Title: Healthy Retardation and the Church
Contents
Healthy Retardation and the Church (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)
Many people in Europe talk about their heartbreaking experiences to see many churches in Europe being sold and used for other purposes instead of being used as churches, although they are beautiful churches. Looking at it, we realize that it is necessary as a building, but our faith in the building, our lives are also important, and it is more important to keep a good building and leave a legacy of faith so that we and our descendants can use it well.
Therefore, we should not always focus on external things, but rather, we need to pay close attention to spiritual things, spiritual movement, and spiritual atmosphere. It is more important to live a life of grace from that book than from the Bible. It is more important to be moved by the hymn rather than the hymn. It means that even if you work hard and sweat, it is more important to thank you for entrusting a precious task with your heart. Among them, the spiritual world given by the Holy Spirit and living through spiritual experiences is more important.
Therefore, Paul is saying that this spiritual experience is essential for us even now. At the beginning of verse 1, Paul says, “I do not want you to be ignorant of spiritual things.” We are told to know and experience spiritual things. What is spiritual is a spiritual experience, an encounter with God. You must become a person who has met God through voice, word, or meditation. Whether it is worship, prayer, or meetings, only when you become a person who meets God, the door to spiritual things opens, you become interested, and you can speak about them.
There was true grace when I confessed God's answer and meeting in the sharing at the past ranch meeting. How boldly he confesses, “When we look to God and ask Him, He gives us answers, and we clearly know that God lives”! A powerful confession became courage for everyone. May you all experience the divine experience! Continue to experience! I hope you love it.
So why do we need divine experiences? Here is a lesson from the Bible.
The most important thing is that our belief in Jesus is spiritual. I have the determination to believe in Jesus, but in that broad background, there must be the grace of God to make me believe. “I believe!” With “I really believe it!’ ”Why don’t you believe it? I'm sure! I know that God helps me, but if I pray, he hears me!”
In verse 3 of the text, we can say, “If we live by speaking the Spirit of God, we do not call Jesus accursed, but God is the Spirit, so that Jesus is my Savior.” We must be moved by the Holy Spirit, and we must have a spiritual life in us. Instead of saying, “Jesus died on the cross because of his own sins,” instead of saying, “Jesus, you died for my sins! You died to save me, thank you.” Everyone, when I see myself who genuinely believes in Jesus, when I think of the strength of the past, I believe in Jesus myself is a miracle. right? Still in the confessions of your heart and mouth, “It is surprising. I believe in Jesus like this!” Now, I hope that all of you will have faith in the gospel of Jesus, know His grace, have gratitude, and become a faith with tears in your eyes. Hallelujah!
Hymn 405 was written by John Newton, a slave trader, converted, and converted to an evangelist. “I am amazed by the grace of the Lord who saved a sinner like me.” The Newton always said that he would be surprised by three things in heaven. Those three are, “That man is in heaven! That person is not in heaven! I came to heaven!”. Newton's confession speaks of the thrill of going to heaven rather than who is worthy of heaven. But, everyone, the emotion we have is not just going to heaven. Believing in Jesus right now is a miracle and a surprise.
However, we live a life of continuous service in the church with this moving grace. If we go to church while believing in Jesus, opportunities will come for us to serve in the church and also opportunities to live according to the Lord's will in the world. At that time, there is the greatest trick to be able to handle various services in the church, big or small, one time, continuous work, work alone or together. There is an important trick.
In the text, which word appears the most? Yes, it is “the Spirit and the gifts.” It is important to do the Lord's work while maintaining spirituality, enjoying spirituality, and forming spiritual fellowship with the Lord. In the text, there are nine gifts of the Holy Spirit that are given to us. These are the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, power, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation.
For reference, the work of the Holy Spirit can be divided into three categories. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are directly given by the Lord from above, and they are the gifts of the text. There are also offices of the Holy Spirit. It is an office given by the Holy Spirit to serve people. In Romans 12, their duties are prophecy, service, teaching, authority, almsgiving, rule, compassion, etc. And there are the fruits of the Spirit. Galatians chapter 5 speaks of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit, the work of the Holy Spirit that enables us to grow personally, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.
The nine gifts of the Holy Spirit in the text are also divided into three categories. From what I see, there are the gifts of the word of wisdom and knowledge, the gifts of faith, healing, miracles, discernment of spirits, etc., and the gifts of prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of God's revelation. What gift do you see that God has given you from above? What is the ministry of the Holy Spirit that I am religiously doing? What part of the fruit of the Spirit should I bear?
These gifts are given to suit each person as they live as saints, but who gives them? It is the Holy Spirit who gives to each person. It is the Holy Spirit who is the subject of all gifts, talents, abilities, and wisdom we have received from above. In this way, the same Spirit gives each person the necessary gifts, so that although the gifts are different, the Spirit is the same. What we need to realize here is that we need to confirm the gifts of the Holy Spirit we have received, use them properly, and work and serve with one mind without regret. Verse 7 says, “The manifestation of the Holy Spirit is given to each one for his own benefit.” It is the Holy Spirit who absolutely benefits you.
On the one hand, that gift, that is, in our service, we must serve with longing and reliance on the Spirit and the guidance of the one and only Spirit who gives it, and in this way it is essential that we become one in the church. Is there anyone who doesn't have any special service and thinks that I have nothing to do with the Holy Spirit? The fact that you participate together in the work of the Lord and in the church is itself a work of the Holy Spirit. If you obey and participate diligently, grace will grow. It doesn't matter how many or great things you do, it's about relying on the Holy Spirit and serving humbly but with great faith. If there is no emotion in my heart, only the sound is noisy. But I must have, restore, and enrich the spiritual world before the Lord, in faith, in worship, in the life of the Word and prayer. If we lose such spirituality, everything becomes unbelief, dryness, temptation, temptation, and hardening.
1 Corinthians 10:12 “He who thinks he is standing, be careful lest he fall.” Asking for the Lord's gift by praying humbly is the healthiest and most stable attitude of service. Think about it. People with different ideas, different growth processes, different current environments, and different eyes are gathered together like this, how do they become one? Seems to be one, you never know when it will bounce or when it will collide. However, if you long for a spiritual life, the Holy Spirit will make you one. If you really live a prayer life and longing for spirituality, that will be the secret to becoming one in the church.
That is why in verse 13 of the text, “Jews and Greeks, slaves and free people were baptized with one Spirit” is the life. This is the secret to realizing the heart of a father. Grace makes the Father's heart known, and grace produces more abundant grace. I hope that you will be loyal to the Lord's kingdom and church by longing for the gifts from above, using the gifts given to you.