Vocation Bible School

helping young adults figure out and understand what God wants from/for them

Week 1

Day 1

The Spiritual Gifts Survey will be important to the first video. If we understand what specific gifts the Holy Spirit has given us (after we have repented of our sins and surrendered our lives to Jesus), we can better learn how to use them for God’s glory and to further His kingdom.

The survey I am attaching is free. However, I did not write the survey so if you are able to make a donation to their organization, it would be greatly appreciated!

https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/women-leadership-spiritual-gifts-growth-service
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Day 1

Spiritual Gifts study – Romans 12:6-8

The person who has repented of their sins and has surrendered their life to Jesus, has been given spiritual giftedness. This means that we are given gifts to be used for God’s glory, to reach others and help them grow in their relationship with Jesus. You will naturally be better at one or more of these gifts, which are to be used in service for the King of Kings. But make no mistake! God commands and expects us to serve in ALL of these ways.

EXHORTATION – speaking and/or writing (Romans 12:8) – an address or communication EMPHATICALLY urging someone to do something – in spiritual gifts, to encourage or counsel them to be who/what God is calling them to be.

Someone with the gift of exhortation might enjoy counseling other Christians to really be who/what God is calling them to be. They want people to trust God with their whole lives because God is good and trustworthy! They pray with people as the people try to learn and grow in the ways God planned for them.

Maybe you had a friend go on a mission trip and you wrote cards with Bible verses on them for your friend to read each day. Did the receiver come back from the trip and tell you that the verses were just what they needed for that day? That is good confirmation that one of your gifts is exhortation. And then, of course, exhortation is often used by the Christian who helps teach a Sunday School class, or a children’s/youth class, or Bible study. And God speaks through them with a special message for the listeners.

The immature Christian who has the gift of exhortation might come across as a criticizer instead of an exhorter. Exhortation should always be done in love. Ephesians 4:15 (CSB) – But speaking the truth IN LOVE, let us grow in every way into Him Who is the Head – Christ.

When you believe the Holy Spirit is leading you to minister to someone by helping them see their needs, ALWAYS check your motivation. Is it really Spirit led? If so, it will bring encouragement, not discouragement. If so, it will lead to life-changing conviction, not the person feeling lost and hopeless in their sin. If so, it will help the person/people see who God wants them to be, not give them a list of who/what they should not be. If so, they will not feel judged by you.

Exhortation brings about the change God desires. Judging… especially since we have NO right to judge…could very easily cause the person/people to give up and not continue growing.

My favorite example of this is found in 2 Samuel 12. The Lord has revealed to Nathan what David has done in committing adultery with Bathsheba, and then having her husband, Uriah, killed. Nathan tells a story of a poor man with only one sheep, versus a rich man who owns thousands of sheep. He tells David that the rich man slaughtered the poor man’s sheep and fed it to his own guest, leaving the poor man with nothing. David is angry and declares that the rich man must die for doing such a thing, and that he must pay for the lamb four times over. Nathan proceeds to tell David that HE is the man, and then tells him all the punishments the Lord has in store for David because of it. But through it all, to me at least, there is a feeling of compassion and sadness in Nathan’s delivery of the speech. He doesn’t seem to condemn David; just shares what God has told him to tell. And, as a result, David is deeply repentant and gets back in a right relationship with God. THAT is to be the goal any time we approach someone to talk to them about their sin. (And always keep your own sins in the front of your mind. It’s hard to judge someone when you know you’re not any better.)

GIVING – action or hands on – Romans 12:8 – to share what material resources you have with liberality and cheerfulness without thought of return – benevolence, Biblical stewardship

God is not concerned with how much or how little you have. He just expects us to give and share as He has called and enabled us. The servant who has the gift of giving loves to give and share. This could be the wealthy person who calls to give very large amounts of money. This could also be the person who always struggles financially but takes great joy in sacrificing their own wants and desires to see needs met. Always, and for all Christians, this could be the sacrifice of our time and not cost us anything monetarily. We are all called to see and be aware of the people and needs around us and to listen to the Holy Spirit as He calls us to give and share. What a blessing these giving servants are to everyone they help!

I’m reminded of a story in Exodus 4. God has called Moses to speak to Pharaoh and command him to let God’s people go. Moses is feeling very insecure and unworthy. He gives many excuses as to why he’s not the person for the job and then begins to question God. “What if they don’t believe it was You, God, Who sent me?”, Moses wants to know. God says simply, “What’s that you have in your hand?”. Moses had a staff in his hand… just a piece of wood. There was no magic in the staff and it had no power on its own. But when Moses obeyed God in using that staff, that piece of wood, God spoke power into it and Moses used it to perform many miracles in God’s Name.

The same is true for us. What’s that you have in your hand? Maybe you’re not wealthy and you struggle to make ends meet. Go ahead and give/share what God is calling you to. He gives it the blessing that furthers His Kingdom. That’s not on you. All that is on you is to obey Him. And if you have the gift of giving, this will be a strong desire for you anyway.

Some of these spiritual gifts can overlap each other. Mercy and servant can also easily fall under this heading. We’ll get into those more in a little bit. But another way the gift of giving is shown is hospitality. Hospitality is simply making people feel wanted and comfortable whenever they are around you.

The servant with the gift of giving MUST rely on God’s strength to continue giving cheerfully. Often these gifts given can be met by others with un-thankfulness, expecting more, entitlement. You may come to the realization that there is always more work to be done than you can do. You must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading and not just give in your own strength. It is also important to note that the giver cares about lifting the people up, not just giving to them as a “charity case”. 2 Corinthians 8:13 CSB – “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.”

LEADERSHIP – speaking and/or writing – Romans 12:8 – the action of leading a group of people or an organization

I would add to this definition that leadership seeks to motivate others to work together, or separately, to achieve a goal. A servant with the gift of leadership does this in a way that lets the people know they are card for and the goal is a worthy one.

A servant leader loves to come up with new ways of doing things and feels frustrated, at best, by people who just want to do things the way they’ve always done them. They frequently want to move on to the next idea or project pretty quickly after meeting their goal. They are also frequently misunderstood as people like to try to “put them in a box.” Other Christians think they have a clear view of what God wants of the leader and they either try to stifle the enthusiasm with which the leader brings new ideas, or they want more from the leader than God has called the leader to give.

While all pastors should be leaders, not all leaders should be pastors. Other ways a leader can lead are through getting tasks done, developing goals and casting a vision to others. A “leader” is not leading if no one follows.

MERCY – action or hands-on – Romans 12:8 – compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone

The servant whose gift is mercy feels genuine sympathy for the hurting person. They speak kind, caring words compassionately. But even more than this, they care for them with loving deeds and actions. They tend to be truly concerned for the hurting person, even if they themselves are going through really hard times. They put hurting people above their own needs.

I must confess that mercy is the lowest score on my spiritual gifts test. But I see a great need for people with mercy. I have literally seen it save lives. So, just as all Christians have the responsibility to grow in all the gifts, we HAVE to make the effort to show genuine mercy to everyone.

PROPHECY – speaking and/or writing – Romans 12:6, 1 Corinthians 12:10 – the gift of interpreting the will of God; someone who speaks on behalf of God

Prophecy isn’t always “spur of the moment”. Sometimes God prepares the prophet ahead of time to be ready to answer what spiritual need arises.

The Hebrew word for prophet is navi. It means to proclaim, mention, call, summon. Prophets are used throughout the Bible to call the people to repentance, to warn of things to come, to inform kings about whether or not they should go to war, to correct, to encourage, etc. The prophet must NEVER speak his/her own words, but must heavily rely on the Holy Spirit’s leading. False prophets were severely punished by God, for misleading His people.

Prophecy and exhortation can often overlap. The prophet is known to see things as black or white, with no room for gray. Sometimes their message can come across as harsh and abrupt, when they just desperately want people to understand God’s message and how serious He is. An exhorter usually has a gentler tone, encouraging the listener to see how God wants them to apply His truth to their lives. Both types are extremely important, as God knows what the listener needs to hear, and sometimes they need a slightly harsher tone to get their attention. The heart of the prophet has a genuine desire for the listener to please God, knowing that this is the only way they will have a joy-filled, fulfilled life.

SERVICE – action or hands-on – Romans 12:7 – the action of helping or doing work for someone

The Christian with the gift of service doesn’t see any task as being beneath them. They look for things that need to be done and willingly, happily “jump in”. They can be seen cleaning, painting, setting up for events and staying late to clean it up and put it all away… but often their work is done behind the scenes. They do not do it for man’s applause or for pay. They put in many volunteer hours. People may not notice the work they do but they would definitely notice if the work was not done. Maybe people won’t come to a saving faith in Jesus because the cleaning was done or the walls were painted. But because these things are done, people feel more welcome and wanted and they are not distracted by the disarray. They are more able to listen to, and hear, what God is saying to them.

TEACHING -speaking and/or writing – Romans 12:7 -the occupation, profession, or work of a teacher

The servant with the gift of teaching has the talent to present God’s Word in a way that leads to true understanding and growing in their relationship with Christ. They will help other Christians understand how to become more like Christ. Sometimes the teaching is done in a classroom setting, sometimes in every day life and sometimes through writing curriculums and Bible studies and such.

EVANGELISM – EVERYBODY

All gifts are to be used for God’s glory alone! We are given the gifts because of God’s great grace for us, and our using them should speak grace into other people’s lives. DO NOT COMPARE YOUR GIFT WITH OTHER CHRISTIAN’S GIFTS!!

(It is also important to note that not using your gifts for God’s glory and Kingdom will result in your gift not being as effective as it should be. Let’s practice using our gifts for God’s glory alone!)

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Day 2

Our Identity/Who We are in Christ

I read somewhere that we are not who we think we are. We are not even who other people think we are. We are who we THINK other people think we are… There is, unfortunately, some truth to that, at least in how we allow ourselves to act. We THINK they think we’re dumb, so we act dumb. We THINK they think we’re lazy, so we act lazy. Or even, we THINK they think we’re kind, so we act kind. But in the most basic truth, we ARE WHO CHRIST SAYS WE ARE. So who is that?

Do you see yourself as valuable? Valuable enough to receive a reward (one that we could never really earn!)? Genesis 15:1 CSB says, “After these events, the Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your Shield; your reward will be very great.” Our Reward… that we can’t earn, that we don’t deserve, that we can never fully comprehend… is God, Himself. THAT is who you are! The one that God loves enough to give Himself to. Again, Jesus and our ability to interact with Him is our exceedingly great Reward. And being loved enough to be allowed to interact with Him, is who we are. That’s so unutterably AMAZING!!!

That said, if you’re really honest with yourself, do you see people’s view of you and your accomplishments as your real reward? After all, maybe you feel like you can take pride in what “you” accomplished, so it must be who you are… right? Listen! People do not define you!! You don’t define yourself!! Stop putting “labels” on yourself and for heaven’s sake, stop letting others put “labels” on you. You may temporarily be stressed, anxious, depressed, an introvert, an extrovert, a goofball, a smart student, a star athlete, etc. Those things absolutely do not define you! You may be those things for a while, but they are not who you are. They are not your identity.

So how do you get to the place where you see yourself the way God sees you? Make a conscious decision and commitment that your relationship with God is going to define you, more than the way other people see you.

I know far too many people who like God. They say He’s a pretty cool Guy, I accept His love. Stop liking God – fall crazy, head-over-heels in love with Him! Our love for God should outshine anything, good or bad, going on in our lives.

Beloved, YOU are the one God loves! Have you seen the sign that says, “I know God loves everyone, but I’m His favorite!”? To be honest, it always gets on my nerves a little bit. I don’t know; it just feels a little irreverent. BUT! I would be lying if I said it doesn’t feel that way sometimes. Because I have felt the depth (well, as much as a human can feel and understand it, anyway) of God’s love for me. I have felt His grace when I am beyond stupid! I have felt His blessings on my life when there is absolutely no reason for Him to bless me! I have felt His redemption as He healed me from the scars of past sins! THAT is who I am. I am the one God loves and you are, too! So if you feel like you’re His favorite, great!! That makes perfect sense that you and I are both His favorite!!

Don’t go into ministry, or do ministry, thinking you will be able to gain identity in Christ. Do it because you HAVE an identity in Christ!

Here are a few affirmations for you. Maybe you could post one or more of them on your mirror and remind yourself every day who you are in Christ.

  1. God delights to interact with me.
  2. I am known by how I relate to Jesus, not by what I accomplish.
  3. Jesus loves me like God loves me and I remain in that love (John 15:9)
  4. If I think my repented-of-sin is bigger than God’s love, that is pride.
  5. Nothing, and nobody, can steal God’s love from me.

In 2006, the Christian band, Big Daddy Weave, produced a song titled “Who You Are to Me” on their “Every Time I Breathe” album. I do not have permission to publish the lyrics, but I urge you to go to YouTube and listen to it. It’s so good! It pretty clearly spells out what your true identity in Christ is.

Let me close this segment with a few Scriptures and what they say about who you are.

  1. Colossians 3:12 – You are CHOSEN
  2. Psalm 34:8-10 – You are not lacking
  3. Philippians 1:6 – You are a good work
  4. Psalm 139:14 – You are wonderfully made
  5. Ephesians 2:10 – You are His workmanship
  6. 1 Peter 2:9 – You are called
  7. Ephesians 4:32 – You are forgiven
  8. 1 John 4:11&12 – You are loved
  9. Romans 12:4-6a – You are gifted (if you have received Christ as your personal Lord and Savior)
  10. 1 Peter 5:7 – You are cared for
  11. Isaiah 41:10 – You are upheld
  12. Philippians 4:6&7 – You are guarded
  13. Romans 5:2-4 – You have hope
  14. Psalm 18:30 – You are protected
  15. Isaiah 40:31 – You are strong
  16. Hebrews 11:6 – You are rewarded

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Day 3

How is the Holy Spirit prompting you? The Greek word for Holy Spirit is Pneuma and it’s meaning is to be compelled by wind, breath or spirit. So it is the picture of the Holy Spirit wrapping around you and pulling you in certain direction.

Read John 20:19-22

Jesus is alive! They get to see Him with their own eyes. And for the first time for some of them, they finally understand Who Jesus is. They believe. And because they understand and believe in the resurrected Lord, He breathes the Holy Spirit on them. We are given the marvelous gift of the Holy Spirit the moment we truly believe in Jesus and surrender our lives to Him. The Holy Spirit is the One Who gifts us with the spiritual gifts given specifically to each of us for the furthering of God’s Kingdom.

If the Holy Spirit is the One Who gifts us with spiritual gifts, then let’s look a little closer at Who He is. He is part of the Trinity. A couple verses that mention all three beings of the Trinity are John 14:26 and John 15:26. All three are mentioned as separate beings, but at the same time they are mentioned as having the same power. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is not the Father, but they are all God. Understand? That’s okay. It’s not easily understandable, but it is undeniable, powerful truth! And the job of the Holy Spirit, as our perfect and loving God, is to make us more like Jesus by leading us, guiding us and convicting us, among many other things.

It is this leading that will take us on the right path, if we are listening and surrendered. As you spend time studying your Bible, praying and worshiping, you will learn to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice more clearly. Sometimes He will tell you in a very clear way the path that He has chosen for you. Sometimes you will need to fast, pray, be still and quiet and search your heart to make sure you’re really surrendered; to be truly sure that you have heard His voice. And sometimes He just controls the situation and environment to make sure His will is done. That’s definitely my favorite way He moves! There’s no room for my error in that one. But I am also thankful that He makes Himself known to us when we are truly surrendered to Him. And He knows when we are holding something back. There is a mystery to how He works, but I love that He’s not trying to hide His will from us. He wants to reveal it all in His time and in His way.

Read Acts 13:2; 16:6-8; 20:22&23

In each of these stories, what is the commonality? We are not told how the Holy Spirit spoke to the apostles. We just know that they obeyed and/or the Holy Spirit just brought about what He was planning.

Do you feel pulled, especially if it’s in a direction you don’t particularly want to go? (I say this because if it’s something we want to do, we can sometimes let emotion tell us it’s surely what God is leading us to do. But certainly we are sometimes called to do things we want to do. AND even if we think it’s not what we want, we can ask God to change our hearts and He will.) Does the pulling make sense? Is what you’re feeling pulled to even something God would call you to? Does what you’re thinking/feeling contradict Scripture in any way? Is the invitation to act loud and repetitive?

Talk with other godly people that you have learned to trust. LISTEN as they speak. Listen even more closely to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you as they speak.

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Day 4

Understanding the World Around Us

We develop an “understanding” of the world around us based on what the people around us “understand”. It would truly behoove us to get to know people beyond our immediate circle of friends. I’m not sure there’s a way to truly understand the world around us if we’re not willing to make the time and effort to know and understand people who are different from us.

In his book, “Naming the Elephant”, James Sire says, “Our ground floor assumptions, ones that are so basic that none more basic can be conceived, compose our worldview.” It shapes our decisions and actions, without our even having to think about it.

You live what you believe. You can say you believe the Bible, but how does that affect the way you act? The way you think? The truth is, you live what you believe, not necessarily what you say you believe.

Somehow people naturally focus on the “don’ts” of the Bible: No sex before marriage, no homosexuality, no drunkenness, no abortion, no adultery, etc. Those are so extremely important to becoming and being all God has for you to be. But what about the “do’s”? Do love and pray for your enemy. Do think on pure things. Do forgive people who have wronged you. Do have grace for the ones who are different from you. There’s so much to “acting out” the Christian faith. God knows we won’t get it ALL right ALL of the time. That’s why He sent Jesus. But because of Jesus’ love, shouldn’t we be TRYING to get it ALL right ALL of the time? Probably the best way to do this is to turn our thought lives over to Christ’s control. Let Him change us from the inside out.

In other words, think like a Christian. Don’t just “act” like one. My brother used to have a shirt that read, ” You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?” When we have the mind of Christ, when we have let Him shape our worldview, it’s no longer just words or actions. It’s who we are in Christ.

Worldview is shaped from childhood. Then, when we find something in the Bible that proves it wrong, we’re still hesitant to let it change our basic beliefs. Let God change your beliefs! Understand that the Bible is inerrant. Let God change your beliefs!

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Day 5

Finances

Do we understand that everything we have belongs to God? When we get a firm grasp on this, it will be much easier for us to turn it back over to Him. And knowing that He has our back, is always looking out for our best interest and knows what He’s talking about, should make it quite simple to turn it back over to Him.

You may already know that God asks for 10% of our income to be given back to Him. If you are not in the habit of doing this already, this may feel difficult to start. And truthfully, your tithe is not a matter of salvation. God doesn’t need your tithe. But He asks for it because, as in everything He tells us to do, it is for our benefit. As we give, we learn to trust Him even more and we taste and see that He is good. God says, in Malachi 3:10 CSB , “Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,” says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.”

As a child, I knew nothing of the financial struggles my parents went through. But as I grew older they shared some of their stories with me. One of my favorites took place when my mom was 27 and my dad was 30. Mom had had lots of health problems and had surgery after surgery. Money was extremely tight and there were medical bills to be paid. When my dad sat down to look at their budget he saw that after tithe, they only had enough to make payments on the bills coming in, not enough for groceries, clothes or diapers for the three children they had in diapers. He told my mom that they would give their tithe and trust God to bless them and take care of them. Not surprisingly, God did! The next day my parents received a check in the mail for twice the amount they had given in tithe.

God is faithful!

Luke 6:39 CSB – “Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over – will be poured into your lap.” In other words, you give what God asks of you and He give back to you far more than you gave! You cannot out-give God. It simply is not even possible!

Here are a few resources that can help you get your finances in order:

  1. Nerd Wallet – much to explore, compare credit cards, lots of articles
  2. Every Dollar – Ramsey solutions, budgeting app, doesn’t work with every bank, helps with organizing money, sends notifications when money is spent and helps you keep track of what money you have in certain budget line items
  3. Envelope System – keeping cash in envelopes designated to specific things, helps you keep track of what money you have in certain budget line items
  4. Spreadsheets – can be done on a pc, needs to be kept up regularly
  5. Goodbudget – online “envelope” system – can sync with another person
  6. Rocket Money – helps you “break down” your finances, cancels unwanted subscriptions

Do your research! Some things cost more money than I actually think they’re worth.

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