Let’s continue with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. If you didn’t read part one of this Bible teaching, please go to part one so that you can start from the beginning and get all the scriptures for the gifts. This will help you in your own Bible study. Today, we are going to go through much more about the gifts of the Spirit. As I said in part one- be careful NOT to listen to religious hypocrites that teach the gifts of the Spirit are no longer for the church today.
This is a dangerous lie of the spirit of slumber Rom 11:8. This spirit is the religious spirit of the days of Jesus, and this spirit is still in operation within the church, mostly taught in some seminaries and Bible schools to divide, falsely accuse, and publicly criticize servants of God.
So, let’s stick with the Bible- Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8). He is still performing miracles and the Holy Spirit is still giving out spiritual gifts to those who want them and desire them. I also believe that you can have all the gifts, little by little as you are faithful with what He has given you. I believe that God Almighty wants us to have the gifts to touch the world. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not for us to make a famous life, but to touch the world with the saving and healing power of Jesus Christ.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Will Empower You
The gifts of God’s Spirit will change your life, so the Lord cannot trust you with all of them at once. Just think about it…if you had the gift of healing and everyone you prayed for was being healed, before you know it crowds would start following you around. You would be overloaded with invitations to speak in churches all across the world. The gifts of the Spirit will change everything about your nice, quiet life and turn it into a life of busyness, fame, and persecution from the religious hypocrites who don’t know the Holy Spirit.
So yes, I believe God Almighty wants you to have all the gifts, but He has to trust you first with the little you have now. I am not going to get into how to be trusted and die to self in this article, but I am going to show you that Paul the Apostle had all the Ggfts; and therefore, I believe every believer who is surrendered to the Holy Spirit’s will can walk in all the gifts of the Spirit. For God is no respecter of persons, what He does for one He will do for others within the church.
Paul Had All the Gifts of The Spirit
Paul had the Word of Wisdom 2 Pet 3:15
Paul had this amazing gift called the Word of Wisdom. Think about everything Paul the Apostle went through- shipwrecked not once, not twice, but three times. He not only survived alone, but told others what to do during the crisis, and they all survived. May the Lord give all of us this wonderful gift.
Paul had the Word of Knowledge Acts 13:11
Don’t you remember in the book of Acts Paul called judgment down on a man named Elymas the sorcerer? How did Paul know that God wanted to judge that man instantly? It was by the Word of Knowledge, and I believe we will see this type of judgment come to the church where men and women full of the Holy Ghost will be operating in the Word of Knowledge and call judgment down on the wicked. I want you to notice something about God.
God’s Hand of Judgement
If you read Luke chapter 9 verses 52 – 56, you will see that some of the disciples wanted to call judgment down on the Samaritans for not receiving them into their city. But Jesus rebuked them for the wickedness. Why was it ok for Paul to call judgment on a sorcerer but not ok for the disciples to call judgment down on the Samaritans?
The Samaritans just rejected the Lord and the disciples, but the sorcerer tried to stop the Gospel from being preached. One thing about the calling on your life is that it is very dangerous for any enemy of yours to try and stop what God has called you to do. They can reject you, call you names and even try to physically harm you, but the Lord will have mercy on them; but if they, in any way, try to stop the will of God for your life they open their life up to harsh judgment, even unto death if need be.
Stopping the will and plans of the Holy Spirit is where God will use the Word of Knowledge to call judgment on others. That is what happened to Elymas, the sorcerer. Read it for yourself in Acts 13:8-12.
Paul Discerned A Demon In A Damsel With This Gift
Paul had the gift of Discerning of Spirits Acts 16: 16-18
A damsel who was possessed with the Spirit of Divination followed Paul around for days saying nothing but the truth. Her exact words were, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.” Now, what is wrong with that? Most preachers today would thank this lady for the kind words. But Paul discerned that it was a demon spirit speaking and got fed up with her following him everywhere he went. Paul commanded that spirit to come out of her and that demon had no choice but to come out.
How did Paul discern that demon spirit? The damsel wasn’t saying anything wrong or incorrect, she wasn’t spitting and foaming at the mouth. So how did Paul know it was a demon speaking? It was the gift Discerning of Spirits, isn’t this powerful…to think that God would trust us with such gifts and all we have to do is ask and be faithful during the test.
Paul had the Gift of Tongues 1 Cor 14:18
Paul had this gift of tongues and even declared that he spoke with tongues more than all of those who were around him at that time. No one can doubt Paul had this gift. It is very clear in 1 Corinthians.
I am going to finish this article now but look for part 3 of this wonderful teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in the near future.
