SERVE: Unwrapping Spiritual Gifts

God doesn’t want us to be ignorant of what He gives us to help us serve. And what does God give us? He gives us Spiritual Gifts. So in our brief time together this morning we are going to look at three aspects of Spiritual Gifts: Why God Gives Us Gifts? What Are Spiritual Gifts? And How Do we go about Discovering and Developing Our Gifts?

Why God Gives Us Gifts: Paul makes it clear why God gives us gifts: Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:7

God gives us spiritual gifts so each one of us can do our part to serve the common good. What’s important to note here is that these gifts come to us from the Holy Spirit. We don’t decide what gifts we get. He simply distributes His gifts to whomever He chooses. But the good news is that the Holy Spirit gives His gifts to every believer, not just to “special” people. There are no qualifications needed, no special level of maturity required, not even a particular time span needed with your journey with Jesus. If you follow Jesus Christ, then the Spirit of God is already living in you. And if the Spirit of God is living in you, then He has already given you a spiritual ability to do good for people. He has literally given you what you need to serve.

This is precisely what Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4:10: Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Let me make two observations here. First, the purpose of your spiritual gift is to serve others. Second, we are called to be faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. The picture is pretty clear: Each one of us has a calling to be a vessel of God’s grace.

What are Spiritual Gifts?  Here’s a MORE EXPANSIVE definition that comes from the book called SHAPE, Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose in Life. Let me read it for you: “A spiritual gift is a God-given special ability, given to every believer at conversion by the Holy Spirit, to share his love and strengthen the body of Christ.” – Erik Rees

Now there are three different gift lists given to us in Scripture. There’s a list in 1 Corinthians 12, one in Romans 12, and one in Ephesians chapter 4. From these passages we can pull together a list of some twenty spiritual gifts. Allow me to unpack a few of these for us:

Encouragement: This is the God-given special ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by helping others live God-centered lives through inspiration, encouragement, counseling and empowerment. People with this gift are motivated to inspire others and impact their lives positively for Christ. They are quick to rejoice when others succeed. They seek to help others reach their full potential in Christ and are natural encouragers, whether in words or through actions.

Helping: This is the God-given special ability to serve and strengthen God’s people by offering assistance in reaching goals that glorify God and strengthen the body of Christ. People with this gift enjoy and seek out ways to serve others behind the scenes. Again, they rejoice in the success of others. They are often detail oriented and do not seek recognition for their efforts.

Hospitality: The God-given special ability to serve and build up God’s people by providing others with a warm and welcoming environment for fellowship. People with this gift are known for making those around them feel valued and cared for. They often look for people who may go unnoticed in a crowd. They want people to feel welcome and wanted.

Giving: The God-given special ability to serve and bless the people of God by joyfully supporting and funding various kingdom initiatives in the church through material contributions beyond their regular giving. People with this gift plan and purposely give over and above a 10 percent tithe in order to see God’s kingdom advance. They see their resources as tools for God’s use. And they will strategically seek out ways to increase their resources, in order to contribute more for God’s use.

Mercy: This is the God-given special ability to serve and strengthen the family of God by serving those who suffer physically, emotionally, spiritually, or relationally. Their actions are characterized by love, care, compassion and kindness toward others. People with this gift are drawn toward opportunities to practically meet the needs of others; devote significant time in prayer for the needs of others; tend to place the needs of others ahead of their own; and grieve with those who grieve.

How Do We Discover/Develop Our Gifts? By serving: Listen to Romans 12:3-8 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Here’s the point: God put us together to be interdependent. In others words, God put us together in His body so that every one of us is necessary. You need my gift and I need yours. No one has all the gifts. There is no such thing as a super-Christian. God in His wisdom has created a new kind of community where the least serves the strongest, and the strongest serves the least. So the point is this: To discover your gift, you just need to start serving God’s people.