Pastor / Evangelist Irby
Camp
THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
We live in a changing world, and the events of recent months point to that emphatically. As believers, we need the power of God in our lives now, more than ever.
Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He said, “But ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” (Acts 1:8). This promise of power comes after the Holy Spirit visits your life, empowering you to witness, strengthening your Christian walk and equipping you for Christian service to defeat the enemy.
As our life is empowered by the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts or new abilities called the “Gifts of the Holy Spirit” enable you and me to do the Lord’s work in new and powerful ways.
The Father desires that we understand spiritual gifts. The Apostle Paul wrote, “ Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant” (1 Corinthians 12:1). Remember, the devil’s success is dependent upon our ignorance. When you understand how to stir up these spiritual gifts in your life, you will have power and authority over the enemy.
The Father has provided these gifts to profit His children. “But the manifestation of the Spirit,” the Apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “is given to every man to profit withal.” It’s God’s will that we lack none of the gifts (1 Corinthians 1:5).
Our Father wants us to pursue the gifts that He has provided. Paul wrote, “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). Paul’s words encourage us to seek the gifts, which are available to each of us and necessary for our spiritual success. Now it is up to you and me to understand these gifts and stir them up.
THREE
GROUPS OF GIFTS
Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, list each of the nine gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. The nine gifts can be divided into three groups: revelation gifts, vocal gifts, and power gifts.
1. Revelation gifts include the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge and discerning of spirits.
2. Vocal gifts are tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophecy.
3. Power gifts include faith, healings and the working of miracles.
The following information provides only a brief overview of each of the gifts. I encourage you to take time to study each of these gifts in depth and stir them up in your life.
WORD
OF WISDOM
The
application of knowledge
We experience the word of wisdom when the Holy Spirit gives us supernatural wisdom or understanding through His Word in certain situations.
When Jesus was faced with temptation in the wilderness, He ignored what satan attempted to offer and responded by quoting the Word of God. Eve, on the other hand, failed to confront the devil’s lies and was deceived.
You can use the Word; and at times, it can mean the difference between life and death. In fact the word of wisdom is essential in the operation of all the other gifts, so it is important to seek this gift. Pray for this gift. Ask God to saturate your life with it, and as you study Scripture, the Lord will begin to give you the word of wisdom to illuminate your understanding.
WORD
OF KNOWLEDGE
Receiving
facts supernaturally by the Spirit
The word of knowledge is something that couldn’t possibly be known without the Holy Spirit’s prompting. There are numerous examples throughout Scripture where the Holy Spirit gives the word of knowledge with specific information concerning a need or problem. (Example: In 2 Kings 5 when Elisha the prophet knew that Gehazi had lied to Naaman the leper).
Ananias and Sapphira pretended to sell their land and give all to God’s work, but Peter received a word of knowledge that allowed him to boldly ask, “Why hath satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?” (Acts 5:3).
A word of knowledge can be personal or may be given for you to share with others. When you receive it, you should immediately begin praying for God’s wisdom to share or apply this word.
DISCERNING OF
SPIRITS
Perceiving
the source of a manifestation
The last of the three revelation gifts helps you perceive whether a spiritual manifestation is from God, man or the devil.
It was the discerning of spirits that helped the Apostle Peter understand the vision spoken of in Acts 10 which in turn led to evangelism among the Gentiles for he said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.”
It was the gift of discerning of spirits that led Paul the Apostle to cast the evil spirit out of a fortuneteller who seemingly spoke all the right words saying, “I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her” (Acts 8:23).
We’re in a battle, and the enemy is cunning. Sometimes, evil masquerades as good. Therefore, we must he watchful with our supernatural senses, exercising the revelation gift of discernment along with wisdom and knowledge.
TONGUES
Three
supernatural means of communication
There is some confusion about the first of the vocal gifts because there are actually three different kinds of tongues:
1. Tongues unto God (“For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God” 1 Corinthians 14:2).
2. Tongues as a sign to the unbeliever (Acts 2 gives the account of people who marveled at hearing their own native tongue).
3. Tongues, which edify the body of believers (“For greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying” 1 Corinthians 14:5).
There is a place for each kind of tongues. Paul was certainly not dismissing the value of tongues, for he wrote, “I would that ye all spake with tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:5) and “forbid not to speak with tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39). He even wrote, “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all” (1 Corinthians 14:18).
This gift is critical for intercession and spiritual warfare. It’s a powerful entranceway to deep, intimate fellowship with the Savior. Without tongues, you overlook one of the most special of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
INTERPRETATION
OF TONGUES
Translation
of Divine Utterances into
Recognizable
Language
To understand the interpretation of tongues, the second of the vocal
gifts, we must recognize that there are three different kinds of tongues:
(1). Tongues unto God,
(2). Tongues as a sign to the unbeliever, (3). Tongues which edify the body of believers.
Only the third type, edifying the body of believers, requires interpretation. With this type of tongues, the interpretation of tongues is crucial. The word shows that interpretation becomes equal to prophecy.
It is very important, as we begin to use this gift, that we understand 1 Corinthians 14:13: “Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.” This gift requires spiritual maturity and is received only through diligent prayer, study of scriptures and precious time with the Holy Spirit. Oh, that we would be more willing to pay this price for the interpretation of tongues to edify the church is needed more than ever in the church.
PROPHECY
Revelation
for Edification
1 Corinthians 4:3 is very clear: “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.”
The gift of prophecy builds up and encourages us. It stirs us up. It comforts us. It is not condemning. It always exhorts and encourages. It brings life and vision and light, not doom and gloom and death.
And it’s important to remember that anything spoken out of the gift of prophecy must always be completely consistent with the Scriptures and will never contradict God’s Word in any way.
FAITH
God-given
Ability to Believe Him
For the
Impossible
The gift of faith is the greatest of the power gifts. It’s the exceptional ability to trust God to work, even in unusual ways or in particularly challenging situations.
Again, they’re some confusion about the gift of faith. There are actually three revelations of faith in the Bible. Romans 5:1 speaks of saving faith, which is that measure of faith given to every person. There is also the fruit of faith, in Galatians 5:22, which is an important part of the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of faith is within each of us, as planted by the Holy Spirit, but the gift of faith, in 1 Corinthians 12, comes for a moment, for a season and for a reason.
The gift of faith is the instantaneous assurance of God’s ability to act in a specific situation. It does not deny fact, it changes it! How do we move into this gift?
Romans 10:17 says, “ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The gift of faith can only happen when we act through the revelation of Scripture and the direction of the Holy Spirit. What begins as hope through prayer becomes faith.
WORKING OF
MIRACLES
Divine
Creative Acts
The working of miracles is a supernatural occurrence against the law of nature. It was against the natural order of things for God to turn back the Red Sea for the Children of Israel to walk on dry land (Exodus 14:26-28). It was a miraculous act for the walls of Jericho to fall down as Israel obeyed the Lord’s command (Joshua 6:20). It was supernatural for God to suspend the rotation of the earth in response to Joshua’s prayer when he fought against the Amorites (Joshua 10:12,13).
When arthritis no longer afflicts a body or blind eyes see again, we sometimes call them miracles, but they are actually healings. Healing is a work of restoration, while miracles are creative acts that go against the laws of nature.
I believe we are coming into a new dimension of creative miracles, when we will see supernatural moves of the Holy Spirit’s power in such ways that we’ve only dreamed about. Readiness can only come through the Word. Psalm 33:6 points to this: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.” True miracles are the product of His Word. The more we understand and act on His Word, the more we will be able to move into the powerful dimension of His gifts, including the working of miracles.
THE HOLY
SPIRIT’S GIFTS FOR TODAY
God gives us these nine gifts to build up His Church, the body of Jesus Christ. These gifts have been given as a means t spread the Gospel and establish His Kingdom. None of the gifts are to be forbidden (1 Corinthians 14:39); yet everything must be done in an orderly manner (verse 40). By heeding these two commands, as empowered by the Holy Spirit and guided by the Scriptures, we can move, now more than ever, toward the unity of the believers and a dimension of power and authority in the realm of the Spirit that the prophets of old spoke of! The greatest days are here! Are you ready to be empowered for service?