the SPIRITUAL GIFTS of the HOLY SPIRIT

[murjahel]

1.
THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS of the HOLY SPIRIT


The Holy Spirit is the present Person of the Trinity that is working through the members of the church to do the ministry left to us by Jesus.

Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power (exousia, authority) is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Jesus spoke with ‘exousia’ authority to commission disciples of every age to evangelize, and disciple all people. We have that commission to continue the work of Jesus, to evangelize the world, to disciple all those converts.

We, Christians, have a desire to win the world, for we know from what we have ourselves been saved, and we know that, unless the others are saved, there is no hope.

Power is needed to do this soul winning. Jesus promised up power.

Acts 1:8
‘But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you.”



The words ‘Holy Spirit’ refer to One of the Trinity. He is Holy (agios), that we understand. The other word ‘Spirit’ is the Greek word ‘pneuma’, which means ‘blowing, wind, breathing.’


He is the One Who gives ‘breath’ to the body of believers. He is what gives us spiritual life. When our spirit departs the body, the body dies. When breath ceases to breathe from the body, the human body is dead. The Holy Spirit comes at salvation, and gives life to our spirit, which had been dead in sins. The life is there, spiritual life, after the coming of the Agios Pneuma, i.e. the Holy Spirit, enlivens our spirit.

Power is needed by our ‘sarx’ spirit, i.e. human spirit, from this Holy Spirit, in order to do the commission we have. Some seek to evangelize by studying formulas of Scriptures for answers to common questions they may be asked. Some memorize a few Scriptures, carry a pocketful of tracts, locate a great place to stand to witness, and hope that is all there is to witnessing. Yet, those may all be good things to do, but the work actually requires more power than our human spirit is capable.

When acting in the flesh, in the ‘sarx spirit’ we are ‘sarkikos’ or ‘carnal’ as the translators chose to coin that word, not understanding the meaning here. When the flesh is in control, when the ministry is motivated by the human nature, it is a carnality, a meathead, fleshly exhibition that does not reflect the spirituality of the ‘pneumatikos’ nature and gifts we are to exhibit that are gifted by the Holy Spirit.

We need the Holy Spirit to add a 'power' to the witness, to put a desire in your heart to win souls, and to give supernatural conviction to lead the person to change their mind about sin, and direct them to the Answer to that conviction, i.e. Jesus.

By working in conjunction with that power of the Spirit, not counteracting it, not working contrary to it, not ignoring it, the mission of the Lord to us progresses. This kind of powerful witness is vital.


UNDERSTANDING THE ‘SPIRIT’ IS IMPORTANT


MANKIND’S SPIRIT

Man’s spirit is the word ‘pneuma’ and used with the word ‘sarx’. The word sarx is Greek for the material part of man. The word pneuma refers to mankind’s immaterial part. Flesh and spirit together equal the whole person.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (KJV)
1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The sarx spirit of man, needs cleansed, needs the filthiness removed, and we need to perfect holiness in our lives. The Agios Pnema, the Holy Spirit, is that Perfector of holiness in us, and in the process of doing so, He wants to give us pneumatikos, to replace the sarkikos, we call ‘carnality’.



GOD’S SPIRIT

God’s Spirit is often called ‘pneuma o deos’, the Spirit of God.

Ephesians 4:30
"Grieve not the Spirit of God..."

I John 4:2
"Hereby know we the Spirit of God..."

The Spirit "proceeds from the Father".
John 15:26-27 (KJV)
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.


And thereby He can reveal the truth of God.
John 16:13 (KJV)
13 Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.


This Spirit of God will guide us toward God and away from sarkikos, i.e. fleshly living. The Holy Spirit arrives in our lives, baptizing us into Jesus at salvation. The process continues, with more and more pneumatikos arriving in subsequent revelations, and subsequent empowerments.

Romans 8:4-9 (KJV)
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded (sarx phronema = meatheaded in mind) is death; but to be spiritually minded (pneuma phronema = letting the wind of the Spirit work in our mind) is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

In order to have any relationship with the Father, you must have a relationship with the "Spirit of God."


DEMON SPIRITS

Demonic spirits are called ‘poneros pneuma’ meaning ‘evil spirit’, or pneuma to akarthartos,’ meaning ‘unclean spirit’.

Acts 19:15 (KJV)
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
Matthew 12:43 (KJV)
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

Some let the thoughts and suggestions of evil spirits come into their own minds, and they contemplate them, are tempted by them, are defiled by them. We need to be Holy Spirit minded, not carnal minded, and definitely not evil spirit minded.

At salvation, we are to have the Holy Spirit transforming our lives, making us to be ‘new creations’ in Jesus. The spirit of man refers to the part that those who receive God have new Spirit life given. The body comes alive at conception. The soul is also alive then. Man’s spirit is the third part, alive and real, at conception. Yet, the willful sin of the spirit bring death to the spirit, that lasts until salvation.

Pneumatikos refers to the things God gives, or desires to give to those who are alive in the spirit following salvation. The list is far longer therefore than the gifts listed in I Corinthians 12.

The church needs to be empowered with pneumatikos. What is the "church"? It comes from the Greek word - "ecclesia". It refers to a body of "called out ones." It is translated "church" 112 times, and translated "assembly" 3 times. It is used in the Bible to refer to a gathering of a mob of people. In Acts 19. This mob was confused, disoriented, and behaved in a shameful way.

Acts 19:32
"Some therefore cried one thing, and some another; for the assembly (ecclesia) was confused, and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together."

Unfortunately, this is descriptive of many congregations today. They do not know why they gather together, nor do they speak with unity, and have a like purpose. They have little power, little ability to do the commission we have from the Lord. They are confused, and behaving in ways that shame the Lord they claim to serve.

Paul was speaking in I Corinthians to such a congregation. This church (ecclesia) was disorderly, and therefore was not prospering. Paul stated some serious, vital principles to guide such congregations. Paul talked much about the pneumatikos that God was wanting to endow, that their work could have power.

We should recognize weaknesses, inconsistencies, extravagances, dangers in Pentecostal worship. The Holy Spirit takes people as they are, and none of them are perfect. The imperfections of people will creep out into the expressions of worship. The manifestations of the church are affected by these imperfections.

God did not make us robots, to automatically perform exactly as He would will. We, as people of free will, had better heed, and study the instructions of the Lord in the Word of God. For the behavior of people within the church, without such instruction, and the following thereof, will degenerate to shameful practices as it did in Corinth.

If we ignore the safety markings, the guidelines of the Lord, we can no more claim to be infallible examples of God's handiwork than the motorists who ignores all the highway laws and markings on his trip. It is dangerous and deadly for a congregation to play church without the proper guidelines being observed and obeyed.

The early church services were informal. One person had a psalm, or a song. Another would speak of a doctrine. A third would express a revelation given to them by the Lord that week. Each would take part, and encourage others. This excessive informality degenerated into a very unhealthy "free for all" in Corinth.

Some congregations have tried to substitute a cold, dead, formalism to avoid such problems as they were having in Corinth. These cold, dead, formal, and planned services are about as inspiring and Spirit filled as the morgue. They not only do not have power in their works, they have no works. They congregate, collect an offering to make sure they can congregate again.

Excessive deadness and informality can engender confusion, false doctrines, and disorder. Paul's answer was not formality. He counseled teaching as the answer. The easiest way to kill excess is form and rule, but that kills the spontaneity of the Spirit's moving, as well as man's. We need order, but not the order of a prison.

God does not want a planned, ordered, and controlled to the kind one finds in a prison plan for the church services. He does want "all things to be done decently and in order." He wants a Holy Spirit anointed group of 'called out ones' to demonstrate pnuematikos, empowering the winning of souls, the discipling of converts, doing the wonderful works of Jesus.

At least 20 verses in the 40 verses of I Corinthians 14, emphasize the need of edification of the church. The church is a place wherein the believers go to be edified, built up, helped, refueled, repaired, and cleaned up. As a car goes to a service station for gas, oil, repairs, and a cleaned windshield, so the believers should go to the local church "ecclesia."

There in the church, pneumatikos, are demonstrated, used, and giving the anointing of the Lord. We need to study ‘pneumatikos’ and see that it is descriptive of a life filled with many kinds of gifts. These gifts start at salvation, later other times of enduement of more gifts continue to empower and anoint the Holy Spirit minded saints.

More to come...

a ‘peanut gallery thread’
...http://www.christianforums.com/t7837483/#post66169711

 

[murjahel]

2
WHAT ARE THE PNEUMATIKOS?


The word ‘pneumatikos’ has been misunderstood, misapplied, and sometimes totally confused. There are far more pneumatikos given by the Spirit than we are normally taught. The Bible gives far greater a definition and explanation of pneumatikos than normally is noticed.

THE LAW IS A PNEUMATIKOS

Romans 7:14 (KJV)
14 For we know that the law is spiritual...

The word ‘spiritual’ there is ‘pneumatikos’. The law was a spiritual gift of the Holy Spirit to define what displeases, and what is unacceptable, to God. It is God’s gift (pneumatikos) to us, for us to have defined what is displeasing to the Lord. Paul describes in Romans 7, how he fails to measure up to the standard. In Romans 8, he describes then what the grace and salvation of the Lord does for us.

WORSHIPFUL SONGS ARE A PNEUMATIKOS

Ephesians 5:19-20 (KJV)
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual (pneumatikos) songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Colossians 3:16 (KJV)
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual (pneumatikos) songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Spiritual songs are those that are inspired of the Lord, to teach, prophesy, and admonish us. Like a prophet utters messages of rhema, many ‘spiritual songs’ are inspired of God to the song writer, and are prophetic, exhorative, and a blessing spiritually. Not all Christian music is pneumatikos, but the songs we call the Psalms are, and many great hymns were, and tons of the ‘spiritual songs’ of worship and of Godly encouragement are inspired by the Holy Spirit. They feed our souls, they uplift our hearts, they prepare us for future events.

SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING IS PNEUMATIKOS

When one becomes more and more spiritual, rather than carnal, the understanding that brings one to that growth and maturity, is a pneumatikos.
Colossians 1:9 (KJV)
9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual (pneumatikos) understanding;

As one can see, the list of pneumatikos, is already spanning a greater area than most ever consider to be part of it.

IN THE WILDERNESS TRAVELS OF THE ISRAELITES, THE MANNA, THE WATER FLOWING FROM THE ROCK, AND THE ROCK ITSELF, WERE PNEUMATIKOS AND PREFIGURED PNEUMATIKOS OF OUR TIME.

1 Corinthians 10:3-4 (KJV)
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Manna, the Rock from Which the water flowed for nearly forty years, were pneumatikos for those people in the wilderness. The ‘Rock’ was a type of Jesus, Who is also a Pneumatikos implanted into the womb of Mary, becoming our Savior by the death of His human body. So, as the ‘law’ was a pneumatikos defining sin, and judging us by our breaking of it, Jesus was a pneumatikos providing salvation from the penalties of broken commandments.

The Holy Spirit is still providing pneumatikos for us. We are still ‘drinking from the water, as Israel did in type, we do in reality.
I Cor. 12:13,27
"...HAVE ALL BEEN MADE TO DRINK INTO ONE SPIRIT...NOW YE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST, AND MEMBERS IN PARTICULAR..."
Drinking of the ‘pneumatikos’ of Jesus, we become members of the church, or as some would say, the kingdom.



Some call them ‘graces’, some call them the ‘fruit’. They are a pneumatikos blessing on all who accept Jesus, and continue as long and whenever we are in close fellowship with Jesus. We do need to understand the difference between the FRUIT or GRACES, the OFFICES or phanerosis, the charisma GIFTS of the Spirit, and the ‘domata’ gifts from the Holy Spirit.

Too many confuse these three, and some neglect one or more of the three.
A correct understanding of them is necessary.


THE GRACES or FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE ONE BRANCH OF PNEUMATIKOS.

GRACES are the fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23. These are given to all Christians at the moment of salvation. These are:
"LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, FAITH, MEEKNESS, TEMPERANCE..."

The word ‘fruit’ is from the Greek word ‘karpos’. Normally translated ‘fruit’ though the words is a derivative from hapazo, meaning to be plucked or taken by force. Fruit is something that is growing on a bush or tree, and to obtain it, one has to forcefully pluck it from the branch.

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is present at salvation, but is something that once given at salvation must be forcibly taken from the ‘Branch’, i.e. Jesus, and claimed by the taker.

These are the evidence that the Lord has made the saint into a "new creation." We are to be recognized as a child of God by the forcible removal of these fruit from the Vine.

Like the fig tree that the Lord cursed after coming to it expecting to find figs, and found none; many today are supposed to have these fruit, and have ceased to bear the fruit that the Lord desires. ( Mark 11:12-14)

As in the Old Testament, when Isaac returned to find the wells that Abraham had dug, he found they had been filled with stones. The fresh water seemed to be gone. Yet when the stones were all removed, the fresh water still was there in the well. In the same way, many Christians seem to have little of the fruit evident in their lives. If they remove the stones of unforgiveness, apathy, sin, doubt, etc, the wells are still able to produce a fresh flow of good water.

The FRUIT of the Holy Spirit are a pneumatikos of the Holy Spirit. They are never forced on anyone, and it does take some effort to apply these to events and to things in our lives. Yet, they are a pneumatikos, awaiting our application by some effort. We see some who have charisma gifts, but are not applying them with love, a fruit of the Spirit. It takes some seeking after and some forcible application of the love to make the charisma to be of value. (I Cor. 13:1)

THE OFFICES OF MINISTRY ARE A PNEUMATIKOS.

The OFFICES of the Spirit are the plan of the Lord for the administration of the local churches. The Spirit's plan for the rule, guiding, feeding, and guarding of the church include these offices. We are gifted with the pneumatikos gift of office, of being a ‘holy priesthood’. We are to ‘offer up spiritual sacrifices, and be a chosen, royal, holy and peculiar’ administer in the kingdom of the Lord.

There are different offices of ministry in the church. The one pneumatikos office that all are given is the ‘priesthood’. We are all priests, via this pneumatikos, to God.

1 Peter 2:5-12 (KJV)
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual (pneumatikos) house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Christ has the Head office.
Ephesians 1:22 (KJV)
22 And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church,

God gives some of the priesthood of believers to be ‘apostles, prophets, pastor teachers, evangelists, etc. These are offices that are a pneumatikos given to some, that the ministry of the Holy Spirit might be effective in accomplishing His work. These ‘offices’ are areas of ministry that make them ‘examples’ of various works of the Holy Spirit. None of these give ‘rulership’ or ‘lordship’ to the individual, but they are examples of the workings of the Spirit of God.

I Peter 5:3
"NEITHER AS BEING LORDS OVER GOD'S HERITAGE, BUT BEING EXAMPLES TO THE FLOCK."

As members of the church, we find the Holy Spirit sends pneumatikos to operate spiritual offices of ministry.
I Cor. 12:28
"GOD HATH SET SOME IN THE CHURCH, FIRST APOSTLES, SECONDARILY PROPHETS..."

The Holy Spirit anoints with pneumatikos, the preaching of the gospel, and empowers those preached words to convict, and lead others to Jesus. He helps in the preaching of the gospel. The ones with various offices from the Holy Spirit are to minister with His direction in that office.

I Th. 1:5-6
"FOR OUR GOSPEL CAME NOT UNTO YOU IN WORD ONLY, BUT ALSO IN POWER, AND IN THE HOLY SPIRIT."

THE PRAYER LANGUAGE GIVEN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PNEUMATIKOS.

The Holy Spirit gives many a prayer language, with which we can pray in the Spirit, for things we do not realize we need. Our prayer language is a pneumatikos.
Romans 8:26-27 (KJV)
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Ephesians 6:18
"PRAYING ALWAYS WITH ALL PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION IN THE SPIRIT..."
Jude 20
"BUT YE, BELOVED, BUILDING UP YOURSELVES ON YOUR MOST HOLY FAITH, PRAYING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT..."

CHARISMATA, CHARISMA GIFTS, ARE ONE KIND OF PNEUMATIKOS.

1 Corinthians 12:1-4 (KJV)
1 Now concerning spiritual (PNEUMATIKOS) gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
4 Now there are diversities of gifts (CHARISMA), but the same Spirit.



The purpose of the CHARISMA group that are one kind of pneumatikos, is to enable us to do the works of Christ. We need to carry on the work that He began. We need supernatural power to do so.

1 Corinthians 1:5-7 (KJV)
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
7 So that ye come behind in no gift (charisma); waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Yes, we need ‘enriched’ by the branch of pneumatikos called ‘charisma gifts’.

The charisma gifts are subsequent to salvation. One cannot minister for the Lord in the power of the charisma gifts until one is first saved from their own sins. After salvation, whether a short time, or a longer time, there comes a need to fulfill the mission of the church, and do ministry. The charismata gifts are bestowed upon what we call the ‘infilling of power’ for ministry.

The CHARISMA GIFTS of the Spirit are divine endowments of special power for service in the body of Christ. These are God-given abilities, strengths, and divine endowments. They are not natural talents. Natural talents are given of God through genetics. Talents are received at birth. Talents should be dedicated to God for His use. However, the gifts of the Spirit are given of God, independent of the parents. They are received at conversion, or later. They are to be used as God directs. The gifts are not talents already present, that now must be increased. The gifts are not more of what was already present. The gifts of the Spirit are not enhancements. The gifts are not received from schooling or training. The gifts are endowments of the supernatural. They are manifestations of the Spirit as He works through the saint as His vessel.

These, one kind of pneumatikos empowerments of the Holy Spirit, called the charisma, enable us to minister with supernatural enduements. The ministry which we are commanded to do is to be confirmed by the signs and wonders which emanate through the exercise of the gifts.

The charisma gifts will be covered in detail, and the ministry impartment will be described as we continue.

 

[murjahel]

3.
FIRST NATURAL i.e. UNSAVED...
THEN SPIRITUAL, i.e. SAVED AND ANOINTED...
BUT THEN CARNAL i.e WALKING IN THE FLESH...

The possession of charisma gifts does not necessarily indicate that one is spiritual. Corinth displayed many, but they were not very spiritual. They were no longer the ‘natural’ man, for they had found Jesus. Yet, they had degenerated from the spiritual man to the carnal person. Paul was very plain in describing the differences.

THE SPIRITUAL VS THE CARNAL VS THE NATURAL MAN​

THE NATURAL PERSON...

The ‘natural man’ is unrenewed by the new birth, ungifted with spiritual gifts, for they have not yet been saved by the Holy Spirit.

James 3:14-16 (KJV)
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual (psuchikos), devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

The word ‘sensual’ in the above passage is the Greek word “psuchikos”, (G5591) meaning "of the senses". The natural man is ruled and directed by their senses. Their abilities are only natural talents, their knowledge is based on their education. Feelings and educated moralities rule their lives.

1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV)
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.


THE CARNAL PERSON

1 Corinthians 3:1-4 (KJV)
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual (pneumatikos), but as unto carnal (sarkikos), even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3 For ye are yet carnal (sarkikos): for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal (sarkikos), and walk as men?
4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal (sarkikos)?

Corinth was torn by divisions, and lawsuits; they had drunkenness and gluttony. In Corinth, some denied Paul's apostolic ministry. Some denied the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul said you can have various gifts and not have love. He indicated that in these cases, the exercise and use of the pneumatikos will profit nothing. Works, supernatural, or natural, without the fruit of the Spirit, are powerless.

Jude 1:18-19 (KJV)
18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.

Pneumatikos and sarkikos are opposites. One is a person operating in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. The other is a person motivated by the fleshly desires, the worldly nature. In Corinth, we have both being exhibited. In churches of today, we often find the ‘sarkikos’ and the ‘pneumatikos’ present in the same setting.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (KJV)
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Where are the gifts today? Some churches find the subject of gifts to be strange. Some saints have not discovered or allowed the use of their gifts. Some do not even know what gifts are available. The church age is the Age of the Spirit. We are to have the Holy Spirit working and manifesting pneumatikos gifts through us during this church age.



THE SPIRITUAL PERSON

The term ‘pneumatikos’ often refers to gifts given by the Spirit, but sometimes it can refer to the person who is recipient of those gifts.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16 (KJV)
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually (pneumatikos) discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual (pneumatikos) judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 14:37 (KJV)
37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual (a pneumatikos), let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

A person enters this ‘pneumatikos’ relationship with the Lord via an event the Lord called ‘born again’. At that event, the person is born of ‘water’ at his natural birth, and born of the Spirit at this born again event. The flesh is what resulted from the natural birth, emerging in water from the mother. The spirit of man gives birth of a born again, resurrected spirit by the immersion into Jesus our Savior, done by the Holy Spirit.

John 3:3-8 (KJV)
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Pneumatikos refers to the non-carnal, the regenerate, the Holy Spirit blessed and gifted person that has found Jesus as Savior and as Lord, and been immersed by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ.

The unsaved, unregenerated person is a natural person, ruled by one’s senses. The person who is pneumatikos, is a renovated, redeemed, saved from sin and its penalties.

The lower and bestial nature of man, which is now, since the fall of Adam and of Eve, has a dead spirit within. Spiritual impartations cannot come to the unregenerate spirit. The pneumatikos person is given life, and is given gifts to empower it, enlighten it, and make it able to communicate to, and fellowship with, God.

So, the Bible divides mankind into three classes:

1. The psuchikos, "of the senses", the natural, Adamic person, unrenewed from the spiritual death brought on by the curse of sin.

2. The pneumatikos, "spiritual," renewed person, that is Spirit-filled and walking in the Spirit. The communion with God, the ‘no condemnation’ relationship with the Lord enables gifts and empowerments to be bestowed and used in ministry.

3. The sarkikos, "carnal," "fleshly," the renewed man who, instead of walking in the Spirit has chosen to walk "after the flesh," and be a babe in Christ.

The natural man may be brilliant, refined in manners, eloquent of speech, but the spiritual truth of the Scriptures is absolutely unknown by him.

1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV)
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The carnal Christian has lost so much of his potential in the Lord, that he is able to comprehend only simple truths, "milk". The meat of the Word, the empowerments of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, are unknown, ignored, forgotten, and soon denied unless revival of his spirit occurs.

1 Corinthians 3:2 (KJV)
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

The spiritual man is the reborn person. The ‘spirit’ of man was dead in sins, unregenerated until the ONE way of salvation was accepted in Jesus our Lord. The ‘natural body’ accepted Jesus, and became then a resurrected spiritual person.

1 Corinthians 15:44-50 (KJV)
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Formerly, the spiritual person was a natural person. There were signs of which was in control of a body. These signs left, and new signs emerged upon the born again experience.

Galatians 5:19-26 (KJV)
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

As a ‘spiritual person’ one becomes part of the family of God, a co-inheritor of the kingdom of God. Those living with the ‘natural man’ still in control will not even enter that kingdom of God. We are ‘washed, sanctified, justified, by the power of Jesus, and by the Holy Spirit. Paul expressed that truth in I Corinthians 5:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (KJV)
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Through the pneumatikos life, the spiritual person receives revelation of the mind of Christ. Many of the charisma gifts from the Holy Spirit involve revelation of the thoughts of the Lord Jesus. (Tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophetic words, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, discernment of spirits, etc)

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 (KJV)
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that He may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The lower, natural, fleshly animal passions are crucified in the ‘spiritual person’.
Romans 8:12-16 (KJV)
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

 

[murjahel]

4.
LOSING THE GIFTED POWER, A BIT AT A TIME

The early church, as founded by the apostles, was not perfect. They struggled too with the mind pollution. They remembered the teachings of Jesus, and fought the pollution of sinful thought. Our churches of today are very different though. In the interim time between our church, and the early church, much has happened. The false doctrines in the early church led to a departure from certain primary factors that had given the early church revival and power.

The early church degenerated into such sins as selling indulgences, forgetting the importance of the prophetic message, abuse of others, dogmatic judgmentalism. The protestant reformation changed some of these, but it soon degenerated into a competition for people with the Catholicism that it had broken from, and soon used infant baptism to try to outnumber the other churches. The abuse and false doctrines have so permeated congregations today, that it bears little resemblance to the original foundation of the church. The church, both the protestant, and the catholic, are greatly polluted by evil thinking inserted by the devil through the ages.

These pollution of doctrine, corruptions of morality, errors of thought, all resulted from the spiritual person losing their pneumatikos and becoming carnal. Today, we need to move back to being the spiritual persons, led and guided by the Holy Spirit, Who is the Administrator of the church. We need to step away from the dogmas of denominationalism, and look to the New Testament, and study the doctrines and truths presented by the early church. To hold onto the present adulterated traditions and dogma, does not result in the power and love the church is to have. Many do not want to admit it, but the powerless, impotent, confused, apathetic, ignorant churches of today cannot, will not, and have not made the impact that the Lord intends. To have revival, we must un-pollute the minds of those in the church. We must get back to the purity of truth, to the Word of God, so that the mission, truths, and sincerity that can be received by the mind of Christ will rule our hearts and minds.

Various dogmas, corrupted and misconstrued studies on the true ministry are carried on and taught by one’s that could not be truly considered to be ‘spiritual.

Carnal minds, having departed from the spiritual mind via their return to sin, and its warping effect on doctrines, cannot truly comprehend spiritual matters any longer.

The ‘natural’ mind, never having been redeemed, or having even accepted the first pneumatikos of salvation via the cross of Jesus, has the gifts of the Holy Spirit so corrupted, that their minds are totally void of understanding of these gifts.

The main thing that caused all the degeneration of the minds in the church is the carnal thinking that has overtaken the spiritual understanding that we are to have.

There is a carnal mentality in far too many Christians, and this has engendered some carnal churches. Even the early church battled carnality of mind toward spiritual gifts. In our age, we find some churches and some in those churches to have pollution of mind about spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:6, 10-13
"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be ... And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. ...For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."

In Christianity, there are some who have allowed a carnal mentality to re-emerge. It has led many to false doctrines, wrong emphasis, and mistaken ideas. Many in Christianity have wrongly emphasized the carnal life. Many teach how to have carnal riches, how to have physical prosperity, but neglect the many Scriptures about spiritual blessings, riches in heaven, and eternal rewards. When the early church was in revival, they emphasized the spiritual, and mostly, they ignored the fleshly.

Most in the early church (Ananias and Sapphira being notable exceptions) did not seek earthly riches, but forsook all and served the Lord. Many of the early church could be put into prison, sacrifice their earthly wealth to give to the poorer saints in Jerusalem. They saw the world as dead souls needing life from the Lord.

Today, even in the churches considered ‘Pentecostal’, or ‘charismatic’ (gifted spiritually), we find some are seeking to be carnally rich, and spend more time counting their monetary wealth than enjoying their spiritual wealth. There are gifts of the Spirit that many are satisfied to not have. There is the fruit of the Spirit that can be totally absent, and yet, un-missed.

Why are some so interested in the natural life, the carnal mammon which purchases only things of this world, and the acclaim of men? It is the pollution of the mind, inserted by the devil, that some need earthly riches, earthly possessions to be happy.

This carnal mind and the natural mind of sinners too need to put aside this carnal and non comprehending of Spirit things mentality, and begin valuing the spiritual blessings of salvation, gifts of the Spirit, and heavenly reward. They need to realize that this earthly life is just temporary, and our real emphasis should be the spiritual life. The polluted ideas of the devils, bring despair, depression, and loss of real joy and peace.

As the revival of the early church subsided, many allowed the pollution of thinking to be more and more on the physical and carnal plane. This led to many problems, some of which we still suffer. It is now long overdue that the church of today need to cleanse out, with repentance, the pollution of the mind. The church of today needs to begin to have a spiritual minded approach to the gospel and to the great commission.

Many saints today have not asked of the Lord for spiritual things. They get too taken up with their physical and monetary needs to see the spiritual victories that God wants us to have.

To pray in the "name of Jesus" means more than to tack that to the end of prayers. It means to pray according to what He desires for us, and we must therefore get the carnal thinking out of control and the spiritual mind into control, so that we can think as Jesus thinks, desire what He desires for us. To truly pray in ‘the name of Jesus’ is to pray for what He wants for us, and that certainly includes the spiritual gifts of power to enable us to do the mission we are here to do for Him.

The polluted carnal mentality needs eradicated. The spiritual person needs to re-emerge, and that spiritual mind needs to remain in control.. The carnal mentality, the polluted mind, has devastated too much of the church today.

LEARN ABOUT THE GIFTS,
LET THEM BE THE POWER THAT
THE CHURCH DESPERATELY NEEDS


For many, the Holy Spirit is just the last part of the doxology. To know the Spirit in that way is like understanding the workings of all the parts of the car, except the starter and accelerator. The Holy Spirit and His gifts have been neglected too much. We need to know Him as a Person, speak with Him regularly, and allow Him to work through us.

The fruit of the Spirit was given to us at salvation. We need to continue to develop and harvest these. However, the gifts of the Spirit need to be coveted, and sought. The Spirit has gifts for each of us. Don't feel, as many have, that "I'll take the fruit, others can have the gifts." If Jesus had felt that way, He would have had to tell the sick, blind, etc, - "I love you." Yet, He could do more than that - He could love them by exercising the gifts of healing, and the gift of miracles.

Paul admonished us to learn about the gifts:
I Cor. 12:1
"NOW CONCERNING SPIRITUAL GIFTS, BRETHREN, I WOULD NOT HAVE YOU IGNORANT."


If we do not learn how to receive and operate these gifts, we will fail to do the ministry of the Lord as He has planned. We need the gifts of the Spirit operating in the church. Paul had to speak to those in Corinth about the misuse of the vocal gifts. They were operating them without regards to safeguards to keep them profitable. The love was absent that would make them profitable, and the wisdom of how they actually worked, and what their purpose was missing.

If we are ignorant of these gifts, we will find that the devil will have a "hay day" with his gifts. False gifts the devil will endow: Gift of faultfinding, Gift of hypocrisy, Gift of discouragement, Gift of unfaithfulness, Gift of pessimism, Gift of unbelief and doubt, Gift of dissatisfaction, Gift of slamming with the tongue, Gift of interpretation of slams, Gift of misdirecting others, etc. Churches too often find those gifts flowing, but total, or almost total ignorance in those churches of the true gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Let's learn about the gifts that the Holy Spirit wants to endow upon us. We can have a church full of the gifts of the Spirit. Don't let jealousy come into the body of believers. In Corinth, this happened. The arm can sometimes be jealous of the hand, and the eye can be jealous of the ear, etc.

What if Nathan had been jealous of David's gifts? What if Moses had been jealous of Aaron's? Too often in the church, the hindrance of the ministry of many gifts, is the jealousy, or the fear to upset the feelings of another.
The pastor may be jealous of one with the gift of teaching. The teacher may be jealous of the administration gift of a deacon. These things hinder the gospel proclamation. They ought not to be in the assembly of believers. The Lord is the head, and one may plant, another may water, but the Lord will give the increase.

If David had stopped Nathan from exercising his gift, David may have died in his sin. Paul disagreed with Barnabas exercising his gift of exhortation on John Mark, and it caused a split of these two men of God. Paul was out of order in his stand, yet did not recognize it until later. We must be very careful trying to be the "head", and telling others not to exercise their gifts. The Spirit will direct the exercising of the gifts, learn to follow Him.

However, the gifts of the Spirit are given of God, independent of the parents. They are received at conversion, or later. They are to be used as God directs. The gifts are not talents already present, that now must be increased. The gifts are not more of what was already present. The gifts of the Spirit are not enhancements. The gifts are not received from schooling or training. The gifts are endowments of the supernatural. They are manifestations of the Spirit as He works through the saint as His vessel.


REFUSE TO ‘DENY THE POWER’ OF OUR MISSION

If a blind man were before you, you could pray, explain healing, etc. Yet you can't heal him, only the Spirit can do that part. Too often in soul winning, saints try to do parts for the Spirit, and get so tangled up in those parts. They miss the 'being led by the Spirit' part, to know the right thing to do, to say, where to be, etc.

Ephesians 5:18
“...be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”;

Spirit-filled believers are more obvious than drunks. People see and feel a difference about "filled" saints. Sometimes they don't know what they sense, but they know that they sense something. The Spirit-filled saint doesn't need to hang a sign up that they are being used of God. People will call or visit them to seek advice and prayer. They will seek counsel from this "filled" Christian without the person ever seeking to be a counselor. Sick people will invite them over to pray for them. Convicted sinners will seek their company. Hardened sinners will avoid them like a plague. Sinners will clean up their language, while the "filled" saint is near. The presence of the Spirit-filled person will change the situation.

In too many churches, the demonstration of the Gospel power in these ways is lacking. We need a demonstration of power in the churches and in the lives of the Christians. If saints are Spirit-filled, with a present tense filling, there will be signs and wonders occurring. If the baptism experience has been lost, or not stirred up to be fresh -- then the church can be dull, dead, and lifeless. Too many churches have a "FORM OF GODLINESS, BUT DENYING THE POWER THEREOF." Some churches, and Christians, proudly proclaim the gospel message; yet, there is an obvious lack of demonstrative power of the gospel. Paul's ministry came with demonstration -- not just proclamation.

This study will continue with description and Biblical explanation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Stay tuned.

 

[murjahel]

5.
WHEN WE CEASE A CONTINUING FILLING, THE CARNALITY BEGINS TO REPLACE THE FILLING WE HAD...

I Thessalonians 1:5
" For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost ..."

To have that kind of power, and demonstration of the Spirit in your life, and in the church -- you must have a present tense filling.

Not a "I was filled long ago in 1978..." type filling. No, but you need a "I am still continuing to be filled with the Spirit..." type filling.


Acts 4:7-8 “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them...”

The verse, according to the actual Greek, should have been translated as - "Then Peter, still in the process of being filled with the Holy Spirit..." The verb, "filled," is a present, continuing action word in this verse.

Many Christians, and many churches are like sail boats upon which the wind has ceased blowing. They sit dead in the water, unaware that the boat is no longer being pushed along by the wind. The Spirit wants more than to give Christians a "one-time" blessed experience. He wants to continue to work in and through their lives.

How do we get a present tense filling in our lives ?

How do we know we are still being filled with the Spirit ? What manifestations indicate that the wind of the Spirit is still making our boat move ? How do we get these gifts and manifestations to work and operate in our lives and in our churches ?

To do prophetic soul winning, we need the power of the Spirit. The ‘Spirit-filled’ life is a powerful tool of God in evangelizing this world. This ‘power’ of the Spirit-filled’ life is not the end product of God. It is not ! It is like opening a door to a new and vast expanse. We can now enter in and begin to experience many more wonderful events because of the event we call the "baptism of the Holy Spirit."

Many Christians have received the baptism of the Spirit and gone off to stray back to the dead, lifeless, and powerless ministry they had before. That is not God's plan or desire.

In Spirit-filled living, we have some goals to seek and expect. The end product of the goals is the winning of souls.


IF WE HAVE A CONTINUAL PROCESS OF FILLING FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT WE WILL HAVE THESE SIGNS OF IT...

1. We should expect to progressively become free from sin and the death that the devil wanted us to experience.

Romans 8:1-2
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

2. We should expect to progressively have a new way of thinking about things.

Our old sinful pattern of thinking should progressively be replaced with a pattern of thinking that is from the Spirit.

Romans 8:5-6
“-For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

3. Righteousness should be steadily increasing in your life.

This does not mean we will be perfect. This does not mean we will not struggle with temptation. However, as the Spirit continues to fill us, we should see progress made against the struggle with sin and temptation.

Romans 8:9-10
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

The flow of pure water will cleanse and purify that over which it flows. The Spirit is that purest water, that if we allow Him to keep flowing through us will keep purifying us.

John 7:38
"...FROM OUR INNERMOST BEING FLOWS RIVERS OF LIVING WATERS."

4. As the Spirit continues to fill us each day, we should see a progressive death to our selfish desires, and a new Spiritual creation arising within our bodies. This stronger, new person, will be more and more able to say "no" to self.

Romans 8:12-14
"...WE ARE DEBTORS, NOT TO THE FLESH, TO LIVE AFTER THE FLESH. FOR IF YE LIVE AFTER THE FLESH, YE SHALL DIE; BUT IF YE THROUGH THE SPIRIT DO MORTIFY THE DEEDS OF THE BODY, YE SHALL LIVE. FOR AS MANY AS ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THEY ARE THE SONS OF GOD."

5. Our relationship with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit should be always on the increase.

The work of the Spirit in one that is continuing to be filled with the Spirit, includes the encouragement of relationship with the Trinity.

Romans 8:15-16
"...YE HAVE RECEIVED THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION, WHEREBY YE CRY, 'ABBA FATHER'. THE SPIRIT HIMSELF BEARS WITNESS WITH OUR SPIRIT THAT WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD."

Fellowship between the Spirit and the saint will increase. It will become more and more common to hear directly from God. Fellowship is vital. God never meant for us to have to await a message in tongues on Sunday to hear from the Lord. He wishes to speak with us daily.

This fellowship will renew us on a daily basis. Our daily use of the prayer language, and of our own language, to worship the Lord will also edify us on a daily basis.

II Corinthians 4:16
"EVEN THOUGH OUR OUTWARD MAN IS PERISHING, YET THE INWARD MAN IS BEING RENEWED DAY BY DAY."

6. Speech, vocabulary, and conversation will increasingly be different for the Spirit-filled person.

The person, who is still in the process of being filled with the Spirit, will speak differently. "PRAISE THE LORD." (Psalms 150:1) will replace the cursings, gripings, and complaints. The old songs that once held such appeal will be replaced with songs to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:19
"...SINGING AND MAKING MELODY IN YOUR HEART TO THE LORD."

Conversations will include often the mention of what God has been doing for the person.

Ephesians 5:20
"GIVING THANKS ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS TO GOD THE FATHER IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST."

7. The Spirit-filled saint will seek to serve, not rule.

Ephesians 5:21
"SUBMITTING YOURSELVES TO ONE ANOTHER IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD."

This service is not given grudgingly, but in love for the ones we serve.
I Peter 1:22
"SINCE YOU HAVE PURIFIED YOUR SOULS IN OBEYING THE TRUTH THROUGH THE SPIRIT, IN SINCERE LOVE OF THE BRETHREN, LOVE ONE ANOTHER FERVENTLY WITH A PURE HEART."

8. Prayer and intercession will keep increasing.

The Spirit-filled saint will often confess to the Lord, give supplications to the Lord, give adoration to the Lord, intercede for loved ones and even for the enemies, give thanks to God for His blessings, and praise the Lord for Who He is. The new prayer language will continue in all these saints. The gift of tongues is a separate gift that is given to some saints, but the prayer language is for all Spirit-filled saints to use on a daily basis.

9. The entire life of a Spirit-filled saint will be enriched by this experience.

The Spirit will enrich the study life.

John 16:13
"...GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH...SHOW YOU THINGS TO COME..."

He will enrich our emotional life. Our lives will show more and more peace in the midst of storms, more love in the midst of hatred, more joy in the midst of misery, more ability to live righteously in the midst of temptation.

Romans 14:17
"...KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT MEAT AND DRINK, BUT RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND PEACE, AND JOY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT."

The "FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT," that is detailed in Galatians 5, is manifested greatly in the life of a Spirit-filled saint. God has intended that these be the identifying sign of our relationship with God.

John 15:16
"I HAVE CHOSEN YOU, AND ORDAINED YOU, THAT YE SHOULD GO AND BRING FORTH FRUIT, AND THAT YOUR FRUIT SHOULD REMAIN."

10. Gifts of the Spirit will be manifested more and more.

In prophetic soul winning, we need to operate in the ‘gifts’. The Spirit wishes to impart to each Spirit-filled saint gifts that will edify the body of believers, and will bring sinners into that ‘body of believers’.

Each child of God is to have at least one. Usually God will impart one to start and as the saint continues to receive the infilling, more will be added. Many gifts were found in the life of Paul. God is not a respecter of persons and He wants to give each of us many gifts.

These gifts are set in the church for the purpose of "PERFECTING THE SAINTS, AND FOR THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY, FOR THE EDIFYING OF THE BODY OF CHRIST, TILL WE ALL COME IN THE UNITY OF THE FAITH." (Ephesians 4:12)

These divine gifts are the demonstration of power that the church and the world see in our lives. Without them we may have the correct doctrines, but we are supposed to have "SIGNS AND WONDERS" following our message.

Ephesians 4:7
"BUT TO EACH ONE OF US GRACE WAS GIVEN ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF CHRIST'S GIFT."

I Corinthians 12:7
"BUT TO EACH ONE IS GIVEN THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT FOR THE COMMON GOOD."

I Corinthians 12:11
"BUT ONE AND THE SAME SPIRIT WORKS ALL THESE THINGS, DISTRIBUTING TO EACH ONE INDIVIDUALLY JUST AS HE WILLS."

I Peter 4:10
"AS EACH ONE HAS RECEIVED A SPECIAL GIFT, EMPLOY IT IN SERVING ONE ANOTHER, AS GOOD STEWARDS OF THE MANIFOLD GRACE OF GOD."

 

[murjahel]

The gift that made all gifts of the Spirit to be possible:

1 The Cross

Yes, the cross is a gift. This sounded so stupid to me, when the Lord first began talking to me about the ‘cross’ as a ‘gift’. We think of bearing a cross as something we reluctantly do until we ‘exchange it for a crown’, but the cross, though a ‘tough’ carry, is a gift, a wonderful gift for us to bear as we minister.

If we want to walk with Jesus in this journey, the only way to do so, is to bear the cross He gives to us. It is a gift that is absolutely necessary to be borne, absolutely vital to our joint journey with Him, that we must examine this gift first.

Matthew 16:24-26 (KJV)
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

If we want to ‘come after’ or walk with our Lord, a ‘cross’ must be ‘taken up.’
It will mean ‘losing’ what we wish we could carry. We would like the Lord to give us wealth, health, stocks and bonds, on this journey. Like the rich young ruler though, we are told to lay all other things aside, give them up, and follow our Lord.

Luke also quotes the Lord on this. Matthew was one of the 12 disciples, Luke was one of the 70 disciples. So, to both groups, Jesus shared this condition of walking with Him.

Luke 9:22-26 (KJV)
22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

Mark was a young man, and likely learned most of what he wrote from Peter. He heard this condition referred to, it was a continuing message that to walk with Jesus, we need to bear a cross.

"Take up the cross, and follow Me." Mark 10:21

We need to know that self-will would like to be our lord and master; but our cross is prepared and appointed for us by our Lord and Savior. We need to cheerfully accept it. The cross is our chosen badge, burden, way of life. This Jesus that we serve bids us to submit our shoulders to His easy yoke. Some would like to trample on it in vain-glory, or to fall under it in despair, or to run away from it in terror.

If we want to be a true follower of Jesus, we must be a cross-bearer. This pathway leads sometimes to sorrows, our own, or others to whom we minister. We carry that burden and weep in sorrows for the souls to whom we minister. Jesus did not carry a cross due to His own sins, but for the sins of others. We do have sins, ones to whom we minister have sins, and the sorrows of cross bearing is the reminder of the burdens we bear in interceding for ourselves and those others.

Surely you could not desire a better Companion on this walk. If the only way to walk with Jesus as our Guide is to be bearing a cross, then give me my cross. Jesus carried a cross, what better Fellow Traveler is there to walk with us as we carry the cross’ burdens?

The path we walk with this cross is a way of safety. We need not fear to tread its rocky ways, its hidden and unseen dangers, its thorny paths, if Jesis our Companion.

The cross is not feathers, nor velvet, nor chocolate. The cross is heavy and painful to our shoulders. We know a man can carry it, for the Man of sorrows did. We, now, can take up our cross, and by the power of the Spirit of God, soon be in love with it. It is a gift that will be treasured, and the memory of this walk with Jesus will be one you would not exchange for all the treasures of this world.

Jesus will us bow our spirits in submission to the His will.

The path of carrying this cross led Jesus to a crucifixion. Our cross that He gives us as a gift, will also lead us to come calvaries.

Crucifixion was in used among the Egyptians, the Carthaginians, the Persians, the Assyrians, Scythains, Indians, Germans, the Greeks and the Romans. It was considered the most horrible form of death. Among the Romans the punishment was only used in the case of the vilest criminals, and threats to their society.

The mistreatment of Jesus was incredible, and hard to believe that they could enjoy doing these things to One Whom no one could find a charge that was true to incriminate Him as worthy of mistreatment. Here was One Who had healed the sick, raised the dead, taught love and mercy, and offered salvation to all who would accept, and they did these horrible things to Him.

Matthew 27:27-32
"...stripped Him, put on a scarlet robe... crown of thorns, reed in His right hand (mock sceptre), bowed the knee and mocked Him... spit on Him... took reed and smote Him on the head... mocked Him, took robe off Him and put on His own raiment... led Him away to crucify Him.. found a man of Cyrene... Simon.. compelled to bear His cross..."

This was sport to these soldiers. They enjoyed the mistreatment. People may watch gory movies on television, and yet, it is far beyond that to treat people as these men did Jesus.

The four soldiers, under the command of a centurion, were detailed to each cross in those days. The centurion led the way carrying a white wooden board on which was written the crime of the one to be crucified. It was this sign, that Pilate ordered to be put upon the top of the cross. It angered the Jews, for it had no crime written upon it. For Jesus, it read- "The King of the Jews..." This was the charge they brought to Pilate, and there was no wrong of Jesus to put upon the cross, so Pilate had them carry a sign bearing the one truth about Jesus that caused these Jews to want Jesus dead.

Usually the longest way to the place of crucifixion was taken, to attract public attention, some feel that it was different here because of the nearness of the Passover. Jesus was followed by two thieves who each had their own soldiers.

The one to be crucified was made naked. He was put upon the cross of torture. The arms of the criminal were stretched along the cross-beams, and at the lower wrist of the hands was nailed to those beams. The feet were often nailed together over one another to the upright beam. The body was then secured by those three nails, so that it could not fall to the ground, when the cross was upright. The victim was not far off the ground, so that everyone who wanted could choose to strike or spit upon the criminal.

A death by crucifixion included all the pain and agony that could be possibly given a person. There was dizziness, cramps, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, fever, public shame, torment, all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured, but all stopping just short of causing unconsciousness.

The unnatural position made movement painful. The wounds emptied the body of its blood, the body became swollen, then emptied of all life. This was the death our Lord and Savior

The fracture of the legs was adopted as a custom to hasten death. One could no longer push the body up so as to allow a breath to be taken, and the loss of oxygen into the lungs brought death quicker.


Matthew 27:33-44
"..come unto a place called Golgotha, i.e. to say, a place of a skull... gave Him vinegar... mingled with gall, when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink... crucified Him... parted His garments, casting lots... sitting down, watched Him there... set over His head the accusation, 'This is Jesus, the King of the Jews...' two thieves crucified with Him... they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, ... If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross... chief priests, mocking Him, scribes and elders said, He saved others, Himself He cannot save... let Him come down from the cross and we will believe Him..."

Matthew 27:45-46
"...sixth hour (noon), darkness over all the earth till the ninth hour (3 p.m.)... 'Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani...' = 'My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me (see Psalms 22)... cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost... veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, earth did quake... rocks rent... centurion and they with him said, Surely this was the Son of God... many women were beholding from afar off..."

This is the ‘cross’ our Lord carried. He offers us a ‘gift’ of a cross. It does not sound ‘appetizing’. We may be inclined in the natural to run from a life that has sorrows like Jesus bore on His cross. The life of a minister has many sorrows though. We bear on our lives, and in our spirits, burdens the world would never understand.

 

[murjahel]

GIFTS THAT ENDOW ONE WITH THE POWER TO SPEAK SUPERNATURALLY




There are some gifts of the Spirit that are known as the "vocal gifts," as the "gifts of inspiration," and as the "utterance gifts." These are perhaps the most discussed gifts. There is much confusion and disagreement concerning these gifts.

In Corinth, Paul found much abuse of the "vocal" gifts. Still, we find abuse of these gifts.

THREE VOCAL GIFTS

I Corinthians 12:10
"...TO ANOTHER PROPHECY... TO ANOTHER DIVERS KINDS OF TONGUES; TO ANOTHER THE INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES."

THE GIFT OF PROPHETIC UTTERANCE​

THE GIFT OF PROPHECY is a direct revelation from God that is given as one begins to speak. It does not necessarily pass through the thinking process first. Like the gift of tongues, it passes through the lips with direction from the mind of the Spirit.

The nature of the gift of prophecy is described by Paul. He indicated that the gift should be validated by two or three prophets that confirm the same truth.

He also said the gift needed to be judged. When another begins to speak, the first prophet should be quiet and allow the next to proceed.

The purpose of this gift seems to be spelled out as a method to "learn," and a method for God to give "comfort."

The prophecy is subject to the prophet, meaning the prophet may speak it or not, he is not under some compelling force that makes him speak. The possessor is responsible for its use or misuse.

I Corinthians 14:29-32
"LET THE PROPHETS SPEAK BY TWO OR THREE, AND LET THE OTHER JUDGE. IF ANY THING BE REVEALED TO ANOTHER THAT SITTETH BY, LET THE FIRST HOLD HIS PEACE. FOR YE MAY ALL PROPHESY ONE BY ONE, THAT ALL MAY LEARN, AND ALL MAY BE COMFORTED. AND THE SPIRITS OF THE PROPHETS ARE SUBJECT TO THE PROPHETS."


This gift is not restricted to males. Philip had four daughters and they had this gift.

Acts 21:8-9
"ENTERED INTO THE HOUSE OF PHILIP THE EVANGELIST, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE SEVEN; AND ABODE WITH HIM. AND THE SAME MAN HAD FOUR DAUGHTERS, VIRGINS, WHICH DID PROPHESY."

Joel's prophecy said that "YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY."

Many women are included in the list of church leaders given by Paul in Romans 16 (Phebe, Priscilla, Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Julia).

The Holy Spirit distributes these gifts "AS HE WILL" fortunately, for many would like to limit them to one sex, or to the clergy, etc.

This gift is a foundation gift for the church.

It must not be confused with the word of wisdom, or the word of knowledge. Those are for revelation to the mind of facts or the purpose of God. They may or may not be spoken by the person receiving them. The gift of prophecy, however, is spoken as it is received. It is not for guidance, but for edification, exhortation, and comfort. (I Cor. 14:3)

The gift of prophecy is a supernatural utterance in the known tongue of the speaker. It is a miracle of divine utterance that has nothing to do with human thought.

The acid test for validity of this gift is the Word of God. All prophetic messages should be tested by the Word.

One should never misuse or suppress these utterances. Yet, false utterances should never be tolerated. A prophecy that is determined as unscriptural should be pronounced worthless, and repudiated, without fear.

A false utterance is detected by:
the wrong spirit of the speaker,
a rebuke or an unseemly utterance,
a message that glorifies man, and not the Lord,
an unscriptural utterance,
a message that attempts to establish or begin a new doctrine,
a message that produces "fruit" in the hearers that is unseemly,
the anger of the prophet if his message is not obeyed.



The purposes of the gift of prophecy are these:
1. God wants to speak to mankind supernaturally.
2. God wants to edify believers.
3. God wants to exhort the church.
4. God wants to comfort the distressed, and weak.
5. God wants to convict the unbeliever by speaking directly to him,
and manifesting the secrets of his heart. (I Cor. 14:24-25)​

We are instructed to greatly desire this gift.


I Corinthians 14:1, 39
"FOLLOW AFTER CHARITY, AND DESIRE SPIRITUAL GIFTS, BUT RATHER THAT YE MAY PROPHESY... COVET TO PROPHESY."

The word "covet" is from the Greek word -zeloo. It means "to strive for, to be eager for, enthusiastically zealous." It obviously sounds as though God wants us to really want this gift. It is essential to the proper functioning of the church.

It takes faith to exercise this gift. To begin to speak forth a prophecy, not knowing what may be spoken forth takes a great deal of faith.

Romans 12:6
"LET US PROPHESY ACCORDING TO THE PROPORTION OF FAITH."

We must be careful to give the proper respect to prophetic messages that are valid. Some do not listen to them, some ignore, some show disrespect during the message. These messages are given by the Spirit as a message from Jesus, or God, the Father. To hold them in low esteem is to insult the Trinity. If the Spirit is inspiring these messages, the disregarding of them will greatly grieve Him.

I Thessalonians 5:20
"DESPISE NOT PROPHESYINGS."

Propheteuo verses Mantieuomai​

I Corinthians 14:32
“The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.”

One who has a gift of prophecy, and who utters a prophetic word for God is said to be ‘prophesying’, but what does that mean? There are varying understandings, but let us look at two words used in the Bible.

Propheteuo is used very often, and mantieuomai is used but once (Acts 16:16, where a girl with the ‘spirit of divination’ gains her masters much
by ‘soothsaying’ (manteuomena).

The lack of use of the second word, in reference to the true prophesying from God does tell us some things. When the inspired writers of the Bible refuse to use certain words, it tells us that they feel that to use such a word,
it would be an inappropriate use.

For instance, eudaimonia, means happiness due to the favor from a deity.
Yet, in the Bible, it is never used to refer to the blessedness of a saint of God. Probably, that is because its root word is ‘daimon’ from which we get the word ‘demon’.

In the same way, the prophesyings of a true prophet are never called ‘manteuomena”.

Propheteuo is one who tells things before they come to pass, but this is not the essence of the job. The prophetes is the “outspeaker” one who speaks “out’ the counsel of God, with authority a prophet uses the name of God, having received a direct message from God, and delivering it for God.

But in this delivering of the message, the Bible tells us, that ‘the spirit of the prophet, is subject to the prophet’ and that means that the prophet has the message go through his/her mind, and is interpreting the message, and can add to, take away from, change, pervert, embellish, but of course that would be wrong. But it is possible.

Sometimes the prejudices, jealousies, loves of a prophet make a difference. Agabus, and others at Antioch had a true prophecy, but added to it, that Paul should not go to Jerusalem. They erred due to their love for Paul, but Paul rebuked their error. For a prophet must be careful not to add to the prophecy. A prophet’s own will, own desires, own bias, own hurts, can influence their message.

It takes heart searching, prayer, intercession, Bible study, a close walk with the Lord, to help a prophet not err.

Jonah was told to tell the people of Nineveh that they must repent, or be judged. He ran from the job... but God brought him back. When he finally did deliver the prophecy, his bigotry against the Gentile Nineveh made him leave off the “if” part. And he pouted when God did not judge the now-saved Nineveh.

The word Manteuomai is quite different from propheteuo. It is from the root word ‘mantis’ which means ‘fury’ and refers to a madness. Those possessed of prophesying demons would go into a frenzy, eyes rolling, lips foaming, and hair flying, and begin to prophesy what the demon possessing them wanted said. The ‘soothsayer’ lost all control of the situation, the demon was in control. The anger of the demon showed all over the ‘soothsayer’, and
wicked things would proceed from the ‘soothsayer’s” mouth, and when it was over, often the soothsayer did not remember even what was said.

The spirit of the soothsayer was not in control, but the demon spirit was. This word was inappropriate to use to refer to the true prophets of God. For God does not work that way through His prophets. The true prophet, speaks a message from a loving God, and even when it is a message of judgment,
the heart of the prophet is aware, thinking of the impact of the judgment being spoken through his/her lips, and can hurt for the ones hearing the message, and could, change the message. Yet, a true prophets will deliver it, though tears may be rolling down their faces.

The one with the mantis, has all reason suspended, is in a rage controlled by the demon, feels no compassion, feels no need for grief. The one with
‘Mantis’ remembers little of the curse, evil, attack, etc. that is generated by the evil demon.

This word, manteuomai, is relegated to heathenism, to paganism, to witchcraft, satanism, and to ‘false prophets’.

But the word, propheteuo, is saved and used of the true prophets of God,
who declare God’s message. And true prophets need to be very careful not to defile it. Yet, even when it is delivered undefiled, the true prophet of God still has control of its delivery, and answers to God for such.

The ‘manteuomai’ has crept too much into Christian circles, under the guise of true propheteuo. There is need for concern. Many try to prophesy evil, error, hatred and bigotry. Those are not from God. Their source is a hateful person, or a demonic spirit. The person so prophesying has lost the presence of the Lord, has not had the Word abiding in them cleansing them from the demonic, and sinful-human control, as prophets of God.

Those who speak a prophetic utterance need to remember there is a great responsibility with that gift. Those who utter such a gift need to remember that they will answer someday for what we have uttered in God’s name. The Bible warns us that we ‘shall give an account for every idle word (rhema).”

 

[murjahel]

THE GIFT OF TONGUES


THE GIFT OF TONGUES is the ability to give a message from God in an unknown language. It needs an interpreter to be understood. The purpose is to edify the church.

This gift is different from the use of the prayer language that is received when one is filled with the Spirit initially. The prayer language is given for self-edification. It is given to be used for private prayer to God.

The gift of tongues may be the same language, yet it is different gift to be used to edify a body of believers.

Since this is one of the most questioned of the gifts, it is the one we are most often compelled to discuss. It is a gift that is received by many people, and thus also is often discussed in Christian circles. It was the first gift questioned on the day of Pentecost - "WHAT MEANETH THIS ?" (Acts 2:12)

The languages of this gift are said to be the languages of men, or angels. The speaker does not understand the language, but the Holy Spirit uses the vocal cords, tongue, and lips of a Spirit-filled saint and speaks through that one a message from God or Christ. It does not come into the mind first, but flows though the mouth and the speaker listens to it as the others present do. It has nothing to do with linguistic ability, or with the mind, or with the intellect.

There are specific uses for the prayer language that all Spirit-filled believers receive. These are:

1.The tongues, or prayer language, is one possible of the initial physical evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

As on the Day of Pentecost,
Acts 2:4 (KJV)
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

and at Caesarea eight years later when the Gentiles received,
Acts 10:46 (KJV)
For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.

and at Ephesus, 23 years later, the reception of the Holy Spirit was climaxed with the unknown tongues.
Acts 19:6 (KJV)
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.


2. The prayer language is given to allow Spirit-filled people to speak supernaturally to God. 1 Corinthians 14:2 (KJV)
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

On the Day of Pentecost, the people heard the 120 magnifying God in these tongues. We also will glorify God with this prayer language.

3.A third reason for the prayer language is that we may be edified by the worship. Our own spirits pray and request things that our conscience minds are unaware we need.

I Cor. 14:4, 14
"HE THAT SPEAKS IN A TONGUE EDIFIES HIMSELF... I WILL PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT, AND I WILL PRAY WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO."

Romans 8:26-27
"...THE SPIRIT ALSO HELPETH OUR INFIRMITIES; FOR WE KNOW NOT WHAT WE SHOULD PRAY FOR AS WE OUGHT; BUT THE SPIRIT HIMSELF MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR THE SAINTS ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD."

The gift of tongues has a separate purpose from that of the prayer language ‘tongues’.

The ‘gift of tongues’ is given for that reason to specific ones who are Spirit-filled. A message from God or Jesus is conveyed by the Holy Spirit to a body of believers in an unknown tongue through some saint with this gift.

Then a person with the gift of interpretation is given the meaning of the message in the language of the hearers and tells the people what the Spirit is conveying to them.

1 Corinthians 14:12-14 (KJV)
12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.

1 Corinthians 14:5 (KJV)
5 I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.

1 Corinthians 14:26 (KJV)
26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

This method of God speaking to believers is meant to be a sign to unbelievers that are present.


Can speaking in tongues be counterfeited?

All the gifts of the Spirit can be counterfeited. There are certainly strange utterances and sounds that are made by those who worship other gods. They are counterfeits of the true gift of the spirit. Anything that God does, the devil will try to counterfeit. God has promised that he will not allow a counterfeit to take a Christian.


Luke 11:11-13 (KJV)
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?


Even though there are counterfeits out there, we are told to desire this gift. We are also commanded to not forbid the speaking in tongues. Many churches are guilty of breaking this command.

I Cor. 14:39
"COVET TO PROPHESY, FORBID NOT TO SPEAK WITH TONGUES."

The test for the use of the gift of tongues is EDIFICATION. Is the gift used at a time that edifies the service? Does the message edify the meeting of believers? Is it done decently and in order?

I Cor. 14:26,40
"LET ALL THINGS BE DONE TO EDIFYING...LET ALL THINGS BE DONE DECENTLY AND IN ORDER."

 

[murjahel]

COUNTERFEIT TONGUES or REAL?

Xenolalia or Glossalalia or gibberish????​

Is the ‘speaking in tongues’ as done in Pentecostal circles, really “devilish counterfeits for the real’? Are ‘tongues’ really ‘gibberish’, or are they ‘languages’ of communication from our spirit to God in prayer language, and of God through the Holy Spirit to the church, for interpretation and blessing for the church?


When Charles Parham and some of the first to receive this gift of tongues, first received it, there was a bit of understandable confusion, of what it was, how was it to be used. This was totally new to Parham, and his study was not the best, and he understood tongues to be ‘languages’ that God supernaturally put into those filled so they could go and evangelize those who spoke those languages. Parham thought they were to be used in evangelism.

We all remember that the gift of the Holy Spirit for the Gentiles first came when Peter went to the home of Cornelius. There the Holy Spirit came upon them, as at the upper room on the day of Pentecost. No one is reading the excerpts of the book of Cornelius. No, he was saved, filled, spoke in tongues, but there was no one of other tongues to hear them evangelize inside his home where this occurred.

Parham misunderstood the gift, and he was not a Bible nor doctrine expert. Parham had a lot of growth to go, a lot of knowledge to learn. He believed in the separation of blacks from whites, he had some other issues that needed the Lord to work on. His ideas on what tongues were for, how they were to be used, needed some growth and training. He sent some to be missionaries to foreign lands, promising them that their ‘tongues’ language would be understood by the natives, there was no need to learn their language. That proved disastrous for the victims of his wrong ideas.

That is not normally the case that ‘tongues’ are used to evangelize. On a few occasions, God has used ‘tongues’ to enable a minister to speak to a people that normally he could not. That is a rare gift called xenolalia, and A.G. Ward (father of C.M. Ward, long time radio pastor for the Assemblies of God) had this gift one time when going to a tribe of Indians in northern Canada. The translator suddenly was unavailable, and A.G. Ward stood before some native Americans that spoke no English, and he spoke not their language. At the direction of the Lord, A.G. Ward began to speak in tongues, and the tribe understood every word, and many came to salvation that day. That is a rare use of God for the ‘tongues’. A.G. Ward prayed often in the prayer language, and gave messages in tongues, and interpretations, and understood the more normal reason for the unknown languages. Yet, on a rare occasion, one time, God used the tongues to help him in a situation in which he had not foolishly assumed God would do that. God knows that missionaries need the language of the people for more than just evangelizing, and so God expects us to study and learn the language of the people to whom we minister. We need to know it when we go to the market to order a pound of ground meat. God has a purpose for tongues, and it is clearly delineated in the Written Word of God.

William Seymour, pastor of the Azusa St revival saw tongues, as a gift for a church service, for God to gently take time to send a message in the unknown language (not gibberish), and an interpreter would then interpret the comfort, exhortation, and edification message of the tongues. The church was blessed, and these kind of things still occur in our time, and have occurred in all the ages since the day of Pentecost. Tongues are also a prayer language, where the Holy Spirit prays through us for things we may not know we need, for events soon to come that it is best if we not know of them yet, for intercession of problems yet to be revealed. This prayer language was how tongues work in Pentecostal circles. When Parham visited the church of William Seymour at Azusa St, the church needed to correct a number of problems that Parham had, and finally ask him to leave. Even then, the misuse of gifts, the assumption of knowledge, was a problem in the church.

Some critics today still look at the first concept of Parham, and take that to be what ‘tongues’ are. It rarely has been that. To use ‘the day of Pentecost’ as an example, is a bit of a stretch. The people watching the tongue speaking disciples emerging from the upper room noted they were speaking ‘languages’ and not gibberish, but they did not need the language, for these were Hebrew people from around the world who knew the languages of the land from which they came, but also knew Hebrew, and therefore, no foreign language was needed to convert them. The languages, unknown to the disciples, were known and recognized as real languages, and they heard in these languages praises and worship of the disciples. This is consistent with the understanding of William Seymour, and not illustrative of the misconception of Parham.

Xenolalia is not what the Biblical gift of tongues truly is. It is very wrong to assume that this rare blessing of xenolalia is the normal use of the gift of tongues. Xenolalia, the giving of a real language without study, to speak to people of that language, is not what the gift of tongues is, and only rarely occurs, as needed for the spreading of the gospel.

The true gift of tongues, glossolalia, is not ‘gibberish’, though there is some gibberish imitation, strange fire, out there. The devil’s counterfeits do not negate the blessing of the real ‘gift of tongues’. There are more than 6000 languages in this world. Some are well known, and recognize-able. Some are complicated, with many sounds, inflections, and over 100,000 words. Most have 10,000 words or less. Some are made up of several sounds, repeated over and with different inflections. Some would sound like ‘gibberish’ to all but the ones understanding that language.

The ‘tongues’ of the Bible also include ‘tongues of angels’, and that is the heavenly language, that none of us know from learning and study, and is comprehendible only to beings of heaven. Some may be languages of long past on this earth, as the ancient Egyptian language, the language of the Mayans, the language of ancient people now no longer existent. Glossolalia has often been recognized by some who know the language that the one praising God in that language does not know.

Those who speak in tongues lack the readily comprehension of the language. Some few times, another there may recognize or understand, but normally, it takes a ‘gift of interpretation’, whereas the unknown tongue is supernaturally given meaning.

Tertullian, in 207 A.D., speaks of the interpretation of the ‘unknown tongues’ as still occurring in worship services in which he was in attendance.

Justin Martyr, in 150 A.D., said ‘the prophetic gifts remain with us.’

Irenaeus said in 180 A.D., ‘we do hear many brethren... who through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages and bring to light... mysteries of God.’

In the 17th century, the Camisards (French Spirit filled people) sometimes spoke in unknown languages. The utterances were interpreted, and sometimes by the same person that was speaking the unknown language.

Edward Burrough, a Quaker of the 17th century, said:
“We spoke with new tongues, as the Lord gave us utterance, and His Spirit led us.”

Montanists of the second century were Spirt filled, tongues speaking, Christians. John Wesley and many others considered them Christian, while the Catholic church and some others want to brand them heretics. They did have some problems, as we are experiencing today. With the prophetic messages, there came a tendency to allow the human, or demonic element to speak out, and they did not test all the messages, as commanded by Paul, and were led astray by false prophetic words.

Today, many of the so called ‘prophetic words’, whether they be in English or in tongues with interpretation, are engendered by greed and avarice, and are not harmonious with the Bible. The fake in the early days of the church, shamed those deceived then, and the ones duped today should also be ashamed. Paul and John both warned us to test all things, and that is vital whether it be a sermon from pulpit, or a prophetic word from a Pentecostal voice. All are to be tested.

The Irvingites was another tongue speaking, Spirit filled group. In 1792, a deposed Presbyterian minister began a church, that they like to call the ‘Catholic Apostolic Church’ which they intended to model after the early church of the apostles. They felt God was calling 12 to be new apostles. The last of these died in 1901, and the church then had 80 churches. It has grown smaller and smaller to almost extinction now. They had ‘tongues, interpretations, prophetic words, healings, and preached much on the second coming of Jesus.

So, it was not just a gift of the first century, and it did not simply re-arrive at Azusa St. There have always been peoples who have received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and one of those gifts of the Holy Spirit, is and has been, the speaking in tongues.


The Mormons claim to speak in tongues. Yet, their idea of tongues is the education of their young men to the foreign language they will speak in the country they spend their year of missionary work. That is not ‘tongues’ as we see it in the Bible.

There are satanic counterfeits of ‘tongues’ in paganism, in Shamanism, in the voodoo of Haiti, amongst the Hindu gurus and Fakirs of India. These are not from God. They are gibberish or satanic imitations.

We call these xenoglossia, or pseudo-glossia. The devil has satanic rock groups give ‘altar calls’ to the devil. That counterfeit does not make us throw out the altar calls to the Lord. The antichrist and false prophet will do signs and wonders, but we do not call the miracles of the two witnesses, Enoch and Elijah, to be counterfeit because the devil has imitations of God’s miracles.

So, yes, there is ‘gibberish’ today. There is still the real, still the genuine tongues, that the Holy Spirit inspires, blesses, and uses in our ministries.

 

[murjahel]

INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES



THE GIFT OF INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES is a supernaturally given interpretation (not translation) of the message from God that was given in the unknown language.

This gift gives sense and meaning to the message given in tongues. Therefore it is closely related to, and dependent upon -the gift of tongues. This gift does not necessarily use the mind of the speaker. The one with the gift may be given a few words that begin the interpretation, or may be given a mental picture that God is about to describe to the hearers, but most often, begins to speak without knowing what is about to come through their lips. The one with the gift listens to the message as the other hearers listen.


There are some regulations for this gift that need explaining.

1. Do not despise one's message for being less eloquent than another's message. The Spirit uses the vocabulary of the person speaking. The person may put the interpretation in the "King James' English" with all the "thee's and thou's", or it may come in the coarse language of the common person, or anywhere in between the two extremes. The message is still from the Lord. Judge the message, not the vocabulary, accent, intonation, etc.

2.Those who speak the message in tongues are to pray for the gift of interpretation also.

I Cor. 14:13
"WHEREFORE, LET HIM THAT SPEAKETH IN AN UNKNOWN TONGUE PRAY THAT HE MAY INTERPRET."

3. There is to be no more than one interpretation for each message in tongues.

I Cor. 14:27
"IF ANY MAN SPEAK IN AN UNKNOWN TONGUE... LET ONE INTERPRET."

4. Don't expect monopolies. There should not be only one person who can interpret a message within the church. This gift should be had by a great many people within the local church. If the only interpreter were absent, could God not speak in this manner? If, there is no interpreter present, and the one about to give a message in tongues is sure they cannot interpret, then the utterance in the unknown tongues must be for personal edification, and not for the church. The person speaking in the unknown language should not interrupt the service by speaking aloud.

I Cor. 14:28
"...IF THERE BE NO INTERPRETER, LET HIM KEEP SILENCE IN THE CHURCH; AND LET HIM SPEAK TO HIMSELF, AND TO GOD."

5. A common regulation given for interpreting tongues is found in I Cor. 14:27:
"LET IT BE BY TWO, OR AT THE MOST THREE."

This is commonly thought to mean that two or three messages and interpretations are allowed during any one service. Perhaps this is the correct understanding. Yet there is only one verse to back up this idea, and the understanding of its meaning has been questioned. Having been raised in a fellowship that taught this idea, I find it nigh impossible to interpret a fourth message. I feel checked within my spirit, perhaps because of my upbringing. I have heard a fourth interpreted, and felt nothing was wrong with the message and interpretation. If there were not to be four, then how do we know the fourth was the one "out of order" and not that the first, second, or third were "out of order?" Then, also, what if a message in tongues and interpretation is given in a Sunday School class, does that limit the worship service to only two more?

Do we start over with the worship service being a new beginning? Perhaps from the context, it may be argued that the meaning is that only two or three people should be giving the messages within a service. The true understanding of this verse is not totally grasped by me, and therefore, in honesty, I cannot teach that one must interpret it one way or the other. Pray about it and be thoroughly convinced in your own concept, if you can. Don't judge others too harshly, if they hold to another understanding until you can absolutely prove your concept with the Word of God.

According to Rabbinic teachings in those days, when the Hebrew Scriptures were being read in the synagogues where people did not understand Hebrew very well, the Targums (or paraphrase) of the Scripture could be also read. The rule that was to be observed in such cases was taught that the Hebrew was to be read two or three times, and then one could interpret in the paraphrase. This was done to keep the emphasis on the original Hebrew text, lest any should misunderstand the paraphrase. Paul, having been schooled as a Pharisee, had undoubtedly heard this rule very often in his pre-Christian training.

Perhaps this is what he had in mind for the Corinthian church to help correct their misuse of tongues and interpretation. Perhaps he meant for two or three people to give the message in the various languages chosen by the Spirit, and then another could interpret the message of all three. This would allow more people to be involved in the process.

The Corinthians had a zeal to all be used, and they all wanted to bring a message or interpret. To use as many as possible, and to encourage the congregation to realize the divine origin of the message, the use of three or four in the supernatural revelation from God would help. Some think this is the teaching of that passage. This would be a local instruction, that does not need to be followed by every church, and in every situation. Paul was handling a local misuse problem. That may be why there are no further Scriptures on the subject. Any important doctrine that is for all churches to observe always has at least two or three passages to confirm the teaching. Therefore, I am leaning more and more to this latter interpretation of I Corinthians 14:27.

6. The interpretation of tongues takes more faith than the giving of the message in the unknown tongues. The devil will try to tell you that you are making it up. Pray for more faith whenever you pray for this gift. Your ultimate goal should be to be given the gift of prophetic utterance. This gift is the ultimate of the speaking, vocal gifts. It requires the most faith, and is not dependent on another gift, as the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues are.

7. These vocal gifts are to be commonly expected within a service. If they are not common, they are to be "STIRRED UP."

2 Timothy 1:6 (KJV)
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

Yet they are to be controlled and "JUDGED."

I Cor. 14:29-40
"LET THE PROPHETS SPEAK TWO OR THREE, AND LET THE OTHER JUDGE... THE SPIRITS OF THE PROPHETS ARE SUBJECT TO THE PROPHETS... GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION... LET ALL THINGS BE DONE DECENTLY AND IN ORDER..."

The basis of judgment of the tongues, interpretation, or prophetic utterance is the Word of God. The possessor is responsible for its use or misuse. Much prayer and Bible study is necessary. The making sure of our love for the Lord and the brethren is absolutely necessary. Don't take these gifts lightly. They are not "inferior" gifts in any way. That they be used properly and scripturally is vital to the proper functioning of the church.

 

[murjahel]

THE POWER GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
1. the GIFT of FAITH



I Corinthians 12:9-10
"TO ANOTHER FAITH BY THE SAME SPIRIT; TO ANOTHER THE GIFTS OF HEALING BY THE SAME SPIRIT; TO ANOTHER THE WORKING OF MIRACLES..."

Gifts are given to be used, not neglected, not buried, and certainly not forgotten. We cannot afford to be ignorant of these gifts. They are vital to the functioning of the church. If we are to be the kind of church that Jesus wants, we must have these gifts in operation. Yet, we find that in many churches, they have considered these gifts to be so unreachable that they have become apathetic to the very thought of them ever being in their church.

The church is told to seek the best gifts. The best gifts are the ones that are needed at that very moment. When a miracle is needed, the gifts of tongues is not the best gift. When you need an answer of direction in God's will, the gift of the word of wisdom is needed. It would at that time be the "best gift." The dividing of the gifts in the church is done by the Spirit so that we can all find dependence upon one another. As we find our gifts that the Spirit will use through us, we find where we fit into God's church.

THE GIFT OF FAITH is a special impartation of faith to believe in what God wants done.

Hebrews 11:1
"now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."


Since we are promised to do the ‘works’ that Jesus did, and even ‘greater works’, then we have authority to also speak healing to ALL that are OPPRESSED by the devil. So, why are some that are ‘oppressed by the devil’ not healed? Satan needs God’s permission to oppress Christians. There is a ‘hedge of protection’ round about Christians.

Job was a believer, and yet, God gave the devil permission to afflict Job. If Job had one of us there to undo that affliction on the first day, would it have happened? No ! For God has a trial time planned for Job. Until Job’s trial time was accomplished, which is estimated to have been about two years, the healing would not come. So, in others being oppressed by the devil, we need a word of knowledge, and word of wisdom, to know WHEN the oppression of the devil will be broken.

The curse of sin is another cause of sickness, disease, and death. The curse is ever present, and even the righteous are still ‘bodily’ under the curse. The righteous still bald, age, wrinkle, get sickness, and even die. Some teach that the righteous should not get sick, but if that were true, they also should not age, nor get gray hair.

The body of all of us is still under the curse. Our spirits have been made alive, made eternal, So, some that are sick, are not sick due to personal sin, but are sick due to the original sin.

John 9:2-3 (KJV)
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

God had a plan, and until that plan came to fruition, no one would have overruled the sovereign God as to when this healing would occur.

Sickness does not always equate with personal sins, sometimes, the curse from the original sin allows the sickness. Until the curse is removed from the body, which takes place for the saints at the resurrection time, we can still suffer effects of the curse upon the body.

Romans 8:21-25 (KJV)
Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption,
to wit, the redemption of our body.
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

God can override the curse’s effect on the body. These are partial overrides, not complete. Though we may be healed, the body continues to age, sweat, wrinkle, and move towards death.

Paul eventually died. John, had been put into boiling oil, and he lived, but still later died. Lazarus was resurrected, but 30 years later his body still died. The curse is not permanently, nor totally removed until the day of the rapture/resurrection.

Hezekiah’s death was postponed for 15 years.

2 Kings 20:1-6 (KJV)
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
I beseech thee, O LORD, ...
... Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee:
... And I will add unto thy days fifteen years...

This was not God’s best will for Hezekiah, but it was allowed. During that 15 years, Israel’s worst king ever was born. God in His mercy did bring Manasseh to repentance shortly before his death.

One reason for sickness is the test, the trial of our faith. Paul prayed three times for the thorn in his flesh to be removed. God’s ultimate goal was to this thorn to teach Paul some things. It was not removed.

Naaman expected an instant healing. His healing was delayed until he learned a humbling obedience in dipping seven times in a muddy river.

Sometimes, God delays healing till we right our lives. Sometimes we need to learn what God wants us to learn. Sometimes we need to get desperate for God’s help. Until the trial of our faith does its perfect work, we are not healed. Elijah prayed for rain seven times, and each time sent a servant to the top of a mountain to look for a cloud indicating the rain was on the way. Until the seventh time, there was no cloud. Our trials of our faith, can mean that for a time, perhaps until the rapture, we do not see the miracle.

Hebrews 11:13 (KJV)
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Hebrews 11:39 (KJV)
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

The saints of the Old Testament, often received not the promises, and died, still waiting. They had faith, but had not received the miracle, even when they died. Our catharsis is not finished. We are still being purged, cleansed. The inner person is suffering from its environment on this sinful earth. God is still working. The inner person must be cleansed.

Some people lowered a sick, but sinful man, down through the roof, to where Jesus could heal him. Jesus said: Thy sins be forgiven thee, rise and walk.’ The man was healed. He had needed the cleansing trial first, the inner change to allow the outer change.

James 5:14-15 (KJV)
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Receiving a cleansing trial, and thereby getting our hearts into harmony with God’s thoughts, means long life and health.

Proverbs 4:20-22 (KJV)
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.


If we still need more cleansing trials, we may have to await, a bit longer, for the healings.

1 John 1:7-10 (KJV)
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Sometimes, God allows sickness to come, and He denies healing or the miracle.

There are three gifts of power, given by the Spirit to the saints. The gifts of healing, the gift of miracles, and the gift of faith. We usually want healings or miracles. Yet, sometimes, God gives the gift of faith. God does want to give one of the three gifts, and sometimes, we do not receive the miracle or healing because we are given ‘faith’.

Faith is often chosen by God to be the greatest of the gifts. The Old Testament heroes of faith who ‘died in faith, not having received the promise’ were recipients of great faith, instead of the miracle. They did not have immediate victory when the promise came, but waited and waited, even dying before receiving the things promised.

God often today offers us the gift of faith, and we may wait a time, perhaps until death, but perhaps till a sooner time than that. While awaiting the promise, we have great faith to trust God anyhow.

The gift of faith is the supernatural endowment of faith, to take one through the trial, awaiting in hope, trusting despite the lack of fulfillment of the promise, as yet.

Martyrs have endured death for the glory of God, trusting in faith. The three Hebrew men went into the fiery furnace, knowing the fire could destroy them, but they trusted, being in faith. Jesus walked and talked with them in that fiery furnace. Yet, they still had to walk into it, in faith.

Daniel faced a lions’ den, with hungry lions within. He entered and exited in faith. Sometimes we must go through the trial, and we need for those times, ‘the gift of faith’. Whenever we need healing, or a miracle, God can give us the ‘gift of faith’ to endure until the promised time arrives. We need a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, to tell us which gift God wants for each situation.

Whenever we are sick, God will give us one of those gifts. So, when there is no healing, when there is no miracle, it is because God is offering the ‘gift of faith.’

He gave it to the heros of faith, recorded in Hebrews. They died waiting for the promises that had not yet come. Their miracles, healings, etc. were to await them, even longer than death. We must not be discouraged if we do not receive the ‘healing’ of the body we desire. The greatest of those gifts, is faith. Faith is trusting God to someday finish all He has promised. It is meekness of accepting His timing, His will.

 

[murjahel]

The greatest gift of the power gifts, is ‘faith’.


Faith is the mark of all Christians. We cannot please God if we do not have faith. (Hebrews 11:6) Yet, the gift of faith is a supernatural impartation of this faith for special, unique situations. There must first be a trial. For without a trial, there is no faith needed. Therefore if Christians were not to go through any troubles, etc. then no faith would be needed. We need faith for the time when we are going through troubles. Until a miracle, healing, or deliverance from the trial arrives, we need a special impartation of faith.

God has told us that He will deliver us from all our troubles. He has promised to make all things to work together for our good. Yet, sometimes the trial seems to be so long, and the miraculous answer seems to take so long to come. During this waiting time, we need a special impartation of faith. It is the greatest of the gifts of power.

It is different from saving faith, for saving faith comes before salvation, and this gift of faith can only come after salvation.

It is different from natural faith. Natural faith is like positive thinking. Some nod their heads to belief in a report. This kind of faith is found in the world. The devil and his angels believe and tremble, yet they insult God and work evil. The gift of faith is to believe God's Word in such a way that honors God and helps one endure the trial until a miracle comes.

The gift of miracles, and the gifts of healings are active, the gift of faith is a passive power.

If Daniel had slain the lions with a word, that would have been a miracle, yet he endured the night by a gift of faith. His passive power was an impartation of faith.

If the disciples in the storm-tossed boat had received the gift of faith they could have endured a stormy crossing of the lake. Yet, their lack of faith required a miracle to be done by the Lord.

The gift of faith does not provide deliverance from the trial, as does miracles or healing, but it provides the courage and endurance for the trial. The faith imparts a burst of belief, and enables one to continue, until the miracle comes.

The gift of faith is equally miraculous to miracles and healings, but its duration is longer.

God wants to meet every need in the body of believers. In every trial, sickness, problem, He wants to give a miracle, healing, or the faith to endure until the answer comes. Sometimes, God considers faith to be the gift that is best.

As in the case of Mary and Martha, Jesus sought to have them exercise the gift of faith for the four days of Lazarus' sickness and death, and then have the miracle. Too often the impatience of Christians demands the miracle now and doesn't want a gift of faith.

The prayer lines in churches often have the same people in them, service after service. The Lord obviously isn't giving the miracle or healing yet. He is trying to operate the gift of faith in their lives, for now. This gift can be a great witness too. The world can see us endure our "lion's den", and our bed of affliction, and still be rejoicing in Jesus. When the world sees this type of faith, they marvel.

The lack of this faith is evident when Christians go about demanding that the walls of their Jericho's fall on the first day, not the seventh. Many want to strike the lion's dead, not spend the night with them to exercise the gift of faith.

In Hebrews chapter 11, the great list of heros of faith are praised for enduring their trials, and awaiting the fulfillment of the promises God gave them, by the exercising the greatest of the power gifts--the gift of faith. Some of the heros of faith even died while exercising the gift of faith and never in this life saw the miracle or healing.

Hebrews 11:13
"THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH, NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISE, BUT HAVING SEEN THEM AFAR OFF, AND WERE PERSUADED OF THEM, AND EMBRACED THEM..."

This exercising of faith is not the popular Christianity. Most would rather see the miracle. The desire for the miracle is not wrong. The willingness to patiently endure the trial, and await the miracle is what God wants to see in His saints. The persuasion of the validity of God's promises even though we have not yet seen the fulfillment of the promises is greatly rewarded by God. To the great heros of faith, it is recorded in Hebrews 11:16 that - "WHEREFORE GOD IS NOT ASHAMED TO BE CALLED THEIR GOD."

God is probably ashamed to be called the God of those who complain, moan, and gripe about their trials, storms, lion's dens, that they are supposed to patiently endure. God will demand that we exercise the gift of faith, even if we try to make it clear that only the healing or miracle will satisfy us.

God is greatly displeased when Christians refuse to pray for this gift of faith.

Hebrews 11:38
"NOW THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; BUT IF ANY MAN DRAW BACK, MY SOUL SHALL HAVE NO PLEASURE IN HIM."

We need the word of wisdom, and the word of knowledge to know which gift God wants to exercise upon us when we are in trials.

If in healing lines, the word of knowledge is to be exercised so that the minister can know how to pray for those in trials. The ones who are to receive the gift of faith do not need to go home feeling that since they did not receive the gift of miracles, or the gift of healings, God must not want to give them anything. The greatest gift God can give at that time is the gift of faith. That, when properly received, will bring greater glory to God that the miracle or healing. It is still a sign and wonder. The world marvels at the faith of a Christian enduring the trial with the gift of faith.

There are uses of the gift of faith that need to be explained. Though the gift of faith is the greatest of the power gifts, it is the least understood, and the least desired. We are told to seek the best gifts, and this is the best gift of the power gifts.

The gift of FAITH is to be used:

1. for personal protection in perilous trials.

As Daniel during the night in the lion's den, and the long walk of the three Hebrew children to the fiery furnace, we are to seek to have an impartation of faith during our trials. Can you imagine the friends of Daniel saying, "If you had real faith you'd be able to speak a word and the lions would fall dead."? Too often the church of today has become like Job's comforters, and find fault with those who have to endure and have the gift of faith instead of a miracle or healing.


2. for supernatural sustenance in famine or fasting.

In the life of Elijah, he did not have a miracle of great supply of food, but had to exercise a constant faith as God supplied his sustenance was given on a daily basis. Too many of today's "faith" people would berate such a man as Elijah for not being rich, and having to live one day at a time waiting for God to supply.


3. for receiving the astonishing promises of God.

Abraham had to believe the promise of God that he would have a son, and seed as the sands of the sea, even though the promise seemed to never even have a beginning of fulfillment. In this day of "prosperity" religion, many would have criticized Abraham for believing a promise that never was fulfilled even at his time of death. But Elijah believed in faith, and though he was blessed with some material blessings, his search was for a "CITY WHOSE BUILDING AND MAKER IS GOD."


4. for courage when the trial is long.

On the mountain top, Moses stood with his arms uplifted. As long as his arms were lifted up, Israel would be winning the battle. As he lowered his arms the battle would turn, and the enemy would begin to win. His long standing, and holding up of his arms was an exercise of the gift of faith. Exodus 17:11 Some would have told Moses, "Why not speak a word and have a miracle! Have the earth swallow them up! Today, many are not desirous of exercising the gift of faith, they want the miracle only. This is often not God's way.

 

[murjahel]

THE GIFTS OF HEALINGS

part one

Health was natural before the fall. The curse took effect slowly, increasing as time when on. The immediate event at the time of the fall, was spiritual death. From it came all other effects of the fall. The inner part of man, the soul and spirit of man, effect the physical. Eventually, physical death came to Adam and Eve, but the effect on the physical was not first. God had made everything ‘good’.

Genesis 1:31 (KJV)
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Till mankind fell into sin, there was no way for them to get sick.

The fall into sin brought the curse. Everything began to change. Sickness is in the world today, not due to a sin of the sick person, but the sickness is here due to the original sin. In fact, all pain, sorrow, death, tears, hard work, pestilence, frustrations, etc. came from the sin of Adam and Eve. This does not mean that we cannot get sickness due to our own sins, we can. But the presence of sickness, disease, is due to the original sin.

Jesus was asked about a person to be healed, if the sickness was due to that man’s personal sin, or was it due to ancestral sins. Jesus answered:

John 9:1-3 (KJV)
1 And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

So, some sickness is due to sin, some of original sin, some of personal sin. Yet, this shows that some sickness is due to other factors.

Sickness is part of the curse, healing is part of the redemption.



How do we obtain healing?


First, we need to discover the cause, causes, of the sickness or disease. Then, we can seek the healings. One reason so many healing lines in church services have the same attenders, week after week, is that they have not sought to find the reason for the sickness.

What is divine healing?

Divine healing is a indisputable act of God, through faith in Jesus, by the might of the Holy Spirit, by the Word of God, and by the blood of Jesus, whereby the mortal body is recovered, mended, restored, delivered from illness and its power, and thereby made whole, sound, fit, and healthful. Healing is promised, as a benefit of the redemption provided by Jesus.

It is called ‘the children’s bread’, by our Lord Jesus.

Matthew 15:22-28 (KJV)
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But He answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought Him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall
from their masters' table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith:
be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.



This part of the redemption from the curse, is paid for by the stripes given Jesus at His crucifixion time. So, the price is paid, the curse is still attempting to inflict sickness, but we can claim God’s power.

Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.

There are some conditions, even for Christians, to have healing. We see healing lines, and time after time, the same people are in them. Why were they not healed on a previous attendance at that healing line? There are some conditions, of getting the inner man healed first, so that the curse cannot claim the body with sickness.

John 15:1-7 (KJV)
1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away:
and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

There is healing power, but we are told to ‘abide’ in the Lord. We are instructed to have His words abide in us. If God’s word is not abiding in us,
and if we are not walking with Him in His will, we will find our body can wither and be fruitless.

So, the redemption power to overcome sickness and disease is there, if we learn to get the inner person healed and in order first.

Causes of sickness, disease, and maladies...

1. God???

God is not the direct cause of either sin nor sickness. He has abundant provisions to cleanse sin, and to heal disease. Yet, He made the law that ‘whatever a man sows, so shall he reap.” If a man chooses to break God’s laws, he must reap what he sows. God does not put disease on man, but
He does allow His laws to be executed. Some sickness (not all) is due to mankind’s personal sins.

Exodus 15:26 (KJV)
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

Deuteronomy 7:15 (KJV)
15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.

God, to bring sinners to repentance, does permit Satan to afflict mankind.

1 Corinthians 5:5 (KJV)
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.


2. Satan


Satan is the direct power in executing the law of sin, sickness, and death. Jesus went about healing all who were ‘oppressed of the devil’. Sickness originated with, and is still being propagated by Satan.

Job 2:6-7 (KJV)
6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.


3. Man


Man is the ‘law breaker’, and must often reap what has been sown. Man is responsible for yielding to sin, and for breaking God’s laws. The breaking of those laws make man more susceptible to the effects of the curse. Man often lives carelessly, not seeking the close walk with the Lord that mankind needs to overcome the curse’s effects. Adding to this the lack of proper exercise, improper diet, overwork, intemperance, worry, anger, guilt, etc. and man is ripe for sickness.

1 Corinthians 11:28-30 (KJV)
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

Many today are ‘weak, sickly, and sleep (are dead)’ due to not ‘discerning the Lord’s body’, and having improper behavior toward others in the body
of Christ. These sins bring weakness, sickness, death.



4. The Curse


The curse brought on by the original sin can still bring sickness, death, etc.
If one puts their hand on a hot stove, it is burnt. It matters not if they are saved or lost. The curse is still in effect whether or not they are saved. Some disease and sickness is in this world because of the curse. Not all who get sick have personal sin doing it. They may have just repented, been fellowshipping with the Lord, having great Bible study, and still - get sick, get tired, add some grey hair, be burnt by their hot coffee, etc. Those are caused by the original sin, and the curse that is still not redeemed upon the body. Therefore, a lowering of one’s resistance may result in a cold, etc. That is why even an innocent, never having sinned yet, can catch a cold. Those germs would not have been present, had there been no curse for the original sin.


So what is the ‘gifts of healing’?


THE GIFTS OF HEALINGS is the special abilities to heal diseases. The plural form of the words "gifts" and "healings" indicate the varieties of ways in which God heals. These gifts are the impartation from God to heal, cure, repair, and make whole the physical body, and deliver it from demons or disease.


Three times in I Corinthians 12 (vss. 9, 28, 30), the gift is mentioned and each time it is "gifts of healings". Each of the other gifts is mentioned in the singular.

THE MANY METHODS OF HEALINGS


This is because God has many methods of working healings. These include:

1. The pressing through of the individual for healing, as the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment...

2. The calling for others to pray the prayer of faith, as we are instructed to call for the "elders" to pray...

3. The rebuking of the devil or demons who are obsessing the individual...

4. The commanding of the sick to do certain deeds to obtain the healing, as Naaman had to dip seven times in the Jordan, and the lame man had to "take up" his bed...

5. The giving of a point of faith, as the shadow of Peter, or the prayer cloth, or the anointing oil...

6. The repetitive prayer, as Elijah's seven-time prayer for rain...

Another reason for the plural of these words may be that God provides some with the gift to heal certain diseases, and to another provides the power to heal other diseases. This teaches a congregation to depend upon each other, for all are needed to exercise their gift as needed.

Reasons for the gifts of healing​

There are many reasons God will choose to exercise the use of the gifts of healings.

These include:

1. To deliver the sick and destroy the works of the devil in the human body.

Acts 10:38
"...WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD, AND HEALING ALL WHO WERE OPPRESSED OF THE DEVIL..."

2. To authorize the gospel that has been preached.

Acts 8:6-7
"AND THE PEOPLE WITH ONE ACCORD GAVE HEED UNTO THOSE THINGS WHICH PHILIP SPAKE, HEARING AND SEEING THE MIRACLES WHICH HE DID. FOR UNCLEAN SPIRITS, CRYING WITH A LOUD VOICE, CAME OUT OF MANY THAT WERE POSSESSED OF THEM; AND MANY TAKEN WITH PALSIES, AND THAT WERE LAME, WERE HEALED."

3. To draw people to Christ.

John 6:2
"AND A GREAT MULTITUDE FOLLOWED HIM, BECAUSE THEY SAW HIS MIRACLES WHICH HE DID ON THEM THAT WERE DISEASED."

4. To inspire faith and courage in God's people.

Luke 13:17
"ALL THE PEOPLE REJOICED FOR ALL THE GLORIOUS THINGS THAT WERE DONE BY HIM..."


MORE TO COME ON THE GIFTS OF HEALING

 

[murjahel]

There are many healings and miracles in the Bible. Yet, many think they were tricks of magic, or gullible people of that day being duped. Some think we do not need miracles and healings today, since our medicinal level is so far advanced to that time. Some others, just hate the idea of anything supernatural.

Yet, as Christians, we believe in a supernatural God. We believe in miracles, healings, and other supernatural events being common and often. God confirms the message we preach, ‘with signs following.’ (Mark 16:20) The gifts of healings, and the gift of miracles were given to the church.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (KJV)
7 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.

The Biblical order is that first we preach the gospel. That begins the CLEANSING HEALING release of sin and sins’ effects upon the person. Then secondly, the confirmation of God’s power is seen in signs and wonders, healings and miracles.

Acts 8:5-8 (KJV)
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
8 And there was great joy in that city.

Hebrews 2:3-4 (KJV)
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

The ministry of the gospel message first starts a catharsis, that is why it comes first. The healings and miracles follow, by natural order in the plan of God. That is why the order in Exodus 15, shows us the order of revelation of the power and might of God.

Exodus 15:11 (KJV)
11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, (1) glorious in holiness, (2) fearful in praises, (3) doing wonders?

Sickness is universal. All of us experience sickness. All of us, barring the rapture, will someday die. Yet, when sickness comes, why are we not all healed? We wonder and question. No matter ow wonderful our spiritual level is, we have roughly ‘three score and ten’, or ‘fourscore’ years.

Psalm 90:10 (KJV)
10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow;
for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

Remember, there are a number of CAUSES of sickness, so, likewise, there are a number of reasons that healing does not come. Sometimes God brings sickness, plague, and death. Sometimes the devil brings those. Man is often the culprit of the ailments. The curse upon mankind is most frequently the cause. The spiritual lapses can also bring sickness, disease, even death.

Satan is the author of sickness and disease. Man is subject to sickness due to the temptation of the devil upon Eve. When Eve, and then Adam, sinned, the devil had accomplished making immortal mankind to become mortal
and frail.

Genesis 2:17 (KJV)
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Mankind did die spiritually that day. Mortality of the body claimed their bodies also in time. Corruption set in, the curse went into effect. The devil probably felt victorious. Satan was the originator. Jesus came and claimed VICTORY over the devil.

Acts 10:38 (KJV)
38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.

Since we are promised to do the ‘works’ that Jesus did, and even ‘greater works’, then we have authority to also speak healing to ALL that are OPPRESSED by the devil. So, why are some that are ‘oppressed by the devil’ not healed? Satan needs God’s permission to oppress Christians. There is a ‘hedge of protection’ round about Christians. Job was a believer, and yet, God gave the devil permission to afflict Job. If Job had one of us there to undo that affliction on the first day, would it have happened? No ! For God has a trial time planned for Job. Until Job’s trial time was accomplished, which is estimated to have been about two years, the healing would not come. So, in others being oppressed by the devil, we need a word of knowledge, and word of wisdom, to know WHEN the oppression of the devil will be broken.

The curse of sin is another cause of sickness, disease, and death. The curse is ever present, and even the righteous are still ‘bodily’ under the curse. The righteous still bald, age, wrinkle, get sickness, and even die. Some teach that the righteous should not get sick, but if that were true, they also should not age, nor get gray hair.

The body of all of us is still under the curse. Our spirits have been made alive, made eternal, So, some that are sick, are not sick due to personal sin,
but are sick due to the original sin.

John 9:2-3 (KJV)
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

God had a plan, and until that plan came to fruition, no one would have overruled the sovereign God as to when this healing would occur.

Sickness does not always equate with personal sins, sometimes, the curse from the original sin allows the sickness. Until the curse is removed from the body, which takes place for the saints at the resurrection time, we can still suffer effects of the curse upon the body.

Romans 8:21-25 (KJV)
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption,
to wit, the redemption of our body.
24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

God can override the curse’s effect on the body. These are partial overrides, not complete. Though we may be healed, the body continues to age, sweat, wrinkle, and move towards death.

Paul eventually died. John, had been put into boiling oil, and he lived,
but still later died. Lazarus was resurrected, but 30 years later his body still died. The curse is not permanently, nor totally removed until the day of the rapture/resurrection.

Hezekiah’s death was postponed for 15 years.

2 Kings 20:1-6 (KJV)
1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court,
that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of My people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up
unto the house of the LORD.
6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake.

This was not God’s best will for Hezekiah, but it was allowed. During that 15 years, Israel’s worst king ever was born. God in His mercy did bring Manasseh to repentance shortly before his death.

One reason for sickness is the test, the trial of our faith. Paul prayed three times for the thorn in his flesh to be removed. God’s ultimate goal was to this thorn to teach Paul some things. It was not removed.

Naaman expected an instant healing. His healing was delayed until he learned a humbling obedience in dipping seven times in a muddy river.

Sometimes, God delays healing till we right our lives. Sometimes we need to learn what God wants us to learn. Sometimes we need to get desperate for God’s help. Until the trial of our faith does its perfect work, we are not healed. Elijah prayed for rain seven times, and each time sent a servant to the top of a mountain to look for a cloud indicating the rain was on the way. Until the seventh time, there was no cloud. Our trials of our faith, can mean that for a time, perhaps until the rapture, we do not see the miracle.

Hebrews 11:13 (KJV)
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Hebrews 11:39 (KJV)
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

The saints of the Old Testament, often received not the promises, and died, still waiting. They had faith, but had not received the miracle, even when they died. Our catharsis is not finished. We are still being purged, cleansed.
The inner person is suffering from its environment on this sinful earth. God is still working. The inner person must be cleansed.

Some people lowered a sick, but sinful man, down through the roof, to where Jesus could heal him. Jesus said: Thy sins be forgiven thee, rise and walk.’ The man was healed. He had needed the catharsis first, the inner change to allow the outer change.

James 5:14-15 (KJV)
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Receiving a catharsis, and thereby getting our hearts into harmony with God’s thoughts, means long life and health.

Proverbs 4:20-22 (KJV)
20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

If we still need more catharsis, we may have to await, a bit longer, for the healings.

1 John 1:7-10 (KJV)
7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Sometimes, God allows sickness to come, and He denies healing or the miracle.

There are three gifts of power, given by the Spirit to the saints. The gifts of healing, the gift of miracles, and the gift of faith. We usually want healings or miracles. Yet, sometimes, God gives the gift of faith. God does want to give one of the three gifts, and sometimes, we do not receive the miracle or healing because we are given ‘faith’. Faith is often chosen by God to be the greatest of the gifts. The Old Testament heroes of faith who ‘died in faith, not having received the promise’ were recipients of great faith, instead of the miracle. They did not have immediate victory when the promiise came, but waited and waited, even dying before receiving the things promised.

God often today offers us the gift of faith, and we may wait a time, perhaps until death, but perhaps till a sooner time than that. While awaiting the promise, we have great faith to trust God anyhow.

The gift of faith is the supernatural endowment of faith, to take one through the trial, awaiting in hope, trusting despite the lack of fulfillment of the promise, as yet. Martyrs have endured death for the glory of God,
trusting in faith. The three Hebrew men went into the fiery furnace, knowing the fire could destroy them, but they trusted, being in faith. Jesus walked and talked with them in that fiery furnace. Yet, they still had to walk into it, in faith.

Daniel faced a lions’ den, with hungry lions within. He entered and exited in faith. Sometimes we must go through the trial, and we need for those times, ‘the gift of faith’. Whenever we need healing, or a miracle, God can give us the ‘gift of faith’ to endure until the promised time arrives. We need a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, to tell us which gift God wants for each situation.

Whenever we are sick, God will give us one of those gifts. So, when there is no healing, when there is no miracle, it is because God is offering the ‘gift of faith.’ He gave it to the heros of faith, recorded in Hebrews. They died waiting for the promises that had not yet come. Their miracles, healings, etc. were to await them, even longer than death. We must not be discouraged if we do not receive the ‘healing’ of the body we desire. The greatest of those gifts, is faith. Faith is trusting God to someday finish all He has promised. It is meekness of accepting His timing, His will. The greatest gift of the power gifts, is ‘faith’.

 

[murjahel]

THE RIGHT METHODS OF HEALING

The various causes of sickness vary. God can bring or allow sickness,
the devil loves to afflict and trouble with sickness. The curse brought the possibility of sickness upon the adamic race. Man often brings on his own sickness due to personal sin. Finally, sometimes, sickness is a spiritual trial.

There are then various possibilities of the purpose of sickness. God sometimes allow sickness to be the means which bring one home to heaven.
Sometimes, sickness will be a test of faith. Sometimes sickness is the result of the curse of original sin being in this world. Sometimes, one’s personal sin is the reason for sickness. Sometimes, sickness is the result of improper care of the Temple of the Spirit of God (i.e. the body).

Along with those respective causes and purposes of sickness, there are diverse methods of healing. In the list of the gifts of the Spirit, the separate gifts are in the singular. There is one ‘gift of tongues, one gift of interpretation, etc. yet, there are ‘giftS, of healing. That means there are assorted ‘gifts’. There are different endowments, dissimilar methods of receiving the healings from God.

How does God heal? Does He always do it the same way? Did Naaman have to call for the elders of the church? Did Jesus make all those that He healed to dip seven times in the Jordan River? Of course not!

Today, we see patterns, and we see some expect God to heal all the same way. Some healing lines, have all be anointed with oil, all have the laying on of hands, and all have the elders of the church pray. But, what if God chooses another way? We have to learn to listen to God give His direction
on the method of His healing.

There are giftS of healing. That means plural methods are used in God’s plan.

1. Sometimes, we need to press through to touch Jesus.

The woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. She was healed, and Jesus felt the ‘virtue flow from’ Himself. Not all are healed that way, but God lets some be healed that way.

Another example is the blind man who called out to Jesus until he was heard. Jesus stopped to heal the man.

God sometimes wants us to be determined and to seek God enough to get that personal touch from God. Others are not needed, no elders need be called, no hands of others need laid upon the person, no oil needs to be anointed upon them. The person in determination pushes into the presence of Jesus, and there finds healing.

2. Some need to call for the elders of the church, and confess sins and wrongs.

Church prayer can be needed, as one method of healing.

James 5:14-16 (KJV)
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church;
and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Many ‘call for the elders’, but then they stop. The prayer of the elders is only a part of this method. Sins need repented, and faults need confessed,
and then the ‘effectual fervent prayer’ of that person who is now a ‘righteous’ (in right standing) person. That prayer ‘availeth much’.

We need each other, and yet, sometimes, wrong relationships in the church body result in sickness.

Paul referred to this in I Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 11:28-31 (KJV)
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

If we partake unworthily, with bad relationships, with wrongs and sins between the members of the church, the elders need to step in, get confession of sins, encourage confession of the faults, and then, with a righteous congregation, the sicknesses will be healed.

Many in Corinth were ‘weak, sickly,’ and some had died, because of those kinds of unconfessed sins.

3. Some need to rebuke the disease, and the devils’ oppression.

Some disease is due to demonic oppression. Jesus went about and healed all who were ‘oppressed by the devil.’ We still find some who are ‘oppressed’ in that way. The sickness is therefore not from God, and it is not due to the person’s own sins. Therefore, still today, God wants to heal those that are oppressed due to the devils’ choice. We have authority to rebuke the devil, rebuke the sickness placed upon the person.

Matthew 17:18 (KJV)
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

Mark 16:17-18 (KJV)
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

John 14:12 (KJV)
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

4. Some need to know that oftentimes, God wants some kind of OBEDIENCE first.

Naaman had to go to the muddy Jordan River, and obey by dipping seven times in that river. This was humbling, and showed faith, to obey that directive.

The blind man needed to wash in the pool of Siloam.

John 9:7 (KJV)
7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

Lepers were told to go to the priests. There, the priests would examine them, and declare them clean from leprosy. These lepers started on the trip, while they were still lepers. It was while they were on their way, that the healing came.

Would these healings have happened if there had not been obedient? Some people need to respect Jesus as Lord, and that can often be shown to be true that they do, or false, that they don’t, when the test of obedience is given. Sometimes, God will lead one with a word of wisdom, and a word of knowledge, to give instruction to a sick one, and if followed, healing will come.

5. Some need a ‘point of faith’.

This can be the ‘anointing oil’, the laying on of hands, Peter’s shadow, prayer cloths, the hem of Jesus’ garment. It is not the article that is the healing feature, it is something that sparks the faith. Sometimes there is great typology in the article. The oil is the type of the Holy Spirit anointing. The hands laid upon represent the flowing through a vessel of God’s power. The shadow of Peter was also the shadow of Him, Who dwelt in Peter, the hem of the garment, represented the power of the One wearing the garment. Recognizing the symbology of the article, can spark one’s faith in God.

6. Prayer as Elijah prayed from rain is often needed to bring healing.

James 5:17-18 (KJV)
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space
of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

When the time for restoration of rain came, Elijah prayed seven times, and each time, he sent a servant up the mountain to see if any cloud had appeared.

1 Kings 18:41-45 (KJV)
41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,
43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up,
and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain...

Sometimes, we pray and pray again. We must keep on asking, and after often praying, the answer finally comes.

Matthew 7:7-11 (KJV)
7 Ask (and keep on asking), and it shall be given you; seek (and keep on seeking), and ye shall find; knock (and keep on knocking), and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

The Bible says that we shall ‘reap if we faint not’. This ‘asking’ process is part of the plan of God. We would prefer to ask only once, and to then receive immediately. God chooses often, not to heal that way, but to do it His way. Go figure ! So, we should not be discouraged and not give up,
if not immediately healed. One of His methods is to build persistence and perseverance in us.

Some criticize the healing evangelist, if no answer at first request. Yet, God made it plain that often He wants us to ask often.

7. Another method of healing is fasting and praying.

Matthew 17:14-21 (KJV)
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation,
how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Sometimes, prayer and fasting is needed, in order that one’s faith might be increased. Full faith in the Lord is oft needed for certain ailments. Some, like this one here, had a devil oppressing, a strong evil spirit, a ruling power. This one could not only taunt in the brain, but could also throw the boy around physically. This took a bit more faith to handle. They needed a word of knowledge to know the problem, how to handle it.

8. There are many methods of healing, and one final one to mention now, is the exercising of the office of healing.

Some are given a ministry of healing. This is their job to which God has summoned them. A supernatural endowment of healing power can often flow through that one. They will have accompanying gifts of word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discernment of spirits, to aid them in this
healing ministry.

Kathryn Kuhlman comes to mind, as to one who was often used with this ministry. Smith Wigglesworth was another one with this calling. Sometimes, God will call others of us, to have this calling for certain occasions, and perhaps other times be used with our primary calling, whatever that may be. It is an anointing of power, to be led to situations, and to people which need healing, need released from demonic oppression,
need to handle sins and failings which led to sickness.

We need to believe that God still wants to heal. God, though, will choose the method. God knows the reason for the sickness, and the purpose of His plan.
Our problem therefore, is to learn from God, why someone is sick, what is the purpose, what is the method of God, how do we proceed to be part of God’s plan.

The first step in finding out all these things is found in:
Acts 6:4 (KJV)
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

 

[murjahel]

THE GIFT OF MIRACLES


THE GIFT OF MIRACLES has to do - with more than recovery from illness - and could include restoration of limbs, raising the dead, etc. Moses exhibited it in Egypt and in the wilderness. Elijah exercised the gift of miracles on Mt. Carmel, and at the widow's home. Jesus exercised the gift of miracles when He fed the 5000.

The gift of miracles is one of the gifts that those who have the ministry gift of apostleship are to have.

II Corinthians 12:12
"TRULY THE SIGNS OF AN APOSTLE WERE WROUGHT AMONG YOU IN ALL PATIENCE, IN SIGNS, AND WONDERS, AND MIGHT DEEDS."

The power to intervene in the course of nature, when the work of the Lord may be furthered thereby, is the gift of miracles.

There is much confusion to the meaning of "miracle."

A miracle is a supernatural act in the physical realm.
A miracle is the temporary suspension of accustomed order.
A miracle is a sovereign act of the Spirit, irrespective of laws or systems.

The Bible records many miracles.

These include:

1. Elisha made an axe head to swim.
(II Ki. 6:1-7)

2. Aaron cast a rod before Pharaoh, and it became a serpent.
(Ex. 7:10)

3. Jesus raised the dead to life.
(John 11:1-47)

4. Peter raised Dorcas to life. (Acts 9:40)

5. Paul restored Eutychus to life.
(Acts 20:10)



Miracles are used of the Lord to:

1. Miraculously deliver God's people
(as Moses leading the nation across the Red Sea on dry ground.)

2. Provide for those in need
(as the widow's handful of meal, and the feeding of the thousands by Jesus with 5 loaves and 2 fishes.)

3. To carry out divine judgments
(as the plagues on Egypt.)

4. To confirm the Word preached (Acts 13:11-12).

5. To deliver from danger
(as the calming of the storm.)

6. To raise the dead (as Lazarus was raised by the Lord.)

7. To display God's power and magnificence
(as the miracles of Jesus drew the attention of John the Baptist's disciples.)



Divine miracles are not pointless spectacles to grasp peoples's attention. The main emphasis is to show the grace and love of the Lord on a world of need.

Miracles can occur today. Miracles were not explosions of Almightiness for just the apostolic age. Modernists have mocked at the idea of miracles. Yet God is the same today as He has always been. If miracles were needed in Jesus' day, they are even more needed in our day of sin and rebellion to catch the attention of this world. God's plan is for many miracles to occur. The apostles saw many miracles done (Acts 2:43). In these last days, we too should have the gift of miracles in operation.

 

[murjahel]

Harmony in the workings
of the power gifts

Too often, those seeking to be used in healing ministry have been totally unaware of how the gifts work together as a team of gifts, in the healing ministry.

1 Corinthians 12:1 (KJV)
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

There is no limitation to our number of gifts to have in operation.
1 Corinthians 14:1 (KJV)
1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual giftS...

We are to seek more than one. The stipulation is only that the gifts operate to edify the church. Many times, several of the gifts operate in harmony to bring edification to the church.

1 Corinthians 14:12 (KJV)
12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.

The exercising of these gifts brings great signs and wonders. The centurion’s servant shows us the working together of word of knowledge, word of wisdom, and the gift of healing.

Matthew 8:5-13 (KJV)
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

The man with the withered hand needed a word of knowledge in order to have the gift of miracles.

Matthew 12:9-13 (KJV)
9 And when he was departed thence, He went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse Him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

The blind man, needed a special method to obtain his healing. Jesus used dirt and spit to make a paste to apply to his eyes. The lame man was told to ‘rise and walk’, a word of knowledge of how the healing was to come.

Ananias was told how to bring Paul’s healing. Trophimus was not to be healed, and Paul left him behind. God had to have given a word of knowledge as to the reason and purpose, timing of the healing, yet to come.

2 Timothy 4:20 (KJV)
20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.

Paul knew what Timothy needed for his stomach ailment. The water was so impure that a little wine was used to purify it.

1 Timothy 5:23 (KJV)
23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.

The Holy Spirit operates these gifts, with a purpose. He is working power through us, to glorify Jesus. The understanding of these gifts, these empowering gifts, will enable the cathartic release of mankind to healings.


Matthew 8:17, Isaiah 53:4
"Himself took (Greek =lambano, carried away) our infirmities (bodily diseases) and bare (lift up in order to remove) our sicknesses (feebleness of mind and body, disease, sickness, weakness)."

The fame of Jesus spread as He began His ministry, because of His teaching and miracles. We are not to be out for ‘fame’, or notoriety. We are to, like Jesus, seek to be used in helping others find the healing they need in this cursed world.

Matthew 8:1, 18, 34; 9:10, 26, 31
"great multitudes followed Him... great multitudes were about Him... behold the whole city came out... many publicans and sinners came and sat down... the fame thereof went abroad into all that land... spread abroad His fame in all that country."

The miracles of Jesus brought the attention of the world of that day. The fame was due to the fact that there were no hospitals, and the ailments of life had made the land to be full of lame, blind, sick and dying people. Jesus was the only Hope. Today we find even Christians, who get sick, and forget that Jesus can heal, for we have pain relievers, surgeries, medicines that block the symptoms of the ailments. We still need ‘healing’, and we need to learn all the benefits therein from this gospel message of Jesus.

JESUS HEALS THE LEPER

Matthew 8:1-4
"...came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him... came a leper and worshiped Him, Jesus... touched him... his leprosy was cleansed... See thou tell no man... show thyself to the priest, offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto them."

Leprosy is a slowly progressing disease characterized by nodules, scabs, and white shining spots. The disease rendered the person unclean. The destruction of the flesh of the body would eventually result in death.

The life of a leper in those days was very difficult.

Only a descendant of Aaron (i.e. a priest) could pronounce a leper clean.

All lepers were banished to live outside the walled towns. If one was caught within the walls, the penalty was 39 stripes (which was often a death sentence). In synagogues of the unwalled cities, a leper was the first to enter, and the last to leave. They had to stay within a separate room that was six foot wide, and 10 palms high.

The Rabbis of the era loved to teach that leprosy was caused by sin. This made the people to shun the lepers as sinners being punished by God. They considered leprosy to be a sign of "heresy" rather than to be indicative of a moral sin. Since they were to be "sinners", they were considered to be "mourners" and were forbidden to even wash their faces.

The leper had to shout "UNCLEAN" as he walked. If he even put his head into a room, it was considered to be unclean. Six foot was as close as anyone could come to a leper. If the wind was coming from that direction, the distance had to be 100 feet.

Some people would throw stones at them to keep them away. The contracting of the disease was so fearsome that people shuddered in apprehension at the sight of a person with such disease. Yet, Jesus came up to such a leper, and touched him. Jesus needed and operated a 'gift of faith' to even approach, let alone touch, the leper.

Matthew 8:3
"Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him."

Elisha did not touch Naaman. Yet, Jesus did not fear to touch this leper. It was a result of the touch of Jesus that brought the cleansing of the leper. In our dealings with the sick, we need to learn to trust the Lord to tell us how to ‘lay on of hands’, how to pray, when to visit. There is so much ‘fear’ engendered today, regarding sicknesses, that too many that God could use in prayers of faith, are home hiding, in closets of fear. Jesus touched lepers, and His touch healed them. Our touch does not heal, but we can introduce the sick and fearful, the shunned and ignored, to Jesus.

If we ever learn that we need 'multiple gifts', we will have many more healings and miracles. The word of wisdom, the word of faith, the discernment of spirits, the gift of faith, will make the occurrences of healings and miracles abound.

 

[murjahel]

There were at least SIX BASIC PRINCIPLES TAUGHT BY JESUS according to Paul:
Hebrews 6:1-2
"Therefore, leaving the PRINCIPLES OF THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST, let us go on unto perfection, not laying again (Greek, kataballo meaning 'casting down') the FOUNDATION:
of repentance from dead works;
of faith toward God;
of the doctrine of baptisms;
of the LAYING ON OF HANDS;
of the resurrection of the dead;
and of eternal judgment."

This shows that one of the six doctrines emphasized by the Lord to the disciples was the 'LAYING ON OF HANDS'. The disciples had first seen Jesus lay hands on the sick, on the lepers, etc, and this developed into one of the basic principles of Jesus' teaching. We have allowed the significance of the touching, the laying on of hands to degenerate into simply a form. God wants to restore such gift to the church, and to have its use bring the healings, the miracles, and the gifts and ministries to the latter rain saints.

The Lord wills to have saints who will "lay hands on", i.e. to touch, others to impart blessings, healings, gifts, and ministries. The 'laying on of hands' as seen in our day is different than it was in the early church. Now it is seen as only a form, a ritual, and a ceremony. In the early church, soon in this age it will be a gift of the Spirit, an important doctrine, and a powerful, miraculous impartation of gifts and prophetic revelation from the Lord to His empowered saints.

The disciples observed Jesus lay hands upon many, as He did here to the leper, and saw the great miracles that were done. Jesus had taught them that these miracles were wrought in this way by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then after the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the disciples began to lay hands on the sick and afflicted. Miracles and healings were done in great numbers.


Acts 5:12
"AND BY THE HANDS OF THE APOSTLES WERE MANY SIGNS AND WONDERS WROUGHT AMONG THE PEOPLE."


The early church continued to "touch", i.e. to lay hands upon many.

Acts 8:17
"Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."

I Timothy 4:14
"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of hands."

II Timothy 1:6
"...stir up the gift of God, which is in thee, by the putting on of my hands, for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind."

Acts 6:6
"Whom they had set before the apostles, when they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them."

Acts 13:3
"And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them."

Paul also began to lay hands on the sick. Healings and miracles followed his ministry.

Acts 28:8
"PAUL ENTERED IN AND PRAYED, AND LAID HIS HANDS ON HIM, AND HEALED HIM."

Acts 19:11
"AND GOD WROUGHT SPECIAL MIRACLES BY THE HANDS OF PAUL."

There are many methods by which the Lord has instituted the workings of healings and miracles. For some there is to be the anointing with oil, prayer cloths for others, and last, but not least, the laying on of hands, i.e. the simple touching with our hands those who are in need of healing, or blessing. The church is told to lay hands on many.

Mark 16:18
"THEY SHALL LAY HANDS ON THE SICK, AND THEY SHALL RECOVER."

Paul was healed of his blindness, and filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit when Ananias laid hands on him and prayed.

Acts 9:17
"AND ANANIAS...PUTTING HIS HANDS ON HIM SAID, 'BROTHER SAUL... RECEIVE THY SIGHT, AND BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT..."

The church at Ephesus received the baptism of the Holy Spirit when Paul laid hands on them and prayed.

Acts 19:6
"AND WHEN PAUL HAD LAID HIS HANDS UPON THEM, THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME ON THEM, AND THEY SPOKE WITH TONGUES."

The laying on of hands seems to confer, on the recipient, a healing, or some other Spiritual gift. The people of that day noticed this connection. The disciples saw it early in the ministry of Jesus, especially here with the healing of the leper... They saw the miraculous event that commenced with the "touching" of the hands.

Simon noticed that people received the baptism of the Holy Spirit when the disciples laid hands on them. He desired to be able to do this too.

Acts 8:18
"WHEN SIMON SAW THAT THROUGH THE LAYING ON OF HANDS, THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS GIVEN, HE OFFERED THEM MONEY."

Timothy was given a special spiritual gift when Paul laid hands on him.

II Timothy 1:6
"WHEREFORE, I PUT THEE IN REMEMBRANCE THAT THOU STIR UP THE GIFT OF GOD WHICH IS IN THEE BY THE PUTTING ON OF MY HANDS."

I Timothy 4:14
"NEGLECT NOT THE GIFT THAT IS IN THEE, WHICH WAS GIVEN THEE BY PROPHECY WITH THE LAYING ON OF THE HANDS OF THE PRESBYTERY."

We have gotten too far from this type of ministry. We lay hands on people to pray, but expect no great thing to happen. It has become little more than a form or tradition to us. The church receives what they expect, little or nothing. If we would look at the Scripture, and observe that the laying on of hands was meant to confer something, then have faith that God still intends to bless us in this way, the expectancy would bring fresh blessing from the Lord upon this type of ministry.

The laying on of hands has power. Therefore, as with any tool that has power, caution needs to be used with the operation of it. We must beware of laying hands of blessing on people that are sinners.

I Timothy 5:22
"LAY HANDS SUDDENLY ON NO MAN, NEITHER BE PARTAKER OF OTHER MEN'S SINS; KEEP YOURSELF PURE."

Amplified Version (I Tim. 5:22)
"DO NOT BE IN A HURRY IN THE LAYING ON OF HANDS - GIVING THE SANCTION OF THE CHURCH TO HASTILY (IN REINSTATING EXPELLED OFFENDERS, OR IN ORDINATION OF QUESTIONABLE CASES) NOR SHARE OR PARTICIPATE IN ANOTHER MAN'S SINS; KEEP YOURSELF PURE."

The Lord is to tell us upon whom we should "lay hands on", or to touch, as Jesus did the leper. In the case of imparting blessings or ministries, one must be proven faithful and true before we should lay hands on them to give such gifts. We should not get carried away with this ministry. Let love and wisdom guide. Follow the Spirit's leading. Don't rush ahead of Him.

Even with this caution, the church, especially during these last days, should be "laying hands on", i.e. touching, the people:
in praying for the sick,
in conferring the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
in imparting spiritual gifts,
in connection with prophecy to give confirmation,
in bestowing spiritual blessing,
in confirmation and ordination of ministries,
in sending believers to do evangelism.

 

[murjahel]

THE CENTURION'S SERVANT HEALED
Matthew 8:5-13
"...entered Capernaum... came... a centurion... My servant lieth sick of the palsy, grievously tormented... I will come and heal him... Lord, I am not worthy... speak the word only... Jesus... marveled... I have not found so great faith in Israel... as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee... his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."

When the Lord finds faith in any individual, even in the Gentile Roman centurion, a person that few in Israel would have chosen to help, He willingly provided a miracle. Jesus had denied Himself miracles for His own self, but He did not deny others such miracles.

Jesus had seen the leper, who said:
Matthew 8:2
"Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

The Lord was willing.

The centurion said:
"I am not worthy."

The Lord showed him that it was faith, not nationality, not financial means to reimburse, not status or popularity, and not a list of good works that makes one worthy for miracles.

Faith is necessary for miracles. Faith is not something only obtainable by those who have seriously studied the Scriptures for years. It is not a mountain peak of spiritual growth. It is not something only the holiest of saints may acquire. No, faith is the trust in the Lord, trust in what He has spoken, and looking only unto Him for the answer. If our eyes get onto other sources of answers, if our direction of attention centers only on the problem, then we have wavered in faith.

We need to be:
"Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:1)
Thus-ly centered on the Person of our faith, we have faith, for faith flows from His presence into the ones who look unto Him. Faith is not found by digging deep into oneself, but found in looking toward the true Source of all real faith, i.e. Jesus Christ. The centurion traveled far, to come to Jesus, and looking only unto Him for the answer, he spoke forth faith. This results in miracles.

Sometimes, we cannot ‘lay hands’ on the person. We can then speak faith, let it flow from our lips, the praises of God and of His power to heal.


PETER'S MOTHER-IN-LAW HEALED

Matthew 8:14-15
"...come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered unto them."

This woman was one who loved to minister, serve, and attend unto others. She was there at Peter's house to help in serving the Lord and His disciples... Falling sick of a sudden fever, her ministry was hindered, stopped, and impossible.

Fevers usually indicate a contagious disease. Yet, Jesus did not await outside for fear of such disease, He entered, and touched, not the forehead, but the hand, of this woman. She immediately arose and willingly chose to resume the role of servant to the disciples and the Lord.

Some want healed so they can resume being a pew sitter. Some want healed so they may go to the ball game. Others will walk away from a healing, and forget the Healer, and the ministry they could have performed for the Lord.

The Lord wants "laborers" for the harvest. The Lord desires for His people to serve Him. When He finds a servant of His own, who is sick and hindered by such sickness in doing what they desired to do for God. Jesus can perform the healing, do the miracle, restore miraculously the strength needed, for such a one.

The devil passes out many fevers, headaches, pains, colds, and sniffles to those who would like to minister for the Lord. These temporary hindrances can be removed by a fresh "touch" from our Lord.

Not only did the fever leave Peter's mother-in-law, but her strength returned, so she could immediately resume what she had come for. What is your purpose? Why are you here? If you became sick, what would be undone in the kingdom of heaven? If nothing, then when you become disabled by sickness, does the Lord need to heal you to get His work completed, or would the Lord's work be unhindered by your absence? If you become a willing worker in the kingdom, the Lord will see that you receive the miracles necessary to perform such.

The power is not in our hands, the power is in the fact that Jesus abides in us, and when our hands touch the sick and afflicted, it is His hand in us. The same is true with Peter’s shadow, that healed the sick. Jesus was in Peter, so Peter’s shadow was also the Lord’s shadow. We need to be filled with Jesus when we pray for the sick.






JESUS UNDID THE WORK OF THE DEVIL, FOR THE LORD CAME TO BEAR OUR SINS AND SICKNESSES

Matthew 8:16-17
"...brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils; and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias, the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."

Jesus is the enemy to the devil and his cohorts. All who are now Christians are also the enemy to such evil beings. They have an agenda to make sick, to hinder, and to kill.

When we come up against the ones so debilitated by the devils, we have every right and ability in Jesus to speak a "WORD", i.e. rhema of the Lord to such diseases and see them removed.

Matthew quotes Isaiah 53:4, where Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would take our sicknesses and infirmities upon Himself. The atonement of Jesus provided that blessing, and we may appropriate such in our day.

We can learn much by looking at the ‘HEALER’, the ‘GREAT PHYSICIAN’, i.e. Jesus. He set an example, but He did more. He promised to be the One within us, and to be there to still show the same compassion as He had when He first came. He is in us, wanting to use our hands, listening to our prayers, and then ministering healing through us.

 

[murjahel]

THE PARTS OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS


Matthew 9:35
"And Jesus went about all the cities and villages,

(1) teaching in their synagogues,

(2) and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,

(3) and healing every sickness and every disease among the people."



Jesus had a great range of ministry... He did not restrict Himself to ministering to one class, to one economic level, to only the healthy, or to only the powerful.

Jesus could:

heal the leper, even though lepers were the ostracized... He even touched the one He healed, though others would not come within six feet of the lepers...

heal the centurion's servant, even though the Romans were hated by the Jews...

call Matthew to be one of His disciples, though Matthew was a hated publican (tax collector)...

cast out demons, though the demons were feared...

forgive and heal a very wicked man lowered through the roof...



Jesus had authority and power over all:

SICKNESS...
Jesus could heal all sicknesses.
(Matthew 8:14-17)

NATURE...
Jesus could calm the storm...
(Matthew 8:23-27)

DEMONS...
Jesus casts them out...
(Matthew 8:28-31)

SIN...
Jesus forgave the man lowered through the roof of his sins...
(Matthew 9:1-8)

DEATH...
Jesus could bring back to life the daughter of Jairus...
(Matthew 9:18-26​

)


Jesus did not just teach as One Who thought that He had authority. Jesus actually did have authority, and He proved it.

Matthew 7:28-29
"taught as One with authority."

This is said in chapter 7 of Matthew, and then in chapters 8 and 9, Jesus shows His authority over sickness, sin, demons, nature, and death. Nothing can limit His authority.

Jesus began His sermons with the same sermon that John the baptist had preached. Jesus taught the same message of "REPENT", but His ministry took on many differences from John's. John the baptist's former disciples asked about the differences:

Matthew 9:14-17
"...Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out, and the wine skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins."

Newness, change, should be a part of the Christian experience. God is a God of variety. You do not have to be a clone of Paul, Peter, Moses, Elijah, etc. We are all different. The Lord did not treat John as He did Peter. David was treated differently than Isaiah. All ministries differ.

Each new age has required different people with different personalities, different approaches. The Bible is a testimony to this.

Jesus called Himself to be the "SON OF MAN". The term is used 94 times in the New Testament... 89 times by Christ, and 5 times by others. Jesus wanted to emphasize His full humanity, and His earthly ministry.

In Matthew 8:29, the demons called Jesus to be the "SON OF GOD". But Jesus chose to use the term "SON OF MAN" as His title.

Jesus wanted to be recognized as a man:
Who could forgive sins...
Who could heal bodies...
Who could give life...
Who could give sight...
Who could calm storms...​

This authority that Jesus had, He has chosen to share with His own.

Matthew 10:1
"...He called His 12 disciples and gave them authority."

After establishing His own authority, He shared it. Everywhere Jesus went He saw men "like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36).

Then in Matthew 9:38:
"...turned to the disciples, Ask the Lord of the harvest, to send out workers."

Finally, in Matthew 10:1, Jesus gave them "AUTHORITY" to do the work. Jesus told them to "raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons."

Matthew 10:1,8

Jesus did not coerce men, and He did not tell them to seek riches or carry riches. He told them that some would hate them, despite their authority.

In the two "miracle" chapters 8 and 9 of Matthew, Jesus shows a WILLINGNESS TO HEAL, an AUTHORITY AND POWER TO HEAL AND DO MIRACLES, and a FORGIVENESS. Jesus astounded the people with His willingness to forgive the man lowered through the roof. Then, as He left the house, Jesus stopped long enough to invite the most hated man in town, Matthew the tax collector, to be His disciple.

Matthew 9:9
"As Jesus passed forth from then He saw a man named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom; He saith unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him."

In the middle of Matthew's description of Jesus' healing and miracle ministry, and in the midst of the one miracle that showed the forgiveness of sins to those sick. Matthew includes the account of his call to discipleship. Matthew obviously considered his call to discipleship to be a miracle of love and forgiveness.

Matthew was considered a sinner, simply due to his trade... a tax collector. If Jesus could invite Matthew, the most hated man of the community, to follow Him, that would be a miracle of mercy and love... Jesus had power to heal and do miracles... but He also had mercy, love, and forgiveness.

Fortunately, power, authority, mercy, and love go together. When the world sees that, the sinners, those feeling the terrible effects of sin in their lives will come to Jesus.

Matthew 10:1
"many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples."

Sinners flocked to Jesus. Many today try to win the healthy, wealthy, and wise... of the world... and find them unwilling, hesitant, and unconcerned about Jesus. But, those who go to the exit doors of the local bars, to the hospital rooms of the sick and dying, and to the prison cells of the incarcerated felons... find many who will willingly listen to the hope of Jesus. The church congregations who are forgiving, compassionate, and loving will have many to whom to minister.

The Jewish teachers of that day spoke little, if at all, of forgiveness. They talked repentance and change. But, the Lord's way was to forgive first, and expect change second. Too many want others to change first, and then they will later forgive such person.

Repentance of the Bible is a change of mind... with the change of mind, God will then forgive... and then comes the change of life. God's way is to have the forgiveness in the middle.

Man's way is to put forgiveness at the end... and they want a change of mind, and then a change of life... and then they will consider forgiveness, and in reality, it is usually a conditional, probational forgiveness. Man's way and God's way has always been in conflict. If we are His representatives on this earth, we must follow His way. This is difficult for many!

Matthew was collecting taxes when Jesus called him. Jesus looked at Matthew when He walked by, and knew that within Matthew was a change of mind.

The community still hated this collector of taxes. Matthew had paid the Romans much money to have the right to collect the taxes and some extra money for himself. Matthew was not only a publican, but a "mokhes", one who stood himself at the custom house.

The Jews would not even allow the publicans to repent and be fully accepted. Some who tried it, still were held at a distance from "devout Jews." Repentance for a publican was next to impossible. Yet, Jesus said, "Follow Me." Matthew, who had little hope of ever even being forgiven by Jesus, now found that he was a chosen disciple. Jesus knew that Matthew wanted forgiveness, so Jesus went one step beyond forgiveness to offering a position, a ministry.