Therefore I remind you
to stir up the gift of God
which is in you through
the laying on of my hands.
For God has not given us a
spirit of fear, but of power
and of love
and of a sound mind.
2Timothy 1:6-7
The question that many Christians ask themselves is; what is my gift? Another question then is: How can I use my gift? There is a desire that is prevalent among Christians to have a gift and will often go to extremes to find that gift seeking such an answer that often leads to misuse and a misunderstanding of spiritual gifts. There are schools teaching such things as "supernatural gifts" and students from all around the world in search of the above questions will pay huge sums of money to find their gift. Books on this subject are many with worksheets, and questions, and methods to find ones strengths. They might help, but many spend thousands of dollars to find the answers they so seek. For some this search leads to depression, a sadness that overwhelms them as they seemed not to find that "special" gift. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with these books but I fear that many are mislead and spend money unnecessarily when the answers are to be found more simply. It is not wrong to attend schools to learn the Bible and to be taught such things as history of the Bible and to become leaders within the Church, but, to charge to learn "supernatural gifts" is wrong and the Bible gives clear understanding that this method is not from God. Read Acts 8:9-24 and see exactly why to charge for these gifts is opposed by the Apostle Peter: "Then thy laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon (the sorcerer) saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.' But Peter said to hi, 'Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! you have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God" (Acts 8:17-21). These "supernatual gift" schools are nothing more than a personification of Simon. Study the life of Simon and you will find exactly how he turned out.
How then, can a person realize their gift? Must an Apostle or Church leader lay their hands on a person before he can receive the gift of the Spirit? Some say that this is so. Paul made it clear in the opening Scripture that a person has the gift(s) within in them and the fact that Paul laid his hands on a person was to give to that person an unction to "stir up that spirit." If those at Pentecost did not have laying on of the hands of the Apostles, yet received the Holy Spirit, then this laying on of hands is not required, it is an anointing for a person to use what God has given.
The first then in regards to knowing your gift is to recognize that God gives gifts and He wants you to use your gift(s) and your talents. He wants those gifts to be used for His glory, not that He needs this glory, rather that by means of your gift people come to know Him and recognize that there is a God, a personal living God. Secondly, to discover your gift there must be careful and thoughtful prayer. We pray that God will guide us to know our spiritual gift. We must have no reservation in our using of our gift. Why give knowledge of our gift if we have no real intention on using it, no matter what the cost? We need to face our fears that God may call us to do those things which we have been reluctant to do, i.e., teach a Sunday School class, hold a Bible study in our home, etc. A third investigation as to our gift(s) is to know what the Bible declares and teaches about spiritual gifts. There must be Bible study on our part. Fourthly, we must step out of our comfort zone and find out what our abilities are, what circumstances in our lives that have led us one way or the other. How have those gifts emerged in our lives? Try different situations, and use other people to help us, be a good listener and then we will find that our gift(s) will become evident, not only to you, but to others.
This process to know our gifts is a lengthy one and can often lead to discouragement, that is why those schools that promote "supernatural gifts" are so often attended, people are looking for some quick answer, a fast track to find their gifts. God wants us to use our gift(s) but until we understand our gifts, have made the effort to find our gifts, by the methods described above, then we will be ready for God to use us. We must be submitted to the Lordship of Christ then we will be blessed and ready to bless people with our gift(s).
Accept that gift(s) that God has given to you and use it as fully as possible. We may be called to serve in position of great influence, or we may serve in some humble fashion, you may be called to use your gifts as a homemaker a most important use of God's gift(s). We are to be devoted to God, to His Son, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us: "but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all..." (1Corinthians 12:7).
The groundwork has been laid and we have a basis upon which we can examine those listed gifts. This will be the work of the next blogs.
Therefore, since we have
this ministry, as we have
received mercy, we do not
lose heart.
2Corinthians 4:1
We walk by faith
Richard L. Crumb
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