Buddy Champion’s sermon yesterday spurred a little discussion from a couple of people at FBCT about spiritual gifts.  Let’s start this discussion…

So you want to know your spiritual gift?  That’s a good thing.  It shows that you want to be useful in the body of Christ and do your part to encourage others in the church.  I love talking about gifts and I have spent a lot of time looking at it over the years.  I thought Buddy did a great job on the sermon and I applaud Amy for taking the courage to share her experience in leading a child to Jesus!  That makes all this worth it.

What about gifts?  How many gifts do we have?  How do we get a gift?  Why do we care about this?

First of all, it’s not entirely clear if we have only one or more than one gift.  But hear me carefully, don’t limit yourself to what you THINK you are “gifted” to do!  Read 1 Corinthians 12 carefully.  Then read Ephesians 1.  It is God who calls and gifts and he will gift you AS He calls you.  Kind of sounds like “OJT” – On the Job Training – doesn’t it!?

In Ephesians 1:18, Paul says, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”  Paul did not want the people to know the “gift” they had been called to, he wanted the Ephesians (and US) to know the HOPE God has called us to.  What is the hope?  Our inheritance.  What (WHO) is our inheritance?  Jesus Christ.

So the first thing you and I need is a call from God.  It doesn’t matter WHAT He has called us to, just that HE has CALLED US.  I know  I’m “yelling” a lot by using capitals, but this stuff is AWESOME because the Maker of the Universe as come to us and put orders upon us to use us for His glory and His purpose.  Why would we reject that?

So with that out of the way, first KNOW YOUR CALLING, then LOOK FOR YOUR GIFT.  If you don’t have a calling, don’t worry about your gift.  Get called.  The gift will come.

What has God called you to do?  Are you resisting it?!