This year our church has been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“
These seven prepare statements will each be broken down into three brief devotionals. We are currently on devotional number 15.
Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example).
We are being called to build relationships within our wider community. The easiest way to build those relationships and share our example is according to our gifts. “Gifts” is what the Bible calls them. In today’s terms we would probably use the words “personality traits” instead of the word “gifts”. We are not talking about talents or abilities like guitar playing or being good at football. We certainly aren’t talking about Christmas presents or birthday presents. We are talking about our character traits.
We will build relationships easily when we build them while going with the grain of our character. Let’s talk about the 7 most prominent “gifts” or “personality/ character traits.”
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12: 6-8
Last week we talked about prophesying, serving and teaching. Let’s talk about the last four “gifts” today.
The Encourager’s personality- is focused on helping people reach their potential or achieve their personal goals. The encourager approaches life with a “can do” mentality. The encourager is an idea person who sees the steps between point A and point Z in a person’s life and he helps people to see what they can do to take those steps.
The Giver’s Personality– is focused on resourcing. The question the giver asks is “What do you need?” Not only does she try to find out what is needed, the giver is talented in finding the resources necessary and connecting those resources to the person who has the need
The Leader’s personality– is focused on building a team that will be able to accomplish the work ahead. They are good at laying plans and executing those plans, but he is not the ones who carry out the plans. Often the leader is not even the one who gets the credit. This type of leader prefers to work behind the senes as long as the ones he works with see him for who he really is. The first question he often asks is, “Who do we need to help us.” The leader is the organizational people mover of a community.
The Mercy Giver’s Personality- The mercy giver is the healer of a community. Her first question is generally “How can I make this better or more comfortable for the people involved?” These are the folks who, when you are in trouble, will bring you a casserole and watch your kids while you take a much needed nap. Often the mercy giver looks just like a servant on the outside, but she differs in that the servant is only concerned with “Did I do something help?” The Mercy giver is concerned with “Did what I do make the person feel better?”
DO YOU RECOGNIZE YOURSELF IN ANY OF THESE “GIFTS”?
Notes From the Vicarage 