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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
person
2. Distinction or excellence of
personal traits
3. 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.
A couple of clarifying
thoughts:
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)
A couple of clarifying
thoughts:
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.
An observation:
What happened when you tried
to do something unnatural?
1. You felt uncomfortable.
2. It took extra time and effort.
An observation:
What happened when you tried
to do something unnatural?
1. You felt uncomfortable.
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
Personality test:
How do you relate to others?
More outgoing OR More reserved
More expressive OR More controlled
Personality test:
How do you relate to others?
More outgoing OR More reserved
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
Personality test – Part 2:
How do you respond to opportunities?
More high-risk OR More low-risk
People-oriented OR Project-oriented
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
Personality test – Part 2:
How do you respond to opportunities?
More high-risk OR More low-risk
People-oriented OR Project-oriented
OR Follower/implementor
More variety OR More routine
Leader/initiator
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)