What can I bring? - 1 Cor 14:26-39

What can I bring?

August 21, 2011
1 Cor 14:26-39

Introduction

• We all sometimes are invited to dinner or to a party or similar event
• Good manners say that we should bring something along, to contribute to the meal, or for the lady of the house
• At church we are invited to a large family gathering
• What can we bring to the table?
• What can we contribute to what happens at church?
• This morning we are going to examine certain spiritual gifts and their role in the church service
• Let's read 1 Corinthians 14:26-40

Gifts are given to the church by the Holy Spirit

• Verse 26
• Each of these is a spiritual gift, to be used in the church service
• When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit gives that person certain spiritual gifts
• 1 Cor 12:7-11
• Each person receives these gifts - verse 7, 11
• These are not the only spiritual gifts mentioned
• Other lists of gifts are in Romans 12 and Ephesians 4
• Further gifts are mentioned in the Old Testament, particularly when connected with the building of the Tabernacle, and worship at the Temple
• The lists of gifts are not exhaustive, just as the Holy Spirit is limitless in His power and capabilities
• Very quickly, let's run through these gifts in 1 Cor 12
• "The message of wisdom" - where God supernaturally reveals the way to deal with a particular situation
• "The message of knowledge" - where God supernaturally shows a bit of information which is needed for breakthrough
• "Faith" - faith is needed with all the gifts
• "Gifts of healing" - here we are speaking of God's supernatural intervention
• "Miraculous powers" - this includes being used by God to do miracles, and generally, deliverance is seen as part of this broad classification
• "Prophecy" - expressing a word from the Lord - this may be prophetic preaching, a word for the church, or a word for an individual
• "Distinguishing between spirits" - the KJV translates this as discernment - being able to discern good from evil, right from wrong, the godly or demonic
• "Speaking in different kinds of tongues" - this is speaking about the public expression of tongues, as a word from the Lord, as opposed to our personal private prayer language
• "The interpretation of tongues" - when a message is given in tongues, it should be interpreted

Gifts are given to strengthen the church

• Spiritual gifts in the church setting are not given for our personal benefit, but rather for the benefit of the church
• Spiritual gifts can be misused by mixing them with the flesh
• For example, a person with the gift of discernment, may have a fleshly tendency to criticize, because they are continually evaluating things
• This is where people sometimes go wrong with spiritual gifts
• What is more frequent though, is that people don't exercise the faith to use their gifting, and as a result, the church misses out
• Eph 2:20-22
• So we are being built up into a spiritual temple, as a church, and as an individual

Gifts are to be used in the service, in an orderly manner

• 1 Cor 14:27-33
• Paul is here focusing on the gift of prophecy
• He is saying that things should be done in an orderly manner
• So prophetic words are given separately, not at the same time
• Sometimes we may feel that God has laid a word on our heart and we have to express it
• Verse 32 says that we have power to control when the word is given
• The enemy tries to control us, God does not
• The church service should be a peaceful expression of the Holy Spirit working through different gifts, and these gifts should flow together smoothly so that God is glorified

So, what do I bring to church?

• The answer is, absolutely nothing!
• God does it all!
• What it does take is people who are humble, teachable and ready to step out in faith as the Holy Spirit guides and empowers them
• But ultimately, it is God who is doing everything
• Eph 2:8-9
• Rom 2:4 - it is even God who gives us the desire to repent!

Conclusion

• Be open to the Holy Spirit
• Allow Him to use you
• As we start off, we may have some inaccurate words,
• But as we become more experienced, we will become more in tune with the Holy Spirit
• I want to encourage all of you to seek the Lord's face, more and more
• This church is going to grow in its availability to the Holy Spirit
• We will be making changes in worship to give more freedom to the Holy Spirit to do as He wills in our services
• And life in the Spirit is exciting!

The gift that keeps on giving - 1 Kings 17:7-16, Haggai 1:1-11

The gift that keeps on giving!

August 14, 2011
1 Kings 17:7-16, Haggai 1:1-11

Introduction

• We have been going through some hard times lately
• Some of us have lost jobs, some have lost our home. Maybe we have contemplated bankruptcy
• This is tough.
• And it may be that that the economy will get worse before it get better
• But how does this look for the Christian? Don't we have some kind of special relationship with God?
• How is it that we go through the same troubles as unbelievers?
• Today we are going to look at one major principle in the way we deal with our finances

Giving may be a hard choice to make

• 1 Kings 17:7-16
• Widow who lived in a village near Sidon, on the coast
• There was famine in the land, just as there is famine financially in this nation right now
• This widow had reached the end of her rope
• She had only enough food left for one more meal. There were no prospects for any more to come
• She expected that this was the end of the road, she and her son were going to die
• Maybe things have become so tough for us that we feel we are on the edge of disaster
• Elijah, the man of God comes on the scene
• God actually sent him to this particular lady, who was in such dire straits
• He asks the lady for a glass of water - she was able to get that, it came out of the village well, and did not cost her anything.
• But then he asks her for some food
• Verse 11-14
• Notice that Elijah asks the widow to step out in faith, and first of all give Elijah a meal. This would mean that she would go hungry
• God tells us that we should live by faith - Hebrews 11:6
• We expect that God will take care of us, as we put him first in our lives - Matthew 6:33
• God knows our needs and promises to take care of them Philippians 4:19
• But he asks this widow to take care of Him first, in the person of Elijah
• As she steps out in obedience to this, God miraculously supplies her needs, food for the duration of the famine
• This was a tough step to take.
• We may think Elijah was selfish in asking this, but it was God who led him to ask this.

Our role in supporting God's house

• Haggai 1:1-11
• Some of the Jews had come back from captivity in Babylon, to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and rebuild the temple
• Haggai was a prophet God sent to speak to them at that time, as was Malachi
• Things were not going well for them
• Their focus was not on building God's house, but on taking care of number one
• They were delaying taking care of God's house until they were all settled in and had the time and the means to rebuild the temple
• God took a dim view of this, because he is the ruler of the universe.
• We don't pay our taxes only if we have money left over, nor does God approve of us paying our tithes only when we can do so without pain
• God expects to be put first in our lives
• What are our finances like? Do they seem like heaven has stopped pouring out rain on us
• Does it seem as though financial blessing has evaporated from our life?
• Maybe it is time to examine ourselves, and look at if we are putting God first, in our finances
• If we do, God promises to bless us
• Malachi was a fellow prophet with Haggai
• Malachi 3:8-12
• God says, "Test me in this". Take him at His Word!
• See how the blessings will come
• God uses our finances to see where our heart is
• If we are putting Him first in our lives, even in our finances, even during hard times, he promises to take care of us
• Matthew 6:33 "Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"

Conclusion

• It takes faith to take this step
• When we look at our bank balance and don't know how it will work out, it is not easy
• But God delights in us when we trust him
• Trusting him in the good times and the bad
• He is faithful, and he will come through with the goods
• He will continue to provide for us, until the end of the famine
• And he will bless us so we no longer have to borrow, but have money left over to help others!
• It;s a great feeling to stand right before God, and know that he is batting on your side, and he will take care of you.

We are Family! - Eph 3:14-15

 We are Family!

August 7, 2011
Eph 3:14-15

Introduction

• We have maybe 45 adults here this morning
• We probably have roughly that number of different ideas of what a family looks like
• How would you describe the family, in one word?
• God reveals Himself to us as a family
• Many of the attributes we see in a family are true of God
• We can learn from the way God relates, how we should relate within our family unit, and within the church
• Our identity as a Christian family, stems from God
• Eph 3:14-15
• There is a connection between our family and God

God is a family – Father Son and Holy Spirit

• Gen 1:1 – Elohim – various meanings, most often translated as God - a plural word – implies more than one person
• Verse 26 – Expresses the plurality of God
• Deut 6:4 – Yet the Lord is one – expresses the oneness of God
• John 1:1 – Expresses the plurality of God and the oneness of God
• Matt 16:16-17 - Jesus the Son of God, saw God as His Father
• When we accept Jesus into our life, the whole of God comes to dwell in us
• John 14:16-17, 23 The Holy Spirit, the Father and Jesus will make their home in us
• The trinity is a fact, though we do not understand it
• The three persons of the trinity act in perfect unison
• Jesus did what he saw the Father doing, he was led by the Holy Spirit, he was in constant touch with his heavenly Father
• There is no separation or division in God
• Jesus did not decide, I’m going to do things differently now
• Father, Son and Holy Spirit worked together in absolute unity

We are part of God’s family

• John 3:3 – We cannot see the Kingdom of God unless we are born again!
• We must be born again, into a relationship with God
• When we are born again, we become God’s children in a spiritual sense
• This does not mean that we become little gods, as some cults believe
• But it does mean that we are now adopted in as God’s children, with all the rights and privileges that go along with being a child of God
• 1 John 3:1-3 We are, right now, children of God!
• As God’s children we are all part of that family
• Eph 3:14-15
• This family is not closed to only the trinity, though we will never be God in the same way as the Father Son and Holy Spirit
• The family includes all God’s children, and by this we mean the Church, the body of Christ

So what kind of relationships do we have in God’s family?

• If the trinity lives in absolute unity in the way the Father Son and Holy Spirit relate to each other, so should the rest of the family, the Church
• The overwhelming aspect of God is love
• Everything God does, is done in love
• Romans 5:5 God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given to us
• The Holy Spirit then expresses that love in our lives, in the fruits of the Spirit
• Galatians 5:22-23 – Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
• The way in which God relates within himself, and with us, is described by these attributes
• The way in which we relate to God is not out of fear, or anger, but out of love
• The way in which relate to each other will also be motivated by these attributes
• Not by fear, anger, rejection, and the other fruits of the flesh that we discussed last week
• The fruits of the Spirit should describe the Church in a growing measure, as Jesus cleans us out and replaces the flesh with himself.

Conclusion

• So we see that God is a family, not a closed family which is taught by many cults, but a family of all those who accept his rulership in their lives
• We have the privilege of being a part of that family
• As such we are growing more and more to be like him
• And expressing His attributes in our relationships with each other is a part of this!