the gifts of the spirit

It was the Holy Ghost and His nine gifts that drew me to church and subsequently to God. I was fascinated with the gift of tongues but then I learned of the remaining gifts. I cannot accurately describe how excited I was when I was exposed to all nine gifts. The nine gifts were instrumental in bringing me to Christ. In one sitting I was saved, filled with the Spirit and my battered hands were miraculously healed. Immediately I wanted God to use me in ministering the gifts of the Spirit. I did not flow perfectly at first but I kept pressing in. A lot of saints want to flow in the gifts but don't seem to be used of God.

1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue after love and desire spiritual gifts but rather that you may prophesy.

Motive is everything! If a man wants to impress his peers with his spirituality he will need to fabricate the gifts. The gifts can be faked but they can't deceive people for a sustained season. If whosoever wants to be a blessing to the body of Christ, God will use them however He sees fit. God gives each person a gift or gifts as He wills. He decides what gifts will manifest in what person. A man's heart must be pure from carnal desires, he must be dedicated to pleasing God.

2 Timothy 2:21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

Keeping yourself pure is called holiness. A holy person is not perfect, they acknowledge their error and repent quickly. A wise man will use the gift of reconciliation, this will keep him in the divine favor of God. A man who repents after every mistake is a man who is serious about his relationship with his Lord. The Lord can use this man because he can be entrusted with the things of God. Let us consider some of the men in the Old Testament; Samson and David were great men but they did some serious sinning. God knows we can't be perfect but we can be faithful to His purpose.

1 Corinthians 12:7 The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

The manifestation of the Spirit is tongues. Tongues primarily is our special prayer language. If we flow in the gifts of the Spirit, we must spend some time praying. Kenneth Hagin said that the more time spent praying in other tongues, the more manifestation of the gifts would be used through him. God has a surefire plan, we just need to flow in His way of doing things. When the Lord gives me a word of His knowledge it can come in several different ways. Most of the time I just know, other times I see a picture and sometimes He just tells me what I should do. One day I asked Him to just pick one way and make it easier for me. He responded sternly and said: I don't do things in a religious way and I don't want you to do things in a religious way.

There has been some debate as to which is the most important gift of the nine. I don't want to debate as to which is the most important gift of the nine. One day I read first Corinthians chapter twelve and I found the most important gift of all the gifts. The most important gift is referred to at least eight times! The most important gift is the Holy Ghost, there would be no gifts without the Holy Spirit. Brethren, desire spiritual gifts so you can edify the church. Press in and demonstrate to God you are serious about wanting Him to use you.