“For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established” (Rom 1:11, KJV) Spiritual gifts are what the Holy Spirit uses to strengthen His church. A Christian without a spiritual gift is like a soldier without the mastery of any weapon. In soldiering, one is usually trained to gain mastery of one weapon. A soldier may have knowledge of other weapons and fighting skill; but he must master one. One can become an expert in using guns, or knives or bombs, etc. In guns, one can master the use of shotguns, sniper guns, bazookas, etc. In knives, one can master the use of swords, short knives etc. When we receive the Holy Spirit and become a member of the body of Christ; we have been enlisted in the army of heaven. And the Bible says the next thing we should do is to seek spiritual gifts. (1 Cor 12:31). In other words, don’t just get in the army of Christ and become redundant. Become relevant. Seek for spiritual gift. Pray for spiritual gift. As a Christian filled with the Holy Spirit, it is an error for you to live without any spiritual gift. .
Talents are great. Physical gifts such as a good singing voice, great intellectual ability, good organizational sense, beauty etc are wonderful but the more excellent gifts are the spiritual gifts. Suffice it to say that there are nine gifts of the Holy Spirits as found in 1 Cor 12. They are: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in diverse tongues and interpretation of tongues. I guess the only question remaining is which of these gifts is operational in your life as a Christian. In the next nine days, I shall briefly discuss about each of these gifts. The aim is to incite in you the desire to seek these gifts. Paul told the Romans, I will come and impart to you spiritual gifts; and I couldn’t imagine their joy. The first century church knew the importance of spiritual gift; but it seems the twenty-first century church has no interest in these gifts whatsoever. We don’t want to seek spiritual gift. We want to seek prophets, pastors and “great” men of God who have these gifts. Nobody is interested in prophesying again; what we are interested in is being prophesied to. We have turned the pattern of God upside down. Follow me in these upcoming weeks as the Holy Spirit leads us on a journey to seeking spiritual gifts.