The Mighty Ministry Gifts Of The New Testament Church (Part 1)

November 19, 2019
Dear Visionary Leader:
Many believe Charles Spurgeon, Pastor of Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, England, outside the apostle Paul, was the greatest preacher who ever lived. Spurgeon told a very interesting story.
He told of a woman that had been a member of his congregation, who was very poor and lived in poverty-stricken housing. Pastor Spurgeon went to visit her to give her some comfort and some help. While he was there in her room, he looked up on the wall and saw a framed certificate that was a legal document. Thus, he walked over and read it. It was a document transferring great wealth to this woman. She didn’t know what it was. She had framed it and put it on her wall.
This is what had happened: She had served as a nurse and had taken care of an elderly man. When he died, he left her his estate. She didn’t know what it was. She was untaught and unlearned. Finally, when the bank learned about it, they said, “We wondered who the old gentlemen left his estate to.”
When I think of this story, I want to remind us that when the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, He left us an incredible inheritance! We need to learn it and live it!
It may be that you have not yet discovered what you have in the Lord Jesus. I want to talk to you today about your spiritual gift. Could it be that you have it framed as a motto on the wall rather than having carried it to the bank to cash it and use it? Or could it be that you have left your gift under the tree, wrapped and unopened and, therefore, unappreciated?
When God saved you, God saved you by His grace, but God did not save you to sit, soak, and sour; God saved you to serve.
In Ephesians 4:7 we read, “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”
Now God has given to you a spiritual gift. “But unto every one of us is given grace…” Do you see the word grace? It’s the Greek word “charis.” It’s the word that we get our word charismatic from. You have a charismatic gift. Did you know that you’re a charismatic person? Well, you say, “I’m not charismatic.” Well, don’t think by charismatic that we mean somebody who has a ready smile, a firm handshake, and verbal ability. We say, “Well, that man is charismatic. He’d make a good politician.” That’s a corruption of the word charismatic. The word charismatic merely means a person who has been gifted by grace. “To every one of us is given grace (charis) according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”
Message is continued below in Visionary Coaching.
You are a gifted child of God. But you may be like that poor woman who does not understand what the gift that you have is, and you don’t know how to use it. So, we’re going to be looking at how you can discover, develop and deploy your spiritual gift and minister in the Body of Christ.
How The Gifts Are Delivered
The first truth we need to learn is how the gifts are delivered.  “But unto every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”
God has given you a grace gift. Therefore, do not insult God by saying God cannot use you. In the church, there can be no inferiority; there can be no superiority. We are what we are by the gift of God.

Remember that every one of us has a charismatic gift. What is a charismatic gift? Here’s the definition. “A grace gift. A charismatic gift is a God-given ability for service and ministry.”
This gift goes beyond natural talent. Talent is natural; spiritual gifts are supernatural. They’re supernatural in source, supernatural in nature, and supernatural in purpose.
We do not choose our spiritual gift, any more than we could choose our natural gifts. We can develop our natural talents, but we don’t choose them any more than you could choose the color of your eyes or the color of your skin. You get that genetically by your first birth, and your talents are encoded in you genetically by your first birth. However, spiritual gifts are given to you at your new birth. Just as your natural talent is natural, your spiritual gift is supernatural.
How did you get this gift? Well, it is the gift of your ascended Lord. In verse 8: “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high [who is that talking about? Jesus], He led captivity captive [who is that talking about? The devil], and gave gifts unto men [who is that talking about? You]. He that ascended, is also He that descended first into the lower parts of the earth. “He that descended is the same also that hath ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.”
The Lord Jesus descended. He came to this earth, lived a perfect life, suffered, bled, died on the cross, was buried and rose again. When Jesus Christ died on that cross for us, with His blood He purchased our salvation, and at the same time He broke Satan’s back. Satan’s kingdom came crashing down. Satan and his malevolent forces were demolished at Calvary.
Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ, by His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, led captivity captive. Satan had taken the world captive, but Jesus took Satan captive. He led captivity captive.
The apostle Paul is talking here about a Roman triumph. When a Roman general would go off and fight the war for Rome, if he won the battle, he would come back to the city of Rome for a parade called “The Triumph.” In the triumph, the Roman general would come, the air would be filled with incense and perfume, and he would be riding upon his white horse. There would be a parade, the priests would be there swinging incense and perfume, and the people would be there giving their praises to this general.
Behind this general would be the conquered kings and generals. They would have been stripped naked, absolutely naked. They would be chained to the conquering general’s chariot wheels and dragged along behind the chariot. The people would be praising the conquering general. They would be jeering and mocking these who have been stripped, shamed and subdued. Their power is gone and their pride laid in the dust. Next, behind them would come servants, bearing all of the spoils of the battle; the riches that had been conquered. They had been brought back to Rome to be given to the people of Rome.
Until The Last Person Has Heard,
Dr. James. O. Davis
Founder/President
Global Church Network
Cochair / Global Networking