Word of the Week - Spiritual Gifts
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelist, the pastors and the teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” Ephesians 4:11-13
Spiritual Gifts – God created us all with unique giftings that are aligned with His purpose and plan for humanity. As followers of Christ, each of us has been given a God given gift that He is calling us to use for His glory and our maturity. We only begin to experience the abundant life that Jesus calls us to, when we are connected with Him and living in our spiritual gifts and God purpose. This was one of the most amazing and powerful discoveries in my journey of faith. The best day of my life was when I surrendered my heart to Jesus and my spirit we enlivened, which opened my heart and soul to the second-best day of my life; when I realized I have a spiritual gifts and a unique God given purpose and co-mission with Jesus, and I started living in relationship with Him and discovering spiritual gifts and understanding my God purpose. I came alive in a way like never before. It was only then that I understood the “abundant life” in Christ! Pastor Chris shared a message on this a few weeks ago in our Disciple Series Spiritual Gifts and it really stirred me to share this “Word of the Week”.
The Cross gave us direct access to God through Jesus – Through the Cross we have gained access to God through Jesus our Savior and mediator. This relationship is where we find power and purpose by the Holy Spirit. The bible makes not distinction between clergy and laity. As believers, we are all baptized and ordained in Christ to be priests and ministers of the gospel of Jesus empowered by the Holy Spirit. We are God’s chosen people and the hands an feet of Christ and His church. We simply have different gifts, roles and positions within the body of believers. “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His light” 1 Peter 2:9
3 Truths we have access to:
God has called each person to be minister to those around us – We all have a place in God’s plan and a sphere of influence. God is calling us to minister those in our sphere of influence (family, friends, colleagues etc.) through the gifts He has given us. “Now to each one the spirit is given for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:7
Every gift God has given us is unique and important – We all have different and unique gifts and they are all useful and meaningful to fulfilling God’s plan. Our tendency is to think that others gifts are more impactful than ours, but this is not true. God created each of us in His perfect image and equipped us with the perfect gift for His purpose. “To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith, to another healing….All of these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines.” 1 Corinthians 12:8-11
Our God given gifts show us who we are in Christ – Our design reveals our destiny in Christ. As we live life and grow in our walk of faith, we begin to discover our God given gifts and talents. As we step into these gifts and see God use us it increases our faith and encourages us to step out further. We begin to live and walk by faith and see God do amazing things. This is the supernatural abundant life of Christ. “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:12-24
How to maximize our Spiritual Gifts:
Discover my spiritual gifts – We were all created by our Creator (God) with unique gifts. As we grow and experience life, we start to understand how God wired us and our areas of giftings. We are typically gifted in areas that we have natural abilities and passions in. God calls us to discover our gifts and help others in the process, especially our kids. By the way, there are great tools available like Disc, Enneagram, Myers/Briggs etc. to help us in the process. One of the greatest blessings of my life was when I realized that I had God given gifts and God was calling me to be on His team for a divine purpose. This is when I began to truly live the “life that is truly life”. “It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and go our hopes up, He had His eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone.” Ephesians 1:11-12
Develop my spiritual gifts – Once we discover and begin to understand our strengths, giftings and passions we can then step into our God given purpose and calling by honing our gifts. The way we develop anything is through pursuit and practice. We step out in faith and simply start using the gifts that God has given us. We can also learn from others by being taught, mentored, and coached. This is the unique thing about the body of Christ, as a community of believers we are called to mentor and model for others on the journey. Church of the Highlands has a 3-step growth track that helps our members through this process. The key is to step forward by faith and allow God to begin to use you. “All of you together are the one body of Christ, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27
Use my spiritual gifts – I have found the greatest sustained joy in my life is using my spiritual gifts and knowing I am part of God’s eternal plan. Living each day with a God purpose. I believe that God created everyone on earth for this purpose (Ephesians 2:10), and until we connect with Him and discover our purpose, we cannot find true joy. For the first 33 years of my life, I was in pursuit of accomplishing what I thought to be my life goals, objectives and purposes by using my gifts to serve me and my family. This came up empty! Over the past 23 years, since surrendering my life to Jesus and discovering my spiritual gifts and purpose, I have lived my life with a focus on something much greater, God’s plan. I now get to use my God given gifts and blessings to love and serve God and others in my own unique way, leadership/admin (initiating, organizing and helping others in the process), (hospitality (hosting groups/events/parties, cooking good food!!!!), generosity (giving my time, money, resources, adding value to others etc.). It is truly fulfilling, meaningful and exciting in a way I could have never understood before. This is the abundant life that Jesus desires for all of us in Him. “God has given gifts to each of you from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you.” 1 peter 4:10
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
So, let’s discover, develop, and deploy our Spiritual Gifts and live the “Life that is Truly Life”!!!!!!!!!!
Sincerely,
Duane