The Gift of Service (Hospitality, Leadership, Discernment)
Spiritual Gifts • Sermon • Submitted
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Lesson 4
Lesson 4
Are you motivated to pursue practical areas of service to others? Are you concerned with the practical, tangible work associated with a project? Do you enjoy doing things with your hands and in association with other people? You may have the spiritual gift of service.
Hospitality- Meeting needs by welcoming others into your home or creating welcoming atmospheres of comfort.
Discernment- Being able to discern whether a person is truly in need. Perhaps even being able to see needs that other people may be unaware of.
Leadership- Leading other people to meet certain needs.
Characteristics of the Gift of Serving
A person with the gift of service is alert to practical needs and has a desire to meet them. They truly seek to bless others, not simply to provide the bare minimum.
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.
Philippians 2:
Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.
2 Timothy 4:
How is the gift of service different from the ministry of being a servant? In what ways are all Christians called to be servants? How is the gifted person’s ministry likely to be unique?
2. The person with a gift of serving has joy when he knows that the service frees another person to engage more fully in the ministry to which he has been called.
How do you feel when you are part of a team doing work unto the Lord with diligence and faithfulness.
How do you react when your service goes unnoticed or unappreciated? Do you tend to become discouraged, or do you simply look for another opportunity to serve?
3. The person with the gift of service tends to ignore his/her own needs and overextend personal energy and strength.
(No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)
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Notice that Paul’s admonition to Timothy concerning his health is in the context of a command, not a recommendation. Why was it necessary for Paul to make such a command?
How might it be tempting for a person with the gift of service to think that ignoring personal or family needs is commendable? In what ways might it actually be a misuse of that gift?
4. The person with the gift of serving has a need to be appreciated for his/her service to confirm that it is necessary, valued, and beneficial.
When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.
Why does a person with the gift of service need to hear positive affirmation? How is this different from desiring the praise of others?
What godly servants do you know? How can you serve them in return with a spirit of gratitude this week?
5. The person with a gift of serving has a strong desire to be with other people.
When you work on a project, do you prefer to do it all yourself or to enlist the help of others?
When someone else asks for your help on a project, do you tend to take the leadership or do you tend to look for background tasks?
6. Those with the gift of service feel that they must respond to the practical needs they see.
7. Those with the gift of service are most effective in working on short-range projects.
Do you gravitate toward short-term or long-term projects? Do you have long-range vision, or do you tend to notice other service projects that can be immediately fulfilled?
8. Those with the gift of service often feel very unqualified and inadequate for ministry
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,
5 Things to Guard Against
The person with the gift of serving must guard against becoming discouraged if others fail to appreciate his/her service.
The person with the gift of serving must guard against doing so much for others that he/she never gives others an opportunity to give in return.
The person with the gift of serving must be sensitive to what God is attempting to teach another person.
The person with the gift of serving must remain attentive to personal spiritual growth and to the disciplines of prayer, praise and the reading of Scripture.
Luke 10:41-42
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
5. The person with the gift of serving must avoid the tendency to get sidetracked by more urgent needs-to the point where the original need may not be met.
Hallmarks of Godly Service
Be Alert: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you precisely what needs you are to and how best to meet them.
Be Hospitable: Show kindness and consideration to others as you serve them. Be gracious to others in the way that you speak to them and assist them.
Be Generous: Give generously, but be aware that you are not responsible for meeting all the needs of another person. Only God can meet all the needs in a person’s life.
Be Joyful: Do your service with a joyful heart. Inspire others to praise and give thanks to God.
Be Flexible: Should the Lord reveal to you a different way of serving, be willing to obey Him.
Be Available- Do not hide behind false humility if you are asked to minister in a way that seems a challenge to you. Virtually every type of ministry needs those who are willing to serve and gifted to serve.
Be Diligent in seeing a project to completion: Don’t allow yourself to become sidetracked or to spread yourself too thin.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
In practical terms, what does it mean to perform a service “as to the Lord”? What does it mean to perform it “to men”?
How does an act of service serve Jesus? Why is this distinction vitally important to those who have the gift of service?
Jesus the Greatest Servant of All
For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
What did Jesus mean when He said, “A servant is not greater than his master”? In what was might we consider ourselves better than Jesus when it comes to serving others?