Let's begin today with a couple of questions.....What Spiritual Gifts has our Heavenly Father bestowed upon you? and...Are you using them?
These are vital and important questions for those of us within the household of faith....Why? you might ask...well, simply because God hand picks at least one Spiritual Gift for every believer and "A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other." 1 Cor. 12:7 (NLT)
We find within Scripture that the human body is used as a parallel to describe the church or Body of Christ and just as the human body has many parts that function in unison depending on each part to do it's job, the Body of Christ needs every believer to do the same through the spiritual giftings of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 12)
Scripture mentions at least 21 different types of giftings which we often divide into 3 categories.....1.Ministry/Office, 2. Motivational/Practical, 3. Charismatic/Miraculous and these gifts carry such names as, Administration, Leadership, Teaching, Intercessory Prayer, Wisdom, Discernment, Faith, Hospitality, Service/Helps, Encouragement/Exhortation, Prophesy, Mercy....etc.
But perhaps more important than categories and names are what we do with these supernatural abilities that God has so lovingly given us in order to build up His church and one another....In other words, knowing categories and names is a great place to start in understanding how God has gifted us to better serve Him, but, out of love for God and that same love flowing through us (1 Cor. 13) we should always allow room for the Holy Spirit to quicken our hearts and lead us to serve the Body in the capacity to which God sees fit and as He leads, we should plainly trust that His equipping will follow....
Many have often wondered and also asked..."How do I know the difference between natural abilites and Spiritual Gifts?" and the best explainantion I have ever found to answer this question was one given by John Piper where he explained..."It is good for us to know that our Spiritual Gifts are given for us to use in helping others because many an unbeliever has great strengths and giftedness in teaching and administration and yes, these abilities are God-given whether they recognize them as such or not, but they would not be something we would call "Spiritual Gifts" of teaching and administration because they are not expressions of faith and not aiming to strengthen the faith of others in their use. It is our faith in the promises of God which is the channel through which the Holy Spirit flows on His way to strengthening the faith of others. Therefore, no matter what abilities we have, if we're not relying on God and aiming to help others rely on Him, then our ability is not a spiritual gift because the Holy Spirit is not flowing through it from one's faith to that of another...." (1)
The reasons for us to take the time to know and better understand our spiritual giftings are many, but a few of the more important reasons are so we might be more effective in serving God and the church, maintain an appropriate commitment to ministry, begin to more clearly know/find God's will for our lives, and finally, so we might be helped in overcoming feelings of inferiority....
Truly as we boil this all down today, my hope in highlighting the importance of our spiritual giftings is just so we might begin to think more seriously about "WHY" we were given these giftings in the first place....we often get so hung up on the idea that we are "volunteering" within the church that we seriously undermine and negate the idea that we are in fact, "serving"...and when you line the 2 words....volunteering and serving side-by-side, you come up with 2 very different meanings....Yes, we have to be where God would have us to be and there are seasons in life where God may even side-line us to prepare us for greater service for Him, but those facts do not change the truth that serving (and not volunteering) is what we are called to do....
So with that said....I will end today, just like I began....with a question....Are you allowing God to fan into flames the gift/s He has given you in order to strengthen the faith of the people around you?
1. John Piper: Desiring God: Series: 4 Sermons on the Spirit, Topic: Spiritual Gifts, March 15, 1981
