“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT)
Even though the Bible clearly states that every believer receives a spiritual gift, some people nevertheless think they were overlooked. So these men and women wander through life refusing opportunities to serve. Other folks are so busy wishing they had a different ability that they do not use the one bestowed by the Holy Spirit. Both of these attitudes are sinful.
God has a specific purpose and ministry for every Christian. Our spiritual gifts help us to fulfill His plan. Our spiritual gifts are also meant to keep us busy until the day Jesus calls us home. We learn which gift we have been given by getting involved in the life of the church. Sometimes it is more than one gift we are given. What a blessing! In other words, a believer will know their God-given abilities when they begin to use them in the life of the church and in service to others.
Moreover, God has a general purpose for handing out spiritual gifts.
Christians are to use their special skills for the common good. “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT) Everyone profits when believers do God's work though the power of the Holy Spirit.
We're to use our gifts for equipping, teaching, and encouraging one another. “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT)
To appreciate how this works, it may be helpful to better understand words like evangelist, prophet, and teacher. Biblically, these terms describe co-laborers who share Christ with others. They are spiritual mentors who explain biblical truths to new believers. They are friends who uplift the discouraged, and others doing similar work. Butthe "titles" can be used for any person also. You do not need to be a Pastor to spread the Gospel. You do not need to be a teacher to tell someone about Salvation in Jesus Christ. You just need to be willing.
Every member of the Christian fellowship is important, and each one has a work to do. There are no excuses for ignoring God's plan for us. Where He has gifted us and opened doors of opportunity for ministry, He also provides the strength and courage when He calls us to use our abilities.
The gifts He gives us are not to be used to build us up, but to serve others. His purpose is not that we should use our gifts to please ourselves or to hide, but to help and bless other people.
As we wait for Christ to return, keep using whatever gift or gifts God gave us to help and bless others.
What can we do until Jesus comes back?
We can stay focused and keep praying.
We can love others with our attitude and actions.
We can serve God by using the gifts He has given us to help and bless others.
Jesus has given us plenty to do. He does not want us to be sitting around, complaining about how we wish He would hurry and get here. He wants us about our Father’s business, until it is time to go home.
What are you doing for God and how are you using the gift or gifts He has given you as you wait for Jesus to come back?
Hello Again!!
7 years ago
