How To Begin Sharing Spiritual Gifts The Right Way
It is so exciting to discover which spiritual gifts we have been blessed with! Once the excitement wears off, we sometimes flounder around a bit.
Some of us will prayerfully wait to use our newfound spiritual gifts. Others will immediately jump right into some type of ministry. But which way is best? What would God have us do next?
KNOWING YOU HAVE GIFTS IS NOT ENOUGH
First, acknowledging that we have spiritual gifts and confessing them with our mouth is only the beginning. It is not enough to stop there or the seed God has planted in us will shrivel up and die a premature death.
In 1 Corinthians 19-20, Paul says "...I will know not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power." So just saying that we have been given such and such gift is simply not enough.
We know from James 2:26 that faith without works is dead. This means that we have to put action to our words. In this case, the action is stepping out in faith and beginning to operate in your spiritual gifts.
For Additional Reading: You were created for a purpose
EACH GIFT AND ITS PURPOSE IS UNIQUE
The process and timing of stepping out to use your gifts will look different for each person. It could mean a church ministry of some sort, something you create and do from your home (like a small group Bible study or a ladies group), an organization or person that would be blessed, etc. It could mean your ministry starts soon (think of Paul in Acts 9:19-20) or years from now (think of Joseph from the Old Testament).
BEFORE MOVING FORWARD TO OPERATE IN YOUR GIFTS:
Regardless of what your ministry will look like or when God releases you to begin operating in your gifts, keep in mind that there are certain things you should do before moving ahead.
PUT ON YOUR ARMOR
When you determine to accept who Christ created you to be and to walk in the anointing He has given you, you will catch the attention of our enemy and you will go under attack. That is why one of the first things you need to do is to pick up and put on your spiritual armor before operating in your gifts.
Satan doesn't fight fair and you cannot defeat him in the flesh. Your spiritual armor must be in place. (Ephesians 6:11-17). This isn't a one and done thing. Just as you put on new clothes daily, you must put on your spiritual armor daily.
GUARD YOUR TIME WITH GOD
YOUR BIBLE TIME
Time spent with just you and God is invaluable. Determine to spend the majority of your time in God's Word instead of commentaries, blogs, or even preaching/teaching. You need to clear your head of all other voices to hear from God yourself. He has many things to say to you.
A Bonus Tip: As part of your study time, find others in the Bible who might share your gift. What did they do right and wrong? How did God respond? What can you learn from their example?
YOUR PRAYER TIME
Prayer doesn't have to be fancy-sounding words said out loud. Talk to God as if he were standing right in front of you attentively listening...because he is! He said he would never leave you or forsake you. So guess what? He is with you in the bathroom, at work, in the car...everywhere you go he goes. He is intently watching you, guarding you, listening to you.
Talk to Jesus and practice listening for his gentle voice. Pray for ears to hear and a spirit to know.
Spending time with God in his Word and talking with him is vital to your walk. What a shame it would be to win the world and lose your soul because you didn't make your relationship with Christ Jesus a priority!
For Additional Reading: Finding a devotional time that works for you
BE WILLING TO ACT
This is a matter of the heart and can't be faked. Holy Spirit can give you every gift He has to offer but if you aren't willing to put feet to those gifts when he tells you to, the gifts are useless to you and everyone else.
God will not give you a spiritual gift and a way to use that gift if there isn't a need he wants met. There is a reason He shows you the need. He could have chosen to share the need with anyone else. But he chose YOU.
SET YOUR PRIORITIES
If not done properly, operating in your spiritual gifts can quickly inflate your ego and eat up your time. Many ministries have gotten themselves in trouble simply because they allowed their God-given priorities to get out of order. The best way we can prevent that is to passionately guard our priorities as God has given them to us. They are:
GOD
Too often we are so busy working for God that we forget God. Your personal relationship with God is your most precious gift and your highest priority. Nothing will ever top it. You must protect that relationship. As you seek him FIRST, all else follows (Matthew 6:33).
YOUR SPOUSE AND CHILDREN
After God, your priority is with your spouse and then your children (Ephesians 5:22, Ephesians 5:25). Regardless of what else God has called you to, loving on and ministering to your family is your primary ministry. Too often, our spouse and children are expected to take a backseat and accept our leftovers because we are so busy ministering to God's people. We forget that our family is God’s people too. Shoving our family aside to get to a more significant-looking ministry is not God's desire for us, our family, or his church! (1 Timothy 5:8)
YOUR CHURCH
Your next God-given priority is your church family. I read recently that 20% of the people do 80% of the work in a church. That is sad when you realize that God has given 100% of his people his spiritual gifts to share with others.
However, you might be in a place that you just can't minister at church right now because it would put your God-given priorities out of order. Don't allow condemnation to force you to realign your God-given priorities. Even Jesus had times he had to get away from ministering to the masses and rest his soul. Remember, God's yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30). If you are in a season that you cannot minister to others at church, take heart. Your season won’t last forever. Soon God will move you out of your current season into the next.
EVERYONE ELSE
As God uses you (and the gifts He has blessed you with) to bless and minister to his people, it might feel like "small potatoes" to stick with the priority list God has given us. But God has his reasons. He says in Zechariah 4:10 that we shouldn’t despise small beginnings, that He rejoices to see them begin.
If our small beginning excites God, shouldn’t it excite us too? After all, He knows what is ahead of us. As we stick close and follow him, God will slowly release us to expand our reach to bless others outside of our family and our home church.
GIVE OF YOURSELF WHERE YOU CAN, WHEN YOU CAN
Since our gifts are meant to be given away, be willing to give of your blessings (yourself, your time, and your spiritual gifts) as you can (2 Corinthians 8:12), giving generously as you determine in your heart to give (2 Corinthians 9:7). God expects no more and no less from his children.
FINAL THOUGHTS
We are told in 1 Corinthians 12:1 that we aren't to be ignorant regarding spiritual gifts. Taking your time and not rushing ahead of God is so vital, as are protecting your relationship with him and keeping your priorities straight.
But when you feel the Holy Spirit's nudge to take that step of faith and begin sharing your spiritual gifts as God intends, keeping the above 5 godly principles in mind will allow you to be a tremendous blessing to the body of Christ!
YOUR TURN
Have you discovered your spiritual gift(s)? Have you begun to share them to bless your Christian brothers and sisters? What was it like the first time you stepped out in faith and began to bless others through your gifts?