First day back to work after a 4-day weekend…Meh. I really enjoyed being off. Lots of time with my kiddos and Marianne and I could have used more. I needed to be back to work though as the next 10 days are going to be quite crazy and busy.
Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Luke 9:1-2 [NKJV]
On the topic of ‘Spiritual Gifts’ comes a lot about what God’s Word has to say, as well as a lot of opinion around the Christian community on said gifts. Pastor Steve’s rollup on gifts over the last 2 weeks of June was really good and essentially nets out to be a couple of takeaways.
- Gifts given by the God are rare
- Gifts are always for the Glory of God alone
- Gifts are always given by the God at His discretion
- Gifts edify/build up the church body
Here we see the extension of abilities to the Disciples by Jesus for the work of ministry. JESUS GAVE THEM POWER to do these things. They did not get these powers by just following Jesus. Like Jesus, the Spirit will give gifts to facilitate ministry and to equip for specific tasks. The focus of the Disciples in this commissioning was to take care of both the spirit (through the Gospel and casting out demons) and the body (by curing diseases). There is nothing said of personal edification or anything…in fact Jesus sent them on their way with no provisions for themselves…. everything would be provided by God through hospitable people in each town that would accept them.
Application:
Firstly, I need to always bump up the presence of supposed gifts with the backing of scriptural support. When it happens, it will fit within the takeaways above. Secondly, God provides when He is using me in the furthering/building of His Kingdom. He equips: I just need to BELIEVE and be OBEDIENT to what He is calling me to do.