Wednesday 14 November 2018

Th Holy Spirit's Gifts


Scripture: Proverbs 17 v 8: "A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth it prospereth."
1 Corinthians 12 v 1 - 4 - 6: "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all."
1 Corinthians 12 v 7 - 11: "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
 8  For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
 9  To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
 10  To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
 11  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."


Our Heavenly Father loves us, His children, and all fathers want to give gifts and see their offspring happy and contented. Our God is a Spirit and His gifts are spiritual - they are given to bless us and to be used to help others.

There are 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit, but the more we use the gifts He gives us, the more powerful they get. The more we let the Holy Spirit work through us, the deeper will be our adventures with God. Be bold be brave take a leap of faith - the rewards are immensely satisfying.

Some say the gifts petered out when Peter petered out but the Lord says His gifts are non-refundable. Once given they remain forever.   Romans  11 v 29: "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance." That means that God never changes His mind about the gift He has given or the calling we have received. If we neglect these gifts, He will measure us by the parable of the talents - Matthew 25 v 14 - 30.

Gifts of healing flow through us to those who are ill. It is wrong to say "I have a healing gift" as it is the sick who need the gifts the Healer, Jesus, gives. That way its always Jesus who gets the glory.  

A word of knowledge is given when you need direction from the Lord. I know a wonderful man who is dyslexic but he preaches powerfully and has a ministry in the word of knowledge. It flows continuously through him. In his meetings he can speak a word of knowledge - a God-given insight - to everyone in the congregation individually and brings understanding and refreshing to them.  The Lord has met his challenges with a strong gift.  

A word of knowledge is given when the Holy Spirit tells us something unknown about a person to assist in releasing them from bondage.  A woman visited me for prayer but something was prevention her from sharing.  The Holy Spirit said the Word "rape"  to me and cautioned me to be gentle.  I asked her of her experiences with men and after some hesitation she told me she had been raped as a teen.  There was a beautiful release when she forgave the unknown  rapist and Jesus set her free.

Speaking in tongues edifies your spirit, soul and body; interpreting of tongues blesses all who hear it.  Just remember it is an interpretation  of tongues that somebody in the meeting has uttered, and not a direct translation. Speaking in tongues is the most common evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  The verses below also reveal that the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs separately after water baptism and not simultaneously with it.

Acts 19 v 2 - 6: "He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
 3  And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
 4  Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
 5  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
 6  And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied."

It can also help you converse in a language with a foreigner as happened to a friend of mine.  The Lord sent her to Switzerland where she met a woman who told her that her brother in Austria was committed to an asylum because he insisted that God had spoken to him! My friend visited him but they could not understand each other until she started speaking in tongues to him. She never knew what she was saying to him but he was exceedingly happy and able to convince doctors to release him.  By his reactions to the words she spoke she saw him being saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.

The gift of prophecy allows you to bring comfort and edification to the church. The ministry of a prophet brings direction and correction to the church. Paul wanted everyone to prophesy as he considered it the best gift.  

A word of wisdom helps make true judgments and also tells you how to use a word of knowledge if necessary. Solomon was given a word of wisdom when confronted with a living baby and a dead baby and two mothers claiming the live baby was hers. Solomon said divide the living child in two. The real mother said rather let the other woman have it. The other woman said cut it in half.

The discerning of spirits identifies demons troubling us, our family, other people or our nation.  Jesus said the demons are subject to us, so we can deal with them like He did.  Bind them i.e. paralyse and gag them, then cast them out of the suffering person and send them back to Hell.  This gift identifies the demons so we can call them out by name as Jesus did in Mark 5 with the demon called Legion which had possessed the Gadarene demoniac.  He had a type of dementia.

The gift of faith elevates your normal faith to know the miraculous power of God and to do amazing things for Him.  There is a complete absence of doubt that what we are believing for would not happen.  We could walk on water as happened to Mel Tari and his friends in East Timor, who walked across a raging river at the command of Jesus.  This, and other miracles, are in the book, Like A Mighty Wind.

To receive these gifts you must be born again, baptized in water and the Holy Spirit and His power will come upon you just as it did on the disciples who were in the upper room on the first Pentecost after the Ascension of Jesus.  They turned the world upside down. So can you if you follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Prayer: Heavenly Father remove all the mental blocks of fear, doubt and misunderstanding so that all Your children can benefit from Your marvellous and precious gifts. May they be wisely and fully used in these last days to help and edify Your people.  In Jesus' name. Amen.