The provisions of FELLOWSHIP
FELLOWSHIP IN A LOCAL Church ”ECCLESIA” PROVIDES
A PLACE OF PRAYER
A PLACE OF PRAISE
A PLACE OF PARTICIPATION
A PLACE OF PREPARATION
A PLACE OF PROTECTION
A PLATFORM FOR PREACHING
A PLACE OF ENCOURAGEMENT
The local church is a place of participation
1 Corinthians 14:26
When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
God placed me in this family, it was a God idea and not a good idea.
I trust that each one of you know that God placed you here JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF has placed the GIFT MINISTRIES IN THE CHURCH SO THAT WE CAN GROW AND BE BUILT UP AND MATURE
The gift MINISTRIES IN OUR LOCAL ASSEMBLY ARE INVOLVED IN NUMEROUS AREAS TO TRAIN AND PREPARE GOD’S PEOPLE FOR WORKS OF SERVICE
PRECEPT MINISTRIES (LYNN)
REVEALED WORD BIBLE COLLEGE (GAVIN)
SUNDAY SCHOOL AND YOUTH MININISTRY (KEN)
The importance of SUNDAY SCHOOL
D L Moody.
At Mt. Vernon Moody became part of the Sunday school class taught by Edward Kimball. On April 21, 1855, Kimball visited the Holton Shoe Store, found Moody in a stockroom, and there spoke to him of the love of Christ. Shortly thereafter, Moody accepted the love of God and devoted his life to serving Him.
Are you prepared for the storm
(because it will come)
Matthew 7:24-27
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
BE A DOER,NOT JUST A HEARER
We need to have a foundation for our spiritual lives
Hebrews 6:1-3
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.
Ephesians 4:11-16
So, Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his 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. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work..
Apostle – Goes
Prophet – Guides
Evangelist – Gathers
Pastor – Guards
Teacher - Grounds
The Gifts of the Father. Romans 12:3-8….
The Gifts of the Son. Ephesians 4:11-16.
The Gifts of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.
Gifts and the “Fruit of The Spirit”.
Love: Love chooses to set aside one’s own preferences, desires, and needs to put others first.
Philippians 2:1-4. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Romans 12:3-8….
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.
If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;
if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
The Greek word for gift in Romans 12 is charisma, indicating a gift of grace that is a basic inward bent.
These are referred to as the motivational gifts or redemptive gifts. All of us have different measures of each of the seven gifts operative in our lives. Usually, one of the gifts represents our basic inward drive and is the dominant gift. The seven gifts of Romans 12 shape our views on life circumstances, others, God, and ourselves. These gifts are our spiritual DNA.
It is the mindset that God gives us through which we interpret life and respond, make decisions, choose ministry, enjoy friends, choose a mate, etc. Our dominant gift causes us to see life through a particular point of view with certain spiritual assumptions.
By Doug Heck www.urbanpipeline.org
The Gifts of the Father. Romans 12:3-8.
The Gifts of the Son. Ephesians 4:11-16.
The Gifts of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.
The Gifts and the Fruit of The Spirit must operate together.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
The gifts
The fruit
Gift ministries
Gifts
Fruit
Gift Ministries
The Body of Christ
Gifts are not a sign of spiritual maturity.
1 Corinthians 1:7. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3. Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly, mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?
Gifting is not the only thing that determines how you deal with a certain situation or person, it also has to do with our level of maturity, having the fruit of the Spirit.
You may be the wrong person to deal with a certain situation.
If you don’t know what to do, do something and learn by serving, where your gifting lies.
The reason why most Christians don’t know what their spiritual gift is, is because they have never tried to do anything yet.
We need mentors, disciplers who can show us by example what to do. Get close to someone involved in ministry and imitate them even as Paul exhorted people to imitate him.
I WANT US NOW TO LOOK AT THE QUESTIONARE THAT YOU RECEIVED.
John 13:10-17
Do you understand what I have done for you? he asked them. You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Priorities
Preparation
Practice
Prayer
A. While our gift/s necessitate that we establish priorities, we are not excused from all other responsibilities.
We are not all evangelists, but we are all called to be witnesses. Paul was not called to baptize, yet when the need arose, he did so. 1 Corinthians 1:14-17.
B. Preparation: Just because you have a gift, doesn’t mean that you don’t have to put in effort to develop it and use it properly.
Ministry takes time and preparation.
We can’t just sit back and expect the Lord to drop something into our hearts on the Sunday that we are preaching. 2 Timothy 2:15.
C. Practice: We discover and develop our gift/s by getting involved in ministry and putting into practice.
We learn to serve by serving, we learn to minister by ministering. You not going to learn how to witness to others, until you start to do so.
D. Prayer: We also need above all to spend time in prayer and be in tune to the Holy Spirit.
One morning John Flavell, a Puritan pastor, was to preach in the morning. The whole congregation was gathered and ready to go, and he did not show up. He was not there for five minutes. He was not there for ten minutes. He was not there for 15 minutes. One of the elders went back to Flavell’s study. He heard Flavell talking to someone. He listened closely at the door. Flavell was saying, “I’m not going out there without you. I’m not going out there without you.” The elder did not know what to do. Finally, he opened the door, looked in, and there was Flavell on his knees saying, “I’m not going out there without you.”
We are prepared for works of service.
We are prepared for spiritual warfare
Ephesians 6: 11-17
Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Just as you need to be trained to used a physical sword you need to be trained to use the word of God properly.
2 Timothy 2: 15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (There are rules of interpretation that apply to the Word of God)
John 14: 1-4
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.
The bridegroom has gone to prepare a place for his bride and the bride needs to prepare herself for her bridegroom.
Revelation 19: 7
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
Ephesians 5: 25-27
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Matthew 24: 42-44
Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Remember the 5 foolish virgins who weren’t ready for the Bridegroom’s return. Matthew:25
We are the Father’s best gift to His Son. We are His bride. The word bridegroom is often used as a metaphor for God, specifically for Jesus Christ in the Bible. The church is likened to a bride with Christ as her bridegroom. Hosea 2:19 – 20 is the first time the bride of Christ’s revelation begins to be unfolded.
Jesus referred to Himself as the bridegroom when He talked about why His disciples didn’t fast (Mark 2:18 – 20). Likewise, John, the Baptist, presented himself as the bridegroom’s friend and declared that the bride belongs to the bridegroom (John 3:29). The bride of Christ or the church consists of the entire body of believers throughout the ages, all who have received salvation by grace through faith. The New Jerusalem is also referred to as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband and alludes to Christ as the bridegroom (Revelation 21:2, 9 – 10).
Jesus left His Father’s home in heaven and traveled to the home of His prospective bride on earth to purchase her for a price which was His own blood (1 Corinthians 7:23). He loved her and gave Himself for her. When we receive Christ as our Savior, we consent to the match and are given a priceless token of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:6 – 16).
There appear to be parallels between Jewish wedding traditions at the time of Christ and our relationship to Christ and His work on our behalf. It was customary for the groom to leave his father’s house and travel to the bride’s home to purchase her for a price. He gave a token or dowry whose value the bride knew and could only be acquired with her consent. The marriage contract was then established, and it is from that moment on, the bride is sanctified or set apart exclusively for the bridegroom. It was customary for the groom and bride to drink from a cup of wine during the betrothal benediction.
When we look through ancient Jewish eyes, tradition, and Scripture, we can see the love of God and the passion of Christ as the Bridegroom Messiah and see His death, baptism, the Lord’s supper, marriage, virginity, and Christ’s return differently.
It was the passion of Christ that paid our price by shedding His blood on the cross. The death of Christ was the fulfilment of God’s wedding Himself to humankind in an everlasting marital covenant through this New Covenant in Christ. As the bride of Christ, we are sanctified or set apart for Him, and the communion wine is symbolic of the covenant (1 Corinthians 6:11)
The Apostle Paul saw the love of a bridegroom for his bride and talked about it in Ephesians 5:22 – 32, referring to both the natural and spiritual. When Paul talks about the church being washed and presented to Christ, he describes the ancient Jewish bridal bath and wedding ceremony.