God given gifts? Do I have one?

Have you ever just sat and contemplated the design of an eye? The intricacy and complexity of the human eye is amazing. I mean to be able to transform light into brain waves, send those waves to the brain to interpret and form an image that gives you a visual of what you are looking at…is that not amazing! As much as we try to comprehend, God’s design of this world is incomprehensible…it’s fantastic…it’s perfect. Did you know that God also has an amazingly perfect design for the inter-workings of His church? For those who call Him Lord, He has put into place an intricate and complex method by which He uses us to accomplish His will here on earth. He has given each of us a function in this design so that when we work together, as one body of believers, we can achieve amazing things in His name. Each of us have been given a gift or talent that has been given specifically to us so that we can fit perfectly into God’s design to be used by the Him to minister to others in the body and to reach out to those who have not yet joined us. Wouldn’t it be great if we all knew our gift and how to use it?

In Romans chapter twelve there is a list of the seven gifts God uses in His design plan: prophesy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership and mercy. Everyone who has given their life over to the Lordship of Christ has at least one of these gifts, and everyone who wants to use their gift has been given the tools and the opportunity to do what they were created by God to do. Knowing what your gift is and how to use it is very important when you are seeking to serve God effectively, so in this column let’s look at each gift and try and focus in on which one you have been given.

Prophesy:
Prophesy is the forth-telling of the truths of the Bible. Those with this gift are generally a bit on the harsh side. They are the people who tell others the things they don’t want to hear but need to hear. They aren’t the most popular people around, but to those they help they are highly respected. Generally, they struggle with speaking the truth in love, but have an uncanny ability to find and expose the lies of Saten.

Ministry:
Ministry is the illustrating of the truths of the Bible. A person with the gift of ministry serves people in practical ways. They are generally the people who set up the chairs, mop the floors, bring the food and take out the garbage. They are very valuable, and often underappreciated. Generally they deal with signs of depression because the serve continually and are seldom noticed, but they have a great sense of what needs to be done and are willing to roll up their sleeves to do what others don’t want to do.

Teaching:
Teaching is (of course) the teaching or defining of the truths of the Bible. Teachers have the ability to make the complex simple. They are typically good communicators and are well liked. They very much struggle with pride because they are patted on the back so often, but they generally are good public speakers and help groups of people navigate life.

Exhortation:
Exhortation is encouraging others to find and follow the truths of the Bible. Someone with the gift of exhortation or encouragement does for individuals what teachers do for groups. They have the ability and desire to come along side an individual to encourage and motivate them to become all that God has designed them to be. They are generally soft spoken optimists and very popular. They sometimes have problems with negative confrontation, but when they overcome that they are excellent at speaking the truth in love.

Giving:
Giving enables the truths of the Bible to go out and reach others. Let’s be honest, money is required for just about everything in life. God knew this would be the case so he gave some people the gift of giving. Givers are generally successful and generous. They sometimes struggle with discernment of where to give, but their generosity enables people with different gifts to use those gifts effectively.

Leadership:
Leadership is the management of the activities/facilities that put into action the truths of the Bible. Those with the gift of leadership are typically executive types who have the ability to organize and facilitate. They are usually two or three steps ahead of everyone else, seeing and solving problems before they happen. They struggle with being power hungry, but are great at organizing chaos.

Mercy:
Mercy is the expressing of the truths of the Bible. The person who has the gift of mercy is usually very emotional. They laugh when others are laughing and cry when others are crying. They feel the pain of those they are ministering to and allow them to cry on their shoulder. This type of person struggles with making emotional decisions, but they are great listeners.

Jesus exhibited all of these gifts fully and each disciple of His (including you and me) has been given at least one. Some have one defining gift and maybe one or two secondary gifts, others simply have just their defining gift. God has equipped everyone according to their ability and will give us the opportunities to use our gift(s) if we allow Him to.

How do I know which gift(s) I have?

Most likely you already have an idea which gift you have simply by reading their descriptions. But there are a couple of other ways of determining what your gift(s) is. The first is by placing yourself in this story: A ten year old boy named Gregory comes to you in tears. He was out playing baseball with his friends when they got a little rambunctious and in the heat of the game Gregory threw his bat hitting a passing car, breaking its windshield. He is devastated and sorry for what he did and very scared of the consequences of his actions. What do you do…what is your initial reaction?

• Someone with the gift of prophesy would probably be a bit harsh and rebuke Gregory explaining that along with bad behavior comes punishment.

• Someone with the gift of ministry would probably get a broom and go out into the street to sweep up the broken glass then give directions to the owner of the car on where to get the windshield replaced. Then they would call the repair shop to find out if they are open and if they are available to fix the car.

• A person with the gift of teaching would pull Gregory aside and teach him about anger control and give him practical steps on how to, in the future, better handle the situation that got him into this mess.

• The person with the gift of exhortation would encourage Gregory that it isn’t as bad as it seems right now and that they are there to help him through this time and will encourage him to do better the next time.

• A giver would pull out their wallet and offer to pay for the damage to the car.

• A leader would make sure the broom was there for the minister, the driver of the car had all the needed contact information and Gregory’s parents are contacted and brought up to speed on the incident.

• Meanwhile the person with the gift of mercy will be holding Gregory in their arms comforting him and empathizing with his experience.

Wouldn’t life be grand if we all came together and used our gifts to help others? I know from this story that my primary gift is teaching and one of my secondary gifts is exhortation. I also know from this story that I don’t have the gift of mercy or the gift of prophesy. My first response would be to try and help Gregory learn from his mistake then I would offer myself to him in case he needed any help in the future. What would your first response be? The answer to that question will give you a very big clue about what your gifting is.

Another way of identifying your gift(s) is by asking yourself this question: If I were given absolute control over all decisions made at my church, I would…

• A prophet would desire that more truth about sin and the consequences of sin be proclaimed and proclaimed boldly from the pulpit.

• Someone with the gift of ministry would want the church to focus more on meeting the needs of the community. They would like to see the church more involved in practical acts of service like washing people’s cars, feeding the poor, and child care for single moms.

• A person with the gift of teaching would work toward having more classes where the word of God is taught clearly and concisely. And they would fight to have the Bible taught verse by verse, chapter by chapter from the pulpit.

• Someone who has the gift of exhortation would like for the church to concentrate more on one-on-one discipleship. They would put into place small group discussions and seek to follow up with anyone interested in learning more.

• An individual with the gift of giving would try and get the congregation more active in giving personally and as a body. They would seek to give to the needy that which is received in tithes and offerings.

• The leaders of the group would want more organizational structure, a chain of command, better communication. Seek to pay down debt, invest for the future and build infrastructure.

• Someone who has the gifting of mercy would want to start a hospice program, a homeless mission and a drug rehabilitation center. They would seek to get the church more involved in counseling and helping the hopeless in the community.

The Bible tells us that we are all one body. He put us together for a reason and He gave us all the tools we need to accomplish His will through us. But just as a human body, the church body works best when everyone is working together, not at odds. Under the leadership of Christ we need to humble ourselves and come together, understanding that each body part is important, and overcome evil with good.

How do I start using this gift that has been given to me?

This is the bottom line…you know you have a gift but perhaps you don’t feel empowered to use it. You may be scared or shy and for you that is a huge hurdle to get over. You may be comfortable in your inactivity and though serving sounds great, you don’t want to give up any personal time or space. Or, you may be like I was for the longest time and you don’t have any confidence in your gift…you know you have a gift but you are pretty sure that you’ll embarrass yourself by using it. There are a number of reasons why we don’t use our gifts…but can I tell you…when you find and begin to use your gift, you will find that God will use you in ways that were previously unimaginable to you. So how do you start? Do you remember the scene in one of the Indiana Jones movies where Indiana is being chased through a large cave when he comes up to a tremendous gorge? He stands at one end of this deep chasm looking over to the other side when he remembers something that he read that said all he needed to do was step out. He put his hand over his eyes and took a giant step into the unknown and…as his foot came down it landed on an invisible bridge! That to me is a great picture of faith. God has told us that when we step out in faith He will meet us there…God has this wonderful gift that He has given you, step out in faith and start to use it. Prophets, speak the truth in love…ministers, serve people in practical ways…teachers, teach the Word…exhorters, encourage and disciple those around you…givers, give liberally...leaders, lead faithfully and merciful ones, show mercy to those who need mercy.

We live in a self-centered society. We all want, even in the church, our agenda to be the main agenda and we want everything done our way. But if we work together as one body, using the gifts God has given each of us, seeking to accomplish God’s agenda, we can and will accomplish great things for Him and glorify His name! Boy…wouldn’t that be great?! It’s a great design…find out where you fit in and you’ll discover that lo and behold…you fit in!

Romans 12
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.