|
The Holy Spirit sends
The promise of scripture is clear, when someone comes to the
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ; the Holy Spirit comes to dwell
within the person. As a result, they receive “power” from God’s
Holy Spirit, to complete the task given them to accomplish.
Along with the power, the Spirit has a “gift” for the believer
to complete the task.
Now the purpose
of the gift is not for us to just have ability, but for us to
use this new ability to accomplish the work assigned for us. The
gifts of the Holy Spirit are designed to accomplish the work of
the Spirit, equipping the believer. Therefore, we really need
to know what the end game is, what are we trying to accomplish.
Jesus died for
our sins, because God so loved the world, God had compassion on
humanity, there was no other option to save humanity. Isaiah
tells us God looked down upon humanity, and interceded for lost
man.
16 He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was
no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. 17 For He put on
righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His
head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was
clad with zeal as a cloak.
Isaiah 59:16-17
Jesus came for
us, so we could have a relationship with God, He came to restore
fallen humanity and establish His church. So when we come to
Christ, is our journey complete or did it just start? We must
remember before we knew Christ, we were lost. We had or have no
hope outside of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, without any
equivocation, there is only one way to Heaven, and that is
through the saving work of Christ. If Jesus is the only way to
Heaven, when we are saved, what should we do? What does God
want us to do?
Jesus gave the
church their purpose, in Matthew 28,
we are not just to take our salvation for granted, but we are to
reach the lost world, with the salvation entrusted to us.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20
"teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Amen. Matthew 28:18-20
For anybody who
is saved, and questions their purpose, they need to look no
further. We have eternity promised to us, an eternal
relationship in Heaven. Jesus in Matthew does not give us the
option, but gives us the command, to reach the nations. In
verse 18, Jesus declares all authority or power is given me.
The Greek word here is
ejxousiva Exousia,
meaning
power of
choice, liberty of doing as one pleases. The whole universe is
under the authority of Jesus, we go forward as His ambassadors
in a lost world.
However, we
just don’t go forward, we go forward in His power and
authority. Before Christ departed he specifically told His
disciples to remain in Jerusalem, until they received power
or Dunamis
from heaven,
literally Holy Spirit dynamite. This power comes from the
Holy Spirit, giving us the ability to accomplish the impossible.
8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8
When we are
under the power and influence of the Sprit, we have the access
to the authority of Christ, we go forward with His authority and
Power. We have to remember, its not about us, we are operating
under the authority and power of Christ. We represent the
authority of Heaven on this earth, representing the king of the
universe. We have the Holy Spirit as our guarantee, proving our
pedigree to earthly powers.
Our purpose and
mission
In Genesis
chapter 3, the fall of Man is recorded in the same chapter the
coming of man’s redemption is also foretold. God promises the
eventual coming of the seed of the women who will crush (bruise)
the head of the serpent. The seed of the women was the Messiah,
Jesus Christ who had defeated Satan.
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And
between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And
you shall bruise His heel." Genesis
3:15
Satan is the
enemy of humanity, he hates us, we are made in the image of God,
Satan goal is to destroy the lost. The world is involved in a
very powerful invisible war, taking place in the spiritual
realms. These spiritual realms rule over the kingdoms of
humanity. Even though we see a physical governments and
struggles, the Bible is clear the battles are taking place in
heavenly realms.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in
the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
Satan and his
fallen angels, are locked in a very real struggle for the souls
and minds of humanity. We are the Lord’s army in this struggle,
we march forward bringing the good news (the Gospel) of
salvation to the lost, those under the power of Satan. Now in a
secular and skeptical world the talk of Satan and demons (fallen
angels) is easily dismissed as myths and superstition. Those
who fail to see the spiritual war, are themselves the victim of
it. Those of an earthly nature reject the spiritual realms.
Satan is called the god of this age, who blind those lost, who
do not even know they are lost.
3 But even if
our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4
whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not
believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not
preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your
bondservants for Jesus' sake.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
So we as
followers of Christ, march forward bring the Gospel to the lost,
claiming territory for the Kingdom of God in the physical
world. This is an amazing job we have been given, more
important then any job offered in the kingdoms of humanity. God
has entrusted us with the task of advancing His kingdom on the
earth, we are operating under his power and authority on both
earth and Heaven.
The Lost World
 According
to the Census Bureau, the population of the earth, as of
February 1st, 2007 numbered approximately
6,573,420,650.
Out of this number it is estimated there are about 2 billion
Christians in the world, including both Protestants, Orthodox
and Catholics. Now out of this number, which includes entire
national populations, how many having a saving faith in Jesus
Christ?
Some of the
most optimistic estimates have the number at saved people about
600-million. That would mean almost 6-billion people are lost.
This is an amazing number when we really understand the task.
The job has been given to us to bring the gospel to the nations,
offering the earth salvation.
Jesus has
linked his return, to the preaching of the Gospel to the
nations. Jesus says,
14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all
the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will
come. Matthew 24:14
From our
Jerusalem
The Bible
records many historical details, the Bible actually uses
historical events as teaching illustrations. For instance,
Jesus told the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they
received the promise. The promise was the Holy Spirit, which
would give the disciples the power to present the Gospel. If we
look at the verse Acts 1:8 lets a couple of questions to help us
understand our purpose and task.
8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8
-
When would they receive power?
-
What was the purpose of the power?
-
Where would the power begin
-
Where would the power go?
The answers to
these questions do not only apply to the early church, they
apply to all believers. Remember Jesus referred to the gospel
of the Kingdom, being preached in all the world, before “the
end” comes. The church received power when the Holy Spirit came
upon them, the same goes with us. We have power with the Spirit
of God. The purpose of this power is to “be witnesses to Me
(Jesus)”. The power begins right where they are, Jerusalem, the
same with us. We have immediate access to this power in “our
Jerusalem”, right where we are. If we are in the “Spirit” this
power will allow us to take the witness of Christ to the ends of
the earth, to the nations.
The command to
bring the gospel is exactly that, a command. The command is one
of urgency because God loves humanity, its not God’s will that
any should perish, but should come to repentance. He wants us
to carry forward the offer of salvation, to the ends of the
earth.
9 The Lord is
not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but
is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
Witnessing and
Evangelism
 How
we came to Christ is our own unique story, told best by us.
This is called “witnessing”, you are a witness to your own life,
how you were changed by the power of the Gospel. Through out
the book of Acts and Epistles, we see Paul tell his own personal
story, how he came to find Jesus Christ as the Messiah of Israel
(Acts 24:11-14). God has given each person their own story of
salvation, allowing them to be witnesses of Jesus Christ.
The Spirit also
gives us a gift, so we might minister to the body of Christ.
“Earnestly desire” the gifts, so even if we might not have a
particular gift, we can ask God to give us a gift. Paul tells
us the more excellent way is to seek the gifts of the Spirit,
while having the fruit of the Spirit, “love” (I Corinthians 13)
30 Do all have
gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show
you a more excellent way. I Corinthians 12:30-31
The Greek word
for earnestly is
zhlovw
Zeloo,
is which
means to burn with zeal. Remember the purpose of the gift, is
not for our selfish purpose, but that the body of Christ might
be equipped. God wants to use us, to advance His kingdom. He
is looking for those who want to march forward into the raging
battle, and claim territory from Satan.
From our “Jerusalem”, we need to ask the Lord to equip us to
reach our “Samaria”, from there the whole world is within grasp.
What is our Samaria? Its the field around us, within reach. We
can look for ways to reach those around without having to go to
the ends of the earth. First however, we need to want to reach
Samaria. Samaria could very well be our training ground for a
greater ministry.
Using our gifts
We are filled
with “dynamite”, the power of the Holy Spirit, waiting to be
unleashed on a lost world. How can we progress and proceed from
here?
We should start
by really asking God, for direction. Ask the Lord to reveal
your gift to you. A simple prayer might be:
Jesus I want to serve you, but I don’t where to start or what to
do? Please Lord help me to know what I can do? Help me to
earnestly seek the gifts, equip me so I can be used by you to
reach the world. Give me the fruit o f Spirit, Love along with
the Gift, let me love those around me and in the world. Help me
to know where I stand, let me know if there areas of my life,
which stand in the way, fill me with your Holy Spirit, give me
the power to reach the world!
Thank you Jesus
Study the Gifts
of the Spirit, where do you feel the Sprit moving you? Many
times, through ministry God is testing our heart, so we can see
how sincere we are.
|
Spiritual Gifts |
|
Gift of
teaching
This
gift is mentioned in Romans 12:7, I Cor. 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11. This involves all manner of
teaching, both adults, children and infirmed. What this
means is helping understand the principles of God
communicating the Word to the body. |
|
Gift of
ministering
This is
a universal gift among believers; this gift is listed in Romans 12:7, I Cor. 12:28. The gift is one of
service. Being able to serve is a gift, because pride
often gets in the way, and we don’t see the benefit,
therefore we loose the blessing of service.
|
|
Gift of
administration
Administering the or ruling over the body of Christ is a
gift located in Romans 12:8, and I Cor. 12:28. Managing the
physical property and human resources of a church is a
gift from the Spirit. The goal is to build up the body
of Christ, the Holy Spirit equips people to manage the
affairs in a church to accomplish this goal. |
|
Gift of
evangelism
This
gift is listed in Ephesians
4:11, evangelism is the communication
of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of
putting the lost our hearts, and then having a desire to
communicate salvation to them. This gift can be coupled
with teaching, or someone might be called to evangelize,
with others teaching those who come to Christ. This is
how the body works. |
|
Gift of
being a pastor
This
gift is listed in Ephesians
4:11
and is coupled with teacher. The word pastor comes from
the Greek word Poimen,
meaning herdsman, someone who leads a flock of sheep or
shepherd. The pastor is also teacher, but the teacher is
not necessarily a pastor. The pastor leads, provides,
protects and cares for the flock. Isaiah says we are all
like sheep, God has entrusted people to care for His
flock. |
|
Gift of
exhortation
This
gift is the one of leadership and action, this gift is
listed in Romans 12:8. An exhorter is someone who urges
the body forward, encouraging, comforting and
admonishing. Someone who looks for struggling and
discouraged believers, and works with them to establish
them would be an exhorter. |
|
Gift of
giving
Having
the ability to give when you have little and much is a
gift of the Sprit, listed in
Romans 12:8. Jesus used the example
of the woman who was poor but gave more then the wealthy
because she gave through faith, and out of little. God
has blessed some in the body to provide for the rest. |
|
Gift of
showing mercy
This
gift is also listed in Romans 12:8, and is the ability to show kindness
to the afflicted, to have compassion on the sick, to
minister to those who are distraught or weak. To feel
their pain and lift them up before the Lord, for example
visiting the sick and infirmed at home, the hospital or
nursing home.
|
|
Gift of
faith
This
gift is listed in I Corinthians 12:8-10, and goes along
with “word of knowledge” and “word of wisdom”. This
gift allows someone to trust and encourage others, who
might be lacking faith or questioning God. They have an
ability to speak the words to help the believer trust in
God’s provision. |
6
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given
to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in
proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our
ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in
exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with
diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:6-8
4 There are
diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are
differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are
diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all
in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each
one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of
wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge
through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit,
to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another
the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another
discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to
another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same
Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one
individually as He wills.28 And God has appointed these in the
church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after
that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations,
varieties of tongues. I Corinthians 12:4-10,28
11 And He
Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping
of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ, Ephesians 4:11-12
|
