The Christian Journey

So let’s start with the best definition of a Spiritual Gift that I can come up with : A Spiritual Gift is an endowment of motivation and ability, given by the Holy Spirit to every believer, to be used to minister to others and therefore build up the Body of Christ. There’s a lot here, so let’s take it a piece at a time. First of all, a Spiritual Gift is an endowment, a supernatural endowment. It is a gift, an investment in you. Similar to an endowment to a university, it cannot be used up, it just keeps giving and growing. It is beyond my ability to understand or explain. I can’t earn it. It is given to me by the Holy Spirit. It is also a motivation, an inner desire to serve God in a certain way. Many times Christians say, “I ought to do this or I should do that.” But, this says, “ I must do it” ! This motivation that originates with my Spiritual Giftedness comes from the inside, not from the outside. We are used to being motivated from the outside; what we typically call motivation by guilt, or ‘Christian arm twisting’. But, the use of a Spiritual Gift is different. Now, we are motivated from the inside, it’s an assignment from God’s Holy Spirit and we are motivated from the inside or compelled to do it. That’s a big difference! Finally, it is an ability, a special capacity to serve, which again originates with the Holy Spirit. I’ve heard the expression, As I said earlier, “God doesn’t always choose those who are equipped, but He always equips those He chooses !” If God is calling you to serve, He will equip you. So, there it is : What a plan ! I get the gift, the motivation or the desire to use the gift, and the ability to deliver the gift all in the same package ! Isn’t God great ! A good friend of mine introduced me to the concept of being pre-prayed when it comes to spontaneous situations. He said he was asked at a conference to lead a Bible study a few months out. He responded yes, he would do that. This immediate response astounded the man who had asked him. “Don’t you want to pray about it ?”, he asked. My friend replied, “I pray each evening that God will send me opportunities tomorrow to use my gifts or to share my faith. So when you ask me to lead a Bible study, that’s not something I need to pray about; that’s an answer to prayer.” Ever since hearing that story over 30 years ago, I have included that sentence in my prayer journal each day. Bring me opportunities to serve you tomorrow Lord and help me to have the good sense to recognize them when they appear. There really are only three pre-requisites for finding your Spiritual Gift and here they are : #1 Sacrifice : Only as you make a conscious decision to make your life a life of sacrifice to others, thereby centering yourself in His will for you -This takes us back to that passage in Romans 12 which was quoted earlier in verses 1 and 2. Anything else leaves you vulnerable to how you feel about using your gift on a day by day basis. This isn’t about feeling. This is about finding that special place of service, committing yourself to action in that arena and then thanking God as opportunities arise for you to use your gifts and abilities. #2 Service : Only as you are already involved in meeting the needs of others -This isn’t about sitting in a conference room and attempting to find that special place of service. This is about doing, action – yours ! We’ve already covered this point as well. Remember, it is probably easier to find your gift while already engaged in some ministry than it is to find your ministry after an exhaustive study of your gifts. #3 Self : Only as you give up trying to imitate the gifts of others – For years I thought there was a hierarchy of service in the church. I watched a good friend take on increasing levels of service and I decided to follow him. First he worked on various committees, then he chaired a committee and after that he chaired one of the four or five key church committees. Then he became a Deacon and then Chairman of the Deacons. I followed a year or two later. When I finally asked him about his service one day, he told me he, too, thought the way I did until one day he ran out of new assignments. He decided the only thing left must be to do them all over again. That’s when he came to his senses. He told me that he had come to the conclusion that it wasn’t about being on this committee or that committee or one committee being more important than the next or being Chair of the Deacons versus just being a Deacon. It was all about discovering how God had gifted him and how God intended to use him. We both discovered that through the Church Renewal Journey, and it has made all the difference. Both of us have the Spiritual Gift of leadership so we find ourselves being asked frequently to take a leadership role on this group or that. In addition, we both have the Spiritual Gift of Teaching so this is another area where we frequently find ourselves. This is the reason why I was so comfortable following him in service. However, his Leadership Gift is much stronger than mine and my Teaching Gift is more pronounced than his. Therefore, I am very comfortable with him in leadership roles which I have no intention of doing. Likewise, my teaching assignments are not something he would aspire to doing over time.