My friend JAP presents a testimony regarding being a young believer, and learning to be a servant. She begins with 1 Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in various forms.”
When I was a new believer, I didn’t know that there was more, I thought the greatest gift I could ever receive had already been given–-to know my Lord Jesus Christ personally instead of just as a character in the bible. But thankfully God deals with us slowly without pouring all of His focus about service into us at one time. Of course, the Holy Spirit had come to dwell in me the moment I accepted Christ as my Savior, but it took awhile to learn what it all meant.
Thankfully our Creator is patient and devoted to teaching and filling each of His children with every part of the beautiful gift we opened when we believed our Lord at the cross, when He “gave Himself for us to redeem us from all the wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14).
I had heard stories of uncomplimentary things done in the name of the Holy Spirit, and I was not sure I wanted to be involved, but God showed me how He would overcome my fear as I opened the door and welcomed the Spirit into every part of my life. As Micah the prophet proclaimed: “But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord” (3:8), recognizing that every action he took to serve was blessed with authority and that special call from God on his life. Yes, Micah was called in a special way to offer God’s blessings to His people Israel, but are we not offered even greater opportunity to serve as we are called to offer the same and even greater blessings to a dying world today?
I learned that the Spirit had come to me in much the same way as He came on the Day of Pentecost to form His church, the body of Jesus Christ – “when the sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and then began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:1-4).
I began to realize in my heart that this was another part of the wonderful gift of salvation God had given at my new birth, a gift to be used for HIS glory, and that perhaps one of His perfect gifts had been given to me when He filled me with His Spirit.
But as with any other gift, I could not work for it, and I could not claim it as my own because it was to be used to bless His church! “There are different kinds of service but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT is given for the common good.”
One believer may be given the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, different kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of the Holy Spirit, and He gives them to each one JUST AS HE DETERMINES.” (1 Corinthians 12:1-11).
When He used me, after filling me with one of his precious gifts, to break the chains of fear, unbelief, sickness, or the devil’s deceit in another member of God’s family, I understood with all humility how God’s Holy Spirit moves to accomplish His purpose in the church with spiritual gifts to help believers serve God (and man) with HIS power.
May we never be afraid to “use whatever gift we have received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in various forms.” “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword,” (Hebrews 4:12), and we are often called to be messengers of a holy God to share His good news with a seeking soul as we depend on HIS wisdom and authority placed in us!