{{2009_09_23_t1.jpg}} {{2009_09_23_t2.jpg}} {{2009_09_23_t3.jpg}} [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/de/doku.php/jn_de_2009_09_23|Deutsche Version]] [[Start|| Wiki Start]] [[topics_collection_i|| Topics Collection i ]] ======Spiritual Gifts 3 - Discover my gifts.====== Wednesday, Sept 23, 2009. How do I discover my spiritual gifts? How do I know what the Holy Spirit wants to do with me? How do I learn to use what God has given me? There are basic questions which every Christian asks at some point. When we come to faith we want to explore the place which God gives us to live with him and his people, so serve and to evolve! Discovering my spiritual gifts can be an exciting path. It is just great to see God in action. The spirit is something fantastic. And we learn a lot about God, about ourselves and about this world when we "walk the path of faith". {{2009_09_23.jpg }} As a first step we need to make an important note. We cannot discover spiritual gifts, if we are not believers. To be a part of God's agenda, we need faith in Christ. We first need to come to faith in Jesus. Of course faith is much more than a decision point, it is something which is working itself out on a daily basis. But it starts with the decision that I want to give my life to Jesus, that I want to live in him and that I trust him with all I am and all I have. When I make this important decision and tell it to God in prayer, when with this decision the spirit comes to me, there will be spiritual gifts to discover. From now on the spirit is in my heart to teach and to guide me. The best way to discover my spiritual gifts is to sincerely follow the Lord. Often the Holy Spirit puts things onty my heart. I want to help a particular group of people, I just cannot get rid of the thoughts about them. They are in trouble, they need help. Then I should try to follow this pull and go ahead in faith. I will learn how the spirit can use my words, my actions, my person and my means to change things. I need to be open to learn and to change when I follow the Lord. I need to be realistic and observe what happens when I act. I will probably not have the spiritual gift of leadership, if no one ever follows me. I will not have the gift of prophecy if I just do not know what the Lord wants to say, though I might long to stand up in a group and be important (as many of us do). I might not have the spiritual gift of encouragement when people are not really encouraged by my words and actions. It is important to know that also spiritual gifts need training and experience. When we have the gift of teaching or evangelism, we still need to practice a lot to make progress. We need to learn things, need to train them, need to practice and gain experiences. We still need to attend courses to learn more, need to study and need to be criticized by other people, we need correction and we need to work together with a group to reach the goals which God wants to reach with us. {{ 2009_09_23_2.jpg}} Spiritual gifts will be a part of a greater picture. God gives them to us to make progress with our whole church and with the whole of mankind. Spiritual gifts are not for showing off, not for a one-man-show. They are gifts for the community. They are gifts to serve and pass on. We will talk about the role of the spiritual gifts in our churches and communities tomorrow. [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/en/doku.php/topics_collection_i|... more texts]]