Last week my wife had the opportunity to speak at CRU at Slippery Rock. She spoke on the importance of growing the gifts God has put inside of us. It was one of the best messages I’ve ever heard her share! She lives this message out every day. I hope it adds as much value to your life as it did to mine! The notes for her message are below! Enjoy!
Notes:
Growing your Gifts
“God expects me to grow in my gifts”.
Romans 12:6-8 – 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
1 Sam. 16:13-23
• If you feel undervalued, unseen, and unremarkable….invisibility is not an
indication of unimportance. Though he may have been invisible to others, God
saw David and anointed him to be king and God has you in mind to be the next
great leader!
1 Samuel 16:13 – So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.
• After David was anointed, he wasn’t whisked away to a parade where he could way on a float and be presented as the future king. God sent him right back to the sheep field. Just because he gives you a greater anointing and vision, doesn’t mean he will change the assignment.
• You may have received a big vision for what God wants you to do, but that doesn’t mean you should drop out of school and go pursue it now. He may give you a vision for 30 years down the road. Be faithful with your current assignment because: That’s often where you will learn the things you will need for the next season of life. Don’t skip the current assignment!
1. Growing your Gift Takes Diligence –
a. How many hours would you have to practice your harp that when President Obama needs a personal musician, you are the first person that he thinks of. When they called David, he was ready.
b. We think that if someone has a gift, they never have to work.
It’s the things that no one sees that produce the results that everyone wants.
d. Matthew 25: 14 -30
e. 2 Tim. 2:15 – Be diligent, study, work hard, to show yourself approved!
f. David didn’t get called by Saul to play the harp because he loved God…he got called because he was GOOD. Saul didn’t say “Bring me someone that can pray.” He said bring me the best harp player in the land! Knowing God was the last thing they mentioned. How did they know God was with him? Because he was good at what he did!
g. “Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. (Proverbs 22:29 AMP)
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strongman stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena: whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
2. Growing in your Gift takes Excellence
Aristotle said “Excellence is not an act, it’s a habit!”
c. Why is excellence important? God likes good stuff!
d. Growing in your gift requires an investment to develop skill and excellence!
g. If it’s for God, it better be good! Do your job with accuracy!
h. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral EXCELLENCE and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 AMP)
j. “The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the work of God just as much as the monk who prays. Not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps, but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his duty, not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes because God is interested in good craftsmanship.” Martin Luther
“What you are is God’s gift to you, but what you become is your gift to
EXCELLENCE IS ATTRACTIVE and raises the standard for those around you.
3. Growing your Gift takes Experience
a. Experiment fearlessly! Relentless trial and error! This takes time! Expose yourself to different opportunities and a variety of organizations! Nothing has to be permanent!
e. Let God narrow your call. Don’t try to narrow it yourself.
f. God will arrange every experience in your life to serve his purpose. The good ones, the bad ones, the things that seem meaningless, the long hours. God knows how to weave together all these experiences to ultimately lead to your purpose.
“58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose]. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (AMP)
l. Your work is never wasted!
Quote from Pablo Picasso – The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
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