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The
disciples were in prayer for ten days after Jesus left. That is
when the Holy Spirit arrived, Acts 2:1. The Holy Spirit came with
gifts, all kinds of gifts. Here are the name of these gifts:
1-
Word of Knowledge
2- Word of Wisdom
3- Gift of Prophecy
4-
Gift of Faith
5- Gifts of Healings
6- Working of Miracles
7-
Discerning of Spirits
8- Different Kinds of Tongues
9-
Interpretation of Tongues
Let start by explaining these
gifts with one crucial bit of information. Many bibles have
different meanings about these gifts. I am sharing a combination
of other words used, praying about them, waiting for an answer
from the Holy Spirit, and finally writing these words. Most of
these gifts are self-explanatory, but at the same time, if you
don't know, then you will be enriched by these answers. Could you
take these at face value? I would have to reply, do more research
and see for yourself.
The first one is: Word of
Knowledge:
This gift is about something that you have, but
never see yourself using. For instance, you can be a carpenter and
have all the carpentry knowledge. If you decided to paint a car,
then you would need someone to teach you then you will know what
to do. Here is where the Holy Spirit comes in. You are about to
paint a car, and you decided to pray for more knowledge before you
start working on the car. You are either needing to know painting
or you just want to paint something. Next, you start the job, and
suddenly it feels right the way you are doing it. That is
knowledge.
Word
of Wisdom:
Wisdom is to know the difference between two
outcomes. You and the Holy Spirit know that both outcomes are good
but which one is best for you or from God. When praying for
wisdom, always make sure that the Holy Spirit knows it is for
God's glory. For more intricate wisdom read the book of Solomon.
There you will see how someone asked God for wisdom and how God
rewarded him with that gift.
This
Gift of Prophecy:
It is something extraordinary. You are in
church or with someone, and then the Holy Spirit asks you to share
a few words with someone. Then you start talking to this person,
and he/she wonders where you are getting all this information.
Then you tell them to follow those instructions, and you will do
great. Yes, this still happens in this day, mainly in church. This
gift happened to a friend of mine who prophesied that there is
something I should be doing. Today I am doing it. It took awhile,
but I got here.
Faith:
You
are saved by Faith. Faith is knowing full well that you cannot
accomplish anything on your own. The Holy Spirit would like you to
move into a new level of confidence. Faith is not only coming and
following God, it is about listening to God and doing what He is
asking you to do, knowing that you will never understand why you
did it, and sometimes you will know. Like this, you are talking to
someone and then suddenly words are coming out of your mouth, and
the other person is moved by your words, and then they asked God
for repentance. Now that is Faith through the Holy Spirit.
Gift
of Healings:
This gift is the most amazing one in my life. You
pray for someone, and their body wakes up from their pain and then
no more pain. People's skulls have been deformed due to a car
accident. Many years later, they see you, and they ask for prayer.
Then the bones start to move, and the skull is healed. That is the
gift of healing. Remember this, not all healing comes right away,
but the recovery is at your door. It is not you who did something
wrong or prayed using the wrong words. The person who is about to
receive the healing of the emotion or physical body might be
hiding something. Often this is because they want the healing, but
the unconscious mind does not wish to be healed.
Working
of Miracles
The first thing we should ask is, what is a
miracle? An event that appears inexplicable by nature's laws and
so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God. Peter
walked on water. Jesus was coming back from the dead. Lazarus came
out of his tomb when Jesus told him to come out. These are not
healing but miracles.
Discerning
of Spirits
Now we come to a part of the spirit realm that we
need to prepare for. If you ask someone a question and they are
hesitant to answer, you know that the person's spirit is not
right, and you should stay away. On the other hand, you might feel
the love coming from that person, and so you pretty much answer
any questions he/she has for you. Using discernment you will know
if they are telling the truth or how you will answer them. The
Holy Spirit will show you and teach you what to feel, sense and
how to reply.
Different
Kinds of Tongues:
This gift is fantastic and also very
misunderstood. These days this gift is causing a disturbance and
bringing uneasiness to a church. The reason is that many like to
pray freely, even in tongues. In contrast, others think that God
is trying to talk through tongues. When God speaks through
tongues, then there is to be interpretation or prophecy or words
of wisdom for the church. Already you can see why tongues can be
challenge on what we are to do. In the bible, it read how to use
tongues. Here is my personal view. Tongues is an expression of the
Holy Spirit, God and you. So sing, praise, pray and talk to God in
tongues in a private place. Using tongues is between the Holy
Spirit, God and you, unless you are in a church that loves to hear
people using tongues. At the church that I was attending on
Tuesday evenings, we would be completely free to exercise the gift
of the Spirit. We would gather and pray, listen to gospel music,
pray in tongues and do what the church used to do. The thing is
that we were all on the same point of view. My wife, she even came
to see what it was all about. She marvelled at what was going on,
and it was too much for her.
Interpretation
of Tongues
How to interpret tongues? The answer is simple,
unless you understand that language, you will not be able to
interpret. Still, it is a heavenly language, and the Holy Spirit
is the only one who who can interpret it. When someone starts
talking in tongues, you should communicate with the Holy Spirit
and ask if He would allow you to give the interpretation. If the
Holy Spirit agrees, you will have the words in your mother
language, and you will be the only one to interpret. Based on my
own experience, here is something you need to know. Someone in the
church started to talk in tongues during the service. I asked the
Holy Spirit if I could give the interpretation. At the same time
someone decided to record, using a tape recorder. The Holy Spirit
agreed, and I shared the interpretation with the congregation.
After the service, we listened to the recorder. I was baffled
because what came out of my mouth on the recorder, and what I
received from the Holy Spirit, was not the same. I am not saying
this happens all the time, but God has a way, to make sure that
His words were not interfered with or changed.
Those
are the interpretations of all nine gifts that Jesus has given all
who are integrated with God's family and shared through the Holy
Spirit.
Does God give one gift or all of them to an
individual? When Jesus said that he would send His Spirit upon
those who believe in Him and that the Holy Spirit would dwell in
them, He did say in 1 Corinthians 12:11, "It is one and the
same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who
produces all these things."
Meaning that we all have
all these gifts, but the Holy Spirit will use only one at a time
per person. It also depends on the person's will to be used by God
through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will use a gift to help
someone who needs guidance. If someone does not want to help, then
the Holy Spirit will move on to another person more willing to
help. That is why we must be strong and not fear our fear.
Since
the Holy Spirit lives in you and knows how you feel about helping,
the Holy Spirit might feel squelched. When this happens, you could
be getting close to a dark place. The Holy Spirit does want you to
stay with God. You are giving no alternative to the Holy Spirit
but for Him to wake you up. God will send followers to your help.
Remember that in the bible, there are many parables of
consequences when we denied God. So if you are one who does not
like to help, please find those consequences and learn.
The
Holy Spirit loves to help. Ask any question, and you will get an
answer. I know that even the Holy Spirit seems to take a while to
bring you an answer. Here is the thing. The more you talk to God,
the more you praise God, the more you pray to God, the more you
ask God for forgiveness, the more you learn about God, the more
you love God, the more God will be closer to you. Does all this
mean that God will expedite a reply? Nope, it does not. There are
many reasons why the Holy Spirit's hands are tight like ours. God
has a plan, and we do not know what it is, nor do we want to know.
Be patient and keep asking in prayer.
I prayed for 16 years
for my wife to come to God, and it is during her depression, she
came to Him. Since then, she has been reading her bible faithfully
every day. It took me over 40 years to get my eyes healed. Not the
miracle healing, but close enough. I had cataract surgery on both
eyes, and now, I can see clearly without glasses, and everything
is sharp, like HD sharp. I still prayed for God to guide the hands
of the surgeon, the nurses and everyone who was in that surgery
room. The faith comes into the midst of all this. When the surgery
is over, you know that God intervened.
So you see, God does
have time to answer prayers. Never stop praying and pray about
everything, yes, everything. The Holy Spirit takes your prayers
and brings them to the Father. The Father hears all prayers.
What is a fantastic event is when you accept Jesus Christ
as your saviour. Heaven opens up, and the angels celebrate your
return to Him. From that moment, your life changed in a more
robust spiritual way. Remember, God has a deep feeling for all
humans. Those feelings come through the Holy Spirit who now dwells
in you. You do great things, and the triune God rejoices. You are
hurt physically or emotionally, and they feel your pain. They will
do nothing unless you ask. Hence why we can pray about anything
and then wait for a reply. Sometimes it comes faster than
lightning, and other times, it seems they did not hear you, but
they did.
Caution about being with God. It would be best if
you were on your guard, especially when you feel comfortable and
your spiritual doors are open. The devil does not like losing
people over to God. They will try anything and everything to make
you go back to the devil's lair. It is said in a few parables that
Jesus talked about seeds. For some seeds will go to good land and
be fruitful. Some will end up in mediocre land, and they will grow
and feel choked, and hopefully, they will grow strong. Some seeds
will go between rocks, and the birds will come and devour the
seeds. Even you are born again and are with God. You can get into
deep trouble if you do not exercise every day. Here are a few
quotes from the bible. 1 Timothy 4:8 For “physical exercise
has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds
promise for the present life and for the life to come.”
Hebrews 5:14, "But solid food is for the mature, whose
perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and
evil.
So, how important is exercise? It is imperative. You
can say your life depends on it. The best dumbbell you can use is
your bible. The best time to do your exercise is all day long. How
many days a week should you exercise? Every day is the best way to
stay in shape spiritually and physically.
One more thing
you should be doing every day is to put on your full armour of God
(Ephesians 6:10-20). This armour will keep you safe and help you
during a spiritual war. This war has been around since the
beginning of time and will end at the end of time. Only one side
will win, and it is God's side. Stay strong, stay healthy in the
Lord and you will come home and be with God soon.
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