[00:00:00] The gifts of the Spirit. What a wonderful truth! The Bible mentions in 1 Corinthians 12 nine specific gifts. The word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, discerning of spirits, the gifts of healing, the working of miracles, the gift of faith, the gift of speaking in tongues, the gift of interpretation of tongues, the gift of prophecy.
[00:00:23] And we are commanded to seek these gifts, to covet earnestly these gifts. And that's what I want to encourage you today. The Bible talks about these spiritual gifts. Is there a supernatural endowment?
[00:00:37] And I want you not to be misinformed, but to understand how the gift of the Holy Spirit can be an operation to your yielded life.
[00:00:47] Now I know much has been written about the gifts of the Spirit through Christian history. The Bible itself teaches us the importance of the gifts of the Spirit and the importance of our not being ignorant of them.
[00:01:01] Yet in spite of all the information available today on the subject, many people are totally ignorant of these gifts.
[00:01:08] I know before I met William Freeman, I was totally ignorant about the gifts of the Spirit. And he was my mentor for five years as it were on this subject. And what a learning experience it was to understand and know and appreciate the gifts of the Spirit.
[00:01:26] I'm grateful that I didn't let prejudice and bias close my mind and heart to this.
[00:01:32] Now the Bible says there are a many variety of gifts. And it also refers to them as extraordinary powers distinguished in the lives of certain Christians.
[00:01:43] Now the gifts of the Spirit vary, but they're all from the same Holy Spirit.
[00:01:48] We let God lead us in the use of these gifts. They add a wonderful dimension of power in our lives.
[00:01:55] 1 Corinthians chapter 12 lists the gifts as the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, diverse kinds of tongues, the interpretation of tongues.
[00:02:08] These are all supernatural abilities, gifts, achievements, endowments of power, supernatural power, which you as a believer can be used by God.
[00:02:20] So we are not to be ignorant, but rather we are to covet these gifts.
[00:02:24] We cannot force the operation of any spiritual gift.
[00:02:27] We are to earnestly desire all the gifts, but the Holy Spirit chooses when and through whom they'll operate.
[00:02:35] So ask for and expect God's leading concerning the gifts of the Spirit.
[00:02:39] For God wants you to have this endowment of power.
[00:02:43] I praise God for this wonderful truth of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
[00:02:47] And in the scripture in the King James, the word of wisdom is always is the first one, of course, where it reads in 1 Corinthians 12, 8 to one is given through the Holy Spirit, the word of wisdom.
[00:03:03] And this wonderful truth about wisdom is so important through the Bible.
[00:03:08] The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1, 30, that Jesus is made unto us wisdom from God.
[00:03:14] So this truth of wisdom is so important.
[00:03:19] I'm a lover of the book of Proverbs, among others, all the chapters.
[00:03:24] But Proverbs reveals repeatedly that we seek wisdom and do all we can to gain it.
[00:03:30] Wisdom is made available to all people.
[00:03:33] But here is this supernatural gift, the word of wisdom.
[00:03:36] It's a type of wisdom different from that which everyone can possess.
[00:03:40] All wisdom is from God.
[00:03:42] But there is a wisdom that can be learned from experience and attained intellectually.
[00:03:47] But that's not the word of wisdom mentioned here in 1 Corinthians 12, 8.
[00:03:52] The word of wisdom is a form of spiritual guidance.
[00:03:55] When it's operating in individualism, it is made to know supernaturally by the Holy Spirit how to handle a certain issue in an exceptionally wise way.
[00:04:05] One that's beyond their natural learning or experience that lines up with God's purpose.
[00:04:11] We frequently have opportunity to operate in this gift of the word of wisdom, maybe even without even being aware of it.
[00:04:19] We may say something to someone that seems ordinary to us.
[00:04:22] But to the listener, you may have a tremendous word of wisdom for his or her situation.
[00:04:29] Personally, I have received words of wisdom many times, even from children.
[00:04:35] And I knew for sure I was hearing from the Lord in a very simple way.
[00:04:39] So the Holy Spirit wants to get you to understand, please open your heart to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
[00:04:48] They're precious.
[00:04:49] And he wants to get your attention.
[00:04:51] For he uses the working of his spirit for your life that you can then have this operation in your heart and life.
[00:04:59] So I would say simply ask for and expect this guidance through words of wisdom.
[00:05:06] Wisdom.
[00:05:07] What a wonderful truth it is.
[00:05:09] And, you know, in the next scripture here in 1 Corinthians 12, it says to another a word of knowledge and understanding according to the Holy Spirit.
[00:05:21] Now, the word of knowledge operates much the same as the word of wisdom.
[00:05:24] There are several different interpretations of the word of knowledge.
[00:05:28] But most agree that its operation is when God reveals something to an individual about what he is doing in a situation.
[00:05:36] When the individual receives the knowledge, we have no natural way to know it.
[00:05:41] Sometimes when God speaks to us and gives the word of knowledge concerning other people,
[00:05:46] we know something perhaps that only he can make known to us.
[00:05:49] And then sometimes it can be very important to have your heart open to this insight.
[00:05:55] And the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge, they're both wonderful ministry tools to help us in our being a blessing and ministering to others.
[00:06:05] And it can be, of course, very valuable in our own personal lives.
[00:06:09] For instance, this gift of the word of knowledge functions when you may have lost or misplaced something.
[00:06:16] Now, you cannot seem to find what you're looking for anywhere.
[00:06:20] And suddenly the Holy Spirit gives you maybe a mental image or an idea or a word about where it is.
[00:06:27] I've had this happen many times and I'm sure you have.
[00:06:30] This is a very practical example of God giving us the word of knowledge.
[00:06:34] You don't have to have it naturally.
[00:06:37] It's a word of knowledge that is manifest through the Holy Spirit's power.
[00:06:42] Well, praise God.
[00:06:44] These are truths that I'd love to share with you that you can also know these significance.
[00:06:49] Now, I mentioned on my last broadcast about my friend William Freeman.
[00:06:55] And he was a man whom the Holy Spirit had visited him through an angel.
[00:07:00] And he was told, I'm sent by God to give you a gift of healing.
[00:07:06] The year to go and stretch forth your hand to bring healing to the people.
[00:07:10] If you can get them to only believe not one thing will stand before you, not even cancer.
[00:07:15] And that was a gift that I saw operated for five solid years.
[00:07:22] I mean, it was an awesome gifting that the Holy Spirit was pleased to work through a human person,
[00:07:29] a man of God, a person yielded to the Holy Spirit.
[00:07:32] Praise God indeed.
[00:07:34] Then William Freeman was also very yielded to the discerning of spirits.
[00:07:39] The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12, 10, that he gives us that it is a gift of discerning of spirits.
[00:07:47] Now, again, I want to emphasize this does not mean you discern people, their thoughts or their lives.
[00:07:53] It's discerning of spirits.
[00:07:56] It can be discerning of whether there's the spirit of faith.
[00:07:59] This is the way it was with William Freeman.
[00:08:00] William Freeman, he would simply, we would call the line or call the people who were coming forward for prayer.
[00:08:08] He would personally want to go down off the platform and speak just a word to all these people.
[00:08:15] He would have a witness of the spirit who was prepared and ready to receive their healing.
[00:08:20] And he, those whom he did not feel were ready, he would give them an encouraging word to say,
[00:08:27] come again for another service.
[00:08:29] We will minister to you.
[00:08:31] Very encouraging indeed.
[00:08:33] Well, that gift of discerning of spirit was quite accurate.
[00:08:37] Very rarely did he ever miss it, we call, because he was not operating his own ability.
[00:08:42] He was operating by the ability of the Holy Spirit.
[00:08:45] And, you know, I believe that discerning of spirits is extremely valuable.
[00:08:53] It's a gift of God.
[00:08:55] And I encourage you to develop it and desire it.
[00:08:58] Some people say that discerning of spirits gives people supernatural insight into the spiritual realm where God allows it.
[00:09:06] Many also believe that discerning of spirits is a gift so we can know the true nature of a situation.
[00:09:12] Yes, our world is full of deception.
[00:09:14] Many people are not who they appear to be.
[00:09:17] And the gift of discerning of spirits helps us see what the spirit is that is manifest through the person.
[00:09:23] And thank God we can be instruments in God's hands.
[00:09:28] So this is what I want to challenge you today.
[00:09:31] This is another of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, the discerning of spirits.
[00:09:36] The Holy Spirit lives in your heart and mind.
[00:09:39] And he speaks to us and through us.
[00:09:41] He's not through our heads, but through our hearts.
[00:09:44] And his gifts are not intellectual or operative in our minds.
[00:09:48] They're spiritual.
[00:09:49] And they operate in our spirits.
[00:09:52] We must follow what we sense in our spirits, not what we think in our minds.
[00:09:56] It may be right or wrong, but God, when he gives discernment, is absolutely right.
[00:10:02] And that's another of the nine gifts of the spirit.
[00:10:05] Father, I pray that you'll open our hearts to your manifestation, that your promises that you can bestow through us the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
[00:10:17] Lord, I pray people will not be biased or prejudiced, but they will covet earnestly.
[00:10:22] So in Jesus' name, beloved, join me in this simple prayer.
[00:10:27] Lord, I covet the word of wisdom.
[00:10:30] I desire the word of knowledge.
[00:10:33] I esteem the discerning of spirits.
[00:10:36] I ask for the gifts of healing.
[00:10:38] I pray for the gift of working of miracles.
[00:10:42] I ask for the gift of faith.
[00:10:44] Lord, I pray for the gift of tongues and the gift of the interpretation of tongues.
[00:10:49] And I covet the gift of prophecy.
[00:10:52] Thank you, Lord.
[00:10:53] I seek these gifts of your Holy Spirit, your gifts.
[00:10:57] And I thank you for them in Jesus' name.
[00:10:59] Amen.
[00:11:00] Well, that's a challenge for you as a simple believer.
[00:11:05] You know, William Freeman was not a highly educated man.
[00:11:09] He was from the Ozarks, Missouri, from Brankton, Missouri he was from.
[00:11:14] And I lived with him there for quite some time in my young life.
[00:11:18] When I joined him when I was just 19.
[00:11:22] And I learned about the simplicity of those Ozark people, very sweet.
[00:11:26] But I, so it wasn't anything enamoring about the man's personality.
[00:11:31] It was that he met God and God met him.
[00:11:34] And listen, God will meet you if you have a hunger and a thirst.
[00:11:38] You've got to have a hunger.
[00:11:40] For Jesus said,
[00:11:41] Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
[00:11:47] How about it?
[00:11:48] Do you have that hunger?
[00:11:49] Well, we've united together in teaching and in prayer.
[00:11:53] And now let's just anticipate the working of God.
[00:11:57] I want to right now minister in behalf of you that suffer with headaches.
[00:12:02] In Jesus' awesome name, I speak your name, Lord, against the infirmity of headaches.
[00:12:08] I speak for deliverance for every oppressed life.
[00:12:12] In Jesus' name, healing Lord, amen.
[00:12:16] And my beloved friend, the most important gift of all is the gift of salvation, eternal life.
[00:12:22] If you have not received that, please open your heart to Jesus and let him be your Savior and Lord.
[00:12:28] And now it's that time when I invite you to participate with me in something very significant.
[00:12:35] It's just so awesome how God responds as we praise him.
[00:12:39] Will you join me, please?
[00:12:42] Praise you, Lord, amen.
[00:12:45] Praise you, Lord, amen.
[00:13:10] Hallelujah.
[00:13:10] God bless you, amen.
[00:13:11] Amen. Hallelujah.