Everyone is created with a purpose. God has gifted you with special abilities to do His will. They are called spiritual gifts. Our job is to discover what they are and put them to use. This is the question we will begin to answer today:
What has God gifted you with, that He wants you to be using for His kingdom? 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 “4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. God has given spiritual gifts to everyone who has put their faith in Jesus. He has given them to you for furthering His kingdom. God created you with the ability to do what He has called you to do. God never asks you to do something that He hasn’t given you the ability to do. Now, you may not realize you can do it, because you’ve never exercised those spiritual mussels. I didn’t realize I had the ability to teach until I surrendered my will to God and told Him I’d do whatever He wanted. It was then that He told me I was supposed to start FUEL. I didn’t think I had anything to say, but He quickly showed me the truth of why He created me. I just had to let go of what I wanted to do and surrender to what He wanted me to do. Now just because God called me to start a church to teach people about His kingdom, it doesn’t mean that’s what He has
called everyone to do. Let’s keep reading the passage to see what I’m talking about. 1 Corinthians 12:14-26 “14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. Everyone in here has been given Spiritual gifts. Yes, I’m talking to you...the person who may think that God only uses the super spiritual people. Here’s a news flash. There are no super spiritual people. There are only people who have surrendered to God’s call on their life and those who have not. What makes us all the same, is that God has called all of us. And He has put in us what we need to accomplish the work He has for us to do. 1 Corinthians 12:21-26 “21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one
another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” From this we can see clearly that every gift is necessary for the body to function properly. We need each other. Don’t think for a minute that I am more important than anyone else in this room when it comes to spiritual gifts. Leadership gifts are different than service gifts. I said different, not better. Both are vital for the body of Christ. Here are the spiritual gifts that He has given to those He’s called to lead His body, the church. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 “27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” Clearly, we have been given different spiritual gifts. Everyone doesn’t get every gift. But again, every gift is necessary for the body to function the way God intended. 1 Corinthians 12:31 “But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.” Paul says he will show us a more excellent way to use our gifts for God. The very next chapter is the famous chapter in the Bible that talks about love. We always hear this chapter read in the context of a marriage ceremony.
But the actual context that Paul is putting it in, is the context of using our spiritual gifts. He starts by listing some of the gifts and saying that love must accompany them. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” We can’t use our gifts for God’s glory without using them in love. If we are not using them in love, we are using them for our own glory. God knows the motivation of our heart. If you were using the gift that He gave you just so you could advance in the social clubs that are some churches...God knows. He is aware if you are using His gifts for your glory. Here are some verses that provide a warning against having a selfish motive while using our gifts. 2 Corinthians 5:10 “10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 “13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” Here is a parable that Jesus told to illustrate how God expects us to be using what He gave us for his kingdom.
Matthew 25:14-15 “14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Ok, we’ve got 3 guys who were all given something to use to further the master’s agenda. And here’s a key...It was the master’s money. He didn’t give them the money to spend on themselves. He gave it to them to grow his investment. They were each given a different amount. One guy was given 5, another guy was given 2 and the third guy was given one. It says that they were given those amounts because of their ability. Basically, their reputation preceded them. They guy who was given 5 had a reputation for getting things done. Whatever his master gave him to do was done with excellence and he didn’t have to be told twice. You know people like that. The ones who are self starters and can be trusted to get it done. The second guy was trustworthy but maybe didn’t have the same level of experience as the first guy, so the master didn’t want to invest too much into him at this point. The third guy was the rookie. He was afraid to do anything for fear he would fail. The guys were not given equal talents, but they were given equal opportunity to show themselves trustworthy. Let’s see what happened. Matthew 25:16-18 “16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.”
So the master was absolutely correct in his assessment of the three servants. The first two guys doubled the money they were given, but the third guy did nothing with what he had been given. Matthew 25:19-23 “19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’“ So far, so good. But here is where the story turns and provides a warning to us. Matthew 25:24-27 “24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.” God expects a return on His investment in you. What did He invest? The life of His Son, Jesus. He gave everything to allow you to be in a position to be given spiritual gifts. Jesus gave His life so you could be freed from the penalty of sin, which is death.
Once you accept Jesus and no longer have a sin and death problem, He can put His Holy Spirit in you. And then the Holy Spirit brings to life the spiritual gifts God has placed in you. The reason He does that is so those gifts can be used to further His kingdom here on the earth. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven! Let’s continue the story and see what happens to the servant who didn’t do anything with his master’s talent. Matthew 25:28-30 “28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” The story doesn’t end well for the servant who did nothing. You don’t get a pass, just because you are afraid to use what God trusted you with. Your job is to put the gift to use. God’s job is to produce the results. You don’t want to be that third guy. You have to use what God has given you. Now, I want to take a couple of minutes to go over some spiritual gifts and what they are used for. Listen for what you think God has placed in you. Don’t worry if you don’t remember them all. We have provided a way for you to know for sure what you have been gifted with and I’ll tell you how to access that resource after we go over the various gifts. The list is in alphabetical order, not order of importance.
ADMINISTRATION: The ability to help steer the church, or a ministry, toward the successful completion of God-given goals, with skills in planning, organization, and supervision. APOSTLE: A person sent to new places with the gospel. You may have heard of missionaries going to different countries to help spread the Word; they could be described as apostles. An apostle can also provide leadership to other churches or ministries and offer advice on spiritual matters. DISCERNMENT: The wisdom to recognize truth from untruth by correctly evaluating whether a behavior or teaching is from God or another, ungodly source. EVANGELISM: The ability to successfully communicate the message of the gospel, especially to nonbelievers. EXHORTATION: Competence in offering encouragement, comfort, and support to help someone be all that God wants them to be. FAITH: People with this gift have such great confidence in the power and promises of God that they can stand strong in their belief, no matter what may try to shake them. They can also stand up for the church and for their faith in such a way as to defend and move it forward. GIVING: Those who have this gift are particularly willing and able to share what resources they have with pleasure, and without the need to see them returned. HEALING: A capability used by God to restore others, be that physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.
HELPS: Someone with this gift is able to support or assist members of the body of Christ so that they may be free to minister to others. HOSPITALITY: A natural ability to make people—even strangers —feel welcome in one’s own home or church as a means to disciple or serve them. KNOWLEDGE: This is the gift of someone who actively pursues knowledge of the Bible. This person may also enjoy analyzing biblical data. LEADERSHIP: This aptitude marks a person who is able to stand before a church, to direct the body with care and attention, and to motivate them toward achieving the church’s goals. MERCY: This is the defining trait of a person with great sensitivity for those who are suffering. It manifests itself in offering compassion and encouragement, and in a love for giving practical help to someone in need. PROPHECY: The ability to speak the message of God to others. This sometimes involves foresight or visions of what is to come. This skill should be used only to offer encouragement or warning. SERVING: A talent for identifying tasks needed for the body of Christ and using available resources to get the job done. SPEAKING IN TONGUES: The supernatural ability to speak in another language (one that has not been learned). TEACHING: The skill to teach from the Bible and communicate it effectively for the understanding and spiritual growth of others.
WISDOM: The gift of being able to sort through facts and data to discover what needs to be done for the church. As I said before I read the list, don’t worry if you don’t remember all of them, because on our website, there is a spiritual gifts test that you can use to help figure out what gifts you have. Just go to fuelthechurch.org and click the “next steps” button. The first section of that page is the spiritual gifts test. I strongly encourage everyone to take that test so you can know how you have been gifted to serve the body.
Commenti