THE GIFTS IN YOU, MARCH 16TH 2025

One writer said that Christian life revolves around three different zones: These zones determine how happy and productive you will be.

1.     Panic zone

Out of your league: doing what you are not gifted, shaped, prepared or educated to do. You are stressed out.

2.     Drone zone:

 everything is too easy, in a job beneath your talent, mindless work that is boring. [When I worked for Motorola]

3.     C zone:

challenge, confidence, commitment, and control. Your gifts and abilities perfectly match. You are joyful here.

This is where a Christian does what he was wired to do.

God is a giver.

He has given everything that we have.  It’s a gift from God.  God so loved the world that He gave. 

·       Everything you have is a gift from God.

·       He made you unique.  You are uniquely shaped for His purpose here on earth. 

·       There’s not anybody in the world like you.  God does not make copies of anything.  No two trees are alike.  No two animals are alike. 

·       No two people are alike.  God doesn’t make copies.  Originals are always more valuable than copies.

·       Even in twins there are differences that are distinct.  God said,  “I made you to be you, and I don’t want you being anybody else.”

There are five things that SHAPE you.

S – Spiritual gifts – what are you gifted to do?

H – Heart – what you love to do, your passions, your interests (put inside of you by God). 

A – Abilities, the natural abilities that you’re good at. 

P – Personality – You have a very distinct personality, different than everybody else in the world. 

E – your Experiences, which are unique to you.  (You have vocational experiences, relational experiences, spiritual experiences, and painful experiences.) 

God uses all these things to shape you for the purpose He has for your life.

The gifts in your part 2.

The moment you step across the line spiritually.  You say, “I’m going to be a believer in Christ.  I’m going to go God’s way, not my own way.  I’m going to let Him direct my life.  I want to follow I spurpose, not my purpose.  I’His purpose, not my purpose.  I’m going to do what I was wired and made to do.” 

The moment you step across the line and put your faith in Christ, God gives you four major gifts.  Many people don’t even know they’ve got these gifts.  But God gives you four major gifts.

FOUR GIFTS YOU GET WHEN YOU ACCEPT CHRIST

2 Timothy 2:20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

1.   THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS

·       "Forgiveness allows you to let go of the chronic interpersonal stressors that cause us undue burden."

·       When you get rid of anger, your muscles relax, you're less anxious, you have more energy, and your immune system can strengthen."

In one meta-analysis, for example, Yoichi Chida, MD, PhD, found that anger and hostility are linked to a higher risk of heart disease, and poorer outcomes for people with existing heart disease ( Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2009).

·       Forgiveness can also help rebuild self-esteem, Enright adds. "When people are beaten down by injustice, they end up not liking themselves,"

“Even if there was no such thing as heaven – there is – but even if there weren’t, it would be worth coming and getting my life right with God so I don’t carry a bunch of guilt around” Rick Warren.

o   Most people in life are not very happy, because they carry this constant burden of guilt and resentment.  Guilt over things I’ve done to others and resentment over things they’ve done to me.  That makes you miserable.  The answer to both is forgiveness.  Asking for it and offering it. 

o   “...Jesus Christ brought forgiveness to many through God's bountiful gift.” 

Jesus talked of the heavy burden and light cross.

Matthew 11:28–30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light”

Romans 5:13-15 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift," he sets all their hearts a-singing. Let men give as liberally as they may, you can always proclaim the value of their gift; you can cast it up and reckon its worth; but God's gift is unspeakable, unreckonable. You cannot fully estimate the value of what God gives. The gospel is a gospel of giving and forgiving. We may sum it up in those two words; and hence, when the true spirit of it works upon the Christian, he forgives freely, and he also gives freely. C. H. SPURGEON, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington On Lord's-day Evening, July 27th, 1890.

2.   THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE

Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

You might call this the gift that keeps on giving. 

Because God has long-range plans for you.  He says, “I want you to be with Me in heaven forever and ever and ever.”

o   You’re never going to work your way into heaven. 

o   You’re never going to earn your way into heaven.

o   You can’t be good enough to get into heaven because heaven’s perfect, and you’re not.

o   You can’t buy your way into heaven. 

3.   THE GIFT OF HIS SPIRIT

Romans 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

o   How do you know when you’re letting God live through your life? 

o   The Bible says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

o   God says, “These are the nine qualities I put into your life when you let Me live through you.  I’m going to be with you.  I’m going to give you strength that you don’t have.”

o   Many of you have never called on that strength.  He’s put it in you.  It’s not a feeling; it’s a fact.  You may feel full of God; you may not.  It doesn’t matter.  Your feelings are irrelevant.  It’s a fact, and God says if you trust Me, I’ll give power through you to do what you need to do.

John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

4.   THE GIFT OF SOME SPECIAL ABILITIES

1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms..”  

,” I’m not a singer, I cannot sing. In fact, I cannot sing with them because I will spoil their singing, but I got my little gift. I’m a gifted preacher. Beverly Shaw sings and I preach.” Billy Graham.

o   He identified his gifting and focused on them.

o   He preached to over 250 million people in over 170 countries in all continents. He advised and prayed for presidents, he 13 American presidents, from Harry Truman to Donald Trump

Hiram Abi-A man of great skills.

2 Chronicles 2:5 This will be a great temple because our God is greater than all other gods. 6  No one can ever build a temple large enough for God—even the heavens are too small a place for him to live in! All I can do is build a place where we can offer sacrifices to him.

7 Send me a worker who can not only carve, but who can work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as make brightly colored cloth. The person you send will work here in Judah and Jerusalem with the skilled workers that my father has already hired.

8 I know that you have workers who are experts at cutting lumber in Lebanon. So would you please send me some cedar, pine, and juniper logs? My workers will be there to help them, 9 because I'll need a lot of lumber to build such a large and glorious temple. 10 I will pay your woodcutters 2,000 tons of wheat, the same amount of barley, 400,000 liters of wine, and that same amount of olive oil.

11 Hiram sent his answer back to Solomon:

I know that the Lord must love his people because he has chosen you to be their king. 12 Praise the Lord God of Israel who made heaven and earth! He has given David a son who isn't only wise and smart, but who has the knowledge to build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.

13 I am sending Huram Abi to you. He is wise and very skillful. 14 His mother was from the Israelite tribe of Dan, and his father was from Tyre. Not only is Huram an expert at working with gold, and silver.

FOUR REASONS YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR GIFTS

THEY SHAPE YOUR WORK

·       The purpose guides the architects on how to build, but how we are built guides the purpose.

·       You focus on doing what you are equipped to do.

·       The architect will ask you for the purpose before he designs the house, but our God has already designed us for the work he wants us to do.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6  “ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work..”  

You do not want to be a Christian who is everywhere doing everything.

THEY SHOW YOUR WORTH

Ephesians 2:10   For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long go.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

THEY SHARE YOUR WORSHIP

Ephesians 2:10  “When you produce much fruit, my Father is honored and glorified...”

·       Tabitha made linen…..and God was glorified.

·       The boy brought his fish and bread.

THEY SHINE YOUR WITNESS.

o   Through the gifts in you, God is glorified.

o   Through the gifts in you, people draw closer to God.

Matthew 5:16  “Let your light shine in front of people. Then they’ll see the good that you do and praise your Father in heaven.” 

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

FOUR STEPS TO USING YOUR GIFTS

“Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.” Zig Zigler

1.   DISCOVER THEM

“Do not neglect the spiritual gift that is in you.”  1 Timothy 4:14.

2.   DEDICATE THEM

“Give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.”Romans 6:13 (NLT)

3.   DEVELOP THEM

“Fan into flame the gift God gave you…”  2 Timothy 1:6

4.   DEPLOY THEM

Romans 12:6.“We are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have