Ask Seek Knock

Hello CCH Family / Welcome to another...

At the time of this recording / almost mid Nov

Christmas is right around the corner

I want you to remember back when you were

a child on Christmas Eve and tomorrow's is..

the big day.

For days or maybe even weeks / staring at your

gifts under the Christmas tree.

You picked them up, shaken them /clues/hints

You checked to see how heavy they are to

make sure it wasn't a sweater.

You tried your hardest to determine what was

in the box.

Even as an adult /Birthday/random event

you've received/gift/there's great anticipation

of what's inside.

And these gifts come from flawed gift givers

They have all the best intentions, but with...

limited resources, sometimes the gifts miss the mark.

Now imagine receiving a gift from someone w/

unlimited knowledge/power/insight.

Someone who knows you better than you will

ever know yourself.

Someone who exists outside of time and knows

your end from your beginning.

Someone with unlimited resources

And this person chose 1 gift especially for you

out of every possible gift.

Now imagine having no interest in opening

that gift.

Imagine not picking up that box, not shaking it

around, or having the desire to tear it open to

discover what gift the Creator of the Universe has chosen JUST for you.

Unfortunately this scenario is true for far too

many people in the church.

And what makes this even more unfortunate

is while planning and choosing that perfect

gift for you, it was chosen with the

intention/expectation /share it with others

If you've been a Christian for more than

3 months, 6 months, a year...

Do you know what your spiritual gift is?

Can you say without a shadow of a doubt

100% my spiritual gift is ____(fill in the blank)?

If not, may I ask why?

Did you know every genuine believer in Jesus

has been given at least 1 spiritual gift?

1 Pet 4:10 (NLT)

Imagine standing before God and He asks why you left His gift under the tree untouched

So I guess now the question is how does one

discover their gift?

10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

There isn't a simple one step answer to that question, but I would like to share some

suggestions from my own journey.

I would also recommend you ask other people

how they discovered their spiritual gift and see

how God can use different methods

BECOME FAMILIAR W/ THE DIFF TYPES

Some gifts include wisdom, knowledge, faith

discernment, helping, administration, teaching

ministry, exhortation, hospitality, giving

leadership, mercy, worship, prayer.

All these gifts and /not mentioned if used

properly can be used to strenghten the faith

of others and grow the church.

1 Cor 12:7

Imagine how CCH would flourish if everyone

who calls this their home church utilized their

spiritual gift for the edification of the body..

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

Imagine how those gifts would overflow into

our communities, households, and workplaces

ASK GOD TO REVEAL IT TO YOU

James 1:5 (NLT)

Matt 7:7-8

Notice it may not be revealed to you right away

but a genuine and persistant approach will be

rewarded.

He wants you to know it and use it/edify body

5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

and glorify and honor Him.

It's not something He wants hidden from you

That defeats the purpose

BE WILLING TO SERVE

He planted you here at CCH, or maybe another but it wasn't to be a consumer only

Find opportunites to serve within the church and watch God open up doors that align you with the gift He has given you

How will you know? It will feel right. It won't

feel like a burden or an obligation.

You'll find yourself leaning on the Holy Spirit

for help because you don't feel worthy

you don't feel adaquate and WHEN He comes

through, you'll know it.

LISTEN TO FEEDBACK

Other people will notice your gift PERHAPS

before you even do.

If multiple people begin to notice and compliment you about something you tend to

excel at, that may be an indicator you have

discovered your spiritual gift.

Again that journey may be different for each

person, but regardless of your approach/Bible

encourages us to be good stewards of what God has given to us

The Bible encourages us to seek our gift.

1 Cor 12:31a

31 But earnestly desire the best gifts.

And do you know what the best gift is?

The one He gave you.

I thank you for your time and I'll

see you down the road.