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Before we get into today’s message, let’s review what happened last week. I destroyed some things we used to believe about spiritual gifts so they could be unleashed in our daily lives.
We used to believe that the Holy Spirit controlled everything about spiritual gifts, that we were just waiting on Him to decide if they would be used or not.
This sounds nice and holy, and it is very appealing because it allows us to stay in our comfort zone. Because we can always say, “The reason we didn’t see spiritual gifts today is because the Holy Spirit didn’t want to.”
We’ve adapted this belief from this scripture:
1 Corinthians 12:11 NLT – It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
But notice it said nothing about WHEN spiritual gifts are used. This scripture is all about WHO gets what spiritual gift.
In other words, the Holy Spirit decides which gift each person gets. But we decide when to use them.
The Apostle Paul reveals this truth once again when he writes to Timothy.
1 Timothy 4:14-15 NLT – Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress.
Timothy was instructed not to neglect his spiritual gift. This tells me that we tend to neglect the gift. Or should I say, “wait for the Holy Spirit to allow us to use our spiritual gift?”
According to this scripture, we aren’t waiting on anything. The Holy Spirit is waiting on us to throw ourselves into the spiritual gift He has given us. We are to give it our complete attention.
Oh, and don’t forget, people should see your progress. This isn’t something you do in the closet during your prayer time. This is something you do in front of people.
Around two years later, the Apostle Paul writes another letter to Timothy and addresses the same thing!
2 Timothy 1:6-7 NLT – This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
Apparently, we tend to let the fire go out on our spiritual gift. Probably because we sit around and wait for the perfect Sunday morning when the Holy Spirit allows us to use it.
We like this manmade doctrine of the Holy Spirit being responsible for the lack of spiritual gifts because it allows us to be shy and keep our gifts in hiding.
But it is not God who makes you afraid to use your spiritual gift. Satan is the author of fear. He doesn’t want your gift in operation, so he will make you afraid to use it.
Do not neglect your spiritual gift. Fan it into flames! Throw yourself into the tasks that develop your gift! Do it in front of people because God has given you power, love, and a sound mind.
Now that this is revealed, it will be like letting the gifts of the spirit out of a cage. They’ve been cooped up for way too long. Now we are going to let them loose.
How do I identify my spiritual gifts?
Many of you left last week wondering, “What are my spiritual gifts?” That is what I am going to help you identify today.
The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts
It all starts with understanding the purpose of spiritual gifts.
1 Peter 4:10 NLT – God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
Notice that the use of spiritual gifts isn’t so that people will ooh and ahh over how spiritual you are. Your spiritual gift isn’t for your recognition. It is for others.
If you find yourself wanting other people to notice your spiritual gift, you are off track. Dispose of those selfish thoughts and simply use your gift to serve others whether they notice or not.
This is confirmed in 1 Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT – A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
My spiritual gift is for you. Your spiritual gift is for me. This is the foundation for identifying your spiritual gift.
If you are trying to identify it to climb the spiritual ladder for all to see, you will end up in a ditch somewhere. So, let your motivation be to serve others, and your spiritual gift will make itself known.
Spiritual Gifts Mentioned In the Bible
Now that we have our motivation in the right place, let’s take a look at the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible. And as we work through these, take note of the ones you relate to.
Seriously, pull out your phone or a notebook to jot down the gifts that stand out to you because they are likely your spiritual gifts.
Since the original language of the Bible is much more expressive than the English language, I am going to give you the meaning of each of these words from the Strong’s Concordance.
There are seven spiritual gifts mentioned in Romans 12. Let’s start with those.
Prophecy
A divinely inspired message that declares the purposes of God in one of three ways:
- Exposing and correcting wickedness
- Comforting the afflicted
- Revealing things hidden, especially things to come
You likely used to think that prophecy was fortune telling. Now you know prophecy does include revealing things to come, but it is much more than that.
You’ve listened to my prophesy for the past two years as I’ve been exposing and correcting the wicked woke movement.
Serving Others
Fulfilling the commands and needs of others by
- Proclaiming and promoting the gospel
- Meeting needs by collecting and distributing charity
- Preparing and presenting food
This one gets a bad wrap as if it is a subpar gift. Don’t buy into that lie. Without this gift in operation, everything else would collapse. Those who are here to simply serve hold everything together.
Teaching
This one we understand. It is instructing others by explaining or expounding a thing.
Exhorting
Bringing people together by speaking in a way that encourages, strengthens, and comforts.
There was a lot of this going on last week when people came up to operate in their spiritual gifts. God has given us an abundance of exhortation here and I sure am thankful!
Giving
Giving generously with a sincere heart and without expecting anything in return.
Everyone should give tithes and offerings. After all, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And giving is how you access God’s abundance.
But God has given some the gift of giving where you can’t help yourself but give generously. You look for ways to increase your income so you can give more.
Leadership
To protect, guard, and care for others.
If you thought this gift was so you could control others, you’ve adopted the world’s way of leadership.
God’s way of leadership has nothing to do with control. It’s all about protecting and caring for those around you.
Mercy
This is those who are patient and compassionate towards those who are suffering or afflicted. When everyone else has given up on them, you are still there helping and encouraging them.
Now let’s move on to the nine spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:
Word of Wisdom
Communicating complex knowledge, human and divine, in a way that others can understand and apply to their lives. You see this gift in operation when someone is able to take something complex and make it simple for everyone.
Word of Knowledge
Communicating God’s truth in a way that helps believers live righteously.
A lot of people think this gift is reading other people’s mail. “I know what you did last night.” That’s nothing but witchcraft.
If the Holy Spirit reveals something about someone else, it is only so you can tie it into the Word of God in a way that helps them live righteously.
The woman at the well is a great example. Jesus got her attention by recapping her struggles. He then used that information to lead her to faith in Christ.
Gift of Faith
An unshakable confidence in God and His Word that moves you to go “all in” with God.
This does not mean that some of us have faith and others don’t. We all have a measure of faith. But some people have the gift of faith that enables them to believe far beyond the rest of us.
Gifts of Healing
Imparting healing to others through various means, like laying on of hands, anointing with oil, casting out demons, and others.
Jesus demonstrated that healing comes in many ways. So we can’t pigeon hold this gift into one method of healing. After all, it says gifts (plural) of healing.
Working of Miracles
Operating in God’s power to do something humanly impossible.
A great example is five loaves and two fish feeding five thousand people. Or, walking on water. Or, turning water into wine.
This seems to be a rare gift. But I wonder if that’s because those who have it have yet to build up the courage to use it?
Prophecy
We covered this one already, but here’s a recap. Prophecy is a divinely inspired message that declares the purposes of God in one of three ways:
- Exposing and correcting wickedness
- Comforting the afflicted
- Revealing things hidden, especially things to come
Discerning of Spirits
The ability to distinguish between works of God, Satan, or the flesh.
Some things you hear are from God. Others are form Satan. And others are from the flesh or human nature. This gift helps protect us from false teaching.
For example, it is this gift that allows many of us to see how the media is lying to us. And then it is up to us to warn the body of Christ so those who don’t have this gift can see the truth too.
Diverse Kinds of Tongues
Delivering a message from God to others in a language you don’t understand. It is not the same as the prayer language you receive when you are filled with the Holy Spirit.
When praying in tongues, you are speaking directly to God. When operating in the gift of tongues, you are delivering a message from God to others.
Interpretation of Tongues
The ability to interpret what was said under the Diverse Kinds of Tongues gift. And these two gifts always work together. There will always be an interpretation of a tongue declared publicly.
After all, God is getting a message to us. What good would it do if it was never interpreted?
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