gifts7
Were going to continue on the subject of the “Gifts of the Spirit.” Today we’re going to attempt to conclude this subject if possible. We’ll go into some other areas next week, but today we’ve going to cover the “Special Gift of Faith” and “the Gifts of Healings.”
I. In the past several weeks we’ve looked at the inspirational gifts, the gifts that say something, and that would be Tongues that are to be interpreted, the Interpretation of tongues and Prophecy.
A. We’ve also looked at Revelation Gifts, the gifts that reveal something and they are the Word of Wisdom, the Word of Knowledge and Discerning of spirits.
1. Then last time we started on the POWER GIFTS. We already covered the Working of Miracles.
2. Today we have the 2 gifts that I just mentioned, the Special Gift of Faith, and the Gifts of Healing.
B. Let’s look at 1COR 12:9
1. I want to stress again that this gift, along with all the gifts of the Spirit are not natural, they are supernatural gifts given by God to the Church.
a. I feel that the “Gift of Faith” is the most powerful gift. (At least to the natural eye.)
b. This gift is provided to the Church, so that not just a miracle will take place but the miraculous will take place.
i. All the Power Gifts are very closely related to each other or you could say very closely associated with each other.
ii. Just like Prophecy, tongues, and the Interpretation of Tongues.
iii. There are times when something miraculous happens and you can’t tell which of the “Power Gifts” were in operation.
2. Concerning the “Gift of faith,” the Amplified translation calls it “Wonder-working faith.”
a. The “Greek and English Lexicon of the NT” says, “Paul speaks of a special gift of faith that is the possession of a select few 1 Cor 12:9. In this category he understands p. as an unquestioning belief in God’s power to aid men with miracles, the faith that ‘moves mountains’
b. Every believer already has faith. The Bible even calls “saving faith” a gift.
c. (EPH 2:8) Says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: {it is} the gift of God:”
i. When you received the Lord, it was a free gift. Also saving faith came at that same time, which was also a gift.
d. There is faith in a general since.
e. Look at MARK 11:24
i. When you believe God for something, this is general faith.
ii. You can only believe God for something in His Word or something that He speaks to you.
II. There is a different kind of faith and that is the “Gift of Faith” or the “Special kind of Faith” also know as the “Wonder Working Faith.”
A. When this Special Faith is in operation, the person that is operating it believes God in such a way that God honors their word as His own and miraculously things happen.
1. There are times that people get this miraculous “Gift of Faith” confused with the general type of faith.
a. They get confused because (1COR 12:9) says that faith is given by the Spirit.
i. Then they read in (V11) That the Gifts only come as the Spirit wills.
ii. That makes them feel that they can’t have faith for God’s promises.
iii. This isn’t talking about general faith, it’s talking about the “Special Gift of Faith.”
b. There is a big difference between our simple faith and the “Special Gift of Faith.”
i. In referring to our simple faith Paul said in (ROM 12:3) “That God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
ii. (ROM 10:17) Says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
iii. This is referring to our general type of faith and that our general faith can grow.
c. But we can see that there is 2 kinds of faith, General faith and the Special Faith from (1CO 12:9).
B. All right let’s look at some examples of the “Special kind of Faith.”
1. ACTS 5:1-5
a. The same thing happened to his wife.
b. This would not have happened without the gift of faith being in operation.
i. We never have any control over someone else’s spirit.
ii. Only the Gift of Faith could cause someone’s spirit to leave their body.
iii. This wasn’t just a miracle, it was more than that.
2. Look at 1KINGS 17:2-6
a. Here we see an instance where the Gift of Faith (or possibly the Working of Miracles) was used for supernatural provision during a famine.
b. I’m leaning more to “the Gift of Faith” Elijah had to act on it, but this was something that was beyond Elijah’s own faith.
C. 1KING 17:17-23
1. In the case of raising the dead, 3 gifts are needed to be in operation.
2. The Gift of Faith, the Working of Miracles, and the Gifts of Healing.
a. This is probable the reason that more are not raised from the dead.
b. Someone might be used in 1 or even 2 of the gifts at the same time, But it’s not too common that 3 are in operation at the same time.
3. 1st of all, in raising the dead it takes supernatural Faith to call that person’s spirit back into their body.
a. Then it takes the Working of Miracles to raise that person up. They probably have a number of other problems being dead. (Brain had no oxygen it would need repair or a miracle that there was no damage.)
b. Then it would take the Gifts of Healing to heal them of whatever they died from.
III. Let’s go on with the Gifts of Healing.
A. The Gifts of Healings are for the supernatural healing of a sickness or disease without any natural means.
1. ACTS 5:15-16
a. This must have been the Gifts of Healings in operation.
2. I’ve taught a lot on healing in the past so I’m not going to go into this in much detail.
a. In (1 COR 12:9) we see the Gifts of Healing mentioned, But we also see them in 1COR 12 28-30, let’s look at that.
b. The answer to that question is no.
i. Not everyone is going to be used in the Gift of Healings.
3. But now look at MARK 16:16-18
a. This V tells us that all believers should lay hands on the sick and when they do they will recover.
i. Someone has probably thought at some time, “What if they don’t recover.” That's God’s business, just do what he says and be obedient to it.
b. The point that I wanted to get across to you is that there is a difference from the Gifts of Healings and the laying on of hands that all of us should be doing.
i. In the book of (MARK 16) we see that people will RECOVER when believers lay hands on them.
ii. The word “recover” does not mean that they will be healed at that moment, they could be healed as they go, they could be healed days later, even weeks later.
B. But with the Gifts of Healings people are usually healed right a way.
1. One other interesting point about this gift is that it is the only one that is in the plural.
a. Even in (1COR 12:9) where it 1st mentions the Gifts of HEALING.
i. The word “HEALING” is in the plural. (Greek)
ii. It should be translated the same as (1COR 12:28) “The Gifts of HEALINGS.”
b. You can talk to other ministries and many of them will tell you that when they pray for people, certain sicknesses will be healed more then others.
c. Sometimes there are different anointings for healing.
i. Sometimes it might be an anointing for back problems to be healed, and other times it might be for heart problems and so on.
2. Some may operate in the Gift of Healing for one sickness.
a. Others operate in one of the other Gifts of Healings for a different sickness, and so on, that’s why it’s in the plural.
i. But you can always pray in faith for the person.
b. This gift along with all the gifts of the Spirit are as the Spirit wills, for building up, edifying , and strengthening of the Church.
ii. Next weak we’ll go on to a different area.
12/30/90 and WOLCC SUN AM 5/28/95
