We Minister in All Areas
Many people asked us, " Is it possible to have all seven of the motivational gifts in my life to some extent? The answer is yes. We will see during the testing process that you will have some scoring, no matter how little, in each gift. We are all endowed with enough of each gift to be able to operate in that area to some degree, when called on.
Just because you do not have a particular gift as your primary giftedness does not mean that you should shrink from responding to needs around you.
For example, let's suppose your primary motivational gift is teaching and you scored the least number of points on the gift of compassion. In church one Sunday, however, you realize that the woman sitting next to you is crying. You don't know what's wrong, but you can tell she is hurting. Then you remember that compassion was your lowest score and so you say to her, "Don't expect me to help you. Go find someone with the gift of compassion!" Right? Wrong!
As part of the Body of Christ we can minister to anyone for any need, anywhere, anytime.
Don't ever let the knowledge of your particular motivational gift keep you from ministering in other areas.
While it is true that in the above scenario a compassion person would be aware of the hurting person sooner than others and move to meet the need, it does not mean that others are not able to reach out with compassion when it's needed.
We will all minister in the spheres of all seven gifts.
You see, there is a difference between being (your motivational gift makes you what are) and doing (your service to Jesus will include a wide variety of activities). Yet, the way you minister in any area will be affected by your primary motivational gift.
Also, remember that God's grace is sufficient for any circumstance we may find ourselves in. He enables. He anoints us for the task at hand. We can count on Him.
How do we know that all Christians are enjoined (and enabled) to minister in the areas
of all the gifts? The Bible makes it clear:
1. Perceiving: You are to perceive God's will in various degrees and situations.
We should all perceive spiritual truth:
Speaking to His disciples all of them) Jesus said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven . ." (Matthew 13:11, TAB).
We should all proclaim God's will with the help of the Holy Spirit:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy—telling forth the divine counsels . ." (Acts 2:17, TAB).
We should all seek wisdom:
"That people may know skill and godly wisdom and instruction, discern (perceive) and comprehend the words of understanding and insight" (Proverbs 1:2, TAB).
2. Serving: You are to serve the Lord and other people in a variety of ways.
We should all serve God:
"Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!" (Psalm 100:2, TAB).
We should all serve others:
"... Through love you should serve one another" (Galatians 5:13, TAB).
We should all serve Jesus:
"If any one would serve Me, he must continue to follow Me—to cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example, in living and if need be in dying—and wherever I am, there will My servant be also. If any one serves Me, the Father will honor him" (John 12:26, TAB).
3. Teaching: You are to teach others in appropriate ways.
We should all be prepared to teach:
"Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved ... a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing-rightly handling and skillfully teaching—the Word of Truth"
(2 Timothy 2:15, TAB).
We should all teach one another:
"Let the word [spoken by] the Christ . . . have its home (in your hearts and minds) and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things] … " (Colossians 3:16, TAB).
We should all teach others to obey the commands of Jesus: "Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you . . ." (Matthew 28:19-20, TAB).
4. Exhorting: You are to exhort, admonish, and encourage others.
We should exhort one another whenever we gather together:
"Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but (exhorting)
admonishing—warning, urging and encouraging—one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day
approaching" (Hebrews 10:25, TAB).
We should all devote ourselves to exhortation:
"Till I come, devote yourself to [public and private] reading, to exhortation—preaching and personal appeals—and to
teaching and instilling doctrine" (1 Timothy 4:13, TAB).
We should all exhort every day: "But instead warn (admonish, urge and encourage) one another every day, as long
as it is called Today, that none of you may be hardened . . . by the deceitfulness of sin . ." (Hebrews 3:13, TAB).
5. Giving: You are to give of your resources and energies to God and to others.
We should all be generous: "Give, and [gifts] will be given you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and
running over . . ." (Luke 6:38, TAB).
We should all give freely:
“. . . Freely (without pay) you have received; freely (without charge) give" (Matthew 10:8, TAB).
We should all be responsible for the support of ministry:
"Contribute to the needs of God's people—sharing in the necessities of the saints—pursuing the practice of
hospitality" (Romans 12:13, TAB).
6. Administering: You are to lead as God calls you to do so.
We should all lead with a servant's heart:
“. . . You know that those who are recognized as governing and are supposed to rule the Gentiles (the nations) lord it over them—ruling with absolute power, holding them in subjection—and their great men exercise authority and dominion over them. But this is not to be so among you; instead, whoever desires to be great among you must be your servant. (Mark 10:42-43, TAB).
We should all begin by administering right where we are:
"His master said to him, Well done, you upright and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much . . ." (Matthew 25:21, TAB).
We should all begin by administering right where we are:
"His master said to him, Well done, you upright and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much . . ." (Matthew 25:21, TAB).
We should all look to God for a leadership position: "But God is the judge! He puts down one and lifts up another (Psalm 75:7, TAB). 7. Showing Compassion: You are to show love, compassion, and mercy to others. We should all abound in mercy: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7, KJ4
We should all be loving: "Finally, all [of you] should be of one and the same mind (united in spirit), sympathizing [with one another], loving [each the others] as brethren (of one household), compassionate and courteous—tenderhearted and humble-minded" (1 Peter 3:8, TAB).
We should all show compassion to others: "Thus has the Lord of hosts spoken: Execute true judgment and show mercy and kindness and tender compassion every man to his brother" (Zechariah 7:9, TAB). In all these ways the Bible admonishes us to minister in all areas of giftedness. This helps to bring balance into our lives. We will still function mainly in our primary motivational gift (that's what motivates us, remember?) but we are able to--and we must—minister in the other areas as well.