Spiritual Gifts Part 2

1. SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE SPIRITUAL ABILITIES Natural Talents are not necessarily Spiritual Gifts Spiritual Gifts are God empowered abilities You identify a Spiritual Gifts through noticing how the power to minister, comes from another source, outside yourself…

Spiritual Gifts Part 2 1 Corinthians 12:1,4–6 (NIV) 1Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed…4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Spiritual Gifts Part 2 2. SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE DISTRIBUTED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT Spiritual Gifts are the work of the Holy Spirit in our life. God has a Spiritual Gift for every person The nature of a gift is unique.  We don’t determine them  We can’t choose them, earn them, qualify for them.  Someone else chooses a gift for us, that’s what makes it a gift.

Spiritual Gifts Part 2 There’s 3 elements to every gift we receive…  Sense of excitement at the knowledge that you’ve received a gift…  Process of exploring what the gift is…  Then, there’s the using of the gift

Spiritual Gifts Part 2 3. SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE GIVEN TO BUILD UP THE CHURCH In Ephesians 4:11-16 we see that… Spiritual Gifts belong to the church where everyone benefits. Spiritual Gifts are not private & exclusive but communal & corporate. Given so that everyone may be equipped for ministry & the church be brought to maturity We all have a role to play – If we don’t use our Spiritual Gifts the body suffers, we hold back the potential of the church

Spiritual Gifts Part 2 1 Corinthians 14:12 “Since you are eager to have SG, try to excel in gifts that build up the church’ Spiritual Gifts promote unity not uniformity Unity isn’t achieved by being alike, it is achieved by working together for the same purpose. Acts 4:32 “All the believers were one in heart & mind” 1 Corinthians 12 - Paul uses the metaphor of the Body as a great illustration of how many parts must function together for the one purpose.

Spiritual Gifts Part 2 GIFT ASSESSMENT TOOL (This is a guide only - there are no right or wrong responses - just be as honest as you can be) GIFT ASSESSMENT RESPONSE SHEET Respond to each statement indicating the degree to which it is true of you. 3=Consistently, definitely true 2=Most of the time, usually true 1=Some of the time, once in a while 0=Not at all, never IMPORTANT: Answer according to who you are, not who you would like to be or think you ought to be. How true are these statements to you? Or, to what degree do these statements reflect your usual tendencies?

Spiritual Gifts Part 2 My Shape S - Spiritual Gifts ________________________________ H - Heart/Passion ________________________________ A - Abilities _____________________________________ P - Personality __________________________________ E - Experiences _________________________________

Spiritual Gifts Part 2 CONCLUSION There are many churches praying for a miracle, revival to grow their churches Their miracles are often seated in the seats each Sunday Churches that don’t promote Spiritual Gifts are like fully able bodied people who choose to use a wheelchair

Spiritual Gifts Part 2 CONCLUSION Churches are crippled, without their people discovering & using their Spiritual Gifts God wants us to be a fully mobilised church, an athletic, fit, lean, built for speed & not comfort church. This will only occur as we realise that we all have a gift & a role to play

Spiritual Gifts Part 2 PRAYER…