Did you know that there are at least 10,000 different species of birds throughout the world? There are song birds, water birds, birds of prey, even birds that can’t fly. The crows, eagles, and vultures clean up the dead animals along the road and in the woods. Just imagine all of the dead animal carcasses that would be everywhere if those birds weren’t there to clean them up. You have the falcons, who are some of the fastest flying birds in the world, some reaching speeds of almost 200 mph (321 km/h) when in a full dive! And then you have the penguin, a bird who cannot fly, but can swim with incredible speed down in the ice cold Antarctic. The hummingbird, while on it’s quest for nectar, acts as a pollinator, distributing pollen from flower to flower.
All of these birds, whatever shape and form they come in, have a purpose. They each have their own special ability and gift that they use everyday. And while their gifts and abilities may be different from each other, at the end of the day they are all still birds.
Our Lord God has created many, many different gifts, and He has distributed them to His believers. To someone He may have given the gift of tongues, and to another He may have given them the gift of preaching and teaching. And still to another He may have given the gift of prophecy. To each person God gives different gifts and abilities, to be used to help each other in the church to grow.
John the Baptist, for example, used his gift by baptizing others and telling others about the coming of Christ. Peter had the gift of healing, as well as preaching, and he used the gifts that he had been given and helped others. The Apostle John had the gift of prophecy, and wrote the book of Revelation, writing about the things that we need to look for so that we can know when the second coming of the Lord is near.
“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-12
Whatever different gifts that have been given to others in the church, they are all a part of the same Holy Spirit.
And just like another gift we have been given, the gift of God’s forgiveness, we don’t want to let our gifts go to waste. We don’t want them to be like an old dusty book on a shelf that never gets read. If someone is a talented musician but doesn’t play an instrument, their gift isn’t being used, but instead lies dormant. We need to use our gifts to help others, and to build them up in their faith.
God gives His gifts to everyone who believes in His Son, Jesus. What’s your gift?
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 