Spiritual gifts, it's just a marvelous topic. If you're a believer in Jesus, that is why God left you here after He saved you through Christ.Īnd so for the second week now, we're going to look from Ephesians 4, at the issue of spiritual gifts. I am here, in part, to use my spiritual gifts to do works of service, to build up the Body of Christ. Why? And I believe spiritual gifts and the good works that flow from spiritual gifts are a big part of the answer, not the only answer, but they’re a big part of it. I didn't die, God didn't take me immediately into His presence in Heaven, He left me here on Earth. I believe that God has left me on Earth, after I've come to faith in Christ, after I've won the victory that there is to win in this world, which is faith in Christ. So why are you here? And I don't just mean here this morning, but why are you here on Earth?Īnd the bigger picture would be another question similar to it: What is God doing in the world? And beautifully, those things come together for me today as I look at Ephesians 4, on the topic of spiritual gifts. And it's sad if that happens to Christians, because there's no good reason that that should ever happen to a Christian. We don't seem to have a direction, don't seem to know why we're here. So, I would commend that to you as a way of beginning a Gospel conversation, because people want to know ultimate reasons and meaning, and, “Why am I here?Do I have a purpose in life?” So much of us feels empty. But anyway, this friend asked this question, 'Why are you here? Why are you here?' Now, She answered here at this restaurant and etcetera, but no, no, no, he meant, “Why are you here on Earth?” Have you ever asked that question? Have you ever asked, “Why am I here on Earth?” And that opened the door to a marvelous Gospel encounter.

If the restaurant's not too crowded, that's maybe a chance that you can talk to somebody. And that's a good time, that's a good moment. They're really friendly at that moment, for whatever reason. You ever notice? They're really eager for a conversation. They're very chatty at that time, I've noticed. And so, at a certain moment when there was time to talk, by the way, that happens right as they're bringing you the check. And he told me about a friend of his in Raleigh, who was at a restaurant, and he wanted to share with the waitress that was working the table.

So this week I had the opportunity to eat lunch with a dear friend who's a member of this church, and we were talking about evangelism, and the desire that we have to share our faith, and both of us acknowledge that we don't do it as much as we'd like, that we would like to be more faithful in sharing the Gospel.

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