God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10
Recently, I found an unused Starbucks gift card that someone had gifted me. Of course, I was thrilled to discover this gift card and use it. After all, gifts are not meant to stay tucked away and unused. They are meant to be opened and enjoyed. On an even greater level, Scripture teaches that God has given each one of us “spiritual gifts,” which are gifts from the Holy Spirit, such as sharing our faith, serving, teaching, and so much more. Like any good gift, spiritual gifts are given to us for a purpose.
Throughout the New Testament, we learn about the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit gives followers of Christ. The apostle Paul taught about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. In this passage of Scripture, Paul reveals that spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit to everyone who places their faith in Christ. These gifts include hospitality, teaching, wisdom, discernment, and more. These gifts do not come naturally to us. They are a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.
Like any good gift, spiritual gifts are given for a purpose, not to be kept to ourselves. Peter gives us insight into what that purpose is in 1 Peter 4. He writes, “God has given each one of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts” (verse 10). He then continued to explain how we are called to respond to these gifts from the Holy Spirit. He wrote, “Use them well to serve one another” (verse 10). Our gifts are given to us to serve others, especially those in the body of Christ, the church. When we use these gifts to serve those around us, we point them to Christ.
My friend, we were never meant to keep our gifts to ourselves. We were meant to give our gifts to others by serving them with our gifts. How specifically has God gifted you? Think about this question. If you need help, ask your friends and family. They will know! After thinking about the gifts God has given you, make a plan for how you can use these gifts to serve the church.
What spiritual gifts has God given you that you can use to serve others? Maybe you have the gift of making people feel welcome, teaching, encouraging others, or something else. However, He has gifted you; commit today to using these gifts specifically at Sagebrush. Go to Sagebrush.church/serve for more information about how to serve at Sagebrush. Ask God to help you as you seek to use your gifts to make His church stronger.
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
1Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
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