Gifts

1 Corinthians 12

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to dumb idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

The gift glorifies the giver, not the receiver!

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are designed to give glory to our Lord Jesus.

These gifts are very different from counterfeits whipped up by the evil one.

Recently we were discussing the word of knowledge - the gift where God gives someone a special insight into a person's life in order to bring healing, salvation or deliverance and lead that person closer to Jesus.

A work colleague came to a meeting with me where an evangelist was operating in that gift.

She was suffering with gallstones and had often told me that the pain was like a fist in the right side of her back.

Using those EXACT words the guy said that there was a lady who has a pain in her back and God wants to heal you if you come out for prayer.

I'd like to tell you that she went out and was healed, but she didn't.  The next day, she accused me of setting her up and telling the guy about her. 

We don't realise how intimately God knows us and is familiar with what we are feeling, thinking and saying.

What a shame, she just couldn't comprehend that someone could know some intimate details about her by God's Spirit and missed out on that healing.

As I retold this, my listener confused this gift of the word of knowledge with clairvoyance - satan's counterfeit. This counterfeit and unreliable "technique" is a deception to be avoided at all costs. To quote Billy Graham on this subject:

The Bible is clear: We are to avoid anyone “who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens … or who is a medium or spiritist” (Deuteronomy 18:10-11).

The word of knowledge is only given specifically as God desires - not on demand, and is a means to health and a healing and glorifies Jesus.

Let's desire to be led by the Holy Spirit and not be led astray by the spirit of the world.