Page 51 - Pneumatology - A Study of the Holy Spirit

What are Your Spiritual Gifts?

Connect…

Isn’t it interesting that when you got saved, the Holy Spirit came into your life to indwell you? But at the
same time, He brought with Him a special gift and anointed you with it. It is not a gift to use for yourself. It is
a special service gift to be used to bless others. We studied the various gifts with which He equips believers,
and one of them, or even more than one, is in you. If you do not know your special gift, you should seek to
find it out so you can use it in the body of Christ. Today, we are going to learn how you can find out what
your special gift is. We’ll also look at the characteristics of some of the gifts called “sign gifts,” why they were
given, and how they are to be used. So, let’s get started….

The Lesson ...

So how can you determine which of the Gifts of the Spirit were given to you?

There is no magic formula or definitive test that can tell us
exactly what our spiritual gifts are. The Holy Spirit distributes the
gifts as He determines (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). A common
problem for Christians is the temptation to get so caught up in
the spiritual gift that we seek to serve God only in the area in
which we feel we have been gifted. That is not how the spiritual
gifts work. God calls us to obediently serve Him in all things. He
will equip us with whatever gift or gifts we need to accomplish
the task He has called us to.

The best way to determine your spiritual gift is to give each a try. Teach a class and see what happens. Ask
your pastor if you can preach a sermon. Volunteer for a service project. Study the list above and try each
one as an opportunity for ministry to others. What will happen is that you will receive confirmation from
others that your ministry has been a special blessing to them. Other people who see us serving the Lord can
often identify a spiritual gift in use that we might take for granted or not recognize. Sometimes other people
will let you know what your gift is. And if you are not specially gifted in an area, that will also become
obvious.

Prayer is also important. The one person who knows exactly how we are spiritually gifted is the gift-giver
Himself—the Holy Spirit. We can ask God to show us how we are gifted in order to better use our spiritual
gifts for His glory.

Yes, God calls some to be teachers and gives them the gift of teaching. God calls some to be servants and
blesses them with the gift of help. However, specifically knowing our spiritual gift does not excuse us from
serving God in areas outside our gifting. Is it beneficial to know what spiritual gift(s) God has given us? Of
course it is. Is it wrong to focus so much on spiritual gifts that we miss other opportunities to serve God? Yes.
If we are dedicated to being used by God, He will equip us with the spiritual gifts we need.

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