Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-149 (Expository Sermon)

EXPERIENCING THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

by Rod Benson

Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Ephesians 4:11-13

We all have stories of what God has done for us: protection and care, perhaps a revelation or a sign, a sermon or testimony that has marked a turning point in our lives.

My experience certainly reflects that. I entered theological college primarily because of a sermon preached by Gordon Moyes in Brisbane in 1992. I commenced pastoral ministry, planting a new Baptist church in Ipswich, Queensland, and eventually coming to pastor Blakehurst Baptist Church because of God’s call on my life, my availability, and a complex arrangement of circumstances that we can only effectively ascribe to the Holy Spirit.

The very day I received a telephone call to consider pastoring my first church, I had met with my College Principal, Stan Nickerson, to ask his guidance on whether I should pursue pastoral ministry or a missionary career (or something else).

He counselled me and prayed with me, and later that day, unrelated to my conversation with him, I received two calls asking me to consider pastoring churches. That’s how God often works when we say, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” Beware the seeming insignificance of such a prayer!

If I asked you why [this church] is your spiritual home, some of you would tell how the Lord led you here. He led you here for a purpose: to share the work of ministry and mission, using the spiritual gifts, heart or passion, natural abilities, personality and experiences he has given you.

A GIFTED CHURCH

The Bible does not precisely define the term “spiritual gift,” but according to Peter Wagner, “a spiritual gift is a special attribute given by the Holy Spirit to every member of the Body of Christ, according to God’s grace, for use within the context of the Body.”

Every believer has at least one spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:7, 8, 11): perhaps a natural ability enhanced for the purpose of ministry (e.g. teaching, mercy, giving), or a supernatural ability whose presence and use can only be attributed to God (e.g. prophecy, discerning of spirits, healing).

Spiritual gifts are not for our personal benefit; they are given to bless others, given for the edification and growth of the church, the new community of God (Ephesians 4:11-12). They are not an optional extra; they are to be used (Romans 12:6-8).

Unfortunately, the church is often like a football stadium in which tens of thousands of over-weight, under-exercised spectators sit in the grandstand desperately needing some exercise, while a small number of super-trained, super-fit players run up and down the field, doing all the work and desperately needing a rest!

LEADERSHIP DYNAMICS

A fatal mistake of many small and medium-sized churches today is their expectation that the pastor should function in the same dynamic as a wage-earning employee in a small business.

Local church leadership ought to be a shared responsibility since “group-think” is a biblical principle that counters individualism and egotism. At the same time, spiritual leaders need freedom and confidence to lead well, informed by the Word and guided by the Holy Spirit.

In a church that is healthy and growing, but lacks strong pastoral leadership, there is almost always a layperson possessing strong leadership gifts and consensus-building charisma.

Marc Bruce is one of the high-flyers of the Australian accounting industry. His company, True North Group, regularly exceeds its target of 40 per cent annual fee growth. I’d like to know how a visionary entrepreneur got into accounting!

In last week’s Business Review Weekly, Bruce shared one of his success principles: “Don’t hire people you can control. Hire leaders and let them run.” That is wise advice in the increasingly volatile and unpredictable business environment we’re now entering, and it’s good advice for churches as well as professional organisations.

Rick Warren puts it well: “For a church to grow, the pastor must give up the ministry, and the people must give up the leadership.” Peter Wagner similarly says, “Small churches will become larger ones only if the pastor does the leading and the people do the ministry.” That’s the biblical principle (Ephesians 4:11-12).

How many gifts are there? The Bible gives three lists of gifts in no apparent order (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10; and Ephesians 4: 11), and refers to other gifts in various places (e.g. 1 Peter 4:8-11).

It is common to accept that there are between 25 and 27 gifts noted in the New Testament. I believe the biblical lists of gifts are not exhaustive; they are probably not designed as a comprehensive inventory of all possible spiritual gifts. For example, writing and vision may be examples of spiritual gifts not explicitly mentioned in the New Testament.

THE SIGN GIFTS

When we come to the supernatural or “sign” gifts, the contemporary church encounters a problem. Do such gifts continue, or did they cease when the last apostle died or when the ink of the last verse of scripture dried?

‘Cessationists’ often quote 1 Corinthians 13:8-10, claiming that “perfection” refers to the closing of the canon of scripture. For them, the completion of the written text of the Bible rendered forever irrelevant the “sign” gifts. That’s where at least half the evangelical church stands today.

Are they correct? Is “perfection” the Bible, and if so, have these gifts ceased? Read verses 11 and 12. “When perfection comes,” says Paul, “we shall see face to face,” and we shall “know fully.” It cannot be scripture, because none of us can claim to know it fully.

The language of “face to face” clearly refers to the second coming of Christ, not the death of the last apostle. Only then shall we fully know, and see him face to face. If you understand the passage in this way, then you’ll believe that all the gifts continue today.

In each of the three biblical lists, the gifts appear intermingled. If there was a difference between ordinary and supernatural gifts, surely the apostles would have promulgated two lists – one unending, and the other ending when the last apostle died, but there is no indication of categories of gifts.

Some argue that biblical history shows “sign” gifts in use only during specific periods such as the Exodus and the ministry of Elijah, and that church history proves that the miraculous gifts did cease, and that they did not continue through medieval times and into the modern period, implying that we shouldn’t seek them in the 20th century.

In a recent PhD thesis, Christopher Forbes, a Christian lecturer in ancient history at Macquarie University, debunked the myth that the gifts of tongues and prophecy died out with the apostles, citing indications of their use in Lyons, France, in the late second century and in North Africa in the early third century.

“Left to ourselves,” says A.W. Tozer, “we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms. We want to get him where we can use him . . . We want a God we can in some measure control.”

A GOD WE CAN’T CONTROL

God can’t be neatly put in our boxes; he will always be the God of surprises. I once believed the cessationist arguments because I had not thought things through for myself, and because I was conditioned by my denominational background to mistrust those who claimed to exercise miraculous gifts.

But perfect love casts out fear, and I have changed my view, and I recognise the overriding reality that Christian love is the basis for the possession and use of all the gifts, and that I need to meet others who differ in their interpretation of Scripture and their practice of Christianity in the same spirit of love.

If you don’t accept that all the gifts of the Spirit operate today, you need to explain their apparent presence through history and in the life of the church today in terms of psychological delusion or the work of the devil.

The devil does attempt to counterfeit the works of God, and we can confuse ourselves at times, but I believe there is overwhelming evidence that the sign gifts are active today.

OPENNESS TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

The 1996 National Church Life Survey included a question for senior leaders of congregations regarding their attitude toward probably the most contentious of the “sign” gifts today: the gift of tongues.

Of New South Wales Baptist leaders, 15 per cent indicated that they speak in tongues, 25 per cent declared their disapproval of tongues as it is practised today, and 36 per cent approve but do not pursue the gift.

I’m in the third group. I don’t speak in tongues, but neither do I reject tongues-speaking if it takes place in a biblically- sanctioned context.

To deny outright that such experiences are God’s work is a serious charge, because if you’re wrong you’re denying what God is doing. But at the end of the day, if you disagree with me, let’s disagree in love. We need to stop arguing about the Holy Spirit, and get on with living in the Spirit!

How do I experience the Holy Spirit’s power in my life? Cornford’s Law says, “Nothing should ever be done for the first time.” Don’t fall for that excuse!

Instead, take the perspective of Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, who said, “Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.”

Develop a quality prayer life. Ensure that anything hindering your spiritual growth and effectiveness is removed from your life, and anything that grieves or quenches the Spirit is dealt with, so he is free to move in your life.

Discover your gift (and the best way to do that is by hands-on ministry experience), ask God for wisdom, and use your gifts for the edification and growth of his church!

——————–

E091 Copyright (c) 2002. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980).

To talk with Rod about this message, email <>. To subscribe direct for his weekly sermons, email <> with “subscribe” in the subject.