Gods Imprint on Our Lives Fearfully Wonderfully Made

God’s Imprint on Our Lives Fearfully & Wonderfully Made “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. ” Psalm 139: 13 -14 “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good…. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills. ” 1 Corinthians 12: 7, 11 …we were made for God’s glory, pleasure & purpose

Review § We have taken a closer look at the following spiritual gifts ØHealing ØKnowledge ØMercy ØService/Helps

The Gift of Teaching § The gift of teaching is the God-given ability to understand communicate biblical truth in a clear and relevant manner so that there is understanding and application. The gift of teaching carries a heavy responsibility in the church to be stewards of God’s Word. § The Greek word for those with the spiritual gift of teaching is “didaskalos”. From the root of this word we get our English word, “didactic. ” The word “didasko” means to teach, instruct, instill doctrine, explain, and expound.

Knowing God & Revealing Him § Those with the spiritual gift of teaching love to study the Word of God for extended periods of time. § They consume the Scriptures as food for their hearts, souls and minds with the expressed purpose of knowing Him and then making Him known to others. § They want to know what God has revealed of Himself and what He requires of us as people created in His image. § They take great joy and satisfaction in seeing others learn and apply the truth of God’s Word to their lives.

Upholding God’s Word in Truth § The Holy Spirit gives certain people the spiritual gift of teaching so that they would help the church fulfill her ministry as “a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3: 15). § Without this gift, the church would quickly fall into error and sin. Teachers are there to make sure that doesn’t happen. They are upset when Scripture is abused and used out of context or with ill intent. § They love the truth and speak the truth in love. They will never hide or withhold it. § The effect of their ministry is the upholding of God’s Word and the growth and maturity of His Bride until the day of His return.

Do you have the gift of Teaching? §Do you enjoy studying and researching? §Do you enjoy imparting biblical truth to others? §Do others come to you for insight into Scripture? §When you teach, do people "get it"? §When you see someone confused in their understanding of the Bible do you feel a responsibility to speak to them about it? §Do you enjoy speaking to various sizes of groups about biblical issues you have strong convictions about? Those in Scripture gifted with Giving: § Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18: 26) § Paul § Elders/Pastors (1 Tim. 3: 2; 5: 17) § Timothy (1 Tim. 4: 11, 13; 6: 2) § The Godly women (Titus 2: 2 -4)

The Gift of Pastoring/Shepherding § The gift of pastoring is God’s calling and equipping to be responsible for spiritually caring for, protecting, guiding, and feeding a group of believers entrusted to one's care. In another sense, there is a pastoral gift also commonly known as shepherding or biblical counseling. § These people protect, guide, counsel, and disciple other people. Like the gift of teaching, pastoring carries a heavy responsibility in the church to provide watch-care and spiritual leading of God’s children. § The Greek word for pastor is “Poimen” and simply means shepherd, herdsman or overseer.

Servants to God’s Bride § The person with a pastoral gifting has a love for people that compels them to meet with people to care for them and to guide them with biblical instruction. People with this gift find great joy in seeing people mature in their faith and overcome besetting sin and discouragement. § They are responsible for the spiritual development and personal nurturing of their flock. § Pastors are first and foremost servants. They are servants of God and servants of His bride, the church. § A person with the gift of Pastor will express that gift differently based upon their God-given personality. You may find that your pastor may be one or more of the following expressions of the pastoral gift.

Different “Flavors” of Pastors § Different “Flavors” of Pastors Ø Administrative Pastor: Called to focus their service upon the systems & structures of ministry; possessing strong administrative & planning abilities Ø Discipleship Pastor: Concerned about the Spiritual Formation of the people within their lives. They value working with people at every stage of spiritual development from Seeker to Leader. Ø Evangelistic Pastor: Has the gift of Evangelism as well as Pastor. The Evangelism Pastor is passionate about ministry to spiritual Seekers. Ø Nurturing Pastor: Typically, Nurturing Pastors prefer a one-on-one ministry. Visiting the sick, shut-ins, caring for a small group, or comforting those who suffer are all classic functions of a Nurturing Pastor. Ø Teaching Pastor: Prefer to study the Word of God and expound it for others within the body.

Pastor-Teacher § The goal of the pastor is to reveal the glory of God in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit to a people who need God’s grace for life. The primary way the pastor will do this is by teaching the Word of God to the church. § The gift of pastor is directly linked to the gift of teaching in Ephesians 4: 11 and elsewhere. In fact, this gift could be called the gift of pastorteacher. § The ability to teach the Scriptures is also one of the many requirements of being an overseer (1 Timothy 3: 1 -7; Titus 1: 6 -9). By teaching the Scriptures to the church, the pastor feeds the “sheep” of God.

Do you have the gift of Pastoring? § Do you have a deep love for people; compelling you to care for them? § Do you enjoy meeting with people, listening to their life story and provide them biblical counsel? § When you hear that someone is hurting is your first instinct to try and meet with them to be of help? § Are you able to point out sin and folly in someone's life in a loving way that they receive as helpful? § Do you enjoy meeting helping Believers to mature in their faith? § Do people pursue you for counsel and instruction? Those in Scripture gifted with Giving: § Timothy § Paul § James § Silas

The Gift of Prophesy § The gift of prophesy is given to those for whom the Holy Spirit empowers to receive revelations and speak forth God’s message to His people. § The ability to communicate divine messages may take the form of Pastoral Preaching, Word of Knowledge, or Pronouncing God’s Plans & Purposes. The words of a Prophet will always be supported by the principles and teachings of Scripture already given to us. § The Greek word for prophesy is “prophetes” - the forth-telling of the will of God; 'pro‘ = forth; 'phemi‘ = to speak.

Prophets – Purveyors of Truth, Critics of Sin, Pronouncers of God’s Actions § Depending upon the personality type and unique gift mix, the gift of Prophecy may be exhibited as follows: Ø Pronouncing God’s Actions With the completion of the New Testament canon, prophesying changed from declaring new revelation to declaring the completed revelation God has already given. Ø Pastoral Preaching: Teaching Pastors prefer to study and expound the Word of God for correcting and reproving others within the body in accordance with Scripture. 2 Timothy 4: 2 -3 Ø Word of Knowledge: The gift of Knowledge is a special insight given by God regarding God’s will applied to a particular circumstance; Standing firm on God’s truths; able to discern character, motivation, & hypocrisy. Ø Exposing Sin: Prophets might be considered the “trumpets” of the Body of Christ who sound the alarm in the face of sin and compromise.

Sola Scriptura § Christians are to be very wary of those who claim to have a “new” message from God. It is one thing to say, “I had an interesting dream last night. ” However, it is quite another matter to say, “God gave me a dream last night, and you must obey it. ” No utterance of man should be considered equal to or above the written Word. We must hold to the Word that God has already given and commit ourselves to sola scriptura — Scripture alone. § Sola scriptura (Latin) means that Scripture Alone is authoritative for the faith and practice of the Christian. The Bible is complete, authoritative, and true. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3: 16). Sola scriptura was the rallying cry of the Protestant Reformation.

The Gift of Tongues § The gift of tongues is given by the Holy Spirit to those who are called to speak in a language not previously learned so that believers may be encouraged or unbelievers can hear God's message in their own language for the edification of the body of Christ. § The gift of Tongues has three purposes within the assembly of Christ Followers: 1. To be used during periods of prayer, allowing the holy Spirit to pray through the Christ Follower when he/she does not know how to pray (Romans 6: 26, 27); 2. To receive divine messages from God for the benefit of the assembly of Christ Followers understanding that someone with the gift of Interpretation of Tongues must be present to interpret (1 Corinthians 12: 10, 28 and 1 Corinthians 14: 13 -19); 3. The final purpose of tongues is to enable a person to speak an unlearned language for the purposes of evangelism (Acts 2: 1 -13).

Un-Learned Languages to Edify & Glorify § The first occurrence of speaking in tongues occurred on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2: 1 -4. The apostles went out and shared the gospel with the crowds, speaking to them in their own languages: “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2: 11). § The Greek word translated tongues literally means “languages. ” Therefore, the gift of tongues is speaking in a language a person does not know in order to minister to someone who does speak or can interpret that language. § Tongues is still a viable Gift of the Holy Spirit. Scripture does not conclusively assert that the gift of speaking in tongues has ceased.

A Message from God § In 1 Corinthians chapters 12– 14, Paul discusses miraculous gifts, saying, “Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? ” (1 Corinthians 14: 6). § According to the apostle Paul, and in agreement with the tongues described in Acts, speaking in tongues is valuable to the one hearing God’s message in his or her own language, but in the context of the assembled body of Christ, it must be interpreted/translated to edify (build up, encourage, instruct) the Church.

Intelligible Communication with Order & Purpose § Tongues is a real and intelligible language (1 Corinthians 14: 10). It would be for the purpose of communicating God's Word with a person of another language (Acts 2: 6 -12). § It would be in agreement with the command God gave through the apostle Paul, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God” (1 Corinthians 14: 27 -28). § It would also be in accordance with 1 Corinthians 14: 33, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. ”

The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues § Along with the gift of speaking in tongues, another spiritual gift mentioned in the list found in 1 Corinthians 12: 10 is the gift of interpreting tongues. The gift of interpretation of tongues is given by the Holy Spirit to translate the message of someone who has spoken in tongues. § The gift of interpreting tongues is always alongside the gift of speaking in tongues. It is a separate gift, but it is always used in conjunction with the gift of speaking in tongues. § 1 Corinthians 14: üEveryone should not be speaking in tongues at one time. üSpeaking in tongues must be for edification. üIf tongues are exercised there must be two to three interpreters.

Interpret that All May Understand § A person with the gift of interpreting tongues could understand what a tongues-speaker was saying even though he did not know the language that was being spoken. This is what distinguishes the spiritual gift from the natural gift of being able to understand speak a variety of languages. § The tongues interpreter would then communicate the message of the tongues speaker to everyone else, so all could understand benefit from the truth being spoken.

What is greater? 1 Cor. 13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.