How to get the Gifts of the Spirit working?
 

How do you believe an individual or a church gets the gifts of the Spirit operating in their lives and or church meetings?

Read the Word, apply it to your life and pray. There is no other way, IMO.

Try the Holy Ghost. That usually works...

I guess maybe the real problem is apathy

God isn't going to move through people who aren't willing or interested in being used.

I believe there is a direct link between the level of consecration and the gifts of the Spirit. I also think that things that are sown spiritually will be reaped spiritually.

I've never been in a church yet where the gifts weren't in operation.

Prax ........ do you have the gifts operating in your own life? Hope you don't mind me asking.

sometimes, not as often as I would like

BTW what do you mean by "in operation"?
I mean are you saying the gifts were visibly in operation weekly? How often where there tongues and interpretation or prophecies? How often were deaf ears opened or blind eyes? I think most pentecostal churches there are gifts and they operate, but Im thinking more along the lines of how freaquently or why don't they operate more freaquently?

Tongues and interpretation and prophecy ..... the spoken gifts which are always more "visible" were in operation regularly. Perhaps not every single service but regularly.

I've seen miracles of healing but we don't see blind eyes or deaf ears opened often. That's true in the North American church in general and I think it's because we don't HAVE to depend on God as much as many people do in other parts of the world.

As to why we don't see the gifts operated more frequently or more powerfully ......... like I said in my first post I believe it's directly linked to lack of consecration and prayer.

Perhaps some of the preachers will give some input in answer to your questions.

Neither. I believe the Spirit gets the gifts operating.

Do a rain dance.

Chancellor,
If we don't yield ourselves the Spirit isn't going to work on it's own. It needs a vessel.

I disagree! God's Spirit is not subject to anyone. You are elevating man above God by saying the Spirit's working is somehow dependent on us humans.

I don't think I am elevating man above God. For instance, you could have God wanting to use you in tongues and interpretation and not yield to that.

True! But the Spirit isn't going to move on someone to use them in that way if they're unwilling and unyielding.

And again I reiterate.......... prayer and consecration is key. Even then God still needs a willing vessel.

I'm not so sure about that. I don't think Saul was willing and yielded when he came among the prophets and all of a sudden started prophesying. This notion that God is in any way hindered by man is an idolatrous one because it has the effect of placing man above God.

Of course we need to pray. Of course we need to be consecrated. But we need to pray and we need to be consecrated because it is for our benefit and not because God is somehow prevented from doing something without it.

Well, the Spirit could take control of your tongue and brain and cause you to speak those tongues or speak that interpretation. I've actually experienced this and others have described having the same experience.

But yielding and submission to God is key in being used by Him. When you're in that position you don't place yourself above God.

But to say that God is somehow dependent on us yeilding and submitting does place us above God.

First off anytime the gifts are used, resident, or moving in a service it only happens through HG filled people, i.e. "Gifts of the Spirit." Secondly and maybe the most important, it will happen to the willing, open-hearted, and those with faith in their heart.

Now, Felicity, you are on the right track here, but missing one thing....the spoken gifts are the most notable, as you have stated, but the unspoken gifts could be used in everyservice and not be noticed as much or at all. Example, during song praise and worship the congrecation begans to worship and it begans grow and a deeper worship hits. The leader of the service sometimes will use the gift of Knowledge and Widsom to say whether we will continue in that vein or change the order of a service.

I have known ministers, and lay people to operate in the unspoken gifts frequently and not know exactly what it is that they are doing. Some people make choices and decisions based on what they feel is conscience, but alot of times it is that gift working in them helping them to make that choice. That is one reason why I think the church as a whole needs to have more teaching on the gifts.

Myself I have been used in spoken gifts, and unspoken gifts. There are times I have prophetic words, but other times I know what people are doing in secret times, etc. That all flows from the gifts given by the Spirit. I have heard it said that there is not one person other than Jesus that all the gifts reside in. That can be true, but the most important factor is faith!

True, I have had that happen and also been in a really bad mood when I got to church and was used anyway. LOL!

I have also NOT yielded out of fear.

He still needs a willing vessel.

so then a church just has to sit there and wait quitely, perhaps reading the paper and suddenly God might make them operate? Are you a quaker? :lol

You receive not because you ask not.

Well, I wouldn't suggest reading the newspaper. I would, however, suggest being in one accord and suggest praying like the Jerusalem church did when the Holy Ghost fell on them that time they were praying about Peter being in prison.

2Ti 1:6 For this reason, I am reminding you to fan into flames the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands.

Act 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
Act 4:30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
Act 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Rom 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Rom 12:7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Rom 12:8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.

1Co 14:12 Even so you, since you are zealots of spiritual things, seek to build up the church, in order that you may abound

1Co 14:13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.

Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Mat 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Jas 4:3 You ask and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it upon your lusts.

I am persuaded that those that just sit around expecting God to do something get no results and those that wait on Him prayerfully and ask, those that are active get results.

My suggestion is to visit Freedom Center Ministries. I can't remember the last time we haven't had at least one of the Gifts of the Spirit in visible operation. Signs and wonders follow those who believe.

I teach the GOS this way. When one gets the gift of the Holy Ghost, it's like getting a big present. When one opens the gift of the Holy Ghost, there are other gifts inside that box. It is up to use to open the box and discover the gifts God wants us to use.

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?

Scriptures suggests the GOTS were in operation on a regular basis. When you take into account that souls were added to the Kingdom daily, there is no doubt the GOTS were fully operational, during the begginning of the church era...tv

Sorry to hijack.....Hey Felicity IM me...

I don't see anything here to disagree with.And of course I agree that the other gifts of the Spirit excluding the spoken are definitely in operation often and go unremarked about.

Paul said tongues were the "least".

Okay hon.

"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. :thumbsup

Bump...where is Keith?

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?

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.