Romans 12:6-8 lists seven motivational gifts given by God the Creator that every believer possesses: service, teaching, exhortation, giving leadership and mercy. These abilities enable each believer to minister effectively within the body of Yeshua Christ.
People with the gift of service delight in meeting practical needs and seeing projects to fruition, while inspiring other believers. Their presence helps energize other Christians to serve joyfully.
Prophecy
Prophetic ministry involves the gift of unveiling God’s truths. People with this spiritual ability often act as watch dogs to protect the church, warn against sinful behaviors and stand against compromise and evil – often appearing harsh or judgemental at first glance; their commitment is ultimately more to truth over friendship.
People with this gift often have a remarkable knack of foretelling the future, which can provide comforting insight. Additionally, they may prophesy specific teaching from God that applies directly to current situations – bringing spiritual edification and guidance into present situations.
An encouraging and edifying Christian minister can be an invaluable asset in helping others deepen their walk with the Lord, drawing believers closer to Elohim through Jesus their Lord and Savior. A gifted pastor or teacher can also teach the Bible clearly for those not raised in church – creating an effective pathway toward obedience of His Word – they may even recognize false teachings quickly while remaining zealous about upholding its truth.
Service
Service gift enables people to meet practical needs for others within the church by serving or doing things. People with this talent enjoy helping others in a practical manner and can detect emotional undercurrents in the body and have an innate talent for encouraging, energizing, and cheering them up. Furthermore, these individuals tend to have empathy with those they interact with and recognize the best in them.
Prophetic gifts provide the church with “eyes”. Prophets possess insight and foresight, acting like watch dogs to monitor sin in its various forms. Additionally, these people strive for truth with an intense desire for research; prioritizing biblical context and accuracy as part of their analysis.
Teaching gift holders possess an inborn ability to interpret Scripture in an understandable way and apply it to life, making their “mind” of the church very helpful in teaching the Bible. Exhortation gift bearers share this desire to live out God’s Word through other people’s lives and are great motivators; often very positive counselors. People with ruling gifts possess the skill needed to oversee and coordinate people, resources, schedules as well as set long range goals while delegating authority effectively.
Teaching
People with the gift of teaching have an ability to clearly explain biblical concepts to others in a manner that’s easily understandable. Their passion lies in imparting their wisdom, mentoring new believers and correcting any misinformation in church services – as well as motivating people to study further about our Lord Jesus.
Exhorters serve the Body like cheerleaders by encouraging others to do their best and seeing the good in all people. Their aim is to assist people in growing spiritually while sometimes providing services like counseling or teaching as part of their ministries.
People gifted with wisdom can understand God’s will and plan for the future with ease, appreciating his beauty and magnificence as they gaze upon it awe-stricken. Their appreciation of His Creator leads them into wonder, often seeing what others don’t, while their knowledge of Bible mysteries aiding their teaching others. Wisdom also makes an excellent asset in prayer ministry as well as spirit discernment, while fortitude enables one to stand up for what’s right even in the face of rejection or physical harm.
Exhortation
Encouragers are an invaluable asset to any church community, encouraging other believers to get involved with spiritual ministry and draw closer to Jesus. Like cheerleaders, these believers find fulfillment when helping other believers reach their goals or helping them through difficult times in life.
Characteristics: Like shepherds, these believers see others’ needs and strive to alleviate any discomfort they feel (such as homeless shelters). Additionally, these believers often develop ministries around social issues, including homeless shelters or single mother support. Their acts demonstrate God’s compassion.
These motivational gifts, described in Romans Chapter 12, enable believers to play an active role in the Body of Christ. Through training and discipleship from wise spiritual leaders, one may develop his or her motivational gift into one of the ministry offices listed in Ephesians Chapter four; this takes time and requires seeking God’s leadership on a personal basis – for instance a person gifted with prophecy may eventually become prophet; though other motivational gifts may also develop into ministry offices over time with more effort and time invested.
Giving
Many individuals cite service as their primary motivational gift. People with this talent perform tasks without being asked, helping energize others to use their other abilities more fully; often acting as organizers themselves.
People gifted with prophecy have an ability to see things from God’s perspective and can quickly judge the actions and motives of others. While their words may often come across as truthful encouragement to those they minister too, sometimes their messages come across harsh or judgemental and they disregard others’ feelings in doing so.
People with the gift of giving are an invaluable asset to any church community, acting as “arms” that extend out with generosity and love to fellow believers. They enjoy giving without any obligation, getting excited when other believers receive something they’ve helped create – often anonymously and carefully budgeting their donations.
As one advances spiritually, they may manifest the ministry office-gifts found in Ephesians chapter four ministry office-gifts such as apostle, prophet, evangelist or pastor through using and honing their natural motivational gifts in conjunction with leadership and mercy gifts to bring others into spiritual relationships with Christ Jesus.
Leadership
People with leadership gifts possess the ability to see the big picture and set long-term goals. They tend to be creative in finding ways to meet these objectives and are adept at delegating authority to others without being intimidated by rejection and negative reactions.
A person gifted in discernment has the ability to read people and accurately assess their motives and character, helping others recognize when they have committed sin and helping them repent of it. Furthermore, these individuals excel at devising plans and strategies for dealing with problems effectively.
These inborn motivational gifts can be developed into ministry office-gifts of Ephesians chapter four through proper use and spiritual growth; mentorship from wise spiritual elders also plays an essential part. Jesus wishes for each believer to utilize all seven innate gifts so as to bear much fruit for Him in God’s Kingdom – until then these tools can serve the Body of Messiah effectively.
Mercy
Mercy is a virtue that derives from compassion; being aware and understanding another person’s distress allows one to be moved by them and respond in such a way as to lessen it. Mercy also requires action–in order to alleviate suffering. Salvation and membership in God’s covenant community stem from his great act of mercy–rescuing his people from slavery in Egypt, sending Jesus to remove sin, and giving them everything he has.
Mercy-driven individuals possess a special sensitivity towards those suffering physically or emotionally and are able to provide comforting support. Mercy-motivated people can often pick up on people’s emotional undercurrents quickly enough that they adjust their own demeanor in response.
Individuals gifted in forgiving and overlooking minor offenses tend to be accommodating. They seek ways to serve others and love entertaining guests, with an especially generous hospitality extending into entertaining newcomers to the church. Furthermore, these people tend to possess genuine enthusiasm for truth and the church; quickly discern motives of other believers; judge character well; aiding others overcome flaws and failures as they help “cheerleader” them and provide emotional support reassurance; they act like cheerleaders of the faith community.