How to get the Gifts of the Spirit working?

[Felicity]

Originally Posted by Steve Epley

I have seen folks OPERATE the gifts now that is a quaint saying worth figuring out how can a saint OPERATE a gift???????

The Spirit OPERATES the gifts not the opposite.

A thought the Book of Acts covers about 27 years but we can read it in a short time. I think we envision this happening in a week's revival service. Could you imagine the record that would be written about what God has done in 27 years today?

"Operation of the gifts" is a term I've heard all my life ....... but good point. Of course the Spirit operates the gifts and we let Him -- we have to cooperate with Him.

[Praxeas]

Bump...where is Keith?

[Praxeas]

How do we stir up the gift of God? Do we rely too much on programs and gimicks and not on the Spirit of the Lord?

[Scott Hutchinson]

Prayer and fasting would seem to bring the operation of The Gifts.

[Pastor Keith]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

Bump...where is Keith?

Sorry havent had much of a chance to be on this week.

Chan I believe it would be helpful to quote the esteemed AW Tozer, he said that God gifts are given not because of giver but because of the taker. In essence God is waiting on us to lay hold of his gifts.

The scripture shows the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. In otherwords the soul is more in control of how the Holy Spirit moves in a given situation than many care to attribute.

In our particular setting we stir up the gifts by:

Teaching that God wants to move in this way, these are not simply manifestations for the super holy, or only happen when that special evangelist shows up, but something that should happen every meeting (I Cor. 14:26)

Faith, God rewards faith, this leads us to believe and ask

Asking for God to give us gifts of the Spirit, ie....covet the best gift

Then we step out, after asking we then step out of the boat and start either praying for those that are sick, giving revelations from the Lord, or giving prophetic words. THe fundament thing is we believe where ever 2-3 believer are, Jesus is there doing something, we just try to discern what he is doing (John 5:19) and go with that. The Father heals, we heal, the Father speaks, we speak, he reveals, we reveal.

Do we hear and obey perfectly every time, no. But no one ever does, and if you wait to do perfectly you will wait for a long time.

Originally Posted by Praxeas

How do we stir up the gift of God?

I'm not sure what Paul meant when he told Timothy to stir up the gift.

Do we rely too much on programs and gimicks and not on the Spirit of the Lord?

Yes.

Originally Posted by keith4him

Sorry havent had much of a chance to be on this week.

Chan I believe it would be helpful to quote the esteemed AW Tozer, he said that God gifts are given not because of giver but because of the taker. In essence God is waiting on us to lay hold of his gifts.

As much as I like Tozer, I don't agree with this. God gives His gifts for His own purposes and His own glory.

The scripture shows the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. In otherwords the soul is more in control of how the Holy Spirit moves in a given situation than many care to attribute.

No, it does not mean that the Holy Spirit in the prophet is subject to the prophet. GOD does not subject Himself to anyone.

In our particular setting we stir up the gifts by:

Teaching that God wants to move in this way, these are not simply manifestations for the super holy, or only happen when that special evangelist shows up, but something that should happen every meeting (I Cor. 14:26)

Well, I agree that we should teach the spiritual gifts as being normative in the Church.

Faith, God rewards faith, this leads us to believe and ask

I'd say that God gives faith.

Asking for God to give us gifts of the Spirit, ie....covet the best gift

Agreed, except for the word "covet" since covetousness is sin.

Then we step out, after asking we then step out of the boat and start either praying for those that are sick, giving revelations from the Lord, or giving prophetic words. THe fundament thing is we believe where ever 2-3 believer are, Jesus is there doing something, we just try to discern what he is doing (John 5:19) and go with that. The Father heals, we heal, the Father speaks, we speak, he reveals, we reveal.

Agreed.

Do we hear and obey perfectly every time, no. But no one ever does, and if you wait to do perfectly you will wait for a long time.

Agreed.

[Pastor Keith]

Originally Posted by Chan

As much as I like Tozer, I don't agree with this. God gives His gifts for His own purposes and His own glory.

No, it does not mean that the Holy Spirit in the prophet is subject to the prophet. GOD does not subject Himself to anyone.

Well, I agree that we should teach the spiritual gifts as being normative in the Church.

I'd say that God gives faith.
Agreed, except for the word "covet" since covetousness is sin.

Agreed.

Agreed.

Chan,

You may not like the choice of God's vocabulary, in the context of spiritual gifts Covet=means strong desire, I can't help it has been used in sinful contexts. God calls us to strongly desire spiritual gifts, and to enforce this truth he used the strongest possible language to help us understand how much he wants to manifest his presence through these gifts.

Oh, by the way, we have not because we ask not. Through this we understand that we don't have a manifestation of the spirit because we haven't asked.

And the comment of the spirit being subject to the prophet was about the gift of the prophecy, one of the nine gifts given by the Holy Spirit which can be limited or exercised freely by the person who is exercising that gift.

How to get the Gifts of the Spirit working?



Sprinkle Hinny dust all over the place and promise that everyone that gives $1000 will get a special blessing

Originally Posted by keith4him

Chan,

You may not like the choice of God's vocabulary

It's not God's vocabulary and you know it. It's an English translation.

, in the context of spiritual gifts Covet=means strong desire, I can't help it has been used in sinful contexts. God calls us to strongly desire spiritual gifts, and to enforce this truth he used the strongest possible language to help us understand how much he wants to manifest his presence through these gifts.

The Commandment tells us "thou shalt not covet." The Hebrew word used in Exodus has the following meanings:

1. to desire, covet, take pleasure in, delight in
2. (Qal) to desire
3. (Niphal) to be desirable
4. (Piel) to delight greatly, desire greatly n f
5. desirableness, preciousness

The Hebrew word used in Deuteronomy means: desire, incline, covet, wait longingly, wish, sigh, want, be greedy, prefer

1. (Piel) to desire, crave (food and drink)
2. (Hithpael) to desire, long for, lust after (of bodily appetites)

In the New Testament, there is more than one Greek word referring to "covet." One of them means the following:

1. to turn upon a thing
2. to have a desire for, long for, to desire
3. to lust after, covet
   1. of those who seek things forbidden

See Acts 20:33; Rom. 7:7 and 13:9; 1 Tim. 3:1; Heb. 6:11; the word is used in other passages for such things as "lust" and "desire."

Another means the following:

1. to burn with zeal
2. to be heated or to boil with envy, hatred, anger
   1. in a good sense, to be zealous in the pursuit of good
3. to desire earnestly, pursue
   1. to desire one earnestly, to strive after, busy one's self about him
   2. to exert one's self for one (that he may not be torn from me)
   3. to be the object of the zeal of others, to be zealously sought after
4. to envy

See 1 Cor. 12:31 and 14:39; other passages translate it by other words such as envy, desire, lust, jealous, and zealous.

Oh, by the way, we have not because we ask not. Through this we understand that we don't have a manifestation of the spirit because we haven't asked.

James didn't say "You have not manifestations of the Spirit because you ask not." You're taking the passage out of context.

And the comment of the spirit being subject to the prophet was about the gift of the prophecy, one of the nine gifts given by the Holy Spirit which can be limited or exercised freely by the person who is exercising that gift.

Yes, it was about the gift and NOT the Spirit who gives the gift. And, again, the Holy Spirit cannot be limited or exercised by the individual in whom the Spirit dwells.