Romans 12:1-8 (KJV) says, “1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Romans 12:1-8 (TPT) says, “1 Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.
2 Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.
3 God has given me grace to speak a warning about pride. I would ask each of you to be emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of your importance. Instead, honestly assess your worth by using your God-given faith as the standard of measurement, and then you will see your true value with an appropriate self-esteem.
4 In the human body there are many parts and organs, each with a unique function. 5 And so it is in the body of Christ. For though we are many, we’ve all been mingled into one body in Christ. This means that we are all vitally joined to one another, with each contributing to the others.
6 God’s marvelous grace imparts to each one of us varying gifts and ministries that are uniquely ours. So if God has given you the grace-gift of prophecy, you must activate your gift by using the proportion of faith you have to prophesy. 7 If your grace-gift is serving, then thrive in serving others well. If you have the grace-gift of teaching, then be actively teaching and training others. 8 If you have the grace-gift of encouragement, then use it often to encourage others. If you have the grace-gift of giving to meet the needs of others, then may you prosper in your generosity without any fanfare. If you have the gift of leadership, be passionate about your leadership. And if you have the gift of showing compassion, then flourish in your cheerful display of compassion.”

1. Prophecy according to the proportion of faith. This gift motivates and is hinged on faith. Since prophecy is divinely inspired, and faith is knowing God, then the Word and promises God gives you will be in alignment with your faith. What God reveals to you will never outgrow your faith because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). When faith is limited, so is God’s Word! 
   • Faith is a shield because it cover you and others as a source of protection against the fiery darts, or lies, of the enemy! Faith is a seed that speaks to and moves mountains because it reflects the sound and voice of God, mimicking the Creator of heaven and earth. Faith speaks what God has revealed, but if you lose your faith, you will lose you reward (Hebrews 10:35)! It doesn’t matter the size of your faith, but rather if all of your faith is put in the right source! Faith is a fruit of the Spirit because it is produced from an intimate relationship with God while also providing sustenance and growth of faith in others!
   • The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). The life of Christ has always been proven and revealed through prophecy. When we begin to lose faith in Jesus, the revelation of God’s Word begins to dim. 
   • The word “proportion” comes from the Greek word “analogia”, which is where we get the word “analogy” from, in which you compare two things in order to make a valid point. Prophecy should always be compared to faith! “Proportion” comes from a compound words “ana” and “logos”. “Ana” means “repetition, intensity and reversal”. “Logos” means “something said including a thought, or the reasoning behind a motive”. Therefore, prophecy is in alignment with the repetition of demonstrating your faith by your works, the reversal of any thought or idea that is contrary to God’s truths and Word, and the intensity of your passionate faith in God, not a genie in a bottle, but a Father who loves you and can be known! The word of prophecy will always be in direct comparison with the word of faith!
   • Whatever word you believe will be what holds power in your life! So, does your faith support prophecy, or does it support sorcery?
   • In 1 Corinthians 12, prophecy is one of the charismata gifts because it is a gift that empowers one to speak the Word of God with power and authority. In Romans 12, prophecy is one of the motivational gifts of the Spirit because it allows people to see people and situations from God’s perspective through eyes of faith, allowing you to say things like, “Hey, it is going to be o.k.”, despite how bad everything surrounding that person or situation may look right now! It motivates faith, hope and courage in others. 
2. Ministry/Serving – Literally means “deacon”. Therefore, deacon may not be an “office” gift of the Spirit, such as apostle or prophet, but it is a motivational gift because in serving you break down the barriers that people have surrounding their hearts and ministers to them in love exactly where they are. If you want to reach unreachable people, serve them! 
3. Teaching/Actively Teaching and Training – If we are not teaching, we are still on the milk of the Word, meaning that we are still babies in Christ (Hebrews 5:11-14). Many should be teachers, but they are still stuck on the basic fundamentals and principles of God’s Word! So the question is who are you teaching? You should be inspiring and showing people what it means to be like Christ, which is how you “train” people. They follow your example. We need to go from the milk to the meat, and Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of my Father” (John 4:34). Therefore, even though you will always be a disciple of Christ, there comes a time you transition from the milk to the meat, from the student to the teacher, and it comes from searching out God’s will to knowing His will! 
4. Exhortation – This is a gift of encouraging others. If the gift of exhortation is on our lives, it means that the same mission, identity and personality of the Holy Spirit operates in and through us! We are called to comfort, encourage, console, strengthen, exhort and stir up the faith, just as the parakletos (Romans 12:6-8).
5. Give with Simplicity – This means there is a gift of giving with no strings attached. It is giving to meet the needs of others. You are not sowing a seed of money in hopes of receiving a bunch of blessing in return when in fact seed is referred to as God’s Word and faith in the Bible not money. You are giving to be a blessing, and God blesses you more because He can entrust you with more. God wants to prosper you in generosity. God wants to position and bless His people so they are capable of giving more, but that requires our own discipline concerning our finances to make that possible! If we want God to be faithful to bless us, then we have to be faithful with what He has already blessed us with! 
6. Rule with Diligence/Passionate Leadership – It can literally mean “maintain business, to stand before with eagerness and earnestness, to rule carefully”. Those who rule with diligence aren’t satisfied or complacent with where they are, but they are eager to move forward and grow in the purposes and favor of God at a pace where the body or team can move together. Not everyone is called to lead. Your ability to serve, church attendance, etc. doesn’t make you a great leader. When you are passionate about leading, you will seek to not only know those who are in your rank, but you will discover your weaknesses and seek to either strengthen those weak areas and place people in positions who are strong in your weaknesses so you can become a more well run team. You lead by example, and you position people to succeed. You surround yourself with others who are better leaders than yourself so you can sharpen your gift. *What the Holy Spirit appears to do is spontaneous, but He operates with scripture. It can take a great deal of time for us to catch up with the Spirit, but He always has a detail plan and purpose. The gift of management should not conflict with the Holy Spirit, but the true Holy Spirit of God facilitates management. 
7. Show mercy with cheerfulness (which can also mean hilariously). This means that you should show mercy in such a way that it is laughable! The gift of showing compassion like Barnabas may conflict with someone who rules with diligence like the Apostle Paul because when you have a John Mark, one shows mercy and the other is ready to move forward with anyone who wants to join them. But the gift of mercy allows you to meet people right where they are. The gifts should not conflict with one another, but they should work together to build the kingdom of God and form a complete body. You may not feel like you are called to preach behind a pulpit or sing on a platform, which is laughable when the church thinks this is the pinnacle of the church or gifts, but your compassionate gift is valuable because it is seeing people through loving and caring eyes of Jesus. Oftentimes, after Jesus was moved with compassion, miracles happen. Maybe your gift of compassion is just a set up for God to work through the gifts of healing and miracles! Never undermine or underestimate your gift because it motivates others to follow after Christ!