“MISSION POSSIBLE…ABILITIES”

Ephesians 2:10

God’s Gifts In You

October 15, 2006

PASTOR NATHAN J. THOMPSON

Your assignment, if you should choose to accept…  One of the realities, as we continue our focus on spiritual gifts and how God has shaped you, is that the Christian church has often done a miserable job in empowering people to use their special gifts.  In fact, sometimes the church has actually done more harm than good.

For the only criteria that has too often been used in some churches, in filling various jobs and ministries, is whether you are a warm body.  Oftentimes people have been begged to serve, as has been stated in these words, “because no one else will do it.”  That plea, I’m sure, really makes people feel that their gifts are really important.

And in doing this, people have often been given jobs that they really don’t have the abilities to do.  For example, someone who has no passion or ability per se to work with children is given a Sunday school class to teach by themselves, or is given a children’s ministry program to lead.

Or someone who has no real ability to lead people, or to lead a program, is put in charge of a committee, or is assigned to head up a certain project.  Or someone who has very little ability to be a leader and make decisions is voted in as an elder or member of a church council.

And yet the results of having people serving in places that don’t match their abilities are often disastrous.  For the people will often hate what they are doing.  They will often cause problems in the area they are working in, or will be greatly hurt when others complain or are unhappy with the job they are doing.

But one of the most destructive things about people using their gifts and abilities in the wrong place is that they can easily get burned out.  If they are involved in something that they don’t have a heart and passion for, and which they don’t have the abilities needed, that job will cause mostly stress.  It will cause frustration and perhaps even inappropriate behavior.

I have known people over the years who have gotten into ministries they never should have.  They were given a job or responsibilities that did not match their abilities, and they burned out under the stress.  And I have known some who became so bitter, so angry, so negative about the church, that they left the church and God altogether.

In my message this morning I will focus in on how learning to understand, develop, and use your God-given abilities is so important in not only the church, but also in your daily work and lives.  For God has shaped each one of us with many and various abilities that we are meant to use for his glory.

The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Jesus Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  And 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in various forms.”

The reality is that each one of you were created with natural abilities from the day you were born.  Some of you are really good at numbers.  You actually like algebra and geometry.  While others of you are saying, “Math…ugh.”  Some are just gifted this way.

Some of you are really good with people, while some of you aren’t.  Some of you have natural athletic abilities, while some may be uncoordinated.  We’re all made differently.  Some people have mechanical and technological abilities, they can fix or operate most any engine or device.  I’m always in awe of these people.

Some of you have leadership abilities.  Some of you have musical abilities.  Some of you can pick up an instrument and make beautiful music, while others of you have great voices to sing.  And others of you are what we may call “prison singers”—you’re always a few bars behind and never have the right key.

The good news, however, is that we all have different kinds of gifts and abilities.  God created each one of you in a unique and special way.  You are God’s handiwork.  And God created you so that you can use your spiritual gifts, your heart and passion, and your special God-given abilities to serve him.

Now granted, sometimes people may not realize that they have abilities in certain areas.  Some may have thought that a certain area or kind of work was their ability, only to discover later that their real ability lay elsewhere.  Or some have followed the expectations of others into a certain field, only to stifle their real love and abilities.

I had a college and seminary friend who grew up in a small town in North Dakota, and who was nurtured with a family and community expectation that he was going to be a pastor.  Trying to live up to that expectation, he took religion classes in college and went on to graduate school at the seminary, in order to be trained as a pastor.

And yet during his internship year he began to question this calling.  He shared how he nearly had a panic attack anytime he had to preach.  Going and calling on people, and reaching out and meeting new people, was a major chore.  In fact, there was very little he really enjoyed about doing ministry.

So on his internship year, his third year out of four years at seminary, he began to question his calling in a small support group of other interns.  And when he was asked to talk about what he really loved to do, and what other abilities he had, he began to talk about how he loves to do carpentry.  He loves to work with and build things with his hands.

Unfortunately, he had allowed other’s expectations to lead him away from his real gifts.  And yet in facing these issues he also felt guilty, because somehow he thought that pastoral ministry was a more noble or holy vocation than working with his hands.  And yet he was on the road to a very miserable life.

So with the help of his support group he worked through these feelings, he affirmed his real God-given abilities, and he dropped out of the seminary before his senior year.  And since that time he has been an excellent carpenter, making beautiful cabinets and furniture.  And now he sees how he is truly serving God with his wonderful God-given abilities.

One of the realities of today is that just because a person went to seminary, or to law school, or majored in accounting, or education, or music, or has even worked in a certain job field, that does not mean they have the abilities or are meant to work in these, or related, areas.

In fact, there are many who despise their jobs, who are burned out in what they are doing, who are hurting and affecting their families and friends, and even their work environment, because they are focused in the wrong place.  It certainly can be a painful thing in one’s life.

That is why God wants you to carefully look at and discover what your abilities and gifts really are.  God wants you to be able to use those abilities he created in you in your daily life and work.  For when you are using and are energized by your abilities, it is then that your purpose and work take on new meaning.  It is then that you see your abilities as gifts of God, and that you can use them each day to God’s glory and honor.

And when you understand and accept your God-given abilities, it is then that God calls you to also use them in the church, and in ministry.  It is then that God calls you to serve in ways you are gifted, so that your ministry in the church is filled with joy and satisfaction.  For God wants you to give your very best.

It is amazing what is happening today in churches that are stressing gifts-based ministries, and are stressing that people learn and become connected in ways that use their abilities in the best possible ways.  For these churches are often very healthy and alive.

They often have people involved who actually enjoy their ministries, and thereby bring positive energy to what they do and to the church.  They often have less chaos and conflict, because they allow those gifted in leadership and administration to lead where they are meant to lead.

And in gifts-based churches, the most important thing is that they celebrate and affirm the importance of every person’s gifts and abilities.  For as God’s workmanship, created by him, every person and ability is essential in building God’s kingdom.

My friends, as our congregation at Shepherd has been growing and developing these past few years as a gifts-based church, our focus is that we want to encourage each one of you to identify, and learn about, and grow in, and use your God-given abilities to help further and strengthen our mission for Jesus Christ.

For remember, you are God’s handiwork created in Jesus Christ to do good works.  In other words, you and your abilities are essential and important.  May God empower you to use and share your gifts and abilities to his glory and honor.