What Are Your Spiritual Gifts?

The current sermon series at my church is about spiritual gifts. Allow me to share some of the things that I’ve learned.

First, if you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit has given you at least one spiritual gift. God’s intent is that we use our spiritual gifts to build up one another and the entire Church.

Spiritual gifts are different from talents. A talent is a natural aptitude or skill, such as athleticism or artistic ability or (gasp!) math.

Spiritual gifts are also not the same thing as the fruits of the Spirit–what God desires our lives to exhibit with the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul lists the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23–love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

• Prophecy–boldly proclaiming the word of God (preaching and teaching)

• Knowledge-the ability to learn, know, and explain the truths of God’s Word

• Service/Helping–recognizing practical needs and joyfully giving assistance

• Hospitality–making visitors, guests, and strangers feel at ease

• Teaching–instructing others in the truths of God’s word

• Apostleship–looking beyond the church walls to carry out the Great Commission

• Faith–encouraging others to trust in God in the face of insurmountable odds

• Encouragement–motivating others to be involved in and enthusiastic about the work of the Lord

• Discernment–recognizing the true intentions of those within or related to the Church body

• Giving–giving freely and joyfully to the work and mission of the body

• Administration–organizing and motivating others according to achieve God-given purposes and long-term goals

• Evangelism–effectively leading others to Christ

• Leadership–motivating people to work together toward a common goal

• Wisdom–understanding and applying God’s teachings 

• Shepherding–looking out for the spiritual welfare of others

• Mercy–empathizing with hurting members and keeping others aware of the needs the church

There are four additional spiritual gifts which are not assessed in every survey–miracles, healing, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues. The rationale for not including these gifts in the assessments is that they are self-revealing. 

If you’re interested in taking a survey to help you discover your spiritual gifts, here are the links to three different surveys from three different sources. I took all three surveys, and the results from all three assessments were almost identical.

https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/women-leadership-spiritual-gifts-growth-service

http://brewsterchurch.com/resources/spiritual-gift-assessment

https://giftstest.com/test

I was pretty confident that I knew what my spiritual gifts were. I spent 30 years in education, both as a classroom teacher and as an administrator. So my spiritual gifts were obviously teaching and administration, right? Not quite. 

Spiritual gifts are not always aligned with a person’s vocation, mainly, I think, because most of us earn our livings in the secular world. Although as Christians we (hopefully) carry out our faith in our everyday lives, the sad reality is that we often do not apply our spiritual gifts in our worldly jobs. Talk about missed opportunities!

It’s one thing to recognize our spiritual gifts, but if we fail to use them, we deprive our fellow believers and we fail to build up the body of Christ. We are each designated, through our spiritual gifts, to make disciples, to bless others, and to glorify God.

What are your spiritual gifts? Are you matching your gifts with your ministry opportunities? Don’t hold back! You were born for this!