The Gift of Service

 The Motivational Gift of Service

Biblical Example: Timothy

 

DEFINITIONS

The ability and desire to recognize day-to-day needs of others and to meet those needs personally.

The ability to lend a hand joyfully wherever a need appears and to do so in such a way as to strengthen, support, and encourage others.

CHARACTERISTICS

1.                  The ability to see practical needs and the desire to meet them (Phil. 2:20).

 

2.                  Joy in serving when it frees others to do more important things than just keeping busy.

Greek word diakonos means “through the dust.”  They should free the pastor up to do his work.  Timothy served Paul to free him up for ministry.

 

3.                  Tendency to disregard personal health, needs and comfort in order to serve others (Phil.

2:25).  Epaphraditas – his great concern while sick was that the church not know and be hurt

4.                  Difficulty in saying no, resulting in a variety of involvements and a tendency to get sidetracked (2 Tim. 4:9,21).  They see needs as opportunities.  Don’t get sidetracked.

5.                  Special enjoyment in providing physical needs and comforts.

Ability to remember likes and dislikes of others.  An area of strength in their life.

 

6.                  Need for appreciation to confirm that the service is necessary and satisfactory.

Let them know that you are satisfied.

 

7.                  Strong desire to be with others and thus prove to have more opportunities to serve (Acts 16:2; 17:14-15; 18:5; 19:22).

 

8.                  Enjoyment of short-range projects and a tendency to become frustrated with long-range responsibilities (1 Tim. 4:16; 2 Tim. 2:3).  Endurance needed.

9.                  Tendency to feel inadequate and unqualified for spiritual leadership.

10.              More interested in meeting others’ needs than their own.

11.              Enjoys showing hospitality.

There’s only one way a preacher can help a congregation grow long-term: equip you to do ministry and then give the ministry back to the church.  When you serve where your strengths are, the church causes herself to grow.  Are you giving yourself?  - Johnny Hunt

Potential outlets for this gift seem almost unlimited, the ultimate end being the edification of others.  Christian workers, released from temporal tasks, can concentrate more on their spiritual priorities.   No pastor or staff member can do it all.  How necessary to accept help graciously from those who have the gift of ministering.  – Lesslie Flynn, 19 Gifts of the Spirit

“A Martha” Lord of all pots and pans and things, Since I've no time to be A saint by doing lovely things or Watching late with thee, Or dreaming in the twilight or Storming heaven's gates. Make me a saint by getting meals or Washing up the plates. Although I must have Martha's hands, I have Mary's mind, and, When I black the boots and shoes Thy sandals, Lord, I find. I think of how they trod the earth What time I scrub the floor, Accept this meditation, Lord, I haven't time for more. Warm all the kitchen with thy love, And light it with thy peace, Forgive me all my worrying And make all grumbling cease. Thou who didst love to give men food In room or by the sea Accept this service that I do I do it unto thee.

 

MISUSES

When the servant is full of the Holy Spirit, he or she is a blessing!

1.      Neglecting home responsibilities.

2.      Accepting too many jobs at one time.

3.      Wearing themselves out physically.

4.      Being too persistent in giving unrequested help to others.

5.      Going around proper authority in order to get a job done.

6.      Excluding others from helping on the job.

7.      Interfering with God’s discipline by premature help.

8.      Becoming hurt by ungratefulness of those they serve.

9.      Getting sidetracked while working on an assignment.

TRAITS WHEN WALKING IN THE SPIRIT VERSUS THE FLESH

Alert / Unconscious, insensitive, cold

Hospitable / Lonely

Generous / Stingy

Joy / Ticked-Off, Self-Pity

Flexible / Resistance, sitting down on the inside when they don’t get their way

Availability / not interested

Endurance / want to quit

Current Examples of The Gift of Service *Preparing the handwork and cutouts for a VBS teacher. *A class member securing the books, arranging chairs, bringing the CD player, handling the record-keeping, and keeping the records so that the teacher is released from these necessary jobs to give more time to teaching. *Office records such as treasurer, filing, bookkeeping, delivery of meals or flowers during sickness or death, ushering, maintaining church facilities, cutting grass, preparing the Lord’s Supper – all of these freeing the leaders for spiritual  ministries. *Helping a pastor organize his library, files, teaching resources. *Preparing meals and cleaning facilities.

 

 

 

 

 

The Gift of Exhortation

The Motivational Gift of Exhortation

Biblical Examples: Paul and Barnabus

 

An exhortation is a message of warning or encouragement designed to motivate persons to action.

DEFINITIONS:

The Spirit-given desire and capacity to encourage, motivate, challenge, and strengthen others in the faith, to confront them with their behavior and to challenge or advise them in conforming to the will, Person, and Word of God.

 

The ability to motivate people to grow by identifying their needs and guiding them in biblical truth toward meaningful maturity.

The divine enablement to present truth so as to strengthen, comfort, or urge to action those who are discouraged or wavering in their faith.

 

Exhorters . . .             inspire others to action

                                    awaken renewed spiritual interest

                                    steady the struggling, stressed, or fatigued

 

Had it not been for Barnabus and his gift of exhortation, we might be missing ½ of the NT books! (14)

Ways Barnabus manifested this gift . . .

1. He helped needy saints (Acts 2:36-37).
2. He endorsed an unwelcome convert (Acts 9:26-27).
3. He accepted alien believers (Acts 11:22-24).
4. He enlisted a promising teacher (Acts 11:25-26).
5. He developed a gifted assistant (Acts 12:25; 13:1-2,13,42,46; 14:1).
6. He restored a youthful deserter (Acts 15:39).

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EXHORTER:

1.                  Encourage others to their full spiritual potential.

2.                  Ability to discern where a person is in his spiritual life and speak on that level.

3.                  Desire to give practical steps of action towards spiritual maturity.

4.                  Drive to explain truth with logical reasoning so others will believe.

5.                  Ability to visualize specific achievements and motivate others to action.

6.                  Desire to have face to face discussions to insure a positive response.

7.                  Ability to identify with people of different backgrounds in order to gain a wider hearing.

8.                  Motivation to bring harmony between different groups of Christians.

9.                  Ability to welcome personal tribulation as a help toward spiritual growth.

10.              Asks lots of questions to discern what God is doing in your life.

11.              Gives precise instructions about how a person might grow in relationship with Christ.

12.              Often has learned the value of suffering.

13.              Is concerned with the application of Gods’ Word.

14.              May see potential in individuals who have failed or are young in the faith.

15.              Wants to get to the root of the problem and can often discern what that is.

16.              Interested in the steps and processes to help someone go forward.

 

CAUTIONS FOR THOSE WITH EXHORTATION:

1.         Tendency to interrupt others in an attempt to give advice.

2.         May be too cut and dry.

3.         May think you have all the answers.

4.         You may become too easily discouraged when other people don’t encourage you.

5.         Remember to always point people to Jesus Christ in your exhortation.

 

MISUSES AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS OF THIS GIFT/PERSON:

1.       Raising expectations of others prematurely.

2.       Takes family time to counsel others.

3.       Treating family and friends as projects instead of people.

4.       Sharing private illustrations without permission.

5.       Jumping into new projects without finishing the old ones.

6.       Encouraging others to depend on them instead of God.

7.       Trusting visible results instead of a true change of heart.

8.       Neglect proper emphasis on basic biblical doctrine.

9.       Giving counsel before knowing the person and the problem.

10.   Becoming too easily discouraged when other people don’t encourage you.

 

7 TRAITS OF EXHORTER IN THE SPIRIT AND IN THE FLESH

Jesus related positively to people as an exhorter:                   The woman at the well                 The woman caught in adultery     Zaccheus   The only people he related to negatively were the religious people with hardened hearts!

1.         Wisdom           /           Self-Effort

2.         Discernment    /           Judgmental

3.         Faith                /           Presumption

4.         Discretion        /           Simplistic

5.         Love                /           Selfish

6.         Creative           /           Under-achiever

7.         Enthusiasm      /           Apathy

                                                     

Are you concerned about correcting error wherever and whenever you find it? Do you care deeply that those who are about to make mistakes avoid them, and that those who have made mistakes repent of their ways and return to a walk of righteousness before God? You may be a person who has been given the motivational gift of exhortation.

One of the key biblical figures who exemplifies the gift of exhortation is the apostle Paul. Here is the heart of Paul's motivation for ministry: “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily” (Col.1:28-29).

The word "warning" in this passage has also been translated as "admonishing" or "exhorting." Exhortation always has element of caution and concern about it. The exhorter desires to see every believer stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to both heavenly and earthly rewards.          

                                                                                                                        - Charles Stanley        

The Gift of Prophecy

The Motivational Gift of Prophecy

Biblical Example: Peter

 

A prophet is one who knows his time and what God is trying to say to the people of his times. - Tozer

DEFINITIONS:

That special ability to see the influence of evil as did the Old Testament prophets and warn God’s people of its damage.  The prophet has a deep passion to defend God’s reputation, stand for issues and uses negative motivation.  - Elmer Towns

A fresh examination of the New Testament teaching on this gift will show that it should not be defined as “predicting the future,” nor as “proclaiming a word from the Lord,” nor as “powerful preaching” – but rather as ‘telling something that God has spontaneously brought to mind.’   - Wayne Grudem

 

The divine ability to read, hear, and understand what God says, confront individuals, and communicate that truth in a clear, compelling, and convicting way under God’s anointing.

 

How are the prophets to speak? (1 Cor. 14:3)  With edification, exhortation, and consolation

3 ways this gift is manifested . . .

1.      Preaching and teaching

2.      Spoken words of others (warnings, exhortations, consolations)

3.      In and through the ministry of intercession

Scripture warns about this gift:      

1. Don’t despise it but carefully examine it and keep that which is good (1 Thess. 5:20-21).
2. Test the spirit of prophets to see whether the words are from the Lord (1 Jn. 4:1).
3. Respect, value, and desire this gift (particularly over tongues) – (1 Cor. 14:1,39).
4. God can speak to a church and to unbelievers in the assembly through this gift (1 Cor. 14:23-25).

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROPHET:

 

1.                  Speak forth truth: The need to express thoughts and ideas verbally, especially

concerning right and wrong

2.                  Tendency to make quick judgments.

3.                  Growing ability to identify character and motives and reject dishonesty or

manipulation (discernment) in their spirit

4.                  Desire to reject those who offend so justice will be done and others warned.

5.                  Genuine concern for the reputation of God and His work

6.                  Openness about personal faults and failures and honesty in referring to himself to others.

7.                  Tendency to impulsive action.

8.                  Painfully direct when confronting friends

9.                  Desire to give evidence of loyalty and total commitment

10.              Willingness to suffer for doing what is right

11.              Ability to be very persuasive in defining what is right and wrong.

12.              Sees things very black and white – no gray or indefinite.

13.              Believes the acceptance of difficulty will provide positive personal brokenness.

14.              Strict personal standards, opinions, and convictions.

15.              Strongly promotes spiritual growth of groups and individuals.

16.              Eager to see personal blind spots and help others see theirs.

17.              Strong dependence upon Scripture to validate their position

18.              Feels the need to verbalize or dramatize what he sees.

19.              Keen ability at times to hear from the Lord.

 

CAUTIONS FOR THOSE WITH PROPHECY:

 

1.                  You will be misunderstood, and you must learn to handle that.

2.                  Your desire to proclaim the truth may be interpreted as disinterest in listening to another point of view.  Learn when to speak and when to not speak.

3.                  Your public boldness and strict standards may hurt personal relationships

4.                   Your frankness will many times be viewed as harshness.

5.                  Work on encouraging others, relating to people, and the value of small talk.

6.                  Work on understanding the difference between your opinions, feelings, and absolute truth.

 

MISUSES AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS OF THIS GIFT/PERSON:

1.    Corrects people who are not your responsibility.

2.       Jumping to conclusions about words, actions, and motives.

3.       Reinforces a condemning spirit. 

4.       Judging and exposing an offender rather than restoring.

5.       Point out problems but not see solutions.

6.       Cutting off a person who has failed.

7.       Dwelling on the negative rather than the positive.

8.       Lacking cautiousness and tactfulness in expressing opinions.

9.       Demands positive responses to harsh rebukes.

10.   Condemn themselves when they fail.

11.   Accuse others of deception if they don’t fully disclose all the facts.

12.   Tendency towards impulsive speech and actions

13.   Confuse the difference between absolute truth/personal convictions and personal convictions/personal preferences.

14.   Can seem intolerant of other people’s convictions and opinions on issues that are not absolute truths.

15.   Sharing too much of what God shares with you.

                

7 TRAITS OF PROPHETS IN THE SPIRIT AND IN THE FLESH

1.         Committed to truth                                                     Deception

2.         Obedient                                                                     Willful, their own way.  Dictator.

3.                  Sincerity (Real, genuine)                                             Hypocrisy

4.                  Virtue (commitment. to holiness)                               Defilement and sensuality

5.                  Boldness (to minister)                                                 Fear and Anxiety

6.         Forgiving                                                                     Rejection (as they reject you they

                                                                                          personally feel or struggle

                                                                                          with rejection)

7.           Persuasive                                                                    Domineering, Dictator, Argumentative