“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit….But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”  1 Corinthians 4 – 11

In my home I have a small wooden carousel which was gift to me from my father.  He gave it to me many years ago when my children were young.  He meant for it to be a special gift that would bless me and those I love.  I would play it for the kids and they enjoyed the music and the small hand carved horses.  We would listen to it for a little while and then it would be placed back on a shelf.  As my kids grew, they became less interested in carousels and musical merry go rounds and eventually this gift found its way into a box and was placed in a closet.

I thought about the carousel recently as I prepared a sermon on spiritual gifts.  I thought about it because spiritual gifts have been given to all believers with the same intention by our Heavenly Father that the carousel was given to me by my earthly father.  Gifts are given to bless us and so that others might be blessed through those very same gifts.  The gifts we receive are meant to edify the body of Christ and yet many times, those gifts are simply placed upon shelf.  The music is not played, the carriage does not turn and the hand-carved horses don’t have the opportunity to light up a child’s face.

The Lord has gifted each of us in a special way with a gift that was chosen just for us.  Each gift is special because it was picked out by our Lord who knows us intimately and who longs to bless us greatly!

In recent years I have taken that small wooden carousel out of the box from the top of the closet and shared it with my granddaughters.  I have cherished this gift more than ever now that my father is not here with me.  I have put that gift to use again and begun to tell them stories about the love behind this gift and other gifts I have received from my father.  And I must say I have been blessed!

What gifts do you have that you are not using?  What gifts do you have which have simply been placed away and are gathering dust?  Take them out of the box, use them.  Tell of the great love behind those gifts and let the Lord use them to light up someone else’s face!

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How can you discover your spiritual gift?  Some people take assessments online or complete a checklist.  That can be helpful too but the problem with those is that we sometimes can mislead ourselves by guiding ourselves to the things we desire rather than the things God desires for us.  I think that discovering one’s spiritual gift is as simple as the ABC’s.  You can discover your spiritual gift by:

1. Ask!  Pray!  Ask God to help you discover your gift.  Ask Him to reveal to you how He wants you to be involved in His Kingdom work.  God will lead you and guide you.  It may take some time but the bible promises in the book of James 1:5 that “if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”  God will not keep your gift a secret from you.  He may allow you to grow and mature before He places you into a position of service and authority, but He will not keep your gift a secret from you.  Because personal growth is involved, we need to be involved in:
2. Bible study.  Study God’s Word.  As you read the bible and learn about the nature and character of God, you will learn about yourself.  As you learn the Word, you will better learn to hear God’s voice and He can more easily lead you and guide you in your life.
3. Callings are from God.  Listen to your heart.  God will give you a passion for certain areas of service.  God will speak to your spirit and He will place certain callings on your life.  He will draw certain things out of you.
4. Direction from others.  Listen to your pastor, to your Sunday school teacher and others that God places in your path.  God will use other people to lead you and guide you as well.  Other people will recognize the gifts that God has given you.  I remember it was almost 20 years ago that I had rededicated my life to the Lord and finally began to faithfully attend church.    We had been attending regularly for several months and I was so happy that I was singing loud – loud enough that people noticed.  I even hit a few notes every now and then.  After one service, I was approached by somebody who said they needed someone to fill in for them the next Sunday.  In the choir I asked?  No, they practically shouted – which I thought was rather inappropriate.  “Not in the choir!  Heavens no!”  They needed somebody to help teach Sunday School…. and they thought that I would be good at it.  I had never thought about it before.  It never crossed my mind.  But I listened to someone else, someone who saw something in me.  I tried it and I was blessed beyond measure.  And God in His grace continued to grow and nurture that gift and a passion for it within me.  Which brings me to my last suggestion on discovering your spiritual gifts:
5. Experiment and Try some things!  Look around in your church, your community, your family and see what needs to be done.  Try some things, pray, listen to God, listen to others, and you may be surprised how God will use you.

The truth is that God will use you.  He has blessed you with some gifts to edify the body of Christ and to benefit the Kingdom of God.  When you use those gifts you will be blessed.  And when you use those gifts you will be a blessing!

If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please feel free to email me directly at pastorpstephens@aol.com.