Saturday, November 23, 2013

DAY 553 - Spiritual Gifts Is Not for Show off (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)


**NEW link for the  15th: 13th 100 days 24 hours prayer campaign (We are going to use this 13th list leads up to the 15th. 13th from March 15 to June 22, 2013. 14th from June 22 to August 31, 2013, 15th from Sept. 1, 2013 to Dec. 9. 2013)

Want to know why I have been writing and recording my blogs and podcast daily since August 10, 2009? Click these three links:

Confirmation from John Stott in 2009: 
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html
My MicroMacro Discipleship, A missing DNA in Discipleship Development: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/introduction-micromacro-discipleship.html
Subject Shifting Devotion Method(Inspired by John Stott in 1991: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

                               Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 14:20-25
** If you would like to learn a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please read my “Count Down 5” from my Devotion on Fire blog:
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html
To use this simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link:
 .Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf

Please click this link to read 1 Corinthians 14:20-25

Bible Study

     This is an important passage in the Bible to tell us how to rightly use our spiritual gifts, especially the gift of speaking in tongues. The key is not to show off or even not to use this gift to those unbelievers. It just won't help but may cause serious damage. 


Bishop N.T. Wright says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright ) :
     Paul says, tongues are not a sign for believers; those who believe don't need to be addressed in this way as a mark of God's displeasure.  But if those outside, the 'unbelievers', come into the house where Christians are worshipping, and discover people speaking in tongues, they will be repelled.  Paul may be thinking that such outsiders would conclude that Christianity was just another of various cults in which people went into trance-like ectasies and uttered strange things; or he may just be thinking, as he says in verse 23, that they will think the Christians are simply mad; but either way the effect will be negative.  Tongues, then, are not likely to be useful in a public worship service, unless the tongue-speaker can also express in plain speech the meaning of what has been uttered.
     Prophecy, speaking God's word intelligibly, both under spontaneous prompting by the spirit and after mature and careful thought, is designed to further the work of bringing people to faith...The prophetic words shine a spotlight that goes right into their innermost selves, bringing a sense of unworthiness, conviction and judgment.  No other power has been able to do that to them, and they will fall down in worship to the one true God whom they have recognized as present in and with the congregation. 

N.T. Wright. Paul for Everyone:1 Corinthians. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.194-195.

      So, you need to be careful of how to exercise your spiritual gifts, especially if you have the gift of speaking in tongues. What is Jesus saying to you now?


Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

Spiritual Journal

    What I heard from Jesus today is: Spiritual gifts is not to show off 

    What I got from Jesus today is a warning to all of us not to show off our spiritual gifts. It gives us a clear and direct teaching of how to rightly use our spiritual gifts. The key is that if some people think that you are 'mad' when you are using your spiritual gifts, then your gift won't help someone to believe but serve as a means to kick him or her out of knowing Jesus.

     The right use of the gift of prophecy especially through preaching will certainly bring people to Jesus or even help them to repent and fall down to worship Jesus. As Bishop N.T. Wright explains what does it means by the word "prophecy" - where 'outsiders' hear powerful words, preaching, exhortation, specially given wisdom, and so on, and find themselves captivated by it. (page 194)

     Don't act like a mad Christian, it just won't help. People are watching you when you are worshiping. Just as verse 25 says, we need to use our gift rightly so that people will say "God is so real!", "God is really among you", "Emmanuel is so true"! 

Dear Lord Jesus, 
Lead us to be able to use our spiritual gifts well so that we can bring more people to you.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Please click this link to worship with us -

一首愛歌


10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) Matt Redman
You may choose to follow my other daily blog: 
Daily Devotion on Fire 2(2 years plan -One year New Testament, one year Old Testament): 
http://bishopsilas2.blogspot.ca/
Daily Devotion on Fire (3 years and 3 months plan, one chapter a day to finish reading the whole Bible): 
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/
Break.Build (40 days daily devotion- For Renewal or First Step for new Christians): http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

Emmanuel330 (40 weeks First Step Bible Study): 
http://emmanuel330.blogspot.ca/

This blog:

Discipler 123 (Daily devotion using N.T. Wright's NT for Everyone as source)
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我呼求的日子，所有強敵都要轉身退後!

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