And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets,
and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for
the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the
body of Christ;
Insights: This week’s Thoughts by Scott deal with the subject of disciples. It is my prayer and blessing that all
Christians live these positive characteristics out in their walk with
Jesus. Today’s verses give us the first
part of the characteristics that are true of disciples. If you are truly born again and are redeemed
from your sin that so enslaved you, then the Holy Spirit has come to reside in
your heart. When He entered into your
life He became your spiritual gift. He
manifests Himself in your life in any manner of giftedness He deems will
benefit the Kingdom of God best. He may
manifest Himself in your life with the gift of teaching or intersession, but He
Himself is the gift God has given
you. In today’s verses we discover three
reasons the Holy Spirit manifests Himself in your life in this kind of
fashion. First, He gives you gifts in
order to equip the saints. Babies in
Christ Jesus don’t know their gift mix nor do they know how to obediently serve
the Master. It takes those more mature
in their faith to come along side of them and equip them. They are being equipped for the second reason
gifts are given. Second, God gives you
gifts in order to serve Him with good works.
Babies are equipped by more mature believers for the direct purpose of
having those babies grow and become servers in God’s Kingdom. Unfortunately, many “saved” people like being
feed spiritual milk from a bottle and do not wish to learn their spiritual gift
mix so that they can stay safe and comfortable in the pew. God, however, did not save us to just sit and
be content in doing God a favor by showing up Sunday mornings. He called us to serve. The third reason gifts are given helps these
babies in Christ to get up and serve and that reason is encouragement. The body of Christ is being built up by
receiving encouragement from other believers.
In this world we face all kinds of troubles and often times we are so beat
down by the world we feel as if we are not able to serve God faithfully. It is at those times the church needs to
encourage others. Beloved, learn your
gift mix and obey the Father.
Questions:
- Do
you know what your spiritual gift(s) is/are?
- Are you using your gift(s) to impact the lives of those around you?
Prayer: Father, forgive
me for the times that I am just a pew sitter and not about obediently serving
You. Convict my heart and help me to
realize exactly what You desire for me to do and give me the courage to obey
You. Amen.
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