Purpose Of The Gifts Series

Intro

Today, we begin a series on the gifts of the Spirit.

This is a challenging subject because the goal is not just more knowledge about the gifts but knowledge that releases us into the actual exercise of the gifts in our personal lives and in the corporate life of this church. “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.” iTo obey James 1:22, we will need the grace of God. We will need the Holy Spirit making this real to our hearts. So, right here from the beginning, I want to ask you to bow your heads and join me in a prayer: “Lord, we all have a lot to learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We need you to teach us that which only you can teach. We look into Your word for truth on this subject. We look to You to be our teacher. Use this teaching to equip us for service, supernatural service, grace-empowered service. We humble ourselves before you as Your dear children. Father, teach us Your ways. Open Your word to us. In Jesus name, Amen.”

I want to take a little time to transition us from the series on worship to this series. The worship series is a preparation for this teaching. First, we need to be genuine worshippers of God who know how to enter into the koinonia of worship. Then out of that relationship with God, we are positioned to hear from Him and operate in the gifts of the Spirit.

By way of review, what did we learn about worship in those six messages?ii

(1) In the first message, we learned that God is seeking worshippers, not because He has some egotistical need to be praised, but because worship is the appropriate relationship between the creature and the Creator. So, in John 4:23-24 Jesus gave the woman at the well the most fundamental truth about worship ever spoken. “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

True worship is from the heart. External factors like style and technique are secondary. True worship comes out of a revelation of who God is and a heart of gratitude for His goodness. God is seeking people who will worship Him out of a sincere heart.

(2) In the second message, we saw an example of this in the woman with the alabaster box of ointment, the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and poured the fragrant, expensive oil on His feet. There in Luke 7, we saw a contrast between two worshippers: this woman and Simon the Pharisee who was not broken before God and not lavish in His respect toward the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of worship.iii The level of our regard for the Lord defines the level of our worship.

(3) In the third message, we examined five practical ways to improve our worship experience: (a) Consistency (b) expectancy (c) intentionality (d) focus (e) engagement. If we live worship as a lifestyle, then we will be able to move into corporate worship on Sunday mornings quickly. Then we can come expecting the Lord to meet with us. Be clear about what you come to do when you gather with God’s people for worship. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted from that. Get focused on the Lord and participate in the activity. Worship is not a spectator sport. We don’t come with an audience mentality. We come to engage the Lord and glorify Him.

(4) The next message dealt with a crucial preparation for worship. It was based on Jesus’s instruction in Matt. 5:23-24 “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

We cannot expect to have a rich vertical relationship of worship with the Father if we won’t address the broken relationships with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. So, we saw the priority of this in defining our worship experience. When we talk about the gifts of the Spirit, we will talk about the importance of having the right heart toward others. All the commandments of God hang on two great commandments. Matt 22:37-39 "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” This is foundational to worship. This is foundational to operating in the gifts of the Spirit.