Gifts
of the Kingdom for Power Evangelism and Service
"They were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
tongues as the Spirit
gave them utterance" - Acts 2:4
.
Yielding
to the Gifts of the Spirit
and removing blocks
that hold us back from exercising them
.
a discussion
guide for small groups
.
by
Don Schwager
“Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the
spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy”
– 1 Corinthians 14:1
The power of God’s
kingdom
The gifts of the Spirit enable people to experience
the presence and power of God in their personal lives. They are supernatural
manifestations of God’s kingdom here and now. When Jesus began his mission
he announced the coming of God’s kingdom:
“The time has come; the kingdom of God
is upon you; repent, and believe the Gospel (Good News)” (Mark 1:15).
The Lord Jesus demonstrated the power of God's kingdom
through the signs and wonders he performed – his numerous healings, miracles,
exorcisms, and prophetic words of knowledge as he revealed the hearts and
intentions of the people he met. All of these supernatural signs and wonders
had one aim – to open the hearts of people to an experiental encounter
with God and his personal love and compassion for them.
Jesus speaks to a skeptical Jew
We can see examples in the Gospel accounts of
Jesus’ prophetic words of knowledge for individuals that he chose to reveal
himself to in a direct and personal encounter. When Jesus first met Nathaniel,
a skeptical Jew who questioned whether the Messiah could come from Nazareth,
Jesus spoke a personal word of revelation that only Nathaniel could recognize
as a true sign that Jesus was indeed the one true Messiah sent from God.
When Jesus said, “I saw you under the fig tree,” Nathaniel answered, "Rabbi,
you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel." (John 1:48-49).
Encounter with a Samaritan woman
When Jesus met a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well,
he spoke a personal word of revelation to her. That word opened her heart
to recognize that he was indeed the Messiah and Savior who came not only
for the Jews but for her personally - a broken and shunned woman in need
of healing and reconciliation. Jesus offered her a new life of peace and
joy in the power of the Holy Spirit. Her conversion brought many Samaritans
from her town to meet Jesus and accept him as their Savior as well.
Many of the Samaritans from that town
believed in [Jesus] because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything
I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to
stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more
became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because
of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this
man really is the Savior of the world.” (John 4:39-42)
A life-changing word for a cheating tax collector
Jesus spoke one word to Zacchaeus, a despised
tax collector who had spent his life in greed and luxury by cheating people.
Jesus' word, "Hurry, come down, I must stay at your house today" (Luke
19:5), brought a dramatic change of heart to Zacchaeus as he heeded the
command of the Savior who was now offering him new life and freedom from
his burden of guilt and sin. Ephrem of Syria, an early Christian bible
scholar, probes the thoughts and response of Zacchaeus to Jesus' gracious
invitation and offer of salvation:
Zacchaeus was praying in his heart as
follows, “Happy the one who is worthy that this just man should enter into
his dwelling.” The Lord said to him, “Hurry, come down, Zacchaeus.” Seeing
he knew his thoughts, he said, “Just as he knows this, he knows also all
that I have done.” He therefore said, “All that I have unjustly received,
I give back fourfold.” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke)
You will do even
greater works
Jesus told his disciples that they would do the
same works – the prophetic signs and wonders which he had done – and even
greater works!
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes
in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will
he do, because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, I will
do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything
in my name, I will do it” (John 14:12-14).
While Jesus was physically present to his disciples
in Galilee and Jerusalem, he was subject to the physical limitations of
time, space, and circumstances. Now as the Risen Savior who is glorifed
and seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, the Lord Jesus makes
his presence and power known through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit
who dwells in the hearts and lives of disciples throughout the world.
That is why Jesus continues to commission his
followers throughout every age to “make disciples of all nations”(John
17:18, Matthew 28:19). The end of Mark's Gospel recounts Jesus' great commission
and promise to confirm the proclamation of his word with signs and wonders:
And he said to them, “Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to the whole creation... And these signs
will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons;
they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they
drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands
on the sick, and they will recover.”
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to
them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with
them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen. (Mark
16:15,17-20)
Age of skepticism and unbelief
We live in an age of skepticism and unbelief
that rejects the supernatural and reduces the notion of God to mere myth
and delusion. This post-enlightenment thinking is also fueled by the "ruler
of this age" whom Scriptures calls Satan, the "father of lies," and the
"deceiver" who blinds people from the truth and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus has not left us powerless against
the spirit of this age. He has heard the prayers of many for a new Pentecost
and spring-tie of renewal for the Christian church. We are witnessing today
a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the work of evangelism and mission.
The Lord Jesus wants to give all of his disciples
spiritual gifts of power and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to make the
work of evangelism more effective and fruitful in the face of increasing
opposition, persecution, apathy, and indifference. Without his gifts and
direction, what can we hope to accomplish by our own strength? Nothing.
"What is impossible with man is possible with God." That is why we need
the spiritual gifts and power of God more than ever before.
Courageous witness and bold testimony
The Lord Jesus wants to give us courage and boldness
to be his word - a living and active word that speaks through the witness
and example of our lives, as well as the testimony of our personal encounter
with the Risen Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus promises to be with us as we
speak and share our testimony with others. And the Lord will guide us to
those he wants us to share the good news with. He promises to anoint us
and give us the words to speak as we yield to the Holy Spirit.
Every Christian believer is called to be an evangelist
and missionary for the kingdom of God. No one can exempt themselves from
this call.
Every Christian is challenged, here and
now, to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly
experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training
to go out and proclaim that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the
extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus:
we no longer say that we are “disciples” and “missionaries”, but rather
that we are always “missionary disciples”. If we are not convinced, let
us look at those first disciples, who, immediately after encountering the
gaze of Jesus, went forth to proclaim him joyfully: “We have found the
Messiah!” - Pope Francis
We can follow the example of past disciples and evangelists,
such as Philip in the Acts of the Apostles who was led by the Spirit to
speak to the people of Samaria and to the Ethiopian eunuch on the road
to Gaza, as well as the example of evangelists throughout the ages, such
as Francis of Assisi, who was "on fire with the love of God" and love for
the many souls he wished to save through proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Example of "power evangelism" in the
Acts of the Apostles
Philip the Evangelist was
led by the Spirit to speak with a man in a chariot
In Acts of the Apostles,
chapter 8, verses 26-39, we see a remarkable account of the evangelist
Philip receiving two words from the Lord. The first word tells him to follow
the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza. And the second word is to go up
and join the chariot which he sees in front of him. Philip obeys the leading
of the Holy Spirit and begins to speak with the Ethiopian official in his
chariot. The Ethiopian has been reading a passage from scripture and Philip
offers to explain the meaning of the passage to him. Philip then explains
the good news of Jesus Christ and the Ethiopian asks to be baptized so
he can become a disciple of Jesus. |
Spirit-filled
/ charismatic gifts for everyone
The Lord Jesus wants all of his followers to
be spiritually strong and well equipped for the work of evangelism and
mission. That is why the charismatic gifts of the Spirit are essential.
We don't serve in our own strength but in God's strength. That is why the
charismatic gifts are for everyone – whether young or old, male or female,
trained or untrained. Another New Testament word for charismatic gift is
spiritual gift – given by the Holy Spirit to empower each of us to do the
works which Jesus did. There is no discrimination in the distribution and
use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are freely given, freely received,
and freely exercised by all who are receptive and willing to yield to and
cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
Blocks to exercising
spiritual gifts
Paul the Apostle tells us that we must “earnestly
desire the spiritual gifts.” What might hold us back or block the spiritual
gifts from working effectively in and through us? Pride, ignorance,
fear, doubt, and unbelief are key blocks.
Unbelief
and scepticism make us resistant
to the supernatural gifts and working of the Holy Spirit. Jesus on different
occasions rebuked his disciples for their “lack of faith and hardness of
heart”(Mark 16:14, Mark 8:17, Matthew 13:15). Like the hardening of the
arteries which block the flow of blood and oxygen, “hardening of the heart”
can block the flow of supernational power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit
within us if we allow unbelief and scepticism to take hold of our mind
and heart.
Pride
says, “I will choose the gifts I feel comfortable with, the gifts that
will make me stand out and be admired by others.” “And, besides, I don’t
want to look foolish and try something I might not like or succeed at.”
Ignorance
says, “I don’t know how to use spiritual gifts or how to yield to the Holy
Spirit?” “I better wait until I am one hundred percent sure I know what
I am doing if I start asking for spiritual gifts”
Doubt
says, “I’m not worthy. I’m not the right person, or the best person, or
the qualified person to exercise spiritual gifts.” “I don’t have enough
faith to expect that the Holy Spirit will give me real anointing and spiritual
power to exercise charismatic gifts.”
Fear
says, “I will fail or make a mistake, or sink out of fright like Peter
did when he started to walk on water towards Jesus.”
Antidote: “Make
love your aim”
The best antidote is love – the kind of love
that sets us free to surrender fully to God and to do whatever he tells
us to do for his glory and his kingdom. God’s love has been “poured into
our hearts through the Spirit which has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).
His love sets us free – to love and serve others not only with our natural
strengths and abilities, but with the charisms and spiritual power which
comes from theHoly Spirit who works in and through each one of us.
Spiritual word
gifts for everyone
Tfhere are a great diversity of spiritual gifts
given for the work of building up the body of Christ and for mission. Paul
the Apostle urges us to "desire the spiritual gifts - especially the prophetic
gifts for speaking under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I believe that
the charismatic word gifts are available for everyone who is willing to
yield to the Holy Spirit and be led by the Spirit. The charismatic word
gifts include: the gift of tongues and interpretation, prophecy,
and prophetic words of knowledge and leadings of the Spirit
that direct and empower us in bringing the good news of God’s love, mercy,
and salvation to others.
Gift
of tongues: A charismatic
gift of prayer and praise inspired by the Holy Spirit who enables us to
pray in another language we have not learned and do not naturally understand.
Paul describes two types of languages we can experience: “tongues of men
and of angels”(1 Corinthians 13:1).
Gift
of interpretation of tongues:
A gift that enables us and others to understand the message that God wants
to reveal when we pray or speak out words in tongues – these words are
often a prayer or word of encouragement or exhortation. I believe that
we can expect God to reveal the message he wants us to receive as we pray
in tongues alone or with others and when we are inspired to speak out a
prophetic word in tongues. If we listen with expectant faith, the Lord
will enable us to understand the message he wishes to convey through the
gift of tongues. The interpretation of tongues can come to our mind as
a sense from the Lord of something he wants to say or pray through us -
such as a word of praise and adoration, or a word of exhortation to turn
to the Lord or repent, or a word of encouragement. The interpretation often
comes as a gentle soft voice or word that we may not even consciously sense
as a revelation of God at the moment. When we pray in tongues we often
sense the presence of God and a sense of what he is impressing on us at
that particular moment.
Gift
of prophecy: Inspired words
of prophetic revelation directed to individuals or group of people. Most
prophecy are inspired words of revelation that encourage, build up, and
direct people to turn to God in worship, praise, repentance, and seeking
after God for his help and direction.
Gift
of prophetic words of knowledge for evangelism and ministry:
Word gifts of knowledge are inspired leadings of the Spirit directed to
an individual or group of people to whom God wants to reveal his presence,
power, and wordat a particular moment. (See example of Philip in Acts 8:26-40)
Yielding to the
Holy Spirit
If we desire to receive the gifts of the Spirit,
then we must learn to yield to the Spirit.Jesus instructed his disciples:
And I tell you, Ask, and it will be
given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to
you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him
who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for
a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks
for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:9–13)
The first step to yielding to the Holy Spirit is
asking
with expectant faith. What do we ask for? We ask with expectant faith
for a full outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives - for a full release
of the gifts and power of the Spirit within us. We ask for the Holy Spirit
to give us the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues.
We ask for the Holy Spirit to give us the gift of prophecy so we can speak
his word to others as he leads us to speak to them. We ask for prophetic
direction in being led by the Spirit to speak with certain individuals
the Spirit wants us to speak with. And we ask for the Spirit to give us
the words and message he wishes us to speak to others - especially in evangelising
and sharing our testimony with others.
Yielding to the gift of tongues
Paul the Apostle writes, "I would like every
one of you to speak in tongues" (1 Corinthians 14:4). Learning how to yield
to the gift of tongues is very beneficial for us. It is first and foremost
a gift of prayer - a prayer that allows the Holy Spirit to pray in and
through us. Paul writes,
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes
for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of
men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes
for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26–27)
The Acts of the Apostles explains how the first disciples
of Jesus received the gift of tongues on Pentecost:
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance”
(Acts 2:4).
Notice in this passage from Acts that "all
were filled, not some." Each of the 120 disciples did something – they
each spoke out in a language they did not previously know. As they began
to speak out the Holy Spirit formed their speech into a new tongue or language
they did not know. When we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give us the
gift of tongues it is important that we first stop speaking out in our
own language. We then speak out whatever sounds, sylables, and words the
Holy Spirit begins to give us. As we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, the
new words in another language will flow from our lips as we allow the Spirit
to speak through and within us for the glory of God.
Learning to exercise spiritual gifts
Speaking out and praying in tongues is a cooperative
work of the Holy Spirit and the individual who yields to the gift of the
Spirit by speaking out with the new tongue the Spirit gives. Learning how
to yield to the gift of tongues is an excellent way for learning how to
yield to the other charismatic gifts of the Spirit. We ask with expectant
faith. We yield ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We step out
in faith by acting and speaking out as the Spirit leads us.
Do you want to grow in yielding to the Holy Spirit and to the gifts
the Spirit wishes to give you? Pray with other Christians who have experience
and wisdom in exercising the gifts of the Spirit. Learn from those who
are wise in discerning the spiritual gifts and who have experience in helping
others grow in using the gifts of the Spirit. The Life in the Spirit Seminars
is an excellent and proven way to learn how to yield to the Holy Spirit
and gifts of the Spirit.
[Three excellent books: Life in the Spirit and Life in the
Spirit Seminar for Children by Jerry Munk, and Life in the Spirit
Team Manual all available from
Tabor
House.]
Questions
for discussion and prayer in small groups:
1. Do I recognize the spiritual gifts which the
Holy Spirit wants me to exercise?
2. Are there any instances or ways in which I
resist the promptings, inspirations, and gifts of the Spirit? 3. How can
I better yield and cooperate with the work of the Spirit in and through
me?
4. Am I willing to step out, take risks, in learning
how to grow in exercising the gifts of the Spirit?
5. What obstacles might be holding me back from
desiring and exercising the gifts?
Pray over one another for discernment of the spiritual
gifts and for a greater release of the gifts.
See
related articles:
>
Spiritual
Gifts by Steve Clark
>
Prophecy
by Bruce Yocum
>
Clues
for Evangelism by Joe Difato
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