Day 11/9 – Biblical Gifts

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Biblical Gifts
Day Three Hundred Thirteen

“…so that the church may be edified.” 1 Corinthians 14:5

God included a great deal of teaching in the New Testament regarding the distribution and regulation of Spiritual gifts. He states His objective in these words of Paul to the Corinthians; He wants His church edified. Thus the New Testament writers give direction regarding the variety of gifts and how they are to be used. Note, however, that the emphasis is on the various gifts and there expression, and not on the quality of any particular gift. Paul, for example, never discusses whether one person is a better teacher than another, and what to do in such a situation.

Today the emphasis seems to be a bit different. We spend energy debating whether certain gifts expressed in the New Testament church are valid during this period of history. And we evaluate people who have the same gift, concluding that one does a better job in, for example, evangelism or teaching, than another. Pastors are evaluated on whether they are good preachers, not whether they have the gift. We want the man with the best expression of the gift to be our pastor.

Such an emphasis contributes to a spirit of comparison and pride, vices the Holy Spirit intended to be brought into check by His distribution of the gifts. These kinds of evaluation foster divisiveness. As you evaluate the giftedness of people, make sure you do it from a biblical mindset.

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Jeremiah 46-47 Hebrews 6 (New King James Version)

Jeremiah 46-47
Judgment on Egypt
46 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the nations. 2 Against Egypt.
Concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3
“Order[a] the [b]buckler and shield,
And draw near to battle!
4
Harness the horses,
And mount up, you horsemen!
Stand forth with your helmets,
Polish the spears,
Put on the armor!
5
Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back?
Their mighty ones are beaten down;
They have speedily fled,
And did not look back,
For fear was all around,” says the Lord.
6
“Do not let the swift flee away,
Nor the mighty man escape;
They will stumble and fall
Toward the north, by the River Euphrates.
7
“Who is this coming up like a flood,
Whose waters move like the rivers?
8
Egypt rises up like a flood,
And its waters move like the rivers;
And he says, ‘I will go up and cover the earth,
I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.’
9
Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots!
And let the mighty men come forth:
[c]The Ethiopians and [d]the Libyans who handle the shield,
And the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.
10
For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
A day of vengeance,
That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries.
The sword shall devour;
It shall be [e]satiated and made drunk with their blood;
For the Lord God of hosts has a sacrifice
In the north country by the River Euphrates.
11
“Go up to Gilead and take balm,
O virgin, the daughter of Egypt;
In vain you will use many medicines;
You shall not be cured.
12
The nations have heard of your shame,
And your cry has filled the land;
For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty;
They both have fallen together.”
Babylonia Will Strike Egypt
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon would come and strike the land of Egypt.
14
“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;
Proclaim in [f]Noph and in Tahpanhes;
Say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves,
For the sword devours all around you.’
15
Why are your valiant men swept away?
They did not stand
Because the Lord drove them away.
16
He made many fall;
Yes, one fell upon another.
And they said, ‘Arise!
Let us go back to our own people
And to the land of our nativity
From the oppressing sword.’
17
They cried there,
‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise.
He has passed by the appointed time!’
18
“As I live,” says the King,
Whose name is the Lord of hosts,
“Surely as Tabor is among the mountains
And as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come.
19
O you daughter dwelling in Egypt,
Prepare yourself to go into captivity!
For [g]Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant.
20
“Egypt is a very pretty heifer,
But destruction comes, it comes from the north.
21
Also her mercenaries are in her midst like [h]fat bulls,
For they also are turned back,
They have fled away together.
They did not stand,
For the day of their calamity had come upon them,
The time of their punishment.
22
Her noise shall go like a serpent,
For they shall march with an army
And come against her with axes,
Like those who chop wood.
23
“They shall cut down her forest,” says the Lord,
“Though it cannot be searched,
Because they are innumerable,
And more numerous than grasshoppers.
24
The daughter of Egypt shall be ashamed;
She shall be delivered into the hand
Of the people of the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring punishment on [i]Amon of No,[j] and Pharaoh and Egypt, with their gods and their kings—Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 And I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of his servants. Afterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old,” says the Lord.
God Will Preserve Israel
27
“But do not fear, O My servant Jacob,
And do not be dismayed, O Israel!
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your offspring from the land of their captivity;
Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease;
No one shall make him afraid.
28
Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the Lord,
“For I am with you;
For I will make a complete end of all the nations
To which I have driven you,
But I will not make a complete end of you.
I will rightly correct you,
For I will not leave you wholly unpunished.”
Judgment on Philistia
47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.
2 Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, waters rise out of the north,
And shall be an overflowing flood;
They shall overflow the land and all that is in it,
The city and those who dwell within;
Then the men shall cry,
And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.
3
At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses,
At the rushing of his chariots,
At the rumbling of his wheels,
The fathers will not look back for their children,
[k]Lacking courage,
4
Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines,
To cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains;
For the Lord shall plunder the Philistines,
The remnant of the country of Caphtor.[l]
5
Baldness has come upon Gaza,
Ashkelon is cut off
With the remnant of their valley.
How long will you cut yourself?
6
“O you sword of the Lord,
How long until you are quiet?
Put yourself up into your scabbard,
Rest and be still!
7
How can [m]it be quiet,
Seeing the Lord has given it a charge
Against Ashkelon and against the seashore?
There He has appointed it.”
Footnotes:
• Jeremiah 46:3 Set in order
• Jeremiah 46:3 A small shield
• Jeremiah 46:9 Heb. Cush
• Jeremiah 46:9 Heb. Put
• Jeremiah 46:10 Filled to the full
• Jeremiah 46:14 Ancient Memphis
• Jeremiah 46:19 Ancient Memphis
• Jeremiah 46:21 Lit. calves of the stall
• Jeremiah 46:25 A sun god
• Jeremiah 46:25 Ancient Thebes
• Jeremiah 47:3 Lit. From sinking hands
• Jeremiah 47:4 Crete
• Jeremiah 47:7 Lit. you

Hebrews 6
The Peril of Not Progressing
6 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to [a]perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this [b]we will do if God permits.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 [c]if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
A Better Estimate
9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and [d]labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become [e]sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
God’s Infallible Purpose in Christ
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the [f]immutability of His counsel, [g]confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two [h]immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we [i]might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Footnotes:
• Hebrews 6:1 maturity
• Hebrews 6:3 M let us do
• Hebrews 6:6 Or and have fallen away
• Hebrews 6:10 NU omits labor of
• Hebrews 6:12 lazy
• Hebrews 6:17 unchangeableness of His purpose
• Hebrews 6:17 guaranteed
• Hebrews 6:18 unchangeable
• Hebrews 6:18 M omits might