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 | To keep the Church united in doctrine and fellowship. |
| To help the Church grow spiritually in Christlikeness. |
| To enable the Church to minister to the varied needs of the world and thereby add to the family of God. |
| To protect the Church from false doctrine and satanic influences. |
| To keep the Church awake to its privileges, duties, and perils. |
Screen 15
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of
activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.
----------------------------------------------------
The Bible lists many different spiritual gifts. Our spiritual gifts assessment
covers twenty-six of them, named or alluded to in the New Testament.
But all those gifts share a common goal: they are «given to each
one for the profit of all».
Therefore, the spiritual gifts help us glorify God and edify each other.
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| «There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.» (1 Corinthians 12:4) | |||
| Administration | Exhortation | Knowledge | Service |
| Apostleship | Faith | Leadership | Shepherding |
| Craftsmanship | Giving | Mercy | Teaching |
| Creative communication | Healing | Miracles | Tongues and Interpretation |
| Helps | Missionary | ||
| Discernment | Hospitality | Music | Wisdom |
| Evangelism | Intercession | Prophecy | Writing |
Screen 17
Matthew 25:14,15
For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a
far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.
And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to
his own ability.
----------------------------------------------------
Aren't spiritual gifts merely amplifications or applications of natural talents
and abilities?
In fact, the Holy Spirit may decide to amplify a natural talent and give it a twist that
makes it applicable to the advancement of the Kingdom.
He may, on the other hand, decide to assign a person a gift that has little or nothing to
do with natural talents or abilities.
Screen 18
Colossians 1:9,10
We (...) ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
----------------------------------------------------
Also, let's not mix up spiritual gifts with spiritual disciplines.
Spiritual disciplines include personal Bible study, prayer, fasting, tithing, and other
practices that help us grow in faith, control our sinful desires, and develop character.
While spiritual gifts help us SERVE in the body of Christ,
spiritual disciplines help us GROW in our relationship to
God.
The following table illustrates the distinction between spiritual gifts and spiritual
disciplines.
Screen 19
Distinction between spiritual gifts and spiritual disciplines :
Spiritual Gifts
|
Spiritual Disciplines
====================================|===================================
Not everyone is called to serve | ... but everyone is called to grow
using these spiritual gifts... | doing these spiritual
disciplines:
Knowledge <-----|----->
Bible study
Intercession
<-----|----->
Prayer
Evangelism
<-----|-----> Witnessing
Giving
<-----|-----> Tithes and offerings
------------------------------------|-----------------------------------
«There are diversities of gifts, | «Beware lest you also fall from
but the same Spirit. (...) Are all | your own
steadfastness, being led
apostles? Are all prophets? Are all | away with the error of
the wicked;
teachers? Are all workers of mira- | but
grow in the grace and know-
cles? Do all have gifts of heal- |
ledge of our Lord and Savior Je-
ings?» (1 Corinthians 12:4,29,30) | sus
Christ.» (2 Peter 3:17,18)
Screen 20
1 Corinthians 12:12
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
----------------------------------------------------
The apostle Paul uses the analogy of the cooperative functions of human anatomy
as an illustration of how spiritual gifts produce unity within the Church body.
Therefore, all spiritual gifts are important, and operating together in harmony, each
contributes to the whole.
There is no such thing as an insignificant gift!
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Romans 12:6-8
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that
is given to us, let us use them.
If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our
ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives,
with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
----------------------------------------------------
Using our spiritual gifts is an important part of the larger picture of
Christian service. It implies that active service on behalf of God's Church is an integral
part of the new-birth experience.
Thus, being born again is more than a personal experience. It turns each one of us into a
Christian soldier, ready to fight on behalf of the Kingdom of God.
Screen 22
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but
have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
but have not love, it profits me nothing.
----------------------------------------------------
A proper attitude of love underlying the use of our spiritual gifts is the
essential ingredient that makes the entire system workable.
Love is the glue that bonds the unity and makes it effective through right attitudes and
personality traits.
Through love, we acknowledge that all our spiritual gifts are interdependant and have no
hierarchy of value, even though some carry a more visible profile than others.
Screen 23
1 Timothy 4:14
Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
----------------------------------------------------
Our spiritual gifts assessment will help you recognize your gifts. Then you can
take steps to develop them to maximum efficiency and usefulness, and set priorities for
your service to God's Kingdom.
You will be much more satisfied and less frustrated knowing that you are doing exactly
what God has called you to do on behalf of His Church.
And you will know you are contributing to the overall work of the body of Christ in
precisely the way you were meant to contribute.
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1 Peter 4:7,10
The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious
and watchful in your prayers. (...)
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God.
---------------------
Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
----------------------------------------------------
And, of course, an awareness of the urgency of the times in which we live should cause us to give priority to the exercise of our spiritual gifts.
Screen 25
We all have spiritual gifts, and it is important for us to use them:
«And [Christ] Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.» (Ephesians 4:11-16)
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Luke 11:13
[Jesus said:] «If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!»
---------------------
Acts 2:38,39
Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as
the Lord our God will call.
----------------------------------------------------
If we have not yet responded to God's call to repentance, and if we have not
yet received the Holy Spirit, there is still time to act.
If we sincerely desire that the Holy Spirit work within our hearts to transform us, teach
us, and guide us, the promise is plain: God will fill us with the Holy Spirit, and we will
receive His spiritual gifts.
Screen 27
Let's thank God:
Father,
Before He ascended, Your Son Jesus Christ gave His Church its marching orders: to take the
Good News to the whole world. This job requires that every Christian be involved in some
form of ministry.
Fortunately, Your Holy Spirit provides special spiritual gifts to each Christian for use
in different ministries.
Which gifts has the Spirit given us? Please help us discover our gifts and learn how to
use them to help finish the work Jesus has given to His disciples to prepare for His soon
return.
In His precious name we pray.
Amen.
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