Monday, October 31, 2011

The down payment has been made

The down payment is the Holy Spirit.  He gave us himself as a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance.  I love how we learned that basically the Holy Spirit was like God giving us an engagement ring.  What a beautiful picture!  We also learned this week that with the Holy Spirit we also received spiritual gifts.  I personally love how while we all receive the Holy Spirit, we also receive unique spiritual gifts that are specific to us.  This makes me feel singled out and so special.

It is so important for us to be able to identify our spiritual gifts so that we know how we can bless the body of christ.  Beth Moore said in this lesson, "My spiritual gifts were given to me but are not for me."  We were given these gifts to use them! Let's not rob each other from receiving the benefits of our spiritual gifts.

In Romans 12:6-8 we recieve a call to go use OUR spiritual gifts and be what we were made to be, not trying to be something we aren't.  The use of our spiritual gifts should energize us, not drain us (Rom.12:3-5).  I love how Beth Moore called us out to stop being such wimps.  If we are easily discouraged we will never be profoundly used or deeply effective (Ouch!).  Satan's primary objective is to make me ineffective and he specifically knows what will cause me to backdown or go sit on the sidelines.  Does this cause you to get fired up?

Questions to ponder:

What are your spiritual gifts?
How can you use your spiritual gifts to edify the body of christ?
Are you able to recognize and call on the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of you?    

1 comment:

Val Arington said...

I was fired up by the last teaching when Beth said that since my gifts were for the benefit of other believers, when I didn't share them, I was robbing the body of Christ! Wow! It's not just like a nice idea to serve if or when I feel like it but a command by God to get busy and use what He has given me to serve others now!

I also was really struck by her statement that Christians are the most capable people because we have the Holy Spirit in us. There is no excuse for feeling inadequate and insecure when I look at the truth of Who lives within me! I want to do a better job identifying my gifts and serving others through the power of the Holy Spirit in me!

At SonRise, we offer CLASS 301 to help you find your SHAPE to serve. It's the same idea as knowing your boundary lines, the property that has been entrusted to you, and fully harvesting your field. If you haven't gone through the CLASS, I highly recommend it!