Answer Yes or No to the following questions:
Gift of Preaching:
Do you like seeing people's lives touched and challenged?
Can you handle preaching hundreds of sermons without seeing fruit in the majority of your congregation?
Can you stand people leaving the church because of something you said?
Gift of Teaching:
Do you enjoy watching people learn and grow?
Do you mind people constantly arguing over your curriculum?
Can you watch as people you've taught for years fall away or into sin?
Gift of Evangelism:
Do you love seeing people come to Christ for the first time?
Do you love it so much that you are willing to be turned down dozens of times for each person that accepts your message?
Are you willing to be laughed at and scorned?
Gift of Healing:
Do you enjoy seeing people touched powerfully by the power of God?
Are you willing to pray for healing over and over again, despite not seeing anything?
Can you have faith for people in situations where they have none for themselves?
Gift of Prophecy:
Do you enjoy being able to help give people's lives direction and purpose?
Can you handle people thinking your words are wrong for months or years before it comes to pass?
Are you willing to trust even the faintest leading fom God?
Gift of Service:
Do you like being able to help others in tangible ways?
Do you mind if you are consistently taken for granted?
Are you willing to help even in areas you are not gifted in?
Gift of Miracles:
Do you like seeing God do powerful things in people's lives?
Do you mind praying until something happens, even if no one else believes it's possible?
Do you mind stepping out in faith multiple times before God backs your prayers up?
Gift of Intercession:
Do you enjoy having an impact on cities, regions, single lives, or world events?
Are you willing to have your heart constantly broken for the things that break God's heart?
If God wakes you up to pray for something, would you pray with all your strength or just roll over and go back to bed?
If you answered "yes" to all three of the questions under the specific gift, you're a good candidate for it!
I think you get the point I'm trying to make... I think it's inherent in our culture somewhere - we love surveys that tell us more about who we are. Frankly, I don't think God cares that much about your spiritual gifts or who you think you are now. However, I think He's terribly interested in who you can become and who you are in Christ!
After taking those tests, I can remember walking around and comparing "top three" gifts with people. Some people scored top marks on about half the gifts and others had nothing that stood out well. Years later, neither of those mattered. It was the people that were willing to push through and sacrifice to serve God with their gifts that had the most powerful gifting. It's just like the parable of the "talents" - if you use what you have well, more will be given to you and if you don't use it, it will be taken away. God's specifically looking for people who will use their gifts to serve others regardless of the cost to their own reputation or pride. It's no surprise that in Paul's 3 chapter talk about spiritual gifts (1 cor 12-14), an entire chapter is devoted to love and how to use the gifts in love.
God's not looking for people who are naturally gifted - He's just looking for people who will use their gifts for His purposes! It doesn't matter what spiritual gifts you have now nearly as much as it matters which ones you are willing to fan into flame (2 Tim 1:6-7).
I think the most important thing to remember in the elusive hunt for spiritual gifts is that God is wants to give spiritual gifts! Luke 11:11-13, "You fathers - if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Twice in the 3 gift chapters in 1 Cor, Paul says to eagerly desire spiritual gifts. I can't tell you how many people in my small groups have had a prophetic word given through them or seen someone healed and then just thought, "that was cool" - the gift just went into storage next to the yoyo and guitar you have but never learned to use. God gave them the gift but they were never willing to put the time in to learn about it and use it. It's like getting a bicycle on your birthday and being really happy about it, but never learning how to ride!
Gift of bicycle:
Do you like going really fast and feeling the wind in your hair?
Are you willing to learn, even though you are going to fall and look silly a lot until you become adept?
Are you ok with falling or having an accident every once in a while?
If you answered yes to all three questions above, you're a good candidate for a bicycle! If you answered no, even if you have a bike already, this gift will just be collecting dust in the corner.
So yeah, stop taking surveys and think about how you would be willing to serve God, even if it gets difficult at times, then pray for those things! And if you know your gifting but don't use it, go into your attic, dust it off, and start using it again!
Do you enjoy having an impact on cities, regions, single lives, or world events?
Are you willing to have your heart constantly broken for the things that break God's heart?
If God wakes you up to pray for something, would you pray with all your strength or just roll over and go back to bed?
If you answered "yes" to all three of the questions under the specific gift, you're a good candidate for it!
I think you get the point I'm trying to make... I think it's inherent in our culture somewhere - we love surveys that tell us more about who we are. Frankly, I don't think God cares that much about your spiritual gifts or who you think you are now. However, I think He's terribly interested in who you can become and who you are in Christ!
After taking those tests, I can remember walking around and comparing "top three" gifts with people. Some people scored top marks on about half the gifts and others had nothing that stood out well. Years later, neither of those mattered. It was the people that were willing to push through and sacrifice to serve God with their gifts that had the most powerful gifting. It's just like the parable of the "talents" - if you use what you have well, more will be given to you and if you don't use it, it will be taken away. God's specifically looking for people who will use their gifts to serve others regardless of the cost to their own reputation or pride. It's no surprise that in Paul's 3 chapter talk about spiritual gifts (1 cor 12-14), an entire chapter is devoted to love and how to use the gifts in love.
God's not looking for people who are naturally gifted - He's just looking for people who will use their gifts for His purposes! It doesn't matter what spiritual gifts you have now nearly as much as it matters which ones you are willing to fan into flame (2 Tim 1:6-7).
I think the most important thing to remember in the elusive hunt for spiritual gifts is that God is wants to give spiritual gifts! Luke 11:11-13, "You fathers - if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Twice in the 3 gift chapters in 1 Cor, Paul says to eagerly desire spiritual gifts. I can't tell you how many people in my small groups have had a prophetic word given through them or seen someone healed and then just thought, "that was cool" - the gift just went into storage next to the yoyo and guitar you have but never learned to use. God gave them the gift but they were never willing to put the time in to learn about it and use it. It's like getting a bicycle on your birthday and being really happy about it, but never learning how to ride!
Gift of bicycle:
Do you like going really fast and feeling the wind in your hair?
Are you willing to learn, even though you are going to fall and look silly a lot until you become adept?
Are you ok with falling or having an accident every once in a while?
If you answered yes to all three questions above, you're a good candidate for a bicycle! If you answered no, even if you have a bike already, this gift will just be collecting dust in the corner.
So yeah, stop taking surveys and think about how you would be willing to serve God, even if it gets difficult at times, then pray for those things! And if you know your gifting but don't use it, go into your attic, dust it off, and start using it again!
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