Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing all I can for God and for
furthering His message of love and salvation. Scripture tells us that we all
have received gifts of the Holy Spirit to be used for the building up of the
body. We find a list of spiritual gifts and their overall purpose in 1
Corinthians 12:7-11:
7 But to each one
is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom
through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same
Spirit; 9 to another faith by
the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of
miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of
spirits, to another various kinds of
tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all
these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
The purpose: for the common good. It is clear that not
everyone is given the same gift. Each is given a gift that they may be part of
the edification of the church. In Acts 21:10-11, we see one example of one
man’s giftedness.
As we were staying there for some
days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt
and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says:
‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and
deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”
I came to question whether or not I was using the gifts the
Holy Spirit has given me. Here’s a man, Agabus, exercising the gift of
prophecy. Basically he proclaimed the truth already told to Paul, that he would
suffer many trials in his work for Christ. This is not a new prediction in the sense
that it’s something no one’s ever heard before. God gave this message to Agabus
to prepare Paul for the specifics of what was to come. So, what is the
definition of a modern day prophet? In looking at various sources the most
simple, and I believe very accurate, description said, “I think in
over-simplistic terms, you could say a prophet is a truth teller.”
Agabus was certainly that.
Back to the question of whether or not I am using the gifts
God gave me . . . through various people and various gifts of the spirit
inventories, I’ve been called a modern day prophet. My first impulse is to run
and hide. Telling the truth to people who don’t necessarily want to hear it can
be a rough job. However, another way to look at it, is that I’m just repeating
the truth of Scripture as the Holy Spirit leads. I don’t usually know when I’m
doing it. I just share from what God’s been showing me, and somehow it ends up
being the truth someone in the “audience” needed to hear. So, in a way, as was
pointed out to me by a friend, I am using that gift through this blog and
through the notes I send to people via snail mail and technology. So, running
and hiding is not really an option the Holy Spirit has given me.
I may also have other gifts (we all usually have at least a
couple), but this one scares me the most. It’s a big responsibility to
regularly/always tell the truth. Fortunately for me, I have a truth-guide. I
have the Word of God. If I’m just saying what the Word says, I’m assured of
telling the truth. I have to be careful to accurately handle the word of truth
(2 Timothy 2:15) and I need to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance as what to
share. Like I said, I often don’t even know when I’m doing it. That’s all the
work of the Holy Spirit. I don’t set out to preach specific messages to
specific people. I let God make all those arrangements.
What are your spiritual gifts and are you open to using them
for God’s glory and for the building up of the church? Just something to think
about.
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