(Adapted from 11-12-12)
Soon
it will be time to give and receive holiday gifts. I am wondering; what have
you done with last year’s presents? Are they still in the package? Did you
stick them on a shelf or under a table someplace waiting for the day when you
could use them? Of course not; you would not put a box of chocolates on the
shelf and wait for the day you could use them. And your Xbox is not sitting in its
container waiting to be used; you’ve got it hooked up and in use! So why is it
that we find so many of us not using the gifts, the Spiritual gifts that God
gives us today? Why do we forget to even unwrap them?
Sometimes
I hear people say they have no gifts, they have no talents, and they can’t
really do anything well enough for God to use them. I think really the gift
they need to be using for God is that little measure of faith He gives each of
us!
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... Romans 12:2-4
Maybe
you just don’t know what your gift is? How do you find out if God gave you a personal
gift and what to do with it?
Read
the Word, Pray, and ask someone who you know that knows you and God well enough
to see what He has for you to use.
Now
concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however
you were led. Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the
Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord
except by the Holy Spirit.
There are diversities of gifts, but
the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works
all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for
the profit of all for to one is given the word of wisdom through
the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to
another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same
Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to
another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to
another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all
these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.1 Corinthians
12:1-15
As
we read through the gifts listed here in Corinthians we can write them down;
knowledge, miracles, healing, wisdom, faith, discerning of spirits, speaking in
unknown tongues; there are seven listed here.
These
are spiritual gifts given to us by God the father as He sees fit to give them.
There are no rules listed to say each one of us gets them all equally any more
than there are rules that state how many gifts we have to give each Christmas
to people we love.
The
point is that the gifts should be useful as we have been given gifts of God to
be used for the furtherance of His kingdom.
What
can we do with each of these gifts?
Word
of Wisdom-
teach, preach, instruct in righteousness.
Knowledge- same as
above.
Miracles- enlighten
people who are lost and bring them the Truth by using Miraculous signs and
wonders as God sees fit to provide them through you. Pray for sick, wounded,
damaged or broken people and their lives and watch as they are healed and
brought to wholeness and the Truth.
Prayer- pray for
those whom you see and those you do not see as God gives you direction to do
so.
Confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The
earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful
results. (James 5:16)
Faith- as a gift
this one is stronger than others but seen less. Faith is the substance of
things hoped for the evidence of things not yet seen. (Hebrews 11:1) It goes
hand in hand with trusting God to do what He promises and knowing in your heart
that God will come through in a time of trial as well as grant a new life to
someone who has been broken or shattered in their life span.
Faith
is believing for whatever it is that God has put upon your heart to believe.
Discerning
of spirits
-
is used less openly these days as people think it’s 'freaky' or 'fake' but once
we realize and know we live in a spiritual world as well as a physical world and
God grants some the ability to know if a Word is truly from the Lord or from
man's own desires or even if it’s of the enemy’s devices. Truth or fiction? I
know a lot of people could miss use this gift and God knows that too. This is
why the Word says He gives these gifts to whom He sees fit. It is not our
choice of what gift we receive but the choice of the giver.
Speaking
in unknown tongues-
also known as the voice of men and angels in some passages. Speaking in a
language that is not the same as your normal one is not as common today as it
was even 20 years ago because people have miss used it I think. We need to be
careful to use the gifts for what they are intended for.
In
the day of Pentecost when the disciples were in the upper room worshiping and praying
and waiting there on the Lord, He came and granted them these unknown tongues.
Many thought they were speaking in their native languages and this leads me to
believe the speaking in tongues is indeed a language for certain we just don't
know what language usually. God knows though and He will use this ability that
He gives some Christians with His discretion. It is not for us to give out
God's gifts, the Word does not say man gives out God's gifts to people anywhere
in my Bible!
It’s
a good thing they come straight from God too, because He sees our hearts and
minds, not just how we act on the outside. He knows to whom to give what gift
knowing that each of us His children, will use them differently for different
reasons. He wants us to know that every perfect gift is from above!
Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of
lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1:17)
In
the same way that we search for the perfect gift for the ones we love each time
there is occasion to give them, so God searches our hearts for the perfect gift
to give us.
It
saddens me to think of how many people we know who are not using the God given
gifts He has chosen specially for them because they either feel unworthy or
inadequate, and then there are those who try to use other people’s gifts
because of jealousy.
Are
you one of these above-mentioned people? Are you sitting on your gifts today
waiting for the perfect time in your life to unwrap them? If you sat on a gift
of chocolates it would melt and get really gross; get off your gift!
What
can you do if you are stuck with an unwrapped gift?
2-
Pray and ask God what it is for.
3-
Put it to use as God intended. Do not be discouraged or dismayed and know that
the Lord your God is with you in whatever He gifts you to use.
4-
Walk boldly in the power of His might and do as He instructs and guides you to
do to use the gift or gifts you are given.
Think
for a moment, if you are still not sure how to use your gifts; would you put a
chocolate bar into a toaster? I think not, you put breaded items in a toaster
to toast them other things would melt and or cause a fire; in the same way use
your gifts for what they are intended. God did not give you discernment of
spiritual things so that you could go around claiming to be a wizard or
something crazy like that; use your gift for His glory.
Gods
gifts are made to lift up and give His life to old. Use the faith God has
gifted you with and trust Him to carry you through this trial. In Jesus name!
Dear
Heavenly Father we thank you today for giving us gifts. Help us to use them as
You see fit not as we see fit. For Your wisdom is far above all of ours. In
Jesus name, amen.
Suggested
Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, Romans 12:1-21, 1 Corinthians 12:1-25 and
Ephesians 4:1-32