Rich Bailey is pastor of Curry’s Chapel Church.
In last week’s column we talked about spiritual gifts. The real question is how can you best meet your expectation to serve?
The most effective way to fulfill the command of Jesus is to know what your spiritual gifts are and then use those gifts for the glory of God. A spiritual gift is a special capability given by the Holy Spirit to every member of the Body of Christ, according to God’s grace, for use within the context of Jesus’ expectation to serve.
The list of spiritual gifts shown in the Bible verses and passages referenced below consist of action, enabling and charismatic attributes.
Ephesians 4:11: apostleship, prophecy, evangelism, shepherding, teaching
Romans 12:6-13: prophecy, ministry (helps/service), teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership/administration, mercy, love, hospitality
1 Corinthians 12-13: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, interpretation, apostleship, teaching, helps, governing (administration), giving
1 Peter 4:8-11: love, hospitality, prophecy, ministry
According to C. Peter Wagner’s book Discover Your Spiritual Gifts, there are at least 25 spiritual gifts. It behooves you to determine your unique subset of gifts and learn to apply them to bring honor to Christ.
APPLYING YOUR GIFTS
Pray for revelation: God will reveal our gifts through His Holy Spirit. Believers should pray and study what God says about gifts in His Word. We should also remember God uses other believers to affirm our gift.
Match your gifts with ministry opportunities: Once gifts are discovered, the next step is to act on that discovery via ministry opportunities.
Spiritual growth: Your spiritual journey as a follower of Christ began the moment you admitted personal sin and placed your trust in Christ as Savior and Lord. From that point, until death or the return of Christ, your life’s call is to grow in Christlikeness. God expects His children to grow spiritually, and His Word encourages personal examination as an element of growth.
YOU MUST ACT
You can only fulfill your obligation and expectation to serve as Jesus requires by taking action. Only when we act can we change the lives of individuals to aid Jesus’ ministry to bridge the great chasm that separates us from God. In so doing, we become active participants in Jesus’s ministry of reconciliation through grace.
MAKE KNOWN THE EXPECTATION TO SERVE
I do not know any pastor who does not feel the need for more leaders and ministry participants in their church. Thus, it is important that we all make known Jesus’ expectation to serve. Every pastor, leader and member should be impressing upon every member of their congregation and fellow believers that Jesus has given us an expectation to serve our fellow believers and all others to the best of our abilities. It is important that everyone be aware they are expected to serve in order to fulfill the commands and example of Jesus Christ.
There are many resources available to assist you on your exploration of your expectation to serve, along your ministry journey with Christ.
C. Peter Wagner, Andy Reese and others have written extensively about spiritual gifts. You can also take a spiritual gifts inventory such as the Wagner-Modified Houts Questionnaire to discover your unique subset of gifts.
If you desire personal guidance for your exploration of your expectation to serve, feel free to email me at [email protected]. I believe strongly in Jesus’ expectation to serve and am willing to assist you (lay or pastor alike) to become a full participant in Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation through grace.
May God’s blessings be with you as you seek Him!
As I usually end these columns: Will I see you in church tomorrow?
Rich Bailey is pastor of Curry’s Chapel Church. This weekly column is written by local clergy members.
