Our family started a new Christmas tradition. For our family gift exchange, we all get a $25 gift card and randomly pick one. We can keep or trade it. At the end, most everyone gets a gift card they like.
Gift cards make wonderful gifts. Unless you forget you have them or lose them. I remember one time finding a gift certificate and the date expired.
I think many Christians have the same experience. They never open their spiritual gift.
God does not want us to be ignorant about spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:1). Neither does He want us to neglect the spiritual gift He gave us (1 Tim. 4:14).
What are spiritual gifts? A spiritual gift is a divine enablement given to every believer by the Spirit of God to be used in the local church to serve others.
Spiritual gifts are not talents, or attitudes (fruit of the Spirit), or positions in the church. They are divine capacities given to each Christian for service within the local church. Every believer has a blend of at least one of the spiritual gifts, and some have several. That’s what makes your contribution unique.
There are four lists of spiritual gifts in the Bible, but in this article I want to expound on the one in Romans 12:6-8. I think it will help you begin to understand your spiritual gift.
“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Romans 12:6-8)
From this passage we discover seven spiritual gifts. Each gift also has a mentioned also have a proven method to use these gifts.
- Prophecy is the gift to proclaim God’s Word. It should be done according to faith. The faith presented in the Bible and to the degree of the faith of the person.
- Ministry is the gift to render practical help in both physical and spiritual matters. It should be done with patience.
- Teaching is the gift to make clear the truth of God’s Word with accuracy and simplicity. It also should be done with patience.
- Exhortation is the gift to motivate others to action by urging them to pursue a course of action. It should be done with Patience.
- Giving is the gift to give material resources, far beyond the tithe, to further the work of God. It should be done simply.
- Ruling is the gift to organize, administer, promote and lead various affairs of the church. It should be done diligently.
- Mercy is the gift to identify and comfort those who are in distress. It should be done cheerfully.
How do I know if I have a gift? This can be a struggle. There are many questionaries and methods, but I have a simple 3 question assessment that may help you. If you say ‘Yes’ to all 3, it’s probably a gift.
- Does it fill you or drain you?
- Does God bless your efforts?
- Do others notice this gift?
Spiritual gifts are tools to build with, not toys to play with or weapons to fight with. In the church at Corinth, the believers were tearing down the ministry because they were abusing spiritual gifts. In other churches, because some do not use their gift, others step in who are not gifted in that area or the ministry just doesn’t get done. The ministry stalls and souls are left unsaved.
So how do these gifts work together? Let’s tell a story to illustrate.
A man accidentally spilled his coffee in our gym. People began to react according to their spiritual gift.
The person with the gift of prophecy spoke up first. “You got that all over the floor. You should watch what you’re doing.”
The person with the gift of ministry went to get the mop.
The person with the gift of teaching gave some advice, “Next time if you will not fill your cup so full and make sure your lid is on tight, it might not happen.”
The person with the gift of exhortation said, “We all make mistakes so don’t let it get you down.”
The person with the gift of giving said, “I’ll buy a few sets of coffee tumblers so it doesn’t happen again.”
The person with the gift of ruling responded by organizing the clean-up committee, “Bill’s gone to get the mop. Who’s going to get a towel? We need someone to get this guy a new cup of coffee.”
The person with the gift of mercy put her arm around the guy, patted him on the back and said, “I feel so badly for you. Did you get burned?”
They all used their various gifts together to resolve the situation. Could you imagine what would happen if in a church everyone knew and exercised their gifts. Start with yourself. Unwrap and use your spiritual gift.
What is your spiritual gift and how are you using it?
You can read some of my similar articles: 3 Ways to Get Spiritual Power, Unwrap Christmas Gifts.