Did you know you had 7 distinct gifts given to you at birth?
Intriguing? Well here is even more intriguing. Where do you think the following expressions come from?
1) He’s/she’s a born leader
2) There’s not a negative bone in his/her body?
3) He would give you the shirt of his back?
4) She wears her heart on her sleeve?
There are three more expressions but I do not want to beleaguer the point.
First, let’s try to understand GIFTS in general. The Scriptures clearly indentify that the Godhead (Father, Son, Spirit) are actively involved in the giving of gifts. Each Member of the Godhead delivering gifts of a particular type and for specific reasons or purposes. The following Pic will show you the breakdown.
This division of Gifts is found in (1 Corinthians 12: 4, 5, 6)
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (KJV)
4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which works all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is …
My purpose today is to zero in on the Gifts of the Father. I may touch on the other gifts another time.
The Fathers Gifts are given to every individual who walked on this planet as stated in verse 6 above. (All in All) This is because the Father is no respecter of persons and has created all equally when it comes to these particular gifts.
The verse also states that they are gifts of operation. In other words we all have the capacity to operate or exercise anyone of those gifts. The preamble to these gifts is found in Romans 12 and in this portion of scripture we find Paul admonishing the brethren. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Here he entreats us to lay our lives, our egos, our agendas on the altar of sacrifice so that in turn we SERVE without encumbrance our fellow brothers, our neighbours and all those we encounter in life.
The Gifts of the Son (Eph. 4:4-13)
Now before I get into each gift of the Father, let’s see how they differ from the gifts of the Son and the Spirit. In verse 4 & 5 of 1 Cor. 12 we notice that the Gifts (Callings) of the Son are Administrative in type and according to Eph. 4:4-13 they are for the Body of Christ alone. Their purpose is for the
1) perfecting of the saints,
2) for the work of the ministry,
3) for the edifying of the body of Christ
4) Till we all come in the unity of the faith,
5) and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
6) unto a perfect man,
7) unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
The Gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12)
As stated in verse 7, these Gifts are manifestations. They come and go at the will of the Spirit. They are not given at birth nor are they learned along the way. They are bestowed at appointed times and on specific individuals at the will of the Spirit. (see Vv 11) The most misunderstood and controversial Gift being “Speaking in Diverse kinds of tongues”. Alright, enough said, let’s talk about Romans 12.
The gifts listed are:
Prophesying (to proclaim, to perceive), Serving (ministry, hospitality), Teaching, Exhorting, Giving, Ruling, Showing Mercy.
Do you see yourself possessing these 7 gifts? I’m not saying you are comfortable in exercising each gift but you have certainly served in them at one time or another. For example, I know I can show mercy because I have in the past given a particular circumstance. But if you ask me, would I rather read a dry history book or go visit someone at the hospital, I’ll take the book any day. That is because my dominant gift, out of the 7, is Teaching, and the teacher loves to read because he picks up knowledge and facts that he can refer to when called to teach, to train or to make some kind of presentation. And so the Teacher is often identified as “one who’s head is always in the books”.
Let’s look at them individually.
Gifts of the father
The Prophet
This individual with this predominant gift is comfortable with public speaking . Matter of fact, he is usually the one that holds the conversation at parties. He loves the platform and is proficient in vocabulary. Preaching to 10,000 only gives him a bigger platform as opposed to most of us would have a case of the nerves. This individual can talk the hind legs of a donkey. He also has a hidden ability of perception. Call it a sixth sense, I don’t know but this one seems to know when something is just not right. One danger of this predominant gift is to preach to the masses while forgetting the individual.
The Server
This individual is always doing something and it doesn’t matter what the task is. They enjoy contributing in any way they can. They are behind the scenes where they go unnoticed mainly because they do not like the limelight. They shy from leadership but excel in help and support of any kind. They are usually the fixer upper or Jack of all trades. Many women have this dominant gift and when invited into their home they will serve and treat you as royalty. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do or they are always fixing something. One danger for this person is to seek recognition for all the things they do.
The Teacher
This individual is usually a lonely individual. The teacher does not have many friends. That is because the teacher does not see or believe in grey. Everything for them is black or white and this often grates on people who therefore distance themselves from them. But they are not affected by this because they always have an interesting book. Interesting to them is boring for most. Yet their gift allows them to dissect the Word and wring out every bit of truth that can be had. Their aim is to get your thoughts and mind straight with God. They are always in the books or their heads in the clouds. The big danger for them is the pride that comes with the accumulation of God’s truth and knowledge. The Exhorter
This person always has something good and positive to say. There is no such thing as failure. They are usually the one you want to punch in the face when you want to sleep in and they’re spitting out:”Rise and shine, it’s a beautiful day. The birds are singing, the sun is splitting the rocks, what more could we ask for?” A conversation with them will take you out of the dumps and put you on top of the world. A danger with this person dominant gift is to forget that life is not just about positive attitude and sunshine. They are encouragers and the best encouragement is to stand on God’s promises while you seek His will in any circumstance.
The Giver
The giver, as stated above, will give you the shirt off his back. Giving is not a matter of money; it’s a matter of need. Many who have this dominant gift have the ability to multiply money. They understand money concepts and are great at producing it. But at the core of this gift, money has no hold. Money becomes fluid through their hands as God leads them to give unselfishly. They are also givers of time, resources and whatever else could help in a time of need. One of the dangers for this individual will be how they handle the money.
The Ruler
This one will always choose the positions of leadership, responsibility and oversight before signing out as a helper. He/her sees the big picture and knows comfortably how to get there. They enter a room of chaos and soon have everyone tasked and ready to go. He/she has a hard time to delegate and when he/she does he/she wants to micro-manage. She/he is often reviled if she/he is not gracious in her leadership. The danger here is to rule with an iron fist or without compassion for the ones that actually make him/her look good.
The Shower of Mercy
Many women are Showers of Mercy. That is because the depth of emotion required for this individual is hard to achieve for men. The compassionate empathetic voice of this person is an oasis in a desert or the eye of a great storm. Their sensitivity to people’s feelings is discerned even from a distance. They have no fear to shed a tear with the downtrodden as they can rejoice with the sudden fortunate. One danger of this gift is becoming super-sensitive at things said or remarks made.
Final IMPORTANT note
Remember that all these gifts have been given to us each one in different degrees. We must be willing at any moment to operate in the necessary gift as different situations arise.At any time you are the Prophet, the Server, the Teacher, the Exhorter, the Giver, the Ruler, the Shower of Mercy to a hurting and dying world.
People in the world also have the gifts but they are used for themselves, not for the Lord.
If you have difficulty finding your dominant gift, you will find that it is the one you are most comfortable to operate in, it may also be the foundation of your joy; it may have influenced many of your decisions in life.
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