Sermons | FBC Boerne
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Sermons | FBC Boerne
Recharge | The Holy Spirit | Fall 2025: Week 6
Have you ever wondered why you seem drawn to certain aspects of ministry while others feel like a struggle? The answer might lie in understanding how the Holy Spirit has uniquely gifted you.
Drawing a powerful contrast between the ill-fated British Light Brigade of 1854 and God's provision for believers, Pastor Daniel Justice illuminates how God has strategically equipped every Christian for meaningful service. Unlike those soldiers who rode into certain defeat without proper resources, followers of Jesus have been given everything needed to thrive in their spiritual mission through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The spiritual gifts distributed by the Holy Spirit aren't random talents or arbitrary abilities. They represent God's wisdom in action—His perfect understanding of what each local church needs to fulfill its unique calling. When Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12 that these gifts are given "for the common good," he's highlighting their practical purpose in building up the body of Christ. Your gifts aren't trophies to display but tools to deploy in service to others.
What makes this truth particularly beautiful is its source: God's lavish grace. The same unmerited favor that brought salvation continues to operate as God enables us to participate in His kingdom work. Every gift comes "according to the measure of Christ's gift" (Ephesians 4:7), reflecting God's intentional design for each believer's life and ministry.
For those wondering how to start using their spiritual gifts, the pathway is refreshingly practical: discover, develop, and deploy. Through prayer, spiritual gift assessments, and feedback from others, you can begin identifying your unique contribution. Then, with practice and persistence, these gifts can be developed and deployed where they're most needed. The goal isn't perfection but participation—stepping out of the spectator's seat and into God's mission with the confidence that He has equipped you for the journey.
What spiritual gift might God be calling you to use today? Your contribution matters more than you know. The church needs your unique giftedness, and the world needs to see Christ magnified through His diverse and unified body.
It's good to see you guys tonight. I appreciate the introduction by Mark. If you were in here, I do. He likes to pick on me, he gives me nicknames, but you know, I am still just like I was this summer. I am still choosing to respect my elders and so I am not going to get him back. I'm going to continue to rise above and just. I just don't want to pick on my elders. That's just not how I was raised and I'm just going to be kind. So no, hey, I am so glad you're here. It's good to be with you tonight.
Speaker 1:We're going to continue our series looking at the Holy Spirit and his work in the life of the believer. But before we jump in I want to ask you if you're like a literature or an English person. You may remember a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson called the Charge of the Light Brigade. Have you ever heard of that? All right, so you may know the story behind that poem and actually it's a really sad story and I read the poem today and I thought I do not want to bring us down on a Wednesday night, so I'm not going to read the poem. It's pretty bleak. But here's the story behind it In 1854, the British Light Brigade, armed primarily with swords and lances, followed the orders that they thought they had been given and they rode straight into a wall of Russian cannons during the Crimean War.
Speaker 1:They had not done proper reconnaissance, they didn't have support there's thoughts that they didn't even actually hear the right instructions but they went with what they were told, armed with nothing but courage. But what happened was total defeat. It was almost annihilation for the 600 that were part of this light brigade. They were sent into a battle that they had no ability to win because they did not have the tools or the support or the resources to win the battle that they were facing.
Speaker 1:And what we're gonna look at tonight in the work of the Holy Spirit, what I hope that we see, is that that is not how our God operates when it comes to what he has called us to do as followers of Jesus Christ. He has equipped us, he has resourced us and given us all that we need to live and to even thrive in this world to lift up the name of Jesus. And so tonight what we will look at is the fact that one of the roles of the Holy Spirit in our life is the giving of gifts that he gives us. You may have heard that just said spiritual gifts. You may have done studies over time that says what is my spiritual gift? You've read passages of scripture.
Speaker 1:There's four primary texts in the New Testament that list out some of the ways that the Holy Spirit gifts the child of God to edify the body of Christ and to shine the light of Jesus to a hurting world. And so Jesus? Here's the point. Jesus did not leave us powerless when he ascended to heaven. John 14 and John 16, which we've looked at in previous weeks here.
Speaker 1:In Recharge, jesus said it's better for you that I would go away, because when I go away I will send the spirit who will not just be beside you, he will dwell in you and he will teach you all things and he will equip you. And throughout the New Testament we see the writers of the New Testament picking up on that idea and understanding, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus has indeed, through the Spirit, equipped us with tools to use for his glory, to edify and to strengthen the body of Christ. These gifts that we are given, they are not meant to be trophies that we put on the shelf and say, well, I've got the gift of prophecy. Look at it sitting over here, it's shiny, it looks really nice. Or well, I've got the gift of teaching, or the gift of administration, or the gift of mercy, and man, let me just have conversations just to kind of brag, right? Well, we kind of puff ourselves up and like, well, this is my gift. No, the language of New Testament is that the gifts we've been given are to be used in the work that God has given the church to do. The gifts that we've been given by the Holy Spirit come from the wisdom of God. He knows what his church needs in order to accomplish what he's called it to do. So think about that for a moment. This local church, this body of believers here at First Baptist Bernie they're here. The Holy Spirit knows exactly what this church needs to be able to do what God has placed us here to do in this community and in all of the different things that God has called this church to do. And through the wisdom of God, he has gifted each and every follower of Jesus with unique giftings in order to serve this body and to make it healthy and to make it vibrant and to put it on mission. We're not like that brigade in the 1800s that were told to go but didn't have the tools with which to be victorious when they went. We can be.
Speaker 1:I want you to look at a passage of scripture with me this evening, found in 1 Corinthians 12. If you've got your Bible, if not, the verses are gonna be on the screen. But look at what Paul says to the church at Corinth. Now, there are varieties of gifts but the same spirit. And there are varieties of service but the same Lord. And there are varieties of service but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. Do you see that the source of all of them is God's spirit? It's the Holy Spirit that indwells us, who has empowered us with these unique and various gifts. Paul tells us why so that we could participate in the common good of this body of believers. So I want us to think for a few minutes. Why would God do that? Why would he do that? What is the source of these gifts? If God's spirit is the one who does this, why would his spirit gift us? We could see the answer to that if you flip over to Ephesians. Flip over just a few pages to the right, to Ephesians, chapter four. I want you to look at verse 7 and 8 with me. It's going to be on the screen as well.
Speaker 1:Listen to the source of the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to believers, paul says. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. This language here right the source of gifts, paul tells us it is God's grace. God's grace, he lavishes it up on us. Grace is unmerited favor. It is all that God gives us that we do not deserve. So when we pause and we think about how the Holy Spirit has indwelt us, when we've placed our faith in Jesus and not only are we undeserving of that gift of salvation, but God keeps on giving, he keeps lavishing grace upon us, and one of the ways he does that is to then turn around and gift us so that we can be part of the mission of God in this world. Isn't that an incredible thought To know that each and every one of us have uniquely been gifted by the spirit of God that indwells us to serve him and to serve one another. It's a gift of God's grace.
Speaker 1:What's the goal of the gift? Look on in Ephesians, chapter four. Look down at verses 11 through 13. Paul lists a few of those gifts that he gives to the church in the form of people in the church and it says and he gave the apostles, prophets, the evangelists and the shepherds and the teachers. Why Verse 12,? To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, the source of the gifts. It's just God's grace to lavish it upon us to allow us to participate in what he's doing. Why? To build up the body, to strengthen the body. Here's the deal. Every one of you is necessary to accomplish all that God intends to do in and through his bride here at First Baptist Bernie. It's not just a selection of a few people. God wants to use us all to equip, to strengthen one another for the work of ministry.
Speaker 1:But what's the framework, what's the context that these gifts are to operate within? If we were to go back to that passage in Corinthians, we don't have time to unpack it all in one short little recharge session, but 1 Corinthians, 12 and 13 and 14 are probably the most exhaustive teaching on spiritual gifts in the New Testament. And so, right after 12, where Paul introduces this idea, in chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians he talks about the context in which the gift should operate, or the framework. So if you have the gift of teaching, or you have the gift of service, or you have the gift of administration, prophecy, mercy, whatever the gift is that God has given you, like what should be the framework that you operate in with that gift? Paul says it in 1 Corinthians 13.
Speaker 1:He said I could have all manner of gifts. I could have the gift of prophecy. In verse two, he said I could know all mysteries. I could have the gift of knowledge, he says, and I could have the gift of faith so that I could move mountains, he says. But if I don't have love, I am nothing. So these gracious gifts of God that he has given us to build up the body of Christ are to be used within the context of love, loving one another, exhibiting the love of Christ in how we use those gifts. They're not to be used to puff us up or to draw attention to ourselves. They are to be used to magnify the name of Jesus and be sacrificial in the way we serve one another.
Speaker 1:But how do you practice them then? It begs the question Okay, daniel, you've convinced me. As a child of God, I've been graciously given these gifts. I'm to use those gifts to build up the body of Christ. I should do that in a way that does not elevate myself, but willing to serve others and love, just like Christ modeled for us when he was on this earth. But I'm a brand new Christian. I don't know how to do that. No one's ever challenged me to use my gifts.
Speaker 1:What should I do? What's the next step for me? I would tell you to discover, to develop and to deploy. Take time to pray. Take a spiritual gifts inventory. Ask other people around you how they think God has wired you or gifted you. Take time to discover what it is you could do to serve within the body of Christ, and then develop it.
Speaker 1:Start to practice and guess what? You're probably not going to be very good at what you do right out of the gate, and that's okay, but start to develop it. Start to use those gifts that you start to think God has given me a passion in this area, or I just have a heart for this, or God has given me unique experiences and maybe that is something that this local church could use. And then just deploy, just start doing it, try things, listen for areas where this church has a need and say, well, I might could do that, let me try that, or I'll try this. Just begin to be active with that confidence of, hey, the Holy Spirit indwells me, so he's gifted me and I'm responsible for helping to build up the body of Christ, so let me step in. Let me see a need and I'll step in and see if it's one that is a good fit for me and if not, I'll try another one. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be, because it's the Holy Spirit that is working in us and through us.
Speaker 1:And then, finally, why? Why would we do it? What is the ultimate goal or aim of the Holy Spirit's work in gifting us, of the Holy Spirit's work in gifting us? It's simply to glorify Christ. Jesus told us that he told his disciples that before he went to the cross and before he was buried and resurrected and ascended, he said listen, he the Holy Spirit, his role is to glorify me, jesus, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. When we use the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to us, the aim, our purpose, is just to make much of Jesus.
Speaker 1:So I hope tonight, even just pausing for a moment to think about the Holy Spirit's role in gifting the believer I hope even maybe this is familiar to you, but maybe just revisiting it and thinking about it for a moment would cause you just to pause and be so grateful for the depths of God's love that he would actually gift you so that you could participate in what he is doing. That's the most incredible thought to me. God does not need me, god does not need you, but he chooses to use us and he even gives us what we need to be used. What an amazing heavenly father. So are we using it? Are we sitting back and saying let other people use their gifts, I'm just going to sit back and be the recipient of other people using their gifts? Or are we going to take that gratitude that God would gift us and choose to use us and step in to serving one another?
Speaker 1:The challenge is don't stand or sit on the sideline. The same God who saved you has equipped you with his spirit to be on mission for him. We need you, the church needs you, and God has empowered you through his spirit. So where are you going to step in and let his spirit use you? Because as we work together to edify the body, christ is exalted, and when Christ is exalted, he said that that draws all men to himself.
Speaker 1:I don't know about you, but I want to spend my days being a light that points people to Jesus, and one of the most incredible ways we have to do that is through the work of the Spirit gifting us to learn how to use those gifts. Would you pray with me, god? Thank you for this time, thank you for your word, thank you for this chance to see another way in which your Spirit works in the life of the believer. God, I pray that this text would spur us on to action, to serve you with the gifts that you have given us for your glory, so that the world may see you. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.