The Holy Spirit – More Gifts
Sunday
Morning Bible Study
September
29, 2013
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church
loved?
In our current series on the Holy Spirit we’ve talked about:
Who the Holy Spirit is
The power (baptism) of the Holy Spirit
What the Holy Spirit does
Last week we began to talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit
Romans 12
(Ro 12:4–8 NKJV)
—4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not
have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually
members of one another. 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.
Each one of us who have come to believe in Jesus Christ are
parts or members of the body of Christ.
We all belong. We all have a part
to play. It’s the gifts of the Holy
Spirit that determine what our “role” is.
My hope is that our look at the gifts will help you understand your role
at church, how you “fit in”.
Teaching
(Ro 12:7 NKJV) …he who
teaches, in teaching
teaches – didasko – to
explain or expound a thing
What
is the gift of teaching?
The ability to
explain the Word of God.
Often as a
person is speaking, there may be actually several gifts as work. There may be times when prophecy kicks in, sometimes
there is exhortation going on.
But the part
that is “teaching” involves the explanation of God’s Word. It’s the ability to help another person gain
understanding about what God’s Word means.
Teaching shouldn’t be a bunch of words
that no one understands. Listen to this
fellow try to explain a congressional law… (It’s really a joke about
“double-talk”)
We see an example of teaching in the
Old Testament:
(Ne 8:8 NKJV) So they
read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and
helped them to understand the reading.
They helped those listening to be able
to understand the implications of what was being read.
Teaching is all about taking something
that’s unknown, and clarifying it.
We see teaching in the New Testament. There was no one who taught better than
Jesus.
(Mt 5:1–3 NKJV) —1 And
seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His
disciples came to Him. 2 Then He
opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Jesus didn’t just teach His own
doctrines, He taught from the Old Testament.
(Mt 5:27–28 NKJV)
—27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not
commit adultery.’28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has
already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Jesus took a passage
from the Old Testament and gave understanding to what it meant, the very
“spirit” of what was written.
The teaching
that Jesus did was a bit different than other teachers.
(Mt 7:28–29 NKJV) —28 And so
it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at
His teaching, 29 for He taught them
as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Lesson
Teach
If people have a greater understanding
of God’s Word when you talk to them about it, you might have the gift of
teaching.
If you have the gift of teaching, then
you love that look in a person’s eye that shows you that they understand.
Teaching might be in front of a big group
of people, like I am privileged to do on Sunday mornings.
It might be with a small group of
people that you are helping to understand God’s Word. You can start one in your home. Start one at Panera. Start one at work. Years ago I had a small Bible Study at my
home in Placentia with just Deb, myself, and another couple.
It might be a single person.
Yesterday at a funeral I had a young man ask me a question about heaven
and whether or not people have babies up in heaven.
Exhortation
(Ro 12:8 NKJV) he who
exhorts, in exhortation…
exhorts – parakaleo – to
call to one's side, to admonish, exhort; to console
This is the root of the word used to
describe the Holy Spirit as the “Comforter”, the “Helper”, the
“Paraklete”.
Lesson
Exhort
There seem to be several shades of meaning to this word.
1) Pleading
There’s an urgency to it,
When Paul was presenting his courtroom defense before Felix the governor,
he said,
(Ac
24:4 NKJV) Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to
hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us.
2) Encouraging
The sense of uplifting another person.
Barnabas was one of the chief “encouragers” of the Bible. His real name was Joseph (Acts 4:36), but he became known as
“Barnabas” which means “Son of Encouragement”.
We see his gift at work:
(Ac
11:23–24 NKJV) —23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged
them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 24 For he was
a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were
added to the Lord.
Barnabas was keeping the church moving in the direction of
holding on to the Lord. He was the one
who kept saying, “come on, you can do it, you can keep walking with Jesus!”
3) Comforting
There’s a sense of tenderness at times.
Those that are discouraged, those that are full of sorrow, we need to
“comfort” or “encourage” them.
(2 Co 1:3–4 NKJV)
—3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort
those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted
by God.
Lesson
Different flavors
When you go to Yogurtland, you can choose from a
dozen different flavors to fill your cup with.
It’s all frozen yogurt, but with different flavors.
With all of the gifts, each of the gifts can be manifested in different
ways, like different flavors. (1Cor.
12:4-6)
With exhortation, some people are better at “pleading”.
They can come across more as arm-twisters.
My friend George Bryson likes to joke that God loves you,
and George has a wonderful plan for your life.
The first time we asked George to speak at our church, I
ended up having my arm twisted to go to Russia.
And I’m so glad I did.
Some people overflow with “encouragement”.
There are some of you who seem to have the knack of sending me a note, or
saying a word to encourage me, and it’s always just when I need it. (I think of
Frank Lindley and Darnell Sherman).
As it is with each of the gifts, there may be different ways in which the
gift operates, depending on the person that has the gift.
Be careful not to think that when you’ve seen a
gift in action, that this is the way that it must always be operated.
Giving
(Ro 12:8 NKJV) …he who
gives, with liberality…
gives – metadidomi – to impart
Perhaps the prefix simply gives
intensity to the verb.
We are all supposed to learn how to give.
Paul told the Ephesian elders:
(Ac 20:35 NKJV) …And
remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give
than to receive.’ ”
The person with the gift of giving just knows how to give in a more
excellent way the rest of us.
Perhaps they know just what needs to be given and when it needs to be given
and to whom it needs to be given.
I don’t believe this gift is tied to how much money you have to give, but
how you give what you have.
When Jesus saw the widow woman put her two pennies into the offering:
(Mk 12:43–44
NKJV) —43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them,
“Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those
who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her
poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
With the three previous gifts (ministry, teaching, exhortation), Paul said
to just use the gifts by using the gifts.
“If ministry, then minister, if teaching, then teach…”
Now Paul gives a specific instruction concerning this gift of giving. He doesn’t just say “if giving, then
give”. He says to give with …
liberality – haplotes – singleness, simplicity, sincerity; generosity
It comes from the word haplos, which
means literally “without folds” (A.T. Robertson, Matt. 6:22).
When you went to the market in ancient
days and wanted to buy two measures of grain, the typical merchant would
measure the grain into his robe, then pour it all out
into your container.
The honest merchant
would shake his robe out, smoothing it out to show you that there were no
secret, hidden pockets where he would keep some of your grain for himself.
Sometimes this word carries the idea of
honesty or sincerity – no hiding the truth.
There is no hidden grain in the pockets
of my robe.
That’s the
concept found in:
(Col 3:22 NKJV) Bondservants,
obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart,
fearing God.
Sometimes this word is used to describe
generosity.
The shopkeeper doesn’t hold anything
back for himself but gives you everything measured into his robe.
Paul uses the
word to describe how the Macedonian churches gave to others in need, even when
they themselves were poor:
(2 Co 8:2 NKJV) that in
a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty
abounded in the riches of their liberality.
Lesson
No strings attached
The person with the gift of giving needs to be careful about attaching
conditions to their giving.
Sometimes people will offer to give you something, but you have to do
something for them in return.
Illustration
Mobster Funeral
One day a mobster named Freddie died.
He was famous all around town as a gangster. Freddie’s little brother, Gino, went to a
local church and asked the pastor if he would perform Freddie’s funeral. He said to the pastor, “Pastor, I will donate
a million dollars to the church if you perform my brother’s funeral. I only have but one request, that during the
funeral you tell everyone what a saint my brother was.” The pastor didn’t know what to do. He knew the church could sure use the money
for their building fund, but he also knew that the whole town knew what a crook
Freddie was. On the day of the funeral,
there was Gino sitting in the front row of pews, holding a large briefcase full
of money. The pastor struggled, but got
up and began to preach about the consequences of sin and the need to repent. He went on to tell about what a crook Freddie
was, and that he was the perfect example of a wretched sinner. Gino was beginning to get very upset. The pastor went on, “We all know what a
horrible person Freddie was. He was
drunk all the time, he cheated on his wife, he stole from his friends, but
compared to his little brother Gino, Freddie was a saint!”
Sometimes it is proper to have expectations of a person you are giving to.
If somebody on the street asks you for money to buy food, it’s right that you expect them to actually buy food. In fact you may want to take them to
McDonald’s and buy their food for them.
You don’t want them taking your money and walking into a liquor store.
Yet God’s desire is that when we give, we might be willing when necessary to
give without expecting anything in return.
Lesson
Generosity
A person with the gift of giving will need to learn about generosity.
The hard thing for us is that we like to keep what’s ours. One of the first words we learned as children
was the word “mine”.
Martin Luther wrote, “There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of
the heart, mind and the purse.”
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church to encourage them in learning to give
to those in need. He used this word haplotes twice in
the passage. Paul promised that if they
learned to give when God was prompting them to give …
(2 Co 9:11–13
NLT) —11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.
And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. 12 So two
good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers
in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. 13 As a
result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to
them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of
Christ.
Leadership
(Ro 12:8 NKJV) … he who
leads, with diligence…
leads – proistemi (“before” + “to stand”) – to set or place before; preside over
It’s literally the guy standing up front, the guy in charge.
Paul gives this gift another name as well, “administrations” (1Cor. 12:28)
administrations – kubernesis (our word “govern”) – governing
The word comes from the Latin word “to
steer a ship”. A kubernetes was the helmsman, the
man who knew winds, currents, stars, and how to get a ship to its destination.
These are the individuals within the
church that have the ability to lead and organize.
Sometimes we have lots
of ideas of what to do, but a person with “leadership” knows how to envision a
project and see it through to completion.
This gift also has a qualifier.
There’s a manner in which leadership should operate.
diligence – spoude – haste, earnestness, diligence
(Ro 12:8 NLT) …If God has
given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.
Lesson
Faithful Leaders
Paul wrote,
(1 Co 4:2 NLT) Now, a
person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.
Can you be counted on?
If someone gives you a responsibility, do you follow through? If you have an idea, do you see it through to
the end?
When you find yourself as a “manager”, or a “leader”, it’s
even more important to be someone that can be counted on.
Diligence can actually lead to leadership.
(Pr 12:24 NKJV) The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.
Lack of diligence only causes trouble.
(Pr 25:19 NKJV) Confidence
in an unfaithful man in time of trouble Is
like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.
Illustration
Shortly after he opened his first
plant, Thomas Edison noticed that his employees were in the habit of watching
the lone factory clock. To the inventor who was a tireless worker, this was
incomprehensible. He did not indicate
his disapproval verbally. Instead he had dozens of clocks placed around the
plant, no two keeping the same time.
From then on clock watching led to so much confusion that nobody cared
what time it was.
Are you a
“clock-watcher” or a hard worker? That
may be the very factor that determines how much potential you have as a leader.
Mercy
(Ro 12:8 NKJV) ……he who
shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
mercy – eleeo – to have mercy on; to help
one afflicted or seeking aid; to feel sympathy with the misery of another
It is related to the word for “alms”
alms – eleemosune – mercy, pity; a donation to the poor, alms
In Bible times, the poor and needy would beg for “alms”, asking people who
passed by to show them “mercy” by giving to them.
Lesson
Secret Mercy
Jesus taught about how to give “alms”
(Mt 6:1–4 NKJV)
—1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to
be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore,
when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory
from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when
you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand
is doing, 4 that your charitable
deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward
you openly.
Having “mercy” on somebody shouldn’t be something we do to
attract attention to ourselves. The only
person who we ought to be seeking to please is God.
Play Wash
My Feet clip
The gift of “mercy” may be what is involved in those who have a heart to
call on the sick, those who visit in hospitals or convalescent homes. It can be involved in ministries to
handicapped folks. It can be involved in
ministries to the homeless, or helping with our monthly food outreach.
We’re all called to these problems “our problem”, but the person with the
gift of mercy “gets it” more than the rest of us.
The gift of mercy is sometimes much more than just feeling sorry for
someone, and it may be more than just giving them money. It involves actions. Watch Jesus…
(Mt 15:22 NKJV) And
behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have
mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
What did Jesus do?
Did He give her money?
No, He healed her daughter (Mat. 15:28)
Lesson
Cheerful Mercy
(Mt 15:28 NKJV) —28 Then
Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be
to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
The gift of mercy also has a qualifier.
cheerfulness – hilarotes – cheerfulness,
readiness of mind
It comes from hilaros (hilarious) – cheerful, joyous, prompt to do anything
Paul taught the Corinthians about how to “give”.
(2
Co 9:7 NKJV) So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not
grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
Sometimes we can give “mercy” but with a price, a stern
warning, a reluctant hand, but not cheerfulness.
Sometimes we will give “mercy” reluctantly. At least I do. I have to tell you that I don’t like having
my arm twisted by a person who is most likely going to take my five dollars and
buy something that he shouldn’t buy.
Have you seen anything that seems to ring a bell in your life?
Then get to it. Use the gifts that
God has given you.
Is there something you’ve seen today that you wish you had?
Then start asking for it.