Perception vs Persecution

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

Acts 4:29

How often, in the presence of those outside of church, do I speak God's word with great boldness?  Definitely not as often or in the way I would feel comfortable doing so...and I know there are plenty of times when I clamp my mouth shut during a conversation, even if the Words are burning inside me and want to come out.

So what stops me?  In a word, it's perception.  I get it all worked up in my head that my audience either doesn't want to hear it, won't understand it, or will feel like we don't have anything in common and will turn away from me.  What's funny is that those reasons seem like such a big deal in my head...but now that I'm looking at them on paper, they seem so small...and yet I know they still have power over me.  Ugh

The interesting thing about all that is the realization that I've been calling it persecution!  I don't have people like the Sadducees questioning my faith and tossing me in jail for believing in Jesus.  I don't have to worry about being judged by the same council that crucified the Lord.  Now that's persecution...being constantly harassed and oppressed.  I don't have those things...I'm just socially uncomfortable and worried that people will reject my friendship.

Then how does boldness begin?  It's defined as being "fearless before danger - self assured".  I know in my heart that God wants nothing more than for me to speak His truth to others, and be the salt and light He's called me to be.  But I need to find the boldness our reading talks about today.  The apostles didn't rely on themselves for their boldness...they prayed and received their power from the Holy Spirit.  I can look back at verses 24-30 to see how they prayed.  First, they gave thanks and told God about their problem.  Then they asked for His help...not that He would take the problem away, but for help to deal with it.  If they needed prayer and His Spirit to do what they were called to, then surely I do too!!  Guess I've got some work to do...

Spiritual Gifts

Our service last week touched on this so got me thinking... what the heck are mine? I am like a jack of all trades I like to think. Well I took a quiz and here is what it said. My top two dominate gifts were Administration and Evangelism. I guess I can see where I may fit their description. Here is a brief summary:

The results of your Spiritual Gifts Inventory indicate that your number one dominant gift is ADMINISTRATION! The Greek word "kubernesis" means one who steers a ship. This expert had the responsibility to bring a ship into the harbor through the rocks and shoals, under all types of pressures. As an administrator you have the Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by organizing, administering, promoting, and leading the various affairs of the church. The administrator is not a glorified file clerk.

As an administrator you are a take-charge person who jumps in and starts giving orders when no one is in charge. You will put a plan on paper and start delegating responsibility. You may lean toward organizing things, events or programs, OR toward organizing people, emphasizing personal relationships and leadership responsibilities. In the first case, you usually organize details and have people carry them out. In the second case, you tend to organize people and rely on others to take care of the little things.

You don't often admit to mistakes and do not like to take time to explain why you are doing things; you just expect the job to get done. If things in the church, office, club, etc. become fragmented, you can harmonize the whole program if given a chance. You are a person with a dream and are not afraid to attempt the impossible. You are goal-oriented, well-disciplined, and work best under heavy pressure. You are often a good motivator and not a procrastinator. You are serious minded, highly motivated, intense, and have an accurate self-image. You tend to be more interested in the welfare of the group than your own desire. You are probably a perfectionist and want things done your way now.

The results of your Spiritual Gifts Inventory indicate that your second dominant gift is EVANGELISM! That does not necessarily mean you are supposed to travel the world, preaching the Gospel. The Greek word "Euangelistes" means to proclaim glad tidings, a messenger of good. It denotes a proclaimer of the Gospel. The evangelist can either be a preacher who stands before a crowd, imploring them to be saved, or perhaps an individual sitting in a living room or on a plane, trying to persuade someone to accept Christ. As an evangelist you have the Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by leading people who are beyond your natural sphere of influence to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. You are sometimes classified as the aggressive soulwinner who seeks the lost.

As an evangelist you are likely very outgoing and personable. You compliment even strangers and are not afraid to ask them questions about their lifestyle - such as where they work, what hobbies they have, what's their favorite sports team, where they were born, and do they attend church. This opens the door to talk about their relationship with Jesus Christ - something you're just itching to do. Be careful not to be too overbearing or you may push some people farther away from Christ.

It does go on to explain what you need to be aware of as far as how Satan will play on these and of course how you can use these for God's purpose. So all in all very interesting and will try to focus more on this quiz and see where opportunities come up where I can really use these gifts. I am also curious of the accuracy so will be taking more of these to be sure it is consistent...

I would LOVE to see what you all come up with! So take the quiz and share your gifts!! Copy and past the following link to take the test.

http://www.churchgrowth.org/cgi-cg/gifts.cgi?intro=1