“SPIRITUAL
GIFTS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY CHURCH.”
by:
Devon A. Blackwood
Presented
at the Youth Conference July 2002,
Altamonte
Springs, Florida
It’s not enough to merely
be an attendee or even an official member of a local church. We need to be involved. Active service means being more than a
spectator. God has accorded us the
opportunity to be “players” by giving us spiritual gifts and material resources
to make this contribution. Through our
service, God fills us with a sense of accomplishment. When we contribute, we find fulfillment.
The purpose of Building
Your Church is to help us delve further into the ways in which we can
contribute to the body of Christ. We
will explore the following questions:
The following definition brings together
some key truths from the Word of God.
The main references to spiritual gifts are found in 1 Corinthians 12,
Romans 12 and Ephesians 4.
“A Spiritual Gift is a special divine
empowerment bestowed on each believer by the Holy Spirit to accomplish a given
ministry God’s way according to His grace and discernment to be used within the
context of the Body of Christ.”
The Holy Spirit has given
to every believer unique gifts that are to be used to accomplish God’s
purposes. Everyone can feel a part of
the grand design when he or she employs these gifts in the way God
intended. So what’s your gift? Finding your niche is as simple as
understanding what the Bible says about gifts, then discovering and using these
gifts in your church. It is exciting to
learn that spiritual gifts are given to every Christian, but it’s sobering to
learn how greatly God depends on us to use our gifts wisely to accomplish his
work. Still, many believers have only a
murky understanding about spiritual gifts and how they relate to the work of
the church. We will learn more about
how God intended spiritual gifts to work in the body of Christ.
Scriptural
Emphasis: Hebrews 6:10-12,
Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 3:22-24, 1 Peter 4:10-11, 1 Cor. 14:1.
Ministry
Opportunities To Use Your Gifts
See 1 Cor. 12:1; 4-7 “Now concerning
spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. . . now there are
diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but
it is the same God, which worketh all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal.”
I.
Administration:
The divine enablement to understand what make an organization function, and the
special ability to plan and execute procedures that increase the church’s
organizational effectiveness.
II.
Giving: The divine enablement to
contribute money and material resources to the work of the Lord with
cheerfulness and generosity.
III. Helps:
The divine enablement to accomplish practical and necessary tasks that support
the body of Christ.
IV.
Counseling: The divine
enablement to effectively listen to people and assist them in their quest for
wholeness
V.
Craftsmanship:
The divine enablement to facilitate ministry through the creative construction
of necessary tools for ministry.
VI.
Evangelism: The divine
enablement to effectively communicate the message of Christ to unbelievers so
they can respond in faith and discipleship.
VII. Mercy:
The divine enablement to minister cheerfully and appropriately to people who
are suffering.
VIII. Teaching:
the divine enablement to understand, clearly explain, and apply the Word of God
to the lives of listeners.
IX.
Prophecy: The divine
enablement to proclaim God’s truth with power and clarity in a timely and
culturally sensitive fashion for correction, repentance, or encouragement.
X.
Leadership: The divine
enablement to instill vision, to motivate, and to direct people to accomplish
the work of the ministry.
XI.
Service: The divine
enablement to show forth deeds of benevolence, hospitality and service-oriented
tasks.
XII. Discernment:
The divine enablement motivating a believer to seek God’s will and purpose and
apply that understanding to individual and congregational situations, discern a
person’s spiritual character and the source of his actions and messages, such
as from the Holy Spirit, demon spirits, or the flesh.
XIII. Giving:
The divine enablement for a believer to recognize God’s blessings and to
respond to those blessings by generously and sacrificially giving of one’s
resources, time, treasure.
XIV. Exhortation:
The divine enablement that moves the believer to reach out with Christian love
and presence to people in personal conflict of facing a spiritual void.
XV.
Faith: The divine enablement
that gives a believer the eyes to see the Spirit at work and the ability to
trust the Spirit’s leading without indication of where it all might lead.
XVI. Wisdom:
The divine enablement that allows the believer to sort through opinions, facts
and thoughts in order to determine what solution would be best for the
individual believer or the community of believers.
XVII. Pastoring:
The divine enablement that gives the believer the confidence, capability and
compassion to provide spiritual leadership and direction for individuals or
groups of believers.
XVIII.
Knowledge: The divine
enablement that drives a person to learn, analyze and uncover new insights with
regard to the Bible and faith.
XIX. Healing:
The divine enablement to effectively and supernaturally minister health to the
sick.
XX.
Miracles: The supernatural
intervention of natural laws. The Greek
describes it as “works of power” and implies instantaneous results.
XXI. Interpretation
of Tongues: The divine enablement for the supernatural
interpretation of a message in tongues into the understandable language of the
hearers. It is not a “translation” but
an interpretation.
XXII. Tongues:
The divine enablement that allows for the supernatural imparted utterance in an
unlearned (unknown) language, which is interpreted as a prophecy to the body
for their edification.
Scriptural
Emphasis: Ephesians 4:7-16,
1 Cor. 14:1-5, Acts 6:1-4, 21:7-13, Acts 8:26-40, 16:14-16, Phil. 2:25-30,
3:6-7, 28:8-9, 1 Cor. 12:9
Activity #2
Look back at the
gifts listed. Which gifts do you
possess?
Which
Gifts can you identify in another believer and why
NAME: ______________________________________________________
GIFT
(S): ______________________________________________________
WHY: ______________________________________________________
Thought to Ponder:
How would you describe the kind of church that results when people discover and
use their spiritual gifts?
Why is encouragement a valuable gift in the church?
What are the main obligations of those with the gift of
leadership?
What are some ways you could develop your spiritual gifts? Be
specific. (Acts 18:24-28 good example).
I prefer to work with ___things ___people ___information ___other
I
am amiable to and have the greatest concern for:
___Infants ___children ___teens ___singles
___Young
adults ___adults ___couples ___the elderly
___other
My
deepest desire is to make a difference in:
___Global
concerns ___politics ___secular
society
___Church ___economics ___other
Commitment: “If I could make a difference and impact an
area of ministry, I would do the following”:
A.
_________________________ B.
_____________________
Ref:
inspiration of the Holy Spirit & Building your church, Cousins & Poling