Gift of Exhortation

Definition: Encouraging spiritual progress

What it means

The spiritual gift of exhortation is the ability to encourage, comfort, and motivate others in their faith journey. It involves coming alongside people to uplift and inspire them in their walk with God. Those with the motivational gift of encouragement are the “mouth” of the body. The Exhorters are incredibly positive people encouraging personal progress and stirring people toward abundant life in Christ.

Purpose in the Body

To build the character of Christ into the fabric of the corporate body

(I Thessalonians 2:1-13)

To stimulate believers to excellence in all things

To demonstrate God's overwhelming victory in every discouraging circumstance

To apply truth to life and ministry

Practical Example

One brother was an excellent complement to a person with a strong teaching gift, and they were doing team teaching. As an exhorter, he would see the potential in others and the situation and speak with inspiring vision. While the teacher gave illustrations from scripture and laid out the principles from the same source, the exhorter would tell life-application stories, and keep the atmosphere light with humor. At the same time, the teacher was dedicated to making sure that scriptures were not taken out of context. The exhorter was also prone to be swayed by what people may think of him.

Profile of Motivational Gifts

"…we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us…" - Romans 12:6

Speaking Gifts (I Peter 4:11) Serving Gifts (I Peter 4:11)

Living Out Your Gift

Understanding your motivational gift is only the beginning. The functions, qualities, and actions below paint a picture of how this gift naturally shows up in your life, and where grace can sharpen it further. Read through each section prayerfully and consider how these patterns reflect your own experience.

Functions of the gift

Stimulates people to abundant living (Acts 13:43)
Desires to visualize specific achievement and give steps of action
Able to see how tribulation can produce new levels of maturity (Acts 14:22)
Enjoys seeing people taking steps of action to meet needs
Grieves when teaching of the Word of God does not have practical application
Delights in personal conferences that result in new insight
When teaching, uses many stories from life experiences (Matthew 13:34-35)
When teaching, may draw life applications from scripture that seem out of context
Desires harmony among diverse groups; sees harmony as a basis for spiritual maturity
Message appeals to the will and the choices to make (Hebrews 12:3)
Exhortation may include rebuke and correction (Acts 11:22-23; 13:45-46)

Personal qualities

Very positive person (II Corinthians 12:9-10)
Loves people; warm and personable
Generally very sociable; may be very popular (Acts 15:25)
Dependent on individual acceptance when speaking to people
Loves to counsel; a strengthener and comforter
Fulfilled to see people act according to truth (III John 4)
Desires face-to-face interaction and confrontation (Acts 15:2)
Likes to encourage; believes in the underdog (Acts 9:27)
Remains self-accepting even in times of trouble (Acts 14:1-3)
Enjoys one-to-one instruction and discipleship (Acts 15:39)
Makes an inspiring complement to teaching when team-teaching (Acts 11:26; 13:2-5)
Believes witness is best done through examples

Positive actions

Avoid over-simplifying problems by emphasis upon steps of action
Be sure to place confidence in persons as well as in steps of action
Be sensitive to those whose primary emphasis is personal evangelism more than life example
Be careful in handling scriptures to draw life application from the rhema of God (Romans 10:17)
Honor the function of other gifts of grace
Do not be influenced by others to make impulsive decisions that contradict prior confirmation by one's partner or spouse (Galatians 2:13)

How to Use This in Your Small Group

Small Group Questions

Motivational Gift Discussion & Application Guide

Meeting #1

Action:
Have everyone has complete the assessment. Now have group members share their three highest motivations. With each motivation they should share a practical example of how they see this motivation appearing in their lives.

Prayer Point:
Pray for each other appreciating how God has made each one and for the maximizing of the gifts that are the highest for them.

Meeting #2

Action:
This meeting have group members share their three lowest motivations. Get ready to laugh. With each motivation they should share an example from their life that demonstrates a deficit in each area.

Prayer Point:
Pray for each other asking God to add people around them that are strong in the areas they exhibit weakness.

Meeting #3

Action:
The motivational gifts are often compared to parts of the human body as follows:

Prophecy – eyes
Service – hands
Teaching – mind
Giving – arms
Exhortation – mouth
Administration – head
Mercy – heart

Question One: Have the group members pick one of these comparisons and describe how it is true or maybe not a good comparison.

Question Two: Have the group members describe how a person who is motivated by one gift (the eye) could easily misunderstand a person who is motivated by another gift (the heart). They can use any two motivations.

Prayer Point:
Pray for each other asking for God’s help us to appreciate others who do not have like motivations as our own. Perhaps people could give specific names for prayer.

Meeting #4

Action:
Pick a particular scenario like for example visiting someone in the hospital and have group members each pick and describe how a person with one motivation might behave in this scenario. The group should cover all seven motivations. Other possible scenarios might be coming upon a traffic accident or helping someone prepare for an exam.

Prayer Point:
For this time just take prayer requests that might or might not be related to the motivational gifts.

Meeting #5 (allow extra time)

Action:
We want to demonstrate the strengths of each gift. Have everyone pick a motivation in which they are high and come prepared to demonstrate it in 5-7 minutes. Some suggestions follow:

Prophesy – share something that is prophetic for some individuals or the whole group.
Teacher – do a short teaching
Exhortation – share an encouragement for some individuals or the whole group.
Leadership – lead the group through a brief team building exercise.
Serving – do something to serve the group (bring food or wash feet, etc.)
Giving – bring a gift along for everyone.
Mercy – pray for each person to be lifted out of any hardship they are experiencing.

Prayer Point:
To close this study, have each individual sit in the middle of the room and all pray for blessing on them as they go forth and use the spiritual gifts they have been given. Specific scriptures can be prepared ahead of time and shared as well with each group member.

Scripture

Jesus: Matthew 5; 6; 7
Paul: Acts 27:33-38

Your Next Step Starts Here

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