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You May Have the Gift of Mercy If . . .

29 Jul

SPIRITUAL GIFTS (10)

Characteristics of the gift of MERCY (Part 2)

There are seven Spiritual Gifts mentioned in Romans:

Rom 12:3-8

4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body , and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. NIV

  • They are able to sense genuine love – They can very quickly identify insincerity
  • They are vulnerable to deeper and more frequent hurts because of lack of love or rejection. John’s teachings and personal relationships illustrate that his primary focus was on love. He uses the word “love” more than any other disciple (Gospel of John; Epistles of John).
  • They seek deep friendships in which there is mutual commitment. John established a very close relationship with Christ and with Peter. He often refers to  himself as the disciple “whom Jesus loved.”
  • They tend to react harshly when intimate friends are rejected. John and James asked Christ if they should call down fire from heaven and consume the Samaritans who rejected Christ (Luke 9:54.
  • They are more concerned about mental joy or distress than physical concerns. John wrote to give his readers “joy” – “fellowship” – “hope” – “confidence” – and to cast out “fear” and “torment” (I John 1:3, 4; 3:2, 4:18; 5:13-14)
  • They attract people who are having mental and emotional stress.  John’s deep understanding, love, and acceptance made it easy to understand why others would confide in him as Christ did during the last supper (John 13:23-26). Meeting physical needs proves love (I John 3:17)
  • They measure acceptance by physical closeness and quality time together.
    John sought out the closest place to Christ: “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples (John 13:23). His need for closeness may have prompted his request to sit next to Christ in glory. (Mark 10:35-37)
  • They desire to remove the causes of hurts rather than look for benefits from them. John’s message was to get Christians to stop hating and hurting each other. (I John 3:11, 15)
  • They generally avoid decisions and firmness unless they will eliminate greater hurts. John was a follower until it came to denying Jesus; then was bold and decisive (Acts 4:13; 19-20)
  • They don’t keep score
  • They are attracted to outsiders – to show acceptance and kindness
  • They have lots of acquaintances and enjoy calling a lot of people friends
  • They empathize deeply with hurting people
  • They are compelled to provide some type of immediate aid to anyone who is hurting

In addition to what I have learned about Spiritual Gifts, I have also used material by the following:

  • C. Peter Wagner “Your Spiritual Gifts”
  • Gordon Lindsay “All About the Gifts of the Spirit”
  • Adult Education and Discipleship Ministries – FBC – Garland “Gifts are for Giving”
  • Biblesoft Libraries
  • Sandy Trice
  • David Francis

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Characteristics of the Gift of Mercy

25 Jul

Spiritual Gifts (9)

  • Review:

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.” 1 Cor. 12:4
“Now about spiritual gifts brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.” 1 Cor. 12:4

The original Hebrew meaning of the word “Spirit” is –Breath – God’s Breath – Breathed into us

  • The fruit of the Spirit reflect God’s character – what a disciple is.
  • The gifts of the Spirit reflect God’s work – what a disciple does.
  • A spiritual gift is freely given by the grace of God.
  • It cannot be earned
  • It cannot be deserved
  • It cannot be received through prayer
The Discovery Process
  • You must trust the Holy Spirit to give good gifts and that what the Bible teaches about Spiritual Gifts is important
  • You must desire to know your gift
  • You must be willing to use your gift
  • You must be willing to pray that God will reveal your gift
  • Start observing gifted people

Hindrances to Discovering Your Spiritual Gift

  • Improper motives – self serving
  • The proper motive of gift use is to bring honor to God by edifying others.
  • Self-edification (building up oneself) should never be the primary motive of a Christian’s actions.
  • “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasure.” (James 4:2,3)
Your Gifts Are to be Used in Ministry
  • Your gift is not a trophy to set on a shelf to admire or to remind you of past accomplishments.
  • It is a tool to be used throughout your lifetime.
  • You may use your gift in different ministries, with different age-groups, for different purposes.
  • Though these change, your gift stays the same.

There are seven Spiritual Gifts mentioned in Romans:

Rom 12:3-8

4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body , and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. NIV

Let’s begin with the gift of MERCY.

  • They reach out with genuine love which uplifts, soothes and  heals those who are hurting
  • Even if words aren’t spoken, they can pick up on the feelings and attitudes of others.
  • Because they so project themselves into situations, they can easily be hurt
  • If they sense a lack of love, they will back off (because they can be deeply hurt)
  • They desire quality time together with others because they have an understanding of giving quality time
  • Because they are often drained emotionally and spiritually, they will need to refill their cup or recharge their battery
  • They need genuine closeness and genuine expressions of love
My next Post will continue with the characteristics of the gift of MERCY.
In addition to the knowledge God has given me on this subject I have also used material from the following:
  • C. Peter Wagner “Your Spiritural Gifts”
  • Gordon Lindsay “All About the Gifts of the Spirit”
  • Adult Education and Discipleship Ministries – FBC – Garland “Gifts are for Giving”
  • Biblesoft Libraries
  • Sandy Trice
  • David Francis

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Were The Gifts to Cease?

23 Jul
SPIRITUAL GIFTS (8)
Are the Gifts of the Spirit for the Church Today?
Paul says in the 12th Chapter of I Cor. That the church, as the body of Christ, are believers, exercising various gifts, even as the human body have different functions and purposes and that all these members working harmoniously together, become the mystical Body of Christ on earth. Without the Gifts of the Spirit, the Church becomes something quite different from that which God intended. Instead of being a supernatural organism, the Church is then only another human organization.
Spiritual Gifts are the products of the Holy Spirit’s residence in the life of a person. Only persons who have experienced the gift of salvation have Spiritual Gifts. When used with the proper motive, Spiritual Gifts edify others and bring honor to God and his church.
God is the ultimate source of both natural  gifts and Spiritual Gifts. He weaves them together with our temperament and personality when we yield all these components of our lives to him. (Rom. 12:1) God may use a natural gift as a vehicle for a Spiritual Gift.
Were the Gifts to Cease?
  • There is no evidence whatever that the Gifts ceased because the Lord withdrew them. (Gordon Lindsay, All About the Gifts of the Spirit)
  • A Scripture that has been commonly used by those who hold the position that the Gifts of the Spirit have ceased is I Cor. 13:8-10.
  • Here we are told that prophecies, and tongues, and knowledge shall cease, or pass away. Just one glance at the Scripture shows however, that the period referred to is not this age at all, but the perfect age which is yet to come! (Lindsay)
I Corinthians 13:8-10
  • Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
  • 9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
  • 10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. (KJV)
There can be some hindrances to finding your Motivational Gift:
  • I don’t have time for this
  • I have too many other things to do
  • Maybe I can do this later
  • I probably don’t have any gifts anyway

Or feelings of unworthiness: 

  • God can’t use me
  • I don’t know enough Scripture
  • I wouldn’t know what to do or say
  • I need to get some things straight first
  • What would people say?
The purpose in seeking to know our Spiritual Gift is not just so we can take pride in ourselves or for any other reason other than to glorify God and to edify His church.
Some hold back some in seeking the Gifts because they are afraid of the “unknown”. However; we actually need the Spiritual Gifts to give us power in the battle – in our spiritual warfare.
Scripture gives us means to test the spirits and discern which is not from God:
  • –“If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or, if he ask a fish, will  he for a fish give him a serpent?. . . If ye the, being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:11-13)
Added to what God has shown me personally, some of my material came from the following:
  • C. Peter Wagner “Your Spiritural Gifts”
  • Gordon Lindsay “All About the Gifts of the Spirit”
  • Adult Education and Discipleship Ministries – FBC – Garland “Gifts are for Giving”
  • Biblesoft Libraries
  • Sandy Trice

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Recognize Your Motivation

22 Jul

Spiritual Gifts (7)

We are now ready to get more specific with the individual motivational gifts. As you meditate on them you may recognize some of your personal characteristics and those of your friends and family. It may take a while for you to identify your gift right away, so be patient and give yourself plenty of time. When you do recognize your gift, realize that it is your gift for life and that as you grow stronger in the Lord, your gift will also mature.

Train yourself to be sensitive to your reactions to your likes and dislikes and your motivation for doing what you do. For example, if you are asked to help someone move, and you agree to help – examine how it makes you feel. Are you agreeing because you feel obligated or because you really enjoy helping people? If you really want to help someone because you enjoy helping others, chances are that your gift may be “Service”. If you do it mainly because you are obligated or for any other reason, you can probably mark “Service” off your “Gift” list.  Keep in mind that we are not excused from “Service” just because we don’t have that particular motivation!

Motivational Gift of PROPHECY – Characteristics

  • Strong desire to understand the Bible and God’s Word to His people
  • Strong discernment
  • Able to forsee the consequences of decisions made
  • Strong desire to help others to correct their bad decisions – (not their feelings and not their attitude)
  • Not interested in whether or not they are accepted by others, just that others know the truth and don’t make choices that will bring them more problems

Ways the Gift of PROPHECY can be used:

  • Teaching
  • Moral Concerns
  • Church Council
  • Counseling
  • Personnel Committee
  • Church Officer
  • Group Committee Leader
  • Worship Committee
  • Prayer Groups

Motivational Gift of TEACHING – Characteristics:

  • Strong desire to clarify truth
  • Desire to search out and study God’s Word in detail so they can validate the truth
  • Carefully investigates the Word of God
  • Very interested in words and the way they are used
  • God-given interest in getting details correct

Ways  the the gift of  TEACHING can be used:

  • Bible Teaching
  • New Member Training
  • Mission Education
  • Vacation Bible School
  • Sunday School
  • Church Training
  • Church Council

Motivational Gift of ADMINISTRATION – Characteristics:

  • The ability to see the overall picture
  • Can clarify long-range goals
  • Can see and understand what needs to be done
  • Knows who can do the job the best
  • Likes to appoint the individuals to do them

Ways the Gift of ADMINISTRATION can be used:

  • Records and Statistical Data
  • Church Finance
  • Financial & Budgeting Resources
  • Office Administration
  • Insurance Committee
  • Priority Planning
  • Church Council

Motivational Gift of SERVICE – Characteristics:

  • Can become grieved when they see the person they are serving squandering their time and wasting it on minute things
  • Greatly delighted in giving of themselves to serve when they see the other person is investing their life in worthwhile projects
  • They are willing to invest service in your life in order to help you get what you want out of life, then you, in turn, are going to be motivated to do more
  • Has the gift of giving of themselves in order to help someone else to succeed in whatever their interest is

Ways the Motivational Gift of SERVICE can be used:

  • Hospital Ministry
  • Deacon Ministry
  • Benevolence Committee
  • Social Ministries
  • Missions Committee

Motivational Gift of GIVING – Characteristics:

  • Gives more and expects less
  • Ready and willing to give of their finances to see that a project is accomplished
  • Will make personal financial sacrifices in order to give a large amount of money

Ways the Motivational Gift of GIVING can be used:

  • Stewardship Committee
  • Moral Concerns (Poverty, Politics, Family)
  • Outreach Ministry
  • Church Finances
  • New Ministries

Motivational Gift of EXHORTATION – Characteristics:

  • Has the ability to see your potential and desires to motivate you to reach that potential
  • They have discernment and may sometimes seem nosey
  • They usually make good counselors
  • They want you to learn something and move on to the next step of action

Ways the Motivational Gift of EXHORTATION can be used:

  • Vocational Guidance
  • Youth Ministry
  • Counseling
  • Ministry to Families
  • New Member Training
  • Church Leader Training
  • Nominating Committee

Motivational Gift of MERCY – Characteristics:

  • Reaches out with genuine love which uplifts, soothes and heals those who are hurting
  • This gift keeps others on their toes because even if words are not spoken, they can pick up on the feelings and attitudes of others
  • Has a greater vulnerability to deeper and more frequent hurts because of lack of love

Ways the Motivational Gift of MERCY can be used:

  • Prayer Groups
  • Hospital Ministry
  • Couseling
  • Benevolence
  • Homebound Ministry
  • Social Ministries
  • Mental Health
Some of this material was quoted from the following:
  • C. Peter Wagner “Your Spiritural Gifts”
  • Gordon Lindsay “All About the Gifts of the Spirit”
  • Adult Education and Discipleship Ministries – FBC – Garland “Gifts are for Giving”
  • Biblesoft Libraries
  • Sandy Trice

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Natural Ability or Gift From God?

20 Jul

Spiritual Gifts (6)

Everyone of us is gifted and/or talented in some way. I want to write a little bit about the differences between natural abilities and God-given gifts.

One of the easiest ways to recognize a natural gift or ability is that it usually edifies the individual and brings honor and attention to them personally. A Spirit given gift edifies others and gives God glory.

Natural gifts and talents can be inherited skills or skills that can be learned. For example, music, sports, art – even speaking abilities.

Spiritual Gifts are given by the Holy Spirit of God and are only available to people who have accepted Jesus Christ. These gifts, if administered properly, will edify the Body of Christ, benefit others and give glory to God. As believers, we can possess both Spiritual Gifts and natural abilities/talents. We can also use them selfishly if we are not careful.

This is a good place to introduce some of the other Spiritual Gifts mentioned in the Bible. We have been learning about Motivational Gifts and now we are going to begin to learn how to recognize the differences between the individual Motivational gifts and the Ministry gifts that God has given us.

Motivational Gifts
(Romans 12:6-9)
Prophecy
Serving
Teaching
Exhortation
Giving
Administration
Mercy

Ministry Gifts
(Ephesians 4:11-13)
Apostle
Prophet
Evangelist
Pastor
Teacher

The following terms are also used when speaking about God’s Gifts. These are the manifestations of the Ministry Gifts.

REVELATION GIFTS
Word of Wisdom
Word of Knowledge
Discerning of Spirits

POWER GIFTS
Faith
Healing
Miracles

SPEAKING GIFTS –
Prophecy
Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues

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God’s Gift To You For Him

17 Jul

Discovering Our Spiritual Gifts (5)

It’s time to discover the characteristics of the individual motivational gifts. God’s Holy Spirit gives good gifts to His children, born-again believers in Jesus Christ. He gives these gifts to us so that we will use them for His glory, to build up the Body of Christ. We need to pray that God will reveal our gift to us and listen for confirmation (or lack of it) from others. As we discover the characteristics of each gift in the future Blogs, we will recognize some of the traits in ourselves and in others.

Begin the process by being more sensitive to your own self. Get to know yourself by looking back and discovering the things that you really enjoy and the reason for it. Also, consider the things that don’t interest you very much – the things that don’t really get you motivated.

There are some things that can hinder the progress. If there are sins in our lives that we won’t let go of – sin that God has convicted us of again and again – we will need to resolve those issues in order to be in a position where God can use us as He wants. This doesn’t mean we are perfect, nor can we be. However, there are things in our lives that hinder us from moving forward with our Lord. God is long-suffering – He will give us plenty of time but He does expect us to walk in the light He gives us and He will help us to work out the unacceptable issues in our lives.

The recognition of the gift God has given us won’t manifest if we are isolated from others in the church. His gifts are for others, not for our own benefit.

We admire and respect others we observe in our midst. We can’t discover our God-given gift if we decide for ourselves we want to do what we see someone else doing. It is important that we understand our personal likes and dislikes and is helpful to know why, if possible.

There may be a hindrance because we don’t understand the difference between motivational gifts and ministry gifts. Or, we may be confused about the differences between spiritual gifts and natural abilities. (Stay with me as we learn about all these subjects and as we learn to clearly identify them in our lives.)

Our own feeling of not being good enough, a lack of interest, or improper motives will also hinder this process. Our proper motive is to bring honor to God by building up others.

We can identify some of our traits as we continue through this teaching and we can identify others in the process. But, just because we can identify them does not mean we can be used of God without His Holy Spirit and our obedience to Him.

This is a good stopping place for now. This subject is deep and wide. You will gain insight in each Blog Post, so stay with me as we go deeper into it so that God can use us as He has planned from the beginning.

I will leave you with the following Scripture for meditation as we continue our study.

ph 4:11-16
1 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
NKJV

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Should I Say “Yes” or “No”?

10 Jul

Discovering Our Spiritual Gifts (4)

Discovering our God-given spiritual gift will give help us become a better steward of the time we spend in God’s service. We have each been given a personalized gift from God. If we spend our time doing every project that comes along we won’t be able to focus on the major motivational gift God has designed us for. In fact, we will probably be doing someone else’s job, therefore keeping them from being a part of the body of believers in fulfilling their call.

God wants us to be available to say “yes” to opportunities that require our gifts, and not to feel guilty when we say “no”. In addition, we will be more enthusiastic about doing what God has prepared us for and are less likely to face “burnout” or dread in accomplishing our task.

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others . . . If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides . . .”
(I Peter 4:10-11)

The Scripture above tells us that God provides the strength we need in doing what He has called us to do. This is where we can most clearly understand the areas God has prepared us for. We will remain enthusiastic and give ourselves completely to the task without extra frustration and fatigue. On the other hand, when we volunteer for those things that God has prepared someone else for, not only are we keeping them from their part in God’s plan, but we face continual dread, frustration, and fatigue. We begin to question what we have gotten ourselves involved in and wonder why we did it. Many times we will even look for excuses to quit and quitting is much harder!

This is a good place to add an important note. There will be times when a need arises for which there is no one available due to time restraints or other causes. Also, we need to realize that even though God has created us with a major focus doesn’t mean we can excuse ourselves from coming together for the greater good. For example, I love to help others (serve) but serving is not my “spiritual gift”. When our church has “dinner on the grounds” I struggle – really struggle. I don’t like cooking, I’m not very good at it – it frustrates me, and so on, and so on. But – I need to do my part so we will have enough food for everyone. So, I do the best I can. Sometimes, I just buy a bunch of grapes, wash them and put them in a pretty dish. I know, I know – those of you who spend hours cooking have a problem with me. Which leads me to my next point.

We need to understand that not everyone is talented in the same areas we are. Instead of grumbling, complaining and gossiping, it is easier to accept if we do what we do because we are serving God – it is for Him we do what we do. If not, our hearts are in the wrong place. This is what is meant by gaining a better of understanding of others around you when you come to understand the spiritual (motivational) gifts.

There are many areas of need in our world. We can’t do it all by ourselves. We aren’t supposed to. God designed us as one body for a reason. There is only one head – Jesus Christ. He is the one who deserves the recognition – not us.

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We Do What We Do Because . . .

6 Jul

Discovering Our Spiritual Gifts (3) Continued

The importance of discovering our spiritual gift in the Body of Christ brings us into one accord as a church and helps us to become more accommodating. We begin to understand and fulfill the calling God has in our lives, as well as giving meaning to our participation in our congregation.

The more we understand about ourselves and the gift God has created us with, the more we can understand what motivates us and those we love. We then will also be less critical of others when they don’t react the way we think they should. We are also less likely to be jealous or angry when we realize each individual has a unique gift – given by God – for a particular task.

Sometimes we “feel better” if we jump into every activity that is presented to us. We are good at several things and believe that we can certainly be beneficial to the new project. Besides, it makes us feel better about ourselves.

We all have a variety of things we do well. Whether we are in charge of a project or baking cookies for the event. (Trust me – some would say that baking cookies is the most important thing we can do for a function!)

Maturity in Christ brings balance in all areas. We learn to embrace the work we are designed for with enthusiasm and joy instead of dread and frustration. This being said – we will be better at prioritizing our time and less likely to get involved in so many things that we can’t possibly do any of them very well. When we learn to refuse the guilt that the enemy, satan, tries to inflict upon us, we can begin to do the things we love to do rather than the things we feel that we should do (triggered by guilt or other motive).

God has given the church gifts as tools to do His work. They are not toys to use for fun, nor are they rewards that we earn. Each born-again believer was created by God. He knew us while we were still in our Mothers’ womb. (Ps 139) He knew every day of our lives before we came into the world. He decided what gift He wanted us to have – how our personality and character would come into play. It is very important that we discover the gift God instilled within us and that we don’t try to do someone else’s job.

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Use HIS Power, Not Yours

5 Jul

Discovering Our Spiritual Gifts (2) – Continued

WE are the church. The building we meet in on Sundays is a meeting place. God lives in our hearts and His Holy Spirit will motivate us at times to go out of our way to meet a need or to help someone.

We should be sensitive to what motivates us the most. For instance, if a friend was transferred to another city and had to move to a new location – and really didn’t want to go, in what way would you prefer to help? Would you (1) Have an immediate idea of people who could help and start making plans to line them up for the task; (2) Physically offer your assistance to pack and move them; (3) Help them financially; (4) Encourage them in the areas that are troubling them; (5) Do some research to help them gather information that may be needed; (6) Show compassion and understanding about all the things that are concerning them with the situation; (7) Make sure they are aware of all the facts of their decision and do your best to make them aware of any possible problems?

You may find that there are many areas listed above where you could help. More than likely, there will be one in particular that your are the most concerned with. That will be a hint of the gift God has placed in your heart to reach out to others. Eventually, as we mature in Christ, we will be more effective in many of these areas. Knowing the one thing that motivates us the most does not mean we are exempt from becoming more sensitive in the other areas of need.

God will be honored when we use our gifts. The Holy Spirit is always at work around us, and when we use our gift in His power, God receives the praise.

(1 Peter 4:10-11)
“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. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

God determines what gifts we are given. Discovery of what motivates us may take some time. As we mature in our walk with God we will gradually become more like Jesus and participate in all gifts, as needed. But there will always be one that motivates us – this is by God’s design.

1 Cor 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

1 Cor 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

Gifts of the Spirit and Fruits of the Spirit are different. The fruit of the Spirit is evident in our character – how we behave. The gifts of the Spirit reflect God’s work – what we do for Him. Following are the Fruits of the Spirit. Our goal is to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us how to walk with the evidence of these fruits in our lives. (Galatians 5:22)

Fruits of the Spirit

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Longsuffering/Patience
• Gentleness
• Goodness
• Faith
• Self Control

Note: We learn these fruits by facing issues in our lives. For example, in order to learn “longsuffering (patience)” we will be faced with issues that require us to put it to work! Read the list again with that in mind!

Motivational Gifts
Of the Spirit

• Serving/Helping
• Giving
• Administration
• Prophecy
• Exhortation/Encouraging
• Showing Mercy
• Teaching

There are other gifts God gives us that will be discussed later, but first we are going to go a little deeper into the characteristics of these 7 gifts and how to recognize them in our lives.

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What Do You Love To Do?

3 Jul

Discovering Our Spiritual Gifts (1)

Rom 12:3-8
4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body , and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. NIV

I want to do a series on Spiritual Gifts. I believe that every Christian should know their Spiritual Gift. Knowing your gift will assist you in understanding why you do what you do. You will also better understand those close to you and what motivates them.

A Spiritual Gift is sort of like an assignment from God. It is an ability He give us. Some may describe it as a natural ability we possess. This gift from God motivates us to use our talents in a specific area.

As born-again Christians we have been commissioned by God to go into all the world with the Good News. Hold on – this isn’t just for Pastors, Music Leaders, Sunday School Teachers and other Church Leaders. We all have a part to play. Remember that Jesus said we are all one body of which He is the head. God empowers us with the desire and the energy to accomplish His work with excitement, not dread. There is a difference between “good work” and “God work”.

The Spiritual (Motivational) gift God has given you makes you happy. You are the happiest when you are using this gift. You seem to have more energy in this particular area. You get excited at the thought of being involved in projects where your gift can be used. God has something for each of us to do for Him. He never intended for us to just sit and watch everybody else get things done.

As an example, let’s take a look at how many workers are needed for any event. A successful event cannot be accomplished by only one person. There are a number of gifted and talented people involved. Look at the list below to get an idea of some of the helpers needed in any event. This list covers only a few of the areas where those with differing gifts will be asked to help.

• The Origination of the event – A Banquet
• Establish a Committee to make decisions
• A Treasurer
• A Secretary
• A Venue
• A Caterer
• Decorations
• Tables & Chairs
• Table Linens
• Musicians
• Media Person
• Concessions
• T-Shirts
• Transportation
• Printer
• Speaker
• Entertainment

This will give you an idea of the teamwork required to create a successful event. Everyone has a particular area of interest they are responsible for. No one is more important than the other. It takes everyone doing their part to make it all happen successfully.

We can’t all be the leader. Each one of God’s children is gifted and their gift is as important as any other on the team. Consider a football team without a football; a concert without musicians; A play without actors.

God has distributed His gifts throughout the church to prepare us to do His work – so that we can help one another – so that we can build up one another.

Throughout this series we are going to examine this subject closely. God gave His children, you and me, ministry gifts, speaking gifts, gifts of faith, the desire and ability to serve, a hunger to speak to the world about Jesus (Evangelism), the ability to understand and explain God’s Word to others, the ability to lead, the heart of mercy to comfort those in pain, and exhortation to help people in setting goals.

These are only a few of God’s gifts to us. Stay with me and we will explore this subject in greater detail. I invite your comments and questions.

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