Sunday Sermons 2.11.07
The Beauty of Believing God
Genesis 15
Sunday 2/11/07 a.m.
I. Believing God Is A Journey Filled With Peaks and Valleys, 15:1
A. Warning; Great victories are usually followed by depression and valley’s.
B. Why is this so? We put all of our energies into accomplishing a task.
1. When it is completed and we are successful, we have no energy left.
2. Solution – start a new task! Reset your goals.
3. Times of reflection and meditation with the Lord will re-energize His vision and will for your life.
II. Believing God Gives Us the Freedom to Reason With Him, 15:2-6
A. Is it ever OK to Doubt and Question God? That depends on how you do it.
B. Abram is not calling the plan into question.
C. Abram is realistically looking at the facts.
1. He is old
2. Sarai is old
3. They have no children
D. God has promised him children
E. Abram is reminding God that He cannot lie.
When God are you going to accomplish this?
F. These low points in our life are designed to bring us closer to God, not further away.
III. Believing God Gives Us Access to Innumerable Promises, 15:7-21
A. God Reaffirms His Promise, and Character
B. Abram, did I not tell you…..
C. The 7 promises revealed to Abram:
1. You will have a blood heir
2. Your descendants will serve someone else for 400 years (stars of the sky)
3. I will afflict this nation that enslaves your descendants
4. They will leave as if they plundered the nation
5. You will go to heaven when you die
6. You will live to an old age
7. Your descendants will return here after 4 generations
D. Let me prove that I will keep my promise
1. Lest us enter into a blood covenant
2. I will be the only One who can break this promise
3. Unilateral - Therefore it is all totally dependent on me
“Concerning Spiritual Gifts……”
1 Corinthians 12
Sunday 2/11/07 p.m.
As in other areas, so in using gifts in the church, believers should promote the glory of God and the good of others instead of self-satisfaction.
I. Don’t Be Spiritually Stupid, 12:1-3
A. We have the possibility proven by our devotion to things outside of God, 12:2
B. Don’t carry that ignorance over into your Christian walk, 12:3
C. No man that calls Jesus Lord in one breath, can say that He is damned in the next.
D. Why? Because God’s Spirit will not lead anyone in that manner
(Notice in 12;3 the mention of the trinity in reverse order: Spirit of God, Jesus, Lord God)
II. What Are the Spiritual Gifts? (Initial List of Gifts, 12:4-11)
A. Everybody has at least ONE Gift, 12:4-7
B. Unity of source, 12:4-6 – Clarified here by the trinity:Diversity of gifts by the same Spirit, 12:4Difference in their administration or use by the same Lord Jesus, 12:5Difference in the way they operate and work by the same God the Father, 12:6
C. Unity of purpose, 12:7 – “to every man to profit withal.”
D. The List of Gifts: 12:8-10, Romans 12:6-8, Ephesians 4:11
The list here includes 9 gifts. Add another 7 from other scriptures, and subtract the temporary gifts (asterisk *), your final total is 12.
(1) Wisdom refers to insight into doctrinal truth.
(2) Knowledge refers to the ability to apply doctrinal truth to life.
(3) Faith as a spiritual gift is probably an unusual measure of trust in God beyond that exercised by most Christians (e.g., 13:2).
*(4) Healing is the ability to restore health (e.g., Acts 3:7; 19:12) and also to hold off death itself temporarily (Acts 9:40; 20:9-10).
*(5) Miracles empowers me with the ability to exorcise demons (Acts 19:11-12) or inducing physical disability (Acts 13:11) or even death (Acts 5:5, 9).
(6) Prophecy is the ability, like that of the Old Testament prophets, to declare a message of God for His people (1 Cor. 14:3).
(7) Ability to distinguish between spirits is the gift to differentiate the Word of God proclaimed by a true prophet from that of a satanic deceiver (cf. 2 Cor. 11:14-15; 1 John 4:1). If the Corinthians possessed this gift (cf. 1 Cor. 1:7), it was not being put to good use (cf. 12:1-3). The discernment gifts are also given to those with the ability to give wise counsel.
*(8) Tongues refers to the ability to speak an unlearned, living language
(see Acts 2:11).
*(9) Interpretation of tongues was the ability to translate an unlearned, known language expressed in the assembly (1 Cor. 14:27).
Ephesians 4:11 adds three more;
(10) Evangelist is the ability to see salvations, either individually or in mass;
(11) Pastor is the ability to shepherd and lead God’s people;
(12) Teacher is the ability to impart knowledge.
Romans 12:6-8 adds 4 more
(13) Exhortation is the ability to build up and encourage someone;
(14) Giving is the ability and means to meet needs;
(15) Ruling or Administration is the ability to lead, guide, direct and administrate God’s people;
(16) Mercy is the ability to show mercy where others struggle to naturally.
E. God’s Spirit gives the gifts according to His will, 12:11
III. You Must use Your Gift(s), 12:12-26
A. For the good of the body. 12:12-13One body, One Jesus, One Spirit
B. For your own good. 12:14-21
1. It is one body with many individual members, 12:14
2. Illustrated here by using the metaphor of the physical body, 12:15-17
3. You are gifted by God’s wisdom, as it pleases Him; therefore to use your gift, brings God pleasure, 12:18.
4. If the body realizes they need each other to function properly, then that pleases God also. 12:19-21
C. Do not think that you are not important. 12:22-25
1. What seems to be feeble and unnecessary, is the most needed of all, 12:22
2. Likewise to those whose gifts seem to be less honorable, 12:23a
3. And those who seem to have the less elegant gifts, 12:23b
4. because it is not about elegance, it is about realizing I am in need, and depending on others to meet the need and make us all whole, 12:24.
IV. For the sake of unity, use your gift! 12:25-26
A. using our gifts protects against schisms, 12:25a
B. using Our gifts allows us to manifest a true caring Spirit to one another, 12:25b.
C. True unity, 12:26a
1. When one suffers, all suffer
2. When one is exalted, all rejoice, 12:26b
V. Categories of Gifts, 12:27-31
A. *Apostles
B. Prophets or proclaimers of truth (preachers, pastors, evangelists)
C. Teachers
D. *Miracles
E. *Healings
F. Helps - Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Discernment or discernment of Spirits, Exhortation, Giving, Mercy
G. Governments, Ruling or Administration
H. *Tongues