e-pistle for June 6, 2008
Posted by: info <info@...>
E-pistle
Dr. Dan Hite, President FreeWay Foundation June 6, 2008
I am sending 2 Epistles because I am going to be out of the office for a couple of weeks. ENJOY!!
Ministering God's Gifts
(I Peter 4:1-19)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter
1. Peter taught that since Christ willingly suffered for us, we should be
of the same mindset, vv. 1-6.
2. Peter urged believers to love one another, without grumbling, vv. 7-9.
3. Peter wrote about two basic kinds of spiritual gifts, vv. 10-11.
4. Peter charged believers to rejoice as they partake in Christ's sufferings, vv. 12-19.
II. Meditation: on God's gifts to mankind, v. 10
1. They are given freely and according to God's sovereign will.
2. They are to be received as a "gift" . . . with thanksgiving.
3. They are to be shared with others ("minister it" and "as good stewards.")
4. They are many and varied ("manifold = many colored.")
III. Observations: on the two basic types of God's gifts (v. 11)
1. SPEAKING – preaching, teaching, witnessing, prophesying.
2. Those Christians who have the basic gift of oral communication should speak
with authority as "ORACLES OF GOD."
3. MINISTERING – serving, doing good works, actively helping, praying.
4. Those Christians who have the basic gift of ministering should serve others
with the divine abilities supplied by God.
IV. Revelation: on why believers should exercise God's gifts
1. That in all things God may be glorified by the believers, v. 11.
2. That, even in sufferings, believers may be glad with exceeding joy, v. 13.
3. That believers may perceive persecution, not as a strange, unexpected thing (v. 12),
but as an opportunity to honor God according to his sovereign will, vv. 13-16, 19.
4. That believers might be blameless servants of the Lord, exhibiting righteousness at
the day of judgment, vv. 17-18.
V. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Realize that all I am, all I have, and all I can be are gifts from God.
2. Value someone else's gift as highly as I value my own spiritual gift . . . because
God is the giver, and He gives only good gifts to man, Ephesians 4:7-8; James 1:17.
3. Rejoice in the Lord always . . . even in persecution and suffering.
4. Faithfully live for Christ, with sincerity and integrity, so that others may see God's
hand working through me, and give glory to Him, Matthew 5:16.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
I. The Holy Spirit is the author of the Old Testament
1. II Samuel 23:2
2. Isaiah 59:21
3. Jeremiah 1:9
4. II Timothy 3:15-17
5. II peter 1:21
II. The Holy Spirit is the author of the New Testament
1. John 14:25-26
2. I Corinthians 2:13
3. I Thessalonians 4:15
4. Revelation 1:10-11
5. Revelation 2:7
III. The Holy Spirit is the Old Testament Anointer
The Scriptures name at least sixteen Old Testament leaders in Israel
who received the anointing of the Holy Spirit:
1. Joseph, Genesis 41:38
2. Moses, Numbers 11:17
3. Joshua, Numbers 27:18
4. Othniel, Judges 3:10
5. Gideon, Judges 6:34
6. Jephthah, Judges 11:29
7. Samson, Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14-15
8. Saul, I Samuel 10:10; 11:6
9. David, I Samuel 16:13
10. Elijah, I Kings 8:12; II Kings 2:16
11. Elisha, I Kings 2:15
12. Azariah, Ii Chronicles 15:1
13. Zechariah, II Chronicles 24:20
14. Ezekiel, Ezekiel 2:2
15. Daniel, Daniel 4:9; 5:11; 6:3
16. Micah, Micah 3:8
"Be Happy, Practice Compassion"
by: Harvey Mackay
A Native-American grandfather was taking to his grandson about how he felt. He
said, "I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry,
violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one." The grandson asked him,
"Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?" The grandfather answered, "The one I feed."
According to one definition, compassion is an emotion that is a sense of shared
suffering, most often combined with a desire to alleviate the suffering of another and to show
special kindness to them. Compassion essentially arises through empathy and is often
characterized through actions wherein persons acting with compassion will seek to aid those
they feel compassionate for. Compassionate acts are generally considered those that take
into account the suffering of others & attempt to alleviate that suffering as if it were one's own.
Where, you might ask, does compassion fit in business? Will it hurt the bottom
line? Will it make our company look soft, or like a pushover?
The answers are: at all levels no, and definitely not. Compassion and profitability
are not mutually exclusive, On the contrary, companies that are perceived as people-oriented
and good corporate citizens have a far better chance of succeeding than those that put
profits ahead of people.
Mackay's Moral: Helping someone up won't pull you down.
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