Let’s take a break for a week from JOURNAL ENTRIES in order to consider ‘Spiritual Gifts.’ This past Sunday, July 20th, in the message entitled ‘A Life Worthy’, we talked ever so briefly about ‘Spiritual Gifts.’
To reiterate something, I shared on Sunday… if you are a disciple of Jesus, you have generously been entrusted with a gift from Jesus - see Ephesians 4:7.
And as I mentioned on Sunday, often, NOT ALWAYS, but often, we know what our gift or gifts are, but in our more honest moments, we’d prefer to have a different gift. Clearly, this is not true of every disciple of Jesus, but in nearly three decades of pastoral ministry, I have encountered this more than people who do not know what their gift(s) are.
So… do you know what your gift(s) are? If yes, are you stewarding those/ that gift(s) well? Are you using the gift(s) to bless, build up and benefit the family of God? If yes… THANK YOU! And if ‘not yet’, I want to invite you to begin using what the LORD has entrusted to you to bless, build up, and benefit the family of God.
And if you DO NOT KNOW what your gift(s) are, then how would one go about discerning what Jesus has generously entrusted to you?
A good starting point would be Scripture, very specifically, take a look at the passages that highlight some of the different gifts given to disciples of Jesus.
Here are the Bible passages that ‘highlight’ different spiritual gifts:
Romans 12:6–8
1 Corinthians 12:8–10, 28–30
Ephesians 4:11
1 Peter 4:9-11
As you consider these passages, PLEASE KNOW that no passage seeks to be exhaustive in listing out all of the spiritual gifts. Rather, in each passage, the New Testament author seeks to highlight examples of gifts stemming from the generosity of Jesus.
After considering those lists… what stands out to you? Leadership? Teaching? Evangelism? Faith? Serving? Administration?
After beginning by considering the Scriptures to see what gift(s) speak to your spirit, consider the following questions:
1). When doing ______________, I have great joy!
2). When doing ______________, people around me seem blessed.
3). When doing ______________, people have affirmed me.
4). When doing ______________, I sense God’s power and presence.
5). What needs within the family of God do I feel compelled to meet?
Clearly, there are plenty more questions to consider, but I list these to help ‘prime the pump’ as you consider the gifts given to you by Jesus.
YOU HAVE A GIFT… OR GIFTS!
Please do not believe the lie that you do not have gifts… you do! If you are a disciple of Jesus, well, Jesus has entrusted a gift(s) to you in order to bless His family and move His mission forward.
And lastly, PRAY. The One who has entrusted you with a gift(s) desires for you to know what that gift(s) is so that you can steward His gift(s) for the building up of His family.
If I can be at all helpful in discerning what your gift(s) might be, let me know!
