7 Christian YouTubers on How to Practice the Spiritual Gift of Exhortation
Do you feel the desire to encourage someone?
Are you the type of person who is naturally comforting to others, comes alongside them and leads them to the path towards God?
If comforting, teaching, and encouraging people comes easily for you, then you might have a special gift:
The spiritual gift of exhortation.
Throughout the Bible, the word exhort appeared more than a hundred times in the New Testament. It’s all over the Bible, and gets translated, interpreted and expounded on.
But what exactly does it mean to have the spiritual gift of exhortation? And what are the signs that you have it?
Let us learn more about this valuable spiritual gift as explained by 7 Christian YouTubers and perhaps, you may just discover this gift in you and what you are called by God to do about it!
Everyone has his or her own gifts based on the grace that we possess. The next step is to go out into the world and encourage and bless others.
Is it Encouragement or Exhortation?
To exhort is to encourage.
But there is a difference between the two when we’re talking about the spiritual gift of exhortation.
When you’re with an exhorter, you feel like you’re pumped – you’re encouraged to do what you need to do and you’re just in high spirits all the time.
The spiritual gift of exhortation is different, though. It’s a level up mere encouragement.
Whenever someone encourages you, it makes you feel positive and absolutely capable that you can do anything no matter how tough it is… That your strength and will are enough to make things happen.
But when someone shares with you his or her gift of exhortation, you feel and firmly believe that you can do it with God. You are not just relying on your own strength but you embrace the fact that God is helping you in every step of the way.
That’s a HUGE difference between an encourager and an exhorter.
If you have the gift of exhortation, you are longing to see those around you go deeper in God. You’re always seeing the possibilities in what God wants to do in someone’s life.
When people are going through or having difficult times, you seek to assure them that God will see them through.
Watch this video to learn more about the gift of exhortation and how you can develop this wonderful spiritual gift that will make a beautiful difference in your life and the lives of everyone around you.
According to Romans 12:6-8, “If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
Exhortation Signs
Are you an exhorter? Here are some signs that you may actually be blessed with the gift of exhortation but unaware of it:
- Leads others in that narrow path that leads to eternal life.
- Wants to make sure that others are encouraged in their walk with God.
- Brings to others the unadulterated Word of God.
- Do you “come alongside” others?
There are 4 more signs that you may be an exhorter, and Sharon enumerates and discusses these all in this video:
Building Up Your Gift of Exhortation
This gift of exhortation is often a vocal gift.
In fact, most of the time, it’s through speaking, teaching and preaching, and discipleship.
You are using your voice to give strength to others just as it was said in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”
Oftentimes, the word edification is used in the gift of an exhortation, and you build up someone through the gift of teaching and preaching the message of God.
In this video, Debi Gatlyn expounds on the gift of exhortation and the fascinating connection being an exhorter has with the Holy Spirit:
What Does Exhortation Mean in the Bible?
In the Bible, the word “exhortation” was mentioned four times – in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Romans 12, and Hebrews 10.
Every person has a spiritual gift from God.
But only a few are given these “motivational or redemptive” gifts. These are gifts that encourage others to move forward in God and to grow and develop spiritually.
In the Bible, it is called the gift of exhortation or discernment. It is the ability to encourage others and invoke upon a person the mission God has called them to do.
You are coming alongside with someone, you lock your arms with that person and you’re helping them to become the teacher, preacher, or healer that they are designed to become.
It is through your speech that you help, comfort, and empower others.
This gift of exhortation was described (without mentioning the word “exhort” in Isaiah 35: 3-4, “Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees! Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”
What does this spiritual gift of exhortation mean, according to the Bible? Check out this video to find out more about it.
What Exactly Does It Mean to be “Gifted to Serve”?
In John 14:16, it states, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another helper, that He may be with you forever.”
Matthew Kirkland, lead pastor of the Crosslink Community Church, explains in full detail what it means to be gifted to serve and what the gift of exhortation really means.
Basic Principles an Exhorter Needs to Practice
In the Scripture, the person who best illustrates this spiritual gift of exhortation is the Apostle Paul. He gave us
the guidelines on how to perform the gift of exhorting and these are in Romans 12:12, “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.”
So how can you practice these things as an exhorter?
Accept yourself as God has designed you.
Do you embrace the kind of person God has designed you to be?
This is important because it allows you to understand and experience God’s sovereignty.
You need to be committed to spiritual growth, and your motivation is to see spiritual growth take place in practical living. You want to become personally involved and grow and nurture not just your knowledge but also your understanding of the spiritual growth in every aspect of your daily life.
See root problems.
An exhorter can discern the spiritual maturity of another person.
What this means is that the exhorter is motivated to search out hindrances in the lives of those who
are not growing spiritually. They need to give further encouragement to those who are suffering because they are weak in their faith.
“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.”
– 1 Corinthians 3:1
Paul saw the Corinthians as spiritual infants and therefore he could not speak to them as spiritual but as carnal.
Dr. Joseph F. Roberts teaches us more on this topic of living the gifts of exhortation and applying it in your life in this insightful video:
The Next Step After Discovering Your Gift of Exhortation
The spiritual gift of exhortation is indeed a life-changing gift from God.
It changes your life for the better, and most importantly, it helps you to improve other people’s lives by bringing them closer to God and allowing them to realize their purpose.
In Acts Chapter 14:22, Paul and Barnabas delivered the Good News to many people in various places like Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. They encouraged everyone to remain true to God with all their heart and exhorted them to keep walking with God despite the tough challenges they encounter.
This is the same path you need to take as an exhorter:
To find those people who are discouraged, weak, and timid, and to build them up by using your powerful, inspiring words from God. Let these words travel to their soul and encourage them to carry out the work God has intended them to do.
Jesse Bradley challenges us to go out into the world and practice this gift of exhortation in simple and doable ways, which you can learn more about in this video: