As you know our preaching theme this year is Discovering your Destiny, and recently we have been thinking about what it means to be Chosen by God, Loved by God and Gifted by God.
Dictionary.com defines a gift in three ways:
1. Something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favour toward someone, honour an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present.
2. Something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned.
3. A special ability or capacity; natural endowment; talent.
All of these are relevant and true about the Spiritual gifts God gives to His people:
He chooses to give without payment, He shows Favour to His children, Our gifts are meant to honour God and bring glory to Him, Our gifts are not meant to be used selfishly but for the benefit of others. We do not earn our gifts, they are given to us because of God’s Mercy and Grace and Love. The Spiritual Gifts given by God are special, beyond our own natural gifts or talents.
Today I want us to consider a familiar passage from 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 where the Apostle Paul writes about the fact that each of us has been given a spiritual gift.
"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. 7A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have." (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
This part of Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth is emphasising that many people with different gifts all working together as one church, one body. Serving God by using the gifting He has given, to speak, to heal, to teach, to build up, to glorify God together.
God is the one who is in control. We are His church, His people, His children, and He gifts each of us for His service. God does not give gifts as a reward for how well a Christian lives their life, God gives gifts as He chooses and A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. God has given you a Spiritual Gift, every born-again, Spirit-filled disciple of Jesus is gifted in some way.
Do you use the gift or gifts you have been given to glorify God? Or do you ignore or misuse the gift you have been given?
Let me illustrate it in this way, for Christmas I was given a gift of a box of Scottish shortbread biscuits. They are good quality, all-butter Marks and Spencer’s Shortbread biscuits.
But, I have not opened the box yet. I don’t know how good they taste and I have not shared them with anyone else either. Perhaps I’m not showing any appreciation for the gift or the giver by how I’m using it. You see, because the box is quite heavy, I’m using it as a paperweight to keep some of my special photo printing paper from getting creased or damaged. I’ve been given a gift, but I’m not using it in the way the person who gave me the gift intended. I am using it, but not in the way it was intended for me to use it.
The Bible clearly tells us that God has blessed each of us, His children, with a gift or gifts. To bring glory to God some of us are given a gift, some are given multiple gifts.
Some gifts are for use in a specific season of our lives, others are for continuous and constant use.
When we meet together as Church are you using the gifts you have been given?
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
Are you sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to use the gift or gifts you have been given?
Do you appreciate the gifts God has given to you or have you pushed them aside, hidden them away, deliberately ignored them?
Are you here today as a passenger or a participant?
Are you here only for what you can “get” out of a service or to use your gifting for God’s service?
God has blessed each and everyone of us, He gives us a blessing to be a blessing to others. Romans 11:29 reminds us God’s gifts and His call can never be withdrawn.
I know someone who at Christmas gathers all of the unusable or unwanted gifts she receives, makes a note of who it came from and puts the gifts on a shelf in her wardrobe. The following Christmas, she takes the gifts out, dusts them off, and re-gifts them to her friends and family. One year she took a particularly ugly vase, which had been a gift from a friend of the family, wrapped it up in beautiful paper, put a shiny bow on it and gave it to her sister.
You can tell where this is going can’t you... She visited her sister and gave her the gift. Her sister unwrapped the gift, and stared at it and said, “this looks exactly like the vase mum gave me for Christmas a few years ago. When Mum comes round she keeps asking why I never use it for flowers in the house. I have never told mum I gave the vase she gave me to my mother in-law as a birthday gift.”
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Let me ask you again, do you appreciate the gifts God has given to you? Have you pushed them aside, hidden them away, deliberately ignored them?
Every gift from God has a purpose.
Each gift is selected and given to exactly the right person.
No gift from God is worthless.
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
The gift or gifts are yours, the gift you have been given is for you to use to bring glory to God.
When you came to Christ, when you accepted Him as your Lord and Saviour, you were forgiven and your place in Heaven was secured. But God has not taken you to your eternal home yet, He has a purpose, a plan, a destiny for you while you are still here. God has gifted you so that you can serve Him.
As disciples of Jesus, there is more to being a follower of Jesus than worshipping Him in song and listening to sermons. We are called to be committed to God. We are called to love God and serve Him. Not just sit in the same chair Sunday after Sunday, we are called to serve.
God has given us Spiritual Gifts to build the body of Christ, to build His church. Each of us has a role in the body of Christ and the variety of gifts that are given all have a specific purpose, and they are all necessary.
"To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have." (1 Corinthians 12:8-11)
What is your gifting?
Wise advice: in Greek ‘logos sophias’, literally a word of wisdom. King Solomon spoke with this kind of wisdom.
A message of special knowledge: in Greek ‘logos gnoseos’ literally word of knowledge. The Holy Spirit can give a word of knowledge, it could be a fact or information that should be unknown to the person speaking but perhaps known by the person that the Word is specifically for. A word of knowledge shows that God knows and cares about what is happening in a specific circumstance or situation. Need some examples? What about in John Chapter 4 when Jesus spoke to the woman at the well. Or when Peter spoke to Ananias and Sapphira. Sometimes a word of knowledge is a word that should be spoken in public, sometimes it is a word that must be shared privately.
Great faith: the word here in Greek is ‘pistis’ literally “divine persuasion” or “God’s guarantee”. Pistis is always received as a gift from God. The faith Paul is speaking of here is not saving faith, or optimism, of the faithfulness that grows within us as the fruit of the Spirit develops, what Paul is emphasising is faith that looks beyond the current situation and trusts the promises of God. The gift of great faith is often given to bring strength, assurance, encouragement and a certain hope.
The gift of healing: in Greek ‘charismata iamaton’ literally healing that is an unmerited gift of God’s Grace. This is a gift that is given for the benefit of others, for example in Acts 3 when Peter healed the man who had been unable to walk since birth in Jesus name.
The power to perform miracles: in Greek ‘energéma dunamis’ literally Power through God’s ability. Acts 6:8 "Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people." In Galatians 3:5 Paul asked "does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ."
The ability to prophesy: in Greek ‘prophéteia’. Paul speaks of this gift in 1 Corinthians 14:22-25 he wrote, “Prophecy is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers. Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”
The ability to discern: in Greek ‘diakrisis’ literally distinguishing, deciding, passing sentence on, simply put the ability to recognize the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, of God or of the Devil.
The ability to speak in unknown languages: in Greek ‘genos glóssa’ literally the tongue speaking inspired by God. On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:4, "everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability." Remember when Peter visited Cornelius and the Gentiles heard the Gospel, Acts 10:44-46, "Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God." When Paul was on his third missionary journey in Ephesus he asked some of the Christians there if they had received the Holy Spirit when they repented and turned to Christ, Acts 19:6 "then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied."
The ability to interpret: in Greek ‘herméneia’ literally interpretation or explanation. An interpretation is not a “word-for-word” translation, it is explaining the equivalent meaning.
Listen to the Apostle Paul’s instructions to the church in Corinth - 1 Corinthians 14:26-28, "When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you. No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say. But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately."
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Or what about the gifts listed in Romans 12:6-8 "In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly."
Prophesy, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, kindness - all self explanatory.
So what is your gifting? We all have different gifts, we are all gifted, are you using your gifts?
Don’t neglect them, don’t ignore them, use them! We all have gifts to use for God’s purposes.
God is not expecting you to do something you are not capable of doing.
God is expecting you to do what He has already equipped you to do!
God has a gift or gifts for each of of us.
God has given you a gift.
God has a purpose for each of of us.
God has a purpose for you.
God has a plan for each of of us.
God has a plan for you.
God has a destiny for each of of us.
God has a destiny for you.
How will we respond?
How will you respond?
As I draw the sermon to a close, I want to encourage you to use your gifting today... Here... Right now...
Tonight, instead of just coming to church and then just going home, use the Spiritual Gifts God has given you to minister to others, to encourage others, to serve others, and ultimately and most importantly bring Glory to God.
Prophesy, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, kindness, wise advice, a message of special knowledge, great faith, the gift of healing, the power to perform miracles, the ability to prophesy, the ability to discern, the ability to speak in unknown languages, the ability to interpret.
Whatever gift or gifts God has already given you allow the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you to bring Glory and Honour to God.
