Spiritual Gifts 101: Overview
Rob Cutshaw, was a rock hunter with a small roadside shop in Andrews, North Carolina. He sold the rocks to tourists, collectors, and jewelry stores. From experience he knew which rocks would sell, but depended on professional appraisers to determine their value.
One day Rob found a sparkling blue rock that he described as “purty and big.” Cutshaw tried unsuccessfully to sell the rock and decided to hide it in his house. He thought the rock might sell for $500, but was willing to take less to pay his power bill. It’s a good thing he didn’t sell because the rock turned out to be the most valuable sapphire in history. “The Star of David” weighs almost one pound with an estimated value of $3 million dollars.
It may be hard to believe, but you are far richer than Rob Cutshaw. If you’ve accepted Christ, you are wealthy beyond measure with all the resources of heaven available to you. At any moment, you can ask in His name for whatever you need and He will give it to you. “We are certain that God will hear our prayers when we ask for what pleases him. And if we know that God listens when we pray, we are sure that our prayers have already been answered” (1 John 5:14-15 CEV).
God has given spiritual gifts to all believers. Christians are not supposed to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. Unfortunately, many believers treat their spiritual gifts like buried treasure – unknown, hidden, and unused.
George Barna found that 78% of self-identified Christians have heard about spiritual gifts; unfortunately, only one-third of those people are actually using them. Where are the other two-thirds? Why aren’t they using their spiritual gifts? And why haven’t the remaining 22% at least heard about spiritual gifts?
Spiritual gifts are the buried treasure of the Church. God gave them “…to prepare God’s people to serve and to build up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12 NLT). It’s vital that all believers – 100% – know and use their gifts. If even one believer doesn’t, the Church isn’t as strong and effective as it could and should be. Spiritual gifts are the untapped resource of the Church.
The rest of this series will us a Q & A format to answer some important questions regarding spiritual gifts.
© 2013 Designed to Serve®
Dr. Steve Lake is a retired educator with over 30 years experience in the American public schools. He has served in a variety of position, including teacher, elementary school principal, junior high principal, Associate Superintendent, retired from public education as Superintendent of Schools in Lincolnwood, IL. He has his Bachelors, Masters and Doctor of Education degrees from Northern Illinois University. For the past 25 years Steve has attended and been a member of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington and Northfield, IL. At Willow Creek Steve has taught adult classes on spiritual gifts, life purpose, and spiritual disciplines. He has ministered overseas in Angola, Zambia, Honduras, Germany, and Russia. Steve is co-founder of Designed to Serve, a ministry that equips Christians to live out their unique God-given calling. Steve is married and has two adult children who are married.
