CHANGING THE CLIMATE – PART 7 OF 8
The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit
As you know I have been preaching a series based around Changing The Climate that we live in – changing the environment that we work in rather than the other way around.
Jesus said in ACTS 1:8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Jesus did not give us such a huge responsibility and then not give us the ability to be able to fulfil this task. And as we know, this ability to be witnesses is through the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
And so this morning I want to begin to look at the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Paul said in 1 CORINTHIANS 12:1 that he doesn’t want us to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. And so this morning I am going to attempt to clarify some issues.
1. There is a difference between the "gift" of the Holy Spirit and "gifts" of the Holy Spirit.
*** The "gift" of the Holy Spirit occurred at Pentecost (ACTS 2) when the Holy Spirit came in answer to the promise of Jesus:
And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter...Even the Spirit of truth...(John 14:16-17a)
*** "Gifts" of the Holy Spirit are supernatural abilities the Holy Spirit gives believers, after being baptised in the Holy Spirit, to be able to minister more effectively.
When you get baptised in the Holy Spirit, you SHOULD experience something. The creator of the universe has just chosen to place His Spirit within you. And with that, He has given us access to His supernatural powers so that we CAN and WILL be witnesses. His Holy Spirit is now available to you in an added dimension to live that abundant life that Jesus promised in John 10:10.
This is the whole issue of changing the climate, because ministry is not JUST something that should happen in these four walls. Ministry should happen in your work place, in your school, in your home, in your sports team. Ministry should be an automatic outworking of your relationship with Christ.
Ministry happens when you pray for people that you have contact with; ministry happens when you reach out in compassion to someone that everyone else rubbishes; ministry happens when you respond in the RIGHT way to criticism at work; ministry happens when you least expect it – played golf – the other people joked that I had an unfair advantage with God on my side – people watch how you respond – that is ministry!
In LUKE 10 you can read the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus used this parable to illustrate who is our neighbour. In this parable there is this person who ministered because he saw a need.
2. There is a difference between spiritual gifts and natural talents.
A talent is a natural ability inherited at birth or developed through training. But a spiritual gift is a special ability given by the Holy Spirit to be used for specific spiritual purposes.
Now sometimes natural gifts become spiritual gifts because the Lord supernaturally adds to your natural ability.
You all know that I have a natural ability to tell really funny jokes………………
I know that there have been times when I have been preaching, when the Lord suddenly anoints my words – there is a sense that at that instant something different is happening – that the words are not just being spoken into the room to be left hanging there doing nothing but that God has taken them and impacted someone.
Sometimes as I am praying for people, I will get a picture come to my mind or a phrase, or a word or a scripture and as I share this, God uses it to speak to the person.
We need to yield our natural talents to God and allow Him to add to them and to use them for His glory …… NOT OURS! Being a Christian is not difficult – living a Christian life is!
Look at MATTHEW 24& 25 – here Jesus is talking to His disciples about the things that are going to happen to them in the future – His return, the difficult days ahead, there is the challenge to be ready for His return, the parable of the ten virgins, at the end of 25 He talks about the judgement AND RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS IS A PARABLE ABOUT USING YOUR TALENTS – the blessing when you do and the challenge when you don’t!
3. One gift is not more important than any other.
The Bible indicates there are many gifts that the Holy Spirit gives the believer. Some may have more prominence, but they are equally as important. But, and I’m going to mention this in my next point, even though each gift is as important as any other, some gifts DO HAVE a greater RESPONSIBILITY.
1 Corinthians 12:4-10 (NIV) There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
Romans 12:6-8 (NIV) We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
No gift is more important than another. Your position in the Body of Christ is compared to parts of a human body. Just as in the human body, the smaller parts such as the eye have important functions, the seemingly "small" gift is often quite important in the functioning of the church. Some gifts involve greater responsibilities, but no gift is more important than another.
Some parts of the human body have greater responsibilities than others. For example, the eye lets you see what is around you. It guides you when walking. It permits you to read and see and enjoy God’s creations. The eye has greater responsibility, but it is no more important than the big toe which provides balance for walking. The guidance of the eye for walking is useless if you have no feet with which to walk. The eye’s function to permit reading is useless if you have no brain to understand what you read.
And sometimes the things that go on behind the scenes are far more significant than the things that are seen up front. If your bowel stops working, it won’t matter how good your eyesight is!
4. With the gifts come responsibility.
I have a very clear responsibility as the pastor of the church here to use the gifts that God has given me to achieve certain things.
In EZEKIEL 34 there is a massive challenge for leaders in the church.
The New Testament version is a lot easier to read!!!!!
EPHESIANS 4:11-15 (NASB) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ,
Clearly, according to this passage, my role is to:
· Equip the saints
· Promote the work of service
· Build up Christ and the Church
So that we will:
· Become united in the faith.
· Develop our knowledge of Christ.
· Become mature, with Christ as our model.
· Become stable, not deceived by false doctrines.
· Become a loving community of believers.
And with that position comes a heavy responsibility – sometimes almost too heavy to carry! I do not want to sound boastful here, but often there is a laying down of my personal needs for other people – and I’m sure that every parent knows what I mean there.
· I am passionate about/for you and the church.
· It saddens me when people do not seem to understand how important the church actually is.
· It saddens me when church stops us from being real.
· If I ever lose that passion – then I should leave.
· This is not a job for me ………… it is a burden! (I can fully understand Paul – 2 COR 11:24-28 – despite the beatings and hardship, the burden for the church was also in that.
· ????? 1 TIMOTHY 5:17 ?????
5. God wants us to use our gifts.
1 PETER 4:10-11 (NIV) Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
But this is often how misunderstandings can arise in the Church when some do not recognise (or accept) the spiritual gifts of others. For example, one person may have the gift of giving and may not understand another believer who does not give as generously. Or one may have the gift of administration and become very impatient with people who are less organised.
Each believer should use his spiritual gifts to work together with other believers who have different gifts. When this happens, the Church functions effectively as the Body of Christ.
THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
So what are the gifts of the Spirit?
The main passages identifying spiritual gifts are:
Romans 12:1-8 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 Ephesians 4:1-16
Gifts include: Prophesy, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, showing mercy, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, discerning of spirits, speaking in another tongue, interpretation of tongues, apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher.
Remember that these gifts are special abilities from God to minister in different ways. While there may be some evidences of these in all our lives it does not necessarily mean we have a certain gift. For example, all believers are to give to the work of the Lord with tithes and offerings. But the gift of giving is an unusual generosity prompted by the Spirit of God. All believers have a measure of faith according to the Word of God. But the gift of faith is a special ability to believe beyond that of the ordinary Christian.
THE KEY TO USING GIFTS
But there is a key to using the gifts of the Holy Spirit that take them from being abused and misused to being powerful and impacting.
Look at 1 CORINTHIANS 12:27FF Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.
Read again the last part of VERSE 31: And now I will show you the most excellent way.
1 CORINTHIANS 13 explains that "more excellent way." This chapter gives the key to using spiritual gifts. That key is love. You can prophesy, have the gifts of healing, faith, giving, etc., but without love in using these gifts, they will not be effective.
Gifts are unprofitable when used without love. Speaking in tongues becomes like a noisy clanging. Every gift is worthless, "it profits nothing", unless it is used in love. Love is the "more excellent way" in which the gifts are used. The gifts become a channel through which God’s love can flow to those around us. Love is the key to using spiritual gifts effectively.
And can I say this as lovingly as possible…… unless you have a love for the ‘Body,’ I do not believe that you will ever function properly in the gift/gifts that God has given you.
Equally so, unless you are a PART OF A BODY, you will continually feel uneasy in your walk with the Lord. His plan to reach this world is for us to be His witnesses and US working together is called the CHURCH.
In CHAPTER 12, He makes it clear that the church and the body are one and the same. You need the people sitting around you so that you will become more and more effective as a Christian.
Are you aware of some people who are not here today – WE ALL SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE ARE PART OF YOU.
Let me finish with this scripture
JOHN 13:34-35 (NASB) "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Finish with communion and some worship – people may need to go and pray with one another, put something right, ask for forgiveness, make a fresh commitment to the Lord or to someone………
