We know what we have
Our aim as Jubilee Church is to build a community of people who know who they are, who know what they’ve got and who know what they are called to do.
In the second of our three part series, Simon and Bernice continue looking at these aims.
What we have
As a church our emphasis is knowing the anointing of the Holy Spirit, his presence, the gifts he has given us and who empowers us in all that we do.
The anointing of the Holy Spirit and his presence
As we saw last time, when we commit our lives to Jesus we take on a new identity. Paul tells the Corinthians: Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 1 Corinthians 1:21-22
The Holy Spirit’s anointing isn’t just for New Testament times. It’s for us now. It’s not just for special Christian leaders or speakers. It is for all of us. God has given us the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the Holy Spirit’s anointing, we have power over sin, temptation and evil. Through the Holy Spirit we have access to God and can call him, ‘Abba, Father’. The Holy Spirit gives us power to make disciples and proclaim God’s kingdom.
The gifts he has given us
God has given us gifts of various kinds. There are ministry gifts, manifestation gifts, and motivational gifts. It is well worth identifying the gifts he has given you.
There are various passages in the Bible that list spiritual gifts: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Romans 12:6-8, and 1 Corinthians 12:28-30. The gifts include:
Prophecy, Serving (Helps), Teaching, Encouragement, Giving, Mercy, Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Discernment, Speaking in Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Healing, Administration.
Another important set of gifts are those described in Ephesians 4: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. These are given ‘to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…and become mature.’ (Ephesians 4:11-13).
We are not all given the same gifts, but all of us are given gifts as Paul tells the Corinthians: Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
To find out more listen to Rob’s talk: Different kinds of gifts
What gifts do you have already?
Do you know you can ask God for other of the gifts?
Empowered by the Holy Spirit
Before Jesus ascended to heaven he told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were baptised with the Holy Spirit. He went on to say, ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8). Soon after this we read about Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out and the rest of the book of Acts describes what happened once the disciples received this power. A key aspect is that they had boldness to witness and proclaim the gospel. This led to many people saved, disciples made and churches planted.
We have the same Holy Spirit and the same mission and next time we will explore this further when we look at what we are called to do.
