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 1 of 3!
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Happy November! Halloween is gone, and Thanksgiving is fast approaching which means it’s practically Christmas, right? Anyone else listening to Christmas music yet? The bible says not to judge so it’s fine…
Speaking of Christmas… (or birthdays, anniversaries, other special occasions) Have you ever received a gift that is just awkward? Perhaps it was given with good intention but you open it and you are like…Oh yay. An orange wool sweater with fuzzy pom pom things all over them. Thanks, Aunt Trudy.
You whisper the silent prayer that God will grant you the one desire that the gift receipt is included.
That’s happened to me on more than one occasion. I try to be a gracious recipient. But…
Sometimes individually (and as a body of believers!) we might respond in a similar fashion to the Holy Spirit regarding spiritual gifts.
Maybe we don’t know our gifts. Or perhaps we do and we are like, “Um, thank you?” But then what do we do with them?
We could dig into this idea of spiritual gifts for a solid 3-6-month sermon series. But today, you will get the 30,000 feet fly over version, specifically how it pertains to us as a CHURCH, since that is our primary theme this year.
So that is our question: How do we understand and utilize our individual gifts yet harness them for a common purpose within the church? Let’s explore how the Holy Spirit has empowered us with spiritual gifts as through the three E’s: Enlighten, Encourage and Engage.
Before we begin, I want to echo this truth: We are not defined by anything except Jesus. Not our failures, victories, income or even spiritual gifts.
That said: we must believe in our head and our heart that we are children of God. Our identity is secured in who we are, NOT what we do.
When we understand our identity, then we are free to understand our ministry, which includes spiritual gifting.
First part of grasping how our spiritual gifts can benefit the greater good within the church is to discover them! We don’t know what we don’t know.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12: 1—
“Now about spiritual gifts, I do not want you to be ignorant.”
God gifts and shapes every believer—when we say yes to the Lord, the Holy Spirit gifts us! It’s like a really cool “Welcome to the Jesus family” present.
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” ~1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Why did God gift me?
Two reasons: To Glorify God & to serve others.
“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another…Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 4:10, 11.
This shows us that serving others is not just a privilege but a command. And in doing so, we produce fruit and experience fulfillment. That is the final purpose as to why God has gifted us.
He also gifted us to produce fruit and experience fulfillment.
When we are serving out of our giftedness, those around me are able to see the life of God at work in us. In addition, we gain satisfaction by fulfilling a role in Kingdom work and being an active part of God’s mission on earth. He could have easily done this himself, with the snap of his Holy Fingers—but he CHOSE to include us in his work! HOW. COOL. IS. THAT?!?!
Again, we could talk about gifts for months. But generally speaking, we can potentially break down the gifts as follows:
Equipping:
Apostle/Missionary, Evangelist, Pastor/Shepherding, Prophet, Teaching
Manifestation/Miraculous:
Knowledge, Wisdom, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Tongues/Interpretation, Discernment
Ministry:
Mercy/Compassion, Serving, Helps, Encouragement/Exhortation, Giving, Leadership, Administration, Hospitality
Please understand that seeking the Holy Spirit to reveal and enlighten the eyes of our heart to our gifts isn’t a simple check box project. Yes, I’m a huge nerd so I love all types of self-discovery assessments, especially if Jesus is involved.
But God, the creator of the Universe, also created each of us with a purpose. We aren’t locked into something for our entire lives, but spiritual gifts are like working out and getting fit. The more you exercise a set of muscles, the stronger you get.
A year ago, I couldn’t do a single toe-push up to save my life. Recently, I just finished the 100-day push up challenge. And now it’s not even an issue. The same goes for us as we are enlightened about what spiritual gifts we have individually been given. At first, it might feel difficult or intimidating to exercise them. But after a while, we begin to see God working through them and wow—talk about some major spiritual muscle development!
As we seek for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened about our spiritual gifts, we must remember that spiritual gifts are just that. GIFTS. You cannot earn them, work for them, stand in line for them, or volunteer for them. They are GIFTS and they are given to each of us who follow Christ. And I always say if you don’t like the gifts you are given, you can take that up with the Holy Spirit!
“All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each person, just as He determines.” –1 Corinthians 12:11
I don’t believe the Holy Spirit is selfish about spiritual gifts, either. He gives them freely and graciously! Most people definitely have at LEAST one gift… but typically people have three, five or even more that are evident to them. I find that many more gifts continue to surface as a person grows in his/her relationship with God and seeks to serve Him in various ways. In other words, sometimes we are not aware of certain gifts until we have had opportunities to use and develop them. And then there are times that God equips us with gifts necessary for a specific ministry situation, even if they are not included in our primary set of gifts.
Also, know that God makes the rules, not us. So any of the gifts can rise up when needed in a specific situation or season.
Here’s the key: Listen! Be in tune to the Holy Spirit. Pray and ask God how he has gifted you to serve in the body of Christ. We can’t operate at our highest holy capacity if we are, as Paul stated, ignorant about our individual gifts. Ask, seek and knock so that the Lord might enlighten you, providing divine revelation through the Holy Spirit about how he has gifted you for His glory.
Be sure to tune in again next week for Part 2 of this series!
