Concerning Spiritual Gifts Pastor Jonathan Stockstill “First Wednesday” - March 7, 2018 1 Corinthians 12:1–11 (NLT) — 1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. 7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. 1. The HOLY SPIRIT is the source of gifts. a. He is the one and only source of spiritual gifts. b. He gives in great VARIETY. c. He gives them generously. d. He gives them to everybody. e. There’s more where that came from. 2. He gives them for a PURPOSE. a. To BUILD the church b. To CLEAN the church c. To DIRECT the church 3. The gifts are as follows: a. 1 Corinthians list i. Word of wisdom ii. Word of knowledge iii. Gift of faith iv. Gift of healing v. Working of miracles vi. Word of prophecy vii. Discernment of spirits viii.Speaking in tongues ix. Interpretation of tongues b. Romans 12 list i. Prophecy ii. Serving iii. Teaching iv. Encourage v. Give vi. Leadership vii. Showing kindness 4. How to RECEIVE the gifts a. Desire them. b. Ask for them. c. 1 Corinthians 14:1–5 (NLT) — 1 Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy. 2 For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. 3 But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them. 4 A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church. 5 I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened. 5. How to USE the gifts a. According to your faith (Romans 12) 1 Corinthians 13:1–2 (NLT) — 1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. .