ADMINISTRATION; GIVING: Mercy; HOSPITALITY; HELPS.Also Craftsmanship and Creative Communication, but we will not look at those today.In short, these gifts are used by the Lord in the Church||to give the Body helping hands. Many of these gifts are intertwined with each other. For example, Giving, Helps and Mercy (which we already looked at) are used in Hospitality.
1. ADMINISTRATION:
"The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to understand clearly the immediate and long-range goals of a particular unit of the Body of Christ and to devise and execute effective plans for the accomplishment of those goals." This gift is a leadership gift and is often characterized by people who lead the Body by steering others to remain on task. These people generally are concerned with the details of how to accomplish tasks, and tend to be masters at delegating specific tasks to other people according to their gifts and talents.
Scriptures: Luke 14:28-30.-“suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
Acts 6:1-7.
Daily distribution of food. Resulting in new believers!1 Corinthians 12:28. “And in the church God has appointed …”
Titus 1:5. “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.”
2. GIVING:
"The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to contribute their material resources to the work of the Lord with liberality and cheerfulness."
This gift is a
practical gift. While all Christians should practice the discipline of giving through the minimum of 10% (tithe), God gifts certain members of the body to give remarkably greater amounts of their income with liberality and great joy. These people have an acute awareness that all they have belongs to the Lord and they are merely stewards, therefore they know that God will supply their needs and richly bless them in their giving.
Scriptures: Matthew 6:2-4 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Mark 12:41-44. Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."
Romans 12:8.
if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.1 Corinthians 13:3. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
2 Corinthians 8:1-7. Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.
So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
2 Corinthians 9:2-8 Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don't we have the right to food and drink? Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing?
Philippians 4:14-19.
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the Gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Note: This gift is often associated with the gift of voluntary poverty, as many with the gift of voluntary poverty also have the gift of giving. However, not all with the gift of giving also have the gift of voluntary poverty.
3. HELPS:
“The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to invest the talents they have in the life and ministry of other members of the Body, thus enabling those others to increase the effectiveness of their own spiritual gifts.”This gift, too, is a practical gift. People with this gift often enjoy doing routine tasks in order to free others to do the ministry God has called them to do. People with this gift are often not looking for recognition for the work they do.
Scriptures: Mark 15:40-41. Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
Luke 8:2-3. and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
Acts 9:36. In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.
Romans 16:1-2. commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.
2 Timothy 1:16-18. May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
Note: The gifts of Helps, Mercy, and Service are often confused. Helps focuses on Christian works and freeing others to accomplish their God-given ministries. Mercy focuses on people in distress and reflects God’s love and compassion. Service focuses on accomplishing little tasks that may otherwise go undone in order to move the greater goal of the ministry or church toward completion.
4. HOSPITALITY: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to provide an open house and a warm welcome to those in need of food and lodging."
This gift, as well, is a practical gift. Those with this gift have an acute awareness of visitors and have a desire to make all people feel welcome. People with this gift enjoy visitors in their home, and are usually not bothered if someone stops by and their home is not spotless. Those with this gift are a key to helping new people become a part of the group.
Consider lack of hospitality to be PROFANITY. We profane men and women when we fail to honor them as human beings. Because man is a creation of God and bears His Image, all man is stamped with God’s own input. How we treat “the least of these” is, in truth, how we treat their Creator. If I offer to them concern and care, then I make known God’s beauty and Grace. By the same understanding, if I am unkind toward other people, I will fail to honor the God who gave them dignity. It was that way with the Incarnation: He identified with Mankind so intensely that whenever touches us touches Him. Whatever I do to another human being, I am doing to God. If I hate others, than I hate God… By profaning other people, I profane God Himself. In this way, merely using words in a profane way, as bad as that is, might be not as bad as failing to extend openness and hospitality to another person who bears the God Image. Proverbs 14:31 (Message)
You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless; when you're kind to the poor, you honor God. Hospitality is rooted in the word hospital, which comes from two Greek words meaning
“loving the stranger.” Over time, the meaning changed to become to mean
“house for strangers” and later to mean
“a place of healing.” This Gift of the Spirit then means when we show openness toward strangers who are different from us, welcoming them into our presence and make them feel safe,
THE RELATIONSHIP BECOMES A PLACE OF HEALING! When we welcome people from the outside to sit and be with us, we are inviting them to a safe place, a safe place to be healed.
Luke 10:33-35 "A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I'll pay you on my way back.'
In other words,
he behaved as Jesus did. He provided for us a healing relationship that is safe. We are safe in His presence. He is not out to hurt us. Not out to do us in. He is there to heal us.
Scriptures: Acts 16:14-15- Lydia’s story;
Romans 12:9-13 ”Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” 16:23. “Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.”
Hebrews 13:1-2. “Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”
1 Peter 4:9. “offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”
Stephen Rhodes in his book
Where the Nations Meet writes: “
Hospitality takes courage. It takes a willingness to risk.” … If we only love those who are or can love us back, then we have done little to share the Love of God, for as Jesus says, even the heathen do that.
“Hospitality makes us feel worthy, because our host assumes we are worthy. This is what we experience from our Heavenly Father.” All that He now says to us is that we go and do likewise…specialty
‘to the alien among us.’ Look at what happens when this happens: Acts 18:23-28 (Message) A man named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a Jew, born in Alexandria, Egypt, and a terrific speaker, eloquent and powerful in his preaching of the Scriptures. He was well-educated in the way of the Master and fiery in his enthusiasm. Apollos was accurate in everything he taught about Jesus up to a point, but he only went as far as the baptism of John. He preached with power in the meeting place. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and told him the rest of the story. (invited him to their home…)
When Apollos decided to go on to Achaia province, his Ephesian friends gave their blessing and wrote a letter of recommendation for him, urging the disciples there to welcome him with open arms. The welcome paid off: Apollos turned out to be a great help to those who had become believers through God's immense generosity. He was particularly effective in public debate with the Jews as he brought out proof after convincing proof from the Scriptures that Jesus was in fact God's Messiah.
What was a blessing in one home was extended to other homes as they too, opened their hearts up and accepted Apollos as worthy. And
the Church was strengthened! So, where does that leave us? Where do we fit in? Has the Lord given His People Gifts to build up the Body? Yes. Are Gifts given to His People today? Yes. Can I know my gift or gifts? Again, yes! How? Next week, we will look into this very thing as we consider
Prayer, Intercession and a Day of Global Prayer.Sunday, May 31, at 3:00~5:30 at Kokukoen Park,
just north of Tokorozawa Station
on the way to Hon Kawagoe.
Come to Pray and seek the Face of GOD!
