Know Your Gifting!

It’s always good to have Alan and Jilly with us, contributing encouraging words and prayers into the meeting.

John A is always inspiring, and though unable to be with us most weeks, has clocked up many years with Liberty.

Thank you to Bob for leading worship, and Cliff for leading communion. Did anyone not contribute? And simply waiting on the Lord can result in hearing from heaven, through one person or another.

Alan encouraged us to know that each of us is gifted, and we should use that gifting.

Helpful passages on gifting can be found in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. Everyone is gifted, but in different ways. Everyone should use their gifting, because it moves others (and themselves) forward.

How can you know how you are gifted? 

1. What works for you? When you teach, do people understand more, or are they confused? When you pray for the sick, do they get better or worse? When you prophesy, are people encouraged, or untouched? But this is just one indicator.
2. What gives you a sense of fulfilment? Is there a sense of being in the right place when you prophesy, or teach, etc? Do you sense the Spirit being on you? Is there an inner witness that this is ‘right’?
3. Ask other people, especially those who are mature and experienced in the things of the Spirit. It is not unusual for others to recognise a persons gifting before the person themself. 
4. Above all, launch out and do it!  Be prepared to make mistakes! Prepare before the meeting, and bring what the Lord gives you.

We need to move in, embrace, and enjoy all that the Lord has for us in our meetings. This  includes praise and worship, communion, teaching, prayer, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This brings us spiritual life and maturity. Let us not fall into a routine, or settle for an ‘order of service’ that could be followed  completely in the absence of the Holy Spirit. Let us stir ourselves, and fulfil our calling as world-changers.

Thursday – prayer meeting at Catfield 2pm

Next Sunday – 10am (for 10.30am) at Frettenham. If warm and sunny, ‘Praise on the Patio!’