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The Apostle Paul was a capable preacher and administrator but where he shined was in his writing and teaching the tenets of the Christian faith. Paul’s letters (epistles) make up a large part of the New Testament. Paul’s special gift from God was teaching, which is self-evident after the fact. The key is Paul knew this was his special gift and he worked at developing it through study.  As we look at the seven gifts of God we can eliminate some of them right away because we know they don’t fit us. I personally eliminated four of the gifts that don’t fit my personality and the facts of my life. My top three gifts are teaching, exhortation and service. I like them all to some degree and I have experience with each one. to some degree.

I can now focus on these three gifts and over time my special gift will emerge eventually. I think it’s teaching but I want confirmation by the facts that emerge over time. If you can exhort with the written word maybe that’s my gift.  I want to fulfill God’s plan for my life and discovering my gift  and using it for God’s kingdom is of prime importance.  The gift of organization encompasses organization, leadership and administration. I’m a retired mid-level manager in the federal government and I enjoyed doing many of the tasks associated with this gift. I believe the skills we have on earth translate to heaven so I expect to be a mid-level manager in heaven someday. wanting to service to others is the key.

I’m familiar with the gift of service because I’ve always tried to help people. My wife thinks this is my gift. I still think it’s number three on my list.  I trust the Lord to give me a love of my special gift and that’s why teaching has to be my primary special gift. I like the others but I love teaching. I almost went into teaching as a career.  The gift of organization encompass’ three qualities:  organization, administration and leadership.  I’ve used my life experiences to develop these skills even if they aren’t my special gift from God.  In heaven I believe God will place us where our life skills learned on earth can be used most effectively for the kingdom.  My career was in management supervising people and I suspect I’ll be doing the same thing in heaven one day.

If you want to know what your special gift from God is look inside yourself first. What are you good at? What motivates you? What interests you? What makes you happy? I mentioned in an earlier blog I thought my special gift was exhortation but maybe I was wrong.  We all use exhortation when witnessing for Christ. The key for this gift is the verbal one on one and group motivation of others to fulfill their full spiritual potential. This gift is for extroverts and is best manifested in preachers and evangelists. Oral communication is primary.  I’m an introvert. I have a love of reading, writing, planning, studying, etc. I was never happier in my job before I retired than when I was teaching someone what I knew. Maybe my gift is teaching, which requires all of these traits. Exhortation is verbal and teaching for me is to put it in writing and presenting it.

Both of these gifts when used in conjunction can motivate the faithful to grow in Christ when used on a blogging platform.  Exhortation can be both verbal and by the written word.  Blogging is just a new way to share the gospel that’s in its infancy.  God will use every advance in technology to further the kingdom of God.  The Holy Spirit can bestow multiple gifts on a person, although I’m not sure that’s common.  I know the Holy Spirit has been bugging me for several years study God’s Word and write about my faith. This eventually led me to start my blog site.  The Holy Spirit wouldn’t give me a task without also giving me the gift or gifts needed to complete it.

Everyone has at least one gift from God so I’m claiming both exhortation and teaching as my special gifts from God.  Only time will tell if I’m correct.  My goal is to exhort everyone to study God’s Word while teaching them how to witness for Christ.  If we know the Bible we won’t fall for false teachings and if we witness for Christ we fulfill the Great Commission give us by Jesus before His ascension back to heaven.

Col 1:28 – Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

2 Pet 2:1 – But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

For this study on the gifts of God I pulled from my reference material Life Principle Notes from Charles Stanley’s In Touch Ministries titled “Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit”. You can go to their website and copy what I’m using if you want a more in depth review of these gifts.  While every Christian may have abilities in several of these areas God has given each of us the ability to excel in at least one of these seven areas. That means the plans God has for us will utilize our special gift to fulfill God’s plan.  If you know your gift you have a clue to what God has planned for you. Our goal then is to first identify our special gift and then find ways to develop it so we’re useful to God while we’re still here on earth.

Jer 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

1 Pet 4:10 – As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Jn 4:1 – Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God.

All Christians who have been saved unto eternal life have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by faith. The believer is then indwelt by the Holy Spirit to help us in our walk with God. Everyone knows this. What most people don’t know is the Holy Spirit when He arrives inside you He comes bearing gifts.  According to the Apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit gives to every believer a special gift from God to help them do the work God has planned for them to do. The key is for the believer to do a little investigating and discover what their special gift is and then develop it and use it to the glory of God through Jesus Christ working in us. The seven gifts of God identified by Paul are the following:

1. Prophecy
2. Ministry (service)
3. Teaching
4. Giving
5. Mercy
6. Leadership (organization)
7. Exhortation

Effective Christians who are fulfilling God’s will for their lives are those Christians who know their special gift from God and have developed it to the point they impact the kingdom of God. Conversely, those Christians who are still on spiritual milk have no idea what undeveloped gift of God they were given and are of little use to God here on earth.

Rom 12:6-8 – Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

All the other religions in the world require you to work for your salvation and you never know if you’ve done enough. Satan has sponsored all these fake religions to lead man away from the truth of the gospel of Christ. Jehovah, the one true God, offers Christians eternal life as a free gift of God.  The Holy Bible is the unerring Word of God and it promises eternal life that can never be rescinded. No sin is so great that it can’t be covered by God’s grace. God will not be mocked and His Word will stand. When you go to heaven it’s because you belong there. God doesn’t make mistakes, God is never wrong and God never changes His mind.  Once you get to heaven God will change you by what is referred to as “glorification” so you cannot sin in heaven. If you’ve put your trust in Jesus you are going home to heaven one day. Praise God for His love, mercy and grace!

Lk 19:10 – For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.

1 Jn 5:11 – And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son.

Jn 5:24 – I tell you the truth, whoever hears this word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

Matt 26:28 – For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Jn 3:36 – He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.

Jn 1:12 – But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even those who believe in His name.

Rom 8:1 – There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Those who worry about heaven are missing the point. It’s not about what we’re doing to get to heaven. It’s all about the cross, and what Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has already done for all men, past, present and future by dying in our place for the remission of sins.  The work of Jesus on Calvary is complete. Nobody ever gets to heaven by their works. Eternal life in heaven is a gift of grace from a loving, merciful God. All we have to do is believe in the gospel of Christ by faith and ask Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior. God judges the heart and once He knows your faith is true you are saved unto eternal life at that moment. Your name is irrevocably added to the Book of Life.

Eph 2:8,9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

John 6:37 – The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

Rom 11:29 – For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Acts 16:31 – Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.

1 Thes 5:9 – For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ

Rom 10:9 – That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

This next series of blogs is for my sister who is a Christian but feels unworthy of heaven and never feels she has done enough to get there. My sister also feels if somehow she did get into heaven there is no way she could keep from sinning and God would eventually throw her out.  Every Christian has had periods of uncertainty and momentary doubts about their faith. How could we not? Satan continuously attacks the faith of all Christians. We’re all human beings and we see spiritual things from a human perspective and not from God’s viewpoint.  God created man and He loves us like any father loves his children. God knew us before the foundation of the world was laid and God has plans for us to be in heaven with Him forever. We were made for heaven and to God we are all priceless.

Eph 2:10 – For we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ps. 139:14 – I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Heb 13:5 – Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

Heb 11:13 – We are aliens and strangers on earth.

Phil 3:20 – Our citizenship is in heaven.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

1 Pet 3:18 – For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.

1 John 4:15 – Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

Scripture says only the Father knows the date and time of the rapture. While most Christians believe the rapture occurs prior to the start of the seven years of the tribulation period (pre-tribber). There are some who believe the rapture occurs at the half way point of the tribulation (mid-tribber) or at the end of the seven years (post-tribber).  If the mid-tribbers or post-tribbers are correct then we would know the exact date of the rapture. Scripture would have no need to tell us to watch expectantly for the coming of the Son of Man on that day or why tell us the rapture would come like a thief in the night.  If the mid-tribbers and post-tribbers are correct, then all believers would be raptured and given resurrection bodies leaving no believers on earth to propagate during the millennium.

There can’t be a post-tribber if the church is returning to earth with Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:9, makes it clear, “God hath not appointed us to wrath,”  and since the tribulation is know as God’s day of wrath, we clearly aren’t meant to be here for it. In Revelation the church is mentioned 17 times in chapters 1-3 but that all stops in chapter 4 when John is called to heaven.  The church isn’t mentioned again until the end of Revelation because the church is no longer on earth but at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in heaven. The next time the church is mentioned it is accompanying Jesus to earth at the second coming. Look at the evidence in Scripture and your will understand the rapture takes place before the tribulation starts. Don’t fall for anything else.

There are over 300 Bible references to the second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. I said earlier if God mentions something in the Bible twice it’s important to God. Only the doctrine of salvation is mentioned more time in the Bible.  Every New Testament writer mentions it and every Christian scholar accepts it as fact. The whole purpose of the Bible is the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of mankind and the Second Coming is the climax of the entire Bible.  While there is no disputing Jesus will return to earth as He said He would, there is a wide difference of opinion about the how and when of Jesus’ return. Scripture is clear Jesus will return in two phases, once in the air to gather in all the believers to Himself, both dead and alive. Christians refer to this as the rapture.

Later on Jesus actually returns to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords and sets His  foot down on the Mount of Olives where He will then defeat Israel’s enemies, judge the nations and set up His millennium kingdom here on earth.  We know the date of this glorious appearing will be exactly seven years to the day after Israel signs a middle east peace agreement. We just don’t the signing date yet.  There will be many other signs before that day.  The first phase of Jesus’ return will be to snatch away the saints instantaneously in what we refer to as the rapture. There is no sign that has to occur before God removes the saints so it could come at any moment.  What we do know is the rapture will occur before the tribulation begins. The “blessed hope” will be a time of great joy as we reunite with our loved ones in the air before returning to heaven with Jesus. Only God knows the time of the rapture.  We are instructed to watch for His coming.

Do not believe those who say the church has replaced Israel in God’s prophetic plan. The church today is not spiritual Israel. That’s wishful thinking on their part and not Scriptural. God doesn’t make mistakes and the Bible in numerous places confirms God’s everlasting love for Israel. Don’t get on the wrong side of God on this issue. God is always faithful to His Word. God doesn’t lie. God never breaks a covenant or changes His mind.  The church and Israel are two separate entities. When Israel rejected Jesus as the Messiah and crucified Him on the cross God turned to the Gentiles to spread the gospel message, thus beginning the church age which will end when believers are raptured to meet Jesus in the air along with all the saints who are asleep.

This occurs just prior to the peace agreement signed by Israel.  The peace agreement signed by Israel starts the clock on the last seven years of God dealing with Israel and will be the last seven years of human history as we know it. During this seven year “tribulation period” God turns His focus back to Israel.  The church will already have been raptured and taken to heaven. Israel and the unsaved will have to live through this period known as “God’s Day of Wrath”. Israel still has a prominent place in God’s plan for mankind.

Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is and always will be a Jewish Rabbi. In the millennium kingdom a Jewish King David will be Jesus’ second in command. The Jewish Apostles and prophets will all have prominent leadership positions in heaven. Scripture is clear about the Jewish people being preeminent in heaven and we Gentiles need to understand and accept that and get on board the train.  Gentiles owe their very salvation to the blessings of Abraham, the Jewish patriarch. Let’s show our love and appreciation by loving Israel, Jerusalem, and the Jewish people, not only for the blessings we have received through them, but because they are our brothers.  Praise God for His tender mercies.