In my last post I hope I stimulated you to want to find out what Spiritual Gifts the Holy Spirit has given you. In this post I want to share my story and history with Spiritual Gifts.
From second grade on I was very shy and introverted. When I was in the Navy I purposely did not move beyond E-3 because I knew I would have to be more responsible. I did not begin to take on more responsibilities until I was 38 years old. This was a full 6 years after I accepted Jesus as my savior and after I went through 5 years of a speech club called "Spokesman Club". Even though the church I was attended did not believe in the gifts of the Spirit I began to grow by serving. In 1991, 8 years after accepting Jesus and being baptized, I was ordained as a deacon.
For the next 10 years I served and then one day the Holy Spirit moved a pastor to have me lead some servers. The more I served the more I found myself also leading. Then one day I found out that a friend was in the hospital with a growth on his heart. He was going to need surgery which had a 50/50 chance of success or death. When I visited him in the hospital we talked and just before I left I asked him if I could pray for him. I simply prayed this simple prayer, "Father, we come before you to ask for your will to be done and may the outcome glorify you. In Jesus name amen." That was it.
An interesting part of this story is I had just lost my job and so I had the opportunity to visit my friend and then to be there the next morning to sit with his wife during the operation. After about 45 minutes into the pre-time the doctor came out his face ash white and asked his wife for some private time. Of course we all thought the worse. After about 5 minutes they came out of the room and she came to us with tears in her eyes. She stopped in front of us, smiled, and shared with us how they did a sonogram and found no trace of there having been a growth. There would be no need of an operation.
I believe God healed my friend. That was four years ago and I have never experienced that happening again. I believe that because I was obedient in using a gift the Holy Spirit gave me, service, He gave me a temporary gift of healing. I look at gifts like this as situational gifts. As i use my main gift the Holy Spirit brings in my life opportunities to use other gifts as He chooses to give. 1 Corinthians 12: 11 (Message) All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.
I want to remind you that whatever your main Spiritual Gift is it is not your ministry. Out of that one gift springs ministry. For example with me: Out of my Spiritual Gift of serving sprang a "Moving Ministry, a Men's Ministry and a Men's Small Group".
I will be the first to admit using the Spiritual Gifts God has given out is risky and sometimes gets me into sticky or uncomfortable situations. I would not trade those experiences for anything. I encourage you to take the plunge and see what the Holy Spirit does in your life as you use your main gift in service of others and for the His glory.
I would love to hear your story about what God is doing in your life.
1 comment:
Seems the Holy Spirit grows us often times by pushing us into unexpected situations! The other day my friend told me that an unbelieving co-worker came into the break room and just point blank asked 'what's the deal with Jesus dying for sins?' in front of about 8 other people. No time to prepare, or look at his Bible, just jump in the deep end!
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