Tag Spiritual gifts

Roots of the Faith – “The Gifts of the Holy Spirit – 1 Corinthians 12-14 part 2”

Jon Beck Leave a comment

My notes for Wednesday night, March 13th. Remember, these are my personal study notes and not a manuscript of the sermon. They are provided as an outline each week for our Tabernacle Church family. Our study over the next few months will be “The Roots of the Faith.” This study will focus on key biblical truths that will transform our thinking and allow us to faithfully live out the Christian life. You can find Sermon Notes, Family Devotional Guides, Prayer List, and other resources at our Church Website.

Resources for this Study

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Utterance of Wisdom

  • Ceased as utilized in NT – Direct Word from God to guide the church. (apply prophecy)
  • Local Church today – The application of biblical truth into the circumstances of life.

Utterance of Knowledge

  • Ceased as utilized in NT – Direct Word from God to provide insight to the church. (understanding prophecy)
  • Local Church today – Ability to discover and communicate the truths of Scripture.

Faith

  • Gift of seeing God at work and trusting in His divine will. Encouraging others to trust.

Healing

  • Gift has ceased – Divine ability to restore the sick to immediate health.

Working of Miracles

  • Gift has ceased – Divine ability to perform works of power… beyond the normal.

Prophecy

  • Gift has ceased – The receiving and communicating a direct Word from God to man.
  • Some view this as the gift of preaching the Word today.

Distinguish between Spirits

  • Gift has ceased – Discerning between true and false statements by people (prophecy).
  • Some view this as a gift of discerning true and false teaching within the church today. (Word of God is key)

Tongues

  • Gift has ceased – The ability to speak in a real language to bring praise to God.  Not a holy utterance, but a real language.

Interpretation of Tongues

  • Gift has ceased – The ability to interpret the tongues… the real language.

1 Corinthians 12:27-31

Apostles

  • Ceased – Men sent out from Christ to establish the church. Given the authority of Christ.

Prophets

  • Ceased – Individuals who received and communicated a direct Word from God to the Church.

Teachers

  • Take the word of God and explain it clearly and accurately. Instructs and motivates others to believe and obey.

Miracles

Healing

Helping

  • Coming alongside others to help. Serving others in a physical way. Meeting the need of others.

Administration

  • Give guidance, steer, direct.  Direct the spiritual life and order of the church. (Accomplishing God’s will for His Church)

Tongues

A cessationist is someone who believes that certain spiritual gifts, typically those of a more overtly supernatural nature, ceased to be given by God to the church sometime late in the first century AD (or more gradually through the course of the next few centuries). Cessationists do not deny that God can on occasion still perform miracles, such as physical healing. But they do not believe the spiritual gift of miracles or the gift of healing is given to believers today. Whereas “healing” still exists in the life of the church, “healers” do not. God’s people may still experience miracles, but God no longer empowers “miracle workers.”

A continuationist, by contrast, is a person who believes that all the gifts of the Spirit continue to be given by God and are therefore operative in the church today and should be prayed for and sought after.

Most cessationists and continuationists concede that at least some gifts continue and at least one gift has ceased. Cessationists believe that gifts such as teaching, evangelism, mercy, service, and giving are designed by God to continue until the end of the age. And many (perhaps most) continuationists believe that at least one spiritual gift, that of apostleship, has ceased or has been withdrawn from the life of God’s people. Needless to say, this latter point will depend entirely on how one defines apostleship and whether it is a spiritual gift or an office or perhaps an appointment to a particular kind of ministry.

zondervanacademic.com/blog/understanding-cessationism-from-a-continuationist-perspective

Duties, Tasks, and Responsibilities of a Pastor/Elder

Jon Beck Leave a comment

My notes for Wednesday night, March 1st. Remember, these are my personal study notes and not a manuscript of the sermon. They are provided as an outline each week for our Tabernacle Church family. You can find Sermon Notes, Family Devotional Guides, Prayer List, and other resources at our Church Website.

I personally believe the health of our church will only rise to the point of the expectations placed upon the leadership of the church. Because Jesus is our head, we should then expect to see our leadership lead in such a way that honors this divine relationship and accountability.

What should we expect from our Pastors?

According to D.A. Carson (For the Love of God, vol. 1, [Crossway: 1998] Nov. 2nd):

  • Feed (as a shepherd)
  • Defend (as a shepherd)
  • Guide (as a shepherd)
  • Discipline (as a shepherd)
  • Be mature (as an elder)
  • Be respected (as an elder)
  • Oversee (as an overseer)
  • Godly manage (as an overseer)
  • Hold in spiritual accountability (as an overseer)

According to Mark Dever (The Deliberate Church, [Crossway: 2005], 89-95):

  • The 4 P’s (from chapter 1)
    • Preaching, Prayer, Personal discipleship relationships, and Patience
  • Teaching/Preaching
  • Meet with staff
  • Be disciplined and stick to a workable schedule
  • Graze – feed the flock
  • Guide – direct, model, equip, and keep the flock
  • Guard – from false teachers and false teaching

Ligon Duncan’s job description as Senior Minister:

  1. Preach the Word
  2. Love the People
  3. Pray Down Heaven
  4. Promote Family Religion
  5. Train the Elders
  6. Under those 5, it is to live a godly life

John Piper’s take on the function of Elders:

Governing

1 Timothy 5:17 – Let the elders who rule (proestotes) well be considered worthy of double honor.

1 Timothy 3:4-5 – He must manage (proistamenon) his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way; for if a man does not know how to manage (prostenai)his own household, how can he care for God’s church?

Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2 – The duty of elders to “oversee” or “supervise” the flock implies a governing function.

1 Thessalonians 5:12 – But we beseech you, brethren, to respect those who labor among you and are over you (proistamenous)in the Lord and admonish you.(No reference to “elders” but the function of the leaders is governing and the natural assumption is that the leaders are elders that Paul had appointed according to Acts 14:23.)

Hebrews 13:17 – Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. (Obedience and submission implies a role of leadership and governance. Again, the reference is probably to the elders, though the leaders are not described.)

Teaching

Ephesians 4:11 – Pastors and teachers are pictured as one office, so that the pastor (whom we have identified as an elder) has the responsibility of teaching.

1 Timothy 3:2 – The overseer must be “able to teach.” And we have seen that the overseer and elder are the same office. This qualification is not included in the list of qualifications for deacons.

1 Timothy 5:17 – Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (Note that all have to be able to teach; but only some “labor,” that is, they devote more time and energy to it, perhaps earning their living by it. Each elder is vested with the right to teach and exercise authority in the church and so must have the qualifications for it.)

Titus 1:9 – He must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it. (Note: Not all elders need to be able to do public preaching. The requirement is not for a preaching gift, but for a solid grasp of doctrine and ability to spot and correct errors and explain Biblical truth plainly.)

Conclusion – The function of elders may be summed up under two heads: teaching and governing. They are the doctrinal guardians of the flock and the overseers of the life of the church responsible to God for the feeding and care and ministry of the people.

1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Jon Beck Leave a comment

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 – Love never ends

My sermon notes for Sunday morning, Sept 11th.  Remember, these are my personal study notes and not a manuscript of the sermon. They are provided as an outline each week for our Tabernacle Church family. The church provides a live stream of the service each Sunday at 10:30 on Facebook. We also provide the services through YouTube by Sunday afternoon.  You can find Sermon Notes, Family Devotional Guides, Prayer List, and other resources at our Church Website.

INTRO

  • Agape Love… love in action
  • Paul is painting a portrait of love, and Jesus Christ is sitting for the portrait. He lived out in perfection all of these virtues of love. This beautiful picture of love is a portrait of Him. (John MacArthur- 1 Corinthians Commentary)
  • Remember the context. Spiritual gifts within the life of the church
  • Our relationship with others is a direct reflection of our relationship with God.
  • The unified Church focuses on the eternal not the temporal
  • What will be standing at the end
    • Love or gifts
  • Consider the Constant, the Passing and live faithfully as we Wait.

Love is eternal – v. 8a

  • Love never ends
  • Agape
  • God’s Love for us
  • Our love for God
  • Our love for one another
  • Falls. Fails to make the cut
  • Love does not fail because
    • Bears, Believes, Hopes, Endures ALL THINGS

The gifts will cease/pass away – vv. 8b-10

  • Prophecies, Knowledge, Tongues
    • Those that had been causing the most controversy
    • Remember, the context of this passage…. UNITY IN THE CHURCH
  • Not carry over into the next.
  • No longer needed
  • YET… Love will carry over from this age into the fullness of the age to come
  • Jeremiah 31:34

The joy is living in the now as we await the future – vv. 11-13

  • We know and prophesy in part
  • We are limited
  • Paul was including himself (even the apostle)
  • We are influenced and tainted by sin

When the perfect comes, then the partial will pass away

  • The Lord’s victorious return
  • All things will be complete

Moving Toward Maturity

  • Child – Adult
  • Mirror – Face to Face
  • Partial – Full

The concluding statement -v. 13

The Temporary

  • Faith – Trusting God in what we cannot see.
  • Hope – Expecting God to do what He has promised.
    • (In Glory we will SEE HIM and BE WITH HIM)

The Eternal

  • LOVE

Already, and Not Yet (How to Live in the Last Days)

  • already adopted in Christ (Romans 8:15), but not yet adopted (Romans 8:23);
  • already redeemed in Christ (Ephesians 1:7), but not yet redeemed (Ephesians 4:30);
  • already sanctified in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2), but not yet sanctified (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24);
  • already saved in Christ (Ephesians 2:8), but not yet saved (Romans 5:9);
  • already raised with Christ (Ephesians 2:6), but not yet raised (1 Corinthians 15:52).
David Briones – http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/already-not-yet

1 Corinthians 12:11-31 “Spiritual Gifts” part 4

Jon Beck Leave a comment
1 Corinthians 12:11-31 – We are the Body

My sermon notes for Sunday morning, Aug 14th.  Remember, these are my personal study notes and not a manuscript of the sermon. They are provided as an outline each week for our Tabernacle Church family. The church provides a live stream of the service each Sunday at 10:30 on Facebook. We also provide the services through YouTube by Sunday afternoon.  You can find Sermon Notes, Family Devotional Guides, Prayer List, and other resources at our Church Website.

INTRO

  • The importance of the gifts in relationship to the church
  • We are gifted to be PART OF THE BODY
  • To be part of the church is to be part of the BODY OF CHRIST
  • Not focusing on the gifts but the purpose of them.
  • The purpose of the gifts.  glorify God and build up the body… the local church is key to this being lived out

We are One Body – vv. 12-13

For as the body is one… many parts – All the members… one body – v. 12

  • Human body
  • Very complex, but one

Baptized into the body – Drink from one Spirit – v. 13

  • Spiritual… SUPERNATURAL
  • OUR CONVERSION
  • Same Spirit saves
  • Same Spirit fills
  • All have… the same

Jews Greeks. Slaves and Free – v. 13

  • Across the spectrum of society
  • Everyone and anyone

We are Many Members – vv. 14-20

Not one… but many – v. 14

  • Not individual but corporate
  • Our serving our singing… everything.

God arranged the members – v. 18

  • Different by design.

Each one as He chose – v. 18

  • Designing and building

Many parts, yet one body – v. 20

  • Our Church body… our human body
  • The Church, THE CHURCH

We are Dependent on One Another – vv. 21-31

Cannot say I have no need of you – v.21

  • Our value. Importance
  • The necessity of every member of the body

God composed the body – v.24

  • Mix together, intermingle, temper together

No division in the body – v.25

  • All together
  • Same reason, purpose, goals, and vision (Macro and Micro)
  • SO THAT… Members have the same care for one another

God has appointed – v.28

  • Divinely places

Concluding Thoughts

These verses teach us the importance of the local church

  • SO important to be part
  • Unique (the individual people), yet special (Christ’s Church)

Church is not about just finding a place to “worship”

  • Just attending for the worship (singing and preaching)
  • It is about becoming a “member of the body”

God saves us and places us

  • We are saved to serve within a church
  • This is God’s ordained plan

Using our gifts is much bigger than just holding a church position or checking a box on a spiritual gift survey

  • The Christian life is about serving one another from natural out flow of a spirt-filled life
  • Doing church life together
  • Start small then work out
  • one on one, one on some, one on many
  • Evangelism, Discipleship, Encouragement, and Care

1 Corinthians 12:8-11 – “Spiritual Gifts” part 3

Jon Beck Leave a comment

My sermon notes for Sunday morning, Aug 7th.  Remember, these are my personal study notes and not a manuscript of the sermon. They are provided as an outline each week for our Tabernacle Church family. The church provides a live stream of the service each Sunday at 10:30 on Facebook. We also provide the services through YouTube by Sunday afternoon.  You can find Sermon Notes, Family Devotional Guides, Prayer List, and other resources at our Church Website.

1 Corinthians 12:8–11

Intro

  • This section expands further v. 4 – The variety of gifts.
  • Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11
  • Varieties – “allotments, distributions.
    • Distributed in many forms
  • There are a variety of gifts and ministries…yet a common reason
  • Glorify God and Build up the Church
    • v. 7 – To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
    • Make disciples
      • Evangelize
      • Teach
      • Model

The Gifts of the Spirit – Thomas Schreiner

Chart of Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual Gifts lists – A helpful (very basic) article

EACH BELIEVER IS GIFTED – v. 8a

FOR TO ONE IS GIVEN.

  • Each born again believer
  • The context… within the body of Christ
  1. Gifts are given to every believer upon conversion. (Filled & Gifted by the Spirit)
  2. Gifts flow out of a faithful walk with the Lord (Obedient, Serving)
  3. Gifts are discerned and developed through service and use.

Finding your Gifts

  • What do you enjoy doing? (Your passions)
  • What have you seen God bless?
  • What opportunities have you been given?

They are supernaturally given by the Spirit (given and empowered)

  • Through
  • According to
  • By the same

GOD HAS ORDAINED A VARIETY OF GIFTS – v. 8b-10

Focus is VARIETIES… not the gifts themselves.

  • We either ignore or are infatuated on them

Category of Gifts

  • Permanent – Temporary (Sign Gifts)
  • Speaking – Serving (1 Peter 4:10-11)

THOUGHTS:

  • The lists are not exhaustive
  • Do not over think it… “trying to find our particular gift”
  • I hold fast to the temporary and permanent due to my understanding of the truthfulness and sufficiency of God’s Word.
  • Allow Scripture to dictate the usage of gifts.

I believe the following speaking gifts were temporary (for the early Church), even though we can see how the characteristics of some these gifts are part of church life today.

  • Utterance of wisdom
  • Utterance of knowledge
  • Prophecy
  • Ability to distinguish between spirits

Permanent Serving

  • Faith
    • All believers have saving faith
    • The gift of a deep trust in the promises of God
    • A strong confidence in God
    • Stands strong… brings together the body… BOLD FAITH

Temporary Sign Gifts

  • Gifts of healing (biblical healings…not tv preachers)
  • Working of miracles (Supernatural miracles)
  • Tongues (Chap 14)
  • Interpretation of tongues (Chap 14)

GOD IS THE FOCUS OF OUR GIFTS (not us or the gift)– v. 11

All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills

AS HE WILLS! For HIS GLORY AND FOR OUR GOOD!

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 “Spiritual Gifts” part 2

Jon Beck 1 Comment

My sermon notes for Sunday morning, July 31st.  Remember, these are my personal study notes and not a manuscript of the sermon. They are provided as an outline each week for our Tabernacle Church family. The church provides a live stream of the service each Sunday at 10:30 on Facebook. We also provide the services through YouTube by Sunday afternoon.  You can find Sermon Notes, Family Devotional Guides, Prayer List, and other resources at our Church Website.

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

INTRO

  • Now concerning Spiritual gifts. v. 1
  • The source of our gifts
  • The power of our gifts
  • The purpose of our gifts
  • The results of our gifts
  • Key words: Diversity, Unity, and Maturity
  • Varieties – “allotments, distributions.
    • Distributed in many forms
  • There are a variety of gifts and ministries…yet one reason we are given these gifts.
  • Glorify God and Build up His Church

GOD GIVES UNIQUE GIFTS TO EACH BELIEVER

Gifts – “gift of grace”

  • Gifted to equip
  • Gifted from God to build up others

List of Spiritual Gifts – 1 Cor. 12:8-10, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Peter 4:11

  • Not meant to be an exhaustive list
  • 1 Peter 4: 11 – “Speaking and Serving” are the 2 main categories
  • Gifts are like a fingerprint… each one is different
  • Each gift/person is unique

THESE GIFTS ENABLE US TO SERVE/MINISTER

Service – ministries, servants

  • The doing of the Christian life
  • The doing of the Church
  • Gifts are the tools of ministry

We are gifted SO THAT we can change the world with Gospel. OUR PURPOSE!

  • within the body of Christ. THE CHURCH
  • and IMPACT THE WORLD.
  • The basis of our everyday life

Mark 10:45 – JESUS… Not to be served, but to serve.

  • Christian life is not about receiving
  • It is about giving

Matt. 28:18-20

  • I am with you
  • v. 6 – but the same Lord

EACH GIFT ACCOMPLISHES ITS DIVINE PURPOSE

Activities – “worked out, energized”

  • The impact/results of using the gifts
  • Gifts are given supernaturally and they are empowered supernaturally.

God empowers them ALL in EVERYONE

  • God sovereignly empowers each one.
  • God sovereignly empowers the results of these gifts

The emphasis on the Trinity

  • Different gifts, service, and activities but it is God that is doing and causing the work
  • Philippians 2:12–13 – [12] Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, [13] for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (ESV)
  • The gifts are from God
  • The administering the gifts are from God
  • The energy and power to use the gifts are from God
  • The impact of the gifts is from God

Manifestation of the Spirit

  • Make known, clear, evident
  • SHOWING THE SPIRIT

For the common good

  • Bring together
  • Mutually beneficial

Ephesians 4:10–12 – [10] He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) [11] And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (ESV)

1 Corinthians 12:1-3 “Spiritual Gifts” part 1

Jon Beck Leave a comment

My sermon notes for Sunday morning, July 24th.  Remember, these are my personal study notes and not a manuscript of the sermon. They are provided as an outline each week for our Tabernacle Church family. The church provides a live stream of the service each Sunday at 10:30 on Facebook. We also provide the services through YouTube by Sunday afternoon.  You can find Sermon Notes, Family Devotional Guides, Prayer List, and other resources at our Church Website.

1 Corinthians 12:1–3

INTRO THOUGHTS

No one can doubt that God is still in the MIRACLE business.  The question for us today is what role the Miraculous Gifts have in the church today.

Two major schools of thought in regard to the miraculous gifts in the church today.

Continuationism (Pentecostal/Charismatic)

  • God continues to give miraculous spiritual gifts to the church

Cessationism

  • God has ceased to give miraculous spiritual gifts to the church

As with most things:

  • People within the church have different views
  • People camp out in the extremes
  • Bible believing Christians can have a difference of opinion.

Where I have problems within the continuationism movement:

  • Teaching that a person must speak in tongues to be a spirit-filled Christian.
  • Worship that is not orderly 14:26-40
  • It is God’s will for people to be wealthy, healthy, and prosperous.
  • Leans more to experience and emotion.
    • Scripture plus my I have experienced.

Today is an introductory sermon as we consider the next several passages.  We will utilize these 3 verses to lay a foundation for us to build upon.

Believers can be saved yet live unwisely

  • Now concerning spiritual gifts, brother
  • They may have not been acting properly, but he considered them believers.
  • We need to take our “living” the Christian life very seriously.
  • Daily growing and changing… MATURING

Believers need to consider what they believe

I do not want you to be uniformed

We are indwelt with the Spirit at conversion

  • Romans 5:1-5
  • Romans 8:1-9
  • 1 Cor. 3:16

We are filled with the Spirit as we mature in our spiritual life

  • Yield to what is there
  • Not a new work
  • Ephesians 5:18

Believers should pursue truth

When you were pagans

  • Unconverted
    • Eph 2:2 – Once were

Led astray

  • Of the devil
    • Follow untruth. A lie

Test the Spirits

  • 1 Thess 5:16-22
  • 1 John 4:1
  • Rev. 2:1-2

One of the issues I see today is “self-authenticating”

  • I know what I have experienced
  • Emotions and Experiences rule the day
  • My feelings over facts, truth, the Bible

The Truth is crucial

  • Acknowledgement of Jesus Christ
  • Truth of the Gospel
  • NOT JUST JESUS, BUT THE BIBLICAL JESUS
  • ALL OF SCRIPTURE

NO ONE CAN SAY – JESUS IS LORD

Apart from the Spirts work… We are dead in our trespasses and sin. People do what they do because of who they are and who they follow. It is only by the Spirit of God that our minds and hearts are transformed.

  • Knowing Him
    • Our Conversion
  • Growing in the Spirit
    • Our sanctification.
    • Word, Prayer, Worship, Sharing, Serving