Adventure in the Ascent
To the adventure in Him... This phrase has been a rallying cry for me and my circle of friends for years. We were designed for intimate relationship with God. Jesus made this possible through His sacrifice on the Cross. The veil was torn, and we were invited beyond. We were created for a grand adventure in which we come to Him in repentance, maintain intimacy, learn of Him, walk His path, and ascend the hill of the Lord. Let's ascend together and experience the adventure with God. There's more...
Adventure in the Ascent
THE HOLY SPIRIT: The Supernatural Gifts of the Spirit- Part 1 (1 Cor. 12:4-11, 31)
“In order for the assembly (ekklesia/church) to be built up, every believer needs to rise up and be actively seeking the Lord and functioning according to the gifts that the Spirit has given each one.” -Henry Hon
↠The Holy Spirit gives gifts- we continue to see the “giving” of the Trinity
↠Every good and perfect gift comes down from above (James 1:17)
↠We are instructed to “earnestly desire” spiritual gifts (v. 31, 14:1)
↠Why desire? What are the purposes of these gifts?
↠1. For the building up/edification/common good of the Body (v. 7, 1 Pet. 4:10)
↠2. To empower us for evangelism (Luke 24, Acts 4:29-31, 1 Cor. 14:24-25)
↠For us to walk in our identity, help the Body, and bring unbelievers close! Use demonstrates the heart/love of the Father and boldness/power of the Kingdom!
↠What is a gift of the Holy Spirit?
↠Unique skills/abilities given by the Holy Spirit to followers of Christ. They are God empowering Christians to do what He has called us to do. (2 Pet. 1:3)
↠The varying gifts can be found in Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Cor. 12
↠Each one receives, but there can be times of operation in all as the Spirit wills for Kingdom intervention (v. 11, 14, Ex. 31:3-5, Rom. 8:14)
↠Exploring the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Cor. 12:
↠Word of Wisdom (guides/edifies): This is a gift that helps bring clarity to a person or situation, sense of divine direction, divinely given power to appropriate spiritual intuition in problem solving, perspective to ascertain the divine means for accomplishing God’s will in situations. (Ps. 37:30, Prov. 24:6)
↠Not “human wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:4-5), could bring together knowledge you have and give wisdom of direction in its use or be totally revelatory- the direction/ wisdom of Heaven in a situation (how to handle a situation, finances, conflict, in sharing the Gospel, etc.)
↠”Word-” words matter (Prov. 16:24, 18) and are creative, when Jesus healed, he SPOKE, blessing, truth is being distorted, Heavenly wisdom is needed, lean in!
↠Word of Knowledge (instructs/teaches/sheds light): Supernatural revelation of the divine will and plan of God, insight/understanding of facts/knowledge of God, knowing something that you cannot know based on human understanding/your current knowledge (Prov. 18:15, Acts 10- vision, Gen. 6)
↠In this gift, this knowledge of Heaven allows us to speak into a person’s life the things that are relevant to them for that very moment. The more that we step out in them, the more we become tuned to His voice…The gift of the word of knowledge can show up to us as a…Vision, Dream, Thought, Voice, Feeling. It is going to be something that glorifies Christ, draws people closer, and edifies!