Ignorance is Not Bliss.........
I Corinthinans 12:1 says:
"Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant."C. Peter Wagner said he was at meeting of what some would call the "spiritual giants" in the world. He was not leading the meeting. He was amazed when the leader asked them to name spiritual gifts at their responses. These were Godly leaders that most of us would know and they could only name 8 spiritual gifts. What was really sad is they only answered 3 that were mentioned in the Bible. Last night I started teaching Spiritual Gifts at my church. The good news is my people did better than those "spiritual giants." But they still fell short naming the Spritual Gifts mentioned in the Bible. I don't know if I could name all of them without studying the list. But I have been studying the gifts of the spirit since I was in high school. I am convinced that knowing them and using them are keys to healthy spiritual and church growth. Wagner says: "Ignorance is not bliss." I agree. We need to use the gifts that God has given us. If we don't it is like a 8 cylinder engine only running on one or two cylinders. I can't wait to see how God uses our people when they realize the Holy Spirit power that God has given them!
posted by Kevin Bussey at 3/27/2006 09:09:00 AM
2 Comments:
I agree with you 100%, Kevin. Spiritual Gifts come from God and He has given them to us for the strengthening of the church. He must be amazed at the ones that we pick and choose to focus on and how we redefine those we eliminate. As Baptists, it seems to be something that we are afraid of because it is not entirely something that we can control or make happen - that ability has to do with the flesh and the gifts are of the Spirit. Any understanding of them causes us to be dependent upon God and to allow Him to work through us. That seems to be pretty scary for most of us, so we tear that part out of our Bible, or we use ridiculous exegesis to redefine them.
Wouldn't it be better if we are a little more humble, admitted that we didn't know everything, and then asked God to teach us? Instead of being afraid of abuses, we could actually pastor people in how to use the gifts according to the instructions in the Bible. That seems too difficult and scary for most, so, instead of following scripture, we eliminate the gifts all together.
If our Father gives us gifts to make us strong, and we say, "No thank you, we don't believe in that," and then we have really weak churches, then who is to blame? Obviously, an overemphasis on the gifts is unhealthy, but what you are doing is bringing us back to a semblance of balance.
One other thing: My wife is teaching the ladies of our church on Spiritual Gifts this Thursday night. She has been doing a lot of studying and it has been great to talk about this topic together (that is why it is so fresh on my mind). I am sure that she would love to see any handouts or materials that you have. I always like to see what regular pastors like me are learning in addition to the "experts"!!!
Alan,
you are right about humility. I would rather have a church that was excited about God and what he is doing than telling God what he can't do. Thankfully, our people seem hungry to serve Him!
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