Over the last few weeks we have seen how every believer needs to be serving the Lord. The big question that comes up though is how? The simple answer is that every believer has gifts that the Spirit of God has given them for service. This then brings up the question, “What is my spiritual gift?”
Natural gifts
Every person has natural abilities and gifts. These gifts and abilities exist before we come to faith in Christ. Many lost people are great piano players, carpenters, accountants, etc. These natural gifts can be improved upon with practice, training, time, etc. These gifts are important for use in the local church, most often to meet physical needs. We need to all use our natural gifts for the kingdom. We need to use our musical abilities, homemaking skills, vocational skills, etc. to help meet the physical needs of the church. The Spirit of God can take these natural gifts and increase them by His working within us.
Spiritual gifts
When we come to faith in Christ, the Spirit of God gives us spiritual gifts. These gifts are things that are not natural to us in our unconverted state. These gifts are not given to us for our own personal benefit, but for the benefit of the church. As every believer uses their gifts the work of the ministry is done and the church grows into an accurate representation of Christ. These spiritual gifts will vary from person to person. They are given to work in conjunction with other members of the body of Christ. All of these gifts are to be used to in love and without love are worthless.
The use of spiritual gifts
Spiritual gifts do not stand in contrast to the ordinary means of grace. They are in conjunction with sound doctrine, family worship, discipleship, prayer, etc. We can receive more gifts through prayer, and we can hone our gifts through using them within the local church. Sometimes we receive spiritual gifts when God places us in a new position of ministry. All of these gifts are to be used in love for the building of God’s Kingdom, not our own. These gifts are to be used in conjunction with others gifts and in accordance with the fruit of the Spirit. The gifts used properly will point people to Jesus and promote order within the church.
Application:
Every believer has at least one spiritual gift. Here are some questions we must ask before determining our spiritual gifts:
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Am I a believer in Jesus Christ?
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What natural gifts do I have that I can use for the Kingdom?
How do I determine what my spiritual gift is? In many respects these gifts are only seen when we serve. Here are some questions to help you determine your spiritual gifts:
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Since coming to faith, what have I been most passionate about?
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What needs am I seeing in the local church?
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Are there things that I can do now that I used to be unable to do?
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What do others see in me? Am I constantly being asked to serve in some area?
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Are there ways to serve that I seem to excel in?
Will you use these gifts for God’s Kingdom?
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