How does God SHAPE us for ministry S H A P E Spiritual Gifts Heart and Passion Abilities and Skills Personality Experiences 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Your Heart and Passion o Five C s Your Abilities Cash Calendar Conflict Contemplate Conversation VALUE/PASSION BEHAVIOR/ACTIVITY 1
o What abilities do you have that might help you with the church plant? o With whom will you have a natural relational affinity because of your abilities? Personality Determined Doer Result-Oriented Catalytic Accepts Challenges Questions Takes Authority Needs Opportunity Inspirational InWluencer Leaves a favorable impression Makes Wirst contact Motivational and enthusiastic Desires to help Needs recognition Desires freedom and control DISC PROFILE Cautious and Competent Gives attention to details Prefers controlled environments Tends to be a perfectionist Is a critical thinker Needs reassurance Is adverse to changes Steady Specialist Stays in one place for a long time Is patient Is a specialist Is a listener Needs security Is loyal Your Experiences o Educational Experiences o Spiritual Experiences o Painful Experiences Why Discover and Develop Your Spiritual Gifts? 2
God COMMANDS it. (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1) AWAKEN GROWTH TRACK SPIRITUAL GIFTS (part 1) Whenever God commands you to do something, it is not only for His glory but for your good. God does not want His children to be IGNORANT (1 Cor. 12:1-3) Two Types of Ignorance i. Ignorant in Knowledge ii. Ignorant in Wisdom (the right application of knowledge) It is impossible to fulfill the GREAT COMMISSION effectively without knowing and exercising your gifts. (Matthew 28:18-20) Winning the lost to Christ and discipling them into maturity cannot be accomplished without the effective use of spiritual gifts on the part of the individual believer and the local church fellowship. It is impossible to keep the GREAT COMMANDMENT without discovering and developing your spiritual gifts (Matt. 22:37-39) When you know what your spiritual gifts are and begin to develop them you will realize that: SELF COMPETENCE There are some things that you can do VERY WELL. SELF- WORTH There are some things you can do BETTER THAN OTHERS SELF- ACCEPTANCE There are some things that WILL NOT GET DONE unless you do them. Jobs and roles and ministries produce titles titles produce identity (within a group) Identity produces feelings of belonging Therefore, Self Acceptance It will help eliminate JEALOUSY in the Body of Christ. 3
The Bible says that jealousy is more dangerous and cruel than anger (Proverbs 27:4; James 3:16) Jealousy is a chronic problem within the church. If you are feeling jealousy then you are out of the will of God because it s not God s will for you to be jealous and you re no longer satisfied with God has given you to be or to do. It will increase your awareness of GOD S WILL FOR YOU. Many Christians are taught that the key to finding God s will for their lives is to consecrate themselves fully to Him. (Romans 12:1-2) Such an approach is helpful but not complete because you do not give yourself to God in a vacuum, or in some vague spiritual way. You present yourself- all that you are- to Him, spirit, soul and body. Knowing what your spiritual gifts are gives you a hook on which to hang your faith, a handle to take hold of, something concrete to consecrate to the Lord (Romans 12:3-8, these are the how to of verse 1,2) The will of God is primarily HERE AND NOW. It is NOT some vague, mystical entity in some far- away heavenly place. Knowing your spiritual gifts will help you know how you should spend most of your time and energy. It will help you to know your spiritual JOB DESCRIPTION. It will help you to be a better STEWARD of the gifts God has given to you. Someone has said what you are is God s gift to you. What you make of yourself is your gift to God Many scriptures indicate that Christians will be held accountable for how they use the gifts God gives them (Matt. 25:14-30) You will enter into a greater REST with God. (Matt. 11:28-30) Trying to wear the wrong yoke (gift) will cause you to chaff and bleed mentally and spiritually, and it will wear you down physically. You will have a deeper APPRECIATION for and UNDERSTANDING of your brothers and sisters in Christ. Have you ever wondered why some people in the church have such a burden for the lost while others do not? Perhaps you are one of the people that do not. If you are, then you know the guilt and anxiety and frustration you have felt when those with evangelistic gifts preach and preach and preach about how you ought to be winning more lost souls to Christ. Have you ever wondered why so many people in the church don t have the compassion for the downtrodden you do? No doubt it is because you have the gift of mercy and they do not. 4
Believers with the gift of leadership HAVE to lead; those with the gifts of service and helps HAVE to continually wait on others. Much human behavior can be explained AND accepted when you understand the tremendous effect spiritual gifts have in the lives of individual Christians. You will demote DIVISION and promote UNITY in the Body of Christ like you never have before. The scriptures tell us to think of the church in terms of the body with many members (1 Cor. 12:12-31; Eph. 4:11-16) When you find out what gifts God has given to you then you will begin to discover what part of the Body you are. You will also begin to recognize what part other Christians are and be willing to let them be the part that God has made them to be. Many Christians have, unwittingly acquired a CREATOR COMPLEX. They continually try to make other believers over into an image of themselves. They are guilty of GIFT PROJECTIONS; that is, projecting their gifts, their ministries, their God- given burdens onto others whom God has given different gifts, ministries and burdens. Gift projection makes for needless misunderstandings, divisions and guilt trips. A man who stirs up dissension among brothers is detestable to the Lord (Prov. 6:16-19) When there is unity in the body of Christ God brings an anointing and commands a blessing Psalm 133) Knowing and exercising your spiritual gifts will be a requirement for SURVIVAL in these LAST DAYS of human history. It will be impossible for the Body of Christ, on the local level or worldwide scale to unite unless there is a new acknowledgement and practice of BODY ministry. And the body cannot minister unto Herself and others unless the various parts know who they are, how they fit together, and what their purpose is in the church. You will experience a new sense of PERSONAL FULFILLMENT. Nothing succeeds and satisfies like success. Next to getting to know the Lord Jesus better, nothing produces success and personal fulfillment any faster than exercising your spiritual gifts in the power of the Spirit. You will know WHO, WHAT, AND WHERE God wants you to be Knowing these three things will generate a sense of peace, joy and fulfillment in your life that nothing else can, save Christ Himself. The Business of the Body of Christ EPHESIANS 4 5
Remember your calling (v. 1-3) Operate as a body indwelt by God Himself (v. 4-6) AWAKEN GROWTH TRACK SPIRITUAL GIFTS (part 1) Learn to depend on a new source of power (v. 7-10) Discover your equipment (gifts) to fullill your calling (v.11-12) Function under the proper leadership (v. 11-12) Do the work you were called to (v. 11-12) Grow into spiritual maturity (v. 13-16) I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the CALLING with which you have been called (v.1) o Many churches believe they have been true to their calling by simply doing what they have always done, assuming that what they have always done is the business of the body. o Many unscriptural traditions have been perpetuated by well- meaning saints who think, because it is, it always was. You will never really know how it really was unless you read the Bible for yourself. with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another IN LOVE. (v.2) o If we are true to our calling we will be manifesting HUMILITY and GENTLENESS. o The church true to her calling is never seeking status and prestige, never advertising herself, and promoting her image in the community. God is looking for a church that is putting God on the map not man (John 16:14) o The Early Church was a powerful, redeeming force within society until she joined hands with the world through CONSTANTINE, the Emperor of Rome in 325AD. PATIENCE o God is not instant oriented, the way many people are. There is no such thing as instant anything with God. Everything with God takes TIME. o It does not help to observe another church fellowship and then try to imitate or copy what they re doing in your setting. o It is imperative to realize that true Body ministry and mature exercising of the gifts does not happen overnight. It usually takes years to establish the relationships and maturity that produce that kind of ministry. o The Key is to copy the PRINCIPLES not the PRACTICE of a church being faithful to God s calling for the Church. SHOWING FORBEARANCE TO ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE o The Bible teaches we should ACCEPT one another the way Christ accepted us. (Romans 15:7) We should FORGIVE one another the way Christ forgave us. (Col. 3:13) o You are not perfect. I am not perfect. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are not perfect. We are all PERFECTED and going on to PERFECTION (Hebrews 10:14; 1 Cor. 13:12) 6
being diligent to PRESERVE THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT in the bond of peace. o Notice Paul says to persevere and maintain unity, NOT try to establish it. There is one BODY and one SPIRIT, just as also you were called in one HOPE of your calling; one LORD, one FAITH, one BAPTISM, one GOD and FATHER of all who is OVER ALL and THROUGH ALL and IN ALL, (v.4-6) o The above passage is not so much a statement of Christian DOCTRINE as it is a statement of Christian RELATIONSHIPS. o Paul is speaking here of relationships of PEOPLE produced by a vital relationship with CHRIST. It is therefore not doctrine to be understood and imitated as much as it is relationships to be MAINTAINED, and LIVED. o UNITY is a key to life in the natural and the supernatural each part of the body doing its one thing well and accepting the differences of other parts of the body as appropriate, important, and vital to the life of every part. But to each one of us GRACE was given according to the measure of CHRIST S GIFT (v.4:7) o God doesn t give the church a calling, but the GRACE to fulfill that calling. o It is the power to exercise your spiritual gift(s). The ABILITY to do something is not the same as the POWER to perform that ability. o Human power will not work. It is no good to God because human power: Glorifies self and not God Is LIMITED to humans and the world s systems RESURRECTION POWER is required to exercise spiritual gifts. (Ephesians 1:19-23; 3:20) Characteristics of Resurrection Power He is QUIET. Unassuming; does not draw attention to Himself. Human power, by contrast, is noisy, always making a display of itself. He is UNLIMITED. He thrives on the IMPOSSIBLE. He uses human impossibilities and obstacles to accomplish God's purposes. He works best in a CEMETERY. (Romans 6) Every christiant wants the power of the resurrection but most Christians do not want to be BURIED. He can use anything or ANYBODY. Your most important ability, as far as God is concerned, is AVAILABILITY. And He gave some as APOSTLES and some as PROPHETS, and some as EVANGELISTS, and some as PASTOR-TEACHERS. for the EQUIPPING OF THE SAINTS for WORKS OF SERVICE, to the BUILDING UP OF THE BODY OF CHRIST (v.11-12) o Apostles, prophets, evangelist and pastor- teachers are foundational leadership ministries whose prime function is to equip believers to: 7
Minister OUTWARDLY to the WORLD Minister INWARDLY to the CHURCH until we all attain to the UNITY OF THE FAITH, and of the KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD, to a MATURE MAN, to the measure of stature which belongs to THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST. (v.13) o When a church fulfills her calling, through the manifestation of the life of Christ and the exercising of His gifts in order that there will be ministry to the world and the Body, SPIRITUAL MATURITY IS INEVITABLE Building itself up in love No longer like children No longer tricked by craftiness of men Each part working properly Maturity No longer deceived by men Body lits together Grow up in Christ Speak the truth in love What is the business of the Body of Christ? TO REFLECT THE IMAGE OF CHRIST To make the invisible VISIBLE. 8
God has always communicated His nature to His world through a BODY The Body of MAN (Gen. 1:26-28) The Body of ISRAEL (Old Testament) The Body of JESUS (the Gospels) The Body of CHRIST (Acts, Revelation) Through the GIFTS and FRUIT and POWER of the Spirit in the Body of Christ we are called to: Reflect the life of Christ to a LOST and DYING world. Be a colony of heavenly activity ON EARTH. To show the world what God has always intended SOCIETY to be like. The Purpose of the Gifts The EQUIPPING of the saints (Eph. 4:11-12) The EVANGELIZATION of the lost (Eph. 4:12) The Work of Service (ministry) Luke 4:18-19 Preach the Gospel to the poor Proclaim release to the captives People receive their sight Set free the downtrodden Proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. The EDIFICATION of the saved (Eph. 4:12) The FOUR Essential Ingredients for a Balanced, Healthy Church (Acts 2:42) Acts 2:42 The believers were CONTINUALLY DEVOTING themselves to: o The Apostles TEACHING This was not a casual Sunday feeding, as is so often the case today, but a continual feeding on the Word as if their lives depended on it because it did. 9
o FELLOWSHIP with one another The Greek word used in the original text is koinonia. It literally means having all things on common. This was not a potluck supper type of fellowship which is experienced in so many churches today. was a deep, intimate, caring and sharing of all that they were as persons and all that they possessed materially. o LORDS SUPPER together Many of the believers in the early church had experienced the reality of the Lord s death firsthand. They had walked with Jesus to Calvary, or they had fled from Him to save their own necks. The Lord s Supper wasn t just religious ritual, it was raw reality! o PRAYING together For Wisdom in the decision (Acts 1:14-26) To Praise God for Signs and Wonders (Acts 2:42,47) For Boldness in the Opposition (Acts 4:23-33) For the Ministry of the Word (Acts 6:1-7) For the persecutred (Acts 12:5-17) For the Preparation for ministry (Acts 13:1-4) For the Commitment to the Lord (Acts 14:21-23) The EDIFICATION and EXPANSION of the church o The Biblical Cycle of Body Evangelism (Acts 2:14-47) o The Normal Life Cycle of the New Testament Style Church (Eph. 4:11-13) o The Interrelationship of Spiritual Gifts and Church Growth The EXALTATION of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 4:10-11) 10