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Getting into S.H.A.P.E.S – Spiritual Gift

H – Heart/Passion

A – Abilities/Talents

P - Personality

E

Personality:1. The quality or state of being a

person2. Distinction or excellence of

personal traits3. The complex of characteristics that

distinguishes an individual

The twins: Isaac & Jacob

And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! The first one was very red at

birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. Then the

other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel.

So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

The twins: Isaac & Jacob

As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob

had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home.

Genesis 25:24-27 (NLT)

The sisters: Mary & Martha

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her

home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was

distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do

all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

The sisters: Mary & Martha

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is

only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away

from her.”

Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)

A few of the many types of personalities God uses:

• PETER: extrovert• PAUL: thinker/risk-taker• DAVID: poet/warrior• JEREMIAH: sensitive/depressed• TIMOTHY: timid/insecure• MOSES: hot-headed/controlling• BARNABAS: peacemaker/encourager• THOMAS: conservative/doubter• NATHAN: direct/confrontational

God made our personalities:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us

long ago.

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

We praise God for our personalities:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully

made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm139:13-14

“There is no deep knowing of God without the deep knowing of self, and no deep

knowing of self without the deep knowing of God.”

-John Calvin The Institutes of Christian Religion

“Grant, Lord, that I may know myself as I know thee...”

-St. Augustine

(a 5th Century Church leader)

“… the teaching that we should focus on God and Christ alone and not seek

to understand ourselves and our identity as new creatures in Christ is

not Christian, but anti-Christian.”

-Selwyn Hughes “Every Day With Jesus”

“These differences are natural, God-given aspects of personality. Being who you are—

the person God intended you to be—is of paramount importance…the differences

make life interesting.”

Kise, Start, Hirsh LifeKeys: Discovering Who You Are, Why

You’re Here, What You Do Best

Same Spirit, different everything else:

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.

There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but

it is the same God who does the work in all of us…All of you together are Christ’s body, and

each of you is a part of it.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 27 (NLT)

“Perhaps you are unaware of the fact that you are the customized expression of a loving God. You have been endowed with a unique mix of competencies and the desire and drive to use them in pursuit of an outcome

of unrivaled personal importance. Your life has meaning built into it. Effectively, you have an exciting,

challenging, and achievable destiny if you will but discover and embrace who you were designed to be.”

-Arthur F. Miller

Why You Can’t BE Anything You Want to Be

A couple of clarifying thoughts:

1) “Knowing yourself” (apart from God) is an exercise in ultimate futility.


2) Some matters of our “personality” still need to be redeemed.

“Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.

Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!”

Ephesians 5:6-8 (NLT)


3) Beware of “personality projection”

Question:

Which way of doing EVANGELISM is BEST?

Question:Which way of doing

EVANGELISM is BEST?

Answer:Whichever way leads people to Christ

and best fits you!

An experiment:- Write your FULL NAME

on a piece of paper.

An experiment:- Write your FULL NAME

on a piece of paper.

- Write your full name with your OPPOSITE HAND.

An observation:What happened when you tried

to do something unnatural?

1. You felt uncomfortable.




2. It took extra time and effort.




2. It took extra time and effort.

1. You still did a lousy job at it!

Personality test:How do you relate to others?

More outgoing OR More reserved



More expressive OR More controlled



More expressive OR More controlled

More competitive OR More cooperative

Personality test – Part 2:How do you respond to opportunities?

More high-risk OR More low-risk



People-oriented OR Project-oriented




Leader/initiator OR Follower/implementor




Leader/initiator OR Follower/implementor

More variety OR More routine

No cookie-cutter Christians:

So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or

pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.

Romans 12:5-6 (MSG)

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