Receiving Gifts
I had a very full day yesterday and I know it was only by the grace of God that I was able to get some good rest and wake up this morning to worship, praise, and pray.
During my morning conversation with God, I heard Him say this:
Stop wasting time on the things that don’t concern me.
Be with who I want you to be with, not who you want to be with…in ALL of your personal and business relationships and friendships.
Do the work that I assign.
Serve where I lead you to serve.
Your purpose is for MY PLAN and MY KINGDOM EXPANSION.
Discover the gifts I placed in you and use them.
Stop entertaining stuff that has nothing to do with Me (and you know what it is).
Does what you do daily please Me?
Now when the Holy Spirit brings all this up in the conversation, it requires self examination. He is not just bringing it up just to be talking (you DO know that right?). When you look at all of this, it’s pretty much themed around living a purposeful life. It’s Holy Spirit saying, hey, I need you to focus on why I put you here, not all this other stuff that is taking up your time and your mind.
I opened my Bible randomly (of course He knew exactly where He would lead me and it wasn’t random for Him), to 1 Corinthians. I read until I landed between chapters 11 and 12. I didn’t know exactly what He wanted me to see, but I saw the words, self examination and then I moved in to chapter 12 and it was verse 4.
Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:4 CSB
I read through verses 4-11 where it talks about the variety of spiritual gifts given to us by God. Per my study notes in my Tony Evans Study Bible, a spiritual gift is a God-given and empowered ability to serve Him in ways that benefit others. You don’t choose the spiritual gift of your preference. The Spirit gives as he sees fit. He knows what you and His kingdom need better than you do, so trust him to supply you with the spiritual ability with which you can best serve Him and bless others.
It was almost like the Lord bolded the font on the words BEST SERVE. See we may be capable of doing many things. We may be gifted at doing many things, but which gift or what ability has God placed in you that allows you to BEST SERVE HIM and BLESS OTHERS?
In verses 5-11, it says:
There are different ministries but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God produces each gift in each person. A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person FOR THE COMMON GOOD: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues. One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He wills.
1 Corinthians 12:5-11 CSB
So out of those 9 gifts of the Spirit, have you discovered what gift or gifts the Spirit distributed to you?
As we approach Christmas, many of us will be giving and receiving gifts. Many of you will discover what the person who gives you the gift got you. You will open the gift and you will be excited (especially if it’s just what you wanted). You will be real excited if it fits you! Hmmm! Now imagine how excited you will be over THAT gift. Now I want you to imagine yourself discovering your gift of the Spirit!!! Remember, God gives as HE SEES FIT! Come on perfect FIT excitement!! LOL!
But what about those gifts that you open and decide to use for a special occasion? You open the gift but decide to set it aside and not use it. I know my Dad and his mother both will get brand new stuff and next Christmas roll around and they still haven’t worn the new pjs or t-shirts or whatever from last Christmas. It’s disheartening when you learn that you give someone a gift and they don’t use it. That’s exactly how the Holy Spirit feels about us. In verse 6, we see the that God produces gifts in each person!
Today, I want you to be encouraged to discover your gifts of the Spirit if you haven’t already. Then I want you to be encouraged to use them. But even more-so than that, I want you to use the gift that BEST SERVES God and blesses others.
SALVATION PRAYER
If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and you’re not a believer, but you have a desire to be, all you have to do is openly confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community, stay connected to other believers, and start having daily conversations through prayer with God every single day. Welcome to your new life with Jesus Christ!!!
ASSIGNMENTS
What did Holy Spirit say to you in your conversation with Him this morning?
What ability (gift) has God placed in you that allows you to BEST SERVE HIM and BLESS OTHERS?
What gifts have you been given that can be used in the church?
Record yourself reading the word of God on video or audio and watch how God will use your own voice to give you revelation and build your faith (keeping this assignment on here for a while).
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