Did you know that when you when you make that blessed decision and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is your helper and His goal is to transform you to become like Jesus. We call this process sanctification. Let’s look at one way the Holy Spirit does this. Which, is through spiritual gifts.

Isn’t it great to receive gifts? We tend to usually receive the best gifts from someone who knows us well. So naturally its only fitting that God has provided us with the best gift one could ever receive in salvation.

With salvation we are given a second chance in life. Isn’t that amazing!? Everything in life becomes new to you because you become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Your life begins to transforms and you become more like Jesus Christ day by day thanks to the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does this through many different spiritual gifts. Do all christians receive gifts? The answer here is yes. God gives gifts to us based on His will for our lives. A gift God wants us to open very badly. Imagine your father giving you a gift that you put aside and never opened. Your father would be really sad. This is how God feels about the gifts given to us. God wants you to open your spiritual gifts.

As children of God it should be our goals to become true disciples. A true disciple is someone who leverages the gifts given to them to help further the kingdom of God through ministry and service. Spiritual gifts are given to us by the amazing grace of God. They help empower us to fulfill God’s plan and will for our lives. Each of us may be given different gifts but we all have the same spirit(1 Corinthians 12:4).

This is why it is very important to never limit yourself and pass on an opportunity to minister because you don’t think you have the right spiritual gifts. If God is calling you to a specific ministry. Rest assured He will equip you for the work in that ministry.

The enemy doesn’t want us to use our spiritual gifts. So he will do everything he can to stop us. The enemy wants us to believe that we are not capable of doing effective ministry. It is his goal to confuse us and cause anxiety. Which, clouds our judgement. The enemy has control of you at that point making it really hard to do any effective ministry.

I have learned this the hard way many times. However, the key to remember is that God will keep opening new doors for ministry if you remain faithful and continue seeking Him. So if you missed an opportunity don’t worry. Get back up on your feet and pray. God will open that new door for you.

God wants to use us. Remember, Jesus chose to die for us. See John 3:16. He died because He felt we are worthy. See Romans 5:6-8. He not only believed we are worthy but He saved us do good works. See Ephesians 2:10. As christians we need to live a life where we submit and yield to the Holy Spirit. It is then that you will bear lots of fruit and realize you had spiritual gifts you didn’t even know you had! Remember we have the same spirit in us that raised Jesus from the dead!! See Romans 8:11.

Jesus is the perfect example of using spiritual gifts to do the will of the father. Jesus did many wonders (see John 2:1-11, John 4:46-47, Luke 5:1-11, Mark 1:23-28, Mark 1:30-31, Mark 1:40-45, Matthew 8:5-13, Matthew 8:23-27) with His spiritual gifts. One of his biggest spiritual gifts was His ability to lead and heal others. Jesus also used His gifts to serve others. Our ultimate goal of our gifts should be to use them to serve God’s purpose for our life. Jesus did this when he gave His life on the cross for us.

So my main point here is to never doubt yourself. Don’t back down from doing any type of service because you feel you are not ready. God will equip you when you are doing work for the kingdom of God. If you want to make a difference in this fallen world it starts with taking a chance and going out of your comfort zone. That is when God can truly use you for His glory.

Now let’s take a look at the different spiritual gifts.

Spiritual Gift of Wisdom.

When you are in Christ you go through the process of sanctification. This is the Holy Spirit working to transform you to be more like Christ. One way the Holy Spirit does this is by the use of the gift of wisdom which is the Word of God. It is up to you how you apply what you have learned. The Holy Spirit works as a helper when you need him the most(John 14:26-27). He helps you by discernment. When you are unsure of the right decision. The Holy Spirit will bring to your mind God’s word. This is how God speaks to you! As a result we have the ability to live wisely thanks to our renewed minds(Romans 12:2). It is up to us how we use our renewed minds. Do you want to hold all of your wisdom in or do what God wants us to do? Which is to go into the world and be the light and salt to this fallen world. We should be motivated to walk in wisdom in all we do as we never know who is watching us. When we walk in wisdom we can make a true difference in this world.

Verses to read - 1 Corinthians 12:8, John 14:26-27,Romans 16:19, Ephesians 5:15, Colossians 4:5, Proverbs 28:26

Spiritual Gift of Restoration.

We are restored by God everyday. When you are in Christ, God forgives your sins past, present, and future. That means everyday when you wake up you have a completely new slate. God’s mercies are new everyday (Lamentations 3:22-23). How great is that!?? God restores us by cleansing us from all righteousness (1 John 1:9). God restores us just like He did with Peter. Let’s think about what happened with Peter. Peter was in a bad place. He let down Jesus not once but three times. Peter had three opportunities to stand up for Jesus and he failed all three times. When Peter realized what he did he had a very troubled heart. This is not God wanted. A broken Peter is no heavenly good. God wants us to live the abundant life. He wants us to be filled with joy. He wants to be in good fellowship with Him. It is us up to us to seek to be restored. This is what Peter did and as a result he was able to fulfill God’s mission for His life. That mission was to establish the church of Jesus Christ. Without restoration and forgiveness this could have never happened. So remember Peter and always forgive others as you can be restoring them just like Peter was restored. So they can make a difference and fulfill the mission God has for their lives.

Verses to read - Luke 22:54-62, Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:13

Spiritual Gift of Faith

You always hear the saying “just have a little faith”. Believe it or not this is another gift of the Holy Spirit. Yes we can have faith without the Holy Spirit but the question there is what are you putting your faith into? Some people will put their faith in themselves, in their possessions or their finances. You will not get too far doing that. The most important object of our faith should be Jesus Christ. When we put our faith in Him and accept Him as our Lord that is called saving faith. Anyone can have saving faith. It’s the enduring faith which is what you want. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. The Holy Spirit gives you an extraordinary amount of faith. Which allows you to remain calm through any storm in life. As a result because of this faith you can bear fruit to others and help encourage them and create joy in the toughest situations. When I say you can have extraordinary faith this is not something that only a “superior” christian can have. This is something anyone can have. Whoever is in Christ can demonstrate faith that can move mountains. We have so many good examples of men and women of faith in the bible such as Abraham and Moses. To have extraordinary faith it takes knowing God’s Word and His promises. When you know His promises you can rest in them and be still. See Palm 46:10. When you are still that is when you can let God control your life truly. Remember as Christians we don’t walk by sight we walk by faith. See (2 Corinthians 5:7) When you walk by faith you can really help make a difference in this fallen world.

Verses to read - 1 Corinthians 12:9, 2 Corinthians 5:7, 2 Corinthians 8:7, Ephesians 6:16, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 2:22

Spiritual Gift to Teach

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Teaching is definitely a gift. It is not something that can be done easily. It is something that must be done when led by the spirit. When you are a teacher you need to make sure you are always setting a good example. Otherwise you will can come off as a hypocrite to a non believer. Take extra care to guard your mouth and your minds and let no corrupt talk come out of your mouth (Ephesians 4:29).

As a teacher you are held to a high standard. Think about when Paul went about teaching the gospel. He ended up facing a lot of opposition. Everyone tried to use his past wrongs to lower his credibility. However, Paul denied himself and let the Holy Spirit lead. Which, should be our goal. Yes even you could be an effective teacher. It starts with having faith, letting the Holy spirit lead you and teaching in love and truth. Most importantly you need to know what you are teaching. So spend as much time in the Word as you can. This way you are ready when God gives you an opportunity to disciple someone.

Verses to read - 2 Timothy 3:16, John 17:17, Romans 12:3-7, Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:2, 2 Timothy 2:24

Spiritual Gift to Help

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As christians it is in our heart to want to help others. Jesus was the biggest servant and He set the example for us on how to serve. Jesus came to serve not to be served. Wow imagine that! A king that didn’t want to use his power to help himself instead he wanted to help others. Talk about humility. This is the goal of helping others. You do it out of humility and out of love. The Holy Spirit works to change the desires of your heart. He gives you a supernatural desire to want to help. The Holy Spirit enables you to help someone by many means.

Healing is one way. When we are kingdom minded we can be confident in asking God for healing for anyone and believe it will happen. Whether it be physically, emotionally or spiritually. You have the ability to restore someone. You have the ability to heal someone thanks to gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is up to you to open that gift and use it for God’s glory. Remember the two big commandments Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40. Love God with all your heart and love others as you love yourself. When you love someone like yourself you want to help them with all your heart. This is when you can make a difference in their life.

Verses to read - 2 Timothy 3:16, John 17:17, Romans 12:3-7, Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:2, 2 Timothy 2:24

Spiritual Gift to Exhort

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Before I begin to discuss the gift of exhortation. Let’s look at the definition of exhort. What does it mean to exhort someone? It simply means to encourage them. What should we encourage others to do? We want to always encourage others to fulfill the purpose God has for their lives.

The christian life is a battlefield. The enemy is always trying to devour us and stop us from fulfilling God’s plan for our lives. See 1 Peter 5:8. This is why it is so important for us to stay in good fellowship with our sisters and brothers in Christ. I recommend always being in a small study group. This way you can be held accountable and you can hold others accountable. How can you encourage others in your group? The bible tells us we should love one another (John 13:34), be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10), honor one another (Romans 12:10), live in harmony with another (Romans 12:16), build up one another (Romans 14:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:11), Care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25), bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), forgive one another (Ephesians 4:2, 32; Colossians 3:13), be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32), consider others better than yourselves (Philippians 2:3), encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18), and pray for one another (James 5:16). These verses are called the one another’s and they are geared toward exhorting.

The bible is filled with many great exhorter’s. Let’s look at one. James was one of the biggest exhorters. The whole book of James purpose is encourage you to do what God is calling you to do and live a more righteous life. It is one of the most practical book’s in the bible. James was pushing the people of the church to not only be listeners of the word but doers of the Word (James 1:22-25). James was always encouraging his brothers and sisters in Christ in love to live the life God wanted for them. You can do do the same if you are doer of Gods Word. We can’t make a difference for the kingdom of God if we are only listeners. So go out there and exhort your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Verses to read - Hebrews 3:13, 2 Timothy 4:2-5, Romans 12:8, Hebrews 10:24

Spiritual Gift to Show Mercy

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Yes we as christian’s can show mercy. You may ask why should we show mercy?

The answer is simple because God shows us new mercies everyday (Lamentations 3:22-23). He expect us to do the same in return. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit who will help us show empathy to others. When we show empathy it is much easier to show mercy to someone.

You may say yea you don’t know what he/she did to me? How can I forgive them? You can forgive them because Jesus forgave you of every last sin you committed in the past, present, and future. How great is that!?

So I like to always say to not forgive and forget but to forgive and remember what Jesus did for you. One way you show gratitude to Jesus is by showing mercy to others.

So lets break it down. Why should I show mercy?

• When you show mercy to others Jesus will show mercy to you. See Matthew 5:7
• Jesus showed mercy to all people. One example is when he forgave the women who had committed adultery. See John 8:1-11.
• If we don’t show mercy we are harboring anger towards that person. When we have anger towards someone it will eventually turn to hate. When we hate someone we have already murdered them in our heart and have sinned. See 1 John 3:15.

Maybe you are saying now that you want to show mercy but have a hard time doing it. How does one proceed?

The answer is very clear. You turn to God and seek His power. You seek his mercy. You seek His meekness. YOu seek the Holy Spirit. When you deny yourself and keep a Christ centered perspective you will be able to show mercy to anyone.

Think about all the conflict right now in the world. If everyone just demonstrated a little more mercy to one another. The world would be a much better place. Remember it is not up to us to seek revenge or to try to judge others. There is only one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and destroy. See James 4:11-12. So isn’t it better to show mercy and throw everything at the feet of Jesus. This is what He wants. We can bring Heaven to earth when we show mercy to others.

Heavenly father. We thank you for giving us the best gift one could ever receive in salvation. We have this gift because of Jesus. Jesus was the perfect example on how to use spiritual gifts. His whole purpose was to fulfill your plan for our lives. Jesus came humbly and denied His majesty for us. He suffered and died for us. He loved us so much. Lord we want to be like Jesus. He is our role model and our Lord. He is our everything. Lord we ask for your help to empower us to use the spiritual gifts you have given us through the work of the Holy Spirit to be the salt and light in this fallen world. Help us to make a great impact. Help us to live your will for our life's. Help us to bring Heaven to earth Lord. Help us to be great disciples.

It’s in the precious name of Jesus Christ that I pray.

Amen!