Spiritual Gifts and Ministry: What's yours?

“It is not the possession of extraordinary gifts that makes extraordinary usefulness, but the dedication of what we have to the service of God.” – Frederick William Robertson

 

Since I started getting involved more in our Church last year when I decided not to become a ‘benchwarmer’ who sat at the back so exiting would be much quicker (hehe), my friends would ask me what my Spiritual Gifts and Strengths are. I’d tell them I don’t know, but maybe an encourager? I really didn’t know. Strengths? What did they mean by strengths? Uhh, creativity? I was guessing. Haha.

So earlier this week, finally, I got to ‘officially’ find out about my Spiritual gifts and I would like to share them to you.

My top 3 gifts, in my current season, are: FAITH, EXHORTATION & WISDOM.

Faith

The spiritual gift of faith is not to be confused with saving faith.  All Christians have been given saving faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), but not all receive this special gift of faith.  The word for faith in the New Testament is Pistis.  It carries the notion of confidence, certainty, trust, and assurance in the object of faith.  The gift of faith is rooted in one’s saving faith in Christ and the trust that comes through a close relationship with the Savior.  Those with this gift have a trust and confidence in God that allows them to live boldly for Him and manifest that faith in mighty ways.

Exhortation

The spiritual gift of exhortation is often called the "gift of encouragement."  The Greek word for this gift is Parakaleo.  It means to beseech, exhort, call upon, to encourage and to strengthen.  The primary means of exhortation is to remind the hearer of the powerful and amazing work of God in Christ, particularly in regard to the saving work of Jesus in the atonement.  We see Paul commanding Titus to use this gift in Titus 1:9 and throughout chapter 2, particularly Titus 2:11-15.  He also charges Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2.

The Spirit of God gives this gift to people in the church to strengthen and encourage those who are wavering in their faith.  Those with the gift of exhortation can uplift and motivate others as well as challenge and rebuke them in order to foster spiritual growth and action.  The goal of the encourager is to see everyone in the church continually building up the body of Christ and glorifying God.  See also Romans 12:8, Acts 11:23-24; 14:21-22; 15:32.

Wisdom

The spiritual gift of wisdom, like the gift of knowledge, is also referred to as the “word of wisdom” or “utterance of wisdom.”  The Greek word for wisdom is sophia and it refers to the intimate understanding of God’s Word and His commandments which results in holy and upright living.  In the context of 1 Corinthians 12:8, it means to speak to the life of an individual or to a specific situation with great understanding and a righteous perspective, with the goal of guiding others toward a life of holiness and worship. 

Those with the gift of wisdom have a deep understanding of the holiness of God and the lack of holiness in their own hearts.  They can recognize this in others as well and have the compassion and boldness to share that truth with them.  They are able to take from their own life experiences and share what God has taught them through those things.  They can easily recognize where a decision or action may lead and can warn against those that may be harmful or unfruitful.  They can often see through the confusion of a situation and can give direction that would help an individual or group obtain a God-glorifying goal.  The church needs those with the spiritual gift of wisdom to guide her though uncertain or difficult times.  See also 1 Corinthians 1:17-31, 2:1-16, 12:8; Colossians 1:9-10, 2:1-3; James 3:13-18

After taking the test, I felt “Wow Lord, Thank You for this! But Wisdom? Me? True? Ako talaga Lord?” I took the test again, actually and got the same results (Except for one: Discernment replaced Exhortation by one point, so anyway I just went with the first one). But the test was an answer to my question. Lately I’ve been asking God where am I supposed to be and how can He further use me to advance His kingdom. Plus God has given me this GIFTS. He was the one who planned this. He knows this!

Now that I’m aware, I can now leverage on these Spiritual gifts to Honor God and Make Disciples.

I really, really encourage you to find out your gifts as well! Check out http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/tests

In connection to Honoring God and Making Disciples, (hehe, maipasok lang!) I’d also like to encourage everyone who has no ministry yet in our Church to volunteer and join a ministry. Let us Honor God thru our Service! Tomorrow is our Volunteer Weekend and it would be great if we get more volunteers this year!

A volunteer is someone who freely offers his / her talent, time, resources to take part in the enterprise to undertake a task (which is for us, to Honor God and Make Disciples! Can never really emphasize this enough.)

Why volunteer?

• To show our appreciation for what God has done for us.

• To reach out to more people – ultimately for them to know the Gospel. Knowing will be understanding, then later on living the Gospel.

• To recognize God’s call for us. The leaders are instruments but it is God who is calling us!

For me, joining KIDS ministry is one of the best decisions I made last year. I joined wholeheartedly. I was like KAMOOOON KIDS!!!!!! LET’S DO THIS!!! It has helped me become more patient, more appreciative of the little things, I gained new friends and most importantly I experienced this joy knowing that KIDS ministry trains the NEXT GENERATION to Honor God and Make disciples (again!)!!! I also grew my relationship with the Lord and has made my walk more exciting!

Where is God calling you?
Anong sabi ni Lord sayo, kapatid? Anong ministry ka Niya gusting sumali? Excited na ako para sayo. Kamon. Kamon let’s do this!

Join ka sa ministry bukas, ha. See you there!



(Lyrics from Lord of All)

Let's continue to use our Spiritual Gifts and Ministry for His Glory, not ours.