Pursue love, and ernestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
So our chuch has been doing an internship with Bible reading, along with going through a workbook by Rob McCorkle called, Living in the Supernatural. I would strongly advise anyone and everyone I know to get this workbook and go through it. It's so rich and God has breathed on this thing. He has so much revelation and insight! I have never done a workbook with so much richness in it!
So last night we went through this chapter and the author breaks this part down. He got into the Greek of the word desire ,which is zeloo. If you look at the meaning of zeloo it means to burn with zeal, to have heated or boil with effection. Selah! (pause and think about that)
Let's look at the 9 gifts of the Spirit found in 1 Cor 12: 7-11. The gifts of the Spirit are the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, prophecy, faith, miracles, gifts of healings, discerning of spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues.
The verse in 1 Cor 14:1 says to desire the gifts, which again means, to burn with zeal, heated or boil with effection. So when it comes to the gifts of the Spirit we are to desire the gifts, we are to burn with zeal. So why should we burn with zeal when it comes to the gifts of the Spirit? Is it so we can boast and be arrogant about what God has given us? No way, the reason we are to desire the gifts is because we have a lost and dying world who needs to hear God, see God, and we got to show them.
Now I know what your thinking... they should just believe without signs... after all Jesus got upset because people were seeking a sign but what happened in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit fell in the upper room? It got into the streets and God took over. Healing, miracles, signs, wonders, deliverance, and the power of the Holy Spirit was everywhere.... and after the upper room experience all this was done through the church! The Holy Spirit is the giver of the gifts so why not desire them? Since when have you turned down a gift? Thats ridiculous we don't turn down gifts especially if these are gifts would come from God. It's not for you to boast, it's for you to go and use it for Kingdom purpose and Kingdom gain. No gift is ever to lift us up, it's to bring glory to God.
We are the carriers of the Kingdom of God. Think about it! The Holy Spirit isn't floating around somewhere on the earth He dwells in believers. John 14: 17 says, Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Ok so, during this time the apostles didn't have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of them, this happened later on... The game changer happened on the day of Pentecost. Now, here is another thing.. we can't get stuck at Pentecost. This was a powerful day when the Holy Spirit fell, but we as believers are to go forward, go beyond this experience. I am going to say something else that will really make you want to flip out on me.. we have to get past the cross. The cross is a place of death, death to Christ, our Substitute, the Lamb of God. He went to the cross for us but guess what? He didn'ty stay there and neither can we. If we are to mature we have to get past the cross and start living our Christian life. There are way to many spiritual babes. We got to grow.. we can't simply park and not grow.
As I end this I want to encourage you today to think about all of this. I want you to think about the gifts of the Spirit... Read these gifts in 1 Cor 12:7-11. Ask the Lord to reveal these gifts to you. Desire these gifts. It's not wrong to desire them, the Bible says to desire them. You may be like me and desire all of them... is that wrong? It's not wrong as long as you have the right motive. My motive is to see the devil get his. My motive is to see people free. My motive is to see people healed. My motive is for people to see God in action. There are to many dead churches and Pharisees behind the pulpit and sitting in the pew. It's time to see some action! This is what Jesus was all about. Read the gospels... Jesus was all about teaching and mentoring His disciples to do what He was doing. We must be a people of action!
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