Today’s Bible readings are Esther 4:1-7:10, 1 Corinthians 12:1-26, Psalm 36:1-12, & Proverbs 21:21-22
1 Corinthians 12:4-1
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the
same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are
different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God
works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of
us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the
ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of
special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to
another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He
gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to
prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is
from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given
the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability
to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only
Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person
should have.
Did you know that you are gifted? So many times we think
about ourselves in such lowly manners. It is good for us to be humble BUT it is
detrimental to us to be ignorant about who we are in Christ. There is a big
difference.
So many times I hear people talk about how they are no good
at anything. I hear them talk about how they have no gifts of abilities. That is not humility. That is ignorance!
The truth is that you have the AWESOME HOLY SPIRIT in you. He has supernatural
gifts that He makes available for you & me, as He sees the need for them to
be used.
Many people wonder what gift is the one that they have. The
answer to the question is ALL OF THEM; AS THE SPIRIT WILLS. In other
words, if you are in a place & there is a need for the gift of faith the
Holy Spirit can manifest that gift in your life. Maybe that is not something
that happens every day, but if you are open to it, if there is a need for it,
& if the Spirit wills it, then that gift is available. You may be used to
prophesy one day. Another day you may be used to give a word of knowledge. At
another time you may operate in the gift of discerning spirits. These all come
from the same Spirit & are available to the church.
The key is for us to be open to be used in any way that the
Spirit would decide. That is my position on spiritual gifts. I want to be open
to all of them, so that I can be used in all of them. It is important that we
be open to them all because they are all needed. They each serve a purpose.
Somebody always asks the question, “Which spiritual gift is
the most important?” The answer to that question is very obvious—WHICH EVER ONE
IS NEEDED AT THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT!
I want to suggest some extra reading material for your
personal time that will greatly increase your understanding of spiritual gifts.
Kenneth Hagin wrote a study book called “The Gifts of the Holy Spirit”. This
is a great study book. It was required reading in the bible college that I
attended. It is the best book that I have seen on the topic. It would bless you
to order it.
I want to close by saying that God wants you to be aware
& open to His gifts that He makes available through His Spirit. Be open to
them. You are a supernatural being. Let His supernatural gifts be a part of
your life!
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