He's an Enabler
Notes
Transcript
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Introduction
Introduction
Why study all the gifts?
If you DO have them, you need to know so you can use them!
If you DON’T have them, you need to learn to recognize and appreciate them in others!
YouVersion: He’s an Enabler (1 Cor. 12:8-10)
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 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.
Same passage as last week
Looked at the miraculous gifts
Next week are team gifts
This week is the enabling gifts
We have wisdom, knowledge, faith, discernment (distinguishing between spirits)
We are also going to look in other passages to see craftsmanship, artistry and celibacy
Here’s what we’re going to do
Define the gift
Look at a real world example of the gift
Talk about some ministries these gifts can be used for
Wisdom and Knowledge
Wisdom and Knowledge
Let’s begin with the first 2: WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE
Those 2 things are different
Definitions
Definitions
KNOWLEDGE: “facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through the Spirit; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.”
WISDOM: “the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.”
We can see the difference highlighted by the Pharisees:
3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
Wisdom is the APPLICATION of knowledge! It leads to an ACTION or DECISION
Isaac Asimov: “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”
He was an atheist, but he’s right!
There’s a saying, “If we all applied what we knew about health and finance, we’d all be rich and thin.”
Examples
Examples
Tasha and I are the perfect illustration
I have the gift of knowledge, Tash has the gift of wisdom
We also both struggle in the opposite!
I struggle with wisdom, she struggles with knowledge
EXPLAIN:
Boxwood derby aerodynamics (What if we put the sail on backward?)
I’ll put it this way, if you’re playing any type of board game...
You don’t want Tasha on your team!
Mostly because she’s a horrible loser, and a worse winner!
But also because knowledge is not her thing!
Just like wisdom is not my thing!
You want proof? Think about the stories I just told you about my wife!
Clearly I’m lacking in the wisdom dept.!
JK I asked her permission to share that...
This isn’t the first time; I say dumb things up here all the time!
Last week, I taught the sign for Lord wrong!
My first sermon here got me in trouble because I offended someone
Knowledge is one of my Spiritual gifts
I can remember all sorts of information
The problem lies in what I do with it!
Let me show you what I mean, this is a real conversation in my head:
Old commercial: Nothing’s colder than ice, Dentyne Ice!
Got mad, ice is only 32 degrees F… There’s lots of things colder than ice!
Then I started to thing about the far reaches of space...
The coldest things are as close to absolute zero
That’s as cold as possible, means there is absolutely no energy there
That’s much colder than ice!
Then I thought, wow… no energy, can’t have matter… what is it?
To have absolute zero, you need to have exactly NOTHING
Then I thought, oh wow, Dentyne is right!
Absolute zero (or what we’d call “nothing”) IS colder than ice!
What good is that knowledge? As good as absolute ZERO!
Seriously, can you think of a more useless self-conversation
Sometimes I get stuck in my knowledge and I can’t make it useful...
Let me show you how these gifts work...
Last week I was on planbattical
Spent days trying to figure out direction
I was sitting there wrestling with the HOW
How do we do this, how do we do that...
I was spouting knowledge from these books - Andy Stanley this and Tom Rainer that...
Tash stopped me and said, “Stop. You need to figure out where God wants us to go BEFORE you figure out HOW to get there.”
Oh! Duh!
She always comes up with brilliantly simple responses - so elegant!
Her wisdom so often reminds me of Christ!
Often times, the wisdom of Christ is found in “option ‘C’”
Let me show you what I mean:
The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus:
Do we pay taxes to Caesar or not?!
If He says YES, all the Jews who hated being under Roman authority would hate Jesus!
If He says NO, He would be a traitor against Rome and could be arrested!
Oh no! What do you choose?! Option “C”
He grabs the coin and asks who’s picture is on it… It’s Caesar
Then render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and render unto God what is God’s
SIMPLE AND BRILLIANT!
Think about it!
The woman caught in adultery!
Do we stone her or not?! Option C - let the one without sin...
Your status before God!
You’re either perfect and go to heaven...
Or sinful and go to hell! What’s it gonna be?!
Option C: Jesus!
With wisdom you can zoom out and see things for what they are
Then you apply it to action or decision!
Remember, Spiritual gifts are used for what? TO EDIFY THE CHURCH!
You have knowledge - the spiritual ability to remember what God has taught us in His word...
And wisdom (or yours might say a word of wisdom) - the ability to apply the wisdom of the word to someone’s life!
Ministries
Ministries
Ministries for wisdom
Counseling ministry
Discipleship ministry
Mentoring
In everyday relationships
How is knowledge used in church?
This gift is often used in conjunction with other gifts
Could be prophecy, teaching, leadership or wisdom!
This gift is more than being smart!
Here’s how that gift looks in the Spirit...
I teach a sermon, someone comes up later and says, “man, that was exactly for me!”
Often times I didn’t even mean to say that!
That’s the Spirit working...
Life Group leaders
Pastors/elders
Teacher’s for CrossPoint kids
Apologists
Faith
Faith
Definition
Definition
The gift of faith enables some people to have an extraordinary amount of faith that God uses to show us His power in ways that create joy and encouragement for others.
Faith is something we should all have...
However, the gift of faith trusts God in all circumstances
These are the first people to jump out of the boat to walk on water...
Example
Example
When I think of this gift, I think of Debbie Young
She ran the food pantry in California
Debbie accomplished amazing things based on faith
She refused to accept money from the budget
We didn’t have space in our facility
We didn’t have equipment
So she prayed!
She always said, I’m just going to let God do it!
A huge delivery van was donated
All her food they got for free
Another church let her use their space
She had freezers and pallet jacks donated
It was awesome!
Completely run by faith!
Know what’s so cool about that?
OUR food pantry!
Jessica Belsley runs our pantry
Faith certainly plays a role our operation...
But she also uses her gifts of administration, giving and mercy!
Isn’t it cool that two completely different gift sets can accomplish the same work?!
That’s the power of God!
Ministries
Ministries
Prayer warriors
Counseling ministry
Mentoring
In everyday relationships
Discernment (Distinguishing Between Spirits)
Discernment (Distinguishing Between Spirits)
This is another one of Tasha’s gifts - this goes right with her wisdom
I am a debater, I can make arguments for any case!
I work very much on logic, but logic can be deceiving!
Tash cuts right through the garbage!
My first semester of Seminary, we started meeting with Mormons
I thought, maybe this is what God has for us...
Tash had a terrifying dream where we were dragging Gracie away from the truth as she was crying...
She just knew while I needed some convincing
My tipping point came when I read Matthew 22!
The woman had 7 husbands, but there is no marriage relationship in heaven...
But then Mormons teach celestial marriage
We all live in heaven with our earthly families
That’s not what Jesus said!
I needed facts, Tash relied on spiritual discernment
BTW, when we met the Mormons they had name tags - Elder Smith, Elder Cunningham...
She said, “Hey! Your name is Elder too?!”
No honey, that’s their title… Oh!
Anyway, discernment of spirits is not just about having dreams
It’s when the Spirit let’s you know what is evil and what is not
My wife can spot a liar from a mile away!
She just knows when something is of God
And she knows when it’s not!
This is important!
There are 5 major sects of Christianity
Church of the East, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism
Of course, we’re protestant, and there are more than 200 sects of Protestantism! WHY?!
SOMEONE’S BEING LIED TO!
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Satan is a liar and wants us to follow the wrong thing
He disguises himself as an angel of light!
This is a VERY important gift! To determine what is of God and what is not!
Ministries
Ministries
Pastor’s wives! (Any leader’s wife or husband)
Pastor’s and deacons
Teaching
Counseling ministry
This is one of my favorite gifts...
3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze,
Craftsmanship and Artistry
Craftsmanship and Artistry
What? Craftsmanship and art is a spiritual gift? Sure sounds like it!
This is when people use their creative abilities for the church!
Examples
Examples
Lot’s of people in our church have one or both of these gifts!
We have some incredible craftsmen:
Marshall Brown
Aaron Sharpe
Jim Newcomb
Manny Crawford
Rick Kolowski
Stan Marion
Paul Cone
Larry Drake
Cameron Anderson...
The list goes on and on!
We also have some incredible artists!
My wife again...
Sofia Wake
Erin Easley
Diana Kolowski
Ashley Brown
The whole worship team!
We’re talking about people that are:
Carpenters, electricians, painters, decorators, musicians, actors, writers...
All people with gifts that use them for the glory of God!
This is an area I think we have twisted today
In trying to do the right thing we are losing something valuable in the church
How often is the church criticized by both Christians and unbelievers for these gifts!
If we have awesome musicians, a beautiful building, lighting and smoke...
What do people say? WE DON’T NEED THAT STUFF!
It’s not about entertainment or putting on a show!
I agree! BUT!! There are A LOT of things we don’t need...
We look at sound systems and coffee shops as if thy are inherently evil
They distract from God!
All the stuff we do can distract from God!
The food pantry can!
If we become only about food and not about Jesus, that doesn’t glorify God!
Counseling can!
You can counsel people right into sin!
Life Groups can!
It can create cliques that keep new believers from feeling welcomed!
It’s not the action that’s sinful, it’s the heart behind it!
If someone wants to do a full-on light show, why is that the gift we choose to squash?
If someone wants to build another sanctuary, why is that seen as frivolous?
It makes me think of Jesus’ anointing:
6 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
What’s the problem here?
The disciples are focused on the financial issue...
Of course, trying to do the right thing!
But they’re trying to remove an opportunity for genuine worship in the process!
Why is Jesus okay with her “wasting” money?
Because there is something more important going on!
What if the smoke and amplifiers aren’t about money?
What is it’s about genuinely worshipping God with what we have?
What if in the process of trying to do the right thing, we block others from using their gift?
It’s frustrating because I feel like we do it based on what we’re comfortable with...
One church will criticize a modern church for spending $10,000 on a sound system...
And then spend $50,000 on an organ!
One person will get angry about a church putting in a coffee shop
And then volunteer to run the snack bar for a church basketball league
(That’s a true story by the way…)
Let me show you what I mean...
We think of the church through the ages
All the things the Catholic Church got wrong
Greed, power and violence
But when Tash and I visited Paris, Rome and Venice I noticed something...
Joseph Campbell: “If you want to understand what's most important to a society, don't examine its art or literature, simply look at its biggest buildings.”
What are our biggest buildings today? I looked it up...
The biggest building is an agricultural auction house
The tallest is the One World TRADE Center
The list is littered with warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing buildings and shopping malls...
What’s important to our society then? STUFF! Consumerism!
What were the biggest buildings 500 years ago? The churches...
There were huge buildings made up to worship God!
When we look at their remnants, it is clear the church was important to them
Maybe our efforts to prove we need “less” as Christians...
is actually a reflection that our churches mean less to us...
Why do we need new couches in our living rooms...
and we put our nasty old ones in the youth room?
Why do we buy ourselves brand new truck for $60k...
and feel good about donating our rusty van to the church?
Why do we feel justified in buying ourselves 70” TV’s...
but feel that our widows need to be on the verge of being homeless before we’ll help?
I don’t think we’re holier to believe we need less in church...
I think we should believe that God deserves our best!
I think the church needs to stop criticizing the work and gifts of others...
And focus on being thankful for the differences in our gifts!
Ministries
Ministries
Facilities
Stage design
Website/social media
Worship team
Now for the last enabling gift:
Celibacy
Celibacy
You’re kidding, right? Nope!
Listen to Jesus’ words:
10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”
Jesus kinda uses the word eunuch symbolically
He’s saying some people are born without the capacity for sex and marriage
Some are forced by others to lose the capacity for sex and marriage
And finally some are gifted to choose a life without sex and marriage for the sake of God’s kingdom
An example of this last one was Paul:
7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.
Pauls says, “Hey, I wish we could all be single so we could be sold out evangelists...”
“But I have my gifts, and you have yours!”
That tells us right there that celibacy is a spiritual gift!
Example
Example
It makes me think of my friend Annie
Annie has been single her whole life
It’s not because she’s crazy or ugly… she’s quite the catch actually
She wanted to get married, but she has accepted that God has gifted her to be single
What has God done with that?
Several years ago we were down in Mexico building a house for the poor
One of the leaders challenged us to live radically and truly be open to anything from God
He straight up asked, “Are you willing to die for your faith?”
She told me that’s why she thinks God kept her single
It’s easier to give up your life when there isn’t a family depending on you
She left her job as a PE teacher for 14 years...
She became a missionary
Went to France to learn French
Spent 3 years working in a vulnerable women’s ministry
Always under threat of Muslim terrorists
Then came home, and moved to Mexico for a sports evangelism and discipleship ministry
Ministries
Ministries
Missions
Evangelist
Conference speaker
Counseling ministry
Challenge
Challenge
Do you ever take time to appreciate those who are different from you?
You’ll notice I talked about my wife a lot today
She has areas of weakness, and I certainly have areas of weakness
But together we are better
We choose to observe our differences and appreciate them
Communion
Communion