Cremona Boy’s Choir.

When he took violin lessons, the neighbors persuaded his parents to make him stop. Yet Antonio still wanted to make music.

His friends gave him a hard time because his only talent was whittling. When Antonio was older he served as an apprentice to a violinmaker. His knack for whittling grew into a skill of carving and his hobby became his craft.

He worked patiently and faithfully. By the time he died, he left over 1,500 violins, each one bearing a label that read, “Antonio Stradivarius.” They are the most sought-after violins in the world and sell for more than $100,000 each.

Antonio couldn’t sing or play but his responsibility was to use his ability, and his violins are still making beautiful music today.

It’s the same for us. Our responsibility is to use the gifts and abilities God has given us for the good of the Body of Christ and to please the Lord who gave us our gifts.

Next time, we’ll be looking at 1 Corinthians 12, and what Paul says about everybody being a somebody in the Church, the Body of Christ. Thank you for joining us.