Lay Speaker
Katelyn Bristow

Listen to this sermon HERE

Spiritual Gifts

            For almost a year now my dad has been asking and challenging us to get more involved in this church and everyone has jumped in with both feet. For my part, I attended the basic lay speaking course back in June.  Now before class even began the instructors emailed out a list of assignments and one of them was to take an online test to tell you what your spiritual gift is.  I’m thinking, “I don’t even have to take this.  My spiritual gift is leadership.  How could it not be?  I am my father’s daughter.  I’ve been a leader in just about everything I’ve been involved in.  I’ll take the test so I have the print out to prove that my gift is leadership, but I really don’t need to actually take it.”  The test was short.  Only about 20 questions long, most of them yes/no or true/false answers.  I submitted it and the results popped up.  Tongues.  It said my number 1 spiritual gift was the gift of tongues.  I thought, “I must have missed a few questions.  Perhaps in my certainty of the results I clicked through too fast.”  I took it again, studying each question a little more.  Trying to figure out what spiritual gift they were trying to get at and did I answer truly honestly the first time or did I answer what I thought I should answer to get the spiritual gift I wanted.  I re-submitted and anxiously anticipated the results…tongues.  
The scripture we read this morning presents several spiritual gifts and it can be a daunting task trying to figure out which one the Spirit has bestowed upon you. Before we get too far in, I want to cover some basic questions.  First, what do I have to do to get a gift?  Nothing.  There is nothing you can do to earn yourself a gift.  Ephesians 4:7 “But to each one of use grace has been given as Christ has apportioned it.” Christ has given us our gifts through his grace.  Second, what if I don’t have a gift?  Impossible.  1 Corinthians 12:7 “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”  1 Corinthians 12:11 “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”  1 Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  None of these verses say, “if you are good enough the Spirit will give you a gift” or “only the most holy among you will be blessed with a gift.”  Not one.  That’s not the way it works.  By grace the Spirit has already blessed each and every one of us with a gift.  It is our job to figure out what it is and use it for the glory of God and in service to one another. 
Studying spiritual gifts is not easy.  There are books and books and books written on the subject and each one presents the author’s opinion, but it’s just an opinion.  It is a starting point to get you to study the subject more.  The Bible study I did (Chip Ingram: Your Divine Design) over spiritual gifts as part of the research for this sermon had a chart I thought was a great way to show all the gifts and how they relate to one another.  This is on the insert in your bulletin.  This is not the only way to present spiritual gifts.  I liked it because it neatly organized them.  I’m an accountant.  I thrive off of organization.  The study split the gifts into three different categories.  The first column is labeled “Motivation”, the second “Ministry”, and the third “Manifestation”.  The author’s premise is that the gifts under the first column are the “core” gifts, kind of the broad umbrella gifts under which other gifts may fall.  Everyone has at least one gift from this column.  Which ever one you believe is your gift should be what gets you energized and excited.  What is it you’re passionate about?  That is likely your motivational gift.  This gift may express itself in a variety of ways, which brings us to the second column, the service gifts.  These gifts are how you use your primary gift.  As your primary gift comes out in different ministries or forms of service, the effects will show up in various ways, those are the manifestation gifts.
Our focus today, for the sake of time, will be on the motivational gifts: 
Prophecy:  Normally when we think of prophecy we think of doom and destruction, someone calling all sinners to repent before they are thrown into hell.  Prophesying is actually being able to explain practically how scripture relates to the church.  It is being able to declare God’s word at a time and place for the purpose of correcting someone’s life, guiding them to repentance, or teaching them something God wants them to know.  People with the gift of prophecy see a situation and like to ask, “How did this come about?” or “What caused this?”
Service:  This gift is pretty straight forward.  These people find spiritual fulfillment in accomplishing physical tasks for the Church.  If you need someone to make snacks for an event, these people volunteer.  If you need someone to run to the store for more paper towels, these people volunteer.  If you need someone to fill in for the children’s sermon because the person who was supposed to do it got sick, these people volunteer.  If you need something, anything done, seek out someone with the gift of service.  People with this gift ask “What can I do to help?”
Teaching:  We all know those with the gift of teaching.  They have the ability to go into great detail explaining scriptures in the Bible.  This is because they spend a lot of time studying.  They love it.  They easily grab our attention and make us see how the point they are making, or the scripture they are explaining is relevant to our lives.  They are always asking, “Why is this situation the way it is?” or “Where did you get that information?”  They want to know the details.
Encouragement:  This is also known as the gift of exhortation.  People with this gift see others in need and it breaks their hearts.  They can also see the needs of people even when it isn’t obvious.  They build up those who stumble in their Christian walk, they affirm those who are doing well.  Many times these are the people you go to for counseling, whether it’s in an office setting or simply talking to them for a few minutes before or after church because talking to them helps.  People with the gift of encouragement often ask, “What can be done to keep everyone moving towards a Christ-like frame of mind?”
Giving:  This is another gift that is fairly straight forward.  People with this gift are excellent stewards of the resources God has given them, whether it be monetarily or otherwise.  They love giving.  They give so kids can go to camp, so the church can buy a new air conditioner, etc.  Often times they give for a specific purpose, but they always, always do it with a glad heart.  These people ask, “What can I give to help with the needs that are present?”
Leadership:  These people see the big picture.  They can see what needs to be done and set the goals to make sure the group gets there.  They have the ability to draw people, to motivate and organize them to carry out the ministry.  Leaders give vision and direction to the body of people, often times making each individual feel like an essential member of the team.  Leaders tend to ask, “What is the goal, what does the end result need to be?”
Mercy:  I have a deep respect for people with this gift.  People with the gift of mercy have the divine talent for forgiveness.  They minister to those who are suffering or unworthy and spare them from the punishment or consequences they should receive.  They can empathize with and console those in distress.  These people ask, “How can I make others feel better?”
I wish I could tell you spiritual gifts is an easy topic.  All you have to do is follow the chart; that once you find your gift in the far left column, you simply follow it straight across.  Unfortunately, I can’t do that.  You see, although someone may have the gift of leadership, that doesn’t mean they are supposed to be leading the church.  They may not like being in front of a lot of people.  Just because someone may have the gift of giving and are perhaps good with money, that doesn’t mean they are supposed to be on the benevolence or finance committees.  Figuring out what your spiritual gift is may take time, although I have story I would like to share with you that could help. 
There were 7 guests at the head of a banquet dinner during a church conference.  Quite conveniently each had a different one of the motivational gifts.  They had just finished with the dinner portion of the evening and some of the wait staff were beginning to clear the plates.  Another waiter entered carrying a tray of desert.  As he reached the table, one of the other members of the wait staff accidentally bumped into him, sending the deserts flying and landing all over the 7 guests.  The guest with the gift of prophecy proclaimed, “I could see this coming.  You can’t clear plates and bring desert at the same time.”  The motivation is to correct the life of the waiter.  The guest with the gift of mercy quickly followed, “Don’t worry; it could have happened to anyone.”  The motivation is to relieve embarrassment.  The one with the gift of serving jumped up and began cleaning the mess.  The motivation is to fulfill a need.  The one with the gift of teaching analyzes the situation and responds with, “The real reason the tray fell was due to the equilibrium.  See, of the seven deserts, five were on one side and only two on the other.”  The teacher’s motivation is to discover why it happened.  The guest with the exhortation gift pipes up, “It’ll be alright, next time serve desert with the meal.”  The motivation is to correct for the future.  The one with the gift of giving thinks a moment.  The key speaker has a ruined suit, the carpet is destroyed and the church was rented for the banquet.  The response is, “Here is my jacket, if you will still speak.  And, I’ll help with the first $5,000 for the carpet if you all can help cover the rest of the cost.”  The motivation is to give to relieve a need.  And finally, the leader.  The one with the gift of leadership starts speaking before anyone else has a chance.  This person begins calling out directions.  “Kris, could you go grab some paper towel.  Lybeth, would you mind getting some more deserts put together.  Nancy, could you play a hymn while we get this cleaned up?”  The motivation is to keep things moving in the right direction.  Which person are you?  What is your immediate reaction to the situation?  Would you analyze it to figure out why it happened or would you consol the waiter? (Basic example borrowed from Chip Ingram: Your Divine Design)
I believe I answered the questions to the test for spiritual gifts honestly.  I don’t believe my spiritual gift is tongues.  I don’t believe my spiritual gift is leadership either.  I think I am good at it, but what really gets me fired up, what I get excited about, is being of service to others.  If you need an extra person in with the kids at children’s church, or someone to help clean up the coffee pots after church, I’m your man.  If there is something I can do to help, I will do everything within my power to make sure it happens. You have a gift from God and he wants you to use it to serve Him.  What is your gift?  How are you using it?