THE HOLY SPIRIT - Part 3

By Joseph Akinola

SPIRITUAL GIFTS
1st Corinthians 12:1-11

These gifts are for the Conviction Of Unbelievers And Propagation Of The Gospel for Christians, Believers and Ministers. Matthew 10:8 says, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” These gifts are freely given of God and spiritual gifts are bestowed for the advantage and the salvation of others.


Spiritual gifts are the Endowment of the Holy Spirit. This is a great PROOF of the Holy Spirit in the life of any believer. These gifts come for God and are to be used for Him. The Gifts, though several are of the same Spirit (Holy Spirit) and are in themselves of various kinds.

There are diversities of Gifts such as:

1. Word of Wisdom: Wisdom is Intelligence, then practical in action in accord with it. This is the Speech Full Of Wisdom under the impulse of the Holy Spirit of God. This is what is called Revelation by the Spirit.

2. Word of Knowledge: This gift says the Knowledge Of Mysteries Wrapped Up In Prophecies. This is a Skill given by the Holy Spirit to believers and also, the Readiness to Give Advice and Counsel in Perplexed Cases. This gift is Insight (Illumination).

3. Faith: The faith of miracles or faith in the Divine Power and Promise, whereby they (Christians, believers, ministers) are Enabled to Trust God in Any Emergency, and profess the truths of Christ whatsoever was the difficulty or danger. This faith is not the ‘Saving Faith’ but the ‘Wonder-Working Faith’ 1Corinthians 13:2; Matthew 17:20; Matthew 21:21.

4. Gift of Healing: Healing the sick, either by ‘Laying on of Hands’, or ‘Anointing with Oil’, or With the Bare Word. All these are the Acts of Healing Acts 4:20; James 5:14; Luke 7:21.

5. Working of Miracles: This is the efficacy (usefulness) of powers, such as Raising the Dead, Restoring The Blind To Sight, Speech To The Dumb, Hearing To The Deaf Galatians 3:5; Hebrews 2:4.

6. Prophecy: This is the Ability To Foretell Future Events. This is the Ability To Speak Forth. This is not always a Prediction, but a speaking forth of God’s message under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

7. Discernment of the Spirit: This is the Power To Distinguish Between True And False Prophets, or to discern the real and internal qualification of a person for an office. This Power enables you to discover the inward workings of the mind by the Holy Ghost Acts 5:3. Romans 14:1; Hebrews 5:14. This is a most needed gift to tell whether the gifts (so-called gifts today) are really of the Holy Spirit and supernatural.

8. Diverse Kinds of Tongues: This is the Ability To Speak Languages By Inspiration. There are varieties in this gift but the gift was essentially an Ecstatic Utterance of Highly Wrought Emotion That Edified the Speaker. 1 Corinthians 14:4; 14:2; 14:28; 14:13.

9. Interpretation of Tongues: This is the ability to render in other languages.

KINGDOM COMMITMENT (Pt. 3)

By Joseph Akinola

QUALITIES OF KINGDOM ATTENDANTS

Acts 6:3

A Kingdom attendant is an individual who has decided to give him or herself in helping, assisting and serving in the Vineyard.

An Attendant is always a Willing Candidate because the nature of his job demands lots of Willingness, Selflessness and Service to Others.

A Kingdom Attendant’s quality is likened to his/her Property, Characteristics, Features and Attributes.

In today’s lesson, we shall be looking carefully at the qualities (features or characteristics) an Attendant must possess in order to be able to serve effectively in the Vineyard. A Kingdom Attendant must:

1. Have Good and Honest Report – Acts 6:3

This is talking about the Testimony of an individual. What can/do people say about you beginning for your home to the church of God Almighty? Your testimony matters a lot as an Ambassador of your church; as this is your Track Record.

2. Be Spirit-Filled – Acts 6:3

An Attendant without the fullness of the Spirit will automatically be empty of the Spirit. The Spirit (Holy Spirit) is the Fuel (unction) you need to run your service, the Comforter (personality to pacify you when you are in distress), Director (someone to guide and direct you when you are short in idea, initiative and strength).

3. Be Zealous – Luke 2:49

This has nothing to do with Eye-Service.

Warning: Be Zealous and Don’t Do Eye-Service and if you are accused of doing it, don’t be discouraged.

4. Be Humble (Humility): 1Timothy 6:7.

Humility is a very great virtue every believer/kingdom attendant in the house of God must possess. Things/work of God does not demand you claiming level or status. God sees every individual equally, that is why He says in Acts 10:34, that ‘He is no respecter of persons’. But I can tell you that if you come to Him without your status and title, He will surely decorate you beyond your imaginations with several titles and you will be the Title (topic) of discussion to your world at large and you will now begin to qualify for the entitlements of the people based on the respect you had first shown Philippians 2:7. Jesus was a very good example of this – gave himself no reputation just for you and I. Jesus of Great Reputation was a good example of that and till today, He still reaps His own Entitlement from the world at large.) Hallelujah!

5. Be Wise: Acts 6:3,10; Proverbs 9:10

6. Wisdom is highly of God. There is no man without any connection with God (divinity) that has ever possess that virtue called Wisdom abundantly – Wisdom is a product of your fear of God; you walk into wisdom gradually as you show your fear for God and do ALL that He commanded (Proverbs 9:10). Wisdom is the receipts (proceeds) you get each time you do what God demands of you (fear him totally). When you possess this wisdom, you have already received the unction to accomplish great and difficult things with ease.

7. Be Liberal. 1Timothy 6:18.

Being Liberal means, being Broad-minded, Generous and being able to share. A liberal individual will be able to tolerate any form of nonsense based on his broad-heartedness and this will also allow him to be able to share anything with anyone at any given time. Advantage of being Liberal – Liberality launches you into the level of Unlimited Flow in resources and also makes you not to be stranded at any given time Proverbs 11:25. When you are liberal with things, you will open yourself up to unlimited opportunities and more will always be added to you periodically.

8. Be Pure (Purity): 1Timothy 6:11.

Purity begins with the state of a man’s mind. Ordinarily, no master will like or prefer a servant/staff that is not always clean and fresh, when you are clean and fresh, you will always be presentable and used repeatedly. The same applies to the issue of God. An unclean servant/vessel is an irritated entity to and before his master. Purity attracts the presence of God. You become a Must-Use and Most-Used vessel in the hand of the God and also a Formidable Force to your world at large 2Timothy 2:21. When you are pure/set yourself apart for God to make use of, you rip the benefit the most. Why? You will hardly complain about most things others complain about because you are a carrier of the Presence of God and in the presence of God, there is fullness of joy. Why the joy? The joy comes as a result of ‘everything falls in its rightful place’ for you. When you separate yourself, God will honour you and project you to your world for its (your world’s) due honour too.