Filled with the Holy Spirit…

When we receive Christ as Saviour, the Holy Spirit gives to every believer one or more gifts. They are God-given abilities for service in his church and kingdom. He gives these gifts as he chooses. 1 Cor. 12:11: “All the gifts are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given for worship and for service. Any list of these gifts found in the New Testament demonstrates the diversity of capabilities distributed among believers by God through his Spirit.  All believers receive one or more gifts to honour and serve God and his Church. The list that follows is not complete. It has been put together by studying the following Bible passages, written to reveal to us the various gifts that believers receive: Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:8-10, 28-30; Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 4:10,11. 

1. Mission:  Those who are sent by God with the ability to proclaim the gospel and plant churches amongst unbelievers (Eph. 4:11).

2. Prophecy: To receive revelation from God and share it with others. Mostly it is the ability to interpret God’s revelation in the Bible and proclaim its vital and convincing truth. (Eph. 4:11; Rom 12:6).

3. Evangelism: To present the gospel with clarity to the unsaved so that they respond with saving faith (Eph. 4:11; 2 Tim. 4:5).

4.To Pastor: To provide spiritual leadership, nurture, healing and protection for God’s people in the church (Eph. 4:11).

5. Teaching: To explain and apply God’s truths.  (Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:28,30).

6. Knowledge: To understand and arrange the message which God has revealed in his Word (1 Cor. 12:8).

7. Wisdom: To apply the insights of divine knowledge to specific situations (1 Cor. 12:8).

8. Counselling: To draw close to someone in time of need, with prayer and encouragement, directing change in their lives (Rom. 12:8).

9. Serving: To perform with joy any task in such a way that it encourages and helps the believers. (Rom. 12:7).

10. Helpers: To bring support and assistance to relieve a pressing burden in someone’s life. (1 Cor. 12:28).

11. Showing Mercy: To show practical love to relieve the suffering of the deprived, i.e. the sick and the aged. (Rom. 12:8).

12. Giving: To joyfully and generously share one’s material resources without selfish motives.  (Rom. 12:8).

13. Leadership: To direct a work or church for the Lord (Rom. 12:8).

14. Organization: To give vision and direction toward the accomplishment of goals ( 1 Cor. 12:28).

15. Hospitality: To receive strangers and friends, making them welcome and edified. (Rom. 12:13; Titus 1:8; 1 Tim. 3:2).

16. Faith: To trust God for the supply of needs, even when it seems impossible. (1 Cor. 12:9).

17. Discerning of spirits: To distinguish between truth and error; between God’s Spirit and the works of evil. (1 Cor. 12:9).

The believer who glorifies God and follows Christ with humble submission to the direction given by the Holy Spirit, is “filled by the Sprit” and exercises these gifts with amazing benefits to the body and cause of Christ. The Bible says:  Be filled with the Spirit. (Eph. 5:18) 

The critical importance of Christian parenting.

We bring our children to church because we as a family choose to serve God and because it has a decisive impact on the rest of their lives!

Joshua 24: 14 – 18:  "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness….  But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served… or the gods… in whose land you are living.

But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Then the people answered, "….. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God."

Children copy what takes place around them. This is how they learn to speak, to smile, to walk, to believe in God and they will display the behaviours and values that are characteristic of the family they have been born into.

If we, like Joshua, choose to serve the Lord, we practically make it possible for our children to learn to love God.

Parents choose, through their example, faith and participation in Church, to make it possible for their children to love Jesus, or to sideline Christ!

Humans are the most complicated of all creatures but have the most poorly developed reflexes at birth, and has very little instinctive behaviour. Human behaviour is learned behaviour. Just about everything we know, everything we do, and everything we believe is the result of the processes of learning.

The first learning behaviours that children exhibit are the results of imitation –Learning takes place on the basis of what the young children hear and especially what he or she sees and experiences at home.

Christian parenting is therefore of critical importance.   From an early age they imitate us.  Parents are in a child’s life the most important influence.

That is why God in his great wisdom ordained parenting in order for our children, whom he loves, to also love him back.

When we presented our children for baptism we vowed to work in partnership with the church that we and our children may effectively know how to choose life! And how to choose Christ!

The Baptism of Jesus.

The Baptism of Jesus.

In Mark 1 we are taught that the baptism of Jesus is the beginning of his ministry.  He was ordained into the calling to be the Messiah when God encountered him at his baptism.

“Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”  (Mark1: 10 – 11)

Later on, toward the close of his ministry, Jesus himself makes clear that baptism leads to a new way of life. When the brothers James and John ask to be seated next to Jesus in the life to come, Jesus points out that “the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized” (Mark 10:39). To be baptized in Jesus is to follow him and to be his servant.  We too were ordained into our calling to serve the Lord in al we do when we were baptized.

We therefore also share with our Saviour  in a sacred promise from our God:

“You are my child whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

In 2015, find the real purpose to serve Jesus!

Our Lord Jesus Christ, Gods eternal Son, humbled himself by accepting a weak human nature. Christ did not give up any part of his divinity. He never stopped being God. He remained Lord and Ruler over all.

Yet, when he became a man, he accepted the nature of a human servant as well. He did not come as an earthly ruler or king, with the pomp and ceremony of royalty. He did not occupy a place of honour and prestige among humans. From the manger to the cross he walked the path of humiliation. From the manger to the cross his nature was that of a servant. From the manger to the cross he came to serve rather than to be served.

And as a servant he "became obedient to death." A servant or a slave at the time of Jesus had only one duty – to obey his master. Jesus "became obedient to death." (See Philip 2: 6-8). He was a true servant. "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work" (John 4:34). Christ Jesus came to humble himself. Christ came to die on the cross. Jesus saves us from death to give us life.

But Paul says, "your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus" (Phil 2: 5). To take up our own cross, is to give Christ that service that costs time, money, work, and tears. To take up the cross is to say "no" to selfish desire, spend time in prayer, witness faithfully, and work diligently for the cause of Christ.

How appropriate to start a new year with the true message of the gospel! To hold onto the message that Jesus came to us, to save us sinners! And to find inspiration from his humiliation for our sake, to humbly serve him with all our heart, soul and mind – from the beginning to the end of this new year given to us!

May you be blessed during 2015 when you find the real meaning and purpose to serve Jesus and his cause in the world!

May his salvation protect you and may his servant nature inspire you to serve sacrificially, with love!