September 1, 2010
The fundamental message of the New Testament is that anyone who accepts Christ becomes a NEW creature. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new (NKJV).
If this truth is the foundation of Christian life … then Christians are in crisis.
All around us are Christians that sincerely believe in Jesus. They repent of their sins and then for a few weeks, months or years and they experience some moderate changes. Over time, though, we’re realizing that the average Christian lives absolutely no differently than an unbeliever.
We’ve become skeptics of life change. So is authentic, lasting change really possible?
ABSOLUTELY. I want to suggest to you that we, as the body of Christ, have no concept of how God brings about genuine life change. Over time we’ve picked up habits and behaviors that take us in all the wrong directions.
I believe that God wants to dramatically, permanently change our hearts and our lives. As believers, there are some things we need to know, a process we need to understand and actions we need to take to fully experience the total transformation that God desires for us.
Three Stages of Spiritual Metamorphosis
- Spiritual Birth – Your transformation begins when you are born again. In John 3 Jesus explains the difference between physical versus spiritual birth to Nicodemus. As Christians, our morphing process begins the moment we accept Jesus as our Savior.
- Spiritual Maturity – The process of spiritual maturity involves intake of God’s word, intimate relationship through prayer and growth within a community of believers. Through these steps the Spirit of God takes the word of God and over time our mind is renewed! Through our efforts and continued dependency on God’s grace we become more like Jesus, living our lives as Jesus would.
- Spiritual Reproduction - Do you know how to tell when a Christian is really mature? It’s when their own life is reproduced as the life of Christ that’s been birthed in them has transformed them to the degree that they now give their life away as God uses them to reach others. Once you reach this point, Jesus is not only working in you, but also working through you as He uses you to love others.
Have you ever wondered why we’re so driven to change? Here’s the thing - it’s part of our spiritual DNA. God has wired us to crave transformation because we’re created in His image. It’s no surprise that “self help” is a multi-billion dollar industry. We are immersed in a culture that glorifies man-made formulas for change: change in status, relationship, finances, career, mindset and personal fulfillment.
There’s a fundamental problem with the very premise of “self help” in relationship to God’s plan for His children, though. Where and how change is brought about in our lives is something that God cares very deeply about. In Romans 12:2 he tells us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
This week we begin a series called The Miracle of Life Change. In it, we’ll discover how God brings about genuine, lasting change. Your heavenly Father’s deepest desire for your life is dependent on your willingness to surrender your heart, mind and spirit to Him so fully that complete transformation is the only possible outcome. Are you ready to change for good?
Keep Pressin’ Ahead,
Chip Ingram
August 13, 2010
I don’t know about you, but there have been times in my life when I didn’t think God was so good. Perhaps you’ve also experienced circumstances where although you intellectually know that “God is good” that truth seems completely disconnected with the reality of your life.
I specifically remember a few times when I knew with absolute certainty what God was directing me to do … and realized that there wasn’t single part of me that truly wanted to do it! During those times, I try to step out in faith and do it God’s way despite my own reservations and desires. Often in doing so I’ve adopted a sort of attitude of entitlement, thinking “Man, if God’s ever going to bless me it’s going to be now because of this.”
Sometimes, though, life didn’t get better, it actually got worse! On several of those occasions I let God know just how angry I was with the outcome, and even threatened to check out of this so-called “Christian life” forever if He didn’t make things right. Let me tell you … I was dead serious about it, too.
When was the last time that you got a raw deal?
For many of us, this question is almost too painful to think about. Maybe a loved one betrayed you or someone got a promotion based on something other than ability. Perhaps you recall a painful discussion with your son or daughter about why sometimes, life just isn’t fair. For some, our mate walked out, a business relationship went south or you’ve watched others with questionable ethics seem to get ahead … again.
Now I’m going to encourage you, as painful as your experience was, to let that come to the surface so God can deal with it. Where have you experienced an injustice? Whatever it was, you may have been trying to do it “God’s way” and faced a painful outcome that just didn’t make sense or seem fair.
When you’re reeling from the fallout of a raw deal the temptation is to distance yourself from God. Whether from anger or pain, many people respond by pushing God further away or even out of their lives completely.
It was during a season like this that God revealed some key truths to me through Psalm 73 that can help us overcome the raw deals that we face in life.
Four Principles to Overcome YOUR “Raw Deal”
- OWN IT. If you want to overcome the raw deals in your life, pour out your heart to God. Face it, share it, get it on the table, tell God about it. Now this doesn’t mean pour it out to everyone else – it means take it before GOD and let Him be your counselor. Even Godly people struggle with doubts and confusion when God’s truth and their experience doesn’t mesh. It’s a fallen world and life isn’t fair. Until Jesus comes back that won’t change. That means that bad things happen to good people, and vice versa.
- CONSIDER YOUR CHOICES CAREFULLY. Anger and injustice can tempt us to do very stupid things. We’re prone to say things and act in ways that will be harmful to ourselves and to others. Oswald Chambers wisely observed, “It is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely.” If you walk away from God when things don’t go your way, don’t overlook the impact it will have on others. Besides being ultimately detrimental to our own relationship with God, your reaction to a raw deal has a ripple effect, and if you’re not careful you may burn bridges and hurt a lot of people.
- GET THE BIG PICTURE. When we see life through an eternal perspective we begin to realize what’s important and what’s not. So, how can you get that “big picture” instead of locking your emotional radar onto the person or situation that has wounded or angered you? Claim this truth: God is Good. God is sovereign. God is faithful. What I’m experiencing is no surprise to Him. God will turn my situation around and use it for good, if I don’t bail out on His plan. Hear this: every promise He’s made to you, He’s going to come through. In your timing? Probably not. But in the process, He’ll help you to become more like Christ, which is part of His big plan anyway!
- REAFFIRM YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. Ultimately, God’s presence is your only source of security and joy both now and forever. He is your portion. There’s a lot of good things in our lives but none of them have the power day in and day out to come through for us. The moment we begin to trust in them instead of God, they become an idol! Make a choice today, to give your raw deal to God, and to stay in His game plan. Trust that somehow He will turn it to good. When you continue to walk it through with Him I promise you that the day will come when YOU will tell of His works! You will be able to say “This terrible thing happened in my life and what a wonderful thing God has done through it.”
This week we’re beginning a new series called “How to Find God When You Need Him the Most.” In it, we’ll focus on how to stay connected to God in spite of the difficult and painful challenges that we all encounter. Whether you’ve been the victim of injustice, struggle with depression, feel overwhelmed and confused or maybe you’ve blown it big time – I promise you this: learning how to draw closer to God (especially when you feel like it the least) will have a transforming effect on your life.
Keep Pressin’ Ahead,
Chip Ingram
July 30, 2010
Have you ever heard a child pray in that kind of singsong way of reciting something that they’ve memorized? They know the words but there isn’t a lot of understanding or meaning behind them yet. If you want a great example of this, ask a kid to say grace before a meal when they’re really hungry. Man, you’ve never heard someone pray so fast in your life! The words run together and you sense their urgency to say grace fast and get to the food!
Sometimes though, we hear the completely innocent, conversational prayer of a kid just sharing their heart with God. These are my favorite! They are usually free-flowing and can go on for indefinite periods of time, spanning everything from what happened that day to praying about grandma and the family pet, asking God’s help to find a lost toy, you name it, it’s in the mix. This kind of prayer is heartfelt and completely unaffected by pretense.
I want to suggest that for many of us, our tendency is to pray like that hungry kid, anxious to get the prayer out of the way and get on with things. Perhaps we’re in a hurry, not really comfortable with prayer or simply not “feeling it.” Before you know it, our prayers take on a stale, rote quality and we fall into patterns, saying the same things again and again.
For some adults, praying is much more affected by who we’re praying with instead of who we’re praying to. Most of the time, our subconscious focus is on the words we’re saying. We’re thinking about other people in the room and what they might think about what we’re saying or for some of us, we’re just operating on “auto pilot.” In either case, the connection that our prayers give us to God is completely missed.
In the early church the focus was not on what was said but on who they were speaking to. The emphasis was on GOD, and their prayers were unto God.
How would your prayers change if you began by recognizing that you are entering into the very presence of the Almighty God?
Try this: the next time you pray, before you utter a single syllable, take a few moments and just think about who God REALLY IS. Almighty God, all-powerful, Creator of heaven and earth and Lamb of God. Doing this will transform your prayer life. When you consciously become aware of and focus on WHO you’re speaking to, all of a sudden the size of your problems and your emotional struggles shrink because it’s like bringing pennies to a multi-billionaire. Can he change your problems? You’d better believe it!
Now I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just have a hard time “getting there” with God. I know I need to pray, but to be honest, I’m just not feeling it. Have you ever experienced that?
There’s an old phrase called “breaking through” or “praying through” that means pushing past that point. The truth is that most of us quit praying before we break through. Sometimes it can take me 10 – 15 minutes (or more) to break through. Once you DO, though, heaven opens up and the spirit of God ushers you in! God wants to do this in your prayer life on a daily basis. If we never “get there” with God, the rest of these things don’t matter much, do they?
Over the next few weeks we’ll begin a series called “The Power of Prayer” that explores how to infuse practical, Biblical principles into your prayer in truly transformational ways. We’ll examine the Biblical framework for prayer, including the role that the Holy Spirit plays in helping us “pray though” and really meet God.
What areas of your life do you long for an “extreme makeover?” Maybe it’s your relationships, your finances, or something you’d like to change about yourself. Transformation may feel so far beyond your reach that the situation seems downright impossible.
Here’s the thing: God wants to move in on that impossible situation. Learn how to “pray through” and pray unto Him, and you’ll tap into a genuine connection with your Heavenly Father unlike anything you’ve experienced. Are you ready to breakthrough?
Keep Pressin’ Ahead,
Chip Ingram
July 22, 2010
Some years ago after a routine doctor’s visit my wife got the call you never want to receive. Something had shown up and more tests were required. I was gripped by fear – afraid of the unknown. All of our children were living at home at the time, and my mind went into overdrive, imagining every possible scenario – most of them “worst case.” I was afraid that God would fail me. I was afraid that God would abandon me. I was afraid that God wouldn’t do what I wanted Him to do.
There I was, pursuing ministry and telling people about trusting Jesus with every aspect of their lives, and God tested ME. He called on me to step up to the plate and meet him, head on, in the midst of some of the deepest fear I’d ever experienced. Ultimately, this particular situation turned out ok. We were blessed to learn that Theresa’s tests came back just fine, but the experience had a profound impact on us.
It seems like the “unknowns” people face on a day-to-day basis are at an all-time high. Many people are facing significant and frightening challenges in all areas of their lives: health, finances, family and career. I recently spoke at a men’s Bible study and within the first five minutes I met four people who were unemployed. For them, the unknown was how to provide for their families. They shared with me fears about losing their homes and wondered how long their savings or retirement accounts could sustain them.
What is your great “unknown?” We all have deep-seeded fears within us that can shake us to our very core. Is it really possible to live with peace and confidence when facing such uncertainty?
Here’s the thing: uncertain times aren’t new. As Christians, how we react in the face of the unknown may be the most fundamental, strategic opportunity for the body of Christ in decades. God placed you in your life, your neighborhood, your job, your church and your family for a reason, with the complete knowledge that this time would come. He knew the precise moment you would be called on to face your fears. He did so with a specific plan in mind for YOU.
Confidence doesn’t come from getting what we want and peace is not a by-product of prosperity. Our ability to carry on in times of adversity comes directly from God’s grace; from the personal knowledge that He will meet us where we’re at and help us make it through every situation.
At some point in the future someone will come to you, scared and full of anxiety, and you need to be equipped to share with them. You’ll have an opportunity to introduce them to the God of Peace, and you can’t do that if you say all the right things but inside are paralyzed by fear and blinded by the unknown.
This week we begin a new series called “Facing the Future with Confidence.” In it, we’ll examine what God taught Joshua in the midst of some pretty overwhelming and uncertain times. We’ll learn Biblical truths that, when activated in our lives, help transform God’s promises from “head knowledge” to “heart knowledge.”
You don’t have to live in fear of the unknown. You cannot fail because God will give you what you need, and you won’t be abandoned because God will never leave you. Whatever unknown you’re facing, God is presenting you with an opportunity – how will you respond?
Keep Pressin’ Ahead,
Chip Ingram
July 6, 2010
Why do our dreams about marriage so often end up in nightmares?
Marriage research reveals …
- Most couples don’t understand the difference between love and infatuation.
- Most couples have significant baggage from past family or other relationships.
- Most couples lack good communication skills.
- Most couples have hidden or unrealistic expectations.
- Most couples come from homes where they didn’t see deep love and commitment modeled by their parents.
As Frances Schaeffer said “Sometimes the greatest deterrent to a very good marriage is the belief that you ought to have a perfect one.” The very idea that the perfect marriage exists and that there’s a “perfect person” somewhere out there for you is a lie straight from the pit of hell.
We all have dreams about marriage that represent our “ultimate” vision of what marriage will be like; so rarely does the real thing measure up.
God has a dream for marriage and he plants it in our heart – but understanding God’s dream for marriage and actually living it are two very different things. Most people fall into 3 categories when it comes to God’s plan for marriage:
- They have no clue what God’s blueprint for marriage blueprint
- They have some idea what God’s plan for is but don’t know how to attain it
- They “get it” and are living it to the very fullest
Even if you fall into the “got it” category, chances are that you’ve experienced all three stages at various times throughout your marriage. There are many seasons of marriage and God gives grace through each season, and there are things we have to work on – but know this:
Until Jesus comes – you will never achieve a “perfect marriage.”
The whole world will tell you that there’s someone out there and they look a certain way, and own certain things, and they’ll provide certain things. God created marriage and made you for oneness. The root for oneness cannot be found in the world – the root to oneness begins with God.
What we need in our marriages is the ability to NOT need our mate. Sounds counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? Think about it, though – what happens when you put pressure on someone? By placing the expectation on your husband or wife to always come through for you, to never fail and to meet all of your needs, you set an impossible standard. Buying into this thinking sets your spouse up for failure! As the weight of that pressure increases, many people can’t handle it and they pull away or even run away.
See, God says you need to find your sufficiency in HIM. When we do so we’re able to become a “giver” in our marriage, which ultimately draws us closer to God.
The greatest thing you will ever do in your marriage is to walk with God.
This month we’ll begin the series “Experiencing God’s Dream for Your Marriage.” In it, we’ll explore God’s dream for marriage and look at how we can live in passionate pursuit of that dream. Whether you’ve been married for 20 minutes or 20 years, striving to fulfill God’s desires in your life and marriage is the most powerful transformational tools you have available.
Marriage isn’t easy. Just look at all the couples throwing in the towel and walking away from their marriages. But there is hope. Your marriage REALLLY can be positive, rich, intimate and deeply satisfying. God, the designer and architect of great relationships has provided us with a blueprint for building a great marriage … so let the construction begin!
Keep Pressin’ Ahead,
Chip Ingram
June 22, 2010
This is not your average blog post!
It was exactly three years ago that I made the biggest ministry decision of my life. I left a secure job with good pay and a global ministry platform to pursue my “God-ordained passion” of teaching and discipleship. We launched with no money, no backers, and no plan B! But I was convinced that helping Christians live like Christians was, “THIS ONE THING I MUST DO.” In response to that step of faith …
God brought people, a place & provision.
We have experienced three years of life change, grassroots momentum, supernatural growth, and international expansion, enabling us to:
- Build r12 Online, an interactive discipleship website
- Give away millions of digital downloads
- Launch 35,000 small groups
- Create the r12 book & small group study
- Broadcast to the entire Middle East on a state-owned television satellite
- Create, test and launch the r12 church-wide campaign
Why the quick 3 year review? It’s simply to say with Nehemiah that “the good hand of My God is upon me [us]… so let us arise and build!”
We are committed to put the r12 campaign resources in the hands of 10,000 pastors this fall.
Recently we completed the r12 church campaign at Venture Church and saw the most dramatic change in a church and Christians I’ve ever witnessed. Hundreds of people surrendered their lives to God. First-time volunteers surfaced to meet needs. Weekend service attendance grew exponentially. Small groups grew from a handful to over 200. We gave away 45,000 lbs of food for local food banks, and our giving increased by double-digits. In other words, God transformed the landscape of our church. Today our church understands exactly where we’re going and they’re “all in”!
I encourage you to watch the Venture Church Story to learn more about our experience.
We’ve taken what we learned and created a set of tools and resources for pastors to experience what we saw happen at Venture. Over the last 30 days alone we’ve provided 1,500 pastors with these r12 campaign resources to review. You can help equip churches with r12 Resources when you donate between now and July 15.
Our nation is imploding for lack of godly values like integrity, accountability, fiscal responsibility, moral courage and sexual fidelity. We lack godly values in America because Christians have been distracted and seduced from within and without.
We’ve lost our voice because we’ve lost our spine. We’ve lost our influence because our love for people has been replaced by our lust for power and pleasure. We’ve trusted in programs and politics more than prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. We care more about the Dow Jones average than those that are down and out.
If only 1,000 churches participate this fall it would mean 2.5 million learning what it means to be a disciple. We are asking God for 2,500 churches… that’s over six million Christians across America becoming Christians who live like Christians! The R&D is done! The beta tests are over! Now is the time! Today is the day!
Let us arise and build!
- The Need = $500,000 this June to launch the r12 church-wide campaign over America.
- The Provision = “A Match” – every dollar given before July 15 will be doubled up to $401,000!
- The Plan = A gift of $25 will allow us to send a pastor the r12 resources they need to get their church involved in the r12 campaign.
- The Prayer = This launch is the culmination of all God has been doing through Living on the Edge in the last 3 years. We are “stepping out” with all our resources asking our God to begin a grassroots movement among churches that will result in Christians living like Christians all across America.
- The Participation = It will require all of us to join together. This is a huge step of faith. Will you give much if you have much; a little if you have little, and something if you have never given before?
Give now, and your gift will be doubled. That means a gift of $25 will actually support 2 churches. A gift of $50, 4 churches; a gift of $100, 8 churches, and so on. Please join with us this month as we help churches build Christians that live like Christians.
Let us arise and build, together!
Chip Ingram
June 14, 2010
Over the last few decades, people’s idea of family has changed pretty dramatically. As broken homes increase at exponential rates, our culture has normalized this trend, now recognizing it as the standard instead of the exception. In fact, in recent years the divorce rate in Christian homes has superseded non-Christian homes.
As the children of second, third and even fourth generation broken homes set about shaping their own families, the gaps they need to close grow painfully wider. Family dysfunction is on the rise as family values are eroding. Countless parents and children have emerged from painful environments battle-weary and completely lacking any context of what a healthy, balanced family dynamic looks like.
What hasn’t changed, though, is the longing that each of us has for deep connections with those we love. Who among us doesn’t desire unconditional love able to withstand the toughest storms of life?
Rich, genuine relationships that stand the test of time have the power to transform a mere house into a true home.
It all boils down to relationship. Our ability to build, maintain, grow and even heal our relationships. These skills must be taught and modeled through intentional choices and a Godly blueprint.
When parents express unconditional love, schedule time for their children, focus attention on them, look into their eyes, maintain ongoing communication, have fun together, and pray together; it’s like putting money in a relational bank. And that investment gains a lot of interest over time.
This month we begin House or Home? Eight Essentials for Building a Close-Knit Family. We’ll look to Ephesians 5:21 – 6:3 as the “model home” for Godly families. As we explore the scriptural foundation for family, we’ll discover a model for living together in ways that enrich your day-to-day life.
This series is more than a pragmatic guide about improving relationships. How we live in our families reflects God’s relationships with His people, and God has chosen the family as His metaphor. When our families live in a way that honors our relationship with God, we are an expression of His grace, love and forgiveness to our world. When our families fall into confusion and disarray, that foundational building block is undermined.
It’s time to go back to the blueprint – won’t you join me?
Keep Pressin’ Ahead,
Chip Ingram
June 2, 2010
What if God’s dream for your children isn’t about their happiness?
Now, that’s not to say that God doesn’t care about their happiness; He does. But what if their happiness is only a gracious by-product of His primary agenda for their lives? What if we, as parents, are unconsciously working against God’s best plan for our kids?
That would mean that we need a completely different parenting paradigm to raise effective kids in this defective, hostile world.
Bringing up confident, Christ-centered kids in a culture that is at odds with scriptural priorities is no easy task. As parents, we often act based on cultural cues and pressures we don’t even recognize. There are many parenting myths that run rampant in our culture.
God says that my goal as a parent is not to make my kids happy; but to make my kids holy—set apart for God.
Our culture’s focus on making our kids happy is dangerously shortsighted. The result is children who constantly strive for more and better. Happiness is always just out of reach, because more and better is never enough. They are never content.
In contrast, the by-product of holiness is joy. If our focus is on cultivating the character of God in our children, we’ll be setting them up for the kind of happiness that comes from genuine, deep joy—both now and forever.
This month we begin a series called Effective Parenting in a Defective World. In it, we’ll examine some powerful, timeless principles from God’s Word that help parents prepare their kids for the world they live in. I pray that as you learn how to apply a Biblical paradigm for parenting, that God would expose popular myths and equip you to develop kids that truly stand out from the crowd.
Keep Pressin’ Ahead,
Chip Ingram
May 17, 2010
Do you remember your very first moment of spiritual awareness as a child? I’m talking about the first time that you sensed the presence of God and realized there was something bigger than yourself. For me, I was eight or nine years old. I was an altar boy, and I would carry this cross up the center aisle of our A-frame church with the pastor following me. I sat to the side of the altar, and this one particular morning the sun was just pouring through the floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows and hit the base of the cross.
Now at that point I had no theological training, obviously. I wasn’t in a church where the Bible was taught, but in spite of that I had this amazing sense that God was real. I had all kinds of thoughts cascading through my mind that I’d never had before: “I wonder what God’s like? I wonder why I’m here. If God made everything, I wonder why he made me? What am I supposed to do with my life?”
Then I had an emotional, God experience. I felt an overwhelming sense of love and acceptance. I remember telling my mom and dad afterwards, “I want to be the altar boy for the 8 a.m. service every week from now on.”
Well, my newfound spiritual passion lasted less than six days because the next week I realized that I didn’t really want to wake up that early. In fact, almost ten years transpired between that first “God moment” and the summer when I accepted Jesus Christ at an FCA basketball camp. Now there were other “God moments” along the way that made me think about stuff and ask questions that I’d never considered before about faith.
Looking back, I’m struck by the realization that God used each of those encounters – connecting the dots between them – to form the path that would ultimately lead me to the precise place that He needed me to be. Those dots were not individual moments, but a journey.
Earlier this year we did a series called r12: True Spirituality. In it, we explored Romans 12 as relational, grace-based pathway to true spirituality. Romans 12 is a passage that God has used in transformational ways in my life, my faith and my ministry. I can’t even express the joy that I felt as story upon story poured in from listeners, small groups and churches during r12! In fact, God took r12 to a whole new level in my own church, Venture, as we began a six week journey for all ages that really brought these principles to life, culminating in a massive outreach to our local community called Feed the Need.
You can see some of those stories for yourself in the r12 Stories section of our Web site.
Now, the principles outlined in Romans 12 give us a framework for how to grow as an authentic disciple of Jesus. They clearly define a journey that we’re ALL called to take. This journey began long before the teachings of Romans 12, though. As we begin r12 RETRO we’ll revisit r12 from a completely different perspective found in the Old Testament. We’ll examine the individual faith journeys of some of the fathers of our faith, like Abraham, Daniel, Moses, David & Jonathan and Joseph. Essentially they serve as the “prequels” to r12 Christianity.
During r12 RETRO we’ll focus on how these spiritual leaders responded in the face of many of the same challenges that tend to slow, stall and completely stop our own faith journeys today.
Many of you received a free copy of the book Living on the Edge or the new DVD True Spirituality According to Jesus back in January when we launched the r12 Series. The stories that began pouring in from that series haven’t stopped yet, and we realized that this message has far more momentum behind it we could have imagined! If you already have these materials, we want to help you take the next step with resources to help you share what you’re learning with others. If you missed the series and find yourself intrigued, this is the perfect time to begin your own journey to true spirituality. As you listen online, you can take the next step in your r12 journey by requesting a FREE DVD of True Spirituality According to Jesus.
God’s got a lot to say on the subject of true spirituality. This is a journey that we’re all on, and it’s designed to refine and grow us as authentic Disciples of Christ. Through it we’ll make an indelible mark on the world. Understanding and applying the principles of r12 may be the transformational key to closing the gap between faith and action in our hearts, our families, our churches and our world.
Keep Pressin’ Ahead,
Chip
May 5, 2010
When the topic of Spiritual Gifts comes up in church, I’ve observed that it typically evokes two responses in people – one of great passion or one of casual indifference. Now this is a topic that I’m personally very passionate about, but that wasn’t always the case. To explain what I mean by that, let me give you some background about my own journey that you may be able to relate to.
When I look back over my life so far, I see several distinct eras. The first is what I think of as the “Era of Ignorance.” It’s pretty much just like it sounds: I was clueless. I didn’t grow up as a Christian nor did I open a Bible until I was about eighteen years old. I wouldn’t have recognized a spiritual gift if it jumped out and bit me, much less have known what to do with it.
The next era of my journey is what I call the “Era of Confusion.” During this time I was only a few years old in the Lord, and whenever I heard people talking about spiritual gifts, they were arguing. I witnessed many heated debates about which spiritual gifts were better, holier, etc. In fact, there was so much arguing about it, that I became paralyzed and decided that I didn’t want ANY spiritual gifts if that’s what it produced! I sort of put all that I’d heard about spiritual gifts on the back burner and wanted no part of it.
Now fast forward several years to my time in seminary, which I think of as the “Era of Discovery.” I made a choice not to be ignorant anymore and did a word study on every single spiritual gift. I traced the etymology, applied the Greek that I’d learned and followed the reference of each gift throughout the Bible.
Through these studies I gained a lot of knowledge about spiritual gifts, which has been very helpful. Here’s the “nutshell” version of what I discovered:
- Every Christian is given one or more spiritual gifts and most have a primary spiritual gift.
- Spiritual gifts can be abused or neglected, but if they’re received in salvation they can never be lost.
- Although you’re given your spiritual gift at the moment of regeneration, it’s not uncommon for a spiritual gift to lie dormant or undiscovered for years.
- Spiritual gifts aren’t the same as the gift of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit means coming to faith (being born again). Spiritual gifts are divine and intended for service.
- There’s a distinct difference between spiritual gifts and spiritual fruit. Spiritual fruit has to do with character – the life of Christ made in me. Spiritual gifts have to do with service and empowerment to build others in the body of Christ.
- Spiritual Gifts are different than natural talents. Natural talents are abilities that we get in our physical DNA – when we’re born. Spiritual gifts are what we get in our spiritual DNA when we’re born again.
- The word for “gift” – charismata – literally means a grace gift. That means that whatever spiritual gift we have, we didn’t earn but were given sovereignly by the Holy Spirit because he has a purpose for our lives. We’re to walk unto good works, meaning that it’s not just a gift – we’re meant to use it!
So I learned all of these basic principles and I could define them. The end result was a sort of “salad bar” of knowledge about the various and diverse areas of spiritual gifts. I could describe each of them and where they came from. I could tell you which ones I thought I had, and boiled it down to five or six general spiritual gifts that I identified with.
What I can tell you is that all of this knowledge had little or no impact on my life.
My final (and current) era is the most significant. I’d describe it as the “Era of Empowerment.” This era was the result of discovering that God had given me the PRIMARY spiritual gift of prophecy and a cluster of ministry gifts, like teaching, through which that gift is expressed. This realization truly began to reshape the decisions I make, which in turn has transformed my life and my ministry.
Where are you at when it comes to spiritual gifts? Are you in the era of ignorance, confusion, discovery or empowerment?
Understanding what your primary spiritual gift is and how it fits with the purpose that God has for your life is absolutely empowering and brings incredible focus to everyday choices. It can shift you from “stalled” to “supercharged” in your career, relationships and ministry.
We’re beginning a new series this week called “Your Divine Design.” In it, we’ll unpack four major Biblical passages about spiritual gifts and look at a framework to organize these passages. Through this journey, we’ll examine your motivational (i.e. “core”) gifts as described in scripture as well as God’s intentions for how we’re meant to express our spiritual gifts.
If you’re reading this and are unsure of exactly what your primary spiritual gift is or feeling as if you know but haven’t found the right outlet for your gifting – don’t worry! This series is a great starting point whether you’re ready to discover, develop or deploy your unique gifts.
READY TO LEARN MORE? REQUEST A FREE DVD.
God has a unique purpose for your life, and learning how to discover, develop and deploy your particular spiritual gift plays a huge part in fulfilling that purpose. Now through May 15 you can request a FREE COPY of the new DVD Your Divine Design. It’s my heart’s desire that through this series God would reveal your particular gifting to you in such a way that your life and ministry will be transformed and magnified like never before.
Keep Pressin’ Ahead,
Chip
