The Plan and the Process

The Plan and the Process

1 Corinthians 12:8

  What we don’t know can get us hurt! In Texas there once lived a Mexican bank robber named Jorge Rodriquez. He had been so successful that the Texas Rangers put a whole posse on his trail. For months they tried to catch him as he slipped across the Rio Grande. Finally a ranger cornered Jorge in a saloon one night. Quietly the ranger slipped up behind Jorge and put his six-gun to Jorge’s head. Then the ranger said, “I know who you are and, unless you tell me where you’ve hidden the bank money, I’m going to blow your brains out!”

There was one problem: Jorge did not speak English and the ranger did not speak Spanish. Just then an enterprising little fellow stepped up and said, “Would you like for me to translate for you?” The ranger nodded. So the translator told Jorge what the ranger had said. Jorge was scared to death and said to tell the ranger he could have the money but please don’t pull the trigger. He told the translator exactly where the money was hidden and then begged for mercy. The translator took all this in and then solemnly told the ranger: “Jorge Rodriguez is a brave man. He says he is ready to die!”

The rangers lack of understanding Spanish led to his downfall as well as Jorge’s inability to speak English.  What we don’t know can often times hurt us.  God’s gifts are treasures, not mere trinkets. The gifts that God has given us are treasures we should search after, because they are a part of our identity in Christ.  When we fully understand ourselves, we can use our gifts to the fullest extent for His glory.

1. Knowing our self exposes our gifting.

Too often, We are satisfied with trinkets and neglect to search for the treasure. When it comes to knowledge and wisdom, there are depths we don’t reach because of our laziness. God desires to unveil the plan and the process, yet we seek to design our own plans and our own processes. People with these gifts often misuse them or neglect to fully understand them. So we must ask the question: What use are the gifts of knowledge and wisdom?

READ 1 Corinthians 12:4-8; Colossians 2:3; Romans 11:33

These Scriptures reveal a lot about these two gifts.  They are in fact different, although they are similar.  God never does anything on accident.  He purposefully listed them separately for us to be able to perfectly distinguish the two.  God calls these gifts treasures and He also states how deep and rich these treasures are.  We can see the first use is:

2. The Treasure of Knowledge Lays down the Tracks (vs. 8; Col. 2:3)

 “The gift of knowledge is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to discover, accumulate, analyze and clarify information and ideas that are pertinent to the growth and well-being of the Body.” (C. Peter Wagner)

The gift of knowledge is the plan to be implemented. The church (or individual) has to get the train from point A to point B and so knowledge develops the track with which the train must go on. The church needs architects to help design the plan so the church (or individual) can build the right building with the right dimensions. The blue-prints are Spirit led. It’s insight only God could give. Knowledge is useful because it helps design the path.  This can be on a church based level or an individual level.  The person with this gifting can help the church and individual believers see the clear plan that needs to be implemented in their lives.  This person has a deep and rich knowledge of the Scripture and so their store of knowledge they offer to the church and believers is very Biblical. This individual is the student, or the academic. This can also be displayed in an individual level where a word of knowledge comes directly for a specific person, or church.

When I was in Paris, I chatted with a person and received a word for them, which wasn’t easy for them to hear, but it was spot on.  It was information I couldn’t possibly know, but I knew through supernatural intervention. It’s a revelation of something that can only come through Christ.  This falls under prophecy as well, but we will get to that later.

 In essence, the person with this gift is like the medical researcher.  They are the person who digs deeply into the Word.  Loves Bible study, listens to sermons and teachings all day long and reads about doctrine.  They love to uncover new nuances in the Scripture and discover deeper knowledge of God.  They learn from the lessons of the Biblical past and can easily tell when a plan is destined to fail because they have Holy Spirit insight, it all comes from Him,.  Many times, this person is a loner and so when the time comes for them to speak up and give their wealth from their treasure box from the Spirit, they shy away.  They feel that what they have to offer isn’t that good, or even from God, even though they have the ability to see clearly the tracks that need to be laid down. This insight comes from the Holy Spirit.

Their vision of the plan can be seen through The Spirit’s eyes. Yet, they don’t realize that this is from God, so they are satisfied with the little trinkets rather than going after the treasure. This is a gift and the church and the individual believer needs it to be used. If God has given you this treasure, go after the full treasure, go deep and live into it. Plan big.  If this person really gave over to the Spirit and submitted to deeply discovering God’s plans, they’d be a giant in helping to redesign the way we do ministry. Knowledge is paired with, but not dependent upon wisdom.

 3. The Treasure of Wisdom Leads the Way (vs. 8; Col 2:3)

“The gift of wisdom is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to know the mind of the Holy Spirit in such a way as to receive insight into how given knowledge may best be applied to specific needs arising in the Body of Christ.” (C. Peter Wagner)

 The gift of wisdom is the process on how to implement the plan. The church (or individual) has to get the train from point A to point B and so wisdom is the conductor that drives the train. A plan is no good without a process of doing it. Wisdom is needed in many situations. Solomon was a great example of wisdom.  He knew what needed to be done and told people how to do it. Wisdom also determines how to get to the heart of a problem.

For example, take Solomon’s wisdom in READ: 1 Kings 3:16-28. Wisdom lays out how to do the plan, as Jethro did with Moses in Exodus 18: 13-23

In essence, the person with this gift is like the physician, taking the research and applying it.  Sometimes the two gifts, knowledge and wisdom can work in tandem within the same person; many times this may not be the case. The person with wisdom is a trailblazer and decision maker.  They can clearly see the actions needed within the fog of opinions.  When people hear the person with wisdom speak, they are usually in consensus that their decisions are the correct ones.

This foresight into the future as to how these actions will affect the plan all comes from the Spirit.  Spirit led wisdom brings eternal results. If the person with this gift is staying in the river of the Spirit, they will make tremendous strides in the leading of the church to becoming all it was meant to be. This is also true on an individual level as with knowledge. This person can be trusted with serious issues in your life.  They are the person you go to when you need to make a big decision or need an action plan.  Sometimes, they may speak into your life even without you asking as Jethro did with Moses. It may not be comfortable, but your spirit will recognize the wisdom of the Spirit speaking out of this persons mouth.

This person is the vision caster, the dreamer and the leader carrying the banner. If this is you, many times you are the person people ask for a decision or for leadership.  You always see the plan’s process and give great insight on how to get it done. You drive the train from point A to point B and enjoy doing it.

God gives good gifts; all the gifts are needed, without one, the body suffers. Knowing who we are allows us to fully bless the church.  Not knowing can be dangerous (as with Jorge’s story).  However, We can best give when we know out gifts.