Santoso:
Dear JS, about praying for spiritual gifts, I wouldn’t consider it wrong. I believe we can express our longing for spiritual gifts to Holy Spirit.
If we have prayed wrongly! I consider this psalm :
Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. -
Psalms 19:12
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. -
Psalms 19:13
So I believe that we can come to the Lord, even when we have prayed wrongly. We can seek the Lord’s mercy to cleanse us from our hidden faults. Likewise, we can seek the Lord’s strength to keep us from presumptuous sins.
I agree with you that you should rely on dreams but seek the confirmation of dream via God’s words.
About homosexuality, many these days have been wrongly influenced; is there no way of repentance for these sinners? I still believe that there is grace of repentance for them.
If you are asking whether they can be clean and receive spiritual gifts ! If those who are homosexual repent in truth and contrition, come back to the Lord. I believe the Lord will abundantly pardon them. I believe just like everyone else, the homosexual, need to have testimony about Christ confirmed among us.
JS: Still I struggling to discover how serious a sin, for example pride or an overblown ego can block us from receiving a Spiritual Gift, but are all homosexuals arrogant or egotistical and is this why you believe they cannot hear G-d? Or is their sin something else all together that might allow Him in?
My experience has been this “they must repent before… statements does more harm to spreading the Gospel to homosexuals that any other judgment. Here in America most Christians are self absorbed sinners seeking money and entertainment and other distractions like drugs and alcohol. And yet we do not say to them as they come our congregations, “repent in truth and contrition, come back to the Lord”? Our Churches would be empty!
It is not for us to judge! Its for us to point the way to the Great Judge and let HIM convict. Who knows for some of these people he could even say to them as He said to Paul about one of his difficult sins, “My grace is sufficient”.
Santoso: But who knows the hearts better ? God is greater than our hearts. He knows everything. I believe Holy Spirit will apportion these spiritual gifts in accords with His will.
JS: Exactly, He Knows the heart, even the hearts of two men or two woman in love who see no wrong in that love. Besides in most cases I seen they are reacting to others sin that caused them to turn away for the opposite sex. Often we need to help them heal their past but most of the time its the Messiah Who can heal them far better than we can. So I leave it mostly in His hands and spread the Good News clear of judgments.
Dear JS,
I understand your concern to bring those who have sinned to repentance, including the homosexual. Let me share with you what Holy Spirit have shared with me, regarding the parable of the dragnet that our Lord Jesus Christ have said :
The parable of the Dragnet seems quite obvious as if the Lord explains the parable together with the meaning.
Since it is still parable, we need to seek to hear and understand and see and perceive.
This is what we have heard:
And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. -Mark 4:24
So, what we can understand about this parable and more.
Since the Lord says,” "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. “
We can understand that this parable is related with others that He has spoken.
We can consider the one who has thrown the net into the sea was Son of Man.
What we can understand about the sea ? This is what we have heard:
You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. -Habakkuk 1:14
So, we can perceive that the net that was thrown into the sea was the net was thrown into mankind whom the Lord make like the fish of the sea.
Also, we heard in the parable :
When it was full,.... So it will be at the end of the age.
So this is what we have heard:
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law,
to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. -Galatians 4:4-7
From here, we can understand those who were born, were under the law.
This is what we have heard what the law says to those who are under the law :
Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. -Romans 3:19
Thus, we can determine that the net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind was the law.
Did the good fish and bad fish born under the law ? Yes
This is what we have heard:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. -John 3:6
Does this mean the good fish and bad fish born under different law ?
Yes
This is what we have heard:
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. -Romans 3:27
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. -Romans 3:28
Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, -Romans 3:29
since God is one'who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. -Romans 3:30
Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. -Romans 3:31
Here we can understand that the good fish are under the law of faith, while the bad fish are under the law of works.
Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. -Galatians 3:21
But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. -Galatians 3:22
As the net imprison the fish, so the those under law of works or the law of works of sin or law of sin were imprisoned as slaves of sin but those under law of faith were imprisoned as slaves of righteousness by faith in Christ Jesus.
That is why we heard this :
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. -Romans 8:1
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. -Romans 8:2
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh ( that is law of sin and death ), could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, -Romans 8:3
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walknot according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. -Romans 8:4
Here, we can understand that the good fish or the righteous saints who are not condemned in union with Christ Jesus by faith.
But the bad fish or the evildoers are condemned by being thrown into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For they did not believe
the promise given by faith in Christ Jesus.
For the righteous requirement of the law of Spirit of life are fulfilled in those who walk according to the Holy Spirit.
In other words, the good fish swim according to the Spirit while the bad fish swim according to the flesh.
Let us heed this admonition:
For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, -Hebrews 2:2
how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, -Hebrews 2:3
while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. -Hebrews 2:4
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a law that was given to mankind and gathered people of every kind.
Let the Word of Messiah in all its richness dwell in us.
Let overflowing thanksgiving be given through our Lord Jesus Christ to God,
Glorifying His wonderful name.