GIFTED for SERVICE
September 10, 2024
Oh God, you are the giver of all good and perfect gifts and I desire to praise your name for all your goodness to me. Encourage and strengthen me today by your grace and goodness. I want to be yours and yours alone oh God. Amen.
1 Peter 4:10
“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another”
It's been my experience when we talk about serving one another we usually jump ahead to the act of service. You know what I mean, a particular need that needs to be addressed, or a person the needs assistance in some way, or some role that needs to be filled in church life. In this sense serving one another becomes task oriented. That's why our verse today, this week, strikes me, because it begins by suggesting that serving one another is connected to gifting. That's interesting don't you think?
Look at our verse, “God has given each of you a gift….” This gifting is referring to spiritual gifts. If you are a Jesus-follower, then you have a spiritual gift. This is also emphasized in 1 Corinthians 12:7 “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (NLT). Allow me to share some observations from the Bible regarding our spiritual gifts.
Our spiritual gift is a spiritual ability. Notice the Bible calls these gifts “spiritual”. A spiritual gift is not a physical ability. For example, the person with great athletic ability has been blessed with a physical talent, but running or jumping extremely well is not a spiritual gift. A person who has the ability to play a musical instrument well has been blessed by God with that ability, but it is not a spiritual gift. There is no such thing as the spiritual gift of auto mechanics, swimming, writing, painting or carpentry. Those are physical talents, not spiritual abilities. While physical talents may not be spiritual gifts, they can and should still be utilized to honor God. Spiritual gifts are distinct because they pertain to spiritual and supernatural realms, which is why in the Bible they are referred to as spiritual gifts.
Our spiritual gift is given by God. Notice the Bible says, “God has given” you and me a spiritual gift. 1 Corinthians 12:11 clearly states this, “It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have” (NLT). The Holy Spirit determines and chooses what gift we receive. It is by God's sovereign choice, not by individual decision. The reason God chooses our spiritual gifts is because He knows us, we are his workmanship, his handiwork, created with a purpose, and God alone knows what spiritual gift is best so that we can do the good works He planned in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10). You need a certain spiritual ability in order to accomplish what He wants you to accomplish in your life.
Our spiritual gift is given to us by grace. Spiritual gifts are not something you earn; they are a testament to grace. They're given freely, not by merit, but through the divine generosity and kindness of God. They should then, be regarded as blessings, graciously bestowed upon us.
This is part of what we said yesterday that we are blessed with a giftedness that makes us the right fit to serve others, and others are gifted in a way that makes them just what we need too. That is why it is important for us to learn about and discover our Spiritual gift(s). We will look closer at this over the next couple days.
LET US PRAY
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