Monthly Archives: April 2008

Spiritual Gifts – 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

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Last night at our Lifegroup, we discussed the gifts of the Spirit. As part of our aims in our new Lifegroup we: “aim to encourage the use of the gifts of the Spirit in order to strengthen us spiritually as individuals and as a group”. Brynn therefore felt we should pick up on this and learn more about what the gifts of the Spirit actually are. We first looked through the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.

Wisdom

I understand this to be the ability to advise in difficult situations, resolving arguments, solving problems etc. I don’t think it refers either to a worldly wisdom but one that is of a divine nature.

Knowledge

Knowledge of the Word, and being able to effectively communicate the Word and the Knowledge gained from it.

Faith

Matthew 17:19-20 talks of faith enabling you to achieve wonderful and amazing things. As believers we all have faith, however I think this refers to a more radical faith where the normal rationalisations we add to a situation no longer apply to those people, and the have complete and utter faith in the Lord for something.

Healing

Jesus healed the sick.  By the power of the Holy Spirit some are able to pray over the sick and the sick are healed.  I think healing can cover both physical and mental illnesses or afflictions.

Miraculous Powers

Seems to tie in with healing, however there are stories too of other miraculous things taking place in modern times, for example people being raised from the dead.

Prophecy

The ablitiy to receive pictures and Word direct from the Lord, and to then be able to effectively communicate these to the group or to the individual that picture or word is for.  I used to think that prophecy was about predicting the future, however it would seem it is more being a mouthpiece for God, speaking wisdom, knowledge, encouragement and advice into peoples situations.  Prophecy can be particularly effective when someone prophecies into a situation in your life, or into something you are thinking about, and yet they have no earthly knowledge of the situation!  This has happened to me on occasions and it is incredible.

Distinguishing Between Spirits

Often when I watch religious broadcasting, certain preachers will set off alarm bells in my mind.  Sometimes based on what they are saying, and others just the feeling that although what they are saying seems Biblically sound, their motive is not that of the Lord.  It is the ability to see what is of the Holy Spirit, and what is of satan.

Tongues and Interpretation

This is an often debated subject in the church and one I believe we are going to study together in the Lifegroup to better understand this gift.  I think in a nutshell that its the ability to talk in other languages and others have the ability to translate.  I will go into more detail in on tongues as and when we have studied it in more detail soon.

Bryn pointed out that throughout the Bible, there are other gifts of the Spirit mentioned to include:

Serving, Administration, Teaching, Encouragement, Giving, Leadership, Mercy, Helping Others, Hospitality, Interpretation of Dreams and Creative Arts.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but certainly highlights the wide breadth of gifts that the Holy Spirit can and will bestow on believers.

Why so many gifts, and why does he give them to us?  Firstly, these are gifts.  They are gifts of His grace, and not of our own doing.  He gives us these different gifts, to different people, I think to build up the church, as well as each other and to help advance His kingdom.  We all have different gifts at different levels to create balance within the Church so that we can act as one body.  Ann made a good point, if we all had the same gift for example, prophecy, we would never get through one Sunday service as everyone would be prophecying and there would be far to much to act upon!

With such a wide range of gifts at our own church, things really do work well.  We have people gifted with musical abilities, others with serving others (the welcoming team), others with leadership, others with administration (including finances etc) as well as others with serving (including those that always have the tea and coffee ready at the end of the service).  During the service also, we are lucky to have many wise, knowledgable people who bring word to us all, as well as prophecy.  The Lord has built up a dynamic Church, full of people with completely different gifts, all working together to grow His church.  Its is indeed amazing, exciting and wonderful.

Promise – 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

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When Grandma passed away a few months ago, it reminded me of the exciting promise of eternal life. Reading through 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 is a wonderful insight into passing from life on earth to life in heaven.  Here is how I broke the passage down in brief to help me understand certain sections and to encourage myself.

The Promise:

1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

When you accept Jesus into your heart, you become a child of God and are automatically eligible for the inheritance of eternal life.

Longing for Rest:

2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Just like a long hard day, we long for rest and relaxation where we can unwind and leave the problems of that day behind us.  Its the same with life on earth!  It is tiring and we long to rest and be with our heavenly Father.

The Guarantee:

5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given

us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

God sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ to the sacrifice for our Sins. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, we are given the gift of Gods Holy Spirit as a guide, a strength and a comfort. And as this verse reminds us, as a guarantee of how serious God is about his promise to us.

Faith:

7We live by faith, not

by sight.

Unlike doubting Thomas, we believe in Jesus without needed to see Him.  We do not demand proof!  In my own life things have changed so much since I met Him that I can not deny His existence!  Looking at the beauty of creation, its impossible to imagine there was no creator!

Preparation:

10For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Matthew 6:19-24 – Treasures in Heaven.  We will be judged on that final day!  The things that we do for His glory will earn us spiritual rewards in heaven.  We don’t know what they are to be, but they must be awesome to be described as treasures!

Debt – Romans 13:8

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Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. (NIV)

I have heard before in books and on TV that a Christian should not borrow, perhaps even citing this verse.  In everyday life however it is nearly impossible, if not completely impossible not to incur debt.  Many companies bill you after you have used their service like gas and electricity, so until you have settled that account, you are in debt!  Purchasing a home now-a-days is impossible without a mortgage which is a large long term debt.  If we were to take on a vow of being debt free, it would be extremely difficult to live.

Businesses too rely on acceptable levels of debt to allow their business to function whilst money is being turned over.  Over the period of the year, money in covers that debt and profit is made.  Many businesses would struggle without working this way especially in the early years of a new start.

You see I don’t think this verse is saying “do no borrow”.  I believe that is is telling us to keep up-to-date with our bills!  It is a warning against missing payments of a mortgage or avoiding paying a gas or electricity bill.  OK so gas and electricity bills did not exist in biblical days, however they certainly would have the need to borrow money or possessions as well as pay for services rendered.

I do think we also need to be careful here too.  Although we can have an acceptable level of debt, we need to avoid getting into debt for those items that aren’t necessary.  For example paying off a games console, or the latest style of TV when the one you bought last year is perfectly OK!  We do need to live within our means.  Our debts like mortgages, and standard bills need to be manageable, when payments are made, the overall amount owed should be decreasing and not remaining the same or gaining more in interest.

If you are in a situation where you are struggling to control your accounts, and you are in debt to many people, turn to the Lord in prayer.  Lay your burdens at His feet.  Seek pearls of wisdom like this verse.  Seek to agree repayment plans with your creditors to get rid of any excess debt.  Make sacrifices with the non essentials in life (even if it means unsubscribing from cable TV or disconnecting broadband!).

If you are struggling with debt and live in the UK, please check out this website:  http://www.capuk.org.

Taxes – Romans 13:6-7

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How many times have you thought that you would do a better job with Tax payers money than the government of that time? I think only the other day I was complaining at what our government was doing! As much however as we disagree with what our government(s) may be doing for our country, we still have to respect them and to continue to pay our taxes. Government officials may or may not know it, but they are in a highly responsible position where they should be carrying out Gods will for the land. Therefore regardless of what we think, we need to continue to support them. After all, should they make mistakes, or decisions displeasing to Him, it will be Him they answer to and not us!

It is also our duty therefore, as we read on into verse 7, that we treat out government with respect. They have been given a position of high responsibility, and therefore we should not become caught in the web of negative words against them. The media today picks up very much upon the faults of government parties, as well as the individual faults of members in the name of entertainment and news. People gloat over this information, and use it to fuel their dislike of that person or party. We must not get involved in that world. Avoid reading papers that do this, or watching programs of a similar nature. We are to be obedient to the Lord: (Acts 23:5, Exodus 22:28).

Mark 12:17  – Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

We do therefore have a responsibility to fund our government.  It helps support all the services that are provided, including the security and safety the police and fire services bring.  We should render unto our government the taxes they require without complaint.  If we get the “cash in hand” jobs, as tempting as it may be to keep, we should seek to do the right thing and ensure all taxes have been paid on all amounts of money in.

Why do this?  We do this as a sign of respect for those in Government that God has placed there, and also as an act of obedience to the Lord who has commanded we do this.

Faith Tester – Matthew 11:1-6

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Doubt is definitely a faith tester!  Our Daily Bread hits the nail on the head, when it comes to the sorts of questions that regularly come to mind with regards to the existence of God, with regard to Jesus claims, with regards to pretty much any matter of faith!  The reassuring thing is that I would appear not to be the only one who has these moments!

John too when the going got tough did too experience those sorts of feelings.  It can be difficult to remain positive on the bleaker circumstances of life.  The test in these circumstances though are what you do with these thoughts.  Do you let them eat you up inside?  Do you let them take over your thoughts?  Do you give up all hope?

John did not do that!  He turned to Jesus and brought his questions to Him!  Jesus responded with encouragement and with examples of His miracles.  He was able to reassure John in difficult times.  We too should give any of these thoughts to Jesus and ask Him to help us.  He can and will through the power of His Holy Spirit encourage us, build us up and give us the knowledge and confidence in Him.

If anyone is reading my ramblings today, I really recommend you look at today’s Our Daily Bread.  Also if you find my ramblings useful, please take the time to contact me and let me know!

Encouragement – Hebrews 10:19-25

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Today’s Our Daily Bread, reminds me not only that I am completely gutted I am not running the London Marathon this year, but also of how important encouragement has been to me throughout any of my marathons.  It is strange that even when you are at that dreaded mile 20 – 22, and your legs feel like folding under you, and you have hit that proverbial wall, one shout of encouragement can really fill you with a new burst of energy and determination of which you never expected!

When I ran the Nottingham Marathon 2 years ago, I was at around mile 23, my friend Lon had been biking along side me the whole way offering encouragement and plenty of water.  I was close to tears and giving in when he suddenly biked on ahead, and somehow got an entire restaurant to start shouting in unison “Go Lee”.  Partly them embarrasment, but also the inspiration from all those encouraging words spurred me on to complete my first ever marathon (and at the time I thought is should probably be my last…  2 years on and I haven’t learnt that lesson!)

Verse 24 says: Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

(NLT)

Our Christian lives are very much like a marathon.  There are temptations left right and centre drawing us to them, there are many people who do not understand what we are so passionate about and they can sometimes be cruel, or inconsiderate.  Busy lives with work, family and hobbies can pull us away from church and or time with the Lord.  There are many times that we can hit that proverbial wall!  That is why it is so important we do what we are being told here.  Encourage one another.

Just as my strength was renewed on the Nottingham Marathon, our strength, our confidence, our sense of doing the right thing, our love for the Lord, our passion for Him can be renewed within a heart beat by one kind and encouraging word.  We can build each other up using encouraging words, words of truth from the Bible as well as prayer.  Coming together as groups of believers and sharing fellowship is so important if we are to keep running the race.  Without other Christian brothers and sisters to cheer you on, there is a temptation to stop, veer off the race track, no not finish the race.   Church, fellowship, Bible Study and socialising with Christians?  An absolute MUST!

One New Man – Ephesians 2:15

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Over the past week at Church and in personal readings we have been looking at Ephesians 2:11-22.  During the passage, one verse jumped out at me that I didn’t understand, and its only when Bryn explained it in Lifegroup on Thursday that it made sense.  From what I can see, Ephesians 2:15 is the whole passage in a nutshell.

15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.

His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace (NIV)

Before Jesus came down to pay the price for our sin, the world was a very different place.  There were two types of man.  The Jews who were under the promise of God who followed His law, and the Gentiles.  A gentiles is anyone who is not a Jew, so that would include me today!  Because Gods law saw Israel as the Chosen people, the Jews would treat the Gentiles with poorly, and the Gentiles often would retaliate.

Upon Jesus death and resurrection, he put the old law to bed.  From that point on, “whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)  Thus the promise was no longer for just Israel’s people, but for ALL MAN! Therefore the hostility stirred up be the old law was removed, and salvation was and is free to anyone who seeks it.

In conclusion, it would seem that the “two” reffered to is the Jew and Gentile, being made into One Man, which would be the church.

Guided by the Holy Spirit – Acts 16:6-10

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In Acts 16:6-10 we see throughout the passage Paul and Silas are constantly guided by the Holy Spirit.  They have allowed themselves to be open to the guidance of the Spirit, and when the Spirit then gave Paul a vision, they didn’t sit back, trying to decide if they should do anything about it, they simply got up and went!  They obeyed the Holy Spirit and went on to preach the Good News to many who were saved.

Last night at our Lifegroup, we looked further into the sermon that Phil preached on Sunday (I am posting in Fellowship some the rest of my notes on the sermon in the near future). A large emphasis of what we talked about was about the Holy Spirit, and how He strengthens us and guides us, as well as enables us to grow in Him. Looking then at today’s Our Daily Bread reading, I was surprised that Ephesians 2:22 has popped up again (Sunday, Thursday and now Friday)! As you may have read from previous posts, I believe the Lord will repeat Himself as much as it takes so that we will sit up and listen.

22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does live inside us.  Before Jesus death, the only place for God’s Glory was the Holy of Holy’s in the temple at Jerusalem, and yet when Jesus died, the temple curtain was ripped in half, Jesus rose from the grave, and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples and has continued to be poured out across the world.  The Holy Spirit is there as our guide, like in this passage in Acts.  We need to listen carefully to what He says, and be obedient to His guidance.  If we feel we must share the Gospel with a random person on the street, then we should do so, ignoring the old human fears and impulses, but just trusting in the Lord and His Holy Spirit.  You may only plant a seed, but one day that seed with burst forth life.

Living in a state of obedience to the Holy Spirit is really quite exciting, as we are no longer living a life that we plan out for ourselves!  We are living a life where we don’t know where the Holy Spirit is going to take us next.  That is not to say we shouldn’t try to plan our careers etc, but we should lean heavily on the Holy Spirit for guidance to make the right career choices, family choices, etc.  I pray that I can be as faithful as Paul and Silas and that I will recognise the Holy Spirits voice when He calls and points me in directions, that sometimes I may not want to go.  And I pray that in those situations that the Lord will be Glorified.

Hard to Forgive – Genesis 45:1-15

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What strikes me immediately about this event, is how Joseph over came the natural urge to “hold a grudge”, and instead was able to see the situation and the past actions of his family as part of God’s plan!  He understood that the Lord had allowed his brothers to sell him into slavery as God had the foresight to see what was ahead.  He knew Joseph would be able to minister to Pharaoh and be a shining light of Gods Glory in Egypt.

It takes some doing to be able to take a step outside of oneself, and begin to understand the benefit of forgiveness.  It does not come naturally, and we have a tendency to want revenge for when we have been wronged.  And yet we need to remind ourselves of the cross.  How our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bore all our sin on that cross that we might be forgiven.  When we turn to Him and seek forgiveness of our sin, by His grace he is faithful

and forgives.

Colossians 3:13 – Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV)

The Lord keeps on forgiving us, and as in the above verse, we are told to forgive anyone, of anything, whomever they are, just as the Lord forgave us.

Simple – 2 Corinthians 4:1-7

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In verse 1 we are called to spread the message.  A reminder of the great commission in Matthew 28:16-20.

…we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’ s con

science in the sight of God. (NIV)

Verse 2 we are advised in how we can do this.  We see an emphasis on not steering away from the Word of God.  We shouldn’t add to the message for convenience or effect to try and win souls for the Lord, or even to boost ourselves.  We should rely on whole heartedly on His word.  Keeping what we say simple, easy to understand of which anyone can then understand.

I think of times when I have shared the gospel with someone and have often forgotten that some people do not know all the “religious” words and abbreviations I have learnt from years of growing up in a Christian family.  So that may be a bad example, and I think this passage is warning too more importantly on changing the meaning of what the Word is saying.  It is important we take it as truth and do not try and change it to our own agenda.  Our agenda should be Gods agenda, for His Glory.

I think from verse 3, if we are to disguise or hide the true meaning of the word, by false representation or over complicating what we are trying to communicate, then the truth will not be apparent to those who are listening and potentially souls could be lost whom simply needed to hear the simple honest truth that would soften their heart.

Verse 5 again emphasises communicating the truth, after all a preacher doesn’t (or shouldn’t) stand speak in the church about himself the entire service!  Jesus Christ is the Word, the Word is Truth.  It is truth that will win souls and advance Gods Kingdom.

Verses 6-7.  God has shone His light into our hearts so that we can understand and believe.  It is our duty to let Him shine through us so that others too may be brought out of the darkness of sin, disbelief and slavery and into His glorious light.

Keeping the message simple, without adding or taking away helps us communicate easily to those who do not yet believe what the Lord would want them to know.  I pray that the Lord will bless us with the right words, and the ability to sense when we may need to go into a little more detail with someone, or simply step back and make it clearer.  We have such a responsibility to be shining examples of His Glory that others may be saved, and I pray that the Lord will continue to pour His Holy Spirit into our lives to build us up, give us strength and wisdom.  Amen.