MAXIMISING YOUR MINISTRY
Part Three: Identifying your gifts
Read: Matthew 25:14-30
The parable of the talents teaches us three basic yet key truths …..
God has distributed gifts. Relate Matthew 25:15 with Ephesians 4:6,7. By gift we can mean any number of things from a specific talent in a visibly defined area to a character gift that is a constant means of ministry in the life of a believer or church. The point remains God has distributed gifts. This means that each believer is made with the potential to contribute to the work and ministry of the body of Christ.
Your attitude will determine how you use your gift. Matthew 25:16-18. The choice is simple. Investment or burial. Investment brings growth burial brings decay. It is quite simply a matter of choice. The choice to use what God has given me or the choice to ignore, hide or bury what God has given me. Some Christians cannot find their gift because it is buried under a hardened covering of indifference and apathy toward God. Whereas some Christians prosper because they invest what God has given them.
God expects increase on his return. Matthew 25:26,27. God wants hi church to GROW. We are given a sum to invest into his church to help it grow. The assertion of Jesus that “I will build my church…” does NOT remove our responsibility to play our part in God’s purposes. All of creation points to a God of increase. We were not intended to be different.
Why did the master take such a hard line with the third servant ? Quite simply he expected the servants to do NO LESS than he himself would have done had he not gone away. The master would have invested and made his ‘property’ grow. His absence changed nothing just that he passed on his intentions to those he thought he could trust.
We have ALL been given a foundational gift that is SALVATION. Use it and others will be saved ….. Ab-use it and other will be put off.
So we move on aware that we have a massive responsibility to use what we have been given.
A brief look at Gifts in the New Testament
3 key passages of NT relate to gifts. (overhead) Note please Paul seems to distinguish differing types of gifts….. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
The Working / Activity Gifts …. Romans 12:6-8. I would suggest that apart from prophecy these are gifts that can easily be part of a persons character, personality or make up. They are quality gifts in that they can be descriptive of a person as much as an action. For example someone can be described as merciful as well as they can be described as acting in mercy.
I believe these gifts can form the foundation blocks of future ministry. They have been called the motivational gifts and are given to enable each part of the body to contribute to the overall good of the church.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit …. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11. These gifts I believe are different in that they are not gifts we possess or function in on a regular basis but are actually gifts released upon us at specific moments to empower that work we are doing for the Lord. These are never declared in the NT to be only public, vocal gifts. But they do ‘manifest’ the presence and power of God in any given situation.
The Ministry Gifts …. Ephesians 4:11,12. These are ministries given to the church by Jesus. Each one of them perfectly visible in his life and ministry. These are the leaders gifts that inspire the whole body towards growth and maturity and are designed to equip the saints for the work of ministry.
Important note : Not every possible gift, ministry or service is mentioned in the NT, this does not mean that they are not part of God’s design or intention for the church. For example there is no mention in the NT of Youth or Children’s work ; no mention of Worship or Drama teams ; no mention of Welcome or Visitation teams ; no mention of Church cleaning or gardening but every contribution to the life, ministry and vision of the church is a valuable act of ministry. As I have said before we all play a part however large or small - a Trumpet or a triangle it all makes the sound better.
So how do I identify my gifting or ministry ?
There are 2 keys questions to ask to help identify where your gifting or ministry may lie.
1. What’s in your heart ? …… 1 Samuel 13:14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command."
When God looks to use people the first place he looks is at their heart. And it’s not a bad place for you to start first for two reasons ….
Because you may find it’s out of condition like Saul’s. It will always be difficult to find your calling in God if your heart is not in the right place. If the affections of your life are focussed elsewhere you’ll struggle to exercise your God given ministry.
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Because you may find God has deposited something there. This man God sought was only a lad when God made his intentions clear. But when the time came for him to be revealed what was in his heart was the most critical factor of all.
1 Samuel 16:6,7 Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the LORD." But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
God has placed in David’s heart the ministry of a King. His character, passions, desires all made him ideally suited to be King.
What are the things that matter most to you ?
What inspires you and motivates you most ?
What aspects of ministry in the church draw your desires most ?
What best fits the person you are deep down ?
Is it witnessing or welcoming, singing or sharing, cleaning or caring, praying or preaching, hospitality or hoovering, catering or counseling, encouraging or evangelism, testifying or teaching, stewarding or serving ?…… we could go on.
When we are prepared to serve and minister it is amazing how much easier it is to discover what we can be or do. Look at the needs around you and judge your heart response to them sooner or later your heart will jump at the thought of playing a part in some ministry, outreach, practical work or service in the body.
2. What’s in your hand ? …… Exodus 4:2 “What is that in your hand?”. God intended to use what Moses had for the purpose to which he had called him.
Interestingly he also used it ‘miraculously’ ….. Exodus 4:3,4 The Lord said “Throw it on the ground” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake and he ran from it.
God used what Moses had miraculously to be a sign to Pharaoh that He was with Moses
Moses was surprised at what God could do with a simple staff.
How willing are we to surrender the very natural qualities we have for God to use. We each possess certain skills that God can use to reach the lost or minister to His people.
Personality Skills - You may be a ‘natural’ with children or older people or the kind of person who is excellent at welcoming people to church or sharing your faith with unsaved friends.
Professional Skills - You may have been trained in a particular area of expertise that could be made available to the life of the church from counseling to plumbing or from administration to music.
Practical Skills - It may be that you are a good organizer of events or a handy odd job man but many of us have individual abilities that we don’t always think of as a gifting or ministry. Yet there is so much more to church life and ministry than just Sunday meetings.
It s interesting to note (and I’ll develop it more next time ) that Stephen and Philip began their ‘ministries’ distributing the food supplies to Greek widows in Jerusalem and Philip ended up leading a revival in Samaria and Stephen “did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people” (Acts 6:8)
They started their service practically helping and developed into powerful men of God.
Jesus when he called the disciples said he would make them “fishers of men”
He never asked them to be or do anything he knew they were not capable of or that he could not enable them to do.
There is so much potential in this church just waiting to be released and you hold the key that will unlock the door. That key is ….. Your Willingness to be involved in some kind of service for the master. What’s in your heart and what’s in your hand ?
Conclusion:
A final piece of advice …… 3 things to do today …..
Pray for a fresh understanding
look around you at the needs
Attempt new things for God
