What are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit? Part 2
Notes
Transcript
What are the gifts?
Major Point #1: The Holy Spirit is THE Gift
Major Point #2: The gifts of the Spirit are manifestations of the Spirit for the common good!
The HS making himself known through believers for the good of the body!
I want to challenge our western thinking a bit when it comes to the gifts…
Often times, when we think of gifts, we think of something:
That is completely mature
We can always exercise
Either we have it or we don’t
This is a very western/systematic/rigid way of thinking, but is it true?
Let’s think about the gift of teaching for a minute..
I believe I have the gift of teaching, some of you disagree with my assessment of myself…play along.
I believe that I can teach decently well…but have I always been able to teach well? Have I always been completely mature in teaching?
If you say yes, you need to go back and listen to my sermons from 2006…
No, I haven’t, and I have hopefully grown in that gift!
So, it is not something that is completely mature when I received it.
Can I always exercise the gift of teaching?
Well, maybe..depends on the context….if I am in the room with a bunch of neurosurgeons, and I am asked to teach them about brain surgery, probably not going to go well…
So, contextually, maybe, but not in all contexts at all times…
Now, if you ask me to teach on the gospel, I can hopefully, be able to do that at will..there still may be other factors at hand in that…did I stay up all night…am I in a terrible mood, etc.
So, yes, but maybe no when it comes to always being able to exercise my gift of teaching…
And finally, either we have it or we don’t…well again, depends on several factors for those with the gift…
What about those who don’t?
Can any christian teach the gospel when asked? I hope so…if not, how are you a christian?
Can anyone teach something in a moment? Sure!
So, it may not be your main gifting, but you still may be able to operate in it!
What about the gift of giving or serving?
Anyone can give or serve…or someone who is gifted in that area may not be able to in a moment.
So, no one has all of the answers, but we wrestle with these questions…why does it seem like some people can pray for healing and healings happen, or some people have extreme faith in circumstances? Or why are some people really good at leading or serving?
Well, because the Spirit gives the gifts as He sees fit
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
We know everyone will primarily operate in a gift
and…but, could it be that God gifts you for a season and maybe not other seasons?
28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
The implication to all of these questions is no. So, we don’t necessarily receive every gift of the Spirit.
but we also know that we can operate in some gifts at times and not others
We will give some examples of this when we talk about the individual gifts…so stay tuned
So, I land in this space where it seems like there is some ambiguity in the gifting and they are not as concrete as we would like them to be
But, at the end of the day, we come back to it being the Spirit giving gifts as He sees fit for the building up of the body.
Our responsibility is to eagerly desire the gifts and be open to what the Spirit will do!
Some may have the gift of healing, but James tells all of us that when someone is sick, to call on the elders, anoint them with oil and pray in faith
Some may have the gift of prophecy, but Paul tells all of us to earnestly desire the gifts, especially that we prophecy…
And the question comes back to “why?” - the reasoning being because the gifts are for building up the body! Bringing the kingdom to earth and defeating the work of the enemy!
How do I receive a gift?
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
So, we receive the gift which gives gifts when we are saved
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
So, when the HS sees fit to give us a gift…He will!
In a particular time or moment, you may receive a gift.
Honestly, this is where I sat for a long time. It was basically something like if the Lord wants me to have a gift, He will just miraculously make it happen.
How many has thought this way?
God is sovereign, and He could and I think He does do that sometimes.
But, I think there is a couple problems here.
If God chooses to give me a gift, how do I know it is a gift and from Him?
prophesy, how do I know it is from Him?
how do I know that a word is from Him? or dream, or vision?
If I start thinking weird languages, how do I know that is God and not my hyper creativity?
Or, if I pray for one person to be healed and they are?
So, I think there is a level of training to it…will talk more about this!
2. What if He gives me a gift, and I never actually exercise it?
If He gives you the gift of giving, is He going to open your wallet and make you give?
Or the gift of teaching, is He just going to make you begin speaking?
Or serving, is He just going to make you sign up to serve in the nursery? - because that is the primary way to serve in church!
I think we have a responsibility with the gifts…
It is our job to seek the gifts!
31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.
And so, if we don’t desire them or seek them, is it possible we will never see them working?
I have had conversation with friends about the gifts and a typical comment is: where are they, I have never seen them?
My question is: are you in a church that believes in them and practices them? and the answer is usually “no.”
Are you seeking them on your own? no, okay, then would you expect to see them?
So, we have a responsibility to seek them!
I don’t have time to dive too far down the trail today, but I promise in the coming weeks I will share some stories of just my experiences with the gifts.
Another way of receiving gifts is through impartation.
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—
14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
So, biblically, there is a way to impart a gift to another believer. Now, it is still the HS that gives the gifts and we can’t lose sight of that!
And we saw in
14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
prophecy was a part of the impartation. So, it was likely led by the Spirit.
So, we typically don’t go around throwing gifts on people, but we could as the Lord if He would want us to impart gifts to another person
We will dive more in to this, as with all the things in the class.
So we seek the Holy Spirit and ask Him to give us gifts whether it be through prayer, impartation, or something He sovereignly gives.
And, He will give as He sees fit!
How do I discover my gift?
Pray about it! I prayed for a year before I received a gift! Again, I will share this story later!
Getting out and do things! Serve people!
I was listening to Mike Signorelli this week, he’s a relatively popular pastor who does a lot of street evangelism
and he said that he thinks the answer to a lot of these questions about the gifts can be answered by simply evangelizing
He said when you are sharing the gospel on the street and you hear or think something about a person that you don’t know or can’t know and you share it…you won’t question words of wisdom or knowledge anymore!
Or, you are talking to someone and you sense they have a physical issues and you pray for them and the pain goes away, you won’t question healing anymore!
Pray about it! Serve people! Meet with others in the body in a safe place to discover!
Can we grow in the gifts?
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Fanning into flame is this picture of a spark growing into a fire….you stoke it until it grows
We have a popular story in the OT of the boy samuel who hears God…
1 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
So, samuel didn’t realize it was God until he was coached by Eli that it was God
School of the prophets
Gibeah - 1 Sam. 10:5
Ramah 1 Samuel 19
Bethel 2 Kings 2:3.
Jericho 2 Kings 2:15.
Gilgal 1 Kings 4:38.
There is debate about exactly what was happening in these school, but we do know some were under the leadership of Samuel and likely Elijah and Elisha
Implied that there needs to be training
Which, btw, this is a good example of there being more prophets in the OT than what many believe. Also, none of their prophecies are recorded in scripture, so prophecy is not on the same standard as scripture!
Also, another side note, back to Samuel
19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.
Possibly implying that others words from prophets may not be 100%. We will talk more about this when we get to prophecy.
So, we have fanning into flame, we have samuel not knowing it was the Lord and we have:
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
We have the gift leaders in the church equipping, which includes teaching and practicing others for the building up of the body
If we are consistent across all of the gifts, do we need to be trained to be a teacher? administrator? and, do some gifts require more training than others?
It sure seems like it…someone with the gift of mercy may not need as much training as someone with the gift of teaching
How many gifts will I receive?
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Notice the plurals many kinds of gifts and the same Spirit
Most believe the gifts listed in scripture are not exhaustive and could even be more than what is mentioned…
nonetheless, The Spirit decides who gets what gifts…
1 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV)
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. - emphasis mine
So, who has spiritual gifts? Those who are spiritual…
And, how many gifts might a believer receive?
Well, at least one!
The direct answer to the question is: we don’t know. At least one, maybe, and probably, more than one!
As we dive even further, we will look at examples from the NT, particularly Acts, and see that many times people have more than one gift
For today, we answered several basic questions about the gifts. In the class we will answer these questions and more!
We will also seek the Lord together and if He would gift you or help you to see what gifts you have already.
Also, as we talk more about the gifts in the coming weeks, we will often talk about how these flow from relationship with the HS. They are not something we do on command always.
They are the HS moving through us.
So, it helps to know Him!
If you want to know Him better, I would invite you to come up for prayer during the response time and we will ask the Lord make Him self know in us!