Finally, here are some last words regarding Spiritual Gifts and their use in the church.

First, resources…

  • Tim LaHaye wrote a book years ago called Spirit-Controlled Temperament. That was my first introduction to this sort of topic.  Even though he does not spend much time on gifts, I find this a very helpful resource.


Please realize that sometimes studies like this can absorb more of our time than is profitable for the body of Christ.  The other area which can be unproductive is Prophecy and the End Times.  I don’t want you to be overly concerned or over-absorbed into trying to find your gift.  God gifts us in order to build up the body (as Buddy discussed Sunday) and our job is to be free and available to be used in whatever capacity God opens the door for us to serve.  The KEY is to be open to serve in ANY capacity!  God will gift you with what you need at the time (Mark 13:11).  Too many times in the past, we would pine away trying to figure out our gift and then only do what we thought that perhaps we were gifted for. That is not how it works.  God calls us and then equips us for that calling.

We must be careful that we do not make God look like us and frequently the spiritual gift inventories I have seen sound more like personality tests.  The best way we can tell that we’re working within a gift God has given is if we KNOW that we must have God working in us for that gift to really work and provide fruit.  God is the one who must give the increase, remember?  Not us.  If I can take a test and it says, “you’re good at technical stuff and being a deacon” then that doesn’t say much.  Some of that is my personality.  Please understand that our personalities, experiences, heart, and education all play into this (ala SHAPE), but don’t count out what God intends to do through you in a supernatural way.

I am not sure that the “Ministry Information” classes, spiritual gift inventories, etc. have done what they should have to increase spiritual growth and promote service in the church.  When I was on a team here at the church which tried to analyze and promote this, after about three years we sat around a table and looked at who was serving before the classes and after the classes had been in place for three years.  Do you know what we found?  Basically the same names we had when we started.  We had a hard time seeing a significant increase in the numbers or participants in ministry.

Why was that?  We had great teachers (minus myself).  We had great material (the Bible, and other spiritual gift instruments).  We had promotion and backing from the pulpit.  We had TONS of people moving through the classes.  So what gives?  Why did more people not serve?  They were armed with more information and knew how they could serve.  We could show them real, live places where they could serve but it didn’t seem to work.  Why?

I think it goes back to my first point on Monday: WE MUST BE CALLED.  Do you want to know your gift?  I am becoming more convinced that you won’t know it until you put yourself out there and say, “GOD CALL ME.”  Take a look at Isaiah 6.  Isaiah was a man of “unclean lips” (he was not fit) and lived in a land of people with unclean lips (no one else was either).  But even though God had scores of angels there in His presence, He asked, “Whom shall I send?”  Isaiah was ready to serve God.  How do I know that?  Because God took his sin away.  YOU ARE READY TO SERVE IF YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED.

Have you said, “Here am I LORD, send me?”  It’s not just for preachers anymore!