Evangelism (part 2)—The Message

Posted on May 16, 2014 by KD Manes under Salvation

Hi friends! I hope this Friday finds you well. The following is a recap from last week’s post:

Evangelism is not reserved just for the pastor or professional.
The gifts of teaching and evangelism are closely related.
Only God can save and transform souls.
Although living a quiet, godly life honors God, evangelism requires words—with respect and gentleness—in addition to service.
Leslie Flynn, 19 Gifts of the Spirit, defines evangelism:

The gift of proclaiming the Good News of salvation effectively so that people respond to the claims of Christ in conversion and in discipleship.”

What is this Good News Message?

The short, but sweet truth: Jesus came to save us!

This message should appeal to both the emotions and intellect. A longer version, such as below, tells of the historic event that can bring incomparable riches both today and in the future:

Jesus Christ—God and man—died on the cross for my sins over nineteen centuries ago. He was buried and rose the third day. If through faith, I receive Christ as my Savior, God will declare me righteous through Jesus’ shedding of His blood. God the Father will accept His Son’s sacrifice as full satisfaction for the guilt and penalty of my sin. This is a free gift, which can’t be earned or deserved. Because I am no longer under the penalty of the Old Covenant’s broken law, I am pardoned once and for all. God also adopts me as His child. He strengthens me through the ministry of His Holy Spirit, which indwells and regenerates my inner being.

What are some Bible verses that speak about our fallen, sinful nature and God’s plan to save/redeem us?

Salvation Verses

The following verses speak about our sin and the wages of sin, God’s grace and justification, provision and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ:

Wages of sin: Romans 5:12; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23a
God’s wrath & spiritual death toward the disbelieving: John 3:36; 1 John 5:12-13
Grace and justification: Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:24; Romans 6:23b
Jesus’ provision for our sin: Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; John 3:17
Eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ: John 3:36a; John 3:16; John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:8-10; 1 John 5:11
Confession of belief in Christ: Romans 10:10; Matthew 10:32

Next week I’ll explore more on this topic. Have a wonderful week!

God’s Plan for Spiritual Gifts

Posted on March 21, 2014 by KD Manes under Service

You are a paintbrush. God uses the paintbrush in your hand (your gifts) to help change and transform others in the body of Christ. And God uses others in your life to make you like Christ.” – Chip Ingram

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God’s ultimate makeover is to produce the life of Christ

I found Chip Ingram’s analogy of spiritual gifts and paintbrushes interesting (Your Divine Design). This is my paraphrase:

Some believers’ gifts are like a paint roller. Although they may not be as personal, they are more effective in a large group setting with their broad paint strokes.
Some believers’ spiritual gifts are more like a refined artist, patiently painting detailed color and techniques on an individual’s canvas/heart.

You get the picture . . . . There are different paintbrushes for specific jobs; God uses different spiritual gifts for His specific purposes.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NIV) says: There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

***Where* *does God do His extreme makeover?***

In His people—the church (Ephesians 2:18-22)

In the believer’s heart (Ephesians 3:14-19)

How does God do His extreme makeover?

Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and Satan is witnessed through spiritual gifts in His church (Ephesians 4:7-13).

10 Principles for Understanding Spiritual Gifts

(Source: Chip Ingram)

Every Christian has one or more spiritual gifts.
Many believers have received more than one spiritual gift.
Spiritual gifts are given the moment of regeneration, but they may lie undiscovered and dormant for a long period of time.
Spiritual gifts can be abused and neglected, but if they are received at regeneration, it would appear that they cannot be lost.
Spiritual gifts are not the same as the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual gifts are not the same as the fruit of the Spirit.
Spiritual gifts are not the same as natural talents.
Some spiritual gifts are more useful in local churches than others because they result in greater edification of the body.
Charismata literally means “grace gifts”. These gifts are sovereignly and undeservedly given by the Holy Spirit.
Gifts are God’s spiritual equipment for effective service and edification of the body [church].

Do any of these 10 principles surprise you? If so, which ones? Why?

God’s Plans—Where? How?

Posted on March 14, 2014 by KD Manes under God's Call

Last week we looked at Ephesians 2:1-10 to find the who, what, and why of God’s plan/purpose in giving believers spiritual gifts: Who and what we used to be without Christ, who and what we are in Christ, and why does God do an extreme makeover in us?

This second post will focus on where and how God does His extreme makeover as a background to spiritual gifts.

Where does God do His extreme makeover?

God does His extreme makeover in His people—the church

Ephesians 2:18-22 (NIV): For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.

God does His extreme makeover in the heart

Ephesians 3:14-19: For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. How does God do extreme makeovers?

Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and Satan is witnessed through spiritual gifts in His church

Ephesians 4:7-13: But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives in His train and gave gifts to men. (What does “He ascended” mean except that He also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

According to Ephesians 2:18-22, what is the church?

Have you ever been helped by someone using their spiritual gift?

*Next week: Principles for understanding spiritual gifts.

Plans – What does the Bible say?

Posted on February 28, 2014 by KD Manes under God's Call

He [God] does have surprising, secret purposes. I open a Bible, and His plans, startling, lie there barefaced. It’s hard to believe it, when I read it, and I have to come back to it many times, feel long across those words, make sure they are real. His love letter forever silences any doubts: His secret purpose framed from the very beginning [is] to bring us to our full glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7 NEB).”
― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

f96657d9087eeb784d83297772cb6a9a How are your New Year’s resolutions going? My exercise/diet resolve has wavered a few times since January 1. But I’m getting back on that horse! Past times I’ve reasoned: If I ditch my plan then I can’t fail! (Yes, this is an area God is patiently working with me on.)

Plans . . . . Are you a planner? God is. Just as He has purposed to save and sanctify us, He also has specific plans in which He wants to use us—individually and corporately—in His kingdom service. His plans require us to die to ourselves, but when we follow Him, we experience the highest calling, greatest joy, and purposeful living possible.

I’m planning a plan series for my next few posts. Yes I know, it sounds nerdy, but God’s Word is worth exploring this topic amongst others. The following is my rough outline:

God’s plan involving spiritual gifts
Aligning our plans with God’s purposes
Monitoring and adjusting our plans
What about when our plans fail?

Have you made any plans lately? How are your plans going? Do you have a specific area you’d like to explore on this broad topic? I’m willing to dive in if you are!

Have a wonderful week!

God’s Works

Posted on February 21, 2014 by KD Manes under God's Call

God didn’t put a small amount of thought and effort into creating the universe and creating us.

Brian Clegg from The Observer wrote (Saturday 26, January 2013): “Many of the most exciting discoveries in all fields of science are being played out in the human body.”

Interesting discoveries about the body (Brien Clegg)

An adult is made up of around 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (7 octillion) atoms.
Just like a chicken, your life started off with an egg. Not a chunky thing in a shell, but an egg nonetheless. However, there is a significant difference between a human egg and a chicken egg that has a surprising effect on your age. Human eggs are tiny. They are, after all, just a single cell and are typically around 0.2mm across – about the size of a printed full stop. Your egg was formed in your mother – but the surprising thing is that it was formed when she was an embryo. The formation of your egg, and the half of your DNA that came from your mother, could be considered as the very first moment of your existence. And it happened before your mother was born. Say your mother was 30 when she had you, then on your 18th birthday you were arguably over 48 years old.
We are used to thinking of genes as being the controlling factor that determines what each of us is like physically, but genes are only a tiny part of our DNA. The other 97% was thought to be junk until recently, but we now realise that epigenetics – the processes that go on outside the genes – also have a major influence on our development. Some parts act to control “switches” that turn genes on and off, or program the production of other key compounds. For a long time it was a puzzle how around 20,000 genes (far fewer than some breeds of rice) were enough to specify exactly what we were like. The realization now is that the other 97% of our DNA is equally important.

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Next time you feel unimportant, remember the One who fashioned you: “You created my inmost being: you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16

Do you have as much respect for yourself as your Maker does for you? God has a special purpose and plan for your life.

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