DISCOVERING YOUR SHAPE

“We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

 MY 4th PURPOSE IS TO SERVE GOD BY SERVING OTHERS “Ministry”

Ministry simply means using OUR SHAPE (I’ll explain that later) to help somebody else in the name of God.  Any time you use your gifts, talents, your abilities, your background, your experiences to help somebody else is Ministering.  If you’re a Christian, you know what you are?  You are a minister. 

“Your hands shaped me and made me.”      Job 10:8 (NIV)

To understand our SHAPE we need to look at the unique design and ministry God made us for and secondly the importance of building momentum to fulfill our calling.  Let’s start by looking at our SHAPE

Spiritual Gifts

Heart (Passions)

Abilities

Personality

Experiences

“Each one should use whatever gift he’s received to serve others.”

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

Spiritual Gifts

God desires you to know the spiritual gift(s) He has chosen for you. Learning more about His gift(s) to us, and the many ways we can use those gifts within the church is a life-long process.

The four major lists of gifts are found in Romans 12:3-8, 1 Cor. 12:1-11, 27 -31, Eph. 4:11- 12, and 1 Peter 4:9-11, and there are other passages that mention or illustrate gifts not included in these lists.

Every believer has at least 1 gift and some people can have many gifts depending on God’s provision:

Here’s some of those gifts: Administration, Apostleship, Discernment, Encouragement, Evangelism, Faith, Giving, Healing, Helps, Hospitality, Leadership, Mercy, Miracles, Pastoring, Prophecy (preaching), Teaching, Tongues, Wisdom. 

PLEASE CLICK HERE for the lesson in the first week of  Discovering your SHAPE – Spiritual Gifts.  Please select from 1-5 with 5 being yes I definitely have this gift and 1 being NO way I have this gift to determine what God has Gifted you.  Please also visit https://spiritualgiftstest.com an online questionnaire to help you better determine giftedness.  Write out your top 3 and any notes/questions you have then share with me at jon@justchurch.net to explore your SHAPE together as a Church

Heart (Passions)

The Bible uses the term “heart” to describe the bundle of desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams, and affections you have.

Your heart represents the source of all your motivations—what you love to do and what you care about most.  

Even today we still use the word in this way when we say, “I love you with all my heart.”

Your heart determines why you say the things you do, why you feel the way you do, and why you act the way you do.

In the same way, God has given each of us a unique emotional “heartbeat” that races when we think about the subjects, activities, or circumstances that interest us.

We instinctively care about some things and not about others. These are clues as to where you should be serving.

Another word for heart is passion. Passions are desires or purposes that bring us joy. There are certain subjects you feel passionate about and others you couldn’t care less about.

Some experiences turn you on and capture your attention while others turn you off or bore you to tears but excite someone else.  These reveal the nature of your heart.

Please consider the three ways in which your heart or passion is directed:

a passion for a role (what you like to do);
a passion for specific people (whom you like to help);
and a passion for a cause (what you would like to see changed).

In our workshop we looked at specific Passions (Please Click Here for week 2 SHAPE handout) and how those can direct what your Heart for ministry is. 

Abilities

Your abilities are the natural talents with which you were born. All of our abilities come from God.

The Bible says, “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.”

Since your natural abilities are from God, they are just as important as your spiritual gifts. The only difference is that you were given them at birth.

One of the most common excuses people give for not serving is “I just don’t have any abilities to offer.” This is ludicrous.

You have dozens, probably hundreds, of untapped, unrecognized, and unused abilities that are lying dormant inside you.

Many studies have revealed that the average person possesses from 500 to 700 different skills and abilities—far more than you realize.

Every ability can be used for God’s glory.  (Please Click Here for week 3 SHAPE Handout)

What your able to do, God wants you to do.

Personality

Your personality will affect how and where you use your spiritual gifts and abilities. For instance, two people may have the same gift of evangelism, but if one is introverted and the other is extroverted, that gift will be expressed in different ways.

Moreover your personality will bring character to your shape and help you connect with certain people based on their personality. 

We at Just Church have explored the Enneagram as a way of understanding of personality types to build a new ourselves in and knowing who we are and who God made us in love and we can best use our gifts, heart and abilities to serve in His kingdom. 

Please click here for the last of the materials in week 4 of the workshop.  Also, there’s 10 weeks of our “Made in Love” sermon series from our time at the farm last summer on our website justchurch.net/watch

or see Pastor Rachel who is passionate about the effectiveness of the Enneagram in bringing Joy and peace in knowing how and why we are wired with these types. 

Experiences

Whether you know it or even accept it, we have been shaped by our experiences in life, most of which were beyond your control.

God allowed them for His purpose of molding you. In determining your shape for serving God, you should examine at least six kinds of experiences from your past.

Joyful experiences: What times have given you the greatest Joy?
Ministry experiences: How have you served God in the past?
Work experiences: What jobs have you been most effective in and enjoyed most?
Educational experiences: What were your favorite subjects in school?
Spiritual experiences: What have been your most meaningful times with God?
Painful experiences: From what problems, hurts, thorns, and trials have you learned?

It is this last category, painful experiences, that God uses the most to prepare you for ministry.

God never wastes a hurt! In fact, your greatest ministry will most likely come out of your greatest hurt.

Who could better minister to the parents of a Down syndrome child than another couple who have a child afflicted in the same way? Who could better help an alcoholic recover than someone who fought that demon and found freedom?

If you really desire to be used by God, you must understand a powerful truth: The very experiences that you have resented or regretted most in life—the ones you’ve wanted to hide and forget—are the experiences God wants to use to help others and yourself. 

Sharing these experiences with others and exploring forgiveness and wellness will bring healing to them and to you.  They are your ministry!