The Importance of Gifts XI
As we have now come to see, there are many different spiritual gifts. While each spiritual gift is given to the born again believer by the Holy Spirit to be used to glorify God, we have seen that there are some that go hand in hand. For example, earlier in our series we saw that the gifts of healing, miracles, and faith all work together. Without the faith that God can, in His will not ours, provide healing and miracles these gifts would not be able to be performed. Today, we will discuss two other gifts that work together. The gifts of teaching and exhortation.
When you hear the word, “teach” or “teaching” I am sure you envision an individual standing in the front of a room seeking to impart knowledge on others, and this would be exactly right. However, what most believers fail to understand today is that this is not a gift solely given to those who are called to be pastors. This is a gift that needs to be utilized more often by the body of Christ, it is a gift for those who are able to accurately impart the Word of God to others. For example, small group leaders. However, the gift of teaching does not end here. If you are a parent, you need to be praying for the gift of teaching. Our children’s first look into who God is, is through us. If we are unable to accurately teach them about God, we are failing. We cannot rely on Sunday and Wednesday to be the only time our children hear about Jesus Christ, it is something that we need to be teaching them daily.
The second gift that we are discussing today is the gift of exhortation. Exhortation is to exhort and build others up to keep their focus on the Lord. A believer who is practicing exhortation could be seen as someone who is actively using their faith to encourage others in theirs. As a teacher brings a person knowledge, an exhorter encourages the person to the knowledge. The gift of exhortation helps identify true believers. Exhortation is contrary to those who claim with their lips but deny Christ with their actions.
When we are in the presence of a spirit filled Christian who has the gift of teaching, they will naturally be a teacher that is Christ centered teaching other Christians. For a spirit filled believer who has the gift of exhortation we will see them encouraging other believers to stay the course. These two gifts go hand in hand. If we are not taught, we can’t put it into action. If we do not teach, then others will fail to grow. If we do not act, we become spiritually obese and the gospel does not spread. For two gifts that are often overlooked, they provide perhaps the biggest impact in the life of a Christian, which is why we need to be praying for chances to teach others about God’s word, to build up others in their faith, and to put what we have learned into action.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex