Romans Series – Spiritual Gifts

Last week we asked, “What is reasonable worship?”  And what we found wasn’t us doing some sort of organized meeting on Sunday morning.  What we found is that the worship is us.  You where you are, loving the Father, is the definition of worship.

This week we will find that God is driving you for very special purposes.  This is the definition of spiritual gifts.  And a spiritual gift is something that is not for you, but it is to serve the needs of others.  Spiritual gifts can come in two types.  Residential gifts are ones that live in us all the time.  But most gifts are situational.  They are given by the Father to effect the specific moments that we find ourselves in.

Paul is saying that we have a place of mind where we are allowing God to work through us.  He uses the term “sober judgment”.  We are not to think more highly of ourselves.  If we think that we are being elevated higher than we are, how can we allow God to work where you are?  We aren’t to compare us to others, to criticize ourselves or others, but to stay clear minded on God’s will in the moment we are in.

So as we don’t think highly of ourselves, we are asked to go further.  We don’t even below to ourselves.  We are called to be a body of Christ and we exist to be a part of that body.  Not on our own, but in service to the body.  When we put our faith in Christ, we each below to one another.  Paul gives us an example in .  The church body is unique in the world.  We walk together.  We don’t have a pastor who just tells everyone what to do or that that person has all the answers.  But the pastor instead learns from the congregation as well.  And if there is a disconnect, where the pastor thinks of themselves above or more important, the body is disjointed.  The congregation needs the pastor, but the pastor needs the congregation.

You are gifted differently than the person next to you.  You are uniquely gifted in whatever unique situation God has placed you in.  You don’t need to be looking over the shoulders of others, and others don’t need to be looking over your shoulder.  Paul is going to list some gifts, but this is not an exhaustive list.  It is to show some of some of the gifts that God bestows on His people.  Some may ask why God doesn’t just snap these results into place.  But we are told that God has chosen to work through His people.

All of these things are to show that God will equip you in the moment. You don’t have to go through this list trying to see which one you have, which one you want, or which one you need.  You can be confident that if you are in a situation needing a specific gift, God will equip you.  If we look specifically at the statement, “if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”  Many times the gift of mercy, if you are not aware of your gift, could lead Christians into depression.  Many times when the gift of mercy is present, you will become aware of the hurting of others.  But instead of leading you into prayer, lifting those hurting into the Father’s hands, you might find yourself trying to fix all the problems.  And what happens is that you start reflecting the hurting inside yourself, which can lead to depression.  That is why we are to do mercy cheerfully.  Lift up those situations to God, and be cheerful in knowing that God is at work.

You are able.  God has equipped you.  Don’t doubt by saying you haven’t been a Christian long enough, or that you don’t understand something.  Know that you will be equipped in the moments, and watch how God will work!