Gifts of the Holy Spirit Part 4

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on February 13th 2022  by Colin D'Cruz via zoom. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

 Gifts of the Holy Spirit - Part 4

When you come to Jesus Christ what happens is that your sins are forgiven. We are in fellowship with Jesus, in fellowship with His people. And we are seeking His will seeking His word and say, Lord. What do you want me to do today? How can I serve you? How can I please you? And that is what salvation is all about. And when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are immersed in the Holy Spirit, which adds a new dimension to our Christian lives. Previously we were powerless and weak. But with the Holy Spirit, as Jesus said, you will receive power. And this power comes in the form of many different gifts. Remember the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon disciples and they were all filled with the spirit. They spoke in tongues, they prophesied, they praised God. This morning, I'm going to do one section of them.  I'd like to just share a few things to remind us about the gifts of the Spirit.

1)These gifts are given for a purpose

1Corinthians 12:7 -Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 

All these verses on the gifts are found in 1st Corinthians, chapter 12 and Romans chapter 12 primarily. The purpose of the gifts is to advance God's kingdom to bless the body, it's not for me to show off. 

2) The source of the gifts is the holy spirit.

 1Corinthians 12:11-  All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

 We don't deserve the gifts. They are Grace gifts that are given to us. It's the Holy Spirit who gives us gifts just as he determines. We've got to recognize them. 

3) These gifts are diverse. They are very different from one another.

1 Corinthians, 12: 14-Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Paul is showing us here that just as our human bodies are made up of many parts, So also Christ's spiritual body. The church is made up of many, diverse parts. 

We need to value one another's diversity and differences.

4)There is a divine order.

1 Corinthians 12:18 -But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 

God has arranged every one of them just as he wanted them to. God has placed you here for a purpose.

5) Eagerly desire the greater gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:31-Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

 

There are some gifts given to us and we can desire other gifts as well, but we can't demand them. It's up to the Holy Spirit to give them to us. So, whatever gift, God has given you, your responsibility is to discover that gift. Not just to discover it, but to value the gift and then develop it. 

 

How can I take that gift to a higher level? What can I do to grow that gift? We have to be faithful to that. Because our faithfulness will be rewarded. And when we use them, there's a supernatural Grace and blessing upon it to dispense. We are all called to operate in these gifts. If your gift is Prophecy, you are encouraged to seek God and prophesy. You may not have the gift of healing, but you are encouraged to pray for healing for people. We're all called to give and we're all called to serve.

So today we will look at the administrative gifts. Now there are many classifications of gifts, some people categorize them into two-three classifications some into two some into five. We've got five or six different classifications.

 

 So, we're looking this morning at the administrative gifts. The first administrative, gift, I picked up is the gift of service.

 

1)Gift of service

Romans chapter 12: 6,7-We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your^[a] faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach

   

We have different gifts according to the grace given us. So this gift is a gift of Grace. You don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. God in his goodness is giving you a gift.

 1 Peter 4:10-Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

 

The Greek word for service is DIKONIA which means deacons or one that serves at the table or it's the word ministry as well. 

 

The little gift that comes along with serving is the gift of helps.

 

1 Corinthians 12:28-And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.

 Romans12:6,7-We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your^[a] faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Some people have a more public Ministry, for example, preaching, or worship and standing up in front of a crowd and doing all that. But for many, the ministry and the calling is not so much a public thing, but for behind the scenes, Now, which is important? Both are important. And we see this clearly in Acts chapter 6. 

 

This is God's plan that he gives different gifts to you. We don't choose which gift we get. God gives it to us and what we are responsible for is to be faithful with it.

You may think serving on tables,  serving the Biryani, washing the dishes-that sounds like a menial task. But even for this task that the world would consider menial, God has qualifications- men full of the spirit, full of wisdom, full of faith, full of the Holy Spirit. Even that waiting on the table required the Holy Spirit. And the result of this was the word of God spread and the number of disciples in Jerusalem, increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. 

 

So don't sit on your gift. But you gotta say: Lord, how can I use my gift? And the second thing to remember is that this gift that needs to be used, needs to be used in conjunction with the local church. There are no solo gifted people here that you know, your hand may be very talented. But if it's not connected to the body, it's useless. I want to exhort each one of you to find out what your gift is and use it. 

 

Revelation.2:19

I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

What I like to say is even the service that we do, even a cup of cold water to somebody is, does not go unnoticed by God. These gifts of serving and helps -enables us to serve others, and especially serve those whose ministries and gifts are more public. People with these gifts are not seeking recognition of their position in the spotlight. They just want to help out and they are content serving in the back knowing that their contribution will bless the church. 

2)Gift of teaching.

This gift is found in Romans 12, where Paul says, in verse 7.

If it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 

 1 Corinthians, 12 : 28-And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.

Ephesians 4: 11-So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers

 Teachers are the people who are able to instruct others from the Bible in a logical and systematic way. They can communicate pertinent information for true understanding and growth. This gift is a very important gift and it carries a heavy responsibility. The church. In fact, in James chapter 3 verse 1. If you have a gift of teaching.-you have a deep desire for God's word. You love to read the word and you have the ability to communicate it with people. . 

We're all called to teach and admonish one another. The same gift there are different spheres that of operation. Some people are called to preach before thousands and teach before thousands. Others may be called to teach and preach in a smaller setting. 

 

 3) Gift of administration:

  We see that in First Corinthians 12:28

And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.

This word Administration comes from a Greek word that refers to steering or guiding. It refers to a captain of a ship. And the idea is to guide or direct a group of people towards a goal.  With this gift, the Holy Spirit enables- a chance to organize, direct and implement plans to lead others in the various ministries of the church. This kind of person loves tasks. They have a to-do list. They can write that down, they can plan, they can prioritize and they like to do it. 

4) Gift of leadership:

 This is found in Romans 12;8.

if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

 This gift of leadership is closely connected to the gift of administration, and also the gift of the pastoring or the shepherding. This word leadership means - to assist, to protect, to care for others. The difference between the gift of administration and the gift of leadership is the gift of administration is mainly focused on doing tasks, doing things. Well, a gift of leadership, is more focused on people. So it's building people up, helping people move along. etc 

The holy spirit gives a spiritual gift of leadership to some people in the church to care for God's people and lead them into a deeper relationship with Christ and with each other. It's helping people grow in your spiritual walk with Jesus and the way they lead could be through teaching and preaching but with a deep concern for the well-being of others. Often people with the gift of leadership are more Visionary. They can see the big picture. But they are less concerned with the details. They often need the help of good administrators and people with the gift of service and help to take that vision and make it happen.

1, Timothy chapter 3 :4 ,5- He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full^[a] respect. ⁵ (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 

So in the church, the leadership gift is there, but we start by Leading our own family.

 

5)The Gift of giving or generosity. 

Romans 12:8

if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

The holy spirit gives this gift to summon the church to meet the various needs of the church and its ministries and missionaries. These are great gifts and you want to use what he has blessed you to be a blessing in the Kingdom. Typically, we look for people who are in need and will be generous. But they'll go out of the way and lookout for ways to seek out others and help others. And sometimes what this involves is cutting down their lifestyle, adjusting their lifestyles, in order to be able to give more to spread the gospel, to care for the needy.

 So I would encourage you this morning. God does not want us to increase our standard of living but our standard of giving.  

 

6)The gift of encouraging 

Romans 12 :8

if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

 

The Greek word for encourager is a similar word to the Holy Spirit, the Parakleet. So you're coming alongside someone with words of encouragement, comfort, consolation council and to help them be strong in God and help them be all God wants to be. This is a spiritual gift of exhortation. What we're doing is helping people who may be depressed, o down or going through a difficult situation. 

 

7) Gift of Mercy. 

Romans 12:8

if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

 

What is it mean to be merciful? It means that we are sensitive towards those who are suffering, whether physically, mentally, emotionally. They feel genuine sympathy with your misery and they can speak words of compassion and they can care for them with deeds of love to alleviate the stress. Now all Christians are called to be merciful. But there are some people who have this Supernatural Gift of Mercy that just enables them to be with people who are suffering and to communicate the love of God and the grace of God. 

 Romans 12:15- Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 

Galatians 6:2 - Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfil the law of Christ.

 Another part of being merciful is they're good listeners. It is just able to sit down and listen to people as they unburden themselves. 

 

 We've looked at all these different gifts. Ephesians 2:10 says

For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God has called us to do good works means you can use your gifts and the name of Jesus would spread throughout this world and the needs of people would be met.

So, I want to encourage you this morning. Will you spend time with the Lord and ask the Lord, what is my gift? If you need some help, come and speak to one of your leaders.  And we will be happy to guide you and help you with that. 

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.  

Who are our Grecian widows? | Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on May 14th, 2017. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples many times over 40 days. Jesus’ prophecy over the church- “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” We are the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophetic word. In Revelation 7:9 – 10 we see the complete fulfillment of this prophecy “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”” People from every tribe and tongue chosen for salvation will be there. Praise God for that time.

Between his prophetic word and what happens in the end of time, we see the growth of the church recorded in Acts. Acts 1: 15 It was just 120 people. In Acts 2, it becomes 3000. In Acts 3, we see that the Lord was adding to their number every day. Acts 4- 5000 people. Acts 5- The Lord added multitudes. We see the growth of the church. In the midst of this phenomenal growth, imagine Peter walking down and healing people everywhere his shadow fell. People were being changed forever. Along with this explosive growth, some things happened to hinder its growth.

Acts 5- Ananias and Saphira- their deception resulted in their death. In Acts 6:1- “Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”

One of the amazing things about the Bible is that it records the good, bad and ugly. King David’s whole life is laid out before us. In 1 Cor 10 Paul writes, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

The instruction from the example of Ananias and Saphira, is to be holy. Then at the height of a revival, there are arguments about food. They are arguing about the chicken leg in the Biryani. The Greek speaking Jews were complaining about their widows are being neglected.

Q. who was this food being distributed to?

To needy widows who didn’t have sustenance. 

Q. Why were they distributing this food?

Once they were saved, they could not go back. So the 120 had to look after so many of them. In Acts 2 after the 3000 were saved “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” So the Grecian widows came to the apostles. This was a problem. It is important that we take care of widows. True religion is purity but also to take care of the downtrodden.

Q. What’s the solution?

The apostles could say, these people can’t handle it, so we will handle it. They say, it is not right that we should give up preaching of the word to serve tables. Each one has a different calling. Jesus himself said at the last supper that it is blessed to serve. God looks up on people who stoop down to serve. At this particular time, the apostles said that it is not right for them not to attend to the people being saved.

Q. What is so important about giving food to widows?

It is true religion. If they didn’t do that it would have hindered the work of God. Therefore, they ask for 7 people from among them.

Q. What were the characteristics of the men chosen for this?

The task was to serve food. But the apostles felt it was so important!

1.      Character- Of good repute. Men above reproach.

2.      Charisma- Full of the Spirit. Someone being led and controlled by the Spirit.

3.      Competence- Full of Wisdom.

If we want to fulfill a task in the church, these are important. Prayer and the preaching of the word is a key function of the apostles.

These names were all Greek. They chose Greeks to serve the Grecian Widows.

Q. What was the result?

The word of God continued to increase. The Number of disciples multiplied. They took care of distributing food to the widows, and this was the result.

These things are written down as examples.

Q. How does this apply to us?

Are there needs in the church to be met? Are we playing our role to meet those? Having a welcome team to greet and receive people, the Sunday school, these are all different needs.

By not doing anything, you are actually doing something negative. Jesus said, who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.

For a church, an ideal team must consist of these people:

1.      A leader

2.      A worship leader

3.      A children’s worker

We have treated the children’s work like they treated the Grecian Widows. We need to get that thing right. We are looking for someone with character, charisma and competence. Each church will have to apply it according to their situation. Our action or non- action could be hindering the growth of the church. In the kingdom, we are looking for ads like, wanted- someone to wait on tables, wipe a child’s nose, set up the hall.

This is not the end of the story though, is it? Stephen, after Jesus, became the first martyr. He had the privilege of dying for his faith. Philip, went down to Samaria and preached the gospel. A whole city came to faith because of him. An angel of the Lord comes to him. He baptizes the Ethiopia Eunuch. He gets bodily transported. The Lord looks upon such people with greatness.

Would you like to wait on tables?

Our answer should be YES.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that have people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.  

Leadership Redefined Part- 2| Colin D

This message was preached by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on October 16th, 2016. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

It is our priority to advance the Kingdom of God here on earth in this time. But how we do it is important. The ends don’t justify the means. We looked at 3 things last week:

1.      We want to pursue the presence of God. The Spirit of glory rests on us- we are glory carriers.

2.      In order to lead, we need sacrificial servant leadership.

3.      We want to see churches that are multicultural and multigenerational.

Today we will go further in this list of lessons I’ve learnt from my experience with Regions Beyond

4.      Being there for one another’s success- the moment we’re out of the womb, there is a race to excel. We need to get into the rat race. The culture of the kingdom is very different. In the kingdom, we are working for another’s success.

Now there are good and Bad examples of this. The Bad examples:

a.      Very early on in the Bible, in Gen 4:3-5 we see Cain and Abel. 2 brothers, with the same parents, background, culture, etc. there was division in the heart of man. The result is that Cain killed Abel due to envy.

b.      In Gen 17:9- we see Joseph who had dreams about his future, who’s father favoured him and who shared his dreams with his brothers. But the brothers were insecure and wanted to put an end to it.

c.      Saul- When Goliath challenged the Israelite army, David comes up and destroyed him. As David gets other victories people start singing, “Saul had his 1000s, David his 10,000s”. Instead of celebrating him, Saul was jealous.

In our hearts, there is a tendency to be jealous just like that. It’s only Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit that can change us.

Here are some Good examples:

a.      Jonathan- He loved David. 1 Sam 19:4- 6- “Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?”” Jonathan was next in line to be king. But David was supported by him a 100%. We want to be involved in encouraging others like Jonathan did.

b.      Barnabus: his real name was Joseph, but he was such an encourager that he came to be known as barnabus which means, ‘son of encouragement’. In Acts 9:26- “When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.” Saul got saved, and was looking for the disciples to join them. But they were afraid of Saul because of his history.

But barnabus! Verse 27 says, “But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles.” He believed in Saul and his testimony and he travelled with him for the next few months.

It takes great grace for someone who brings you in, to let you grow greater than them. It was Barnabus and Saul for a while and then it became Paul and Barnabus.

Barnabus also encouraged John Mark who deserted the apostles. He took him on and later Paul remarks to send Mark because he is useful. Barnabus never wrote a book of the Bible, but we see that he encouraged two people who together wrote 14 books of the Bible.

We need to cultivate a spirit of encouragement.   Hebrews 3:13- “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness”. So as long as it is today, encourage someone.

Q.So, what are we looking for in others to encourage?

·        Look for good things in others. We can see specks in other people’s eyes. It takes grace to see the things we can pick up from each one.

·        Verbalise it in a positive way

·      Recognise their gifting. If Saul had embraced David’s anointing, they could have been great together. Phil 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”. There are so many opportunities to encourage one another.

Q. How can I help in them being all they are called to be?

Crabs in a bucket, is not in the kingdom. Recognise gifting and anointing. Also, be cautious about mouthing the next slogan. It’ll take time in fleshing it out.

5.      Cultivating a spirit of generosity and giving- John 3:16- God gave his most precious possession out of love. We are called to be imitators of him. For this, we need to move from poverty to wealth mentality. In poverty mentality, no matter how much money you possess, you are not content. You feel like you don’t have enough.

Whereas the wealth mentality says that God has entrusted so much to me and I’m blessed in every way. I am a steward of his riches.  We want to be a blessing. We are to reflect the heart of Jesus. The opposite of this is the spirit of entitlement which says I deserve this.

Be a blessing. A pond has water that goes nowhere. It becomes stale and starts to give off  a bad odour. But a pipe is used to direct thousands of litres of water through it. We are called to be a pipe.

6.      Uplifting the poor- Luke 4:18- “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” 1 Sam 2:8- “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honour.” It is important to give them dignity and value and also the life-giving gospel.

Let us put these things into practice and bring glory to God. 

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that have people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.