What are Spiritual Gifts?
20 Jun 2022, by in SpiritualQandADiscovering God’s Design for You in Ministry
The Parable of the Coffee Spill
One Sabbath day there was a coffee spill in the church fellowship hall. The following is an account of what happened next.
Prophecy stood on a chair and began to caution people to not step into the spill and slip and run the risk of hurting oneself. Then prophecy began to proclaim that although coffee is a marvelous blessing from the Lord, too much of it can distract a person from their devotion to the Lord as many a person has been led astray by the distraction that too much of a good thing can bring.
Teacher began to gather a group of people together and explain just how coffee spills happen. To insure that coffee spills are avoided in the future, teacher highlighted a simple 15 step process which will guarantee safety and the preservation of our valuable coffee resources.
Exhortation saw that the coffee spill could turn into a major problem and began to reassure everyone that no one was hurt and that we were all going to make it through this difficulty together. A loud, “We’re in this together” was heard reverberating through the bowels of the church.
Generosity saw the commotion and pulled out a $20 bill to cover the cost of the spilled coffee and to make sure that a little extra was available to buy more coffee. Generosity was always ready to provide coffee to those in need.
Leader mobilized a team to respond quickly and efficiently to the problem. Leader instructed one person to cordon off the affected area to keep unsuspecting coffee drinkers from getting the spilled coffee on their shoes, one person to make sure that more coffee was brewing, and one person to mobilize a prayer team for the coffee spiller to pray for them for inner healing if necessary.
Mercy quickly came to the aid of the coffee spiller and made sure that they knew that coffee spilling happens to us all. Mercy began to describe how something similar happened to them just a few months ago and that they knew how the coffee spiller was feeling.
Meanwhile, when Servant saw the coffee spill take place, they calmly went and got a mop and cleaned up the mess before everyone else had finished with their responses.
What is the meaning of the parable?
God has given each one of his people spiritual gifts for the purpose of ministry. All of the gifts are needed for God’s family to function properly. Let’s celebrate God’s gifts and use them for his glory so that his family can become the kind of family God has designed us to be.
God wants you to know what your spiritual gifts are! There are two reasons for this. The first is so that your spiritual family can grow. That’s right: they are gifts that are meant to be given away! Second, when we use our spiritual gifts we are blessed and encouraged ourselves. We were made by God for ministry, so finding and using our spiritual gifts is an important part of God’s design.
How Do I Discover My Ministry?
Understanding your spiritual gifts is the first step toward discovering your ministry. There is an acronym which is used to describe the five different components which go into determining a person’s ministry. S.H.A.P.E. stands for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experience. Each of these unique aspects of your life contributes to God’s design for you in ministry.
In addition to discovering your S.H.A.P.E. for ministry, you will need to understand the nature of ministry, the purpose of ministry, and the priority of ministry in order to be used as the Lord has designed you. During our membership classes we study all of these, but getting connected with your ministry doesn’t just automatically happen after classroom learning. Trial and error is an important part of the discovery process. Sometimes you just don’t know what fits until you try it on!
So wherever you find yourself with regards to spiritual gifts and ministry, we encourage you to take the next step. Take a membership class. Become involved in a ministry of the church. Start discovering your ministry today!
