A Disciple Is ...
A person with a new heart
A person with a New Identity
A person with a New Destination
A Warrior for the Kingdom
A Person deeply loved by God
A Person Given the Spirit
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Text: I cor. 12: 1 - 11
A Disciple Is ... A Person Equipped for Mission Possible!
God has called us to a colossal mission - to extend the reach of the Kingdom of Heaven! That takes so many different forms.
Cindy Weaver - is called to lead a school where children are excellently educated in a Christ-centered environment.
Tony Wood - is called to lead young men in prison to new beginnings as the love Christ Jesus.
I am called to “teach people how to say ‘yes’ to God’s plans for their life.”
You have a God-given mission, too. I want Washington Assembly to be a church where there is spiritual life; where those thirsting for God can find him, and where those who want to live life in a way that is meaningful are encouraged to dream and be visionary in His service!
I am glad that I am a Christian, filled with the Holy Spirit, that God has gifted me with eternal life, with hope and purpose, and joy. It is my privilege to say to the seeker, "I have found Him. Let me show you the way, too!"
You can say that, too. However, when we make that invitation, we must be able to bring that person to something more than a concert or a lecture in a church building.
We must be able to introduce them to the living God. How do we do that?
Through the power of the Holy Spirit of God. He promised this....
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
The disciples who first heard Jesus speak that promise, were an ordinary group of men, not distinguished, not particularly spiritual, certainly not a group anyone would have included on a ‘most likely to succeed’ list. Yet, before their deaths some 35-40 years later, they had changed history! How? God’s Spirit empowered them for a mission possible!
Believer, we may have the strength of money, the strength of numbers, a lot of support from organization - but the fact is that our greatest power to be effective in fulfilling Jesus’ desire that we carry His message to the world comes from the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.
As I preached last Sunday, when the Spirit's life is flowing in us the visible evidence will be a character remarkably full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is another aspect of his work in us that I want us consider this morning. Not only does the Holy Spirit want to create the character of Jesus in your life, He wants to do the kind of work that Jesus did using YOU! He wants you and me to be his hands, his voice, his influence in this world. Jesus, in the middle of teaching His disciples about the Holy Spirit said, {John 14:12} “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”
The Bible teaches us that this power of the Spirit is expressed through the Church, that is, you and me, in the form of the Gifts of the holy Spirit.
TEXT - 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 PB 1785
READ
What is this passage talking about? The supernatural abilities given to disciples of Jesus that equip us to carry out God’s mission in our world.
Please note that word, supernatural.
Often we talk of people being ‘gifted’ and what we really mean is that they are talented. Both Christians who are filled with the Spirit and people who are not Christians may be talented. Unbelievers can make music, create artistic masterpieces, give moving speeches, and master great amounts of knowledge. God gave mankind vast and wonderful abilities when He created us in his own image. Even though sin has corrupted humanity and their God-given talents, we still see those talents in evidence and they bring blessing to us. We should thank God for so-called natural talent which he set into the framework of humanity at creation, however, when we speak of Spiritual gifts, we are referring to something beyond being naturally talented.
Sometimes when we talk about a person being ‘gifted’ we’re really admiring their personality, their charisma. Having a positive personality, being one of those people who are able to influence others because of leadership ability is a great thing, but not necessarily a gift of the Spirit. Outright pagans are sometimes great leaders and very influential.
Our text says that “to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given.” Every Believer is a gifted child in God’s family, not just those of amazing talent or sweet temperament! You and I can operate in the supernatural, and such a life is not, for the Spirit-filled Believer extraordinary! It is the normal Christian life. The person being used by the holy Spirit moves beyond his own abilities and becomes a tool in God's hand to do the work of God.
Many churches operate around natural human talent or are driven by the personality of the Pastor. They have the appearance of being alive and in a sense they are. The only problem is that when the life of a church is derived from a talented pastor and/or leaders in the church, if you remove a key individual or the charisma of the leader is lost, the work stops because the ‘life’ is gone.
That is not the only problem with a humanly talented church. The talented church will soon run up against Spiritual problems which will not yield to their creativity and resources.
Human talent, no matter how finely developed, is no match for Satan and his destructive forces in this world. A church being run only on talent will find that it is unable to deal with sin effectively, that the people who sit in its pews week after week are unable to overcome temptation, and the are no changed lives. People may be motivated to good work, but they will be incapable of spiritual work!
Let me be clear about this; talented people may also be gifted people. God can and often does enter the life of the talented individual who surrenders to the mastery of Jesus Christ, to use their natural ability with supernatural power. However, if you think that you are talented don’t slip into the error of trusting in your own ability, more than seeking the Spirit! Short on natural ability? Don’t let that hinder your service. He often uses the most ordinary people who are not confident in their own talents to do his work in a way that surprises those who look on.
Here at W. A/G our prayer should be - "Come, Holy Spirit! Use me to do your work in your way."
Let’s look at our text once again and discover some guiding principles for the working of the Spirit in our lives.....
V. 1-3 The supreme test of any gift's authenticity is its submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that before we knew Christ as Savior, somehow we were influenced to serve as gods idols who could not speak to us. These idols are money, power, sex, status, self, etc. Left to our own way, led by Satan and his demons, we find ourselves serving Gods that do not satisfy. Worse yet, we reject the one true God and his way, Jesus Christ.
When the Holy Spirit enters into us, when we believe and receive, he gives us the understanding and ability to say that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is not simply teaching about the verbal ability to say, "Jesus is Lord!" Many, many people who not Godly can in jest, mockingly, or even seriously agree that Jesus is Lord.
What does their life say about Jesus, however?
Does the daily conduct of their lives declare that Jesus is lord?
Without the empowering life of the Holy Spirit, our lives will not make such a statement. The argument is made then, if a person in the church claims to be working in the power of the holy Spirit but they are not lifting up Jesus Christ, they are not under his influence. Their ‘gift’ is from the Holy Spirit.
Want to be empowered by the Spirit? First step - SURRENDER!
Stay humble. Be quickly responsive to God. This will prevent the growth of spiritual pride which is the #1 downfall of people who are used by God in Kingdom work! Pride will block the flow of the Spirit of God into your life and destroy His ability to do His work through you.
[vv. 4-6 ] In our text we learn that within the context of the church, the Holy Spirit does his work in many different ways.
God is rich in creativity. He enables men and women is many, many ways. In the Bible there are three lists that illustrate the ways in which God works through us with the gifting of the Holy Spirit. These lists are found in I Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4.
They are not intended to tell us every way in which God works. Rather these lists exist to show some models. There are about 20 things listed.....
prophecy (inspired speaking of God's truth), service to others, teaching, exhorting (encouraging others to keep the faith), giving, leadership, showing mercy, having wisdom, having knowledge and insight, faith, ability to bring healing, doing miracles, discerning spirits (that is an ability to know the source of spiritual power), speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues for the benefit of the church, apostleship, helping others, administration, ability to evangelize (that is communicating the message of Jesus in a compelling way to those who are not yet Believers), and shepherding (caring for God's people).
Within His Church, God calls people in creative and wonderful ways. Some of us are oriented towards doing. Some of us are more artistic. Some of are passionate about reaching out to people who do not yet know how much Christ Jesus loves them. Some of are focused on serving those already in the family of God. Some of us are called to activism. The important thing is that we are all submitted to Christ and realize the importance of the variety of ways that God wants His work accomplished. Don't belittle other Christians who don't serve God just as you do. Instead, look for their strength and value the contribution which they make to the whole picture!
[vv. 7, 11 ] The last principle which I want to note from our text is this.... The gifts of the Spirit are to build up the whole body. Gifts are not given to provide status or recognition for us.
The Holy Spirit is not the least interested in making sure you feel important, that your need for status, or your desire for recognition is met! His desire is to do the will of God in you and through you for the glory of Jesus and the over-all gain of the church.
It is true that when we serve in a way that is aligned with the will of God, His calling, and His empowerment, we are much more likely to be more fulfilled as Christians. Those we serve may well appreciate the way that we let the Spirit flow through us. Those are, however, side benefits, not primary reasons for the gifting of the Spirit.
When we pray to be gifted by the Spirit, we must be open to his challenge to our motives.
The late John Wimber, founder and pastor in the Vineyard Movement, teaches excellently about the ways that God’s Spirit resources us for spiritual work. He says this - “Most of us are just too dull or lethargic about Christian responsibilities to be able to release the gifts of the Spirit in our lives.” Power Points
Are you content to be a spectator in the work of God, standing aside because of apathy, wrong priorities, misplaced values, or fear? The Word says to us:
Fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:6-7
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Believer, the world we live in is in desperate need!
• Disasters spread despair!
• People are slaves to sex, money, and power.
• The fear of death causes millions to pursue endless youth, or to surrender to hopelessness.
• False religions offer empty promises.
God sends us to bring love, to share hope, to proclaim a new freedom, to offer eternal life, to make a difference through prayer and the power of the Spirit!
Let's pray eagerly to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Only the supernatural work of the Spirit will make us a beautiful people and a powerful place of transformation. He will be able to accomplish so much more with his power than we could dream of in our own strength.
Come, Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 3:14-21
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.