Yesterday in the service I attended we were being encouraged to discover our gifts, develop them and distribute them for the overall good of the body. The work of the five-fold ministry, contrary to what many think, is really to prepare believers for works of service. That means you and I as believers, are the ones to do the works of service not just the Pastors, Evangelists or Apostles.
Each of us finds our meaning, our purpose, and function as a part of Christ’s body. Each of us has been given a certain grace, a gift that is to help the whole. A leader’s role is to be a broker of gifts, talents, and resources. Every leader is a manager whose goal should be to maximize everyone’s gift. Every believer is a steward of the abilities he or she has been given. What are you doing with your gift? We have been given a gift so that we can give it to others as a ministry to them.
How the power of using your gift can greatly impact the world is best demonstrated in the movie Amazing Grace. This movie based on the true story of William Wilberforce, this movie shows his courageous quest to end the British slave trade amidst intense opposition from members of parliament in Britain. His is s story of how one man’s passion and perseverance changed the world.
What makes this story even more interesting is the fact that young William initially wanted to become a preacher. But his passion for social justice was driving him crazy especially when he heard and read about the evils of slave trade. Inspired by his Pastor and Mentor John Newton, himself a reformed slave ship captain who penned the beloved hymn “Amazing Grace”, William finally makes the decision to join politics instead of the pulpit, and fight for this just cause. And fight he did to the very end until he convinced several MPs to vote against the slave trade bill thus bringing to an end this vice.
William Wilberforce discovered his oratory gift, developed it and used it to bring to an end one of the worst evils in the human history. And God used him mightily not from the pulpit, but in parliament to change the world. It doesn’t matter what gift you have, God can use you as He used William to change the world through politics, sports, business, the entertainment industry wherever you find to use your gifts and talents in.
“So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them…” – Romans 12:5, 6(Msg Bible)
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