GIFTINGS

1. Power (ability) to get wealth

a) 18“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV)

2. Skills, Ability and Knowledge

a) "2Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. 4He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. 5He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft! (Exodus 31:2-5 NLT)

b) 6“And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make: (Exodus 31:6 NLT)

c) 30Then Moses told the people of Israel, “The Lord has specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. 32He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. 33He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft. 34And the Lord has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach their skills to others. 35The Lord has given them special skills as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen cloth, and weavers. They excel as craftsmen and as designers. (Exodus 35:30-35 NLT)

3. Wisdom (the application of knowledge)

a) 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:24 NIV)

b) 17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (James 3:17 NIV)

c) 11So God said to him (Solomon), “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (1 Kings 3:11-14 NIV)

d) 32He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33He spoke about29God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.t plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom. (1 Kings 4:29-34 NIV)

4. Administration

a) 28And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. (I Corinthians 12:28 NKJV)

b) The spiritual ‘gift of administration’ is the ability to turn God-given vision into reality. The word administration comes from the Latin and literally means ‘to’ (ad) ‘minister’. To administer is to do ministry. Paul lists it as one of the crucial gifts for building up the church so it must have been thought of as being quite crucial. The Spirit equips us with the ability to make things happen and to help church-life flourish.

c) Where can we get inspiration from?

i) We can get inspiration and encouragement from.

@1. Joseph

"Genesis chapters 41 – 47 tell the story of Joseph in Egypt during the years of plenty and the years of famine. Joseph was the individual chosen by God who was the only one who could interpret Pharaoh’s dreams despite Pharaoh trying others first (Gen 41:8). As a result of Joseph’s spiritual discernment Pharaoh appointed Joseph as overseer for Egypt (Gen 41:39 – 43).
With Joseph’s planning (and spiritual insight into what was going to happen) they were able to store up the excess famine from the years of plenty to help them in the years of famine (Gen 41:48 – 49, 56). And it was not just Egypt that suffered, but other countries around, but because of Joseph’s administration, Egypt led the way in surviving the famine (Gen 41:57)."

@2. Nehemiah

"Nehemiah was a cupbearer to king Artaxerxes in the Persian court. He is so concerned for his people in Jerusalem that for four months he continues to grieve and pray over the situation (Neh 1:4). When the opportunity comes he has a practical plan to put to the king (Neh 2:4 – 6). Nehemiah’s plans are accepted and he has documents prepared for safe passage and to provide initial materials (Neh 2:7 – 9). Nehemiah inspects the city in secret to formulate what needs to be done (Neh 2:11 – 16). The work required is shared; all sorts of people join together in the work of rebuilding. Nehemiah even gets people to work on sections nearest their homes as bit of local incentive (Neh 3). They have a dynamic leader/organizer; even when they face opposition Nehemiah has a secondary plan to get them to pray and to set a guard (Neh 4:9). The work was completed in 52 days and even those opposed to it had to acknowledge the Lord’s hand in it all (Neh 6:16).
Can we fix it? Yes we can!"

@3. Stephen

"Referred to above, but appointed with six others by the early church to administer the distribution of food to widows (Acts 6:1 – 6). The appointment of these seven enabled the other apostles and early church leaders to ‘prayer and the ministry of the word’ (Acts 6:3). It was important for them to segregate the work for the furtherance of the Kingdom. We don’t all have to be involved in everything, we can concentrate on specific areas of work, but we do need to be ‘known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom’ (Acts 6:3) so we can carry out our tasks as God-inspired administrators."

d) Administrators need to have the highest ideals in approach, in planning, a servant heart and a Christ-like attitude. Possibly a good listening ear and lots of patience!

‘...in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work’ (2 Cor 9:8) and, ‘this service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God’. (2 Cor 9:12).'e) Some practical points to help us:

i) Understand your faith

@1. We cannot separate the spiritual from the practical.

@2. Understand the ‘servant ministry’ of administration as it serves all other ministries and see it as a gift.

@3. Be enthusiastic – it may not be front-line, but it is given for its very purpose.

ii) Do not be afraid to ask ‘why?'

@1. Keep asking ‘why’, not ‘how’. Good administrators ask this all the time: ‘why do we do this?’ ‘why do we have this committee?’

@2. What are we aiming to achieve?

iii) Make lists

@1. Making a list helps clarify issues.

@2. Use creative thinkers or work where we can ‘think outside the box’. Have a vision – take risks – don’t compromise just for acceptability.

@3 .Rank items in the list and make priorities. As some things will matter the more, others will matter less.

iv) What matters in God’s plan?

@1. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

v) Agree on shared values.

iv) Put ourselves in other people’s shoes

@1. Try to see things from other people's perspective, not just yours. They will have a different view of the matter.

@2. Ask those outside! Don’t think that fellow-Christians have all the answers.

@3. Understand who we are – strengths, weaknesses, personality.

@4. Watch out for reactions of people and adapt accordingly.

v) The 3 ‘P’s – Past, Present and Predictions

@1. Learn from the past – but don’t be enslaved to it.

@2. Analyze the present to assess it.

@3. Dream dreams for the future (predictions). Ask - ‘what if?’

vi) Be realistic about resources

@1. Assess what is available, especially people and time.

@2. Don’t try to do too much or more than we can. Never let finance dictate mission. Budgets are about what we believe God wants us to do, not what is in the bank, but count the cost and be wise!

@3. Never be afraid to say ‘no’ or, ‘stop’.

@4. Know the standards we are working to, but also the expectations and resources.

vii) Do not be frightened to plan

@1. Christians should seek God’s plans and work within them.

@2. Learn from biblical planning – before the foundation of the world, the plan of salvation etc.

@3. Set clear aims and targets to achieve those aims.

@4. Pray first, plan second; not the other way round!

@5. Don’t be afraid to review and to assess past performance.

viii) Aim for simplicity

@1. However complex, seek a simple solution.

@2. Avoid unnecessary ‘baggages’.

@3. Be prepared to change at short notice.

@4. Look outwards, not inwards – don’t tie people up in our own internal machinery.

@5. Simple administration keeps the focus on the real mission – administration is a means to help achieve the mission God has given, not the mission itself.

5. Prayer focus

a) Pray for God's gifts so that as men & women of God, we can do exploit in the marketplace.