Iliff and Saltillo UM Churches
August 3, 2003
Spiritual Gifts #1
“I Don’t Have Any Gifts--What Does the Bible Say?”
I Corinthians 12:1-11
Ephesians 4:11-13
INTRODUCTION: How many of you think you have spiritual gifts? How many think you don’t have any? How many are not sure? How many don’t care one way or the other?
A lot of people are inclined to say, “I don’t have any spiritual gifts. There are probably several reasons why we might say this:
1. Don’t know what they are.
2. Don’t think I would get any because I am not worthy or spiritual enough.
3. Don’t feel the gifts are for us today.
4. Not interested and don’t want to bother finding out.
5. Afraid I would be required to do too much.
Spiritual gifts are mentioned in four major scriptures in the Bible.
I Corinthians 12:1-11
Ephesians 4:11-13
Romans 12:6-8
I Peter 4:9-11
The one that we are more familiar with is probably the one in I Corinthians 12:1-11. Paul said to the people at Corinth, “I want you to understand spiritual gifts.” In Verse 1 he says, “Now about spiritual gifts, I do not want you to be ignorant or misinformed.” The church at Corinth was a very spiritually gifted church “not lacking in any spiritual gift” (I Corinthians 1:7) but the problem for them was that they were using their gifts improperly. They were elevating one gift above the other and trying to outdo each other. They were prideful and opinionated. This all led to divisions in the church.
Today I think people are more inclined to overlook spiritual gifts and allow them to lie dormant within them. What does the Bible say about spiritual gifts and how do they apply to us today? Let’s see what we can get out of today’s scriptures that will help us this week in our journey of faith.
1. Natural Gifts and Spiritual Gifts: There is a difference between natural and spiritual gifts. All of us have a different mix of natural talents and abilities, sometimes called “gifts,” that are based on heredity and on environment. People in the same family have different talents even though they were brought up in the exact same environment. One might have musical ability and another a talent in some totally different area. Educational opportunities sharpen these abilities and develop them.
ILLUSTRATION: One time I said to someone that I do better at music than I do in art. She replied, “Maybe you’ve developed your musical abilities and not your artistic abilities.” That was true. All of us have some natural abilities, but it could be they are not recognized because they haven’t been developed yet--they are still lying dormant within us.
Spiritual abilities or “gifts” can be defined as “special endowments of supernatural energy” given to people by the Holy Spirit. When we come to the Lord, the Holy Sprit gives us one or more spiritual gifts for the common good of the church or body of Christ. They are bestowed by the Holy Spirit whereas natural gifts are given as a result of heredity and environment. Sometimes the spiritual gift is very different from your natural gifts and sometimes it is along the same lines of interest. Often is is a gift that you wouldn’t expect would be easy for you to do. But the Holy Spirit has empowered you to do it. You can recognize that it has to the from the Lord or you never could have done it. Be on the lookout for new and different gifts and “gift mixes” to emerge as the needs around you change.
STORY: A elderly woman who was approaching her birthday was always given some little gifts from her friends and relatives for her birthday and Christmas in the form of knicknacks for the house.
Finally when she reached the age of ninety, the aging woman was asked what she wanted this year.
“Give me a kiss,” she replied, “so I won’t have to dust it.” (source unknown)
It is the Holy Spirit who distributes the gifts, and He alone decides which gift each person should have. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is. Everyone gets in on it and everyone benefits. There are various ways that God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. The gifts originate in God’s spirit. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. We don’t have to worry about what gift we have because they are chosen for us and will fit perfectly. One is not more important than the other.
STORY: The teacher asked his class, “Which is more important to us, the moon or the sun?”
One of the students answered, “The moon.”
The teacher asked why the moon was more important than the sun.
The student explained, “The moon gives us light at night when we need it most. The sun just gives us light in the day time when we don’t really need it.”(source unknown).
Verse 11 says that “all these are the work of one and the same spirit and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.” One is needed just as much as the other.
STORY: A little boy wanted a certain part in the school play and the try outs were that day. His Mother knew how he had his heart set on it but she was sure he was not going to get the part. He would be very disappointed, and she didn’t know what she would say to him. When she went to pick him up from school he rushed out of the building and his eyes were shining. He excitedly exclaimed, “Oh Mom! I have been chosen to CLAP and CHEER!” (source unknown) The parts that God chooses for us is like this. They fit us perfectly and we will be happy about it.
2. What Are the Gifts: The gifts are many and they are categorized as speaking gifts and serving gifts or a combination of both. Some are more visible and others more in the background.
The speaking gifts include: prophecy, teaching, evangelism, encouragement, discernment, wisdom, knowledge, tongues, and interpretation. They are all slightly different but needed at different times. Speaking gifts are usually more visible than the serving gifts but not always. Barnabas was a person who had the gift of encouragement (Acts 11:23). Romans 12:8 says, “If your gift is encouragement, do a good job of encouraging.” This could be in a group or individually.
The serving gifts include helps, hospitality, mercy, giving, healing, miracles, faith, intercession, and creative ability. Hospitality is a gift. Have you ever gone some place and you were made to feel really welcome and you were comfortable being there? This could be the gift of hospitality in operation.
Walter and I took one of the ministry courses in the Christian motorcyclist group. He took the course on hospitality. I took the course on women’s ministries.
Sometimes people will say that they just love to pray for the needs of others. This could be the gift of intercession in operation.
Some people are able to minister in financial ways to help individuals or groups and love doing it. This could be the gift of giving in operation.
The gift of helps is the God given ability to minister to others by completing practical and necessary tasks. These may look like just ordinary tasks but they fit in just when someone needs them to be done.
There are “family gifts” mentioned in Ephesians which benefit the entire church.
They are listed as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.
In evangelism there is a God-given ability to communicate effectively the message of salvation in Jesus in such a way that nonbelievers will respond in faith.
The gift of teaching is a God-given ability to comprehend clearly and explain and apply the Word of God to the lives of those listening so that it is understood.
These could be a combination of speaking and serving. Romans 12:8 also includes leadership and I Corinthians 12:28 includes administration. A person who is able to cast a vison may have the gift of leadership and someone who can carry out the plans may have the gift of administration. Whereas leadership is the God-given ability to inspire vision and to motivate and direct a group of people in that vision, administration is the ability to understand how an organization operates and to facilitate the activites of the organization.
You can see that there are many general gifts and most people have a combination of more than one gift referred to as a “gift mix.”
3. The Purpose of the Gifts: You might say, “So? How does this apply to me?”
John Wesley speaks about “going on to perfection” or completion. The gifts are given to people in the church as a means of equipping people to do the work of ministry that builds up the body of Christ to help us all to arrive at maturity and completeness. They are not just for our selfish use but they work together for the common good of all of us.
I Peter 4:10, 11 says, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”
If the purpose of the gifts is to build up the church and equip it to become mature and complete, then each of us have a responsibility to find out in what ways we have been gifted so that we will become a productive part of the body of Christ. We help to build up others and at the same time they help to build us up.
It is up to us to find out what our gifts are and this is possible for us to do. Some people say, “Let George do it. I am too old.” Abraham and Moses were senior citizens. Some people say Some people say, “I’m too young.” David and Jeremiah thought that they were too young. Scripture tells us that we are to expect to have spiritual gifts and to be ready and eager to discover them. If you don’t recognize your gift, it is probably lying dormant in your life. The gift is there, but you don’t necessarily use it all the time but when the need arises. We are on call. We can’t discover or use our gifts in isolation.
CONCLUSION: Some questions to ask yourself this week are:
1. Are you involving yourself in the body of Christ as a part of a church or group activity?
2. Are you regularly a part of a small group? If you are not presently involved, the first step is to get involved in a group with others so that it will enable your gifts to begin to surface.
3. Do you believe that gifts are for you? Begin to call forth your gifts by expecting to see them emerge and flourish.
4. Are you beginning to see some interests develop in different areas from your natural abilities? Could be a gift starting to emerge.
Scripture tells us that nobody is left out. In I Peter 2:5 we are, “...like living stones being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Our gifts need to be appreciated rather than being taken for granted and need to be identified and developed.
Ask the Lord to show you what your gift or gifts are this week. Next Sunday we will talk about “Identifying Our Gifts--Where Do I Begin.” LET US PRAY:
