Pastor Pat McCalla · Aug 10, 2020 · 61 min listen · 2 min read

Holy Spirit | Part 2

Big Idea

Quoting the message: Spiritual gifts are God-given abilities gifted to us, not for us, end quote. — given to serve the gathering of people Jesus promised to build.

Jesus' declaration in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His 'ecclesia' — a gathering of called-out people — frames everything Paul teaches about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. Because the Holy Spirit indwells every believer, He also equips each one with a specific, divinely chosen gift. Those gifts are not personal possessions to be hoarded or ranked; they are given to the gathered body so that every part functions together, interdependent like a human body, advancing a movement that not even the gates of hell can stop.

Key points

1
1The word 'church' translates the Greek 'ecclesia,' meaning a gathering of people who have been called out — a movement Jesus promised not even hell could stop.
2
2To understand spiritual gifts, we must first understand the church — gifts only make sense in the context of the body Jesus is building.
3
3A spiritual gift is given to each believer so that we can help each other — the gift is not for the recipient but for the whole body.
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4The one Spirit decides which gift each person receives; no gift is chosen by the believer or accidental.
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5Just as every part of the human body is necessary — even the unseen parts — every spiritual gift is essential to the health of the church.
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6All believers together are Christ's body, and each person is an irreplaceable part of it.
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7God's assignment of gifts is a divine design — He knew exactly which community, family, and local church you would be part of, and gifted you accordingly.

Application

Pastor Pat's challenge is direct: if you cannot finish the sentence 'The gift God gave me to serve others is ___,' then take the free spiritual gifts assessment and find out. Discovering your gift is not an exercise in self-improvement — it is an act of stewardship for the whole body. God sovereignly chose your gift, matched it to your story and your community, and placed you in this local gathering because Rock Point needs what He put in you. The next step is to stop consuming and start contributing — to use that gift in your family, your workplace, and your church so that the two-thousand-year-old promise of Jesus keeps proving true: not even the gates of hell can overcome a people who show up, gifted and surrendered, for one another.

Take it into your week

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Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“Matthew 16 verse 18. Jesus says this, and I tell you that you are Peter. Listen. And on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it”
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From the transcript
“Now that verse is still on the screen, Matthew sixteen eighteen. And I wanna tell you what Jesus did not say. Jesus did not say, and on this rock, I will build my church”
From the transcript
“you're probably looking at the bottom of the screen going, hold on. Matthew sixteen eighteen says it says it right there. That Jesus said, and on this rock, will build my church”
From the transcript
“The Bible actually has several places where it talks about spiritual gifts, Roman chapter 12, Ephesians chapter four, first Corinthians chapter 12”
From the transcript
“The Bible actually has several places where it talks about spiritual gifts, Roman chapter 12, Ephesians chapter four, first Corinthians chapter 12”
From the transcript
“The Bible actually has several places where it talks about spiritual gifts, Roman chapter 12, Ephesians chapter four, first Corinthians chapter 12. But we're not gonna look at all of those today. We're gonna focus on first Corinthians 12”
From the transcript
“Bill introduced it last week that if you've put your faith and trust in Jesus, the spirit of God indwells you. Romans eight nine tells us that”
From the transcript
“first Corinthians 12 verse one, this is how Paul starts the chapter. Now about the gifts of the spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed”
From the transcript
“skip down to verse four, one Corinthians twelve:four. Paul says, there are circle this word in your Bible. There are different you're gonna see him use this word a bunch. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same circle that word. The same spirit is the source of them all”
From the transcript
“jump down to the next verse, verse five. There are there's that word again, different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us”
From the transcript
“Verse seven, a spiritual gift is given to each of us so that we can help each other. Now hang on to that principle. I'm gonna come back to that in a little bit”
From the transcript
“I want you to jump down to verse 11. Watch this, here he goes again. Watch these words. It is the one and only spirit who distributes all these gifts, plural. He alone decides, he decides, another principle I'm gonna come back”
From the transcript
“Jump down to verse 13 and look what he says. But we, he's talking to Jesus followers, you and me today, but we have all been baptized into how many bodies? One body by how many spirits? One spirit, and we all share the same spirit”
From the transcript
“Jump down to verse 18. Paul continues with this thought. He says, But our bodies, remember he's using the illustration of the human body, But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where He wants it”
From the transcript
“Paul lands the plane in verse 27, jumped down there. First Corinthians 12 verse 27, he says, all of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it”
From the transcript
“everyone has one. We're told that very clearly. Everyone has one. First Corinthians chapter 12 verse 11 says that each of you was given one”
From the transcript
“Gifts are given to be given. Verse seven speaks about that. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. Your gift is not about you, it's about me”
From the transcript
“You're probably wondering why I haven't given the list of spiritual gifts. First Corinthians 12 gives some, Ephesians four gives some, Romans 12 gives some, but not really my point today to give you the list”
From the transcript
“First Corinthians 12 gives some, Ephesians four gives some, Romans 12 gives some, but not really my point today to give you the list”
From the transcript
“First Corinthians 12 gives some, Ephesians four gives some, Romans 12 gives some, but not really my point today to give you the list”

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Jesus did not say He might build His church, or that He hoped to. He said He would. That confidence changes everything about how we understand what the church is and what we are doing when we show up together. The Greek word behind 'church' is ecclesia — a gathering of people who have been called out. Not called out to be separate from the world in a distant, detached way, but called out with a purpose, the way someone is called out of a crowd because they have a specific role to play. This is the movement Jesus declared He would build — and then backed that declaration with the most audacious promise in history: not even the gates of hell would stop it. Pastor Pat pointed out that gates are defensive structures. Hell is not on the offensive here; it is trying to hold its ground. The church, gifted and gathered, is the one advancing. That reframes everything. When the body of Christ shows up — knowing who they are, using what God gave them, for one another — they are participating in a two-thousand-year-old promise that has never once been broken. You are not just attending something. You have been called into something.

For reflection

When you think about the local church, do you see it primarily as something you attend or something you belong to and participate in building — and what is the difference in how that feels?

Pray

Pray for a fresh sense of what it means to be called out and called together as part of what Jesus is building.

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

This message explored a single, striking idea: Jesus didn't just promise to save individuals — He promised to build a movement, and He equipped every person in it with exactly the gift that movement needs. Take a moment to think about what first comes to mind when you hear the word 'church.'

Discussion questions

1
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus uses the word 'ecclesia' — a Greek term for people who have been called out — when He says He will build His church. What does that word choice suggest about what Jesus had in mind when He made that promise?
2
First Corinthians 12:7 says a spiritual gift is given to each believer 'to help each other.' What's the difference between treating a gift as something that belongs to us personally versus treating it as something that belongs to the body?
3
First Corinthians 12:11 says the Holy Spirit decides which gift each person receives. What does it mean for how we think about one another in the church when we recognize that no one chose their own gift — and no gift was accidental?
4
The body-of-Christ picture in 1 Corinthians 12 highlights that even the unseen parts are necessary. What happens to a body — and to a church — when some of those less-visible parts stop functioning?
5
Pastor Pat challenged us to be able to finish the sentence, 'The gift God gave me to serve others is ___,' and pointed to a free spiritual gifts assessment as a starting place. Why do you think discovering your gift matters not just for you personally, but for the people around you?
6
This message described the shift from 'consuming' to 'contributing' as the next step for every person in the body. What might that shift look like practically — in a family, a workplace, or a church community?

Pray together

Ask God to reveal the gifts He has placed in each person in your group, and for the courage to use those gifts in service to the body He is building

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Go deeper

Continue the series

Holy Spirit

Week 2 · 5 messages

Where these passages are preached

Matthew 16 Ephesians 4 Romans 12 1 Corinthians 12

Explore related topics

Holy Spirit Empowerment Spiritual Gifts The Church as Christ's Body Using Your Gifts to Serve

Related sermons

Holy Spirit | Part 2

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together

Go deeper

Essentials | Week 3

JESUS FOR MESSIAH | Week 1 | Sermon

COUNTER CULTURE | Week 3 | Sermon

GREATEST OF ALL TIME | Week 2 | Sermon

Rebrand | Week 7 | Bill Bush

All The Feels | Week 5 | Pat McCalla

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together

Go deeper

Essentials | Week 3

JESUS FOR MESSIAH | Week 1 | Sermon

COUNTER CULTURE | Week 3 | Sermon

GREATEST OF ALL TIME | Week 2 | Sermon

Rebrand | Week 7 | Bill Bush

All The Feels | Week 5 | Pat McCalla