September 18, 2016 · 1 Peter 4:10–11

Serving: The Purpose of the Gifts - 1 Peter 4:10-11

“Peter begins by telling you, have a gift. You are gifted. Whatever gift you receive, he knows that they're all very different. … But you are gifted, and you have to start asking, what are my gifts? I think he's not singling out one thing for a reason he wants us to recognize. There's so many things that are gifts from God. In fact, the word gift here is charisma. Whatever charisma you have, use it to serve others. I'm not very charismatic. I don't have charisma. You have charisma. Whatever charisma you have, use it to serve others. You might not feel like you have charisma because you're thinking about charisma. You think a movie star or that type of thing. This word charisma is just gift. You have received a gift. Notice how it relates. It's a various form of God's grace, and the word charisma gift is related to carous grace. … So your gift is just actually God's grace being poured into you. God has this beautiful thing called grace which we know is not earned. It's something we receive. Thankfully, from God himself through Jesus Christ, no matter what you've done or how weak your skills are. What I love about this gift is just this beautiful charisma. He's just pouring out into you and you're receiving it, and then you're supposed to help pour it out to others. … It's actually like a river that's flowing, a source. The Spirit of God is pouring this into you and it's supposed to flow through you and you help direct it in different directions.”