Discovering and Using Your Spiritual Gifts

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on  of my hands       (2 Timothy 1:6.)

I was asked by a long time friend of mine today, “How are you using your God given spiritual gifts in ministry these days?”  It caused me to once again look at the spiritual gifts God has given me and how I am currently using them.   Now many of you might be at the point where you haven’t a clue what your spiritual gifts are.  First of all I want to encourage you that if you are a believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit has given you at least one if not many spiritual gifts.  1 Peter 4:10 states, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

There are several passages in the Bible that list out spiritual gifts such as in 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Peter 4.  The Bible also makes it clear that the purpose of spiritual gifts is to build up the church, the body of Christ.  We are not to use these gifts for our own promotion, but rather to serve others and bring glory to God. 

I discovered my spiritual gifts through the encouragement and observation of others who were further along in their faith than I was.  I was told that I had the gifts of teaching, preaching, encouragement, and pastoring.  So I was given opportunities to use these gifts  and thus I grew in my faith and helped others.  Now while I am not serving on staff as a pastor, I was challenged today in my meeting with my friend to seek out opportunities to use these gifts in my home church, and smaller churches in the area that are in need of solid biblical teaching and pulpit assistance.

What are your spiritual gifts?  You can take a test from a local Christian bookstore or ask a mature believer who knows you really well.  I learned a few years ago to simply step out and serve in a ministry at your local church.  If you serving according to your spiritual gifts it will energize you.  If you’re not serving in your gifted area, then it will drain you.

So get to serving others by discovering and using your spiritual gifts.

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