A lot of the following information was adapted from G.I.F.T.E.D to Serve Curriculum that Kelli Wommack and I co-wrote when I was stationed at Fort Benning. I recently delivered this info via a sermon at Paseo, so buckle up for Part 2 of 3! (If you missed Part 1, catch up here.)
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After we have been enlightened about what gifts the Holy Spirit has so generously bestowed upon us, we must encourage them to grow.
Matthew 25:14-28 shares the Parable of the Talents. Do you remember what the first two servants do with their talents? That’s right! They invested them and doubled it for the master. Remember the response from the master to those servants?
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’’ ~Matthew 25:21
But what did that third servant do? Yep, he buried his talent. He stored it away because he was afraid. Remember the response of the master to that servant?
“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.”
–Matthew 25:26-28
Ouch! Wicked, lazy servant. I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t want to face our Master one day and have these words said to me. I so deeply, deeply desire a “Well done my good and faithful servant” when I cross the threshold of heaven. But if we sit on our spiritual gifts, claiming ignorance, fear, uncertainty or any number of excuses, we are rejecting the good gifts that God has given us.
My husband is a great fire maker. I think he wants to be Bear Grylls when he grows up. Me? I would rather pass on the flint or magnesium shavings and go straight for the blow torch. Or at least a box of matches, those fire starter logs and maybe some lighter fluid. Encouraging our spiritual gifts to flourish is like a campfire…We have to move it around it to keep it going. To add more fuel. Make sure it has plenty of oxygen to burn brightly, otherwise it smolders and goes out! That is how I envision we quench the Holy Spirit when we fail to encourage our spiritual gifts to grow and develop. It’s like putting a lid on a candle until the oxygen is gone and it goes out.
Another important aspect about encouraging our spiritual gifts is that spiritual gifts do not allow us to make excuses for not fulfilling our roles as Christians.
Throughout the Bible, we are taught characteristics on how to be Christ-like in our everyday lives. We are ALL called to love. Be generous. Extend hospitality. So just because we do not have a specific GIFT doesn’t mean that we are excused from embodying that Christ-like characteristic.
Allow me to give an example. Micah 6:8 says, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy…” Not having mercy as one of your spiritual gifts doesn’t mean you can ignore the call to be compassionate.
The same goes for evangelism. Just because you don’t have it listed as one of your designated spiritual gifts doesn’t mean you are permanently off the hook from telling other people about Jesus. That simply means that when you need that gift, the Holy Spirit will bless you in that time. I don’t have the “gift” of evangelism… But seven years ago, the Holy Spirit prompted me to talk to my Dad about Jesus… And so we met Christ in a Cow Pasture.
Many of you might have grown up memorizing the KJV of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 which goes something like this: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Correct me if I am wrong, but it does not say, “Go ye therefore with the gift of evangelism.” It says, “go ye…” All of us are “ye,” so we are all included.
This leads us to the question: What does encouraging our gifts look like?
Let’s look at the word “Encourage.”
The root word is Courage! We can trust in the Lord to make it happen.
Greek word for encourage is parakaleo, which means to comfort, instruct, teach, console, and strengthen.
Encourage gifts within yourself—Learn! Seek! Pray!
Encourage gifts within the Body…
“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” ~Romans 1:11-12
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had…” ~Romans 15:5
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
~1 Thessalonians 5:11
Let the Holy Spirit encourage you!
“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” ~2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Don’t miss out on the final installment of this series next week!
