Some believers never use a gift of teaching because they do not recognize that God has gifted them, while others hold back feeling unqualified — yet God distributes gifts as He wills and uses even the weak and fearful.
Les Feldick describes a young woman who gathered 45–50 young people in her home every Saturday night for Bible study and still said she wished she had a gift — she had no idea that what she was already doing was her gift (Clip 4). Les also stresses that every believer, no matter how untalented they think they are, has a God-given role, and he reminds us that even Paul served in weakness and fear (Clips 5, 7). Instead of begging for a gift, believers are to make themselves available and use what God has already placed in their hearts (Clips 1, 6).
1 Corinthians 12:11 — Shows that the teaching gift, like every gift, is distributed by the Spirit as He wills, not by human effort or desire.
1 Corinthians 12:18 — God Himself places each member in the body as He pleases, so every role, including teaching, is His assignment.
Exodus 36:2 — God put wisdom in the hearts of the workmen and stirred them to the work, showing that gifting begins with what God does in the heart.
1 Corinthians 2:3-4 — Paul himself served in weakness and fear, proving that fear does not disqualify a teacher.
God's Word teaches that spiritual gifts are not chosen by human preference. The Spirit divides to every man severally as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11), and God has set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased Him (1 Corinthians 12:18). The body of Christ has many members, and all members have not the same office (Romans 12:4). A foot cannot say it is not of the body, and the member that seems more feeble is still necessary (1 Corinthians 12:14–22). Scripture also shows that God Himself stirs and equips hearts for service. In Exodus 36:2, Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab and every wise hearted man in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come to the work. And the apostle Paul, the preeminent teacher of the Gentile age, did not serve in natural strength — he came in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling, with preaching not with enticing words of man's wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power (1 Corinthians 2:3–4).
Les Feldick teaches that every believer — I don't care how untalented you may think you are — has been given a gift and a role in the body of Christ (Clip 5). Yet many believers use their gifts without realizing it. His most memorable example is the young lady who, every Saturday night, gathered 45–50 high school and college-age young people in her home for a Bible study. When she told Les she wished she had a gift, he answered, 'If that's not a gift, lady, I don't know what is' (Clip 4). In other words, one reason a teaching gift goes unused is that the person does not recognize that what they are already doing is a gift. Les also warns against begging for a particular gift: 'We are not to beg for a particular gift. We are not to ask for it.' The gift must be discerned and given as the Holy Spirit wills it, not as we determine it (Clip 1). Instead, the believer should simply say, 'Lord, here I am. I'm available. Use me,' and let God direct through open and closed doors (Clip 6). He tells believers they can determine their gift by what they are comfortable doing and that they don't have to force something (Clip 2). Finally, Les points to the apostle Paul, who was commonplace and 'shook in his boots' entering strange places. His point: 'You don't have to have ten degrees behind your name in order to be something for God.' God uses the people the world scoffs at — even a fearful, ordinary person can be used in teaching (Clip 7).
Les says that people can use a gift tremendously without realizing it, and the way to determine your gift is to look at what God is already doing through you (Clip 5). The young woman with the Saturday-night Bible study is his proof: she gathered 45–50 young people every week, and when Les told her that was a gift, she was flabbergasted (Clip 4). Les also advises that you can determine what you're comfortable with in service — 'you don't have to force something' (Clip 2).
No. Les explicitly says, 'We are not to beg for a particular gift. We are not to ask for it.' The gift is 'discerned and given as the Holy Spirit wills it, not as we determine it' (Clip 1). The greatest thing a believer can do is say, 'Lord, here I am. I'm available. Use me,' and let God direct (Clip 6).
Yes. Les reminds us that even the apostle Paul didn't have natural boldness: 'He shook in his boots as he would enter some of these strange places, just as you and I would.' Paul's speech and preaching were not with enticing words. Les's conclusion: 'You don't have to have ten degrees behind your name in order to be something for God.' God uses what the world scoffs at — 'that's the person God can use' (Clip 7).
Les uses the human body: 'What if the foot should say... I'm not of the body? Is it therefore not of the body?' He points to the little toe, which is usually unseen — but if it's cut off, you'll miss it terribly. So it is with the body of Christ: some believers are unseen and unknown, 'but are they important? Oh, you better believe it' (Clip 0). Likewise, a prayer warrior can accomplish more for God without ever being seen than many evangelists who go from pulpit to pulpit (Clip 1).
Les explains from 1 Corinthians 14 that Paul considered gifted men who could teach the Pauline doctrines 'the most important thing the local church could have' in an age before the New Testament was printed. Paul wrote, 'of all the spiritual things that you might desire, desire the gift to proclaim the Word of God' (Clip 3). But Les notes that, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, the time came when that gift faded away because 'now we have the printed page' (Clip 3).
The Little Toe and the Body
Every believer, even the most unseen and unknown, is an important member of the body of Christ — so no one should dismiss the gift God gave them.
Gifts Given as the Spirit Wills
Believers are not to beg for a particular gift; the Holy Spirit distributes gifts as He wills, and even hidden gifts like prayer are powerful.
Determining Your Gift by Service
You can determine your gift by seeing what you are comfortable doing for the Lord, and you don't have to force a gift you don't have.
Teaching Was the Church's Critical Gift
The ability to proclaim and teach God's Word was the most important thing the early church could have, before the New Testament was in print.
A Gift She Didn't Realize She Had
The young woman who hosted a Saturday-night Bible study of 45–50 kids had a genuine gift — using it without realizing it is a common reason gifts go undervalued.
Every Believer Has a Gift
Every believer, no matter how untalented they think they are, has a God-given role and may be using it powerfully without knowing it.
'Lord, Here I Am, Use Me'
Instead of asking for a specific gift, believers should make themselves available and let God direct them through open and closed doors.
God Uses the Weak and Ordinary
Paul was commonplace and fearful, so no one needs degrees or boldness — God deliberately uses the people the world scoffs at.
1 Corinthians 12:11: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
The Holy Spirit sovereignly distributes gifts, so a teaching gift cannot be manufactured by human desire.
1 Corinthians 12:18: But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
God places each believer in the body as He pleases, giving each one his or her particular role.
Romans 12:4-5: For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
The body of Christ has many members with different offices, so not everyone is a teacher — but each is needed.
Exodus 36:2: And Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it.
God puts wisdom in the heart and stirs the heart to work; gifting begins with what God does in the heart.
1 Corinthians 2:3-4: And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
Paul served in fear and trembling, proving that fear does not disqualify a teacher.
1 Corinthians 14:1: Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
Paul encouraged believers to desire the gift of proclaiming the Word; Les calls this the most important gift in the early church.
1 Corinthians 13:8: Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
This gift of proclamation would cease once the completed Word became available in print.
Les Feldick's most common answer is that the person does not recognize the gift. He tells of a young woman who hosted a 45–50 person Bible study in her home every Saturday night and still thought she had no gift. People can use a gift tremendously without realizing it (Clips 4, 5).
No. Les teaches that believers are not to beg for a particular gift — it is discerned and given as the Holy Spirit wills, not as we determine. The proper response is, 'Lord, here I am. I'm available. Use me' (Clips 1, 6).
Yes. Les points out that the apostle Paul was commonplace and shook in his boots in strange places, and God used him mightily. You don't need degrees or boldness; God uses the weak and the ordinary (Clip 7).
Watch the Teaching: Be Not Conformed: What Romans 12:2 Really Means for You