Our Spiritual gifts are our blessings in this life. -Sunday opening message 8-8-2020

One of the biggest blessings that has been given to us is the ability to believe in something larger than ourselves to understand that which is intangible, to believe in something which cannot be seen and to have a relationship with a being whose presence cannot be measured…It is the cognitive ability to extend our minds beyond the concrete ..In short the ability to have faith..

“Faith” is not the opportunity to justify “stupid” or superstition.. The ability to have faith, to exercise our minds and hearts in this manner, to believe in a force unseen, is one of the many gifts bestowed upon us by our creator…

To be able to conceive of “forever” or “infinity” or to even believe in the concept, is a gift which allows us to have a relationship with God.. Without this attribute we could never have faith or belief or develop a relationship with Him at all…Abstract thinking a spiritual gift .. Imagine that! No pun intended….

He created us and instilled in us the ability to have a relationship with him… Arguably our greatest gift for it is the foundation for all other things spiritual.

The idea that we have spiritual gifts, abilities that are literally not of this world, can be hard for our human minds to grasp if we have not yet recognized the gifts as such . But the Bible helps us understand what spiritual gifts are, why they exist, and how to use them.

The gift of faith enables some people to have an extraordinary amount of belief that God uses to show us His power in ways that create joy and encouragement for others. We might view someone with the gift of faith as lucky or even superior , but that is far from accurate.

Throughout the Bible, we see people demonstrate supernatural confidence in God’s promises, power, and presence. Their faith equips people to take stunningly heroic stands for the future of God’s work in the church.

Looking at the men and women in Hebrews 11. Noah’s faith was an example to his family (who helped build the ark) and ultimately saved humanity from dying out in the flood.

Joshua’s obedience in marching around Jericho showed his men what bold faith looked like, in turn putting God’s faithfulness, power and protection on display for his people and their enemies.

Through faith, Moses charged bravely into many situations that should have led to death. Every time he dared to step forward on nothing but God’s promise of protection, miracles ensued. Not only did he eventually lead the entire population of Israel to freedom, he showed the power of God to thousands of Egyptians as well.

This list of names shows us fascinating stories of odds that were defied through someone’s miraculous faith. And here we are, thousands of years later, still reaping the benefits of their extraordinary, courage and supernatural faith.

Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith, but in essence he is the cornerstone of all of Creation too. We know this because we see this in the opening lines of John’s Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be” (John 1:1-3). Jesus, the Word, is the cornerstone of all that is, from the beginning. He is all the more, the cornerstone of our faith. Our faith stands on him, is built upon him, and find its support in him and is a gift from the Father. Let us not reject him, for in doing so, we will fall away from all that is true, good, and beautiful. In him alone do we find the measure of our truest meaning and purpose..

Jesus, the promised Messiah, was the One who was being referred to in Psalm 118. This is just one of many prophetic messages that were given about the Messiah in the Old Testament. We see in this one that the Messiah, the cornerstone, would be rejected by those who were “the builders” of the faith. It was to the Chosen People that the promise was made, and it was the leaders of the Jews, the priests and the Pharisees who rejected Jesus, the cornerstone that was prophesied, and had him crucified when he came.

It is important to recognize here that we are often no different than the Chief Priests and the Pharisees. For we, too, in our sinning, reject this cornerstone. When we sin, we are as guilty as the Pharisees, for when we sin, we too are hypocrites to our faith. We are hypocrites, because we know the truth and we wilfully turn away from it, just as they did. So we, too, are being challenged daily by this word of God..

The Bible tells us that each member of the church is necessary and important: “Just as a body, has many parts, but all of its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). Our gifts are intended to work together to bring glory to God (1 Corinthians 12:15-26).

Each one of us have spiritual gifts. God has intentionally chosen specific gifts for each of us (1 Corinthians 12:28-31), and He has specific plans to work through them (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). But first, we have to be alive to the reality of the Holy Spirit working in us and confident in who God has made us to be. We need to discover the gifts within us so that we can go forth with all of the power of God…

Following God’s plan and discovering his gifts, already within us, can send us on journeys we never dreamed possible..

Romans 12:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect….

Hebrews 11:1-40

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain and through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him as promised.

The ability to have faith. A priceless and foundational gift from God from the onset of our creation. It is a gift which enables us to have a relationship with God who is so far above us that without this we would not have the capacity to communicate. God didn’t give us faith rather he gave us “the ability” to have faith…

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever “believes” in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Where there's a gift sent to you from the Spirit, there are natural abilities and developed skills which can be matched to amplify its effectiveness:

There is the gift of discernment of spirits, and the natural ability of intuition, and the skilful use of a discernment process. Discernment of spirits is the interpretation of what

St. Ignatius ( ig nay shus ) Loyola called the “motions of the soul.” These interior movements consist of thoughts, imaginings, emotions, inclinations, desires, feelings, repulsions, and attractions. I would add that these would be “involuntary” motions of the soul… Spiritual discernment of spirits involves becoming sensitive to these movements, reflecting on them, and understanding where they come from and where they lead us.

There is healing, and there are the natural healing processes, supernatural healing processes and the medical skills to assist those processes.

There is prophecy, and there is the ability to discover the truth and the wisdom to figure out how and when to share it.

There is ecstatic spiritual experience, and there are the natural makings of romance and desire, and the skills to use them to create bonds of love with your spouse which in reality defy description.

God created everyone with these and more natural foreshadowings of supernatural gifts… Like God himself, the gifts to mankind, from God, are without limit… How we use our gifts will inevitably be facing us on judgement day. Have we used them as God intended or for destructive and worldly purposes?.. But before we can go forth with all of the power of God we must step back from the “asking for things” and conduct a magnificent exploration with Jesus by our side, to discover or uncover the gifts that exist within us in the first place.. In and of themselves these gifts are our blessings and are meant to be used by all, not just the faithful. If you find that you have a talent, use it , develop it and value it as best you can.. by doing so you honour God. But it takes the Holy Spirit, at work within the believer, to put the natural and the supernatural together, with the power to be of service to almighty God.

Let us pray -

Lord, give us the wisdom to put all of our faith in you alone. In you alone do we find our stability, in faith, and in our daily lives. Teach us to have hearts that yearn for you in all things. Help us to build our lives upon you, the cornerstone of all that is good and true and beautiful.

Reveal to us O Lord the gifts and power that you have given us and the guidance to use them wisely. Help us to be an example of your light as we go forth and multiply ourselves through others in your name...We thank thee for the opportunities to have fellowship and share the gospel here today. Thank you for entrusting the vulnerable to our care .. Guide us with wisdom and support us with your love..

Thank you for all that we have naturally, for our food, shelter and the many blessings that we have in our lives……. Bless our bible study and be with us always.

We ask these things in Jesus name…

Amen