God’s gifts and talents
Ephesians 4:22 NLT
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church:
The apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
1 Corinthians 12:8-11
The Spirit gives to one the gift of the word of wisdom.
To another, the same Spirit gives the gift of the word of revelation knowledge.
9And to another, the same Spirit gives the gift of faith.
And to another, the same Spirit gives gifts of healing.
10And to another the power to work miracles.
And to another the gift of prophecy.
And to another the gift to discern what the Spirit is speaking.
And to another the gift of speaking different kinds of tongues.
And to another the gift of interpretation of
tongues.
Romans 12:6-8
God’s marvelous grace imparts to each one of us varying gifts. So if God has given you the grace-gift of prophecy, activate your gift by using the proportion of faith you have to prophesy.
7If your grace-gift is serving, then thrive in serving others well. If you have the grace-gift of teaching, then be actively teaching and training others.
8If you have the grace-gift of encouragement, then use it often to encourage others. If you have the grace-gift of giving to meet the needs of others, then may you prosper in your generosity without any fanfare. If you have the gift of leadership, be passionate about your leadership. And if you have the gift of showing compassion, then flourish in your cheerful display of compassion.
1 Peter 4:10-11
Every believer has received grace gifts, so use them to serve one another as faithful stewards of the many-colored tapestry of God’s grace.
11For example, if you have a speaking gift, speak as though God were speaking his words through you. If you have the gift of serving, do it passionately with the strength God gives you, so that in everything God alone will be glorified through Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 1:6-7
I’m writing to encourage you to fan into a flame and rekindle the fire of the spiritual gift God imparted to you when I laid my hands upon you. 7For God will never give you the spirit of fear, but the Holy Spirit who gives you mighty power, love, and self-control.
Pastor Joseph mentioned several times that we need to rekindle the fire of a spiritual gift during sermons. He also emphasized the importance of utilizing and developing talents.
He told me that we need to utilize our gifts and talents. He said there are both innate and acquired gifts and talents. You can easily know your innate gifts and talents. You are naturally good at them.
He said that when it comes to acquiring gifts and talents, you will have to challenge yourself to try new things. For example, I edit videos for the church. Pastor Joseph said, editing video is an acquired talent for me. I had to practice and learn.
Even serving in a physical capacity can be a gift or talent, such as cleaning, organizing, taking in your brothers and sisters in Christ into your home, and helping them out until they can be on their feet, and more. Being generous is also a gift.
People want to preach, teach, rap, sing, and dance on the altar. Yes, doing those is ok, but you need to learn to serve as you do the things that people do not want to do.
I found myself enjoying doing Pilates. It is an acquired talent that I will use for God’s kingdom. Pastor Joseph said, “Keep on seeking new gifts and talents. If you already know what your gifts and talents are, use them actively. God is watching you. You don’t want to end up in hell, neglecting and being lazy about it.”
Pastor Joseph said that if we fail to utilize our gifts and talents, we will end up in hell. Yes, it sounds cruel, but it is very biblical.
Matthew 25:24-30
‘“Then the one who had been entrusted with one thousand gold coins came to his master and said,
‘Look, sir. I know that you are a hard man to please and you’re a shrewd and ruthless businessman who grows rich on the backs of others. I was afraid of you, so I went and hid your money and buried it in the ground. But here it is—take it, it’s yours.’ “
But his master said to him,
‘You’re an untrustworthy and lazy servant! If you knew I was a shrewd and ruthless business man who always makes a profit, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? Then I would have received it all back with interest when I returned. But because you were unfaithful, I will take the one thousand gold coins and give them to the one who has ten thousand. For the one who has will be given more, until he overflows with abundance. And the one with hardly anything, even what little he has will be taken from him.’
“Then the master said to his other servants,
‘Now, throw that good-for-nothing servant far away from me into the outer darkness, where there will be great misery and anguish!’ ”’
The one-talent Lazy servant was full of fear, angry, resentful, jealous, and greedy, and because of such things in his heart, he had no motivation to faithfully and diligently use his assigned task.
You and I, we all need to seriously think about it. I’ve been reflecting on it ever since I had a conversation with Pastor Joseph about it. Are you passionately serving God, His people, and the church with your gifts and talents?
Are you actively trying new things to expand the kingdom of God?
May we love the Lord with a passionate heart, and may it manifest through our actions.
Senior Pastor Yoojin Kim
Additional Comments:
You know who you lazy ones are? Let us awaken!
Senior Pastor Steve Kim