THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT AS LISTED IN
1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 12.
A study of the
supernatural gifts God gives HIS body for their profit.
The 6 lessons are
designed for small group study and discussion.
Written By Rev. Andy Levine, Travelers Rest, SC,
out of concern that the Body of Christ does not lack from our lack of using what
God has given us for Edification, Exhortation and Comfort.
INTRODUCTION:
The intent of this course is that you will
come into both an experiential and intellectual understanding of the
supernatural gifts God gives us to use to build the Body of Christ. It’s a
combination of head and heart knowledge.
1 Cor. 12:7 But
the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.
Without these manifestations of the Spirit the
Church will lack the profit they are intended to give us. The flow of these
gifts should be normal, in those times when we come together but in no way
limited to, Sunday morning worship. The body of Christ lacks when these are not
operating through the body whenever we come together. Our coming together
should be peppered with these things happening. Jesus demonstrated these gifts
in many different contexts. It is my prayer that as we study God’s Word the
truth will sink deep in our hearts and we have a greater eagerness to be used
by the Lover of our Soul. This is the essence if discipleship:
Romans
12:2 Don’t copy the behavior
and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by
changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you,
which is good and pleasing and perfect.
We are given this power to be witnesses of who
Jesus is. Our lives, our whole world, changes as we are empowered by the Spirit
of God.
Lesson 1 THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY GHOST, God Promises Us Power
Try to imagine what life would be like if we
had something we really wanted—and even needed—yet could not possibly get it on
our own. Do you ever ask yourself questions like:
- “If only there were a way.to..” You fill
in the blank
- What is God’s answer to deficiencies in
our Christian lives?
Acts 1:8 But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my
witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea,
in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Millions have had very definitive Salvation
experiences and are fully committed to Jesus, but they are limited without the
Spiritual power of the Holy Ghost. In Acts 1:8 we are promised the power to BE
His witnesses. That means our lives testify of who He is. This isn’t just the
strength and will power to be a nice loving person. How did Jesus testify of
who He is? In great words and by demonstration of the supernatural power of God.
John 14:11
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for
the sake of the works themselves.
12 “Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do
also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (NLT)
As we study the Gifts of the Spirit we will
see Jesus using them. If this is al new to you, ask Spirit Filled believers of
their experiences being used of God in these ways.
Now let’s start walk through the door Jesus
was talking about in Acts 1:8.
The capability to communicate with God, and
for Him to inspire you to speak in such a way as to build up someone, to exhort
or comfort anyone, to be used in miracles and healings goes beyond the intellect, it all starts with
receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This goes beyond the indwelling of
the Spirit that happens at salvation, it is an immersion, a saturation of your
now alive spirit man in the power of God.
The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is a promise from God to every
believer.
In any discussion of this experience it should
be emphasized that this supernatural power is a promised gift for every
believer. Because it is a gift, it is received, never earned. We receive it by
the same faith that we received Jesus as our Lord and savior.
Some verses about the promise:
Baptized into
Luke 24: 46 He
told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the
dead on the third day,
47 and
repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 You
are witnesses of these things.
49 I
am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until
you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Acts 1: 4 On
one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not
leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard
me speak about.
5
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the
Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:8 But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my
witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea,
in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Does Acts 1: 8 sound like a wishy washy, maybe
kind of thing? Of course not, it is as definitive statement as we saw in Gen.1
when God said, “And let there be…” and there was
Joel 2: 28 “And
afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters
will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
29 Even
on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
Many, perhaps most Americans who have been
baptized in the HG rarely go beyond just using their prayer language. Joel gave
a clue of some of the more, and there is so much more than that.
Peter was speaking to a group of people, not
long after he received this gift, and take note of their reaction and what he
says to them. It shows how God moved through the spoken word of a believer who
was baptized in the Holy Ghost:
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of
this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37
When the people heard this, they
were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what
shall we do?”
38 Peter
replied,
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit.
39 The
promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom
the Lord our God will call.”
What Happens when you receive this gift?
The pattern for what happens when experiencing
this gift is spelled out through the book of Acts. In chapter 2 we see the very
dramatic event on the day of Pentecost, from which we get our label as
Pentecostals. There are several additional examples of believers receiving this
gift. These include:
Acts 2:1
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one
place.
2 Suddenly
a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the
whole house where they were sitting.
3 They
saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each
of them.
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Who spoke with tongues? PEOPLE, the
Baptism in the HG provides people with
the supernatural capability to do things you could not ordinarily do,
starting with speaking in tongues.
Acts 8: 14 When
the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they
sent Peter and John to Samaria.
15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16 because
the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized
in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then
Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Here we see another way the Lord gives
this gift.
18 When
Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he
offered them money
19 and
said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may
receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter
answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy
the gift of God with money!
What
was it that Simon the sorcerer saw that provoked him to act with such ignorance
(or was it stupid selfishness trying to maintain his control over the
people?).It is a safe assumption to say that they spoke in tongues, especially
in the light of these other verses.
Acts 10:44 While
Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the
word.
45 And
they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with
Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy
Ghost.
46 For
they heard them speak with tongues, and
magnify God. (KJV)
Acts 19:1 Paul came to Ephesus. “And finding some
disciples
2 he said
to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to
him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 And he
said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s
baptism.”
4 Then
Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the
people that they should believe on Him who would 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 hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke
with tongues and prophesied. (NKJV)
We see from these verses that the
indication that people received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost was that they
spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. It is not an
intellectual thing, it’s supernatural, but you speak, using your mouth, your
voice, to speak what comes bubbling up and out.
We’ll get much more in depth about
Tongues later in the course. It’s amazing that the Lord chose this gift to get
you started because everything else will flow out of you in the same way.
In Acts 2 when Peter is explaining to the crowd what just happened. He quotes the following verse and says, “This is that.”
Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My menservants and on My
maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (NKJV)
Specific Manifestations of the Use of the Power,
1 Cor, 12 (NKJV)
1 Now
concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There
are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
6 And
there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in
all.
7 But
the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.
Without
these manifestations of the Spirit the
Church will lack the profit they are intended to give us. The Greek
used in this verse for profit (sumphero)
means “bring together, be better, be expedient, be profitable. 1 COR. 12 is
focused on those things that should be normal, but not limited to, those times
when we come together particularly, but in no way limited to, Sunday morning
worship. The body of Christ lacks when these are not operating through the body
whenever we come together. Our coming together should be peppered with these
things happening. Buckle your seatbelts as we learn the “whats” and ”whens” of
these gifts.
THE LIST
OF THE GIFTS
1 Cor. 12:8 for
to one is given the word of wisdom
through the Spirit,
to another the
word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
9 to
another faith by the same
Spirit, to another, gifts of healings
by the same Spirit,
10 to
another the working of miracles,
to another prophecy, to
another discerning of spirits,
to another different kinds of tongues,
to another the interpretation of tongues.
11 But
one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one
individually as He wills.
Always keep
in mind the necessity of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. As we begin to move in
the Spirit we want to be careful to know that what we say or do is led of the
Spirit. Test it. Does what you are sensing to speak publically fit with what
the Lord is saying in the service? Did the Lord open an opportunity to speak
it? Have you had some external confirmation about what say?
1 Cor 14: 3
But he who prophesies speaks edification
and exhortation and comfort to men.
40 Let
all things be done decently and in order.
Of course
we make mistakes. Hopefully you are in a fellowship of believers where you have
the liberty to do so, where you are part of a loving fellowship with leadership
that will bring correction with grace and love. If our hearts are right with
the Lord we are open to our leadership helping keep us on track.
Also keep
in mind that if someone speaks a Word over you, it will either be confirmation
of something the Lord has already been speaking to you, or something to just
put on the shelf and see what happens in time. You will have better
understanding of why when we study the gift of prophecy. Some really crazy
stuff happened in the early days 20th Pentecostal outpouring.
Notice
that the name of this gift is not just wisdom. It’s a word, a message, a declaration. It has nothing to do with
acquired wisdom from the lessons we learn going through life. It is a supernatural insight into how
to deal with something, solve a problem, how to apply Biblical principles to a
situation, often an insight about someone you’re praying for. Because it is a
“message” of wisdom, it is clear that only enough insight is given for the
need. “This gift does not raise us to a new level of wisdom, nor does it make
it impossible for us to make mistakes.” 1
Examples from Scripture:
In Acts
15 there was a big dispute in the church, one that proved to be critical to the
future of the church and continuing today. The apostle John had a Word of
Wisdom that changed the course of history.
Acts 15:5. But
some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is
necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 Now
the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
13 And
after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen
to me:
14 Simon
has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a
people for His name.
19 Therefore
I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are
turning to God,
20 but
that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual
immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
Could you
imagine if the legalists’ position was accepted? I seriously doubt the Church
would have grown much. Unfortunately that same legalistic-Pharisee spirit is at
work today, binding God’s people in religiosity. There is great freedom and
balance when we stick to the fundamentals of the list of doctrines in Heb. 6:1.
In Luke 15 Jesus is talking about times of
persecution that would come. He tells us,
14 Therefore
settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;
15 for
I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able
to contradict or resist.
In order
for this instruction to be followed, we have to experience a Word of Wisdom.
Look at
Peter in Acts 4 when challenged by
the religious leaders for healing the guy at the Temple Gate. His response was
absolutely brilliant,
Acts 4:8 Then
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and
elders of Israel:
9 If
we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he
has been made well,
10
let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
by Him this man stands here before you whole.
You can
read this “unlearned fisherman” interactions in rest of chapter 4
Stephen’s
response to such a challenge, in Acts 6 & 7 is my favorite. It is a most
spectacular, spontaneous, lengthy dissertation. I encourage you to look up and
read these two chapters, it’s a WOW.
Perhaps the
clearest example of this gift, used in conjunction with the Word of Knowledge,
is John 4:1-26 where Jesus is
talking with the Woman at the Well. Turn there in your Bibles and see how Jesus
flowed with the Spirit to radically change some lives.
OK, Let’s
bring the use of this gift home to us.
Personal Testimony:
In 1999 my
wife Johanna & I were in a tough situation. We were moving from Charlotte
to Maryland. The packers had just packed up all our stuff and were going to
load the truck the next day. At 5:PM we got a call from our realtor that our
buyer’s loan had fallen through, we would not be able to close on the house. In
desperation I took a walk and cried out to God. All of a sudden I knew just
what to do as the Lord spoke wisdom to my head and heart. We took a leap of
faith and asked the people we were buying the house from in MD if we could rent
week to week until this mess was straightened out. Miraculously, they agreed
and within a week everything was taken care of. God gave me a Word of Wisdom to
know how to deal with the situation.
I’ve
learned to depend on this gift when answering questions of the heart from other
believers. I’ve been praying for people at alters or in confidential
discussions for many years. Sometimes people ask tough questions about things
they’re struggling with. There have been times I would be at an event or
visiting with leaders of other churches and out of the blue they would ask
something they felt comfortable asking me. OK, I’ve learned many hard lessons
the hard way and served on church boards for many years, I can draw on that but
to know just the right approach, to know how to respond and help always
requires the Word of Wisdom. Sensitivity to the Spirit of the Lord and the
heart of the people is the only way to be effective in these situations.
Intro:
In John 4
where Jesus was talking with the Woman at the Well, we saw how the Word of
Wisdom and the Word of Knowledge worked closely together in Jesus to transform
the woman, indeed the whole town. Today, lets take a look at these 3 gifts also
work together, marvelously revealing the character and power of God.
Think of
what happened when you had your Salvation experience. Somehow you knew the
reality of who Jesus is, not just intellectually but there was a supernatural
experience that changed your life forever. It may have been spectacular flashes
of lightning bolts from Pentecostal skies or something as simple as a small
child asking Jesus into his heart in a Sunday school class, or anything in
between. Whatever the experience, there was a knowing in the heart and there
was no doubt. This is everyone’s 1st personal experience of
receiving supernatural knowledge, a spiritual experience with Jesus. You heard
something at the heart level and acknowledged it, thus a gift of faith came
into the equation because
Ephesians 2:8 For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the
gift of God,
Romans 10:17 So then
faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
You could
also add Working of Miracles to this equation, would anyone doubt that their
salvation is a miracle?
One thing
we have to always keep in mind concerning the Gifts of the Spirit is to test
it. Is what you’re going to say Biblical? Does it build up, exhort or comfort?
If something spoken to a congregation, does it fit with the theme, the
direction, of the move of the Spirit at the time? Be aware of God’s timing in
when to say anything.
The
Word of Knowledge
”The Word
of Knowledge is simply the Holy Spirit transmitting His specific knowledge to
you on something that you would have no ability or means to be able to know
about with your own limited intelligence and knowledge levels. It is
supernatural knowledge and insight being given directly to you by the Holy
Spirit Himself, not by your own mind or your own intelligence levels.” 2
Simply
stated, all of a sudden you know something that there’s no earthly way you
could really know. There are 2 types of applications that the Lord imparts this
gift for. The most important, I believe, is the knowledge of Himself.
2
Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God
who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ.
Col. 1:9
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for
you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all
wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 that
you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every
good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
The other type of application is that experience
when all of sudden you know something specific. We saw last week that Jesus
promised us He would give us this gift in times of persecution
Luke 15:14 Therefore
settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;
15 for
I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able
to contradict or resist.
This application of the gift also manifests in
prayer. It may be in your prayer closet and the Lord shows you something about
someone or some situation and He leads you to pray it through. It may be when
praying for people during an alter call. In Peter’s meetings when he calls me
up and tells me to call people out I have to be totally dependent on the Lord
for these sudden and specific “knowings” of who to call up and what to do when
they come up.
Faith by the same Spirit
Gift of Faith is not that confidence based on
previous experience of the Lord getting you through the stuff of life. The Gift
of Faith is given when the Lord puts us in a situation beyond our measure of
faith, way out of our comfort zone. Paul gives an example concerning His
apostolic calling,
2
Corinthians 3:4 And we have such
trust through Christ toward God.
5 Not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is
from God,
6 who also made us sufficient as ministers
of the new covenant,…
Think of how this worked in Moses’ life after the
burning bush experience. The Lord speaks to him out of the burning bush,
explains what He wants Moses to do and Moses’ response shows Moses’ response
clearly shows that his level of faith was not up to the task.
Ex.
3:10 Come now, therefore, and I
will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel,
out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I
should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of
Egypt?”
By the
time this dialogue is complete, Moses is transformed. He experienced the
reality of Romans 10:17
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” is
apparent. Moses was supernaturally enabled to do the extreme things that he
did.
OK, so
how does this work out in our far less high profile lives? We see it in the
overcoming of extreme obstacles, in receiving miracles, especially of healing,
and in praying for others in extreme situations, imparting God’s power to meet
their need. This is where we see Gifts of Faith and healing go hand in hand.
Personal
Testimony:
There was an amazing couple in our church in
Charlotte. They took in foster kids with all kinds of horrendous situations,
adopting many of them, just demonstrating the love of God with grace beyond
what most folks would dream of doing. They took in a baby named Fate who was
born HIV positive. Back in the early 1990’s that was pretty much a death
sentence. They prayed and brought the baby up for prayer in church on several
occasions. Somehow they knew that the Lord was going to heal that baby, and He
did. They had him tested after prayer there was no sign of AIDS.
This same couple took in a baby named Precious.
When her mother learned the baby had an abdominal tumor she gave Precious up
for adoption. This precious couple received a gift of faith concerning this
child’s getting healed. When the Clewells’ brought her to the doctor they found
that the tumor was entrenched in tissue and surgery would be difficult or prove
fatal. Again, after prayer a miracle happened in the hospital when the tissue
holding the tumor just let go from organs and the spine. Precious was totally
healed. I relate this as specific gifts of faith and healing because not all
the children were healed. Some are probably still in a vegetative state if they
are still alive, others struggled through the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome
and several other negatively life altering things due to their parents ungodly
behaviors during pregnancy of abusive things afterwards. God distributes His
gifts severally as He wills.
Review the basic principles of the gifts:
1 Cor, 12
1 Now
concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be
ignorant:
4 There are diversities of gifts, but
the same Spirit.
5 There are differences of ministries,
but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of
activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is
given to each one for the profit of all.
Question 1: What is the driving force,
the underlying principle that motivates God to give us these gifts? The
love of God working in our hearts.
1Jn 4:8b …for God is love.
Question 2: What must our motive be to use them? God’s live working in us
1 John 4:7 7 Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Question 3 What does it take to use the supernatural gifts?
Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through
love.
One thing we have
to always keep in mind concerning the Gifts of the Spirit is to test it. Is
what you’re going to say Biblical? Does it build up, exhort or comfort? If
something spoken to a congregation, does it fit with the theme, the direction,
of the move of the Spirit at the time? Be aware of God’s timing in when to say
anything.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today, and forever.
Gifts
of Healings
When
Jesus sent the 12 out on a mission he gave the following instructions which
obviously required them to function beyond their natural abilities:
Matt. 10:7 And
as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
8
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you
have received, freely give.
The
Gospels and Acts are filled with testimonies of supernatural healings. We see
Jesus healing sick bodies on a very regular basis. In Acts, just after the
great outpouring on the day of Pentecost, we see Peter & John healing the
sick guy at the temple gate.
John 14:11
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for
the sake of the works themselves.
12 “Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do
also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (NLT)
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Probably
the most common work we see Jesus do in the Gospels is to heal the sick. “You
may not have to have the gift of healing as a kind of a full time ministry to
be able to have the Holy Spirit do this through you. Again, this is a gift that
can literally happen to any single believer at anytime with the Lord.”
“Not only
can the Holy Spirit directly heal you with your own personal prayers to the
Lord, but He can also use you as an anointed vessel to manifest His healing
power through to help heal someone else – if you will only have the courage to
speak out what He wants you to say to that person, and then lay hands on that
person for the healing power to be transmitted into their body to the affected
body part that will need the healing.” 3
Some
people are greatly used by the Lord in healing the sick on a frequent basis. Fred
Lawrence, one of my spiritual mentors, was an international director with Full
Gospel Businessmen in the early 1970s. He spoke at large gatherings in many
parts of the world and saw many incredible healings. His motto was. “suit up
and show up and let God do the rest.” There is a distinct difference between
having a ministry in the area of healing and Gifts of Healings, just as there
is a difference between prophets and any Spirit Baptized believer speaking a
prophetic word. Just like a word of wisdom doesn’t mean you are a brilliant
scholar, the Lord using you in a gift of healing doesn’t mean you have a
ministry of healing. Never the less, it is important to the body that we
respond to the promptings of the Spirit to either go and lay hands on someone
to impart healing OR to receive a miracle of healing in your own body.
I think
the most awesome thing about Gifts of Healing is that they are clear
demonstrations of the power of God, and testify of His love. There is a lengthy
teaching on the subject of healing following the footnotes at the end of this
course material.
The
Working of Miracles
Some of the different Bible
Dictionaries describe the word miracle as the following:
Ø An
intervention in the natural universe by God
Ø A
phenomena that transcends natural laws
Ø A
divine act by which God reveals Himself to people
Some
Biblical examples:
Ø Creation
and the Rapture
Ø Jesus
turning water into wine at the wedding of Cana.
Ø Jesus
feeding 5000 people by multiplying 5 loaves of bread and two fish.
Ø God
parting the Red Sea for Moses and the children of Israel.
Ø Fire
consuming everything in Elijah’s confrontation with the priests of Baal.
Ø Jordan
River parted for Elijah & Elisha to cross
Ø Daniel
not being eaten by the lions in the lion’s den.
Ø The
sound of wind and the fire in Acts 2:4
Ø Peter
walking on water.
Ø Philip
and the Ethiopian in Acts 8, especially verse 39
o
26
Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the
south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.
o
27 So
he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority
under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury,
and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
o
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he
was reading Isaiah the prophet.
o
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and
overtake this chariot.”
So Philip does what the Lord says to
do and ends up explaining the verse in Isaiah the dude was reading and leading
him to the Lord. Skipping down…
o
36 Now as
they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See,
here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
o
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all
your heart, you may.”
o
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God.”[c]
o
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still.
And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
o
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the
Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and
he went on his way rejoicing.
o
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing
through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
Notice that healing
bodies is in this list of examples. There is a distinction between the 2 gifts.
The rapture won’t fit in the definition of healing. Our participation in these
miracles is to pray for them and obey the Lord. Elijah heard from God (Words
of Knowledge) and obeyed the Lord, stepping way out, enabled by a gift
of faith, to see the Lord testify as to who HE is.
Gift
of Prophecy
1COR. 14:1 Pursue love, and
desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
2 For he who speaks in
a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however,
in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
3 But he who prophesies
speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
“The gift
of prophecy is when you get a direct Word from the Lord to usually give to
someone else. And when I say a direct word, I mean the message from the Lord
that will be given to you will literally be word for word.”
“Again, any [Spirit
baptized] believer can have the Lord manifest this gift through them at anytime
that He will want to do so. You do not have to hold the actual office of a
prophet in order for God to manifest this gift through you from time to time. The Bible tells us
that in the latter days God will be pouring out His Holy Spirit upon all flesh
and when He does, it says our sons and daughters will be prophesying…This means
that there are going to be many believers who are going to be getting this gift
manifesting through them with a lot of frequency in the coming years.” 4
Like other gifts of the Spirit, there are different
applications. These applications are by no means limited to those called to the
ministry of a Prophet. One is to address a congregation of people with this
direct message from God. The other is to individuals in various settings. In
whatever context the Lord is moving, we see that, “the Spirit touches the
sensitive spots, reveals what is secret, and brings conviction and worship, as
well as encouragement and stimulation to action.”5
Hopefully you are in a Church were you see examples
of the gift in operation in almost every Sunday service. Listen as those on the
platform go beyond what is prepared and exhort the congregation. Often pastors
go beyond their notes and step into the prophetic realm. Occasionally the Lord
will give me, or others, a word to declare. Perhaps you’ve been prophetically
prayed for at an alter or in a small group meeting and the person praying had
such a direct word from God for you. It is important that we all be open to the
Lord to be used in these ways.
Biblical Examples:
Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-36. He was just
baptized in the Holy Ghost and this uneducated fisherman, with various issues,
spontaneously preaches a life changing, indeed history changing message to a
very large crowd. Peter’s quote of Joel 2 defines this turning point in human
history. From them on God is pouring out His Spirit on everybody and the result
is not silence.
Joel 2: 28
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
·
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
·
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
·
Your old men shall dream dreams,
·
Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also
on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those
days. (bullet points added)
Stephen, one if the 1st deacons, is described as,
Acts 6:8 …full of faith and power, did great
wonders and signs among the people. In Acts 7 we see him spontaneously,
prophetically anointed to present a lengthy message that affects a large crowd,
especially the religious leadership.
Discernment
(or Distinguishing between) of Spirits
This supernatural
enablement to make a judgment call. The Lord shows something in the
spiritual realm that you may not have been aware of at the time. We can know of
the presence of angels or of demons.
Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Eph. 1:20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21
far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
How did Abraham know who these 3 guys were?
Gen. 1:18 Then
the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in
the tent door in the heat of the day.
2 So
he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and
when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to
the ground,
3 and
said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your
servant.
Great Bible story about the fight in the heavenly
realm is 2 Kings 6 and this gift in operation. The Lord is showing Elisha every
plan of the King of Syria in a war with Israel. The Syrian king senT an army to
surround the city where Elisha was living. Gehazi, his servant, wakes up, goes
to the wall of the city and freaks out when he sees this enemy army. And asks
Elisha what to do.
2 King 6:16 So
he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who
are with them.”
17 And
Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then
the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain
was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
In more down to earth application in our lives
today here in America, sometimes we need to distinguish between the Spirit of
the Lord, the spirit of a person and the spirit of the enemy. When someone
speaks something into our lives we need to judge it before we receive it. Is it
just flesh or limited human intelligence that is contrary to Godly wisdom? Is
it intentional deception from an individual? Is it demonically inspired
deception? If you know me you know that I can get pretty blunt sometimes, so
the 1st example the flesh talking that comes to mind is, If a young man tells a
young woman that he loves her, is it real or does he just want to get in her
pants?
The enemy of our souls works overtime to trip us
up. Read C,S. Lewis classic short book, the Screw Tape Letters. It’s a series
of letters between an uncle demon and his nephew about how to trip up
Christians.
Sometimes in a worship service we can sense the
presence of angels. Once, when my oldest daughter was probably 3 or 4, we were
almost in a bad car accident. I was about to pull out onto a main road and the
car stalled. Had that not happened we would have been Tee Boned, seriously
wrecking the car and us. I’ll never forget her asking if we saw the angel, she
obviously did.
Demonic visitation can get pretty freaky, I only
remember 1 night in a hotel room on a business trip. It was a battle for much
of the night. I was gripped with fear and in a cold sweat. I prayed and
worshipped Jesus and eventually the battle was over.
2 Corinthians
2:14 Now thanks be unto God,
which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of
his knowledge by us in every place. (KJV).
Gift
of Tongues
In Lesson 1 we discussed that the Gift of Tongues
is the initial evidence of receiving the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. We shared
numerous verses in Acts where this happened. Today we’ll discuss the continuous
use of this gift and of interpreting (not translating) tongues.
Mark 16:17 And
these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out
demons; they will speak with new tongues;
1 Corinthians 14:4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies
edifies the church.
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
1 Corinthians 14:18 I thank my God I speak with
tongues more than you all;
These verses clearly show that speaking in tongues
doesn’t stop when we receive the baptism in the Spirit. It is a life long
experience that keeps us focused on the source of the ability to do so.
Personally, I pray in tongues much more than English. Speaking in tongues when
the flesh is tempted helps to overcome that temptation and find the way of
escape God is always faithful to provide. Various types of tongues are
experienced sometimes. When I’m in heavy intercession sometimes I realize that
the language I am speaking sounds very different than at other times of prayer
or worship. The gift is not limited to 1 language and the Lord changes things a
bit from time to time.
Tongues are also an important tool for worship.
1 Cor. 14:15 What
is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with
the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the
understanding.
Ephesians 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
Colossians 3:16 Let
the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your
hearts to the Lord.
Interpretation
of Tongues
We’ve repeated throughout this course that the
purposes of the gifts of the Spirit are for edification, exhortation and
comfort. Speaking in tongues only edifies the speaker, no one else knows what
they are saying. A message in tongues in a congressional setting requires
interpretation in order to accomplish the purposes of the gifts. We’ll get into
this more in our discussion of 1 Cor. 14. There is often little difference
between this gift and prophecy. It is not a translation of what is spoken, it
is the Lord inspiring you to explain what the message was without you knowing
whatever earthly or heavenly language the message was delivered in.
Although many believers apply the following verse
to tongues spoken out loud to a group, it should never be limited to that.
There’s a story that Oral Roberts received considerable direction from the
Spirit of the Lord as he was given the interpretation of what he was praying.
God is bigger than our pre-conceived notions and legalistic limitations of His
moving.
1 Corinthians 14:13-14 “Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may
interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is
unfruitful.”
It is often a wonderful blessing when you’re with
another believer in prayer and you have understanding of what is being prayed
in tongues. You can be moved to Heavenly realms of worship listening with the
Spirit to what others a singing to the Lord in tongues.
15
What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray
with the understanding. I will sing with
the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.
BOTTOM LINE: FLOW WITH THE SPIRIT.
When you
are alone with the Lord the only rule is that anything He says to you will line
up with the Bible. When we are speaking with others that rule also applies.
This chapter also gives us some instruction that helps us determine the intent
of what feel led of the Lord to declare and how we use the gifts in the
congregational setting. The following verses need little explanation and the
essence of them has been stressed throughout this course.
1 Cor. 14:1 Pursue love,
and desire spiritual gifts, but
especially that you may prophesy.
3 But he who prophesies
speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
4 He
who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
12 Even
so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.
13 Therefore
let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.
14
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15
What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray
with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with
the understanding.
24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all.
25 And
thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face,
he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.
27 If
anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn,
and let one interpret.
28 But
if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to
himself and to God.
29
Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.
32 And the spirits of the
prophets are subject to the prophets.
You may
not want to, but you can control what you do when the Spirit is moving,
39 Therefore,
brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with
tongues.
40
Let all things be done decently and in order.
1. What the
Bible Says About the Holy Spirit, Stanley Horton, Gospel Publishing House pg.
271
5. “What the
Bible Says About the Holy Spirit,” Stanley Horton, GPH.
Intro
story:
A
ministry was experiencing miracles and or healings and the some people
investigated what might really be happening. They decided to look in the
basement for the power source. They felt surely there was some kind of an
electrical connection or something that would cause all of this to be
happening. They thought that if they could just get to the basement so they
persevered and got there. In the basement, they found many praying grandmas. See
the world doesn’t understand the power of prayer.
What
would you say is the first response most Christians have when sickness strikes,
and why?
·
Figure out the
home remedy
·
Search the piles
of medications around the house for something you think should work?
·
Call Dr. Mom?
·
Call the Dr.
These are all good things to do and I will never tell someone not to
consult a Dr. Unfortunately the most important, the most effective thing to do
isn’t even on most people’s list, let alone the 1st thing on the list – PRAY.
Objective for this lesson is to dig into a few scriptures that explain
what the Bible says about supernatural healing and to share testimonies of
those who have been involved in the process. Healing is as much for today as
when Jesus walked on Earth.
It is not my intent to explain the controversial an often misunderstood
side issues people bring up, like why is it that not everybody that gets prayed
for gets healed instantly. Frankly I don’t know the answer and I don’t know
anyone who does. I just know it is our responsibility and privilege to pray and
that God has His perfect timing and perfect way to meet all our needs. Nor do I intend to explain the connection
between sin and sickness. Although some sins cause certain illnesses, there are
too many situations that would need to be understood on a case by case basis.
Just because someone is sick does not necessarily mean they are living in sin,
John 9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this
man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said
Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in
him.
This
scripture shows us God’s 1st thing to do when we face illness, injury, or other
infirmities:
James 5:13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should
pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.
14 Are any of you sick? You should call
for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil
in the name of the Lord.
15 Such a prayer offered in faith will
heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any
sins, you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that
you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and
produces wonderful results.
Wonderful power is available through the prayers of fellow believers.
Thus, we’re wise to seek the spiritual support of Christian leaders and
friends. Divine healing has been a reality throughout history and is available
to us today.
Healing
is an integral part of the Gospel message:
The prophet Isaiah powerfully foretold the coming Messiah’s passion to
heal and deliver. The stripes He bore at His crucifixion were not only for our
sins, but for our healing. He came to destroy bondage and oppression,
physically and spiritually. Isaiah 53:1-5 is the foretelling of what Jesus
would do, you will see the whole story especially as I quote from the Amplified
Bible:
Isaiah
53:1-5 Amplified Bible (AMP)
53 Who has believed (trusted in, relied
upon, and clung to) our message [of that which was revealed to us]? And to whom
has the arm of the Lord been disclosed?
2 For [the Servant of God] grew up before Him
like a tender plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He has no form or
comeliness [royal, kingly pomp], that we should look at Him, and no beauty that
we should desire Him.
3 He was despised and
rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and
acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide
their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His
worth or have any esteem for Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses,
weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of
punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and
afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He
was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful
to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.
Hebrews 4:13-16 Amplified Bible (AMP)
13 And not a creature exists that is
concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed,
naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.
14 Inasmuch then as we have a great High
Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him].
15 For we do not have a High Priest Who is
unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling
with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the
assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we
are, yet without sinning.
16 Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly
draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us
sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help
in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just
when we need it].
Jesus’ healing
ministry confirmed that He is the Messiah
Luke 7:20 John’s two disciples found Jesus and said
to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been
expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”
21 At that very time, Jesus cured many
people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to
many who were blind.
22 Then he
told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen
and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the
poor.
23 And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do
not turn away because of me.’” (NLT)
Gospel Examples of
healing:
Jesus’ healing ministry is mentioned
frequently throughout the Gospels. Here is a list you can look up for follow up
when you get home.
Matthew 4:23,24;
8:16;
9:35;
12:15;
Mark 1:34;
3:10;
Luke 4:40;
5:15;
6:19;
9:6,11;
John 5:1-9
Testimonies of
healing:
·
My daughter Sarah & I healed of Crones Disease
·
My son David’s nose was broken while horsing around
in a car on way back from the Brownsville revival meetings with the youth
group. They stopped for gas, prayed for him and he was totally healed in an
instant.
·
Lots of colds & sore throats and other minor
things in our family
·
I lost control of a large upright freezer while
pulling it over the threshold with a dolly. I was able to hold the weight long
enough to not get crushed but my leg muscles were strained making walking
difficult. I was ushering in the back of the church the next morning and the
Lord spoke to my heart to dance before him. I said, “Lord, I can hardly walk
let alone dance.” As I acted in obedience my leg muscles were totally healed.
·
The Lord kept us healthy most of the time.
·
Pastor’s wife was pregnant and the placenta was in
the wrong place which could have caused the baby to die or a miscarriage. The doctors
told her to abort the baby. The Lord detached the placenta from where it was
and reattached it where it was supposed to be. She had a beautiful baby girl
after a full term pregnancy. They saw the scar tissue where the placenta had
been in the wrong place.
·
In 2017, a woman in our church in Greenville had a
severe wound after a mastectomy for breast cancer. The cancer was so aggressive
it began to eat through the skin graft. One morning she removed the bandage to
dress the wound and it was gone, the wound was gone and the so was the cancer.
For further reading that will excite you about the many miracles still
happening, Google the following 20th Centaury healing evangelists
· Rex Humbard (1919–2007)
The first successful TV evangelist of the mid-1950s, 1960s, and the 1970s and
at one time had the largest television audience of any televangelist in the
U.S.
· George Jeffreys (1889–1972) Founder of the Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance and
the Bible-Pattern Church Fellowship in Britain
· Kathryn Kuhlman (1907–1976)
American female evangelist who brought Pentecostalism into the mainstream
denominations
·
Aimee
Semple McPherson (1890–1944) American Female Evangelist, pastor, and
organizer of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
· David du Plessis (1905–1987)
South-African Pentecostal church leader, one of the founders of the Charismatic
movement
·
Another testimony is of a man who had three
broken ribs. He was barely able to stand because of the pain he endured. As
Sister Etter laid hands on him he flinched but after the prayer of faith was
given the bones that were turned inward came into place. The same man,
instantly healed, ended up pounding his ribs because he realized the pain and
the swelling were gone
