Holy Spirit Series Part 13 Romans 12 gifts
Intro: Paul uses an Analogy in both 1 Cor12 & Romans 12
from Anatomy to paint a Picture of the Church – 1st 1 Cor .12
12 For as the body is one and has many members,
but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is
Christ.
NLT
12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only
one body. So it is with the body of
Christ.
The Church is not a collection of bodies – but it is one
body w/ many parts / many members
A)And the body –works best when all the parts are functioning in order & according to their gifting & purpose
B)
If one part is not working – my arm deciding to stop functioning – Handicapped
or crippled – Paralyzed
1) If one part is over working – Spastic –
C) God is glorified when every part is functioning
as it was Designed
The Body is like a Football team – Everyone playing together
– running play if the guard pulls the wrong
way it is a Disaster
A)Basketball – Problem w/ MJ – everyone stands around & watches
B) We can have that mentality in the Church – those are
the ministers – we come to watch them – ( Wrong) this is the Huddle
1) We come to here to find out what the play is –
Instruction for doing our
part &
making an impact in this world
C) Understand the Church
is not a building or an organization but a living organism!
1)
Not
just a collection of parts – assembly line / but a body designed
formed and
fitted together by the Lord Himself!
C) And within the body there is Unity – Many members in one
body - / Christ is the Head /
1) Also Diversity – all members have different Functions / giftings
That is what the church is, It is not just a group of religious people
gathered together to enjoy certain functions.
A)It is a group of people who share the same life,
who belong to the same Lord, who are filled with the same Spirit, & given
gifts by that same Spirit !!
B) and who are intended to function together to
change the world by the Spirit’s power!!
That is the work of the church.
C) The apostle goes on in the next few
verses to make this crystal clear by explaining to us just how this works.
D)
He
describes how the body functions, & in doing so he deals with 3 major
problems, 3 mental attitudes that often come up in the Church.
A) Paul deals with that very attitude here !! Verses 14-20
C) Paul says
that if the foot were to say – I can’t do what the hand can do – I can’t wiggle
my toes like the hand does the fingers
1)
Therefore I don’t belong to the body
D) Not True
– couldn’t walk or stand -
Thumb – short &
pudgy – not like other fingers –
A) Couldn’t
grab things / write etc
B) There is no insignificant part of the body –
[Big toe] – couldn’t stand
C) Likewise there is no insignificant part of
the Body of Christ
1) All
have a function
Now the 2nd problem Paul deals with that surfaces
in a church, is an INDEPENDENT SPIRIT
verse 21
A) Eye can’t
say …….
A) No Lone Rangers in the Body
– One dimensional – You remove yourself – We are affected!!- (Hebrews
10:24,25 Don’t forsake the
assembling..)
3rd PROBLEM – ESTEEMING ONE GIFT ABOVE ANOTHER
VERSE 22-25
A) Our
Problem – we esteem gifts – that are the most out in the open / Think those
presentable as the ones that are the most important
B) The ones
that are less visible as less important – note those which seem weaker – that is our problem
1) Not weaker but seem weaker à
emphasis is on what we can see -
C) Take
human body – HEART IS NOT PRESENTABLE – BUT CAN’T LIVE
WITHOUT IT.
1) I could
live without an Arm / Leg / Finger / eye / all presentable parts
D) But not a
Heart / not a brain - (Same true in body of Christ)
Watch that we don’t over esteem the Parts but realize that
they are all functioning together to get the job Done
A)Now lets turn to Romans 12:3-8 – Paul says the
same thing / mentions another group of
gifts
B)Now this
group of gifts that we are looking at tonight here in Rom. 12 are broken up
into 2 groups - Those that EXPOUND
the Word
A) And those which EXPAND the Work !
B) Now the first gift Paul
mentions is prophesy - : if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;
We have talked about the gift of Prophecy already – Forth
telling
A)It derives from a Greek root which means
"to cause to shine," and is
linked with the prefix "pro" which means "before."
B)So a person w/ the gift of prophecy is one who
stands before and causes the word of God to shine.
C) Prophesy is the gift of declaring truth basically it is the gift of expounding
Scripture, making Scripture come alive.
1) The word burns w/ in the
heart of those who have this gift & they must get it out !
The next gift Paul mentions is ministry - Now Prophesy
declares truth - ministry depicts truth .
AA) Jesus showed us this over
& over He would first teach & then He would touch !
Bb) Teach truth & touch people as an illustration of what
He taught !
A) I believe that the gift of
Ministry is the same as the gift of helps mentioned in 1 Cor. 12 - simply means serving .
1)those
who are Deacons fall into this category - word deacon - means
servant ! Deacons will have the gift of helps or ministry
B) The person who has the gift
of ministry of the gift or helps is one who depicts the
truth of God’s word by being a servant !
1) Their lives are a living
testimony & illustration of the truths of the word !
C) Dorcas in Acts 9
was a lady who seemed to minister in this way & when she died the early church was
deeply crushed?
1) Called for Peter - Please
come & pray that she would be raised
D) Why was she so
loved ? Because she was a minister in the truest sense of the word ! Loved God’s people & served them by
1) making garments & coats
for people in the Church.
E) Now I have to believe that
Dorcas wasn’t the only seamstress in the Church - so it wasn’t what she did -
it was the way she did it!
1) Joy & Cheerfulness -
loving & serving !
F) Name means Gazelle - one who
is bounding and free - not burdened or weighed down - Those
w/ the gift of Helps - Live to Help others
1) Helps Ministry - looking for
some people w/ that gift !
Next Paul mentions teacher ! Prophet Declares truth / Ministry depicts truth / Teacher defines
truth
A) A prophet might share the word sporadically - might start off in a text
but moves around to point where - giving this word ! ( One thing to focus on)
B) A teacher shares
systematically - verse by verse - line by line - defining & explaining what
the word says & means
C) Jesus illustrated this in Matt. 5: 27,28 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.
D) Took the word & brought definition to it ! Defined it & made it very
applicable!
E) Teaching is the ability to impart knowledge and
information, to instruct
the mind/ Where as
prophesying instructs the heart and moves the will.
TEACHING OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH - New Believers - home group - just impart the word - one on one - discipleship
Next gift mentioned is gift of exhortation - The person who has the gift of exhortation is the one w/ the gift to develop truth
A) Person who comes along side of another & literally shows them how
to walk - how to minister by doing it w/ them
B) It is a very hands on type of gifting - / in fact the word itself
is extremely enlightening ! Parakaleo in the Greek
1) Means one called along side to help or to aid - it is
derived from the exact same word used to describe the ministry of the H.S.
C) He is referred to as the
Parakletos - or the one called along side to help!
1) So an exhorters primary
ministry is one of encouraging & coming along side to aid . Strongly urging
one to pursue a course of conduct
E) What is interesting to me
about the def. of exhortation is it doesn’t say anything about - rebuking - but
that is how it is so often used today.
1) I
have the gift of the exhortation - they going around rebuking
everyone & Jumping down their throats
F) Sorry but that is not what
the gift of exhortation means !
Seen in the Church in teaching & preaching / in
counseling / in men’s groups & women’s groups / definitely in Discipleship
A) Seen outside the Church in -
coming along side people out of fellowship & helping them get in fellowship
- pick up give a ride.
B) Ministry that pursues others
to help them grow in the Lord - go on in Christ - go forward in ministry !
1) Ministry that Challenges to
go higher - not settle for mediocrity in our lives - in our walks - or in our
ministries !
First 4 gifts expound the Word in Different ways - seeking to build up & edify the Body !
A) The next 3 are involved in Expanding the work of God ! Next Paul says he who gives, with liberality;
B) Giving expands the work. Giving w/ liberality means giving with no strings attached .
1) It is giving to the Lord
freely & Cheerfully not expecting - any pay backs / not demanding to know
where money is going !
C) Some say I will only give if I can - determine what this is going to
be used for - Paul says don’t give that way!
1) Give freely - freely you
have received - freely give !
Years ago, The
Sunday School Times carried the account of a Christian school for the children
of "untouchables" in India prior to World War II.
A) Presents from children in England
1)
On one occasion the doctor from a nearby mission hospital was asked to
distribute the gifts.
B) In the
course of his visit, he told the youngsters about a village where the boys
and girls had never even heard of Jesus.
He suggested that maybe they
would like to give them some of their old toys as presents.
C) They
liked the idea and readily agreed. A
week later, the doctor returned to collect
the gifts. The sight was
unforgettable. One by one the children filed by and handed the doctor their toys.
D) To his great surprise, they
all gave the new presents they had just received several days earlier.
When he asked why, a girl spoke up,
"Think what God did by giving us his only Son. Could we give him less than our best?"
A) Now all Christians are
expected to give - told in 1Cor. 16/ 3
principles
1) My giving is to be regular -
1st day of the week.
2) My giving is to be
systematic - let
each one lay aside something
3) My giving is to be
proportionate - as
he has prospered
B) But those w/ the
gift of giving have been blessed w/ the ability to earn & give money for
the advancement of God's work,
C) Maybe God has blessed you with the gift of
giving. If so, exercise it with generosity!
1) Give to others in need -
give w/ your whole heart ! More give / more given to give if that is your gift
!
Next Paul
mentions the gift of leadership : he
who leads, with diligence;
A) Anthony Green won first prize & $5,000
Because he used duct tape to patch the wing of the plane he flew from Guatemala
to Honduras, in the The Best Use of Duct Tape'
contest.
AMAZING
B) There are people in the Body
like Anthony Green. They know how to patch things up.
They know how to make things fly.
1) They have a feeling for how
things should happen. Theirs is the gift of LEADERSHIP of doing all things
decently and in order
C) Help keep things going & functioning in such a way that the Lord
can move & work !
1) Person w/ the gift of
Leadership / will be different from the person who has a natural talent for
leadership
D) In that they will have a
sensitivity to others thru the H.S. / and it is apparent they are being led by
the Spirit in their leadership
1) Those w/ just a natural
talent - for leading will bull doze others & often times - do things in the flesh!
The
final gift mentioned in Romans 12 is that of doing acts of mercy.
A) Its distinctiveness is indicated by the meaning of the word
"mercy."
B) Mercy is
undeserved aid, aid given to those who most people find repugnant and
offensive--the sick and deformed, the unwashed and foul, those with unpleasant
personalities and vile habits.
C) It differs from the gift of helps by being
directed to those who are either undeserving or who Drug Addict
1)
Or an innocent victim, (like a child with AIDS
or a mentally disordered individual)
Which gifts do you
have? Where are you drawn ?
A) Amy
analogy - what would be your reaction ?
1) What a klutz! Let someone else deal w/ that !
B) Prophecy "
Watch your step , pitfalls in life watch out
1) Helps
"Where is the broom ? "
2) Giving "
How much was that glass ? Write a check"
C) Teaching
" When carry glass wipe condensation
/ right amount
of pressure w/ each hand!
1) Exhorter - "
Come on Amy you can do this go & get another
glass / I'm pulling for you sweat heart
D) Leads "
Who designed these steps that way
1) Mercy
"Come here honey / I know just how you feel I Did the
same
thing in the 3rd grd."
Each one
responding as the Lord has gifted them !
All important / all necessary /
but there is diversity!