Today we want to talk about how you can take the love of God you have received and share it with other people—how you can be an effective minister to others. In 1 Peter 4:11 it says, "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." The term "oracles of God" refers back to the Old Testament when they had the Holy of Holies and put God's Word in the Ark of the Covenant. That was called "the oracle," so when it says "speak as the oracles of God," it means speak as the mouthpiece of God. Speak as if you are speaking from God. The verse continues, "If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and for ever." What this says is that you need to minister to other people, not out of your own ability, but out of the ability that God gives.

One of the great things about the Christian life is that it isn't just me or you talking to someone and sharing things from our own ability, but God Himself comes and lives on the inside of us. He begins to speak through us and flow through us. We can literally be God-possessed and have the Spirit of God flowing through us. As we start sharing with other people, we need to remember that this is what is called the gifts of the Spirit and is what they're for. God takes every single person in the body of Christ and gives them specific gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12 it says every one of us has been given different gifts according to His will. In verses 4‑6 it says, "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences [diversities] of administrations [ministrations], but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations [workings], but it is the same God which worketh all in all" (brackets mine). This means that God works these things in all of us, as verse 7 says, "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal," or to profit everyone.

These verses say that God has put supernatural ability within every single one of us. You may not feel it, you may not be aware of it, but this is a promise of God's Word. If you've come this far in the Discipleship Evangelism series, if you've already made Jesus your Lord, if you've learned how to receive from God and begin to apply it in your life, then I can promise that the power of the Holy Spirit is at work inside you. You have other people's miracles on the inside of you. God has put the seed form of a miracle inside you for somebody else. It's up to you to be able to release it and get it out into their lives. Scripture says this has been given to every one of us by the Spirit. Not a single person has been left out. Nine different gifts of the Spirit are listed in 1 Corinthians 12, such as a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, discerning of spirits, working of miracles, gifts of healing, etc. There are other gifts listed in Romans 12, which I haven't time to deal with. You need to study them on your own and be aware that every single one of you has had the Holy Spirit place within you special anointing—special ability— to be able to minister to other people. Not everyone will be able to minister the way I do, for instance. You may not have a teaching gift, but every person in the body of Christ can teach by sharing their faith with another person. There are people who are called specifically to teach, people who are called to preach and pastor churches. Another gift listed in Romans 12 says there are those whose gift is hospitality. Many of you may have an ability, or gift, without being aware of it. You just have a desire to be able to be a blessing to someone. You may be the kind of person who, when you walk into a room, picks out people who seem to be ill at ease. You empathize with them, you know what they're going through, and you have a desire to make them feel at ease and to minister to them. Did you know that's a supernatural gift of God?

Romans 12 says some people have been called to the gift of giving, the ability to make money and give to support the Gospel. That is their gift, their call in life, and some of you may be called to that very thing. Some of you have the gift of exhortation. Others have the gift of administrations, typically called by the church a gift of helps. There are all kinds of things that can be done, not only in the church setting, but on a day-to-day basis dealing with people. There are some of you who have the ability to encourage those who are discouraged, something I would never be able to do just through teaching the Word. You just have a supernatural ability to go up, put your arm around somebody, bless them, and enable them. The point I'm making is that you don't need to see this as just being natural, as, "Well, that's just my personality type." You may have classified yourself as this type of person, but you know what, it was a supernatural ability God placed inside you that gave you the gifts, the talents, and the perspective that makes you gravitate toward doing certain things.

When you are ministering to other people, Scripture says you need to be ministering the things God has placed on the inside of you. We all need to become ministers, whether as a full-time vocation, on our jobs, or wherever we are. If you do it with your neighbors or people at the store, you need to do it out of the ability God gives, not out of your own ability. So, I encourage you to seek God, discover the gifts He has placed inside you, and don't discount them if you aren't called to one of the ministry gifts that is a vocation. Recognize that every one of you has had the Holy Spirit place within you supernatural ability, and then minister to other people through the gifts that God has placed inside you.

It will take time and practice. You won't be perfect the first time, so don't be afraid to practice. If you make a mistake, God won't fall off His throne, and other people will see the sincerity of your heart. Your love will minister to them even if you don't do something perfectly. Start ministering to others. Recognize that you are gifted of God, and start sharing the supernatural ability He has given you with other people.