Gifts of the Spirit

Question: What is your dream Job

Answer: Vet and then ministry

Intro: So we are two weeks away from going to camp and that means we only have this week and next week of our series on the Holy Spirit. So just to recap, The last two weeks we have talked about having a relationship with the Holy Spirit Which in summary is listening to Him and following his lead. and then we talked about the fruit, or evidence of that relationship being genuine. and remember we said that the Goal is to become like Christ and evidence, or by-product of that is the fruit of the Spirit.

The Goal for us is to become, over the course of our lives, like Jesus. And last week we talked about how the Holy Spirit molds us into the character of Jesus, and becoming more holy in our own lives. But today i want us to talk about the other side of that, which is Being like Christ toward others.

Question: What are some things that come to mind when you think of acting like Jesus toward others

Answer: you may think about loving people, having compassion, patience, Or grace toward people. Or maybe you thought about telling people the truth or praying for people. all of these things that come to mind are actions that we take.

Because Jesus didn’t come to earth and sit around hoping someone would come by and believe he was the savior. He loved people and he went out and did what was necessary for people to be saved, healed, and set free from bondages. While on earth Jesus used the power of the Holy Spirit To minister to the world around him(Acts 10:38).

And after he died for us and resurrected three days later and ascended to Heaven He sent us that same Holy Spirit that empowered him, to now empower us to continue His mission to save, heal, and deliver people from bondages. And this power to help people comes in different forms. The bible calls them gifts. The Holy Spirit gives us all different gifts of Power to minister to each others needs. So I want us to look at the passages that talk about that.

Romans 12:5–8 ESV

so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Question: In this passage its gives us a list of some gifts, it mentions prophecy, service, teaching, mercy, and all of those are important. Paul tells us directly, we all have gifts so use them. but before all of that, He explains why we have the gifts in the first place. He says that we are one body in Christ. In church we hear that a lot, that Christians are the body of Christ. So what do you think being the body of Christ means

Answer: We are supposed to be the expression of Christ to the world and to each other as christians. Jesus is in heaven in his glorified body, and he rules over the world through the Holy Spirit that’s in us. We as a group, all christians, Make up and represent the body of Christ on earth, completing his mission which is spreading his kingdom.

So this tells us two things: As a body we have gifts because we are supposed to honor each other since we are all a part of Christ and He is the definition of unity. Think about it this way, Paul describes the group of Christians as a body. How can a body function and carry out its purpose if its different parts aren’t working together. or how can the body work correctly if different parts are struggling to do there part. Our gifts are supposed to be used to help each others so that the mission can be accomplished.

and the second is that as christ’s body we are supposed to give light and life to the lost and dark world. Christ provided salvation, healing, and deliverance while he was on earth. He showed people love, mercy, and generosity. He also performed miracles and gave prophetic words and words of knowledge and wisdom. He displayed the power of God to help people, but also to show that his claims are true. And he still does that through us today. We can display powerful gifts from God to help people and prove that our message is true. So, i want us to look at some examples of those more recognizable gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:1–11 ESV

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Now i want to be clear that all the gifts are supernatural and miraculous, These gifts in this passage are just more easily seen as supernatural. but the truth is that being able to teach or show mercy is just as miraculous and supernatural as healing or prophecy.

Question: looking at all of these gifts what do you think the difference is between a natural ability and a spiritual gift.

Answer: the difference is that a natural ability can be done in our own power and whenever we want to use it. A spiritual gift is Just that, a gift from God to do something that we could not do without him. and we are completely dependent on Him to use it.

Question: so the next natural question is how do i get these gifts and how do i know if i have one of them. what do y’all think. how do you know

Answer: The bible tells us several things:

God gives the gifts as he wills(1 Cor. 12:11)

everyone has a gift

We can ask him for gifts(1 Cor. 14:1)

desire the gift is a sign

Listen and be obedient(2 Tim. 1:6-7)

recognition and use is a sign

So Now i want us to look at these more complicated gifts so we can all understand what we are talking about. Because when we say things like mercy, teaching, or leadership we know what that means but things like prophecy and tongues may need a little explaining. but i will warn you we could talk the whole time about just one of these so i’m going to try to summarize them the best i can.

Paper list

Question: Can gifts from God be used in a wrong way

Answer: yes, The gifts can be used the wrong way and with the wrong intentions. But There is a difference between someone faking a gift and hurting people and someone using a real God given gift the wrong way. Let me explain, A real gift from God will never in itself hurt or harm anyone. Only a liar or someone in the flesh will do that. A fake can hurt people because God is not empowering that person at all. However a person can misuse a real God given gift through intentions.

This is an example, I have a gift of leadership, a real gift, and i use that gift to build a massive ministry that faithfully follows the mission of God, but my intentions in my heart was to just have power and be famous. But do you see how God can still use that to help people even if that person’s heart was wrong. That being said it’s always up to God to allow you to continue and that does not mean he is okay with your sin. In order to be in alignment with God you don’t just use your gifts.

you have to use them in love. 1 Corinthians 13:1–3 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” Just like the other topics we have covered in the last few weeks, intentions matter when using our gifts. Because the whole point of the gifts is to benefit others, So we must love others to truly help them like Christ would. Without the love part thats when we can drift into misuse. But i dont what to scare anyone into not using their gifts. If you keep love in your heart and Constantly refer back to God and scripture you’ll be on the right track.

Objections paper