The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

More documents

Recommendations

Info

194 The ability to distinguish between good and evil is a sign of maturity (Heb. 5:14). Although all Christians are exhorted to be discerning, all do not have the gift of a discerning of spirits (I Cor. 12:10, 29-30). Indications are that in the early church people with this gift were given the office of an “exorcist.” Such persons have the ability to distinguish between spirits and to cast them out in the name of Christ. A distinction should be drawn between direct demon possession (or infestation or demonization) and spiritual attacks which come to all Christians in the form of temptation. Some Christians have made the mistake of diagnosing possession as the cause of every kind of Christian failure. This is quite wrong. Temptation to sin is a normal experience in every human life, Christian or otherwise. Most Christians will admit to finding certain kinds of temptation more attractive than others and will suffer from what are called ‘besetting sins’ (Heb. 12:1). From time to time all Christians sin (see I Jn. 1:8), but this does not mean, even if they have persistent problems with particular sins, that they are possessed. Such sins can be weaknesses of the flesh (human nature-- Rom. 7:15-25) or “evil desires” (Jas. 1:14). Demonic oppression is where God allows Satan to bombard us with temptations. Such temptations come from without and must be resisted and renounced immediately. Paul put it, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine powers to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (II Cor. 10:3-5). We make our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ as we feed on God’s Word. That was the weapon that Jesus used when tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Mt. 4:4,7,10). Our thoughts must be brought into conformity to God’s thoughts which are found in His Word. A distinction must also be drawn between demonic possession and mental illness. Although the two may occur simultaneously, and in such a case possession would cause or worsen mental illness, there is no necessary connection between the two. This distinction is extremely important. Nothing is more damaging than when a person who suffers from mental illness is told that he is possessed. This automatically increases his fears which make his illness even more acute. Just as Christians are prone to physical illness, so they may be prone to certain mental weaknesses or illnesses. And positive feedback is essential in such a case. There seems to be a direct connection between demonic possession and the practice of the occult. Any dabbling in the various kinds of occult behavior which is clearly and repeatedly forbidden in the Bible (Lev. 19:26,31; Deut. 18:9-14), makes a person a target for satanic attack.
195 We must be careful that we do not have an unforgiving spirit. Paul says that an unforgiving spirit makes way for Satan to “outwit” us (II Cor. 2:11). “For we are not unaware,” says Paul, “of his schemes” (II Cor. 2:11). And yet the church of Jesus Christ is unaware of Satan’s schemes or strategies. What makes this difficult is that Satan masquerades as an angel of light and his servants as servants of righteousness (II Cor. 11:14-15). Whether we have the gift of the discerning of spirits or not, we are to be aware of Satan’s methods. Ignorance is not always bliss; often it spells danger. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual warfare. Examples Mt. 16:22-23 Jesus rebuked the spirit of Peter. Mk. 1:21-27 Jesus drove out an evil spirit in a man in the synagogue. 5:1-20 Jesus drove out a legion of demons in man from the tombs. 9:14-29 Jesus drove out an evil spirit from a boy who was dumb. Acts 5: 1-10 Peter discerned that Ananias and Sapphira had kept back part of the money they had received from selling some land. Acts 8:9-24 Peter discerned that Simon, the sorcerer, tried to buy God’s gift (of receiving the Holy Spirit) and that he was full of bitterness and captive to sin. Acts 13:6 Paul exposed Elymas, the Jewish sorcerer and false prophet, as “a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right.” Paul perceived that Elymas would become blind which he did. Acts 16:16-18 Paul discerned that the slave girl following him was shouting words which came from an evil spirit and thus Paul drove that spirit out. CHARACTERISTICS OF THOSE WITH THIS GIFT 1. Sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. 2. Profound sense of right and wrong. 3. Keen insight as to the difference between truth and error with the ability to discern good as well as evil. 4. Tendency to be serious and introspective and easily given to gloominess. 5. Tendency to be an introvert bordering on being timid. 6. Has feelings of uneasiness when there is anything wrong. 7. Feels an immediate and instinctive rejection of the spirit of a person or teaching when an attitude or teaching has an evil or untrue ring. 8. Quick to analyze the reasonings and rationalizations of others.
Page 1 and 2:
1 The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: God
Page 3 and 4:
3 IV. MINISTRIES AND OFFICES 35-70
Page 5 and 6:
5 • The Fruit of the Spirit—To
Page 7 and 8:
7 WHY STUDY SPIRITUAL GIFTS? YOU ar
Page 9 and 10:
9 This study can be effective and f
Page 11 and 12:
11 THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Page 13 and 14:
11 II. THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Page 15 and 16:
11 JOY—Inner assurance of God’s
Page 17 and 18:
11 Adam Clarke described faithfulne
Page 19 and 20:
11 It is one thing to overcome the
Page 21 and 22:
22 It is no coincidence that Paul w
Page 23 and 24:
22 The proper approach to all gifts
Page 25 and 26:
22 “Talents have to do with techn
Page 27 and 28:
22 Humility is a sober evaluation o
Page 29 and 30:
22 2. The body contains many member
Page 31 and 32:
33 13. Discerning of Spirits 14. Gi
Page 33 and 34:
33 10. Leadership. The gift of lead
Page 35 and 36:
33 IV. MINISTRIES & OFFICES
Page 37 and 38:
33 Qualifications for the Twelve 1.
Page 39 and 40:
33 reaching out to others with the
Page 41 and 42:
44 The Giftedness of Others—Quest
Page 43 and 44:
44 Female Prophets: Miriam (Ex. 15:
Page 45 and 46:
44 • False prophets teach sexual
Page 47 and 48:
44 2. Prophecy was not intended to
Page 49 and 50:
44 It is God’s purpose to reveal
Page 51 and 52:
55 2. The ‘spiritual gift of disc
Page 53 and 54:
55 PROPHET (PROPHECY) Proclaims God
Page 55 and 56:
55 Purpose: Salvation of the Lost T
Page 57 and 58:
55 have any one gift. The spiritual
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
66 2. To Feed—A shepherd’s main
Page 63 and 64:
66 PASTORING (SHEPHERDING) Has a he
Page 65 and 66:
66 THE GIFT OF THE TEACHER (Eph. 4:
Page 67 and 68:
66 all as Sunday School teachers. O
Page 69 and 70:
66 TEACHING A strong desire to stud
Page 71 and 72:
77 V. SERVING GIFTS
Page 73 and 74:
77 Some identify this gift with the
Page 75 and 76:
77 CHARACTERISTICS OF THOSE WITH TH
Page 77 and 78:
77 THE GIFT OF EXHORTATION (Rom. 12
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
88 Purpose: Advancement of God’s
Page 83 and 84:
88 R. G. LeTourneau, the Texas indu
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
88 Other qualifications (in the cas
Page 89 and 90:
88 15. “Not self-willed” (Titus
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
99 THE GIFT OF MERCY (Rom. 12:8) Pu
Page 95 and 96:
99 Bridge and Phypers warn: “He o
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
99 A person with this gift is easil
Page 101 and 102:
111 The Giftedness of Others—Ques
Page 103 and 104:
111 found hospices, by this time ru
Page 105 and 106:
111 Finds deep satisfaction in maki
Page 107 and 108:
111
Page 109 and 110:
111 “In 1973 a church on Route 46
Page 111 and 112:
111 MINISTRIES Boards & Committees
Page 113 and 114:
111 VI. ARE “SUPERNATURAL” GIFT
Page 115 and 116:
111 The cessation theory is based o
Page 117 and 118:
111 The conditional temporal “whe
Page 119 and 120:
111 God said His name is "I am," no
Page 121 and 122:
121 In a world where people accepte
Page 123 and 124:
123 Many church leaders, however, c
Page 125 and 126:
125 A visionary element marked the
Page 127 and 128:
127 1. In the first one hundred yea
Page 129 and 130:
129 Donald Bridge and David Phypers
Page 131 and 132:
131 VII. “SUPERNATURAL GIFTS”
Page 133 and 134:
133 HOW “WORDS OF WISDOM” ARE E
Page 135 and 136:
135 The Giftedness of Others—Ques
Page 137 and 138:
137 Examples John Wimber, who is th
Page 139 and 140:
139 12. Sometimes a person in the t
Page 141 and 142:
141 The Giftedness of Others--Quest
Page 143 and 144: 143 The Greek word “savior” (so
Page 145 and 146: 145 Since suffering is so prevalent
Page 147 and 148: 147 In Scripture there is also a ca
Page 149 and 150: 149 Kinds of Approaches to Healing
Page 151 and 152: 151 3. We check that the armor of G
Page 153 and 154: 153 towards me. I remember thinking
Page 155 and 156: 155 6. Loved ones or friends may be
Page 157 and 158: 157 5. When anointing with oil is c
Page 159 and 160: 159 The Giftedness of Others—Ques
Page 161 and 162: 161 4. RAISING THE DEAD—Jesus was
Page 163 and 164: 163 As Pytches points out, “Sickn
Page 165 and 166: 165 “In the name of Jesus, I comm
Page 167 and 168: 167 Strongholds These result from a
Page 169 and 170: 169 10. Severely demonized persons
Page 171 and 172: 171 to, usually vocalizing such thi
Page 173 and 174: 173 MINISTERING DELIVERANCE 1. It i
Page 175 and 176: 175 23. Spirits get wary and fearfu
Page 177 and 178: 177 11. If it is clear that there i
Page 179 and 180: 179 It would be verbally impossible
Page 181 and 182: 181 By the authority of the Lord Je
Page 183 and 184: 183 Satan, I command you, in the na
Page 185 and 186: 185 Heavenly Father, I pray that Yo
Page 187 and 188: 187 Renounce In the Renounce step,
Page 189 and 190: 189 8. Speaks and acts with great a
Page 191 and 192: 191 This spiritual warfare will bec
Page 193: 193 attention is deflected toward G
Page 197 and 198: 197 The Giftedness of Others—Ques
Page 199 and 200: 199 4. A continuing gift—repeated
Page 201 and 202: 201 gift of tongues in the context
Page 203 and 204: 203 THE GIFT OF THE INTERPRETATION
Page 205 and 206: 205 MINISTRIES Worship Service Vari
Page 207 and 208: 207 I. FAITH The first step in find
Page 209 and 210: 209 What was Peter's reaction? "Pet
Page 211 and 212: 211 VI. MUTUAL MINISTRY (IMPARTATIO
Page 213 and 214: 213 VIII. EVALUATE YOUR EFFECTIVENE
Page 215 and 216: 215 Some Christians who used their
Page 217 and 218: 217 IX. AN ATMOSPHERE FOR PRACTICE
Page 219 and 220: 219 Errors in doctrine or simple do
Page 221 and 222: 221 “For you did not receive a sp
Page 223 and 224: As we prayerfully seek God’s will
Page 225 and 226: 0 1 2 3 28. Likes to give material
Page 227 and 228: 0 1 2 3 91. Ability to wisely selec
Page 229 and 230: 229 0 1 2 3 149. Enjoys exercising
Page 231 and 232: 0 1 2 3 214. Serious student of God
Page 233 and 234: 0 1 2 3 271. Ability to know what c
Page 235 and 236: 235 Continue on this page as you di
Page 237 and 238: 237 9 David Allan Hubbard, Unwrappi
Page 239 and 240: 239 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. 31 Wagner, Yo
Page 241 and 242: 241 19 Ibid. 20 Gene Getz, Sharpeni
Page 243 and 244: 243 15 T. B. Falls, The Fathers of
Page 245 and 246:
245 16 Pytches, Spiritual Gifts in
Page 247 and 248:
247 131. 54 Pytches, Spiritual Gift
Page 249 and 250:
249 92 Ibid., 235. 93 Ibid. 94 Ibid
Page 251 and 252:
251 Fee, Gordon. The First Epistle
Page 253:
253
show all

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?