Servant
School
May 18, 2003
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
(1 Cor 12:1 KJV) Now
concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
ignorant – agnoeo
– to be ignorant, not to know; not to understand, unknown
The Corinthian church knew of the gifts
of the Spirit by experience. Paul had wrote that they didn’t lack any of the
gifts (1Cor. 1:4-7).
Yet despite their “giftedness” in spiritual things, they were also known as
a “carnal” church:
(1 Cor
3:1 KJV) And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as
unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
Lesson:
Spiritual
gifts don’t make a person more “spiritual”.
Those that learn to operate the gifts of the spirit can sometimes come
across as if they’ve achieved a “higher level” of spiritual maturity.
Not necessarily so.
Here in Corinth, the most
spiritually gifted church was also the most carnal church.
What the Corinthian church lacked was
maturity in handling the gifts. Paul is aiming at addressing some of their
ignorance concerning spiritual gifts.
There would be three basic areas that
Paul would be addressing about their lack in the gifts –
1)
Lack of appreciation of their differences.
This is what 1Corinthians 12 is all
about. Paul will talk about how each person is a different “part” of the
“body”. Each part has its own function.
(1 Cor 12:4-6 KJV) Now there are diversities
of gifts, but the same Spirit. {5} And there are differences of
administrations, but the same Lord. {6} And there are diversities of
operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
Gifts – administrations – operations
There are different types of gifts and
each person will have different combinations of gifts in their life.
Each gift may be used in different
kinds of ministries, differences in “administration”. A person with the gift of
evangelism might be used in street witnessing or preaching to a stadium.
Each person’s gift has different
results, “operations”. We need to be careful that we don’t compare how God uses
us with our gift with how God uses someone else.
Lesson
Don’t compare yourself with others
God doesn't want you comparing yourself
to others.
All He wants is for you to be faithful
with what He's given (or wants to give) to you.
Illustration
How Many Kids?
Four expectant fathers
were in a hospital waiting room while their wives were in labor. The nurse
arrived and announced to the first man, “Congratulations sir! You’re the father
of twins.” “What a coincidence!” the man said with some obvious pride. “I work
for the Minnesota Twins baseball team.” The nurse returned in a little while
and turned to the second man, “You, sir, are the father of triplets.” “Wow!
That’s really an incredible coincidence,” he answered. “I work for 3M. My
buddies will never let me live this one down.” An hour later, while the other
two men were passing cigars around, the nurse came back. This time she turned
to the third man, who had been very quiet in the corner. She announced that his
wife had just given birth to quadruplets. Stunned, he barely could reply. “Don’t
tell me, another coincidence?” asked the nurse. After finally regaining his
composure, he said, “I don’t believe it. I work for the Four Seasons Hotel.” After
hearing this, everybody’s attention turned to the fourth guy, who had just
fainted, flat out on the floor. The nurse rushed to his side and after some
time, he slowly gained consciousness. When he was finally able to speak, you
could hear him whispering the same phrase over and over again: “I should have
never taken that job at 7-Up. I should have never taken that job at 7-Up. I
should have never taken that job at 7-Up...”
Don’t compare yourself with others. It’s
only depressing.
2)
Lack of love.
Paul will address this in 1Corinthians
13. They might have wonderful gifts, but if they don’t have love, the gifts are
worthless.
3)
Lack of order
This will be Paul’s focus in
1Corinthians 14. It appears that when the Corinthians came together, there was
general chaos in the church. Sometimes everyone spoke in tongues at the same
time. Sometimes there were people trying to monopolize the service and not
giving others a chance to speak. There was confusion.
(1 Cor
14:40 KJV) Let all things be
done decently and in order.
Wisdom
(1 Cor 12:8 KJV) For to one is given by the
Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
There is a difference between the word
of wisdom and the word of knowledge. Knowledge is the assimilation of facts;
wisdom is the proper application of knowledge.
Definition of gift:
Supernaturally perfect answers to tough problems or practical guidance of
how to do something.
It does not mean that a person with this gift knows the answer to every
problem. I’m not convinced that this gift is like a huge “well” inside a person
and that they can just draw upon it whenever they want to. It comes when it’s
needed. It comes when God wants.
Illustration
The Disguise...
That’s wisdom!!
Scriptural examples of the gift:
There are examples in the Old Testament in
men like Joseph, Solomon, and Daniel.
Jesus
The scribes and Pharisees thought they had Jesus this time. He was always
preaching love and forgiveness, yet the Scriptures were very clear about what
sin was and what it’s consequences were. They brought to Jesus a woman who had
been “caught in the act” of adultery. I’m curious where the guy was.
(John 8:4-11 KJV) They say
unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. {5} Now
Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest
thou? {6} This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But
Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard
them not. {7} So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said
unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
{8} And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. {9} And they which
heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one,
beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the
woman standing in the midst. {10} When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw
none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers?
hath no man condemned thee? {11} She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto
her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Jesus could have just done something like called lightening down on them. But
instead He used the situation to make a point about judging others, while
making it real to the accusers.
How the gift may be used:
Counseling – When people have tough decisions to make, a word of wisdom
will have the perfect answer. Decisions about relationships, career choices,
family decisions, ministry direction...
Teaching – The word of wisdom is particularly useful in teaching the
Scripture by giving specific ways of applying God's Word to lives.
At Work – You may find yourself with a tough problem at work, then the Lord
will give you a flash of an idea, and everybody's amazed at how good the
solution is.
Word of Knowledge
(1 Cor 12:8 KJV) For to one
is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by
the same Spirit;
Definition of gift:
Knowledge of current persons, places, events, or things that you did not
learn by natural means.
Scriptural examples of the gift:
Elisha
The prophet seemed to operate something that might fall in this area. It
seems that Elisha was always aware of things that other people weren’t. When
his servant Gehazi tried to get money from Naaman, Elisha knew. When the Syrian
army tried surprise attacks against Israel,
Elisha knew.
Elisha had been close to a particular family. They took care of him, and he
was a blessing to them. When the family’s son became ill and died, the woman
went to find Elisha –
(2 Ki 4:27 KJV) …And the man of God said, Let her alone;
for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath
not told me.
We learn something interesting about the gift here. The “word of knowledge”
is not “omniscience”. A person with this gift doesn’t know everything. The
special knowledge only comes when God gives it.
Sometimes, when people recognize a person as having this gift, they get
kind of intimidated, thinking that the person knows everything about them. Not
true. God will only reveal to them what He feels would be best for you.
Jesus
When Jesus talked with the woman at the well –
(John 4:16-19 KJV) Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and
come hither. {17} The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said
unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: {18} For thou hast had five
husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou
truly. {19} The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
How the gift may be used:
Encouragement – God knows my
problem. He sees. He knows.
Faith building – often used with
healing by stimulating a person's faith to trust God for healing.
I remember one night when one of the folks had a picture in their mind from
the Lord about a specific condition in another person. They went on to describe
kind of an specific, unusual thing. It was the person sitting right in front of
them. Only a few of us knew of the condition beforehand. It was an incredible
encouragement for the person to realize that God knew.
Warning: A common thing you may
see in some services is where a person will be up front and they will say
something like, “Someone in the service has a bad back …”. I have to tell you
I’m a little skeptical about some of these things. Please don’t get me wrong, I
don’t want to stop anyone from speaking up if they really think that God is
wanting us to pray for somebody’s back, but the truth is, probably half of us
in here have sore backs. Sometimes a thing like this can be misused and abused
when there is nothing supernatural going on at all.
Prayer with others – I’ve
seen this gift used in praying for people where someone prays for something
that wasn’t asked for, but was certainly needed.
Prayer for others –
without telling the person, just quietly interceding for them.
Pastor Chuck writes (Living Water,
pg. 113),
“Years ago we were pastoring a community church. One Sunday my wife, Kay,
pointed to a fellow in our church who enjoyed a very prominent position in the
community. He was a great family man with a tremendous personality. Kay said to
me, “When I looked at him this morning, I just knew by the Spirit that he was
having an affair with his secretary. It came so strong. I first thought, “Oh, that’s terrible to think such a thing;
I should put that out of my mind. But it keeps coming back. He’s having an
affair with his secretary.” I replied, “Now Kay, the Bible says we shouldn’t
have evil imaginations.” She answered, “No! Every time I look at him, I see him
with his secretary. he’s carrying on!” I insisted, “Oh, come on. Not him!”
A few months later I received a phone call. This man and his wife were on
the line together. They tried to speak, but all they got out was a feeble
“Pastor Chuck”. Then their voices broke, they started sobbing, and couldn’t
continue. So I said, “That’s all right. I know what the call is all about.”
“You do?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes. You’ve been in an affair with your secretary for the last six months.
Come on over and let’s talk and pray about it.”
This man and his wife were shocked that I knew exactly what was happening. But
the Lord had already shown it to Kay.
I think that sometimes the Lord will give a person insight or knowledge
about another person. That doesn’t mean that we are to rush over and say
something. Sometimes we are just to be praying.
Teaching/preaching/leading – as
you teach, God adds what He wants to get through to people.
How gifts may be misused:
Quantity: Speaking too much
When we have a speaking gift (a gift that's operated with your mouth), we
often think that the answer to every problem is in talking. The problem is when
we start talking out of habit, and not out of the Spirit's guidance.
Prov.10:19 When there are
many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is
wise.
Sometimes we are given something by the Lord so we can be praying for a
person, not necessarily speak it out.
Quality: How we say it
Prov.12:18 There is one who
speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings
healing.
Wisdom is not just what you say, but how you say it.
You may have the correct answer to a question, but it won't do any good if
you give it incorrectly.
Somebody may come to you for help, they're living with their girlfriend,
and they ask you for advice. You get on your high horse, point your finger and
tell them to repent and move out or else they'll burn in hell forever and ever.
Your answer may be correct, but you tell them will make a lot of difference as
to how they receive it.
Faith
In general terms, the faith that we all are to have is:
Trusting
in something you don’t see.
Knowing in your heart that what God has promised, He will do, even when it
doesn’t look like it will happen.
Heb.11:1 Now faith is the
assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Heb.11:6 For without faith
it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He
is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Definition of gift:
An
over and above ability to trust God to keep His promise.
(Mark 9:23 KJV) Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe,
all things are possible to him that
believeth.
God gives to all of us faith. That’s how we are saved. But this gift of
faith is an ability beyond that to trust God through times when most people
fail. To trust God for a tremendous deliverance, to trust God for the
miraculous, for the impossible.
Scriptural examples of the gift:
Peter
Peter and John went to the temple like they did every day. Peter had seen
the lame man lying there before, yet this day something was different.
(Acts 3:4-8 KJV) And Peter,
fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. {5} And he gave heed
unto them, expecting to receive something of them. {6} Then Peter said, Silver
and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. {7} And he took him by the right hand, and
lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. {8}
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple,
walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Peter’s faith was demonstrated by speaking to the man, grabbing him, and
raising him up (vs.6,7)
How the gift may be used:
In praying for others. God lays something on your heart. You are
overwhelmed with an assurance, with a confidence that God will indeed do it.
Counseling: To encourage someone, “I just know that God’s going to do
this!”
As with the others gifts, this gift may be mixed in with many of the other
gifts.
It takes faith to believe God for a miracle, or for a healing.
It takes faith to step out and say something that’s a little odd (like a
word of knowledge or prophecy)
In leadership – Leadership has been defined as having two elements: Vision
and Strategy. A leader needs to have vision of where things need to go. A
leader needs to have the strategy to know how to get there. A leader needs
faith to step out and implement his vision.
How can I receive spiritual gifts?
As we study about the spiritual gifts, you may find yourself asking
yourself, “I sure would like to have that gift! But how do I get it?”
Prerequisites:
1. Salvation
You must be a believer to have the Holy Spirit in you. (Rom.
8:9)
2. Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The gifts of the Spirit are always connected with people being filled,
controlled, empowered by the Spirit. In
Acts 2, the disciples spoke in tongues as they were filled with the Spirit.
Acts 19:6 And when Paul had
laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began
speaking with tongues and prophesying.
This is when Paul went to Ephesus
and talked with those who hadn't even heard there was a Holy Spirit.
Additional things you can do:
3. Laying on of hands
1Tim.4:14 Do not neglect the
spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed upon you through prophetic
utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.
4. Waiting and praying
Acts 1:4 And gathering them
together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised...
Luke 11:13 If you then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?
The context of this verse is Luke 11:14
(And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened to you).
I do not believe that you receive a single set of gifts at one shot and
that is all you get for the rest of your life. I believe that we ought to be
open to God giving us new gifts.
Paul wrote,
(1 Cor 12:31 KJV) But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet
show I unto you a more excellent way.
What’s the point in desiring the “best” gifts if you’ve already gotten what
you’re going to get?