GIFTED SERMON 4
Doers, Not Just Hearers
Gifted to Serve — Sermon Series, Message 4
Text: James 1:22
This message is the fourth sermon in our series “Gifted to Serve.” Over the last three weeks, we have been laying an important foundation.
What are we going to do with the gifts God has given us?
James answers that question with strong and loving clarity:
1. Be Obedient, Not Deceived
It is one thing to be inactive because you don’t know any better.
It is another thing altogether to know the truth and still do nothing with it.
After everything we have learned this month about spiritual gifts, to remain idle is not just unfortunate—it is disobedient and deceptive. If we truly understand that we are gifted by God, uniquely designed by Him, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve at divine appointments, and we stop there, then we have deceived ourselves about God’s will for our lives.
God does not just want us to know we are gifted.
He wants those gifts to be used.
We don’t need more revelation.
We need a response.
Jesus told a story about servants who were given talents. Two invested what they had been given and were rewarded. But one took his talent and buried it in the ground, hoping only not to lose it. When the master returned, that servant was called wicked and slothful—not because he had failed, but because he had refused to act.
Let’s be obedient, not deceived.
2. See the Need of the Day
I want to take you to Isaiah chapter 6. It was a time of great need. A good king had died. The nation was fearful. Spiritual decline had set in. God had a message, and God had a plan—but He also needed a messenger.
Isaiah did not live in easy times, and neither do we.
Paul told Timothy that perilous times would come, and when you read 2 Timothy chapter 3, it sounds like today’s newspaper headlines. People are fearful. Morality is confused. Faith is under attack. And yet, I still believe with all my heart that God has a word and a work for this generation.
The problem is not that sin is running rampant.
The problem is that in many churches, service opportunities are sitting vacant.
We have faithful people wearing multiple hats, doing everything they can, while the church struggles to accomplish all that she is called to do. The harvest is still plentiful. The laborers are still needed.
Now is not the time to step back.
This is the time to step up.
3. Verbally Agree to Serve
When Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” he did not just recognize the need. He did not wait for someone else to respond.
He said,
He moved from just knowing to action.
I think about Ehud, the left-handed deliverer. He didn’t say, “There’s a problem.” He said, “I can help—using what God has given me.”
I think about the twelve disciples. None of them felt adequate, but here we are today because of their surrender.
Knowing the need matters.
Feeling the burden matters.
Having a tender heart matters.
But obedience begins when we couple action to our burden.
That’s what James is teaching us.
Be doers, not just hearers.
And church, I want to say this with gratitude and encouragement—over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had people come to me and say:
Not just saying, “There’s a need.”
But saying, “Here am I. Send me.”
God has gifted us on purpose, for a purpose, at this time, in this place.
Let’s not stop at knowing.
Let’s step into doing.
Because we are not just gifted to know…
we are gifted to serve.
Gifted to Serve — Sermon Series, Message 4
Text: James 1:22
This message is the fourth sermon in our series “Gifted to Serve.” Over the last three weeks, we have been laying an important foundation.
- Week one, we learned that everyone has a gift.
- Week two, we talked about how our gifts are unique and God-given.
- Last week, we focused on the truth that the Holy Spirit lives within us to develop and direct those gifts, doing a spiritual work in us that we could never accomplish on our own.
What are we going to do with the gifts God has given us?
James answers that question with strong and loving clarity:
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” — James 1:22
1. Be Obedient, Not Deceived
It is one thing to be inactive because you don’t know any better.
It is another thing altogether to know the truth and still do nothing with it.
After everything we have learned this month about spiritual gifts, to remain idle is not just unfortunate—it is disobedient and deceptive. If we truly understand that we are gifted by God, uniquely designed by Him, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve at divine appointments, and we stop there, then we have deceived ourselves about God’s will for our lives.
God does not just want us to know we are gifted.
He wants those gifts to be used.
We don’t need more revelation.
We need a response.
Jesus told a story about servants who were given talents. Two invested what they had been given and were rewarded. But one took his talent and buried it in the ground, hoping only not to lose it. When the master returned, that servant was called wicked and slothful—not because he had failed, but because he had refused to act.
Let’s be obedient, not deceived.
2. See the Need of the Day
I want to take you to Isaiah chapter 6. It was a time of great need. A good king had died. The nation was fearful. Spiritual decline had set in. God had a message, and God had a plan—but He also needed a messenger.
Isaiah did not live in easy times, and neither do we.
Paul told Timothy that perilous times would come, and when you read 2 Timothy chapter 3, it sounds like today’s newspaper headlines. People are fearful. Morality is confused. Faith is under attack. And yet, I still believe with all my heart that God has a word and a work for this generation.
The problem is not that sin is running rampant.
The problem is that in many churches, service opportunities are sitting vacant.
We have faithful people wearing multiple hats, doing everything they can, while the church struggles to accomplish all that she is called to do. The harvest is still plentiful. The laborers are still needed.
Now is not the time to step back.
This is the time to step up.
3. Verbally Agree to Serve
When Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” he did not just recognize the need. He did not wait for someone else to respond.
He said,
“Here am I; send me.” — Isaiah 6:8
He moved from just knowing to action.
I think about Ehud, the left-handed deliverer. He didn’t say, “There’s a problem.” He said, “I can help—using what God has given me.”
I think about the twelve disciples. None of them felt adequate, but here we are today because of their surrender.
Knowing the need matters.
Feeling the burden matters.
Having a tender heart matters.
But obedience begins when we couple action to our burden.
That’s what James is teaching us.
Be doers, not just hearers.
And church, I want to say this with gratitude and encouragement—over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had people come to me and say:
- “I’ll teach a class.”
- “I can help in children’s church once a month.”
- “I’m willing to lead music for the kids.”
- “I want to help with the grief ministry.”
Not just saying, “There’s a need.”
But saying, “Here am I. Send me.”
God has gifted us on purpose, for a purpose, at this time, in this place.
Let’s not stop at knowing.
Let’s step into doing.
Because we are not just gifted to know…
we are gifted to serve.
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