[00:00:00] It's been a delight to share with you about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in these recent days. I trust this subject will encourage you to really study God's Word. Read 1 Corinthians chapter 12, 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 tongues, the gift of interpretation of tongues, the gift of prophecy.
[00:00:26] We are encouraged to seek all these gifts for the glory of God. And that's what I want to encourage you today, to have an open heart. I'll always praise God that this was like a foreign language, a foreign subject, the gifts of the Spirit when I first united with William Freeman to travel. Here was a man that the gifts of the Spirit were so awesome through his life, for he had received his visitation that God himself was manifesting the gift of healing.
[00:00:55] And he stepped out to be obedient to the Lord. And the results were mighty for God's glory. So I want to emphasize this fact that may you seek the gifts of the Spirit. Now, it may be that I have not explained this as you might understand, for there's so much to be said about the gifts of the Spirit. And I encourage you to not only study God's Holy Word, but there are good books that others have written on this subject.
[00:01:24] And I personally have received much help. And when we function in this supernatural realm of the gifts of the Spirit, of course, we need to be careful, but not afraid. Satan offers many perversions of God's true gifts. We can stay on the right track through prayer and seeking truth from God's Word. I also urge you to begin praying about the gifts of the Spirit. Ask God to use you in them and allow them to flow through you as he sees fit.
[00:01:54] Don't seek the gifts that seem most attractive or interesting to you, but seek the gifts God has for you. When you allow the gifts of the Spirit to work through you, it'll help others and help you in your everyday life. And it'll demonstrate even to non-believers the power and goodness of Christ. He indwells within you. I've mentioned to you in the first broadcast I've done on this teaching, that when I began to work with William Freeman,
[00:02:24] I began to see the manifestation of a gift that to me was just overwhelming. It was the ability of God that enabled him to be an instrument to bring healing to people in the name of Jesus. Jesus, you asked was everybody healed? No, they weren't. But I'll tell you a great number were, and thank God for all the mighty victories. He taught me so much, and he was my personal mentor, as it were,
[00:02:50] on the gifts of the Spirit, not just by teaching, but by example, as I would see this gift operated. Two special gifts, the gifts of healing and the discerning of spirits, were two that were among the other very prominent giftings. And God wants you to be a possessor of his grace. Allow the Spirit of God to manifest through you the gifts of the Spirit. And I say it'll be a blessing to you. It'll be an encourager to others.
[00:03:18] That's what always would happen when people came to the Freeman Crusade, in that big tent sitting 10,000 people. People were coming there. Why? Because God was on the scene. They were seeing the manifestation of the Holy Spirit through a man of God, who would be an instrument to pray. And I assure you that you don't have to be in the classification of a super person like William Freeman, or T.L. Osborne, or Jack Coe,
[00:03:48] or these people with whom God joined me in ministry for those years. I will always bless God that I had a good education, not a total understanding, but a great education in the Holy Spirit to understand the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. And God wants to use you to help you to be one used by him. Now, I've mentioned a great deal about the gift of tongues,
[00:04:13] but also the same scripture goes on to say about the interpretation of tongues. Now, when you speak in tongues in public worship, the message must be interpreted according to 1 Corinthians 14, 27. We must give understanding that interpretation of messages are given of what's been given in tongues.
[00:04:35] And to you, you can understand that this gift of interpretation of tongues in public worship is absolutely essential. It's a command of the Bible, and it'll give you supernatural help. So, the gift of speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, God wants you to understand that these are giftings you can see manifest through your life.
[00:04:59] And Father God, in Jesus' name, as we have had the occasion to emphasize the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I pray that you see the hunger of every person, sincere, simple, sweet people who want to obey you and want to be instruments of blessing. I pray, Lord, that in their own sphere of life, in their own interaction with other people, that the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit can be manifest,
[00:05:28] that people can receive healing in Jesus' name. People can receive guidance and direction by your word and by the Holy Spirit. Father, these are desirable gifts, gifts, Lord, that will edify, will strengthen, will build up, and make us channels of blessing to this world. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, I have had opportunity to be involved in the mission of outreach to the people of the world.
[00:05:58] Now, in my own ministry, for many years, when I, after I left William Freeman, I began to travel everywhere. And I was asked a question when I was recently with Sid Roth on his national TV program. He asked me, he said, do you think you receive the anointing of William Freeman? I said, I never thought of that, but it'd be something desirable. I consider the anointing God gave me was by his own Holy Spirit,
[00:06:27] by his own providence, and I'm grateful for that. But this gift is not just something you covet to try to be like someone else. It's a gift that God's sovereignty wants to give to you, that you can be an instrument of his blessing. Now, God honors our natural giftings. He knows he gives us abilities. He gives us understanding. But then the supernatural kicks in,
[00:06:52] and we are aware that the Holy Spirit is using us for God's glory. So I hope you'll have your heart open. The Bible gives a fair amount of instruction what to do. Among other things, the Scripture says, covet earnestly the best gifts. I mean, we have to have this word covet as a strong word. It means you really pursue. You want to covet the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and that you might receive from him.
[00:07:21] And how you ask, well, Brother Don, how do I covet? You do this in several ways, I believe. First of all, as you pray, a life of prayer will be a real buildup in preparation to receive the gifts of the Spirit. It will enable you to have your own heart right with God. I discover that in order to really be used by God, there are four words that must dominate. Get right with God. If your heart is not right with God,
[00:07:50] it will be very difficult for the precious Holy Spirit to manifest. You see, we can commit sins against the Holy Spirit. The Bible warns us that we are not to be one who grieves the Holy Spirit. We're not to quench the Holy Spirit. We're not to lie to the Holy Spirit. But if we quench not, grieve not, lie not, and yet submit to the Holy Spirit, we'll discover he'll be pleased to work through us.
[00:08:18] So let your heart be always clean, an instrument for God's glory, not for your personal acclimation or somehow expression, but that you can be one God can flow through. I don't have all the answers about the gifts of the Spirit. I'm still a learner all the time, even though I've been involved in this ministry for so many years of my life. I praise God that I learn new things all the time,
[00:08:46] all about the same principles and how God works, and it's all in his written word. So be a student of the word. Study 1 Corinthians chapter 14. Study out those 18 different scriptures about the speaking in tongues. Oh, why would anybody want to deny themselves of this privilege when the Bible says that speaks in unknown tongues speaketh not unto man but unto God? Howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries.
[00:09:15] And again, he that speaketh in unknown tongues edifieth himself. My friend Sid Roth, with whom I was recently on television, interviewed by him. He made a covenant with God to pray in tongues an hour every day. I asked him about that. I said, Sid, I've heard you say that you have a covenant to pray in tongues an hour every day. He said, yes, Don. That's been a great delight in my life.
[00:09:44] Well, I'm not recommending you necessarily pattern after Sid Roth. Simply obey the Lord in your own heart. Speak in tongues five minutes or ten minutes or however long. But it's not the length or it's not the loudness. It's simply yielding to the precious Holy Spirit. How about it? Has your heart got a hunger for the Lord's best for your life? Have you had a desire not just to be an ordinary Christian,
[00:10:13] but you want to be one that God can use in these last days? Father, as humbly as you know how, we bow before you to say thank you. Thank you for the Holy Spirit and thank you for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to us. Father, we do covet these gifts, the gift of prophecy, the gift of tongues, interpretation of tongues, the gift of faith, the working of miracles, the gifts of healing, the discerning of spirits, the word of knowledge,
[00:10:43] the word of wisdom. Lord, we covet all these gifts according to your will. For Lord, it's according to your will, your purpose, that the gift is manifest. So we submit to you, Lord, as humbly as you know how, with gratitude for anticipation of your blessing. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, I trust that you will have an open heart and mind, that you know the gifts of God are so wonderful. And I'm grateful
[00:11:12] that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is available to you. For the Bible says, the promise is unto you, to your children, to as many as are far off, even as the Lord God should call. This gift of the Holy Spirit, baptism of the Holy Spirit, is God's gift to you that you should give priority. I hope you'll have an open heart to this truth also. So now, as we come down to the closing part of this broadcast, I have discovered
[00:11:40] that studying the Word of God will be the key to your being able to have insight and understanding. Because this isn't something that's mystical, the gifts of the Spirit. I know I've had people tell me, oh, it seems so mystical about a gift of the Spirit. Well, there's nothing mystical about it. It's a Bible truth, and the Holy Spirit is not a mystic. He's a real person. Praise God for that. So now, we come down to the action time of this broadcast.
[00:12:11] You know, I've been saying to you, people, praise is the forerunner of God's working. So simply yield your heart to Him. God says, Whoso offers praise glorifies me. And He commands, enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Let's praise Him together. Praise you, Lord. Amen. Praise you, Lord. Amen.
[00:12:51] Praise you, Lord. Amen. Praise you, Lord. Amen. Thank you.