Knowing & Using our spiritual gifts from 1 Peter 4:10-11
Sermon summary, from Geoff Rowse.
Each of us has been given a spiritual gift from God.
God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts
The bible makes it clear that if we have come to know Jesus in a personal way we have received three gifts.
The gift of salvation
The gift of the Holy Spirit
The gifts of the Holy Spirit
Each of these are gifts of grace, in other words we can’t earn them and we can’t make ourselves good enough to receive them, they simply come as lovely gifts of God, freely given, undeserved and to be received with thanks.
Paul talks about the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:4&11
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit is the source of them all” “It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have”
We are to use these gifts well to serve one another
Many of the gifts mentioned have application to our brothers and sisters in the church family but some also relate to sharing Jesus by life a
nd words in the world.
But the starting point with the gifts is to use them to serve one another. In the New testament we are encouraged to love, pray for, rebuke, encourage, build up, serve and teach one another.
To serve well means we need to have a servant heart. A heart sensitive to the voice of God, a heart humble in attitude, a heart that has others needs at the forefront.
Some people say, “I am not much good so why would God gave a gift to me”
Some look at others and say, “I wish I had their gift”
Some are proud of their gift and say “I have a better gift than they do”
Some say “My gift isn’t of much use”
Brothers and sisters God has given each of us one of HIS beautiful and useful and important gifts. They are all vital if the Body of Christ is to be strong and healthy, so don’t abuse them, neglect them or compare them. Just get cracking and use them to serve others.
“As each part does it’s special work it helps the other parts grow so that the whole Body is healthy, growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16
We are to know what gifts we have and use them accordingly
Peter sums up all the gifts under 2 categories: gifts of speaking and gifts of service.
The gifts of Speaking include things like prophecy, preaching, teaching, evangelism, speaking and tongues and interpreting, the gift of wisdom, discernment, & leadership
He encourages us to realise that when we speak we are to do so with the strong conviction that God is actually speaking through us.
The gifts of Serving include things like healing, administration, miracles, serving, giving, encouragement and helping or showing kindness.
Peter encourages us to draw on the strength and energy that God gives so that we can actually make a difference when we help others.
So the challenge for us today is this. Do we know what gift or gifts that God has given us?
How do we discover the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given us?
Pray and ask God to show you
Read the bible
Reflect on your life and think about what you do well.
Talk with those Christians who know you best
Complete a gifts survey
Then give space in your life to use that gift
Find the particular place you can actually use your gift whether in the church or the community.
Use it with a servant heart.
Then God will get the Glory.