FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE GIFTS
OF THE SPIRIT – VII
1 Corinthians 12:7 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.
Last week, we concluded with this thought:
As we take up
each of the nine gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12, we will also
see different
ways these gifts are placed within the Body and how the Father
causes them to
work within His children. It is going to
be a fascinating adventure;
but please do
not lose sight of the fact we are ultimately studying a subject to
learn how
better we may accomplish the will of IAUE.
The gifts of the Spirit are special provisions
of targeted grace that empower disciples to do things that transcend their natural
human abilities in order to accomplish the will of IAUE. IAUE is not a man. He is the Creator, the transcendent one who
is without limitation. Man, however, is filled with limitations; so when man
does something that is exceptional, something that transcends human ability,
the unseen Creator is revealed. The gifts of the Spirit give irrefutable
evidence to the invisible Elohim.
2 Corinthians
4:7 But we have this
treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of IAUE,
and not of us.
In the book of Acts, we see the growth of the
church of Yahushua Messiah from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and to the
uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8).
The gospel was always presented with “signs and wonders” and its emissaries
became known as those who “turned the world upside down.” The gospel was not
just a message shared with people in hopes they would believe the words of men.
Those preaching the gospel were not collecting “believers” of their message and
organizing them into congregations. When
they preached the gospel they demonstrated the authority of that gospel with
signs and wonders. The result was
disciples who were committed to the Kingdom of IAUE and the will of IAUE. The
growth and development of the church was always based on “power evangelism.”
1 Corinthians
2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency
of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of IAUE.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Yahushua
Messiah, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much
trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit
and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of IAUE.
Today, in churches throughout the world, a
false gospel is preached, and there is little wonder that it is not accompanied
by a demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
The “converts” to the contemporary gospel are not committed to the will
of IAUE. They are not disciples. They are “believers” who “believe” they have received
a free gift and a promise of a blessed eternity. They “believe” they should try
to conduct themselves, at least in public, in a certain acceptable manner; but
they have no concept of their lives utterly belonging to the Master Yahushua.
Also, virtually all of these “believers”
at one time or another; even frequently, or even constantly, wonder within
themselves if any of it is actually real; and they even question in their minds
if IAUE even exists. This was not the experience of the first century church that
were in constant view of the evidence of the invisible Creator.
1 Corinthians
12:7 But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
The gifts of the Spirit in
operation within each member of the Body of Messiah provide a constant
attestation to the Truth of IAUE and of the Master Yahushua. It is how we are
able to protect each other, and care for each other so the testimony of the
Body in the earth is powerful and real and not hypocritical (as is the constant
complaint of the world about the church in the earth today).
Hebrews
3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief, in departing from the living Elohim.
13 But exhort
one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Messiah, if we hold the
beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end
Imagine the difference it would make in the church, today, if
things like the following happened on a regular basis:
- You approach your brother and say, “Jim, your thoughts about Sarah are not proper. You need to repent of your lust before IAUE lest the darkness overtake you.” Jim knows no one knows what he has been thinking but IAUE. His heart is exposed and his sin revealed.
- There is a knock at your door. You open the door and find Robert standing there with two gallons of milk, some disposable diapers and a check for $75.46. He says to you, “The Spirit said you needed these. The money is to pay your electric bill.” You know that no one knew your electric bill was due and you had no money…which also meant you did not have money for milk and diapers for your infants.
- Mary finds you
at the grocery store. You say, “Fancy
meeting you here;” and Mary says, “It is no accident. I was told to come here to pray for you
because of the lump you just discovered in your breast last week. The Master is removing it. It is not going to be a problem.”
Now, consider if you do the exact same things with people who
are not disciples of Messiah; people who have never heard or responded to the
gospel of Messiah Yahushua? The
demonstration of the Spirit and power to them would render them vulnerable to
your explanation of how you knew things you could not know, or heal things that
no one even knew existed in them.
The 120 men and women in the upper room were speaking in
tongues declaring the wonderful works of IAUE in over a dozen different
languages, being understood by the crowds who had come into Jerusalem from all across
the Mediterranean seaboard for the feast of Pentecost. 3,000 were converted; and the Scripture says
that more and more were added on a daily basis as a result of this event (Act
2).
Peter and John raised up a lame man to walk for the first
time in his life; and 5,000 men were converted. (This number does not include
the number of women or boys and girls under the age of 20. It could have been closer to 10,000 people.)
Ananias and Sapphira had sold a piece of property and brought
only a portion of the price to Peter; but declared it to be the entire sales
price. Peter knew they were lying and he
told them they had lied not just to men but to IAUE, Himself; and they both
fell dead and were carried away to be buried.
Fear gripped Jerusalem; but the apostles continued to do many signs and
wonders among the people; and the Scripture says “multitudes” were being added
to the church (Acts 5).
Phillip went to Samaria to preach the gospel and he cast out
demons, healed the palsied and raised those who were lame. Virtually the entire city came to Messiah (Acts
8).
Peter healed a man named Aeneas who had been bedridden for
eight years with palsy. As a result, two entire cities came to Messiah. He raised a woman named Dorcas from the dead
and most of that city came to Messiah (Acts 9).
In Paphros, on the island of Cyprus, Paul preached the gospel
to the deputy of that country, the ruling government official. He had a sorcerer named Elymas who opposed
what Paul was preaching; and Paul called down a temporary blindness upon Elymas. Seeing this, the Scripture records:
Acts 11:12 Then the
deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine
of the Master.
The book of Acts continues in this fashion
consistently to the end of the book.
Wherever the gospel is preached, signs and wonders accompany the gospel
to attest to the authority of the message; so man’s faith does not rest in the
cleverness of man’s words; but in the demonstration of the Spirit and power of
IAUE.
Recognizing this, we can understand why the
gifts of the Spirit, as they have been most consistently used in the churches
for the past 30 years, have done little to erase the world’s negative perception
of the church of Yahushua Messiah. The
gifts have been bandied about as toys in a sandbox, and as claims to personal
fame and advancement and recognition in the church? They are not used with a view to fulfilling
the will of IAUE or of demonstrating the authority of the gospel to the lost to
advance the Kingdom of IAUE in the earth.
The church, today, fails to recognize the significance of what Paul
explained to the Corinthian church.
1 Corinthians
2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much
trembling
Remember what we have said already? The gifts are not about us, they are about
IAUE. Such power, such enablements of
grace that transcend human ability must be released from broken vessels lest
they draw attention to the vessel instead of to the Creator. Paul was very conscious of the temptation to
be prideful because of the intensity and the dramatic nature of the power of
the Spirit that worked through him. If
he were a minister in today’s church, we would be demanding that he go on
television and have world tours and be advertised as a healing minister. His name would be famous; and he would make a
fortune on those desperate to see a good magic trick.
Remember the first lesson of
discipleship? “Take
my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart.” Once
we have grasped the need to recognize our personal weakness, our human frailty,
and to respect our own vulnerability to pride, we will be fearful and trembling,
sensitive to every avenue through which our pride could creep through and take
hold of us, thus minimizing or erasing the benefit of the demonstration of the
Spirit and power of IAUE. When our hearts and minds are one with the purposes
of IAUE, the release of the Spirit through our lives will yield the desired
results; and the manifestation of the Spirit will not be constrained by our own
awareness of our own human limitations.
When Yahushua walked on the water, there was
no thought given to the impossibility of such a feat. When Peter walked on the
water, it was interrupted by his sudden awareness of the impossibility of man
walking on water. Once more, the gifts
are not about us; they are about IAUE. Is
IAUE limited? Is there anything that
IAUE cannot do? Can He heal a cancerous tumor, or strengthen crippled legs, or disclose
the secrets of your heart? If IAUE is
not limited, and it is His Spirit that is placed within us, why then should we
consider the manifestation of IAUE within us to be limited? We do, however. We do limit the manifestation of the Spirit
because our brains get in the way and we superimpose over the grace given to us
the thought that WE cannot do the supernatural.
Consequently, we become faithless and do not believe that IAUE can do
that supernatural thing through us. But
He can, and He will, if we align ourselves with the objectives of His will.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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