 Hello, this is David Diga Hernandez, and you're watching Spirit Church Year on the Encounter TV Network. I'm continuing now my series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit by exploring the service gifts. But first, Steven Moctezuma is here with me. He's going to lead you in some very anointed worship. And then we're getting right into this lesson. Let's worship now. So before we delve into the content, I want to just go over the various spiritual gifts that I'm covering in this series. So last week I covered the leadership gifts or the office gifts. And those gifts are the evangelist, the pastor, the teacher, the apostle, and the prophet. In this session, I'm going to be covering the service gifts, which are the gift of exhortation, giving, leadership, service, and administration. Now, next week I will be covering the power gifts, which are discernment, faith, healing, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, miracles, tongues, tongues interpretation, and the gift of prophecy. Now, I want to make sure that it's clear that all spiritual gifts are for service. I want to show this to you in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse number seven, where the Bible says, a spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. So why do I call these gifts that I'm about to teach on these service gifts when all gifts are meant for service? Well, I gave them this name primarily so that we can categorize them and therefore memorize them better. But I do want to emphasize the idea that the church is a structured system. This is how God intended it to be. Now, last week I covered the leadership gifts. These are leaders of the church. The service gifts are gifts to be used within the church. Now, as I said, the church is an organized structure. It's an organized framework. Despite those who are anti-establishment, the scripture does make it clear that the church is a system. You've often heard phrases like, take it outside the four walls of the church, or let's not do church as usual, or we're not about organized religion. And while I understand the sentiments behind such phrases, we also have to be careful to not go to the other extreme, where we just wonder about with no structure, no aim, no purpose. God has given us the structure of the church to fulfill a purpose. Now, you can see the structure of the church at work in various portions of scripture. Acts chapter 6, verses 1 through 7. Ephesians 4, 11 and 12. 1 Timothy 3, 1 through 13. Acts 14, 23. Titus 1, 5. 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 22. James chapter 3, verse 1. And Hebrews chapter 13, verse 17. So those scriptures make it very clear that the church is organized. Now, in our day, in our generation, we don't like the idea of somebody else telling us what to do. We don't like the idea of being committed to a system or a structure. And I understand that to some degree. And I also understand that that's not every believer. Some of us prefer that structure and that organization. But nonetheless, no matter our preferences, we know that the Word of God teaches that in fact there is a structure and a system. So then these service gifts work within that structure. They work within that system. Together we can do more than we could ever do alone. It is our unity, our togetherness, that gives us our power to be effective in kingdom expansion and evangelism. Acts chapter 6, verses 2 through 4 say this. So the 12 called a meeting of all the believers. They said we apostles should spend our time teaching the Word of God, not running a food program. And so brothers select seven men who are well respected and are full of the spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the Word. Now had these apostles said that in a modern setting, they would be criticized. Some would say, oh, you don't have a servant's heart. Or they would say, oh, that's elitism. Or, oh, that's organized religion. They would criticize them for not wanting to be involved in the food program. Now this is where we as believers make our error. We think that because another believer isn't fulfilling the role that we have been given to fulfill, that they therefore are not genuine. Or they aren't really doing the real work as some might word it. I've watched as people criticize media ministries. They say that's wonderful that you're reaching people through media. That's wonderful that people are getting saved watching through television and the internet. But you need to get out on the streets and do the real work of ministry. And it's precisely that mindset that breaks our unity. Now am I saying that taking it out on the streets is not something we should be doing by no means? I'm simply saying that each one of us have been given an assignment. And every assignment is needed. Every member of the body is needed. Every gift set is needed. Every method is needed. We all preach the same message. We all have the same goal of kingdom expansion. But not all of us have the same role to fulfill in the work of kingdom expansion. I say all that to say this. We must embrace the gifts that God has placed in one another. We must not be critical of those whom God has placed in leadership positions. And we mustn't look down on people who have what we call the service gifts. All of them come together to create the effort of kingdom expansion and global evangelism. So while these are the service gifts, you mustn't look down upon these gifts. These gifts are really foundational to the church. Without the service gifts, those who are called to teach aren't really free to teach. Those who are called to pastor aren't really free to pastor and so on and so forth. Again, I'm not saying that pastoring or teaching isn't a form of service. This is just a term I've used to categorize this gift set. So looking to that selection of scripture in Acts chapter 6 verses 2 through 4, we see that the apostles said we need somebody to fulfill the more practical roles of church ministry so that we can focus on the specialty roles that God has given us to focus on. This is not to say one is better than the other. This is not to say that one is more important than the other. This is not to say that someone is more spiritual just because they have that other job to fulfill. In fact, the Bible says that in selecting people to run the food program, they were to search for people who were well respected, full of the Holy Spirit, and filled with wisdom. This tells me that the anointing of the Holy Spirit doesn't just grace us for those specialty ministries or those ministries that people for some reason deem as more important, but the Holy Spirit also empowers us to do the practical, to do the foundational, to do the seemingly mundane. So if your spiritual gift sets consist of what we call the service gifts, celebrate that fact. Rejoice in that fact. Rejoice in the job that God has given you to do. For we cannot say to each other, I have no need of you. The body is not made up of one part, but many parts, each part being just as important as the next. So I'm going to read you this list. And it's important to keep in mind that these aren't just abilities. They are spirit empowered abilities. So there's the gift of exhortation. You can find this in Romans 12.8. Also in Romans 12.8, you can find the gift of giving, the gift of leadership. In Romans 12.7, you can find the gift of service. In 1 Corinthians 12.28 and 1 Corinthians 9.12, you can find the gift of administration or the gift of helps. These are the five service gifts. Now, when you have the gift of exhortation, this is a really powerful one. You have the spirit empowered grace to be an encouragement to those who need encouragement. Now, any believer can encourage another believer, but not every believer carries that gift of encouragement. Just like any believer should be able to share the Word of God, but not every believer is called to be a teacher as a five-fold ministry gift. Every believer can evangelize, but not every believer is called to fulfill the role of the evangelist, which is eight leadership gifts. So in the same way, all of us can encourage one another. But the one with the gift of exhortation has been given a spirit empowered grace to encourage in a way that those without the gift of encouragement or the gift of exhortation could not encourage. Now, this is a really powerful gift when you think about it. Think about the fact that God can place a spiritual ability in you, that when you go to speak with someone who is weighted down by life's responsibilities, perhaps they're facing some tragedy, perhaps they're wavering in their faith. You can go with the gift of exhortation and just by you being near them, just by you speaking to them, God will add his anointing. God will add his power. God will add his strength to your words and to your presence, and that person will be broken out of that discouragement. That's a powerful gift to have, especially when you see someone wavering in their faith. We can recognize people with this gift of encouragement because there's a magnetism about them. They're easy to talk to. They're easy to share your troubles with. They're willing to listen. They're able to notice when somebody is discouraged and act upon that. That is a powerful gift. And again, these service gifts are foundational. If it weren't for the service gifts, there would be no foundation. There would be no structure. There would be no system. And if it weren't for that structure, that system, that foundation, then those with the other gifts, the leadership gifts or the power gifts, could not function in their gifts. These gifts are key to church growth. The second one, the gift of giving. Again, this may seem like just an average ability, but no, this is a divinely empowered gift to see a need, to have the resource, to have the willingness of heart, and to be able to take that step of faith and generously release that gift, that resource that the gospel might go forward. Those with the gift of giving have a heart for giving. They're moved by projects. They're moved by the needs of others. Not only that, not only are they given that keen insight to be able to spot where there's a need that needs to be filled, but God also blesses them with resources. Resources that they then can use to expand the kingdom. The gift givers are God's resource centers for the kingdom. They are the funders, the backers of kingdom expansion. Then there's the gift of leadership. And again, this may seem like an average ability, because there are some people who don't have the Holy Spirit who make good leaders. But here's how I would characterize the gift of leadership. Whatever qualities make one a good leader. The one with the gift of leadership has those qualities, but backed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Not in their ability, but the Holy Spirit leads through them. The Holy Spirit inspires through them. The Holy Spirit guides through them. They can help people navigate difficult circumstances. They can inspire groups of people to rally together to accomplish a task. These with the gift of leadership are beacons of hope for people in the church. They're pillars that uphold God's work. Then there's the gift of service. And the gift of service is very powerful, because the one with the gift of service finds all of the gaps and fills them. The one with the gift of service has the ability to notice the need, the willingness to fill that need, and the strength and the energy to continue filling that need. These are the people who can be called upon for any task that the church needs done. They're the first ones there. They're the ones to arrive early. When somebody says, we need somebody to help with, they're the first ones to raise their hand. They may say, well, I don't necessarily know if I have some great ability, but I have availability. These truly are gifts to be honored in the church. These truly are gifts to be esteemed, that you can be one to help be the foundation for the work of God. The gift of service comes with the humility, and God rewards that humility. Then there's the gift of administration or helps. This is 1 Corinthians 12-28 and 1 Corinthians 9-12. The gift of administration or helps is the organizer, the one who's able to bring order out of chaos. When others look and see nothing but disarray, the one with the gift of administration can look and see the potential of pulling it together. These people are usually church administrators or handle finance or really organize anything. The gift of administration is the gift of organization. Now, when you look at the gift of organization, think about the fact that everything God does, he does orderly. When God created, he created order. When God moved, he moved in order. When God sent his son Jesus, he did it in order to save that which was lost. Everything God does is meticulously planned. Everything God does is orderly. It may not always appear that way to us because we may deem God's plans as disruptive because they go against ours, but everything God himself didn't plan according to that in the first place. So the person who is an organizer and administrator is acting in the nature of God by looking into the chaos, putting their hands into that chaos and shaping that chaos into orderly creation. These are powerful gifts and I pray that the Lord would inspire you. Today, as I talk about these gifts, is to make sure we understand that these gifts are important. We often look at other gifts like prophecy and healing and while those do address needs and while those are awe-inspiring gifts, we cannot forget that more often than not the foundational is more important than those things that come afterwards. And this is the main point I want to convey to you. If you see that God has gifted you in any of these areas, you need to know that that gift is worthy of honor. That that gift is worthy to be looked at as necessary. I don't want you to ever let anyone discourage you by making you think that your contribution to the kingdom of God is any less. But you must know that God has given you these gifts. To the fullness of the ability He has placed in you, these are the service gifts. So Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that you would touch each one and you would inspire them, Lord, to walk in the gifts you've placed on their lives. Lord, if they recognize any of these gifts in themselves, I pray, Lord, that they would recognize the greatness of your hand working through them. We love you and we honor you. We bless your name. The name of Jesus. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. Well, I want to welcome now the new members of Spirit Church. There you are up on the screen. We love you. We're praying for you. I always say that because I always mean it. If you'd like information on how you can join the Spirit family, simply go to davidhernandezministries.com. Spirit Church to join our online community. And now to your comments. These comments come from the teaching Knowing Your Calling. If you haven't seen that teaching yet, I highly recommend you go and watch it. Just search Knowing Your Calling on EncounterTV. That message dealt with the specific call of God for your life. We know what we're called to do, generally speaking. We know we're called to live holy, to worship, to know the Word, to evangelize, to love one another. But when it comes to the specific call upon your life, what does God call you to do? That's the question that that teaching explores, knowing your calling. And while you're watching that and while you're watching this, be sure that you connect to us on all of our social media platforms. When you subscribe to us on YouTube, be sure to click that notification bell so you can be notified when we put out new content. And also, don't forget to leave a comment and I may read your comment on an edition of Spirit Church. The first commenter writes, Thank you so much Pastor David and the team for this message. It was a very powerful and clear reminder for me to focus on my calling. Shalom, thank you. Freedom and Glory writes, I loved this message. This message dove deeper than the surface. It was not just a feel-good message, it really edifies the body of Christ. Teacher Carla writes, I was reminded of my calling, thank you Pastor David, for another powerful teaching to God be the glory. Mary Lou Ramos writes, I feel that God is talking to me through your teachings. I hope someday I can come to find my focus and what God wants me to say to others, to God be all the glory. God bless you and your ministry. And the final comment comes from Johann who writes, this was a timely message for me. I thank you Lord Jesus, God bless you Pastor David and your ministry. Well I want to invite you to be a part of what God is doing in this ministry. I know there's someone watching me right now and you want to help. Your heart is to help, your heart is for the gospel, your heart is for souls and you believe that the gospel needs to be preached. You believe that more people need to hear the word of God. You believe in healing, you believe in deliverance, you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. So I want to welcome you to be a part of what we're doing as a ministry. In Matthew chapter 6 verse 33 the Bible says, seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and he will give you everything you need. That's my encouragement to you right now. Even in chaotic times, even in uncertain times we can be sure of the promises of God. So I want to challenge you to take a step of faith and become a monthly supporter of this ministry or give a one-time donation. Help us continue to create the media, to continue to do live streams, to continue to host the Holy Spirit School online which is a free Bible training program, to continue to do events all around the world. It's all done through donor support and I know that as you step out in faith and as you put the kingdom of God first, God will meet your need. So I challenge you, whether you're doing well or whether you're in a challenging time, all of us should want to be a part of what God is doing in the earth. So help us continue as a ministry. Help us continue to go and grow. Put the kingdom of God first now. Let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart. Give a one-time gift into this ministry right now or become a monthly supporter. Go to davidhernandezministries.com slash donate to give a one-time gift or go to davidhernandezministries.com slash partner to become a monthly supporter. Go and check out, by the way, davidhernandezministries.com slash partner if you're considering monthly partnership. There is a list of all the benefits that you receive by being a monthly partner. And one of those benefits is access to our monthly Zoom call that's exclusive for our monthly partners. But whatever you do, do it today. Do it for Jesus. Do it for souls. Do it for the sake of the kingdom. You believe the gospel should be preached. You believe in the message we declare. You believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. So join with us. Be a part of what we're doing. Give a one-time gift or become a monthly supporter today. Again, one more time. Go to davidhernandezministries.com slash donate or you can sign up to become a monthly supporter by going to davidhernandezministries.com slash partner. Well that is it for this edition of Spirit Church here on the EncounterTV Network. Until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God. We'll see you next time.