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>>  : It's the word of God. Sharper than any two edged sword. This sacred book is living and active and contains all that's needed for life and God. Stay with American Family Radio for the next hour as we study God's word and take your Bible questions.

All believers have some spiritual gift, says Bert Harper on Exploring the Word

Welcome to Exploring the Word.

>> Alex McFarland: Do you know what your spiritual gift is? We're going to be talking about that in this show and maybe we'll spend a fair amount of time talking about our spiritual gifts, walking in and serving through our spiritual gifts. You know, it's been said that you're gifting and your calling is. I love this quote. Listen. Where your deepest desires intersect with the world's greatest needs. Hi, Alex. Harley Harper. And now the fruits of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience. That's different than your spiritual gifts. I'm going to define it this way and then we'll let Bert Harper weigh in on it. But as I understand the NewSong Testament and as I've, you know, been a believer 35 years myself, at the moment of salvation, the, the Holy Spirit of God supernaturally imparts to you some strengths, some competencies, gifts, and no, believer has every spiritual gift. But all believers have some spiritual gift, Bert. I think it's usually about one or two or three and within that there'll be the predominant strength. And God gives us this equipping for our, our growth, for his glory, but predominantly to serve the body of Christ and serve within our church. And I just, I don't think we can say enough about knowing our spiritual gifts and, and using them for the building up of the body and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

>> Bert Harper: I agree fully. And this is really, it starts, Alex, with Christ in you, when Jesus Christ has come to be involved in your life and through the indwelling Holy Spirit, he brings with him the capacity to live in the fruit of the Spirit. And he brings with him the equipment of the gifts of the Spirit to serve and minister. So the fruit of the Spirit is to be developed in your life. And I would say the, the gifts of the Spirit are to be used and developed in your life. Now, one more thing and I'll throw it back to you. There is a difference in talents and gifts, the spiritual gifts, but the spiritual gifts does enhance the talents that you have in your life, doesn't it Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, it really does. It really does. And by the way, I want to tell you, this is very exciting. There's, there's four places in the NewSong Testament that we read about spiritual gifts. And, and I kind of think they're pretty easy to remember. First Corinthians, 12, Romans, 12, Ephesians 4 and First Peter 4, it's 12, 12, 4, 4. and we're going to do a deep dive and go into this because here's the thing. Maybe you're a brand new believer, you've been a follower of Jesus a short while, or maybe you've been a believer for many, many years. It is a wonderful thing to be able to realize what your, your spiritual gifts are. and this is not ego, it's not anything, you know, to be proud about or something. But God gives every believer abilities to serve in the church. And Bert, let me just say this, how, how you and I love the church. There are over 340,000 churches in America. And when, when the, the members of a local congregation are walking in and serving in their areas of giftedness, people are much, much less likely to get worn out or burned out. In fact, when you're in your area of strength, far from depleting you, it actually builds you up. Now I've been in a few places where I had some responsibilities that was just a little bit out of my league. It wasn't in my area and I tried to do my best, but at most it might have been adequate. But when you're in your spiritual gifts and the the Lord is working through you, and you know, the Lord is your source and your strength, it doesn't deplete you. It actually you can finish a job feeling strengthened and, and just built up. And that's just the, the glorious reality of the spiritual gifts and how the members of Christ's body can, can use them. And it's frankly, I think, not only fruitful for the gospel, it's joyful for, for the participants.

>> Bert Harper: I agree fully. And we have some gifts, call them talents that are natural. There are people who have, the natural ability to encourage, I've seen it lost people that encourage. You also have people who do not know the Lord and they demonstrate an area of mercy toward individuals. So these spiritual gifts that God gives is not necessarily contrary to what you don't have and then he gives them. But if you have some natural abilities, then when God gifts you with the supernatural ability of gifts, it enhances it. And, I was looking at buying vehicles recently and they were talking about a four cylinder versus a six cylinder and all the things that go on. They say, well, that four cylinder, it can really do if it has turbo boost, if it can do, it certain things. Well, what happens? And I'm using this example, Alex, and you can comment on it, right? Or get through with the talents that someone has, when they get a spiritual. The spiritual gift that's even in their area of their talent. It's like that turbo boost, it enhances it and God uses it even in a greater way for his glory. Do you get that?

>> Alex McFarland: The turbo kicks in. Yes. I think that's a great analogy, Bert.

Every person who is born again has been given at least a gift

>> Bert Harper: Okay, with that in mind, when we talk about First Corinthians 12, this is where it really gets to the point of every person who is born again has been given at least a gift. Is that right, Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: That is right. Let me read some of this. I just think it's so beautiful.

>> Alex McFarland: And then we're going to go,

>> Alex McFarland: in depth and you know, if you're listening, maybe you know what your spiritual gifts are. But one of the beautiful things. And I know I've. I've seen this in my own life, Bert, and I gotta tell you, as a young believer, I was as reluctant and felt so inadequate. Still do. But with God's gifting will also come God's opportunity for the use and the development of those gifts. But first Corinthians, chapter 12. Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Paul uses that phrase several times. He goes, I don't want you to be uninformed about this. let me go down to verse four. Now, there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations or activities. That's what that means. But it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all. In other words, for the benefit of everybody. And Bert, before we go too much further, I want you, you to comment. So here's the thing. The. There's a body of believers, and there's just all kind of men, women, boys and girls that make up, the family of believers. But there is one Holy Spirit. The. The very same Spirit that drew Billy Graham and D.L. moody to Christ. Is the Holy Spirit working in your life, my friend. And the very same spirit that the apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit of God, regenerated his spirit and filled him with gifts. That's the same Spirit that works in every believer, a big church, but the Holy Spirit and different gifts, administrations, operations, manifestations. But the same spirit works throughout the body of Christ for the benefit of all. Is that how you read this, Bert?

>> Bert Harper: Definitely. And when you see this, and when you see each one, you see each one has their own track. And by that I mean like word of wisdom or a word of knowledge. Guess what? They are enhanced by knowing the word of God. When you know the word of God and wisdom spoken at an opportune time when it needs to be spoken in, is enhanced through the knowledge of the scriptures. The same thing is word of knowledge. God can give you that. But again, he has given us the scriptures that we know them and they can identify. So what happens? The word of God feeds these gifts. It's like, okay, someone has a talent of art, of drawing, and they can go to an instructor who knows how to blend, how to encompass that in a full drawing. It enhances their ability. They already had that gift, but because of that which they learn. So the word of God plays an important part in each one of these spiritual gifts. Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

Bert says there are two words of wisdom and one word of knowledge

>> Alex McFarland: You know, in 1 Corinthians 12, 8, I want to camp out a little bit on this. The, the. The nuance or the distinction between the words of wisdom and the word of knowledge. Okay? The first, a word of wisdom. And the word is Sophia. you know, philo, Sophia, philosophy. That's a love of wisdom. And really, this word speaks to not so much book learning. But I truly think wisdom is a gift from the Holy Spirit that, it's been said that wisdom is to see life and to live life from God's perspective. Now, the next word, the word of knowledge, is a variation of the word gnosis, G, N O S E S, nasis or nacios. Now, that does speak to your intellect and things you learn. And, and let me just say this while. A word of knowledge, and there's innumerable things to learn, obviously, but say knowledge of the scripture. And you've worked, you've read, you've memorized, you've internalized God's word, and you're knowledgeable about it. But yet the first word, a word of wisdom is really. It might be head knowledge, but it might be intuition or godly instinct, but the Holy Spirit working in and prompting you, guiding you. But, Bert, I gotta tell you, when somebody is not only knowledgeable, but by the Spirit, of God, also truly wise. My goodness, what a, what a powerful, admirable life that is.

>> Bert Harper: It is the combination of those two things. And here's where you use a word of wisdom, word of knowledge, where it comes into our lives operationally. It is in situations and decisions. And usually these situations and decisions always mean choices. It can be choices about direction. It can be choices about trust of individuals. And having this enhanced through the power of the word of God, it enhances these. And when you, when I'll put it this way, when they run parallel side by side with one another, you want these qualities in your life. let me share with you. I think Alex, and you can see what in leadership, I would say how essential these are because that's what you do just about all the time in leadership, pastoring full time, as I did and had to have situations and knowledge. It was so important to have the knowledge by which I could make the decision. So putting wisdom and knowledge together, what a blessing that is. Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, amen.

Bert and Alex discuss spiritual gifts ahead of America's 250th birthday

>> Alex McFarland: For those just tuning in, Bert and Alex here, we're talking about spiritual gifts because, let me just tell you, one of the reasons I felt led to kind of pursue this is because everybody's talking about they want the church to grow. Praise God. We've got the ability, and the call from God to see the church grow as every believer identifies and invests and uses their spiritual gifts.

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>> Alex McFarland: As we go,

>> Bert Harper: let us go make disciples.

>> Alex McFarland: As we go, let us tell the world of Christ.

We're doing a special study on spiritual gifts and how we use them

>> Bert Harper: Welcome back to Exploring the Word. This is Bert harper along with Dr. Alex McFarlane and it's our joy to be with you today. And we're doing a special study on spiritual gifts and how God gives them and how we use them for his glory. And, and the amazing thing is Alex gave the introduction just in the first segment is Paul spending a lot of time on the gifts of the Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual gifts and those are not for us to enjoy. But for God to use for missions and evangelism and edification of other believers. So today, we want you. This would be a good study for you to follow along, and you can hear it on podcast. If you need to go back and see it, you can Simply go to afr.net, go to podcasts, scroll down to Exploring the Word and find the date, and you'll find this there. So, Alex, as we look at this and we look at what Paul was saying, he was very profound in all these giftedness that, he wants each individual to know that God has given them not for their pleasure, but for the edification of the church. That's. That's important, isn't it?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, it really is. You know, last, week, a few days ago, you and I were in Nashville at national, religious broadcasters, and we. Down on the floor, American Family Radio had a big display among dozens of other ministries. And, Bert, I was looking around that room, and it just blessed my heart. And there were people that were broadcasting, and they were people that were, you know, having little prayer huddles, and we did some radio, and in the background was a lot of noise. And, I said, folks, that sound you hear is the sound of the Great Commission, because, you know, everybody was doing what they had been called to do. And I'm going to continue reading in First Corinthians 12 because, every local church, I. I just think it's a beautiful thing when it's a beehive of activity, just like that convention we were at, and what's it all about, the Spirit. And the relationships that we invest in and the programs that we plan and carry out, and then the week by week, you know, instruction, which very often is Sunday school or small groups and worship and proclamation, which is the Sunday, services. It's for the glory of God, the salvation of souls, the Great Commission, and the ushering in of Christ's kingdom. And folks, if you're a believer, you have something to contribute, you have spiritual gifts. And Bert, I'm going to get back to First Corinthians 12, but let me just lay this out there. Every believer contributes and, and can be used by God. I think that's a beautiful thing. In Christ's economy, there are not spectators, there are participants.

>> Bert Harper: Amen, Alex. And when you look at the work that God has left for the church, guess what? Where most of the work should take place? In the fields. He says, look into the fields, which are ready and running over for harvest, and they'll See your good works and glorify your Father who's in heaven. Now, what does good works have to do with spiritual gifts? It has the idea of using them for God's glory. And even if it's the issue of, of something that is so usually inside the walls, it can be used and seen and observed by those who are outside those walls in the church. So the spiritual gifts is for each individual to bring glory to the Lord. And when we use them for his glory and not for our own benefit, of saying, look at me, I, think the work of the Holy Spirit is not being observed. And Alex, so these gifts that God has given is for the church. And you use this, and Paul uses it as the body. And wherewith Paul would say, I'm the hand, I don't need the eye, or I'm the foot, I don't need the arm. How foolish that is. No, we need one another because no one, no one person has all the gifts. We are gifted with certain gifts or a gift, it could be singular, but most of the time, as Alex said earlier, it is plural with one being. I would say your primary. It is the gift that just drives you more so. And so Alex, when you read this in First Corinthians 12, and he gives all these gifts, many of them are for activity, some of them are spoken, some of them are administrative, but they're all giftedness for the body of Christ to operate. So we could carry out the great commission of Jesus Christ to evangelize and to edify those two big E's. Let me throw it to you a second. Those two big E's in the church is evangelism and edification.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: I'm going to read on. again, the first Corinthians 12, okay? Diversities of gifts. and we mentioned the word of wisdom to another, the word of knowledge by the same spirit to another, faith by the same spirit to another, the gifts of healing by the same spirit to another, the working of miracles to another, prayer, prophecy to another, discerning of spirits to another, diverse kinds of tongues to another, the interpretation of tongues. But all these work that one and self, same spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. Now, this list of, the First Corinthians 12, 4, 11 generally speaks of what we might call miraculous and revelatory gifts. So this list again, and I know you probably don't hear this preached on too much, so don't panic, but it's in God's word, so we're not gonna omit or gloss over it. I mean, this is in the Bible. I'm gonna read this list. I'll, say one more thing. I'll throw it back to Bert.

Alex: Generally, the spirit of God distributes different gifts organically

Okay. The word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the gift of faith, the gift of healings, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing spirits, speaking in tongues, an interpretation of tongues. And you know, Bert, what, what's interesting to me about Christ building his church in. I've seen it in large churches. I've seen it in little, small country churches. Generally, the spirit of God distributes different gifts kind of organically.

>> Alex McFarland: let me say this.

>> Alex McFarland: It's not like, by the way, if, if you had a church, let's say you had a hundred people and every single one was a preacher, that would, not only be, problematic, it could be potentially unhealthy. what's so beautiful is in any church, regardless of the size, because, you know, Matthew 16:18, Christ said, I will build my church. God knows how to build the church. Yeah, you're going to have one or two or three that have some preaching and teaching gifts, but you're also going to have some that have gifts of service and leading and, definitely. And what a blessing this is. You have people with gifts of administration. And we'll, we'll get there, Bert. my point is, isn't it beautiful that a local body of believers, regardless of size, generally will have an even distribution of the various kinds of gifts?

>> Bert Harper: I would say so. And in my experience of preaching and pastoring, they are. And we need one another as, as Paul would say, needing one another. And, he. He doesn't necessarily put one over another. and I've said this many times, and I've used this example. Paul refers to it as the body. And the most important functions in the body are those that are not seen, Alex. The brain, the heart, the lungs, and there's others how important these are. But we don't see them operating. But they are operating. But, but we know when they are not. Now, we know when the tongue is operating. We know when the ears are operating correctly. And so here it is. Don't think a certain gift because someone like the talent of singing, I love that talent. Musical ability is amazing to me, since I have none but listen. That's ability. But when you put that ability with the gift God has given you, I would just say that I'm going to use music or singing, and you put edification to that. In other words, you want to encourage it again. And I know I've said this, and I'm repeating myself knowingly. It enhances that, that you have. The talent is enhanced, but the gift is enhanced also by the ability you have. So when you look at all of these and you put them in that local church, it makes the body complete, operational, and not just hopping along, but I would say running the race with grace and great faith. When you put those combinations, Alex, you have a church that is going to do and operate in the spirit of the Lord.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, amen. Amen.

One of the gifts in this list is the gift of faith

you know, by the way, folks, in this list, one of the gifts, and this is so beautiful, is the gift of faith. And maybe you've been around people and they, they are able to believe God for great things. And with faith very often comes vision, and they can see things. You know, I've said this, but, I was so blessed in seminary at Liberty, my evangelism professor was Bill Bright of Campus Crusade. It was such a blessing. And he had big faith. And, back from the 50s through the 90s, really, I mean, he did some things. And there was. There was a time when Campus Crusade for Christ had like 600,000 staffers traveling the world. And he, you know, built great big camps out in California and around the world. And he had faith. And one time, Josh McDowell and I were talking about Bill Bright. And of course, Josh was with Bill Bright ever since the early 60s. But Josh McDowell said Bill Bright would, you know, look at some country like South America. And he said, within two years, we're going to have X amount of missionaries on the ground here. And he had the vision and he had the faith. And when he passed away, I've said it many times, but I called Brad Bright, Bill Bright's son, and I, said, hey, condolences on the home. I'm going to your father. And we were talking about faith. And Brad Bright said, my dad served a big God.

>> Bert Harper: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: And I say that, but I think it's time we, we get some big faith for our big God who wants to do big things.

>> Bert Harper: I agree. And William Carey even said it before, you know, you know, believe great things from God and try great things from God. And that started the modern mission movement that we know of today. And you can name person after person. Billy Graham, Jerry, Falwell, Dr. James Dobson. Started in a garage, and look what all happened. And two great ministries, focus on the family, family talk. All of these are part of what God says. Faith, believing God, and so, so much of that. But it also goes on to healing. Now Alex, there's physical healing, but praise God for spiritual healing, and then there's emotional healing. And I really believe the healing here has those ramifications. It's not just the fear physical. It is that, of emotional especially. And again, how the word of God is enhanced in all of these. And you combine someone who's been trained in healing, and then God gives them a spiritual gift of healing. It is a great combination. That's when I've seen m personally doctors who had all this training, but they were in connection with God. and I believe you can have the word of wisdom, a word of knowledge given to each one of these. This great faith is enhanced by the other gifts. Now, if it's true in one individual, as we've gone out before, how enhanced it is when it's two individuals or three individuals, that Bill Bright would believe that, but his wife was there to encourage him to, through her gift of encouragement. And so these gifts work together, for individuals, especially in the body of Christ. Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen.

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you know, I was thinking about in healing and, there's. This is so rich sometimes. And look, I believe in doctors and medicine and, you know, availing ourselves to what humans can do. But the beautiful thing in the church, when somebody has a physical issue, a disease or cancer or whatever, obviously we get good medical care. But, you know, I also think word about, like, James 5:14 and, and the book of James, and I think this dovetails with First Corinthians, 12 here, 12, 9. But James 5:14 says, Is anyone among you sick, let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord and Bert, I will. I'll just tell you. And, and I realize in many church circles you just don't hear of this anymore. But I think we need to get every bit out of God's NewSong Testament that we can. I believe in laying on hands, praying over people, specifically asking Jesus to heal people and praying together in agreement. And, you know, sometimes God heals, and sometimes people get healed by being taken on to heaven. But ultimately, you know, Bert, the, the, the body of believers, trusting the spirit of the Lord to save, to heal, to restore, to empower. it's time that we walk in these, these promises of God.

>> Bert Harper: Amen, Alex. And let me just say, all healing is from God, even those that tried anyway. But when God touches you and your life is ready and the healing of God, you're ready for more service.

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Exploring the Word is all about Jesus. It's making much of Jesus through his word

Now back to the Bible study. You're listening to Exploring the Word on American Family Radio.

>> Alex McFarland: It's about the cross.

>> Bert Harper: It's about the cross, my sin. It's about how Jesus came to be

>> Alex McFarland: born once so that we could be born again. It's about the stone.

>> Bert Harper: Yes, it is. It's all about Jesus. And that's what this program really is all about. It's making much of Jesus through his word, through testimony of what God has done, is doing and is going to do. We hope you're excited about that. We're excited about what God, God is doing even today in changing lives, in strengthening believers and even what we were talking about earlier in the other segment. And that is God's power. it's not our own. It is his.

Alex: Bert, does God still do miracles and there are spiritual gifts

Alex, when you were given that last, admonition about God's healing in the church, gathering together to pray for someone, I could not help but think about at the Shantung Revival in China. This is before, the communists took over and missionaries, were really working. And there was a group of missionaries who. One of those missionaries was very, very sick. They were, going to have to come home, but she really did not want to and her husband was not ready either. So they were reading in the scriptures and they came to that passage of scripture you were talking about in James and they decided they were going to do it. And so as they did, they also noticed that they were, before praying, laying on of hands, anointing with oil. They would confess their sins and confess their faults with one another. And they started doing that. And there were so many grudges and a little Bit of attitude toward one another, that it, believe it or not, they got over the laying on of hands and anointing with oil. But guess what? The lady was healed.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen.

>> Bert Harper: you know, when we look at what we need to do, the most important, we need to be right with God and our fellow believers, aren't we?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, and I'm glad you brought that up. You know, many years ago you mentioned the Shantung Revival and, and, I really first learned about that from you, Bert. And I began to read up on it, and it was an amazing. One of the great miracles of God. And really, I think in the entire church age. And I would encourage people to familiarize themselves with that. You know, before the break, I was kind of stumbling, around, and I'm just going to lay this out there and you feel free to comment. we're talking about spiritual gifts. And I think that we are in a time period where the church, we desperately need for Christians of all strata to really discover what your spiritual gifting is or spiritual giftings are. And to be in a church serving and walking with the Lord and among the gifts. And you probably, at least in the American church, you don't hear this preached on a lot. But there are in 1st Corinthians 12, 4, 11 really miraculous and revelatory gifts. And we've read this list a time or two, and this is worth really investing time in. But, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing spirits, that's really discernment, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues. Now, regardless of what you've been taught or where you've come up from, Bert, I want to say two things, one very declarative and one may be cautionary. God, the Holy Spirit is still working through his body. And what you read about in the Book of Acts, is maybe different from what you've seen in your church. But I wanna say this, and I say this having seen on foreign mission fields and just in America too, really, our God is still in the business of intervening in people's lives. And, I mean miraculous. Bert, I've seen and witnessed things that are just inexplicable except by the power of God's Holy Spirit. So can God. And does God still do miracles and there are miraculous giftings within the body of Christ? Absolutely. But at the same time, I want to say this. We've got to remember the power is of God, not man. And there are sometimes that, there's this phrase, the cult of personality. M In all of our church work, whether it be, laying on of hands and seeing a healing take place, or, miraculous words of knowledge from God and then others get an interpretation. I want to be very clear. This is how I understand it, Bert. This is not about any individual being elevated up and getting a lot of attention. And, oh, this person has a gift of healing that nobody else has. And therefore, I've got to make my way to this or that human individual. The only name that we're about lifting up is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And while I've seen a lot of gifted people be used by God in just astonishingly wonderful ways, the power is of God, the focus is Jesus Christ, the glory goes to him. And, let's just remember that the subject of spiritual gifts is not about anybody being a rock star or celebrity. It's all about Jesus, the furtherance of his kingdom and his power being used to save and redeem lives.

>> Bert Harper: Well said, Alex. I could not agree more. It is about the Lord Jesus Christ in every way. And, we see, you know, different things. In the Book of Acts, when, Paul, you know, healed, and then we read in some of the letters that people were, and he was telling about praying for them because they are sick and you are unto death. And all of a sudden the healing did not take place. you know, it is in Christ and not in man. And, it is by my spirit, saith the Lord. So whether it's any of these miraculous giftedness or revelatory giftedness, it is of God. And it's also for evangelism and the edification of the church, not the build up of an individual. Matter of fact, if you read in the Book of Acts, when they wanted to lift Paul up and say he is a God, he certainly did not let them continue in it. He stopped it. And he says, it is God, not me. So, Alex, when we see these gifts, whether it be miraculous powers, that seems to be areas that hard to define, you know, exactly. But we know it was a miracle. God did it. And, he brought this about. And also it was in his time prophecy had the idea of foretelling, but also forthtelling. And it seems to me that the giftedness of prophecy has more to do with forthtelling today. And the ones that have some insight on, I would say future, comes from, I'd say, the revelatory word of God. This is what God is doing. And all of these, with all my heart, I believe they're tied into the word of God.

>> Alex McFarland: Ah, absolutely. Absolutely.

The church of the 21st century must rediscover the authority of scripture

You know, Bert, I had the great privilege, a few days ago of being, in Virginia and doing a pastor's conference, an all day pastor's conference. And it was really humbling. quite a number of men drove from the surrounding area and surrounding states and the thing over and over we talked about apologetics, biblical worldview. A lot of men had a lot of questions about exploring the Word and the things you and I do. But it all came down over and over. And there were dozens of pastors from quite a number of denominations. But we all were in agreement that the church of the 21st century must rediscover the authority of scripture. That it's not my opinion, it's what God says, and it's not by, you know, my street, smarts or how clever. No, it's God's Word. And here's the thing. I agree with you. Forth telling or proclaiming what saith the Lord, not foretelling the future. I, just don't believe any. I'm very leery, very leery of anybody that believes they have the gift of foretelling the future. However, at the same time, I've known a lot of very wise people with a lot of discernment, and they seem to be able to pretty accurately tell what's on the horizon. Not by being a prophet like Daniel, but just having the wisdom and the maturity that comes from knowing God's Word. Billy Graham used to say, that he could read the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other, because it was like we were living in very spiritually, biblically significant times. And I completely agree. And I guess what I'm saying is that, Bert, all around the country, I kind of hear this sentiment. And I would apply it to you and me and everybody listening if you want to be wise and be able to be ready, ready for this day and prepared for tomorrow. Immerse yourself in the word of God, because God's Word is the authority.

Bert says we are responsible to cultivate our spiritual gifts

One other thing I've got to say, though, Bert, about the spiritual gifts, as we've been starting this out and we're going to do more, maybe you're thinking about, okay, you know, faith, believing God for big things. That really resonates with me, or teaching or explaining God's Word in an understandable way. Maybe you kind of see your own spiritual gifts, Bert. I believe the areas of strength and competency, spiritual giftedness. God gives us, let's say, a dose of this, but then we have to invest in it. And just like you might practice a musical instrument and you become more proficient or you work out. I know pickleball is all the rage now. And people say they go and they practice. They're getting better and better at pickleball. Well, I really think, you know, when, 2 Timothy chapter 167 talks about stir up the gift within you, we are responsible to maximize practice, polish up the usage of that gift to the maximal degree possible. Wouldn't you agree?

>> Bert Harper: I agree. And again, that is what God demands of us. the word continue. Continue in the love. Continue doing what God has called you to do. And with the spiritual gifts. Let me just say this. even though two people have the same spiritual gifts, say, the gift of faith, it will be demonstrated with other things in mind. In other words, and I've shared this before on this program, but again, I do it again. It's your spiritual shape, S H A P E. Your spiritual gifts. But that spiritual gift that God has given you, again, to cultivate it, to work on it, it also has to do with your heart, what your passion is. It may be a country, it could be a group of people, an age group, your abilities over in. Especially when they were getting in Moses day and they were gathering all the materials that was needed, and then using those materials, you know what they'd say? They were filled with the spirit and with great ability. Okay, their ability was not their spiritual gift. Their ability was talents that they had. And so your spiritual gift of, like, encouragement, if you have the talent of singing, guess where that's going to be expressed a lot in the songs that you sing. That really encourages me. It also has to do with your personality. you know, Gary. Gary Smalley's done a great job of the animals, which is the otter, the beaver, the golden retriever and lion. But all different people have different ways of expressing their personalities. But your personality will determine some of the ways. How you, how. When you have the gift of teaching, how will it be expressed? And then, fifthly, with shape, your shape is experience. The experience that you have, will have a lot to do with how you use your spiritual gifts. So along with your spiritual gift that you discover you have, cultivate it, use it for his glory. All these may not be like your brother or your sister that has the same spiritual giftedness, but it's expressed differently because of who God has made you and the experiences that he's given you. Alex. So doesn't that make the body unique? It's like, I would say Fingerprints. Nobody's just exactly alike, brother.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, exactly, exactly. and the body of Christ is so unique and it really, it's beautiful how it's this whole tapestry of saved sinners, but with different giftings.

Bertrand Russell: Stir up the gift within you. Two Timothy, chapter one

And you know, I mentioned the, the second Timothy. Stir up the gift within you. Two Timothy, chapter one. Bert, let me say this. Did you ever see maybe on one of the channels, there's a restaurant in Thailand that this fire has been going, the fire in the cook stove, for 81 years, since 1945. This particular restaurant. And apparently in Asian countries, Tokyo, Japan, Bangkok, Thailand, it's common to, if you, I guess, get a fire lit, you never let it go out, right? So the wording in 2 Timothy 1:6, in the English, it says, stir up the gift within you. Well, the word there, I'm not gonna try to pronounce it, cause it's about a five syllable Greek word, but it means rekindle, fan into flame, or kindle afresh. And I think about the fire in the little cafe in Thailand, burning for 81 years. They've never let it go out. And what about us? To fan into flame and kindle and use and live in the spiritual gifts. we all know Adrian Rogers, just one of the great preachers of the 20th century. And Bert, at least in pastor circles, whenever somebody said, oh, so and so is a great communicator, invariably they would mention Adrian Rogers. I mean, he was the best of the best. Besides being a devout man of God, he was an orator among orators. Agreed?

>> Bert Harper: Agreed. Yes.

>> Alex McFarland: But do you know what I heard him say? That when he was just an undergrad, he would make lists and he would make outlines and he would practice and he would sit in the library to the late hours trying to plan. He stirred up the gift. He was good. He had natural ability. But he also invested. He put some skin in the game. And, it's work, isn't it, to stir up the gift within us?

>> Bert Harper: it really is. And so I remember as a kid, I'd get in front of the mirror and throw a baseball. But not a real baseball, just an imaginary baseball. And I was in the World Series. Now, that was imaginary. I wanted to do that. But when I started preaching, I said, you know, I need to get in front of a mirror and look to see what I look like when I say these words. And again, that slight little bit. But it is the necessity of, following through with what God has given you. You don't want to be lazy. You want to be strong and powerful. So we encourage you to stir up that gift that is in you. Fan that flame and use it for the glory of God that others might see Jesus Christ.

>> Alex McFarland: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio. The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Introduction to Spiritual Gifts

Understanding the Difference Between Talents and Gifts

Exploring Key Scriptures on Spiritual Gifts

The Role of Spiritual Gifts in the Church

Encouragement to Identify and Use Your Gifts

✍️ Episode References

PreBorn
https://preborn.com 

American Family Radio
https://afr.net 

First Corinthians 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2012&version=NIV 

Romans
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012&version=NIV 

Ephesians
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204&version=NIV 

First Peter
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%204&version=NIV 

Bill Bright
https://www.cru.org/us/en/about/bill-bright.html 

Adrian Rogers
https://www.lwf.org/