The General Conference of Elders is where the Elders of the Church meet each year to perform a number of critical functions that help direct the work. You may or may not follow the themes of each year but they serve to give direction to the leadership and to shape the church in the year to come. My first GCE was in 2009 and I still remember the theme. It was “Making Disciples: A Whole Church Effort”. It stuck in my mind because it seemed to be a departure from my memories growing up in the church. In those days the church was much bigger and its reach in the world was extensive.

There were over 150,000 members and the literature and broadcast were known around the world. During those years the church grew at an impressive rate and it seemed that in short order the church would join the ranks of much larger church organizations but that did not happen. In the years since then I have heard many say that the way to grow is to follow the steps that were so successful in the past. This would include a strong centralized proclamation of the Gospel and a college to train pastors to handle the growth that would follow. This is what struck me in 2009 when the theme stated that making disciples was a whole church effort. You see, that’s just not the way it was done. People who came into the church generally came to the truth “as it was known in those days” by either reading literature that was placed out the public, or heard the broadcast on either TV or Radio.

After calling a number that was answered in a centralized phone bank they would be eventually be connected with a local pastor that would help them make the transition into the church. Eventually, they would be invited to attend and that would be the first time any of us in the congregation would meet them. Saying this is now a whole church effort was quite a departure from what I was used to but I was intrigued. Inside I knew that this was true and although we can trace the demise of the former organization to the then leadership forsaking the truth, part of me wondered if what God wanted was a different approach. I believe that God has called all of us to take part in that process in the last verses of the Gospel of Matthew: Matthew 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

But how do we accomplish this? I attended a workshop that year that was planned to explain this very thing. The presenter basically said he did not know how to do this and was asking us as participants to brainstorm. It started to dawn on me that this was going to be a major paradigm change and would require much effort to accomplish. Over the next four years I have watched this develop from year to year as the themes began to hone in on the process of involving the church in preaching of the Gospel. So after that first year of questions about the theme I began to see a pattern that would eventually answer this question about how we participate in this process. • 2009 - “Making Disciples: A Whole Church Effort” The next year we saw a theme that was reminiscent of the first-century church. It reminded me that if we really want to know what God wants of His Church than go back and look what Christ did when He built this church. • 2010 - “Go Into All the World” We needed to stay focused on the model that was so successful in the days when it was said of those in the church in Acts 17:6 "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” The next year we saw a focus on the head of the church, Jesus Christ.

He is what body we are a part of and it is He that directs that body. It is the church of God and the Father is the one that calls us into that body but He has given all authority to His Son to guide and direct the church. • 2011 - “Serving as Christ Serves” It was this year that the Kingdom of God seminars were launched. And what was interesting is the way it morphed into a whole church effort. You see originally, the plan was to only hold the seminars in the 50 largest US cities with the understanding that it would expand from there. But it was apparent that all of God’s people wanted to participate in this effort. And while some were disappointed by the response, I was excited that we were definitely moving in the right direction. We needed to hone the message and train the members to live that message and to learn to articulate that message and that takes time.

In 2012 we further developed our understanding of this process with the theme of: • 2012 - "Transforming Lives - Through the Spirit and Word of God” Recently I spoke on the subject of the Unpardonable sin and how that directly links to the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that is the essences and power of God that is only given to His called out ones. It is this Holy Spirit that transforms each of us from the people we were when God called us into the people that reflect the light and character of God. If we are going to participate in the process of making disciples of the nation’s then we must accept the Holy Spirit in our lives. We must ask God to renew that gift each and every day and we must trust in Jesus Christ to use God’s spirit to transform our lives. This brings us to the theme for this year’s conference. • 2013 – “Edifying the Body through Spiritual Gifts” I was so pleased to see this was the theme this year and I felt we were really onto the answer about how we involve the membership of the church into the work.

Now this seems like a long introduction to my topic today but it is important to lay this groundwork because if you are not convinced of the message than it will produce no fruit. I went back and looked and I covered this topic back in 2011. I know this is an important topic to Mr. Walker as we have discussed it on a number of occasions and he has also covered this in messages as well. When I gave my last sermon on this topic I stressed that there were many gifts given to each of God’s people and many were solely for the purpose of edifying one another. I encouraged each of us to ask God to tell us what those gifts are and how you can use them to server one another. One of the reasons I would like to cover this topic again was based on comments made after that message.

Many said that while they agreed that God gives gifts they didn’t know of any personal gifts they had. What I was hoping to hear was that everyone was excited to ask God about their gifts and anticipate putting them to use. The other reason I want to speak on this again is because God has called us to do a work. Matthew 3:8-9 8 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 "and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. If God can replace Israel He can replace us just as Abraham was the father of the children of Israel, he is also the father of the faithful to which faith we were called. The title to for the message today is: Asking For and Using Spiritual Gifts In the time remaining I want to continue this conversation about putting spiritual gifts to use in our lives because if we do not realize that it is God’s plan that we develop and use these gifts of the spirit, then we will never live up to our calling. So this starts with us accepting those gifts.

This was a major theme at the GCE this year. In Mr. Ashley’s keynote address he stated the following: So our constitution, which we overwhelmingly approved back in 1995, specifically mentions spiritual gifts. But we haven’t gone much beyond that in explaining or defining what that means. Let’s notice also our vision statement found at the top of page 9 of the Strategic Plan, Operation Plan and Budget for this year. The vision plan defines what we want the Church to look like and be: “A Church led by God’s Holy Spirit, joined and knit together by what every member supplies, with all doing their share and growing in love to fulfill God’s great purpose for humanity to bring many children to glory (Ephesians 4:16; Hebrews 2:10).” Notice this highlighted portion: “by what every member supplies, with all doing their share . . .” The Council of Elders spent a lot of time last year crafting this statement and on this phrase. Because the Church’s efforts aren’t just the efforts of the elders and wives, or of the home office, or of the media department, or of the Council and Administration.

No, the efforts of the Church involve “what every member supplies, with all doing their share . . .” It’s not explicitly stated, but this is talking about spiritual gifts The church is committed to empowering members of the Body to realize their God-given potential and here is a topic that is vital to understanding this mission. So where do we begin. When Mr. Ashley covered this topic this year I was pleased that he read the same scriptures and had many of the same points that I had two year ago. 1 Corinthians 12 Romans 12 Ephesians 4 Largest List in two sections Smallest list So you can see that this is not in any way a complete list. Each one was given to bring up the subject to the audience based on the individual needs of each congregation. Paul was speaking to these 3 different congregations. We can categorize them into three groups. “Sign” Gifts “Service” Gifts “Perfecting” Gifts distinguishing/discerning of spirits administration apostleship Working of Miracles leadership prophecy Healings exhortation evangelism speaking in tongues faith pastor-shepherd interpretation of tongues giving teacher Helps wisdom Service knowledge Showing mercy Ministry Exhortation What did Paul say they should do with them?

To those in Corinth he tells them they don’t all have the same gifts and to earnestly desire the best gifts. These he explains are those that benefit the body most of all. Not the showy gifts that everyone praises but the ones that everyone needs. He told the church in Rome in chapter 1 “I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong” Later, he told them that their gifts differ according to the grace that is given to each of us and to that end we should use them. In other words, how has God worked with you, what has he taught you, what has he forgiven you? These things we should share with others. And to the church in Ephesus that God has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ. We also have admonition from Peter on the subject. Let’s read what Peter had to say about spiritual gifts and what we are to do with them. Turn over to 1 Peter. Now in chapter 1 we read to whom Peter is writing.

1 Peter 1:1-2 NKJ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. So he is talking to the rank and file of the church that is scattered from among the lost 10 tribes. He is encouraging them to grow and to serve. This message is not to the ministry but to members. In chapter 4 he speaks of hard times that are to come and that Christ will come and judge the living and the dead. Then in verse 10 NKJ 1 Peter 4:10 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. NLT 1 Peter 4:10 God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you.

So why is it so hard to believe that God would give us these gifts? What if I told you that in a field near your house there is treasure buried? What would that mean to you? How much effort would you expend to go and dig it up? How exciting is it to know that God has buried treasure in each of us? All we have to do is dig for it. The only catch is that when we find it we must use it for the edification of the Body of Christ. Now some gifts we are born with. Think about people with great amounts of talent. I know people that are so gifted in music, Art, Mathematics, engineering, languages, and many, many more. You may know of some of these people. They have amazing abilities and I sometimes get a little jealous thinking about how easy something’s come to those people.

Think about Mozart, he wrote his first concerto at age 4, his first symphony at age 7, and a full scale opera at age 12. Just think about this potential. What if you could do this. Other gifts are developed. Someone sets their mind to something and sticks with it until they are successful. Perseverance wins the day. I think of Entrepreneurs who build something from nothing. I think about Henry Ford. He started a car company like many others but cars were not affordable to the masses. Henry tried to make a car that the common person could afford. To do this he had to turn the industry on its ear. He not only introduced the assembly line, but he continually worked to bring the cost of manufacturing down so he could keep lowering purchase price. He built his own railroad to save shipping costs, purchased components only if they came in wooden boxes that he could take apart to use in his cars.

He even bought a rubber plantation to save on costs, all to bring about his dream. And he even paid his workers the highest wage in the business because he wanted his employees to be able to buy one. Everyone who drives a car today owes him thanks for making it possible to own a car. Then there are the gifts given by God later in life. Recently we read about the first human king of Israel, Saul. That on a number of occasions God filled him with His spirit and he did great things. He displayed leadership, courage, and humility. We can read about Sampson who was given tremendous Strength and Solomon, who was given wisdom. We know these stories and so many more but we rarely think that God would do some of those things for us would he? When Jesus trained His disciples for over three years and they went out on their own and preached and ministered and were successful.

But when He was Crucified they all ran and hid. Even after his resurrection he worked with them, encouraged them, told them not to fear and step out on faith. But what do you think Peter thought about speaking before that large crowd on the Day of Pentecost? God filled him with His spirit and he was able to boldly proclaim the word of God to thousands. Let me tell you, speaking in front of large groups is not easy. Mr. Walker talks about his upbringing where he was not a public speaker, nor did he ever think he would be but look at him now. I remember when I was first asked to give a prayer at the Feast. I was really scared. The next year I had to give a sermonette to 1500 people in Panama City beach.

As many of you know I have dyslexia, although I don’t usually read words backwards, I do have a lot of trouble reading aloud. You see, my eyes do not track the words at the same pace that I read. It causes me to get stuck in the middle of a sentence all the time. When the girls were little I would try to read them bedtime stories and sometimes I would do better if the text was predictable. But If I had to read Dr. Seuss I was doomed. When I got out of ambassador and started to speak I would usually write an outline so I would speak off the top of my head. I would keep scriptures to a minimum and usually memorize them so I could read them without too much trouble. When I first came to Bend I was asked to read announcements when I song lead and I was literally terrified.

To this day I have trouble reading aloud but I do pretty well when I have to speak in church. God gives me help to do the work assigned to me and so I don’t shy away from reading anymore. I still have trouble from time to time but now I write out my sermons in advance because it helps me develop the message better. It takes longer but I know that God works out the troublesome parts with spiritual gifts and so I do my part and put forth the effort. Have you ever thought that you could be given some spiritual gift that would actually make you average? My reading now is average but compared to my actual ability, it is extraordinary. What holds us back? They say that a perfect marriage is one that each person completes the other. Lisa and I have very different abilities.

We complete each other in so many ways. I could never balance so many details or look after needs of others without her by my side helping me. I am so grateful that she is there to help me through life and do not know where I would be without her. When we spoke of Spiritual gifts last time the prevailing wisdom was that gifts should be obvious to everyone and those are the people that should practice them. The problem with that is that God doesn’t call the most gifted people into the church. The Best most of us can hope for on our own is to be capable to handle the work God has given us. In golf you try to have that perfect swing that will take the ball in the right direction and the perfect distance. But sometimes your swing is amiss and you hit the ground and cut this divot trench into the ground a slice of grass that looks like a flying toupee goes flying sometimes farther than the ball.

The course can quickly look like a war zone with all of these scares all over the place. But in Gold you are admonished to go a replace your divots. To go and pick up that piece of turf and bring it back and patch it back to the fairway. And although it doesn’t look like new, it certainly doesn’t look bad. Each of us has divots in our lives. Scares from prior failures that we are neither proud of nor willing to share with others. The topic of spiritual gifts put us on the defense some times because we don’t feel worthy of being gifted. It is good that we think highly of other people as we read in: NKJ Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. But God can fill in those divots and make us whole in any way that He wants to. We often will say, “oh so-in-so would be far better at doing this than me. I am not qualified”.

While this may seem like a form of humility we need to be careful here. History is full of stories where selfish conceited leaders have led their people to destruction. That is not surprising when we understand human nature. What is surprising is that people allowed themselves to be led by selfish conceited people in the first place. But this is why it happens… You remember being young on the playground choosing teams. There was rarely a fight over who would be captains. There were usually only a few people that would say, OK I’ll be a captain. Then they would choose the team based on ability and popularity and you always saw the same people never chosen until the end. We are those people that the world has not chosen to be either captains or starters for that matter. God has called the weak of the world to confound the mighty. Well, how are we going to do that? NKJ Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

You see, the impossible is possible if we believe. Galatians 2:20 tells us how this process works. Reading from the NLT: NLT Galatians 2:20 I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. There are spiritual gifts that will appear in different ways in the future: NKJ Joel 2:28 " And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. These will be undeniable gifts given through the Holy Spirit that will give abilities that were never there before. But right now, in this time, God can do wonders through each of us with gifts that may only be apparent to us. I have heard this phrase from God’s people way too often “I could never do that." 

This phrase is always based on fear. We may have logic in that statement too when we say, I have no ability to do that, but God can always replace the divots in our lives and give us the ability to do things we never were able to. Let’s take Moses for example.

Turn to Exodus 4: Exodus 4:1 NKJ Exodus 4:1 Then Moses answered and said, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.' " So God tells him the miracles that He will work through Moses. (These miracles are spiritual gifts). He tells Moses, that he will do this, and if they don’t believe his words then Moses will do that, if that doesn’t get them, then Moses will do this… Moses does not react to the mighty gifts that God tells him He will give but rather in verse 10 says: Exodus 4:10 10 Then Moses said to the LORD, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." 11 So the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12 "Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say." What we want to never miss here is God was pouring out Spiritual Gifts on Moses and he was not showing willingness to accept them. In fact, look at what Moses says next. 13 But he said, "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send." 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: "Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 "Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 "So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God.

On this topic of Spiritual Gifts, we do not want to be in a place where we have rejected gifts given by God. Moses rejected God’s direction three times, and in the end, did he escape the commission that God gave him? No. What we do see was that Moses had an opportunity to have his divot turned into a mountain by God. He could have been the best public speaker on earth if God wanted him to be. But through his rejection of the gift, God simply gave him a way in which he could bare it. His divot was replaced and he was able to function but the job was still ahead of him. Brethren, we need to learn from this and not reject the spiritual gifts that God promised to each of us. I cannot take any more time in this message to go over what they are or might be. But I can encourage each of you to take the first step. Don’t deny God can work through you.

Don’t reject the gift or gifts you have been or will be given. Have a positive attitude toward the subject. Do not let fear keep you from accepting the gifts of God. We can help each other. We can tell one another when we see a latent ability in them and encourage them to develop it. We can stop negative talk on the subject and not let the fear take hold. We can encourage one another and we can pray for one another. Lastly we can pray for ourselves and ask God to show us what those gifts are. Remember that the reason Moses denied his gifts was based on fear and not wanting to do what God was telling him to do. We never want to see ourselves rejecting what God has in store for us. Let’s face it, if God wants us to do something, like Moses, Like Jonah, He will make us do it. The only choice we have, do we accept the mission with a glad heart, will we accept the gifts that will make the mission possible, and will God work his wonders through us, or will we do it the hard way.

In future messages we can explore more of these gifts in detail but for now, we need to simply answer these two questions. Do I want Spiritual Gifts? Will I accept them? So let us open our minds to the fact that Jesus Christ is running this church and may call on us to participate in any number of ways. Let’s get excited in the promise of these gifts from God and be truly grateful for them and not let fear rule our thoughts, and let’s encourage one another to accept those gifts.