Let me say what I said yesterday. The gifts are not toys, they’re tools. You need them to do the job. And if you refuse God’s equipment and can’t do the job, you’re going to be answerable to God for the job you didn’t do.

Then in chapter 14, verse 1:

“Pursue love...”

A lot of people stop there but it doesn’t stop there.

“Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.”

It doesn’t say pursue love or desire spiritual gifts. They’re not options, alternatives. It’s pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, but particularly that you may prophesy. Are you particularly desiring this morning to prophesy? If not, you’re not obeying scripture.

And then verse 26 says:

“How is it then brethren, whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation?”

When God’s people come together, we should not come each of us merely to receive, we should come each of us with something to contribute. One of the main ways we can contribute is out of the gifts of the Spirit. See, that’s God’s equalizer. Some people are naturally gifted, they’re intelligent, they’re educated, they’re articulate, they’re not embarrassed, they can stand up and often speak too long! But, there are a lot of others who are kind of mousey and they don’t have much and say, “What can I do?” Well, if it rested on your natural ability, that might be so. The truth of the matter is God gives you supernatural ability. Paul says He gives it to the part that needs it most. You have two people in a church. One is a doctor, the other is what we call in Britain a char lady. You wouldn’t know what that is, but a cleaning woman. In the average non spiritual church the doctor becomes a deacon, the char lady just sits in a pew. Everybody knows that’s her place. But when the Holy Spirit moves, the doctor is still a deacon but the char lady becomes a prophetess. See? That’s God’s wisdom, that’s God justice. If we refuse the supernatural, we just tie ourselves down to our own limitations.

Now, bearing in mind that these two happen to be in the wrong order, I said that’s just to keep you alert, we’re going on to what is number three on the outline is number two for me. Specifically to interpret. Okay? We’re going to come now to the point where I’m going to lead you into the exercise of the gift of interpretation. Are you ready to be led? That’s your decision. I want to point out to you that the Bible encourages us to interpret. 1 Corinthians 14:5:

“I wish you all spoke with tongues...”

How many Baptist churches acknowledge that? “I wish you all spoke with tongues.” How many is all? All is all, isn’t it. But that’s not all, that’s just the first part.

“I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more, that you prophesy. For he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.”

Understand, the key word in

Exercising Spiritual Gifts

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