What are Spiritual Gifts? How do we get them? How should we use them? Why should we use them. Some precautions about Spiritual Gifts. Let's Explore!
Romans 12:4-6 4For just as each of us has one body
with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so
in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the
others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given to
each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your
faith.
1 Corinthians 12:24-27 24while
our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body
together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so
that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have
equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part
suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27Now
you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
I found the following story from another source:
The
Animal School
Once upon a time, right after
creation, all the animals formed a school. They established a well-rounded
curriculum of swimming, running, climbing and flying. All the animals were
required to take all the courses.
The duck excelled at swimming. In
fact, he was better than the instructor! But he only made passing grades in
climbing and was very poor in running. He was so slow, he had to stay after
school to practice running. This caused his webbed feet to become so badly worn
that he became only average in swimming. But average was quite acceptable, so
no one ever worried about it, except the duck.
The rabbit was top of her class at
running. But after a while, she developed a twitch in her leg from all the time
she spent in the water trying to improve her swimming.
The squirrel was a peak performer at climbing
but was constantly frustrated in flying class. His body became so worn from all
the hard landings he did not do too well in climbing and ended up being very
poor at running.
The eagle was a continual problem
student. She was severely disciplined for being a nonconformist. In climbing
class, she would always beat everyone else to the top of the tree. She insisted
upon using her own way of getting there.
Each animal has its unique design. When they did what they were designed to do, they
excelled. When they tried to operate outside of their area of expertise, they
were not nearly as effective.
Can ducks run? Sure, they can! Is that
what they do best? No! Given the limited
time that each of us has, doesn’t it make sense to serve where we are best
equipped?
Ducks can run and run hard. But they
are slow and get tired quickly. People
in ministry can be like that. Like a duck out of water, we can serve outside
our area of giftedness. We can do it, but it is not what we do best. That
is why knowing your spiritual gifts and abilities are important. It enables you
to do your best with enthusiasm and effectiveness.
Ephesians 2:10 10For we are God's handiwork, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul encourages Timothy
“to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you.” In other words, know your
gifts and abilities and then use them. Using our gifts is part of God’s plan
for us. Our gifts are resources and to use them effectively is good stewardship.
Sometimes we are reluctant to know our
gifts and abilities, just like Moses. In Exodus 3 & 4 we find Moses trying
every excuse he can to avoid doing what he knew God, present before him in the
burning bush, was calling him to do. Moses was pulling back from using the
gifts God had given him not realizing that God had already given him all he
needed. What God really wanted from Moses was obedience. None of us have had
God speak to us through burning foliage! But in reading the story of Moses’
encounter with God, we can learn many lessons.
God did not create junk! He chose
us with a pre-determined purpose! He gave us spiritual gifts and abilities to
accomplish His purpose.
We are all called to live a Holy Life
and to Serve. We will do it best if we use the gifts that He has given to us.
We must answer Gods call to serve. If
we do not answer His call, and say, “I’ll do it my way and my way only”,
well, it's like saying that you do not respect the One who has saved you.
Choosing to answer His call, or not, will
ultimately affect our rewards in Heaven.
To say, “As long as I get there”!
(regarding Heaven), is the devil’s deception. (I’ve got my fire insurance only
attitude)
Romans 12:6
6We have
different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us….
The Spiritual Gifts lists are found
in:
·
Romans 12:6-8
·
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
·
1 Corinthians 12:28-30
·
Ephesians 4:11-16
·
1 Peter 4:9-10
·
Exodus 31:1-5
Spiritual Gifts List:
Prophecy, Serving, Teaching, Encouraging,
Giving, Ruling/Leadership, Mercy, Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Discernment,
Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Apostles, Prophets, Helps, Administration, Evangelists,
Pastor, Hospitality, Craftsmanship
Spiritual Gifts can be broken down
into categories:
Support
Gifts, Team Gifts, Enabling Gifts, Working Gifts, Signs, Miraculous/Charismatic
Gifts.
Spiritual
Gift Definitions:
Administration: Ability to
Organize.
Craftsmanship: Ability to
work creatively with hands.
Discernment: Ability to
distinguish between truth and error, good and evil.
Encouragement/Exhortation: Ability to
strengthen, comfort, or urge action to those who are discouraged or wavering in
their faith.
Evangelism: Ability to effectively communicate the
gospel to unbelievers so that they accept Christ and grow.
Faith: Ability to act on God’s promises with
confidence and unwavering belief in God’s ability to fulfill his purposes.
Giving: Ability to contribute money and
resources
Helps/Service: Ability to
serve and help others in practical ways.
Hospitality: Ability to
care for and encourage people by providing fellowship, food, shelter.
Knowledge: Ability to discover, accumulate,
analyze and clarify information and ideas which will help Christians grow.
God-given ability to be able to answer questions relating to spiritual issues.
Leadership: Ability to cast vision, motivate and
direct people to harmoniously accomplish the purposes of God.
Mercy: Ability to cheerfully and practically
help those who are suffering or are in need: it is compassion moved to action
Missionary/Apostle: Ability to
start and oversee the development of new churches as a missionary or church
planter.
Pastor/Shepherd: Ability to
nurture, care for and guide people toward on-going spiritual maturity.
Prayer/Intercession: Ability to
consistently pray on behalf of and for others, seeing frequent and specific
results.
Prophecy: Ability to declare the Word of God in
a timely and relevant manner for understanding, correction, repentance, or
edification.
Teaching: Ability to understand, clearly explain
and apply the word of God causing greater Christlikeness in the lives of
listeners.
Wisdom: Ability to apply spiritual truth
effectively to meet a need in a specific situation
Not sure of your giftedness? There are
many online resources to take a spiritual giftedness test to find out what
areas you score the highest in. When discerning your spiritual gifts, take time
to pray about the revelations.
After I have taken the test, I pick the top three that I scored in and worked with those. Mine have
changed over the years! So, go back and take it a few times over a period of
years.
Administration
and Discernment always ranked high for me and sometimes they would flip flop. The
last time I took a Spiritual Gift test, Evangelism popped up for the first time
ever! I was shocked. Apparently, no one else in the room was shocked at my new
revelation. Sometimes, others see in you what you don’t!
Cautions regarding Spiritual Gifts:
1. Feeling that your gift is not special
It is so
easy to look at another’s giftedness and be a bit jealous. Sometimes one gift
may seem to be exalted over others, i.e. teaching, preaching, singing, leaving
some to view their gift as not as important or spiritual as another.
“All these
[gifts] are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one,
just as He determines.” 1 Corinthians 12:11
“…have
gifts differing according to the GRACE that is given to us.” Romans 12:6
They are
all important gifts and are given to us as God determines and with GRACE!
2. Using it for your OWN good to gain praise
From “God’s Daily Word Ministries” – Steve
Troxel
Ahithophel
was a highly regarded advisor to King David, “Now in those days the advice
Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God” 2 Samuel 16:23. But
when David’s son, Absalom, rebelled and sought to become the new king,
Ahithophel joined with Absalom. Ahithophel had reason to be angry with David;
he was the grandfather of Bathsheba and had watched as David violated his granddaughter
and then had her husband killed (2 Samuel 11).
In his
anger Ahithophel advised Absalom how to defeat David, but God had other plans’
“The Lord had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to
bring disaster on Absalom” (2Smuel 17:14). When Absalom refused to follow his
advice, Ahithophel took the rejection very personally.
2 Samuel
17-23
“When Ahithophel
saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out
for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged
himself.”
Ahithophel
had once been close to God and was used for many years to give Godly direction,
but at some point, in his ministry Ahithophel began to take ownership. He
determined his self-worth based on the results of his ministry and began to use
his gifts for his own selfish purpose. When his message was no longer trusted,
and his ministry was not going in the direction he desired, his self-worth fell,
and he found he had no reason to continue.
God has
called each of us to be His messengers and has given us a ministry of sharing
the gospel: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making
His appeal through us” (2 Corinthian 5:20). Some are called to preach a message
of hope to a large congregation. Others have been called to instruct a small
group or encourage just one…but we all have been called!
We are
never responsible for the outcome of a ministry, only for the obedience of
faithfully delivering His message. God remains in complete control of any and
all results: “My Word that goes out from My moth: It will not return to Me empty
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
(Isaiah 55:11). As we walk in obedience, His purpose is accomplished – not ours.
We must
never lose sight of the One who called us to serve. Our worth is in being a
child of God, not in the praises we receive or in what we can accomplish. We
must continue to be obedient messengers who proclaims the Good News, teach the
truth, and encourage at every opportunity. And when we become discouraged,
let’s check our focus and always remember…this is His message and His ministry.
Let’s be
good stewards and put to good use the gifts and abilities He has given us!
From the “Making Wise Choices” Lecture Series
Debra Lee,
Author & Key-Note Speaker
“It Is What It Is…but it wasn’t a tragedy”
& “Making Wise Choices…The Most Important Life Skill To Master”
