Spiritual Gifts…If…then…Day 2
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 17: Spiritual Gifts”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Romans 12:6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. … 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
If…then…day two…
Between writing yesterday’s devotion and today’s devotion, I was thinking about the question, “Why wouldn’t I use a gift God has given to me?” How would you answer that?
I was out in my garage. I have been blessed…or accumulated…many tools. But not all of them are getting used. Why not?
- I don’t know what it is or how to use it. There are some tools I have inherited from others that I’m not sure exactly how to use them. I’m sure with a little research and a little practice, I could benefit from them.
- I know what the tool is, I am just too busy to use it. The tool lies idle because other things in life prevent time in my shop.
- I don’t have a project to work on. This is rare…but the tool will do no good if it is not put to use to help accomplish a project for a greater good.
Do you see parallels to spiritual gifts? We may not know what they are or how to use them (See link again in the “Apply” section). We may know our gifts, but find ourselves too busy to add them to the body of Christ. We may feel like there is nothing for me to do with my gifts and therefore feel like they are not important.
All of these need a commitment to change. I commit to discovering my spiritual gifts and using them. I commit to decluttering other aspects of my life so I can use the gifts God has given me to be part of his church, his body and add my gifts to the collective of others. I commit to seeking ways to use my gifts, not waiting to be asked, but offering them to the service of the Lord. Commit with the Spirit’s help to use the gifts God has given to you. As we’ve said all week, “You have a gift…use it!”
So, if you have the gift to encourage, then give encouragement.
One with the gift of encouragement is willing to come alongside someone to support and walk with them. Perhaps you have the ability to see when someone needs a kind word, appreciation or just recognition for a job well done. If you do…use this gift often! People all around you need encouragement!
If you have the gift of giving, then give generously.
Giving to the Lord is the responsibility of every Christian. Giving the first of your income and a tenth of your income is just the regular activity of a Christian. Giving beyond that is the gift of giving. The gift of generosity enables one to give beyond their ability, at the sacrifice of some things personal, but for the advancement of the ministry of the Gospel in some way. Generosity is certainly financial, but the gift of giving can extend to a generous giving of time to serve or use of talents to help.
If you have the gift to lead, do it diligently.
Some people don’t like to be out in front. Some do. Maybe you are one of those. You are comfortable casting the vision, organizing the team, and motivating action for the kingdom of God. People look to you for direction or just affirmation that things are moving in the right direction. You are ok making decisions because often the “buck stops with you.” If this is your gift follow the lead of your Savior and find an area of ministry to lead God’s people forward with great things for the Lord!
If you have the gift to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
I think it is hard to walk in someone’s shoes, to carry their burden, and do it cheerfully. But maybe God has gifted you to do this. You are willing to help when no one else is. You are willing to lend a hand when others are too busy. You are willing to show compassion when others aren’t. And…you keep a smile on your face because you know it was for this reason God put you in a person’s life. If showing mercy is your gift, use it and do it cheerfully!
What are the gifts/tools God’s Spirit has given to you? Don’t let ignorance, business, or lack of opportunity keep you from using the gifts God has given to you. Talk to your pastor and other Christians…discover your gift. Take a look at your calendar…make time for your gifts. Take a look at the opportunities around you…and USE your gift!
Apply: Monday’s devotion had a link to a Spiritual gifts assessment. There are others, simply google “Spiritual Gifts Assessment” and try a couple. See if they share similar results. Experiment with what you find and enjoy the process of using them.
Prayer: Lord, help me see the gifts you have given and then put them to use! AMEN
Spiritual GIfts…If…then…
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 17: Spiritual Gifts”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Romans 12:6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
“If…then…”
In the English language this construction is called a “simple conditional.” This simply means that if the first part of the sentence happens or is true, the second half of the sentence will naturally follow.
“If we score more points than the opponent, then we will win.”
“If we go out to eat tonight, then we will have to eat at home the rest of the week.”
These verses of Romans 12 have seven “if…then…” clauses. Bottom line. If you have been given a gift from God’s Spirit, then USE it!
The truth is established in verse 6, “We HAVE different gifts…” The gifts that we have are another facet of God’s grace. We didn’t earn these gifts or work up towards them. They are given.
So like a Christmas gift, we HAVE different gifts…so we are encouraged to USE them!
The Christian faith isn’t a “bench” game. We are all in the game! As we reflected on yesterday, each part is important to the whole. But each part may have, or probably does have different gifts.
But it doesn’t matter the difference, the point is to use the gift you have been given.
So, if your gift is prophesying, the prophesy in accordance with your faith.
The gift of prophecy may include special insights or revelations from the Lord, but the key role of a prophet wasn’t to come up with things on his/her own, but simply relay the word of God to the ears of people. If you have a gift to do this…then prophesy!
If your gift is serving, then serve.
This is a gift many find connection with. You don’t want to lead. You don’t want to be in charge, you just want to have a role and a task and go at it. A servant is one who is willing to fill a role wherever it is needed.
If your gift is teaching, then teach.
Can you explain things in a way people understand? Can you make the complex understandable? Do people say, “Oh, now I get it”? Perhaps God has given you a gift to teach his truth to others!
If you have a gift…then use it!
Tomorrow we’ll look at the rest…but for today, perhaps simply ask the Lord to make clear to you what your gift is. If you haven’t already, take this assessment: LINK
If you have questions, email me at pastor@crossandcrowntx.com.
Apply: If you haven’t take 10 minutes and fill out the assessment. Share with someone or with me what the assessment told you.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for the grace and gifts you have given to me. Empower me, Spirit of God, to USE these gifts to your glory! AMEN.
Spiritual Gifts…one body…many members
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 17: Spiritual Gifts”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
The human body is an amazing machine. Consider just a few facts:
- Human lungs contain almost 1,500 miles of airways and over 300 million alveoli.
- If the blood vessels in the human body were laid end to end, they would encircle the Earth four times.
- The human body consists of around 37.2 TRILLION cells.
With over 37 trillion different parts – and that doesn’t even count all the parts of a cell – the human body is an amazing feat of God’s creation. It’s complexity defies the scientific community to fully know. It’s parts too many to count. It’s function is almost endless.
Yet it is designed JUST AS God wanted it to be…just enough cells for the heart, the right amount for the brain, and the perfect design for the lungs…and more.
Isn’t it interesting that God uses the human body to give us a glimpse of his spiritual body – the church?
So many different members, yet one body.
EACH part is important. EACH part is uniquely gifted. EACH part needs all the other parts.
Think of what the body accomplishes…some without even thinking about it:
- An average person breathes in around 11,000 litres of air every day.
- In one year, a human heart would pump enough blood to fill an Olympic size pool.
- Your heart beats around 100,000 times a day, 36,500,000 times a year and over a billion times if you live beyond 30.
What could the body of Christ accomplish for the Lord if EACH part new its role and carried it out? I believe we have just scratched the surface and the impact of Christians around the world would be incredible if we all, with the Spirit’s help, committed to being an ACTIVE member of the body of Christ with the gifts that God has given to EACH of us.
But that takes commitment. It takes commitment to understand your gift. It takes commitment to not do somethings so you can engage with fellow believers. It takes commitment to push through the obstacles for the sake of God’s mission and ministry to reach souls.
If the heart could talk, it may say, “I’m tired today. I think I’ll stop for awhile.” The whole body suffers.
If the lungs could talk, they may say, “I’ve got enough air for awhile, I’ll just take a nap.” The whole body suffers.
If the cells could talk, they may say, “Let’s take turns taking a break and stop functioning.” The whole body suffers.
The point? The body of Christ needs you to be actively engaged and fully committed to the work of the Lord. The other parts and the health of the body are counting on you.
Will you carry out your role?
With the guidance of the Spirit and the power he gives…put into action the gifts and faith that God has given to you!
Apply: What gifts has God given to you? How can you actively use them to be a blessing to the body of Christ?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the grace you have given to me to believe in you and live for you. Help me to be a faithful steward of all these gifts of grace! AMEN.
Spiritual Gifts…What are they?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 17: Spiritual Gifts”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
A poll done in 2009 by Barna research found the following:
Between those who do not know their gift (15%), those who say they don’t have one (28%) and those who claimed gifts that are not biblical (20%), nearly two-thirds of the self-identified Christian population who claim to have heard about spiritual gifts have not been able to accurately apply whatever they have heard or what the Bible teaches on the subject to their lives. (https://www.barna.com/research/survey-describes-the-spiritual-gifts-that-christians-say-they-have/)
So perhaps you are one of those that have heard about spiritual gifts, yet have not taken or had the opportunity to better understand them in general and put them into practice specifically. I hope this week’s devotions help.
So what is a spiritual gift? There are many definitions on the web if you search “Definition of Spiritual Gifts,” but let’s go with this:
A spiritual gift is…
…a special, divine ability or talent GIVEN by the Holy Spirit…
- 1 Corinthians 12:4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
…to EACH believer…
- 1 Corinthians 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. … 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
…to be USED in the context of the BODY of Christ…
- 1 Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
- KEY VERSE Romans 12:4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.
… to ACCOMPLISH a given MINISTRY in God’s kingdom.
- 1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
- 1 Corinthians 12:18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
So as God’s Spirit has called you to faith, he has also gifted you to be a productive member of the body of Christ. Each one has been given a gift for the common good.
Do you know what God has given to you? There are many assessments online as well, but here’s one to start with. Over this week we’ll look at the different gifts and perhaps God will make clear the gift he has given to you and how he wants to use it.
Apply: Take this spiritual gifts assessment: CLICK HERE
Prayer: Spirit of God, thank you for calling me to faith and giving me gifts to live out that faith in a special way. Open my eyes to see the gifts you have given to me and how I am to use those to your glory and to the blessing of your ministry! AMEN
A biblical community is built on truth!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 16: Biblical Community”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
A biblical community is built on truth.
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
At the center of this first Christian community was the truth of God’s Word – the apostles’ teaching. In fact, the truth of God’s Word is at the heart of a truly biblical community. After all how can you be a biblical community if every person in that community isn’t devoted to the words of the Bible? You can’t.
The truth of God’s Word is foundation and fabric of every biblical community. It is that Word that teaches each of us who God is, what love is, what humility is, how to live at peace with one another and so much more.
Truth is also the foundation for key components of the Christian community.
A biblical community seeks to know, understand, and speak the truth.
Ephesians 4:25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
Satan is the father of lies. So anything that is not truth from God or just truth in general doesn’t have a place in the body of Christ. Satan loves to infiltrate his lies with a little bit of truth to make them more appealing. So a biblical community is vigilant around the truth of God’s word and has honest conversations when that truth is being compromised.
Speak the truth in love. Condescending, judgmental, unloving conversations have no part in the body of Christ. Here’s the encouragement if we need to confront lies and falsehood:
Ephesians 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
So what does speaking the truth in love in a biblical community look like? Here’s a few examples of how the truth working in my heart and life can make me a stronger member of biblical community
- I spend time daily in the truth of God’s Word to allow it to guide and affect every aspect of my life.
- When a brother or sister in Christ confronts a sin in my life, I receive it with joy that they were willing to speak the truth.
- I allow the narrative of God’s truth to form my opinions, worldview, and perception of the events around me and help others to do the same.
- Lying is just not an option…as little or as “white” of a lie as it may be.
- I use the truth in love, being discerning how and when and to whom to share the truth. (i.e. while a comment may be true, it may not be loving, build some one up, or need to be shared.)
The Truth sets us apart. Be humbled that we are entrusted with God’s Truth. Be gentle in speaking the truth. Always be guided by the truth!
John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Apply: What can you do to build a community of truth in your local context?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your truth and building my heart and life around that truth. Let me be used by you to always bring your truth to the church community I am part of. AMEN.