How Do You Determine Your Grace Gift?
Once saved, the Holy Spirit floods your spirit and soul with grace. And Peter reveals in his first letter, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) The strength of this gift starts immediately and it does not matter whether you realize it. Supernaturally you are empowered in this one strong spiritual gift coloring your idea of what is important and controlling what you are sensitive to in the Body of Christ.
While in ignorance, it causes you to criticize what you see as unimportant, or less important than what is motivating you. Some overdo things without realizing it because of the wind of the Spirit at your back propelling you forward. Subconsciously your spirit surges forward, but your soul (your mind) does not comprehend the changes inside of you.
Remember Philippians 2:13 (NLT) states: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Everything about your gift is silently flooding your spirit from the Holy Spirit inside you. Take notice of the bold words in each description. Each gift is given to help the BODY OF CHRIST so as you read this information remember it describes what the person with the gift is to do to help you and when you see your gift what you do to help the others.
1/ PROPHET: To expose motives and actions which are not Godly.
The prophet (perceiver) feels the need to express thoughts and ideas verbally regarding what is right and wrong. They have such strong convictions that they must be frank, direct, and persuasive so that people will repent. They have the ability to see the motives and character of people. They are capable of identifying, defining, and hating evil in themselves and others. They will make quick judgments until they learn to pray first and allow God time to give them discernment and wisdom. Because they are sensitive to someone that is not what they appear to be they react harshly to dishonesty. All this gives strong desires to the perceiver to cut off anyone who offends God or man so justice will be done and others warned to not follow the same sins.
Acts 2:4, 3:12 | 2 Peter 2:1-3 | Matthew 14:28| John 18:10 | Romans 12:9 | 1 Timothy 3:7 | Titus 2:8 | Psalm 51 |
Make no mistake, because of the deep concern for God’s reputation the prophet is dependent on biblical truth to confirm and verify the authority of his words. The prophet openly gives evidence of loyalty and commitment to the Lord Jesus and is willing to suffer for doing what is right. The willingness to be broken like Christ for the sake of others to follow Jesus drives the prophet. They often experience inward weeping and personal identification with the sins of those around them and desire outward evidence of true change and real conviction.
John 20:21 | 1 Corinthians 14:25 | Luke 5:8 | Matthew 26:33 | John 18:10 | Acts 5:29-42
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
- Prophets are usually misunderstood because of their frank correction of others and viewed as TOO HARSH.
- The focus on right and wrong or as others would say seeing only black or white will cause others to judge and condemn the prophet as INTOLERANT.
- Public boldness and strict standards will probably restrict personal relationships.
- Seems to be interested in groups instead of individuals.
- Seems to have little interest in other people’s views.
2/ SERVANT: To see areas of service needs which the rest of us overlook and see attitudes of ungratefulness.
The server (minister) has the ability to recall the likes and dislikes of others. They are able to detect and meet practical needs. They enjoy manual jobs and projects and are motivated to meet these needs as quickly as they can. And the spiritual gift of serving gives the fortitude and strength to the servant of God to disregard weariness and fulfill the project they are working on. Another area of evidence that a person is a servant is their frustration with any limitation attached with a job. They will use personal funds to remove delays and they hate red tape and will take short cuts.
The desire to complete the job leads to their enjoyment of short-range projects instead of “endless” goals and projects. They get frustrated when there are limitations of time on their project because they want to do the job correctly the first time. But their time is important and they are ready to get to the next project because they have a hard time saying “no” to other people in need. Strong desires to be with many people is normal because it gives more serving opportunities.
Philippians 2:20-22 | 1 & 2 Timothy | 1 Timothy 5:23 | 2 Timothy 4:9, 13, 21 | Acts 16:2, 17:14-15, 18:5, 19:22, 20:4 |
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
- In their desire to quickly meet needs they will appear pushy and interfering.
- Easily critical of others who do not help out with physical and obvious needs
- Tends to get so busy helping others forget own family needs
- Tends to disregard personal health and comfort in serving others
- Refuses to accept help from others
- If they do not receive appreciation they will stop helping
- Will take on too many jobs because of their sensitivity to others needs
- Quickness in meeting others’ needs they may interfere with the spiritual lessons God is teaching
- Their eagerness to help may cause others to be suspicious of the motive of self-advancement
- Others may judge the server of focusing on the practical instead of spiritual things
- Their stamina in helping will cause some to feel the server is impatient with other helpers.
- By seeing others needs all the time that can cause the server to become sidetracked from their authorities vision and direction.
- They tend to need clear and complete instructions from the boss
3/ TEACHER: To explain inaccurate statements or conclusions you have made that removes you from the TRUTH.
The teacher believes their gift is the most important and the foundation of all the other gifts. With an alertness to factual details which are not noticed or mentioned by others, they need to validate truth. So they emphasize the accuracy of words, demand accuracy in reporting facts, are motivated to do exhaustive research. They are always prompted to give their credentials to prove to others their teaching is true, and demand validation of the truth and credentials of others before they will listen. They are compelled to establish systems of truth and will present the truth in a systematic sequence.
They delight in research and reporting as many facts on a subject as possible to make sure they validate truth. In fact, they have a greater joy in research than presenting the truth. They do not like real life stories and testimonies or non-Biblical illustrations. And they will not stand for a biblical illustration they think is not in the direct context of the scripture they think it belongs in.
Luke 1:1-4 | Acts 1:1 | Luke 4:38 | 2 Timothy 4:10-11
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
- Their drive for accurate information of scriptural interpretation clouds or neglects any practical application.
- They often give the impression they are the only source of truth.
- Their drive for every detail will bore and appear unnecessary to many.
- They desire to be objective and allow only the “cold hard facts” to drive the hearers may appear heartless without real passion.
- The tendency to reject sound teaching from uneducated people without a degree is a great weakness.
- Retreat into their library of many books appears like they do not care about others.
4/ EXHORTATION: To pinpoint the causes of problems and give clear steps to receive lasting solutions.
The EXHORTER loves to build up others so that they have a full, victorious Christian life. They are constantly looking to help troubled Christians to grow spiritually by offering precise steps of action that will impact them in solving their problems and leaving visible changes that glorify God. Their joy is being with believers that are eager to follow biblical steps of action, and are grieved and frustrated when others teach without offering practical steps of action. Exhorters enjoy using facts but hate researching the facts.
Their ability to see how troubles can produce new levels of spiritual maturity leads them to meet individually or with groups and effectively communicate with them. They are “how to” people, love working with people face to face, are dangerously non-judgmental, and seek to be friends and accepted by everyone. This motivates them to bring harmony inside the BODY OF CHRIST.
They easily make decisions, usually have a strong positive attitude, expect a lot from friends, and complete what they start. They are social and discover insights from human experience and then look to scripture to validate the truth and amplify their teaching by the Word of God.
Colossians 1:28-29 | 1 Corinthians 3:1 | Philippians 3:17 | 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 | Philippians 2:2 | 2 Corinthians 9:12-14 | 2 Corinthians 1:5, 4:17, 12:9
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
- The emphasizing on steps of action may appear an oversimplification of the problem.
- They are unaware of how often they interrupt people in conversations
- They delight in people depending on them instead of their authorities and God
- Gives the appearance of heartless pat answers that are cut and dry for everyone
- Impatient with people who need long term help and do not show fast enough changes
- Tend to have a know-it-all attitudes because they are outspoken in their own opinions
- Raises the expectations in others prematurely without explaining how long solutions can really take to develop
- Treating friends and families like projects
- Too quick to trust the immediately seen results instead of a real change of heart
5/ GIVING: To reveal foolish use of assets in the church.
The GIVER has the ability to make wise purchases and is alert to valid needs which he fears others are not seeing. So he loves to give openly and motivate others to give to what HE THINKS is the right place also. They have great joy when their gift is an answer to prayer, enjoys being a part of the work, and meeting needs without pressure appeals.
Ephesians 4:28 | 2 Corinthians 8 & 9 | Luke 6:38, 8:3, 11:42, 12:33
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
- The need to handle large sums of money may appear they are focused on earth instead of heaven
- The desire to increase the effectiveness of the church may appear like an attempt at controlling the leadership
- When they attempt to get others to give it may appear they are giving unneeded pressure and the lack of generosity to the rest of the church
- When they have large resources and refuse to give to family and friends for their wants and pleasure it may appear they are selfish instead of frugal.
6/ LEADER (administrator, organizer): To point out mismanagement of time and procedure in accomplishing goals of the church.
The ADMINISTRATOR has the ability to see the overall picture of the project God has and can see the steps and clarify long range goals. They are highly motivated to organize projects, communicate to the workers what needs to be done, and the ability to know what can or cannot be delegated. Also, they are well aware of the resources that are in hand to complete the task.
Generally, they will not make a move to take charge until the pastor or leadership asks them to oversee a project. But if there is no leadership they will take charge of a situation.
Usually, they have great zeal and enthusiasm for whatever they are involved in. The do enjoy long term projects. They do enjoy delegating tasks and overseeing them all the way to completion. They have a deep inner fulfillment to do big projects, pull all the pieces together, and see the successful conclusion of the event or project. And they are not burned out, when finished they desire a new challenge.
They are strong and can withstand criticism to get the job done. They enjoy working with people, are driven to get things done ASAP, and hates routine tasks.
Nehemiah | Acts 6. 11:30, 12:25, 14:23, 15, 20:17-35 | 1 Corinthians 16:16 | 1 Thessalonians 5:12 | 1 Timothy 5:17-20 | Titus 1:5 | Hebrews 13:7, 17, 24 | 1 Peter 5:5
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
- With the ability to delegate it can appear they are lazy
- Withstanding criticism makes them appear callous
- Neglecting giving explanations causes workers to feel they are just being used
- Seeing people as resources makes them feel misused
- Failure to lift up and thank those helping often leads people to resent him
- Failure to realize servants need full and complete instructions causes hard feelings
- Because they are driven to finish God’s work they tend to push people too hard
- Gets irritated when the helpers do not see things his way
- Tends to drive himself into more and more projects neglecting his family
7/ Mercy giver (compassion): To share areas of insensitivity.
The MERCY GIVER has the ability to sense genuine love. This simply means they are vulnerable to deep and frequent hurts from the lack of love. With the ability to discern sincere motives in others, they get their feelings hurt and sense when others do also. They sense joy or distress in people and are attracted to the people in distress, feel sorry for them, and desire to take away people’s hurts.’
They have the craving and need for deep friendships with equal commitment. They will react harshly when close friends are rejected or offended by others. And they measure friendship by physical closeness and quality time together. They have a great capacity to show love and really enjoy doing thoughtful things for others. And not only that, they always look for the good in people and avoid firmness and conflict.
Matthew 5:17, 9:13, 12:7, 23:23 | Luke 1:50,72,78, 15:20 | John 13:23,25 19:26, 20:2, 21:7,20 | Philippians 2:1 | Hebrews 10:29 | 1 Peter 3:8 | Jude 1:21,22
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
- Failing to be firm and decisive when necessary makes them look weak and uncommitted
- Basing decisions on emotions instead of reason, because the have such strong emotions, causes conflict with others
- They promote improper affections from those of the opposite sex who are looking for someone who is sensitive, understanding, and a responsive listener
- They are so sensitive they will take the easy way out and cut off fellowship with those insensitive to the feelings of others.
- Because they are so merciful they tend to react to God’s purposes in allowing people to suffer for the simple reason they focus on removing the cause of suffering if they can
- They tend to smother friends by being so possessive because they have a deep need for commitment and closeness. When they do not receive equal commitment from their friend disappointments lead to greater expectations and possessiveness.
