Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts!
Julie Fink
Here’s a great lesson you may wish to share with your ladies group.
We are going to discover something very fascinating about you . . . We are going to discover your Spiritual Gifts!
What are Spiritual Gifts?
Spiritual gifts are special talents that the Holy Spirit bestows on every born again Christian after they get saved. They are not the same as natural talents, and it is quite possible for a Christian to have a talent, and not the corresponding spiritual gift. Using your talent to serve the church will often get the practical job done, but your talent would lack the Holy Spirit power to advance the work spiritually.
What gifts does the Spirit give?
Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12 mentions the many spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit has distributed among God’s people since the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We will be focusing manly on discovering our task or service gifts and a few of the motivational gifts as well. Here is a list of the twelve gifts that we are focusing on tonight:
Administration/Ruling
Discernment
Evangelism
Exhortation
Faith
Giving
Helps/Service/Ministering
Knowledge
Mercy
Pastor/Teacher
Teaching
Wisdom
Why are they given?
The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 14:12 that our Spiritual Gifts are given to us for the purpose of strengthening the faith of others and edifying the local church. I Peter 4:10-11 says, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
This is certainly a brief overview, but I believe it is enough to explain to us what a spiritual gift is and how it should be used.
What are we supposed to do with them? We are supposed to serve our local church with them!
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It will take about 20 minutes for the ladies to take the test and then tally their scores. When they are finished, give each one of them a 3×5 card and have them put their name and top three “gifts” down to keep on record.
Then take the time to explain what each gift meant, and how they can use this gift to benefit the local church.
Spiritual Gift Definitions
Administration/Ruling
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit enables certain Christians to organize, administrate, and promote the various affairs of the local church’s ministry to direct them effectively. A local church cannot grow beyond a certain point without the ministry of these individuals.
Discernment
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit enables certain Christians to know with (without a doubt) whether a statement or behavior is of God, Satan or man.
Evangelism
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit enables particular Christians to share the Gospel to unbelievers and burdens other Christians about soul-winning. All Christians are called to witness for Christ whether they have the gift or not.
Exhortation
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit enables certain Christians to deliver challenging and encouraging words.
Faith
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit provides Christians with great confidence to believe and expect great things from God.
Giving
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit enables certain Christians to accumulate and give large amounts of their finances to the glory of God.
Helps/Serving/Ministering
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit empowers certain Christians to render practical help in both physical and spiritual matters. Serving one another, like evangelism, is a calling of all Christians, but there are some who have a special desire to serve, and receive great blessing from it.
Knowledge
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit gives certain Christians the supernatural ability to understand God’s Word and to effectively communicate it to others.
Mercy
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit enables certain Christians to minister to and have compassion for those suffering or afflicted.
Pastor/Teaching
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit enables particular Christians to communicate and clarify the details and truths of God’s Word for others to learn.
Teaching
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit enables particular Christians to communicate and clarify the details and truths of God’s Word for others to learn.
Wisdom
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit empowers particular Christians with a supernatural understanding of God’s Word and the will to apply it to life situations.
Then award the prize to the woman that had collected the most bows, and then enjoy a time of food and fellowship.
At the end of all this, talk a little about how each gift is important, and how no gift is greater than the other. All are needed for the effective work of the local church.
This exercise can turn out even more encouraging to the ladies than even you think it would be. Taking the test and discovering that they have certain gifts will give them a unique feeling of purpose and position in your local church. You will look forward to doing this kind of thing again with them in the years to come.
This article “Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts!” by Julie Fink is excerpted from Ladies Touch Newsletter, Nov. 2007.
