RECOGNIZING SPIRITUAL GIFTS
AND USING THEM TO GLORIFY GOD
Part 2

Paul outlines in Romans 12:1-8 the Christian way of thinking concerning spiritual gifts ... read Romans 12:1-8.

Three practical suggestions may help you recognize and use your spiritual gift. And to help you remember it I want you to think of 3-D. 3D is real and tangible, just as real and tangible as these three "D-suggestions:"

1. Devote yourself to God in worship - (Romans 12:1-3) Offer yourself to God as a living sacrifice, out of gratitude for His mercies to you. Think of what it means to offer, to devote a sacrifice to God ...
   • Focus on Jesus and His Cross - Worship is the constant among us. All of us stand before God the same - broken people loved by our merciful Creator. Each of us is offered a place in his kingdom, we are extended forgiveness, and we are called to participate in God's spirit. (Scene from Passion of the Christ - Distinctions were faded as they came near the cross - Joseph of Arimethea, Mary, Mary M., centurion and soldiers - women and men, former skeptics and faithful, Jew and Roman, rich and poor, rulers and ruled)
   • Spiritual Worldview: Transforming of mind - Only a renewed, transformed mind can think of spiritual gifts as Paul has exhorted here. Our culture would convince us to do the opposite of what Paul teaches. Paul warns us not to "overthink" and not to "think of [ourselves] more highly than we ought to think." The world tells us we do not have a good enough estimate of our own worth. In the secular way of thinking, we need to think more highly of ourselves. Many tell us there are no limits placed on our abilities except those we impose on ourselves. The solution, we are told, is to believe that within us (not apart from ourselves, enabled by the Holy Spirit) there is unlimited potential for success and achievement. We are told that if we but think more positively, more highly of ourselves, then success is guaranteed--the higher our thoughts and goals, the higher our performance.
   • The world looks inward to what is within man and finds unlimited potential. The Bible instructs us to look Godward, to look to the Holy Spirit and His enablement, to live our lives in a way that will sacrificially serve God and men.
   • Spiritual gifts are not intended to be a mystery. The teaching of spiritual gifts is both fundamental and elementary. If you do not know your spiritual gift and ministry, God is not hiding it from you, if you are seeking to be obedient to Him. Try to see yourself, your abilities, your experience with a biblical worldview - a cross-eyed perspective on the world (Woolridge's at Lake Jackson Church of Christ - brought it to God, then to the church - and God made it clear to them - it starts in worshipful devotion to God!)

2. Develop Serious Relationships with other Christians (Nurturing & Growing) - Submit to others in friendship and accountability (Romans 12:4-5) In verses 4 and 5, Paul calls Christians to think communally. Spiritual gifts must be understood and practiced in the context of the body of Christ. So it makes sense that they would be discerned and discovered by others too. There are some Christians who have this gift of recognizing what others are gifted to do. (Christian Empowerment) Spiritual gifts mean that I am both weak and strong. I am strong in the area of my gift; I am weak in the areas where others have been gifted. Thus, I must minister to the body of Christ and others out of my strength, and I am dependent upon the ministry of the rest of the body in my areas of weakness.
   For the proper functioning of spiritual gifts, we must cease thinking individualistically and begin to think like a community. We cannot look at ourselves as an island, independent of all others. That's the spirit behind at least two of our goals - (Increase in Love and Godly Behavior - Nurture Spiritual Growth and Holiness)
   What's Happening at West-Ark? - Talk to others, talk to minister, ask elders to pray for you - try it!
   Who do you spend your time with? Think of the people you gather around you? Who do you pray with? In What's Happening at West-Ark, you can look at the FAQ that says "How can I grow?" Get involved in these activities to grow and be spiritually nurtured and give it time.

3. Dedicate Time Serving others - (v. 6-8)
   In verses 7 and 8, Paul urges those who have the speaking gifts to likewise devote themselves to doing that which they have been gifted to do. But why tell a teacher to teach or a servant to serve? Isn't it just natural? Our natural tendency is to be self-centered and self-serving. Paul assumes two potential problems when it comes to spiritual gifts: 1) The first is not devoting ourselves to doing that which God gifted us to do; 2) The second is using our gifts in a way inconsistent with the grace of God.
   Using Your Gift to Glorify God - by speaking for God and serving others. This can be mundane, not just miraculous! Look for needs, and seek to meet them. When a gift is used for God and to help others it is no longer mundane. Simple things become great. What may seem routine medicine to us, is a mighty work in Medical Mission field. We tend to think that miraculous means defiance of the natural laws, but I tend to think it means defiance of the natural way we humans do things in this world. When a gift is given in the name of Jesus, it is wondrous - and perhaps in that way miraculous.
   • You might recognize your gifts in this way. It is a sort of spiritual "on the job training." Look for those who are weaker than you, and serve them from your strength. Spiritual gifts are given in order to meet the needs of others. Others needs are all about us. We need but the eyes to see them and the obedience to respond to them by God's grace and power. Look in What's Happening at West-Ark - Get plugged in! Watch the announcements each week.
   • Did you notice the section in What's Happening at West-Ark the FAQ "How can I serve others?" Use that! Take a look at our bulletin and notices each week. Who are those in need this week? What needs are going unmet in the church? Is there a need for ...? What gifts do you have to meet an opportunity? What if you have a gift for which there is no "program"? Make a ministry! Someone will be served by it. How do you think all of these works in What's Happening at West-Ark got started? It just takes a person and people willing to do what God wants them to do. Talk to people who are serving. How did they get started? In What's Happening at West-Ark the last FAQ is "Who Do I Contact About?" - One section on last page is "Staying Informed." There is always an opportunity to serve and use your gift(s).

I am convinced that the matter of spiritual gifts is not as mysterious as some suggest and as it might seem at first. If you have first given yourself to God, and you are seeking to obey Him in the strength He supplies, you will know what He has given you to do, and you will have the faith and the grace necessary to do it.

Jesus said that the one that gives a cup of cold water. "And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." - Matthew 10:42. Maybe it's just that simple.

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 5 December 2004

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 5 December 2004

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