Using Your Spiritual Gifts

Using Your Spiritual Gifts

Welcome to our Christianity Oasis My Brother's Keeper study program. This is our Using Your Spiritual Gifts study. The truth within this SON-derful Using Your Spiritual Gifts study will truly enhance your be-YOU-tiful Christian walk.

This My Brother's Keeper Bible Study program is intended for our teen members and guests. If you are an adult ... Check out the Many Called Few Chosen program by clicking the link below:

Many Called Few Chosen

To start My Brother's Keeper from the beginning, click the link below:

Home Page

Welcome Back to
My Brother's Keeper
Using Your Spiritual Gifts
Step #8

Welcome back my friend!

Good things come to those who wait. I trust that you're waiting at the end of each step for the next day to continue on. It's a great thing you're doing!

What's the difference between a gift, and a spiritual gift? Most people think of their gifts as their talents, but most peoples' talents are really skills that they've developed on their own, through knowledge, study and practice. A spiritual gift is a natural ability that you receive from God, through the Holy Spirit. A spiritual gift is an ability which you use to glorify the Lord.

What are your spiritual gifts? That's a question that you can answer by asking yourself, What can I do, to best serve the Lord? What opportunities and talents has He given to me that I can use to glorify Him? What do I enjoy doing that truly serves Him? He gave you unique gifts and wove them into who you are, and He has a plan for you to use those gifts. Often times, God will put you into situations where you can use the spiritual gifts that He gave you.

No matter what your spiritual gifts are, they're important to God. Let me give you something to think about. Let's say you take the ingredient ... Salt ... Out of all your food. Blehhhhh! But it's only salt. It usually dissolves and you can't even see it, but it sure does make a difference. Don't underestimate the importance of the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit gives you, no matter how insignificant you think they may be.

Actually, your gifts don't only belong to you. The Holy Spirit did not give them to you simply for your own benefit, but for the benefit of others, and so that people would depend on one another. If we each had all the spiritual gifts, what would we need to depend on others for? Our spiritual gifts help keep us united.

This is a wonderful explanation by the Apostle Paul, of how we're all united in Christ and how we all should depend on and appreciate one another and the spiritual gifts that each one of us has been blessed with. Let's take a look.

What does all that mean?

Well, to make a long story short, it means that we've all been given different gifts by the same Holy Spirit, and that we all need one another. In short, we are all Spiritually Gifted when the Holy Spirit moves in. Paul is kind of humorous saying, if the whole body were an eye, how would it hear? Good point, huh? Another point he makes is that some gifts, even though they may seem weak, are very very important. Let me give you another example: The eye is very fragile, even an eyelash inside of it can cause much pain, but without the eye, the hand which is very strong, would have a difficult time working.

What did Paul mean by that last sentence? It's good to sincerely want to do the best things for God ... But, Paul adds, I'm going to show you something that's very important! Oh my, yes! Throw a little unconditional love into the recipe and then you've got the right idea. Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13 to teach more about this, that you can have all the gifts in the world, but without Love ... Well, if you don't share them with Love, they're useless.

Have you ever gotten a paper cut on your baby finger, and even though you're in perfect health, that teeny tiny little paper cut can absolutely ruin your day? Whenever you consider yourself unworthy, or the gifts that the Holy Spirit has freely given to you unimportant, you're really affecting the lives of others. No matter how unimportant you may think your gift is, not using it causes a wound that effects someone else, and quite possibly many people.

It's easy to forget how we should use our spiritual gifts even when we know that we are Spiritually Gifted. When you perform the gift(s) that the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon you, do you remember that you're sharing it with the Lord's beloved people? Do you give it freely? Do you like to take the credit for your talent or are you humble and make certain that others (who don't understand as well as you do) know that it is a gift of God, and that you are merely a vessel by which He is distributing His gift?

Let's talk about specific spiritual gifts for a moment. In today's world, it oft times seems that our gifts are different from those that people were blessed with back in Paul's day, but is that really true? What about doctors? True, most have not come by their profession spiritually, but though our society requires a degree from medical school to be a doctor of any kind, some are spiritually gifted in their work. They are today's healers.

You'll find that our world today doesn't require the gift of speaking in tongues in the same way that it did in Biblical times and the Word of God today is spread through other means of communication, but make no mistake ...

His Word Gets Around!

What about being Spiritually Gifted with the gift of prophecy? Don't we have people alive today who are God's prophets? This is an interesting question. Many people believe that God doesn't use prophets any longer. I'd like to give you something to think about. In our unbelieving world of today, if God did send us the precious gift of a prophet, who would believe? I'm going to give you a few seconds to think about your answer ...

. . .
. . .
. . .

No matter what your answer was, doesn't it mean that a prophet is really in the eye of the beholder?

Peter tells us in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, quoting scripture from Joel 2:28-30, that the gift of prophecy will be given to men and women in the End Times:

What about teachers, and helpers, etc.? If you look around, you'll see that there are still people who are gifted in many of the same ways, in our world today, as in Biblical times.

Do you have gifts that you don't even know about? Perhaps you are Spiritually Gifted with something that you don't consider a 'gift' but is something that touches other peoples' lives. Maybe hospitality is a gift of yours. You may find it effortless, whereas someone who may be a fantastic cook might have great difficulty making people feel welcome, whether it be at home or at a Christian community gathering. If you've ever seen the old movie "It's a Wonderful Life" you know that there are many people who's lives you've affected just by being ... You. That alone is a spiritual gift. The fact that God created you, is evidence that He has a plan for you, and that even if you can't put a title on a specific 'gift' ... You are a gift to others. But, what Are Your Spiritual Gifts?

The way that we use our gifts is so very important. If someone gave you a gift, and you thought it was too special to use it, what good does it do? It may be nice to look at, but what does it profit anyone? The same goes for your spiritual gifts when you have been Spiritually Gifted. What if those who are gifted with musical ability didn't sing? What good does it do for anyone then? Don't put your spiritual gifts up on a shelf somewhere, and never use them ... It's a shame for them to go to waste.

Some people are jealous of other people who are Spiritually Gifted and this is a problem that apparently was going on way back when, too. If the word jealous is too harsh for you, let's use the word ... Envious. Paul explains, using the parts of our physical body, as an example of how we should view our spiritual gifts as parts of the body of Christ, and not to misjudge our importance.

How you use your gifts is important:

What does all that mean? It means to give your gifts with Love. We should never take advantage of spiritual gifts or take them for granted either, whether they be our gifts, or someone else's. As Paul said above, your gift is serving the Lord, which deserves reverence, whether you are giving or receiving.

A lot of people claim that they don't have any gifts or talents, or that they just don't know what their gifts are. Sometimes this is for attention but sometimes it's because they don't want the responsibility that goes along with being gifted. Let me give you an example:

Two year old Junior learned the ABC's from watching Sesame Street every morning, but when mommy wants Junior to sing the ABC's for Aunt Gertrude, he remains as silent as a clam. Not because he doesn't know the ABC's, but because once someone else knows that Junior knows his ABC's, he knows he's going to have to sing them for everybody that happens by until he's 5!

This is just a silly example, but do we realize the happiness and the benefits that we are keeping from our fellow Christians by not using our God given gifts? Sharing your spiritual gifts takes your precious time ... It's a sacrifice, for God. Whatever you do for others, you do for the Lord. We all belong to Him ... We're all a part of Him. Do you have something better to do with your time than that?

There are other kinds of spiritual gifts, that aren't talent related ... But the kind that are like presents, if you will. If you're a Christian who hasn't recognized you being Spiritually Gifted with your own talents and spiritual gifts, take a good look at these:

The Gift of Jesus Christ:

The Gift of the Holy Spirit:

The Gift of Eternal Life:

The Gift of Grace:

Every Good Gift:

Never be so busy that you forget to recognize the small miraculous gifts from God in your every day life.

God doesn't hide our gifts from us. If you sincerely look for them, you'll find them ... Just ask Him. The Lord won't deny your earnest prayer to fulfill the plan that He has for you. Pray for the opportunity to discover your own special niche. Oft times, when we put our own plans aside and open our heart to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is when we truly discover the gifts that God designed just for us. You've discovered that one of your gifts is to represent.

My Brother's Keeper Steps

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Be sure to check out the Teen Newsletter at the link below:

Oasis Teen's Newsletter

Copyright © 2000-2024 All Rights Reserved.