Spiritual Gift: Service

Today we are continuing in the spiritual Gifts in the way that makes the most since to me.

The way that makes the most since to me is from 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

1 Corinthians 12:4–6 CSB

Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person.

Different gifts (charismata)

Different ministries (Diakonion)

Different Activities/manifestations (energamaton)

Gifts flows into ministries which shows itself in different activities.

Last week we looked at people who God has gifted with the motivational gift of Prophecy.

Prophecy is the divine enablement to proclaim God’s truth with power and clarity in a timely and culturally sensitive fashion for correction, repentance, or edification. Ability to reveal God’s word. -Chip Ingram

Romans 12:3–8 CSB

For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

Today we are going to talk about Service as a motivational gift.

Like prophecy everyone of us have been called to serve, we all are able to serve in the ability and gifting that we have. Diakonion (Dee - ak - o -neon) is the Greek word for service found in Ephesians 4. We often look so heavily at service ministries we for get to ask why. Healing, tongues, teaching, prophets they are the things that take up our attention. I have found that if we don’t ask why we often go astray, loose interest, burn out, just aren’t happy doing it.

When we look at the spiritual gift of service we are not looking at the spiritual discipline of service. The Discipline of service

A. W. Tozer put it, “Fellowship with God leads straight to obedience and good works. That is the Discipline of Service

The Gift of Service

Service is the divine enablement to attach spiritual value to the accomplishment of physical tasks within the Body of Christ. Ability to demonstrate love by meeting practical needs that releases other Christians for direct spiritual ministry. -Chip Ingram

People with this gift often ask: “What can I do to help?”

Don’t need much recognition, don’t seek the high lines, work behind the scenes

They often like manual projects, unusual ability to detect people's personal needs. These are the kind of people that walk in your house or there's little conversation and they come back around later and they give you something you're thinking, well, how did you even know about that? Will you mentioned it three months ago when we had dinner and you're going? I don't even know. I needed that.

They just really attuned to meeting the practical needs of people.

They're able to overlook personal discomfort in order to meet other people's needs and will often use their own, is to make things happen, because they want to serve

Some of the dangers.

They can be bitter. When their deeds are not recognized, they don't need a lot of limelight, but when they get none, it's kind of like, hey, does anybody care? And by the way, these are the most neglected people in the body of Christ in the church.

When you go to your church, this weekend, you don't see them, but they really make it happen. Someone got in early, someone turned on the lights, someone clean things, someone folded the bulletin, someone type something, someone's watching the kids, someone fix the van, someone's helping the single moms, someone's doing repairs at night.

These are the kind of people that are where the spirit of God meets the practical needs. Where the rubber meets the road.

Another danger is putting an over-emphasis on practical needs to the exclusion of spiritual needs in life.

Because that is what this motivational gifts are, they are the lens you see the world through. Every decision, every conversation, every committee. I don't care what we're talking about, we can talk about money, we can talk about church, we can talk about families. What the lens I'm gonna look through is your motivational gift.

For someone with the gift of service it is, how can we serve them? How can we help them?

What needs to happen.

I can name a few people with this gift in this church right now. If you are active in this church you probably know them too. If you are just a consumer of church you may never know they exist.

How does Service Manifest?

The gift of Service manifest itself through different ways. It might be teacher, It might be evangelist, it might be miracles, healing, helping. because it is asking the question how can I help? And YHWH will use that motivational gift to Diakonion to the world around you.

Is this you?

No that is OK. As where everyone can serve that may not be your gift. It isn’t mine. I do serve because of the job, because I care about y’all but it’s not my motivational gift.

Prophecy, Service teaching next week.

What is your gift?

Next week

Bibliography

Ingram, Chip. “How to Discover Your Primary Spiritual Gift.” Living on the Edge, 3 Dec. 2021, https://livingontheedge.org/broadcast/how-to-discover-your-primary-spiritual-gift/?type=broadcast.