Unpacking Spiritual Gifts

What I would like to talk with you about today is something that seems to be a pretty huge ambiguous subject in the church today. What I have found is that a majority of churches preach on this subject regularly, but very few of them actually take the subject as a whole and apply it to our everyday lives. This is going to be a bit cursory rather than in depth, but I still feel that it is important for us to know, whether it is as leaders or training others to eventually lead. What I have generally found is that churches tend to lock into one gift category, and do not look at the others. For instance, the church I attend back home is locked into the 5 discussed in Ephesians. My experience with another church has shown me that they favor the Romans verse, but have referenced 1 Corinthians as well. What I find the most interesting is that people tend to group all of them together, which I find particularly dangerous due to the fact that they are used in different contexts. What I have found is that I think it is important to know that we can operate in all three categories, since they all have different purposes.

To start out with, I am going to give you three gifts. We will open one at a time, and then discuss what is in the box, why it is problematic and then how we apply it. Hands out the boxes and then opens the first one

Okay, so the first box is a box of Legos. The Legos are obviously there to form something, however, it is rather difficult to figure out what exactly it is forming since there are no instructions. The problem with the charismata are that we hear in church over and over again “use your spiritual gifts” but it is rarely ever explained or instructed. This is the case in Romans. Read Romans 12:3-8

To provide context, Paul is writing this message to the Romans because he is instructing them and telling them that they all need each other. As many of us know, the Roman culture was very individualistic, and many people did what they could to be recognized as individuals. This was done through self-glorifying acts that would draw attention to how great they are.

This is why the message of Paul is so counter-cultural. Instead of trying to succeed as individuals, Paul is telling them to succeed as a group. Instead of competing against one another, they should be celebrating their differences and working together towards a common good. This idea of being a living sacrifice would be completely foreign to them, thus, requiring instruction.

That’s where the Legos come in. When you look at the Legos, you need someone to come along side and explain where all the pieces come together. Without that instruction, it is just a pile of blocks that serves no purpose. When you begin to understand that Paul was trying to guide them, the verse makes more sense. What Paul did was he referenced virtues and commendable actions of Roman culture to form the spiritual gifts. These gifts are inherent to people and they are what motivates people to live out the Holy Spirit (to reference Discover your God-Given Gifts). Prophecy, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading and compassion are the seven virtues that Paul shares. This was palatable to his audience and easy to understand, which is how they were able to apply what they learned.

This correlates to us today because often times we do not know where to start or know where we fall on the scale. Being that this was meant for a group of people 2,000 years ago, it can be difficult to digest. But the application that can be made is that we all possess at least one of these gifts, because that is what makes us want to do something for Christ.

Open the Second Gift

The second gift that we are looking at is a note that claims that a gift is on its way… when we consider this gift we find that it is not so reliable. The question we often ask is “when I really need it, will it actually be there?” Needless to say, it is rather anti-climatic and kind of confusing. When it actually arrives, it might be amazing, but you really have to put a lot of trust into it EVENTUALLY coming.

Read 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

When we consider this passage in 1 Corinthians, you will see that the list of gifts have a distinct nature to them. What we find is that they are sort of unpredictable, and they tend to be actions rather than the character traits that you see in Romans 12:3-8. Any guess why?

To give you some background on 1 Corinthians, one of the big issues that Paul had with them is that they were getting caught up in the gifts. Because of this, they were creating factions among themselves and they were being arrogant towards those who did not have that specific gift. This was a well-engrained idea in their society as it was because any individual could easily climb the social latter through money or intelligence. This idea was applied to spiritual gifts, and soon the Corinthian church was forming hierarchies. This is shown in 1 Cor 12:7&21 in which groups would isolate themselves.

In the fervor to have certain gifts, main doctrinal issues became marginalized in favor of ideas that are more self-glorifying. Tongues is an example of this being that this gift was viewed as being more angelic, so those that possessed the gift began excusing sins such as prostitution since it was bodily sin that they felt did not apply to them.

So how does Paul correct them? He explains to them that there are many gifts that manifest themselves in people. They are all important, and that they all have their place in the body of Christ. Interestingly enough, he mentions tongues as the last gift on the list. The significance to that is that in Greek writing, the last item on a list is considered the least important. This demonstrates the desire to have diversity in the gifts, and not be so focused on the one gift.

To conclude this section, it is worth establishing that these gifts are by no means permanent, such as the motivational gifts. These gifts come and go at the will of the Holy Spirit when a certain need is to be met, so that is why Paul mentions that the truly gifted members of the church are those that Love well and do not seek self glorification. For if you love consistently, then you will use your gifts to help others.

Open the Third Gift

The final gift that we opened is a guitar tuner, it is very one dimensional. It does not serve a huge purpose outside of itself. The limitations are so that if you do not have a guitar to tune, it is pretty much useless. This is what some people see as a problem with the third category of gifts.

Read Ephesians 4:11-13

This verse can be pretty confusing to a lot of people because it seems that they are very distinct and they deal specifically with the church. The initial thought that comes to mind is “what if I am not called to full time ministry?” Because much like that tuner, the gift becomes useless because there is no outlet to do use it. The truth is that it does not always have to be full time ministry, and that you can effectively use your gift in a lay setting or out in the world. Just because it says “pastor” does not mean that you have to be an official pastor. Pastoring is the act of shepherding people and taking care of them. Because you might come up as an “evangelist”, it does not mean that you need to be Bible thumping people on the street corner, now that I think of it, I hope that you never do that! But these are all ideas that can be used in every day life as well.

So you are probably asking, “why does Paul write so exclusively?” Paul is writing this to the church in Ephesus, which was a hotbed for the Imperial Cult. Ephesus was the home of the Temple of Artemis, which was one of the wonders of the ancient world, and was strongly influenced by the Romans. With this in mind, it made sense that Paul would write to the church in a way to help maintain a church and to remind them of their mission.

To do this, Paul wrote about the five gifts listed (four, in some circles) so that people would be able to focus on the main components of starting a church. The two categories that they can be broken up are internal and external. Pastors and teachers are considered the internal grouping, and this can be established by the way in which they are separated from the other three. Apostles, prophets and evangelists are considered heralds of the church and are outwardly focused. The intent is to equip and build up the church, which is run by a theocracy in which God is the head and is carried out by the Holy Spirit.

Finally, it was anticipated that the next group of believers needed to know how to run a church effectively. Being that the original apostles were beginning to die or get executed, Paul felt it was important to instruct them now before it was too late. What makes these gifts different than the other three is that they focus on the people, not personality traits or actions being done. These gifts are given “office names” so to speak. But the interesting thing is that even though these are offices, you do not need the title to be able to use the gifts.

Now that we have covered the three categories, I would like to return to the initial problem. If all of these gifts exist, why does Paul mention certain gifts in certain lists and leaves them out in other lists? It can be very confusing, but the fact of the matter is that they all function differently.

I am telling you this because often times people will claim that you can only have certain gifts, or my favorite is that you need to have a specific gift to prove that you are a Christian. Instead, I would like to give you the same encouragement that Paul gave to the churches, and that is that it takes many parts of the body to operate it properly. Also, I hope that you would not just look at one category and say “I have this!” and then limit yourself to that. I am not saying this as doctrine, but I firmly believe that we can operate in all three categories as the holy spirit prompts us.

For instance, I have been told that I am an exhorter and teacher from Romans, I get told a lot that I demonstrate the wisdom mentioned in 1 Corinthians, and I have received comments about being a teacher and an evangelist in the Ephesians verses. We all have our unique mix of gifts that the spirit gives us, and I would hope that you would be interested in learning about yours and that you spend time seeking the Lord in how you may properly use them. If you do not know where you stand, I have quite a few books (I have referenced Discover Your God-Given Gifts quite a bit) that will help you on your journey

So you are probably wondering how we know what we are good at. There are a few different answers that you can have. Can you think of any? You will want to talk with people that you trust so that you can figure out what you are good at. Sometimes we take for granted things that we do regularly, and it really means something to someone else. For instance, I never really knew that I made sound decisions and gave wise counsel until someone told me so. The reason is that I just always operated that way, and no one really told me until I was in my early 20’s. The second way that we could find out what we are good at is trying out new things. For instance, if you have felt compelled to pray for people, then you might have a gift that could be used on the prayer team. I found that I had a strength with evangelism because I put myself in situations where I could share my faith and share the love of Christ with others. This is not simply giving a tract or saying “God Bless” at the end of a greeting, this is talking with someone and trying to meet their need and trying to share the good things that are happening in my life. I found this because I decided that I was not going to shy away from people who did not believe what I believe. Another way to find out is to take a quiz or read a book and see what stands out to you. There are dozens of Spiritual Gifts Quizzes out there, so you might as well google search for some and see what comes out the most. Plurality is key here, because some are not as reliable as others. Reading scripture is the final way to see your strengths. Look at the different characters and see what you admire about them, or see what verses/books stand out to you. In my case, I found that Proverbs and James are my favorite books. This appeals to my interest in wisdom literature.

These are just ideas to jump start your interest if you are questioning what you are good at. So in conclusion, do you know what you are good at?

Jealous Bananas

One day last winter, I forgot to eat my lunch before work and I went to my job without eating. Consequently, I became very hungry in the middle of my shift. I had packed a dinner before leaving the house, and packed all of my basic foods such as sandwich, fruit and chips. Being that it was Girl Scout cookie season, I had a bag of them in my brown bag. As was on the showroom floor, my stomach grumbled and I remembered the girl scout cookies that I had packed away in my lunch. So when the coast was clear, I snuck back to the refrigerator and grabbed the cookies. I stuck them in my pocket and went back on to the floor. After a while, the Samoas became nice and warm in my pocket, which makes them all the better! So I pulled one out of my pocket, and I took a bite. What was meant to be a euphoric moment of coconut, chocolate and caramel came crashing down when I tasted banana!

I was quite sad about the banana taste, but I ate them anyway since they are Samoas and they only come around once a year. When it came time for lunch, I bit into my sandwich and tasted banana. I ate my chips, that tasted like banana. My apple was the only item not tainted by banana, so I ate it. I pushed my banana to the edge of the table and just glared at it. I was thinking “how dare you taint my lunch!”

Then it dawned on me, that we as people are so much like my bagged lunch. Everything that I was pulling out of the bag was directly affected by what was in the bag. In Matthew, Jesus reprimands the Pharisees for their lifestyles.

Read Matthew 12:33-37

To quickly put this verse in context, the Pharisees were condemning Jesus for casting out demons. It was not the act of casting out demons that raised questions, it was that he did that without using incantations, rings, spells or potions. Instead, he would send them away. This was strange to them, so they decided that he was Beelzebub, which is another name for Satan.

When we read this, it sounds peculiar. We would ask, why would they be so quick to drastically call him Satan? The primary reason is that Jesus was exposing them for what they were, and that was as hypocrites. Jesus calls them hypocrites, snakes, and other insulting names because they were self-centered people who held positions that were supposed to be selfless. Not all Pharisees were painted evil in scripture (see Nicodemus), but quite a few of them had there own agenda and tended to feel threatened by Jesus because he was out-doing them at their own game that was ultimately rigged so that they could win.

One idea that really stands out to me is that Jesus said that from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. What I started to realize is that sometimes we place bananas in our bags that taint the flavor of our souls. In my life, I had a few of those that I began to notice.

When I look back at my life, I find that I was not always the most positive person in the world. I generally try to be positive, but it is easy for me to get run down when I am around negative people. I am not saying that everyone has to be positive all the time, but when people you are hanging around are cutting you down, trying to pressure you into changing who you are, or anything else that is not life giving, you have to wonder why you are around them. I began to see that in my life, that at one point I was not in a healthy church, my friends were not encouraging me, and I had some messy relationships.

Another category that I will share is the idea of what I was hearing. When I was in the Navy, I found that I was listening to people who talked condescendingly constantly. Not just that, but many people had such a negative outlook on life. What I began to find is that over time, the negativity was wearing on me. I found that when I stubbed my toe or got frustrated, there was a word that I did not like ready to jump out of my mouth.

But the good thing is that we are not stuck in that rut and there are ways to go about fixing the problem. Another way that I found to combat the negatives is to try and listen to positive music, messages, and be more committed to devotions and prayer. It helps me keep a positive outlook on life and the events in my life. My pastor once said that if you spend time reading the Bible regularly and read well written books, your thought process will conform to that way of thinking. Meanwhile, if you read comics and never read anything else, you will begin to think and talk like one. So that’s what I began to do, I am not always the best, but I am working on cleaning that part of my life. I started looking at my social life in a similar way as a sports team, in that I had to pick a system and find people that fit that system. It sounds weird, but when I started removing negative influences, my quality of life began to increase.

When we start talking about the outcome of positive nature, we start to understand what Jesus meant when he said that a tree is recognized by its fruit. If you water a plant, give it ample sunlight, and take care of it, it grows strong and it bears fruit that is attractive. When we begin to understand that words that come from our mouth are much like the fruit on the tree, why would anyone want fruit that is rotten? That is why we must take great care to make sure that our fruit is healthy and nourishing.

Another idea that really jumped out to me that I felt was worth mentioning is that Jesus claims in verse 36-37 that we are accountable for every careless word we say. With the analogy of fruit still on our minds, what would life look like if words were like fruit? Lets say that I gave you a spoiled apple and you got sick off of it. Would you be less likely to take fruit from my tree next time? If it was that blatantly obvious, do you feel that we would be more careful about the words that we give to one another?

I write this today not to put anyone down or to preach at anyone, but I am sharing this so that you might be able to have a good illustration of how what we allow to be in us directly affects us. Since change comes from the inside and goes out, my hope is that you continue to influence everyone around you by the positive force that comes from within. So I am going to close by asking you, what are the bananas doing in your bag? Is the smell repulsing others, or are the fruits of the spirit attracting people?

God Does not Waste

One of the biggest fears that people have is that they will screw up horribly and cause serious damage for the rest of their life. Yes, it is true that every action that we make has a consequence, whether it is good or bad. The good news is that we have a God who is redemptive and who can and will turn even the worst situations for his own good.

You might wonder, “well, this horrible thing happened to me when I was young and it can not possibly have any good, so how can you say that?”, and I agree, there are some pretty horrible things that happen to us. With that being said, I am going to use scripture from the Old Testament and the New Testament. Both stories show the characters as being remorseful for what they have done, however, God had bigger plans.

The broader spectrum is that even though we have our faults and we have made some pretty big mistakes, sometimes we need to step back and see what happens after that mistake. So lets look at these examples and talk about what is happening…

Read 2 Samuel 11

I want to start by saying that this is another story that I try not to use because I have the feeling that David is pretty tired of getting beat up over this story! He probably has been saying “I get caught up in the moment once, and look what everyone remembers!”

So what have we seen in reference to things going wrong? I can count at least five, which are adultery, conspiracy, murder, lying and marrying the man’s wife after his death. To making matters worse, David is told that the baby will die within a week of birth. Even though he fasts and tries to bargain with God, the baby does die on the seventh day. So with everything going wrong, there is one thing that goes well.

2 Samuel 12: 24&25

Even though this is a baby that was created at the expense of another man and at the expense of a newborn child, Solomon will become one of most revered characters in Jewish culture. He is wise, powerful, and responsible for some of the writings in the Old Testament. Never mind the fact that he did a lot of evil things, he is responsible for quite a few great things.

The reason why I am saying this is that often times we see all the negativity in a situation and it often times can deter us from seeing the good. If we were to look at all the horrible things that led up to him becoming the King of Israel and then look at all the negative things that happened while he was the King, then we would completely miss the wisdom and the leadership that he contributed to our culture.

To give you an idea, I am not quite sure that I was supposed to join the Navy. I honestly have wondered if I went against God when I decided to join because my time on active duty was not pleasant for the most part. Granted life is not always pleasant, but it all felt wrong. Initially my application was rejected due to medical reasons, and then that got excused and I decided to go ahead and join. I have spent time wondering if that initial denial was meant for me to not join and to find some other way to get to seminary. I joined in June 2005 and went away to boot camp. At training school I request orders to get sent over to Europe or elsewhere over seas. I figured that I would try and do that while I could and have fun with my time in the Navy. Instead, I got sent to Norfolk and was put behind a desk. During that time, I sometimes wondered what exactly I was doing there. I had quite a few bosses and coworkers that treated me horribly and I felt that I was at times wasting my life.

Eventually it dawned on me that it was not always about me and my comfort. Yes, there were a lot of things happening that I did not like, but because of my discomfort I was able to bless other people. Some people told me about how my life had helped restore faith in them whether it was my endurance, my character or my concern for them. I also began looking at the other details of my life outside of work. I was starting to go to school again, I was getting involved with a church, and my spiritual life was stronger than ever. That is when I began to realize that God can salvage damaged situations.

*Read Matthew 26:14-16, 27:3-5

Again, here is a situation that something absolutely horrible happened. Judas betrays Jesus for 30 silver coins, and then feels remorseful for it. Matthew and Luke (Acts, which is written by Luke) have different accounts of what happened, but it is quite evident that he killed himself. The average person that does not know anything about this story probably wonders “What good can come out of any of this? Two people have died and greed prevailed. I think we all know the answer to this question as well. Salvation. If Judas would not have turned Jesus in, then how would the prophecies of the Old Testament have been satisfied? It would have probably happened some way or some how, but it still would have resulted in a necessary evil to set the sacrifice in motion. It is because of that perfect sacrifice that we are now called sons and daughters of God.

Again, I am sure that we can look back into our lives and think of a time in which someone wronged us in a way that we will never forget. Now what I would like you to do is think about that time, and think about how it played into the next stage of our life. For me, I am going to recall a time in which I was denied ministry opportunities. When I was attending this church, I decided that I wanted to get involved and help out. Everything seemed to be going well, until two pastors told me that either I was not cut out for the ministry or they changed their tune when I tried to pursue a higher degree.

Yes, that was a disheartening moment for me, but I needed it. That gave me a stronger resolve to be a healthy leader and to work towards being a better class of Christian leader. I do not think it is arrogant to say that, but I realized after being a Christian for 9 years at that point that I did not have many positive Christian influences. That was the point that I broke and said that I was going to seminary and that I was going to pursue the calling that I had found.

In closing, I want you to look at how the plains Indians treated the body of a killed buffalo. They were not like the white men who just shot them and left them to rot, instead, they had a use for everything. They would take the skins and use it for clothes and tents. They would take the meat, and eat it. They would use the fat for oil and other various purposes. They used the various body parts for different tools and necessities. The fact was that they were resourceful. That is no different than God. So when you look back on your life, remember that degree that you think was useless? How is it tying into the big picture now? Or how about that bad relationship? How much more respect do you have for the person you are with, or who you will have in the future? Or how about that time in which you thought you lost everything, but you found that God was there helping you through? These are just a few things that go on in the big picture, but I want you to know that God does not waste, and that we must look for the good that he is doing in our lives.

Andrew

There seems to be a distinct pattern when it comes to what has been written about the disciples of Jesus. It seems that there was the four fishermen, and then the rest of them. Sure we have accounts of Judas, Matthew, and a few others, but we mainly hear about the inner circle of Jesus… Mainly Peter, James and John. The three of them come with reputations as well, Peter as being brash and often times dull witted, meanwhile James and John come of as pretentious and earn the title of “sons of thunder” for their passionate nature. There is one member of the group of fishermen that is often forgot about, can you tell me who that is?

Andrew. Andrew is the one member of the fisherman circle that gets left out of scripture quite a bit. He is deemed so unimportant that at times, he is referred to as “Andrew, Simon’s brother.” Considering his proximity to Jesus, you would be shocked to think that they would need to make a distinction when there was no other Andrew to distinguish him from!

So you are probably wondering how far I can go on a lesson involving Andrew, and more so, why a lesson on Andrew? I can remember starting out and trying to get involved anywhere, and being told that I did not cut it. Whether it was because I don’t open up fast enough, because I did not quote scriptures to everyone I saw, or because I did not prophesy on command, I just did not cut it. It seems that people have this stereotypical idea of what they think someone should look like. Often times, the standard is set pretty high, and usually it is asking for someone who is charismatic and exudes power. In essence, someone that is like Peter, John or James. So what would have happened if Andrew was not in the picture? What would it look like? Lets see what scripture says about him…

John 1:35-42: The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" 37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39"Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter^[j]).

John 6:1-9: 1Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4The Jewish Passover Feast was near.

5When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages^[a] would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"

8Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

John 12:20-22: 20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

John is a reliable source because he was a peer of Andrew and would have given an accurate account of him. Being that they were both fishermen at Galilee, it would not have been a large community of people and they would have known each other. This is why I have focused on John’s accounts of these stories.

So there are a few things that we can learn about Andrew in these verses. Could you name a few of them? In the first story, Andrew is introduced as a disciple of John. He was extremely confident in the testimony of John the Baptist, and he immediately went to his brother to share the good news. When he did, he brought Simon to Jesus and Jesus accepted him immediately and changed his name. If it were not for Andrew, Peter might not have followed Jesus.

In the second story, a large crowd had amassed to see Jesus. The crowd was so large that Phillip claimed that eight months of wages could not feed them. This is when Andrew speaks up about a child that has five loaves of bread and two fish. He wonders how far it will get, but he still speaks up and offers a solution to the problem. If it was not for Andrew, who brought the kid to Jesus, then they would not have fed the masses.

In the third story, it begins to looks as if Andrew was a middleman for Jesus. He tended to be the guy that people went to in order to get to Jesus. What is significant here is that Phillip went to Andrew, instead of directly going to Jesus. We are not sure why, but it is apparent that Andrew was confident in his relationship with Christ and most of what we see Andrew doing is dealing with individuals or small groups of individuals.

There are a few words that stand out to me, and they are relational, individual, and faithful. Relational, because much of his ministry was shown through relationships that he had with people. He was also helping people form relationships with Jesus by introducing them to him. Individuals were Andrew’s specialty. You never see him engaging in major debates or preaching to the masses. While the other three were garnering all of the attention in the major events, Andrew was focusing on people. Finally, he was faithful because he was confident in what he was doing. Andrew was faithful to Jesus and he not only became a disciple right away, but he went out and shared the good news with people in the way that came natural to him. Faithful until his death, as Eusebius claims, he was executed near Athens for leading one of the Roman governor’s wife to Christ. As he hung on the cross for two days, it was reported that he was exhorting people to follow Christ until he died. He died confident that he served the Messiah, and not many people would die for something they were not confident in.

I am teaching this today because I feel that there are many of us out there that feel as if we can not be the minister that everyone expects us to be. When you look at the disciples, they were an eclectic bunch. For instance, Matthew and Simon the Zealot would have been sworn enemies during this time. Zealots would have viewed tax collectors as traitors, and worthy of death. The fact that Jesus had them on the same page working together tells me so much. First of all, I think that it is really interesting because it shows that all sorts of people are needed to reach different crowds of people. For instance, I would not know how to reach out to someone in the upper class knowing that I grew up in a working class family. But someone who understands them would be able to speak to them, know their concerns and struggles, and be able to minister to them. You can see that it many of the early Christians.

Second, I can see that it truly is the grace of God that a tax collector and a zealot can coexist. God’s grace is evident when you look at the rest of the group. So I would like to encourage you to take a look at who the early disciples were, and begin to understand that they are just like you and I. In fact, we might be better off than some of them. However, I think that it is important that you take the time to look at them and you will begin to see that it took all of them to make Christianity go.

The reason I focused on Andrew is because that is who I am. I can do public speaking and I love to teach, but I prefer to focus on people one at a time. It is just easier on me, and as many people who know me can say that my social life is a complex web of individuals. I am not extremely book smart, but I love people and care about those in my life immensely. That is the way I have always dealt with ministry as well. So when I tried to explain this to a few pastors, they accused me of being timid, quiet or shy. I was stunned, because I thought that being an attention hog was a bad thing, and that caring about individuals and being slow to speak and quick to listen would be refreshing to them. That is their loss. So today, I want to leave you with this. Just because you are not the one out there rallying the troops and speaking to the masses, it does not mean that you are not capable of doing great things. You can. Jesus had a place for all his disciples, including Judas, so always remember that you are important.

Love (1 Corinthians 13)

*Read 1 Corinthians 13*

Today I would like to discuss a word that is probably one of the most overused and misused words in the world. Thousands of books have been written on this subject, millions of songs and poems, yet it seems that people still do not have a good grasp on it. We say it to describe a feeling for our significant others, yet we can say the same thing about the steak dinner that we just ate. Two completely different meanings, but that shows how we use the word flippantly.

So how does this relate to the Corinthians? To give you some background, this verse was aimed at the church in the city of Corinth. Corinth was the largest city in 1^st century Greece, and was the capital of the province of Achaia. It was a port city situated on a narrow neck of land that was a route to Rome. As we have learned with many port cities, they tended to attract many different people, religions, cultures and ideas. To properly understand the context of this verse, Paul is talking to the Corinthian church, who is as we mentioned a rather dysfunctional church. It was a typical Roman city that was very well known for it’s sexual trouble, some being so extreme that they were condoning incestuous relationships (1 Cor 5). They also did not quite grasp the idea of loving on another in an agape sense, as they had begun looking down on people who did not perform certain gifts. In fact, those that had the more glorified gifts isolated themselves because they did not want to be contaminated by the others.

With that being said, I think it is important for me to give you a definition of Love that would set the tone for agape love. Before we do that, does anyone know the different forms of love that are discussed in the Bible? There are a few types, but the main ones focused on are agape (true), eros (sexual) and philos (brotherly). My favorite definition out of Webster’s dictionary is “the unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.” That tells me that the interest is for the other persons good, whether it is positive or negative. This is devoid of personal gain or hidden agendas. Imagine if we lived out of that definition. How different would our lives be?

So without further adieu, I am going to go into the scripture reading today. In my walk as a Christian, I have found that even though Christians can quote this scripture, they don’t always live it. So that is why I think it would be really cool to look at each of the words and not only hear your thoughts on what the word means to you, but to get the definition of the individual word.

Patient: bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint

Kind/merciful: crhsteuetai of a sympathetic or helping nature

Not filled with jealousy: xhloi , intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness

Does not boast: to talk arrogantly. This is a direct hit on Roman culture as a whole. It was a results based society and people were revered for how great they were. So needless to say, the Corinthians probably did not like this message.

Is not proud: displaying excessive self-esteem. This is completely different than having pride in what you do or being proud of yourself. Can you tell me the difference between the two?

(is not rude) Does not behave indecently or disgracefully: asxhmenei, the Greek definition is pretty thought provoking and a little more detailed than being “rude”, so that is why I have it written here.

Is not self-seeking: One thing that always confused me in relationships is how people would say “if you loved me, you would…” If love is an act that is for the benefit of others, then this obviously cannot fit the definition.

Not easily angered: This can go without a definition, if you consider non-righteous anger. Righteous anger is a different story, but destructive anger is something you should be wary of.

Does not keep record of wrong: What about forgiving and forgetting? This is probably a lesson for another day, but to briefly touch on this, where do we set boundaries in this category? Personally, I have been guilty of shutting people out after they hurt me, and I have found it gives no room for dialogue or growth. So what I have learned is that God allowed us to have memories so that we do not make the same mistakes again, but at the same time we should learn to forgive others. Again, this is a discussion for another day.

Does not delight in evil: One word for people like this… prozac. Need I say more? Anyone that takes pleasure in the misfortunes of others needs a psychiatrist.

Rejoices in truth: The problem I always run into here is that I usually find someone who claims being honest is a license to completely destroy another person. I find that these people are being honest, but there is a more LOVING way of going about telling someone bad news. It is not beneficial. Most of these people are hurting people who are hurting people. That, and if we can see someone through Christ’s eyes, we will see through the sin and can not help but love them for who they are.

Protects: stegoi, bear, protect, cover. A few different words are used in different translations here. But to give you an idea, all of these words involve defending and taking care of others.

Trusts: Assured reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of something. Does this mean that we need to trust in anyone or anything? Not at all! If what we are trusting in is not trustworthy, then we should not do it. The emphasis on reliance of character is important, because there will be people who will come into our life and deceive us, and we must be on guard for those. But if one proves to be trustworthy, we should share our love with them.

Hopes: To cherish a desire with anticipation.

Perseveres: to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement.

Never Fails: To lose strength, to fade away, to be unsuccessful, to become inadequate. The fact that love never does any of these, what does that tell you about it? It is extremely powerful. So if we are living by love, think about what we are capable of doing.

Agape is the type of love that is used in 1 Corinthians. If you look at what true love is, it is a choice that is made by someone that cannot be satisfied by feelings. I am writing today to challenge you to live a life that is filled with love, and that you make a conscious choice to do so. Love God, love yourself, and from the overflow, love others.

Do you love yourself? Choosing to love ourselves is a difficult subject for many reasons. We have talents, and it is good to recognize what God has given you. The thing is that you have a lot of value to those around you, so it is time that you grasp that and live out of that confidence. Often times people think that if you are confident, then you must be arrogant. As mentioned before, you should never look down on anyone, which is where arrogance comes in. One thing that I tell people is that someone will always be better than you at something, so they can bring something new into your life.

When Jesus said “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:39), notice he said “as yourself” and not “more than yourself.” I want you to remember that if someone tries to say that they love you and constantly demand sacrifice on your part without sacrificing, they are not loving you. We should give from the overflow that comes from us, and we should never have to give to the point that we are exasperated.

In closing, I would like to give you a litmus test in the Bible that I always go by. It might seem very hokey to some of you, but it works. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, and see how you line up. Instead of saying “love” or “it”, insert your name. It is really interesting to see what happens! I started doing this a few years ago, and it helped me realign the way I look at life. I also switched out those words with people in my life that I questioned, and started finding that there were some lopsided friendships and abusive relationships happening. From there, I confronted the people who were not matching up at all. So that is my challenge to you this week, is to take a hard look at this test and see if the Holy Spirit reveals anything to you. Have a great week, and I hope that you go in the love of the Lord!

Trusting in God (Job and 1 Kings 18)

Last week, we discussed the idea of how to hear from God.  This week, the subject we are covering is a very similar subject.  Because much like hearing from God, trusting God can be difficult because we can’t quite hear him or see him.  Even though they both involve action on our part, trust is quite a bit different.  There are also a few ways that we can trust in God.  One is trusting him through crisis and the other is trusting him for what’s best in our lives.  I will try to give an example of each as we go, because it is very important that we address both questions.

            The unfortunate truth about being human is that people have failed us.  Whether it is family, friends, or mentors, people will do things that hurt us, betray us or alienate us.  Because of this, we automatically feel that God can or will fail us.  So to start off, I would like to suggest to you that God does not fail us, he allows things to happen to us.  As we talked about last week, it is alright to ask God questions, but the moment we start telling God that he failed us, what does that say?  Is he in control?  Does he care?  It opens a can of worms that I personally do not want to open with God… not the person to make accusations against! 

            To start, I will go ahead and tell a story from my life that stood out as an example.  One day I had stopped at school after work in the fall of 2007.  I picked up dinner, which was chicken noodle soup and a sourdough bread roll.  I was looking forward to having this bowl of soup since I had it previously and really liked it.  So I was walking from the parking lot with hands full with books, clothes and my dinner.  I shifted the clothes between my hand, and I watched helplessly as my soup fell to the ground!  I picked it up, and found that it had not spilled.  So I went inside and changed out of my uniform.

            As I sat down to eat my dinner after changing out of my uniform, I was telling the person I was with all about my soup since I was so excited for it.  It was definitely the high light of my day thus far.  As I pulled it out of the bag, I found that the bottom of the cup was punctured and that my soup was now in the bag instead of the bowl!  I was so distraught.  After looking at my cup with a look of complete horror, the person I was with reminded me that there was soup in the cafeteria, and that it might just be chicken noodle soup.  I commented that I really wanted THAT soup and even considered eating it straight from the bag.  But I decided it was not healthy, so went into the kitchen to see what types of soup they had.

            I looked at the choices, and chicken noodle was not one of them.  I saw asparagus soup, which is something I thought was interesting since asparagus was something I liked but rarely if ever had growing up.  So I decided to buy a bowl of it, and started eating it immediately.  To my surprise, the soup was amazing!  I thought, “How did I not know about this?”  I ended up buying two bowls I liked it so much.  That’s when I realized that if the chicken soup was never taken from me, I might have never known what cream of asparagus soup was like. 

            So what can we learn from this?  I learned about what the cups of soup were doing to me.  I have many more serious situations in which I feel that people, jobs, possessions and other “things” have been taken from me and that I felt as if I was really missing out since I did not have those.  I felt indignant with God, wondering why he took those away from me.  Often times, it hurt a lot.  But strangely enough, in the end I begin to learn that those “cups of soup” that I was holding onto was stopping me from being part of a better ministry or church, creating healthier friendships, a more rewarding job or having a better quality life.  The fact was, I was not trusting God and thinking that even though he had something, I really did not want to see it because I was afraid that it might not be what I wanted.

            If we look at the Bible, we will see that this example is prevalent.  The most common story is that of Job, the man who had everything, lost it all, and then gained more.  People will nitpick and say what they want about Job, but that man had to have had it hard.  I could not begin to understand what he went through.  But in all of this, he tried to understand where God was coming from and realized that the Lord has the power to do as he pleases. 

            So lets take a look at Job’s story.  He is the most righteous man on earth and is blessed with abundant living.  So instead of living peacefully protected by God, it all came to an end as God allowed Satan to take from him.  First it was his livestock, then his children, and then he is covered in boils.  His friends accused him of sinning and eventually turned against him, and even his wife asks him to curse God so that he would be put out of his misery!  What was his response? “…shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”  That is definitely poignant to me.  Verse 38 is when everything comes to a head with God and Job.  God finally answers him through a barrage of questions that would be improbable for Job to answer.  But in the end, Job is rewarded for his faithfulness with twice as much as before.  The latter part of his life was much better than the first and he lived a long and prosperous life.

            I generally do not like using Job as an example, mainly because so many people claim that they feel like him and it usually does not measure up anywhere near.  I think it is safe to see that I am showing this as God’s faithfulness.

            The problem with life is that nothing is spelled out clearly, and often times when we look at two things that could look like the will of God and yet one is not and one is.  So my encouragement to you is that as you let go of these “things” or as they are removed from your life, that you find peace understanding that you will be taken care of.

            The second type of situation that I would like to discuss is something that happens when we are in crisis or conflict.  I do not mean physical conflict or fighting, but what I mean is when things go awry and require reconciliation.  I have seen this quite a bit in the past few years since I left Cleveland.  The best example is from my first year in the Navy.  The following example is when I trusted God for finances to do something that I felt that he wanted me to do but I could not afford.

            In August 2006 I considered going back to school to start taking prerequisites for the masters of counseling program.  So I applied at Regent, and I never followed through because of a financial situation and a work situation that drained me emotionally.  So I was not feeling up to going back to school.  That’s when Regent gave me a call and asked if I was still interested.  I told them that I would get back to them in a day, and I decided to go back.  So I trusted God to go back, and I signed up for classes and then I applied for tuition assistance from the Navy.  This is where everything got interesting.

            I showed up at the education office with application in hand, it just so happened to be that the due date was the day before.  So technically I should not have received tuition assistance.  The man behind the counter was understanding, and let it slide.  He understood that I registered late and it was okay.  Until my drive home, I checked my cell phone and found two missed calls.  The first was to tell me that I did not get the tuition assistance approved because I never attended a mandatory meeting that was two weeks before.  My heart sank, I did not have the money to go back to school because of the said financial situation.  So I went to the next voice mail, and it was the same gentleman who told me that I could just go to the tuition assistance meeting the following week.  He made an exception for me.  So after everything was approved, I found that my tuition for that semester was completely covered and that I would not have to pay one cent for class!

            An example that I really like from the Bible is Elijah on Mt. Carmel.  When I think of it, most of the Prophets had to trust God so much because if they slipped up one bit, they would be moments away from getting killed.  So anyway, when we look at Elijah in 1 Kings 18:16, he is being confronted by Ahab.  Needless to say, Ahab does not like Elijah and calls him the troubler of Israel.  So what does Elijah do, he rebukes him and challenges him to bring 450 prophets of Baal to demonstrate who the real God is.  This is a great example of someone being confident in God.  Elijah, who was the only prophet of Yahweh, was going against 450 prophets of Baal and knew that if for some reason God did not show, he would be a dead man.

            Instead of being concerned about what could happen, Elijah starts taunting the Baal prophets!  The danced, yelled, and cut themselves, and nothing happened.  So Elijah inquired if their God deep in thought, busy or possibly traveling.  Then he casually calls people to him, and starts stacking the odds against himself.  He soaks the wood on the altar with water so that it is practically unburnable.  He then asks the Lord to come so that all can see his Glory, and the sacrifice was burned up in a fire and the people were convinced.

            So what can we learn from this?  If we just sit back and not do anything, that we can never see what God wants for us.  I can definitely think of times in which I told God that I was not comfortable doing something or that I was not confident he would pull through, and I felt horrible about it later.

            The second idea that really tugged at my soul was the idea that if we do not put ourselves in the situation to trust God, we might never learn to trust God.  Personally, I would be a little gun shy about taunting someone because if by chance God does not want me to be doing that action, it could get really embarrassing very quickly.  But I found that when I went into a situation with the feeling that God wanted me there, I received the words that I needed.

            In closing, I want to encourage you of two things.  With God, all things are possible (Mt 19:26).  So live fearlessly and trust in God, do not fear failure, because there is always something to learn, even in failure.  As for those cups of soup in our lives, we have a God who is a redeemer and a restorer.  He took care of Job and gave him everything back and then some, so do not be afraid to trust in him for he can do the same for us.    

Hearing from God (Judges 6-7)

            Hearing from God is one of those interesting situations that is hard to describe.  It is especially difficult since so many people claim that God told them something when in reality, they thought of it themselves and got stuck on their own idea.  A few examples that I have heard…

3.  God told me that you need to (insert random rebuke)

2.  I am doing God’s will (insert heinous crime or completely awkward situation)

 

and my personal favorite…

 

1.  God told me that we are going to get married.

 

            Has anyone heard of any of these?  Sometimes they are very extreme, while others are simply funny.  But the truth is that it can be very difficult for people to know whether they are hearing God or not.

            With that being said, there are quite a few stories in the Bible that talk about hearing from God.  Unfortunately, most of us do not receive burning bushes or the heavens opening and God announcing something to us, so we have to try and piece information together.  I have often times felt like that, and I know others have too.  It is not a matter of being a lesser Christian for having to do it, it is just not an easy task.

            One of best examples in the Bible of someone who listened to God and managed to figure out what he was told is Gideon.  This is shown in Judges 6:14-7:25.  To give you some background, Israel yet again fell away from the Lord and did evil, so the Lord gave them to the Midianites who were a ruthless bunch.  Whether it was destroying crops or livestock, the people of that region did not want the Israelites to prosper. 

            So one day, Gideon is out in the field tending the crops.  He is met by an angel of the Lord and is told that the Lord is with him.  Gideon, who is initially taken aback by this, wonders how since his people are oppressed by the Midianites.  But the angel insists that he was sent to send Gideon, and Gideon remains doubtful since he is from a weak clan and that he does not have the power to lead.  Never mind the fact that he is the least in his family, which never bodes well when it comes to leadership in Ancient Israelite culture.  The angel of the lord responds by saying that he will be with him, and asks him “am I not sending you?”

            If you were in this position, how would you feel?  Would you think that you are nuts, the angel is nuts, or would you be confident in what the Angel said?  Honestly, I would think one of the first two!  Knowing that there are deceiving spirits out there, I would not be quick to rally the troops and attack a much more advanced army.  I don’t see that as having a good time.  I would also think about the fact that so many people who do crazy things throughout history do things in the name of God and say that God or an angel told them to do that.  So I do not blame Gideon for being the least bit confused. 

            So what does he do?  He asks for a sign.  If he really does have favor with God and that God will really strike down the Midianites, he wanted some sort of confirmation,  So he prepares a sacrifice and the Angel burns it up, which leads to Gideon tearing down Baal’s alter and building a new one to the God of Israel.  All seems to be looking bad for Gideon since the people decided that he should be killed for his actions and the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern people geared up for war against Israel.  So with his back against the wall and with nothing to do but hope, he asks for a sign.  He asks that God put dew on a fleece that he laid out.  The next day he asks for confirmation, he asks for dew around the fleece and that the fleece would be dry.  This confirmation made him ready, and he gathered the troops and left.

            Needless to say, Gideon (or Jerub-baal, as they named him) was probably riding high at this point.  Guess what the Lord does?  He decides that there are too many men.  I should probably remind you of Judges 6:5 in which the men of Midian were beyond counting and they were vicious.  Gideon knew that he could not have TOO MANY men.  But the Lord told him that he should not claim victory in his own power.  Gideon told any man that feared may turn back, and the number was shaved down from 32,000 to 10,000.  God told him that there were still too many.

            At this point, I am sure Gideon’s mind must have been racing.  He followed the Lord’s advice if he was fearful, and he snuck down the valley into camp of the Midianites.  And again, the word of the Lord was confirmed.  He arrived just in time to hear two men talking about a dream that they had in which their side would fall due to Gideon.  Yet again, God encouraged him.

            So Gideon went back, and rounded up his three hundred men and encircled the camp with nothing but trumpets, torches and clay jars.  Not exactly intimidating, are they?  At Gideon’s call, they blew their trumpets, yelled and broke their pots.  This sent them into confusion, some killing one another, and the rest went into a chaotic retreat.

            My question is, what can we learn from all of this?

How do we go about this?

Ways God Speaks to us…

1.  His word-  Is what we are reading in scripture close to what we are feeling?  Also, what about those coincidental moments in which we are reading the exact words we need to hear?

2.  Other People-  Are others telling us something that we are feeling but not saying?  What if the person saying this normally does not agree with anything you say?  Or what if you do not even know the person giving you this message?

3.  Our circumstances-  Do you find yourself in a certain situation all the time no matter how much you are trying to resist it?

4.  Inner Peace (Or lack of)-  Is what you feel inside abnormally calm given the circumstances?  What about those times in which you are restless or antsy over something?

            I mention these because I have experienced situations such as the ones about in which I was spoken to.  Often times I held back on executing what I felt I was called to do, and I asked for more signs.  Sure enough, they came.  I try to remember Gideon, in that he was not brash or demanding, he asked respectfully for more indicators.  The Lord provided them.  Whether it was the Angel, the invading army, the fleece or the dream, the Lord set the stage so that Gideon knew he had to do what he was called to do. 

            That is why I usually spend a decent amount of time trying to mull over what is being said and allow for more evidence before I jump to the conclusion that God told me something.  Even then, I remain quiet because I definitely want to remain cautious about what I think I am hearing.  This same approach is how I decided to renounce celibacy and when I decided to pursue the ministry. I remained quiet about what I felt could be what I was hearing, and I waited for evidence to appear.  When it appeared, that is when I felt comfortable making a decision.

            So in closing, I will say that this is probably one of the most difficult parts of our Christian walk.  But what I have found is the more frequently you place yourself in the situation for God to speak with you, the more attune to the sound of his voice you become.  Just as the sheep know the smell and sound of their shepherd, we become more familiar to our Lord.  So as you go through this week, be like Gideon and seek out the Lord, you might be surprised by some of the cool things going on around you that you never noticed.