You can identify your spiritual gift by recognizing the kind of service you can do naturally, with joy and effectiveness — not by forcing yourself into a role that does not fit.
Les Feldick teaches that every believer has at least one gift given according to God's will, and that many believers practice their gift without realizing it — as with the young woman who gathered 45–50 young people for Saturday-night Bible study and thought she had no gift. Instead of 'going looking up your gift,' he says to come down through the list of gifts and recognize your forte, then put it to work. Whatever that service is, it must be done for God's glory and in genuine love.
Romans 12:3-8 — This is the gift list Les tells believers to walk through as they recognize their strength; it shows every believer has a gift and that different members serve in different offices.
1 Corinthians 12:11 — Shows that the Holy Spirit — not the believer — decides which gift each person receives, which answers the common impulse to ask for or beg for a gift.
1 Corinthians 3:13-15 — Explains why identifying and using your gift matters: every believer's work will be tested by fire, and only work that abides will bring a reward.
Romans 12:3-8 is the Bible's central passage on gift identification. Paul writes that God 'hath dealt to every man the measure of faith,' and that believers are 'one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.' The passage then lists the varied gifts — 'whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness' — showing that believers serve in different capacities according to the grace given to them. First Corinthians 12:11 explains the source of these gifts: 'But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.' The Holy Spirit, not the believer, decides which gift each person receives. Ephesians 4:11-12 adds that Christ 'gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.' Finally, the Bible ties gift service to both motive and judgment. Romans 12:9 commands, 'Let love be without dissimulation.' And 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 warns that 'the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is' — if a believer's work 'abide,' he receives a reward; if it is burned, 'he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.'
Les Feldick teaches that the believer's first step is not to search for a gift but to recognize it. He repeatedly says, 'don't go looking up your gift' — instead, come down through the list of gifts in Romans 12 and you will say, 'Hey that's my forte, here's where I'm strong,' and then 'put it to work' (Clip 2). He also insists that believers are never to beg for a particular gift: 'That has to be discerned and given as the Holy Spirit wills it, not as we determine it' (Clip 3). Les illustrates this with a young woman in Iowa who pushed her furniture into a corner every Saturday night and gathered 45–50 college-age young people for three hours of singing and Bible study. When she complained that she had no gift, Les told her, 'How many people could get 45-50 young people in here on a Saturday night?... That's a gift. She had never thought of it that way before.' His point: 'We have that gift, we practice it at times, and we just don't realize what we've got' (Clips 1, 2). So the gift may be the very service you are already comfortable doing — the hospital visitor whose presence makes a sick person 'feel like a million dollars,' the prayer warrior who never appears in public but 'can accomplish more for God without ever being seen than many evangelists,' the person who knows how and when to give, or the one others are willing to follow (Clips 3, 5, 6). Whatever the gift, Les's counsel is consistent: determine that it is your gift, put it to use, and 'give God the credit' — never saying, 'Boy look what I can do,' because the gift is just something God has 'designated' (Clips 4, 5). And it must be exercised in love 'without dissimulation' — without hypocrisy — toward wealthy and lowly alike (Clip 6).
No — at least not in the way most people think. Les Feldick is emphatic: 'We are not to beg for a particular gift. We are not to ask for it. That has to be discerned and given as the Holy Spirit wills it, not as we determine it' (Clip 3). The Spirit divides gifts 'to every man severally as he will' (1 Corinthians 12:11), so the believer's part is recognition and use, not request.
Les's response is the story of the young Iowa woman: she hosted 45–50 high school and college-age young people in her home every Saturday night for hours of singing and Bible study, yet 'she was complaining that she didn't have a gift.' Les told her, 'That's a gift. She had never thought of it that way before.' He then draws the general principle: 'That's the way so many of us are. We have that gift, we practice it at times, and we just don't realize what we've got' (Clips 1, 2). If you are already serving and it works, that service may be your gift.
Once you recognize your strength, Les says, 'determine that it's your gift, and put it to use' (Clip 4). Fear often holds believers back — Les admits he 'was scared to death to get up in front of even 10 of my own peers' as a kid, but 'God overcame that.' If leadership is your gift and 'people are willing to follow you, get after it' and 'give God the credit' (Clip 5). And whatever you do, exercise it in love 'without dissimulation,' ready to serve the lowly as well as the wealthy (Clip 6).
Les works through the list in Romans 12: ministry — 'you can have all kinds of ministries,' whatever it is, determine it's your gift and put it to use (Clip 4); teaching — not everyone can teach, but 'a lot more people can than do' (Clip 4); exhortation — the person who encourages, like the woman whose encouragement sent a young man to Bible school and produced a productive life (Clip 5); giving — some 'know how to give, and they know when to give' (Clip 5); ruling — leadership in the local church, where 'if people are willing to follow you, get after it' (Clip 5); and showing mercy with cheerfulness — the visitor who makes a sick person 'feel like a million dollars' (Clip 6). He also adds from Ephesians 4 that God gave evangelists, pastors, and teachers to the church 'for the perfecting, the maturing' of the saints (Clip 7).
Works Tested at the Bema Seat
Les teaches that every believer's work will be tested by fire at the judgment seat of Christ, so identifying and building with your gift is about more than just being saved — it determines reward.
Every Believer Has at Least One Gift
Les explains that God has given gifts to every believer — at least one, some two — according to God's will, and gives examples like the gift of approaching unapproachable people and the young woman who gathered 45–50 young people in her home.
Don't Look Up Your Gift — Recognize Your Forte
Les says believers should not go searching for their gift; instead, they should come down through the list of gifts and recognize where they are strong — 'that's my forte' — and put it to work, since many practice their gift without realizing it.
Don't Beg for a Gift — the Spirit Wills It
Les teaches that no believer should beg for or ask for a particular gift; it is discerned and given as the Holy Spirit wills, and even an unseen prayer warrior can accomplish more for God than public evangelists.
Ministry and Teaching
Les urges believers to determine whatever ministry is their gift and put it to use, noting that many can teach but are afraid; whatever the gift, it is from God and should never be a source of personal pride.
Exhortation, Giving, and Leading
Les teaches that gifts include exhortation, giving, and leadership in the local church; not everyone has these abilities, but if you do, you should get to work and give God the credit.
Showing Mercy with Cheerfulness
Les shows that the gift of mercy is visible in hospital visits that lift a sick person's spirits, and that every gift must be exercised in love without dissimulation toward all people, wealthy and lowly alike.
Gifted Men for the Church
Les explains that God gave evangelists, pastors, and teachers as gifted men to the church to perfect and mature the saints — one reason gifted service matters in the body of Christ.
Romans 12:3: For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Gifts rest on the 'measure of faith' God has dealt to every believer.
Romans 12:4: For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
The body analogy shows that not all believers share the same office or service.
Romans 12:6-8: Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
This is the checklist Les walks through with the believer to find 'where I'm strong.'
Romans 12:9: Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
All gift exercise must be genuine, without hypocrisy.
1 Corinthians 3:13-15: Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Every believer's works — including gift service — will be tested by fire at Christ's judgment seat.
1 Corinthians 12:11: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
The Spirit, not the believer, decides which gift each person receives.
Ephesians 4:11-12: And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Christ gave gifted men to the church to mature believers.
Yes. Les Feldick teaches that 'every believer has at least one of these' gifts, and some may have two (Clip 1). This is his reading of Romans 12, where God has 'dealt to every man the measure of faith' (Romans 12:3). The gift is distributed according to God's will, not the believer's preference.
Les says believers should not beg for a particular gift or ask for it: 'That has to be discerned and given as the Holy Spirit wills it, not as we determine it' (Clip 3). This is consistent with 1 Corinthians 12:11, where the Spirit divides 'to every man severally as he will.'
Les's counsel is that most of us already practice our gift without recognizing it: 'We have that gift, we practice it at times, and we just don't realize what we've got' (Clip 2). The young woman who hosted 45–50 young people each Saturday night thought she had no gift, yet her ability to gather them was clearly a gift. Look at the service you are already doing naturally and joyfully — that may be your gift.
Les says don't 'go looking up your gift,' but rather come down through the list of gifts and recognize where you are strong — 'that's my forte, here's where I'm strong' — and then put it to work (Clip 2). Whatever it is, exercise it in love without hypocrisy, and give God the credit (Clips 4, 6).
Watch the Teaching: What Happens to Believers at the Bema Seat?