A NAGGING DOUBT: “What do I have to offer in serving God?”
- Many believers feel that they have nothing to offer.
- Others are just lazy.
WHAT IS A SPIRITUAL GIFT? A divinely-chosen ability for divinely-empowered service.
- 1 Corinthians 12:1, 5-7.
a. The phrase “spiritual gift” comes to us from v. 1.
b. It’s divine-chosen.
- More on that in a minute.
c. Ability.
- This is something that you do to further the Kingdom of God.
- Examples: Preaching, singing, generous giving, hospitality, mercy, leadership.
d. It’s divinely-empowered.
- More on that in a minute.
e. Service.
- God expects us to be serving in His Kingdom.
WHO HAS A SPIRITUAL GIFT? Every Christian.
- 1 Corinthians 12:7 – “to each one”
a. Every believer gets at least one spiritual gift at the moment of salvation.
b. This means that you are gifted to serve.
c. So often we excuse ourselves as being spectators.
WHO GIVES THE SPIRITUAL GIFT? The Holy Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 12:7.
- Do you get to pick out your gift? No.
- It’s given, not chosen.
a. But this is good news because the One who is choosing it knows you better than you know yourself.
- Ex.: me being shy in high school.
b. This is exciting because you’ve been given something from the Holy Spirit Himself.
- This means it’s valuable and effective.
WHY WERE YOU GIVEN ONE? For the common good of participating in an empowered church.
- 1 Corinthians 12:7 – “for the common good”
- Verse 7 tells us that these spiritual gifts are given “for the common good.”
- This speaks in part to the combined effort of the church. This is not supposed to be a spectator sport.
- You are to be a participant in what God is doing in this place.
- What does an “empowered church” look like?
- Picture a place where everyone was active for the Lord.
- Picture a place where people were doing what they’re really good at.
- Picture a place where the Holy Spirit’s power was flowing through each person’s ministry.
HOW DO I DISCOVER MINE? Serve and follow the joy and fruitfulness.
- I wish I had an easy “1-2-3” answer to this question. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that.
- There’s not a blood test you can do that’ll tell you what your spiritual gift is.
- How do you find out what your spiritual gift is?
a. First of all, it’s going to be something that aligns with your abilities, personality, and experiences. It’s going to be something that makes sense for you. It’s not finding out a deep mystery. It’s generally going to be something that others can see in you.
b. Second, you need to serve.
- You have to get up off your rear end and actually do some things.
- It may be that you nail it down right off the bat. It may be that it takes some hits and misses.
c. Third, follow the joy.
- Your spiritual gift is generally going to be something that brings you joy to do.
- Some people would rather die than get up in front of this congregation. As for me, I enjoy it.
- Some people would find sitting in a hospital talking to a person going through deep struggles a horrible experience. Others find that chance to let someone unburden themselves to be a great joy.
- Some people would find mowing grass to be a chore. Others look back at that neatly-manicured lawn and feel a sense of accomplishment.
- As a general rule, the spiritual gift is going to be something that fills your heart and brings joy.
d. Fourth, follow the fruitfulness.
- Explain the concept of bearing fruit for God.
- Your spiritual gift is going to be a fruit-bearing thing. This is partly because the Spirit is in on and partly because this is an area that you’re gifted at.
- Look to see if you’re seeing results from the serving you’re doing. Are people being touched? Is the time you’re investing time well spent? Are there hearts touched and people impacted?
