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Gifts of the Spirit -- your very own Superpower!

2/28/2021

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it[a] says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]" Ephesians 4:4-8

This passage has a list of Ones:
-- one Body of Believers
-- One Spirit
-- One Hope for Salvation
-- One Lord -- JESUS!
-- One Faith -- Christianity
-- One baptism
-- One God and Father

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

Gifts are given by the Spirit as He sees fit. Think of the gifts as tools. Tools do do God's work with. We are given them individually -- we each have at least one. We have different gifts for a purpose. Manifestation -- display of the Spirit in each of us for the purpose of building up the Body and to bring the Body of Christ to maturity.

"For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully." Romans 12:4-8

What you want might not be what God gives you. He gives us what the church needs.

8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines." 1 Corinthians 12:8-11

It's not about us. It's about Him.

The gift of Faith -- it is a deeper kind of faith, the kind that can bolster the whole body to believe.

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:11-13

Roles for you?

We won't attain our full measure of maturity if we aren't fulfilling our roles. Gifts are tools so we can go to work.

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

It's not forced on us. He doesn't make us use the gifts He gives us. BUT we will be held accountable and responsible for what we did with what He gave us.

USE IT OR LOSE IT -- Do you want to hear:

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’" Matthew 25:23

OR

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them." Matthew 25:28-29

Once you start using your gift it will grow. And you need to refine it. Keep using it. Keep seeing it grow.

HOW TO DISCOVER AND CULTIVATE YOUR GIFT(S):

1. Pray about it -- seek revelation from God. Read His Word (and there are tons of surveys online to help you figure it out).

2. Ask someone else what they think your gifts are. Sometimes it can be seen easier from the outside than from the inside.

3. Keep everything in perspective. These are gifts from God (not talents). You aren't going to get rich or famous using these gifts. These are for God's purposes.

Develop your gift. Practice it.

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What is your superpower?

2/21/2021

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Superheroes have back stories -- who they were before they became superheroes.

God has given us our own "superpowers."

Superhero qualities:

--sacrifices their life in a selfless way.
--Inspires people; gives them hope.
--Helps others expecting nothing in return.
--Is brave and courageous.
--they have something other people don't have.

A superhero is a servant:

"Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9:35

"Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43-44

We are to be servants all the time.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”" Mark 10:45

Jesus passed on His "superpowers" -- His gifts.

We each have been given a superpower by grace, to help in the resistance of evil. He wants us to participate.

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully." Romans 12:6-8

Find your superpower! In a way He wants us to be like the Justice League -- we each have our own job to do. Without one of us doing our job there will be something going undone.

More Superpowers:

"To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines." 1 Corinthians 12:8-11

Someone got us to where we are by the power of the Spirit. We need to run with it. Help others along the path.

We don't want to be Couch Potato Thor! Fat Thor!

Even more superpowers:

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:11-13

Everyone has a role to play. Each of us has a role to play in the church. Talents have to be refined and polished. It takes a lot of work to refine and polish a talent. Work hard at it. Practice. Satan and the world can't steal your salvation but they can steal your ministry.

Common theme of Superheroes: they serve their communities.

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work." 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Be involved. We are meant to do our part. Our mission -- to fight the evil of the world. Become that new creature We were made into when we accepted Christ Jesus. When the superhero became the superhero the old person was gone. He/She became a totally different person/creature. 100% change.

Manifesting the gifts -- manifesting the Spirit:

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

Using superpowers for personal gain is selfish -- this is the world's way.

As a church -- are we using our gifts?

Scientists have found out there are 26 lakes under the Sahara Desert! Yet people are dying of thirst there because they aren't accessing the water.

A lot of people want to serve God in an advisory role. God doesn't have or need advisors. If we has sa church disappeared tomorrow, would people miss us? We must be the salt and light.

"For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith;" Romans 12:4-6

We've been given great gifts. With great power comes great responsibility. Spiderman stole that from the Bible!

"But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12

Wow!! More than what Jesus did while on earth -- this is a promise! A truth!

"If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Whatever we do, we must do with love -- loving God and people. If not done in love, if the gifts aren't used in love, what we do is useless. Less than useless!

Are we doing what God wants us to do?

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Loving the Bride

2/14/2021

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15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep." John 21:15-17

Jesus asks us to feed and care for His Church, His Bride.

"4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 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." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

This is how we are to love Jesus's Bride -- the Church we are part of.

"25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church-- 30 for we are members of his body." Ephesians 5:25-30

"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19

HOW TO CARE FOR THE CHURCH:

1. Spend Time with Her:

We need to be there. We need to be there on Sunday mornings. We need to be present with the church.

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”" Matthew 18:20

Get together and encourage each other.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7

2. Offer Words of Comfort:

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29

Our speech has power. Gossip and grumbling will destroy a church. Gather together in love. Don't take offense. Don't leave just because someone hurts your feelings. Work it out. We're family.

"If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthian 13:1-3

Love each other! Show patience and kindness always.

3. Invest ourselves in this relationship:

Participate. Ask what is needed. Take initiative. Show interest. Give your time, effort labor. Be there. It is Your church. Three times Jesus asked Peter -- do you love Me? If so, take care of my people.

"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:14

Be involved now. Jesus asks us too to take care of His church.

4. Make sure it grows:

What do sheep give? Wool and more sheep. Grow the flock. Draw more people with the church.

"44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Act 2:44-47

When we take care of each other and those in need we will grow. Constant sharing, constant giving; Trace the word LOVE in other people's hands.

"23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." John 14:23

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34

Jesus loved without expectation. Jesus loves everyone. We love by taking care of each other. Jesus asks us to take care of His Bride. Please feed His sheep.

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True Freedom

2/7/2021

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26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,[b] which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. 30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. 32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. 34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him." Luke 8:26-39

This was a man bound spiritually and emotionally. We don't know what he was before. A father? A husband? Then, Jesus freed him. Like him, true freedom is what God intends for all of us. Adam had it but he gave it up. Freedom or Bondage. Freedom or slavery. Any choice other than Jesus will put you in slavery to someone or something. Only through Jesus Christ can we experience true freedom.

There are three things that Hinder our Freedom in Christ:

#1 The influence of Satan: he will affect us if we let him. He is a threat because he gets into our thoughts and tells us lies.

"The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work." 1 John 3:8

But we don't have to allow this to happen.

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

God tells us to resist the devil. Through Jesus Christ we don't have to fall for any of Satan's lies.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

All satan does is steal, kill and destroy.

“He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
    nor understand with their hearts,
    nor turn—and I would heal them.”[a] John 12:40

If you allow satan to affect you, that is your choice. That is the choice of bondage and slavery. Instead, acknowledge he exists, but actively fight against him. Use the weapons God has given you. Use the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God).

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." Ephesians 6:11

Satan makes you look back. God wants us to look forward.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free," Luke 4:18

#2. Love of Darkness:

People love living in darkness; doing their deeds where they think they are hidden.

"16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." John 3:16-20

People don't want to be exposed. This is putting ourselves back into captivity. People enjoy the darkness. They have their pride and their Self and their way there. So many want anarchy. They don't want anyone telling them what to do.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves," Colossians 1:13

This is what God does for us. This is true freedom!

God is a "chain-breaker."

#3 Fear:

Fear is based on our own limitations.
Fear of the unseen, the unexplainable, the power of God.
Rejection of faith because of our own fear of loss (or because of love of Self and pride).

We fear the loss of control of our Self. God doesn't want fearful followers. He wants us to come to Him in Love. We don't need to fear the future. The blessings will increase the more you are tormented by the world.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18

Come to God first. Don't wait until you are "fixed." Jesus didn't come to condemn people but to receive them.

"The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.”" Romans 8:15

Fear will keep us from God's blessings and the promised land for us.

True freedom. Turn away from self-imposed slavery. Turn away from self to Jesus. Turn away from fear to freedom.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

Freedom isn't free, but Jesus paid our price. A free gift from Him. He took our pain; our sin; our condemnation. Why fall back into slavery? When we don't live as Jesus calls us to live, we become slaves to Self.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

Choose to be free!

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Gifts of the Spirit -- your very own Superpower!

What is your superpower?

Loving the Bride

True Freedom

Shannon Hinrichs

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