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Week Four - The Minister
When you accepted Christ, God gave you at least one spiritual gift to help you carry out your assignment. Knowing what your spiritual gift(s) is(are) will enable you to discover your assignment, understand your place in the body of Christ, and focus your energies in the days to come. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 Today, spend time filling out the Spiritual Gifts Survey included on this CD in the "Spiritual Growth Resources" section. It will take about 15 minutes to complete the survey. Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you. What did you discover today? How do you feel about what you discovered? Which of last week's lessons is going to help you the most?
What is God teaching you about yourself and about Him? Review:
This is a familiar passage. However, most people think of this verse in reference to their physical make-up. Notice verse 13. It talks about God's creating our inmost being. The passage doesn't mention the physical until verse 15. Every part of you was designed by God, not just your body. Your personality is one of God's good gifts to you, and He intends for you to use it for His purposes just as He intends for you to use your physical strength and energy or your spiritual gifts. Although we all may have our own ideas about what makes a personality "good" or "bad," there are no good or bad personalities. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and each is useful and necessary for carrying out God's purposes. Instead of wishing for a different personality or scrutinizing the personality traits of others, we should be focused on overcoming our own inherent weaknesses and maximizing our strengths, bearing with one another in love. We have to work toward unity because we are so different from each other. In the Spiritual Growth Resources section of this CD, there is a Personality Synopsis. You may want to read this document to see if you can identify your personality traits. This Personality Synopsis is provided to give you an idea of how unique God makes each person. Which personality type most fits you? Are you a combination of two or more personality types? Go back through and list in your journal the strengths and weaknesses that seem to describe you. The personalities of the people that we read about in the Bible are as diverse as we see in the church, today. Consider the following people, taking time to look them up if necessary. Where do you think that each would fit in the Personality Synopsis? Which ones do you identify most with?
While it is important to understand your personality and how God wired you, it's counterproductive to overanalyze your findings, use your personality as an excuse, or to rely on your personality rather than on God. Simply see your personality as a gift, take encouragement from those with your personality type in the Bible, and ask God to show you what He had in mind when He created you. Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you. What did you discover about yourself today? Have you ever considered your personality to be a gift? Why or why not? Were you encouraged or discouraged as you took a closer look at your personality? Why? What do you think that God wants you to know about your personality? From the list above, which biblical person do you most closely resemble? How does it feel to know that someone like you is in the Bible and that God is still using their testimony to touch lives thousands of years later?
What is God teaching you? Review:
We call this verse "The Great Commission" because it sums up what it is that we as believers are to be about. Usually, the word that we seem to place the most emphasis on is the word "go," using it as a battle cry when promoting mission opportunities or encouraging believers to be intentional in evangelism. Both are appropriate; however, we must be careful not to ignore other words in this passage that may be even more indicative of the approach believers should take in ministry. Grammatically speaking, the active verb in this verse is "make." The phrase "therefore go" in the original text, if literally translated, means "as you go" or "going." Go, baptizing, and teaching are all participles, meaning that they tell where and how to make disciples. All this considered, the message of the Great Commission is that we are to make disciples as we go by baptizing and teaching those with whom we come in contact. We ought to take opportunities to share the love of God with the whole world, but we should also be making disciples everywhere we go each day. A "nation" is not just a country, but a people group, whether that is a cultural group, an industrial group, a language group, a socio-economic group, etc. God wants to reconcile the world, "all nations," to Himself. To do that, God created an army of specialized believers to reach into each and every nook and cranny of the world in which we live. What does that mean for you? Answer this question. If you could spend the rest of your life doing one thing and time and money were no object, what would you do? (Remember to put aside any obligation that you may feel to fit into a traditional ministerial role.) The answer to this question is your passion. When you consider your call, is this passion something that you feel you must give up? Why is that? If the passion is God-honoring, it may play a key role in the assignment God has for you. In fact, it is very likely. God did not intend for all of us to line up for the same job. There are as many specialized ministry assignments as there are believers, and each of us has been carefully created by God to fill one of those assignments. If we ignore the way God created us, making our own modifications so that we fit into someone else's space, then we interfere with God's plan. You may be afraid that God is calling you to preach, when you don't like to stand in front of other people. God may be calling you to preach and teaching you that God is sufficient to help you through your fear of people or God may be calling you to a completely different type of ministry that will not be in front of people. Most individuals called to ministry will not be serving on a church staff. Most people called to ministry will be serving in "typical" jobs and then also serving as a volunteer in a ministry or they will be working two jobs, one for a ministry and another in a "secular" job. Some people are called to help new churches start and their task is to continue to work in their job and spend their time outside of their job helping the new church get started. No one can tell you what your assignment will be, but you can be certain that it will involve telling others about God's love and helping Christians continue to follow Christ. Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you. What is(are) your passion(s)? Have you ever considered that your assignment may have much to do with your passion area? Why or why not? How are some ways that God may be able to use your passion area to accomplish His purpose of reconciling the world to Himself? How can your passion facilitate ministry opportunities to make disciples?
What is God teaching you? Review:
So, now what? Where to start? Right where you are! When we began our study a few weeks ago, we took a look at the "calling" stories of a few of the disciples. There are many such stories in the Bible, and it seems that they all involve a person leaving what they know and following Jesus. In a sense, this is something we all must do, to lay aside our old ways and begin to seek Jesus above all, answering His call. However, this does not always necessitate our physically leaving our surroundings, activities, and relationships to find our niche in ministry. As a matter of fact, those believers whom Jesus asked to do so were in the minority. Those that answered Jesus' call by the thousands, at the end of the day, returned to their homes with a greater sense of purpose within their life. When we fully understand the grace and mercy that is ours in Jesus, we may be overcome with love for Him. That love may inspire zeal that can be easily misdirected, causing us to make impulsive radical changes or rash decisions in our lives in an effort to prove our loyalty to Christ or to demonstrate the level of sacrifice we are willing to make. God doesn't necessarily require we make such changes, especially when they are the result of impulsive human logic or human wisdom. Instead, God asks for obedience and intends for us to minister right where He has placed us. Of course, if He asks you to make radical changes in your direction or environment, you are to obey; but that is not always the case, at least not at first. For most of us, our assignment, at least for now, involves the location, occupation, social circle, etc. that we were in when we began to sense God's call. Over time, God may redirect, changing your assignment as you mature and your circumstances evolve. Maybe the specific future assignment that God has laid upon your heart is something that requires preparation, education, or experience that can only be obtained with the passing of time, in which case, God will use your current assignment to prepare you for your future assignment. But, whatever the case, do not overlook the possibility that the only drastic changes God may require of you for the moment are a drastic change of heart and an attitude of surrender regarding your future. Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you. What changes have you made in response to God's call? Were those changes your idea or God's? Have you been looking at God's assignment for you as something that you will fulfill only in the future? What is God's assignment for you right now? How could God be using your current circumstances to prepare you for the future?
What is God teaching you? Review:
When to start? Right now! Some people who answer God's call believe they must complete high school, college, or even seminary before they can begin carrying out an assignment from God. This is not necessarily true. Some assignments require a certain level of education and training in order to be done properly, and some do not. And, even if a believer does need education and training to eventually carry out his/her future assignment, a call to the ministry of Jesus Christ must never be put on hold. Even if you find yourself in transition, you must take advantage of every opportunity God gives you to be used by Him. That's not to say that every opportunity is from God, but those that God lays on your heart and seem to line up with your make up and direction must not be pushed aside in anticipation of something that may be years yet to come. After Paul's calling and conversion, the Bible says that he began to preach immediately. Now, the idea of someone preaching immediately following a salvation experience might make some people nervous. New Christians have much to learn and should assume roles of weighty responsibility with caution and much prayer. In fact, the Bible warns believers about new converts assuming leadership roles within the body (1 Timothy 3:6 ). After all, no one can lead others where he/she has never been. But, notice what Paul preached. He preached that Jesus is the Son of God. He preached only what he knew to be true by experience and allowed himself to be used of God as an example of the change that Jesus can make in a person's life. He did not assume more responsibility than what he was ready to handle, but did make himself available to be used by God as he matured. Paul did take time to be trained and equipped for ministry. He was already well trained in the scriptures as a Jewish leader, but he spent three years learning and being equipped for ministry (Galatians 1:13-24 ). Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you. What assignment has God given you? Is it an immediate assignment or something to work toward? What does He have for you right now? What, if anything, is keeping you from serving? What is God saying to you today? |
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