KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 12:9 ” To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit”;

We now look at the last group of the nine supernatural gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit. This is the power gifts: This comprises the gift of faith, the gift of healing, and the gift of working miracles.

These are called power gifts because they all affect changes in situations. Power is the ability to cause a change.

We would consider the gift of faith in this study. Faith, according to Hebrews 11:1, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is joining with the supernatural God to bring about changes in the natural world. Faith is God working through a man to do supernatural things in the natural realm by the agency of the word.

There are various kinds of faith. We have great faith (Matthew 8:10). Little faith (Matthew 6:30), (Matthew 14:31). Weak faith (Romans 4:19). There is also a supernatural faith: This is called the gift of faith. (1st Corinthians 12:9).

The Bible described Stephen as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. This simply means he was yielded to the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Spirit had absolute control over him. The result is having supernatural faith. Anyone with this gift of faith is an amazing man. He lives a supernatural life with great happenings all around him.

In the Old Testament, men like Moses, who wrought great signs and wonders in Egypt, Elijah, and Elisha, who wrought so many supernatural feats, had supernatural faith. The Lord Jesus also operated with a supernatural faith. In Luke 4:29, the Jews out of hatred forced the Lord Jesus out of the temple and to the boundaries of the city to cast him down headlong. The Bible says in Luke 4:30 “But he passing through the midst of them went his way”. This was an impossible moment of facing death, yet by faith, he passed through them without them seeing Him. He did not panic but had to believe the word that God protects him and delivers him out of trouble. This is a supernatural faith or the gift of faith.

Apostle Paul also operated in the gift of faith. It takes the gift of faith for man to go through the kind of things he talked about in 2nd Corinthians 11. This kind of gift can operate in any child of God who yields to the control of the Holy Spirit as we saw in the experience of Stephen

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, the gift of faith is your delight for your children to walk in. I receive by faith this gift into my life today.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Hebrews 11:33 “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,”

Hebrews 11:30 “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven.

KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 12:10 ” To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues”:

Our next gift of the Holy Spirit to look at is the gift of discernment of spirits. This is one of the powerful weapons that the Holy Ghost uses to help the children of God identify the devil and his deceptive schemes.

The number one work of the devil is to deceive. The Bible says in Rev. 12:9 as follows “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole world… “. The Bible says he deceives the whole world. The enemy deceives by hiding behind all kinds of persons to speak or act in a particular way. When the Lord Jesus said to his disciples about His passion and death, Apostle Peter took Him aside and rebuked Him saying “Be it far from thee Lord, this shall not be unto you”(Matthew 16:23). “But he turned and said unto Peter get thee behind me Satan thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men”.

The Lord Jesus discerned the spirit speaking through Peter, and he addressed him rightly. What would have happened if He did not discern the spirit of deception? Many words we hear come from the deceiver, through any human vessel who allows himself. The Bible calls him the prince of the power of the air. He continually speaks to and through people. Please read through Acts 16:16-18. The young girl with the Spirit of divination kept shouting about Paul and Silas the following “These men are the servants of the most high God which show unto us the way of salvation”. Was this girl speaking the truth? Yes. Yet Paul commanded the spirit of divination to come out. Satan remains a deceiver any day. What the lady was doing was casting dust in the eyes of the people. If she could say the truth about Paul, it meant what she was doing was also right. Paul was stirred by the Spirit to know that this was a contrary spirit.

The church of God needs this particular gift of discernment so much. In our earlier discussion, we saw that Satan used Peter one of the closest apostles of Jesus to speak to the Lord. We also saw that Satan used a lady with the Spirit of divination to speak to the Apostle Paul. Deception can come from any quarter, and we must be alert and allow the spirit to manifest this gift so we would not be led astray.

I know a pastor who was moved by the beauty of a lady to marry her. This woman was an agent of darkness sent to destroy his ministry. This brother’s ministry was ruined, because he did not discern the spirit controlling this woman. Dear one, the Lord admonishes us to ask, seek or knock and the request will surely be delivered into our hands. Take time to enquire from the Lord before you enter into certain relationships.

PRAYER

I pray in the name of Jesus to open our eyes to understanding and the manifestation of the gift to know when the enemy is in operation.

FURTHER STUDIES: John 13:27″ And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, that thou doest, do quickly”.

Matthew 16:23 ” But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Colossian 3:4 KJV “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”

The preceding verse to our key scripture says”Col 3:3 KJV “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”.This verse shows us how Christ became our life. On the cross, our Lord took our place. He became sin. This was our life and nature. Within this nature was absolute failure and total dominance by Satan. We were children and bore the very life of Satan John 8:44 .The only means by which men could become children of God was the complete killing of this nature called sin, as revealed in 2nd Corinth 5:212Co 5:21 KJV” For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Jesus’ death was the end of our old nature.

At the resurrection of Jesus, we resurrected with Him. Hebrews 2:10 put it this way,” For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” Jesus through His suffering has brought us into glory. We share His life, we are partakers of His glory. We are like the fruit of a planted seed. He was the seed that was planted, while we are the fruits.
The life of the fruit is the very life of the seed, and that is what we are. Jesus is our life. This life which is our real life, is hidden in Christ and God. Jesus is one with the Father, His life is the life of the Father, and that is where we are. We dwell in God.

In heaven, there are no two or three thrones, there is only one. Rev 4:2 KJV” And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” The Lord Jesus is the one John saw on the throne because He is the alpha and the Omega, the God of the Universe, the Father of Glory. Isa 9:6 KJV “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Our life is hidden in Jesus in God. Hallelujah!. We are physically living and walking on this earth, yet the life we have is Christ ( Gal 2:20). We must act, think and relate with men as Christ would have done. That is our real personality. We are actually from above and carry Christ’s authority and Christ’s power. This is the reason there are always angels to assist us, for we are sons of God. Heb 1:14 KJV” Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

These truths emphasize our uncompromised security. It also shows us how we ought to live on this earth. We must understand our mission and mandate our methods to fulfil our mission.

CONFESSION.

Glory be to the Lord. Christ is my life, and I live in heaven, yet I am living on this earth. My life here is the life of Christ
I have His life, so I bear His authority, His power, His favour with the Father, and the same angelic support and protection. What a life. I am light to my word and answer to the questions of many.

FURTHER STUDIES

Eph 2:6 KJV” And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

Phi 3:20 KJV For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

KEY SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 12:22 “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,”

(Read Hebrews: 12:22–29)

The above verse and a few that follow it show some of the mysteries that the Holy Spirit revealed to Apostle Paul.

In this verse, the Holy Spirit shows us that the believer is spiritually in heaven. He describes heaven as Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and an innumerable company of Angels. What also comes to us is the sense of being aware of such an elevation. This understanding also deepens our sainthood. It simply implies we are holy men and women living in a holy environment. We must, therefore, walk, talk, and do things in a manner that depicts saints of God.

Every Christian hopes and anticipates to be in heaven. By understanding this verse, you are already there. Your continual obedience to the word would ultimately warrant your continual stay in this place. This is one of the greatest revelations to be given to the church. The scripture added that we live amid an innumerable company of angels. Angels are God’s messengers who play various roles in heaven, and one of their roles is to minister to the heirs of salvation; that is, you and I, who are born again. Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not ministering spirits who are sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation”. These angels come to serve us upon the instruction of the Father. Note: they obey the father’s instruction, so, do not ask for help from them. Ask the father to send them on your behalf. We may ask the Father to assign them to various roles or our assistance.

What the scripture assures us is that we are in the midst of an innumerable company of angels. This must give us a lot of encouragement and also to kick out every fear from our lives. Another challenge faced by a lot of us is when our minds try to figure out how God would work out certain things for us. We need not worry our heads over how things would turn out. We have an uncountable number of angels who are there to assist us. Be always expectant of supernatural experiences.

CONFESSIONS

I am not an ordinary human on this Earth, I live in the presence of the Father and amid Angels. They always work for my comfort and deliverance. Glory be to God.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Ephesians 2:19, Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

Ephesians 2:6 ” And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 4:19 “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb”:

Our key scripture gives us a good clue on how to avoid weak faith. It says Abraham was not weak in faith; how? He did not consider or look at his body, which was as good as dead when he was a hundred years old, and neither did the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

This is a very important lesson to learn so we do not weaken our faith. Faith, although very potent and can achieve amazing feats, can be easily weakened and brought to zero if you look at the naturally negative things.

The lady who is trusting God for a husband must not look at the wrinkles on her face. She must not count the years rolling by. The couple expecting a miracle baby must stop looking at their age and other negative symptoms. Don’t look at your weak and hurting body if you expect to receive a miracle healing. They would weaken your faith.

In Matthew 14:30, the Bible says” But when he saw the wind boisterous he was afraid and beginning to sink he cried saying Lord save me”. The preceding story is about Peter. He started walking on the water when the Lord asked him to come. He walked quite a distance because when he called on the Lord to save him, the Lord just stretched his hand to lift him. Peter’s faith was deflated by what he saw. Faith is strengthened by the word of God. Abraham kept considering the promise of God and gave glory to God. This made his faith strong. He called himself the father of many nations. Please learn that once again, faith is a spiritual supernatural virtue. It has nothing to do with physical natural situations. Whether the condition is improving or delaying it adds nothing to faith. Faith ONLY thrives on the word of God. It should never be on how things are improving or not improving.

Tell yourself I will not look at the natural conditions. Even if it is improving, my sole consideration is the word of God. Listen faith COMETH by hearing and hearing by the word of God(Romans 10:17). Faith is not a product of the natural state of affairs.

Get your faith firm and strong by focusing on the word.

Note: the faith that is solely dependent on the word is real and can’t fail.

  CONFESSION.

The word of God is the only source of my faith. I feed on the word, talk about the word, and act on the word. This always brings me amazing results.

THOUGHT: THE FAITH THAT IS SOLELY DEPENDENT ON THE WORD IS REAL, AND CAN’T FAIL

FURTHER STUDIES
Romans 4:20-21 ” He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform”.

2 Corinthians 3:18 ” But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 11:13″ These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth”.

The apostle in this instant reveals to us a very powerful principle to make your faith get results.

Within our key scripture are certain words that show positive actions that made their faith produce results. The words are:

1. Seen
2. Persuaded
3. Embraced
4. Confessed

For one’s faith to be potent and effective, one must employ these principles. First, you must be able to SEE your end or the answer: When the Lord God wanted Abraham to receive His promise, He made him have a picture of what He had for him; Genesis 15:5 “And he brought him forth abroad and said look now toward heaven, and tell the stars if thou be able to number them, and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be”. Your faith is made stronger when you can see what you anticipate. You must first have a picture or be able to see what you hope to get. The sick man must stop seeing himself as sick and see himself as healthy and strong. The unmarried woman or man who aspires to marriage must see himself or herself married. Your vision would either lift your faith or kill your faith. You are praying for a meeting place, start seeing yourself meet in a new hall with all that you desire to be there, available.

Secondly, you must be persuaded about what you are seeing. To be persuaded means to induce one by words to believe. This implies you start saying words like “Indeed I see myself healed and well or I can see myself married” or “I see us meet in a five thousand seated hall”. You induce words that excite your faith. Your faith is strengthened by what you hear. Refuse to say any negative word.

The third act of faith to be taken to make your faith produce results is to embrace your answer. This means to receive joyfully or welcome” the answer. In more simple terms, you celebrate the answer. You rejoice in your heart about your answer. Thank God that you have your answer. Abraham, according to Romans 4:20, glorified God for making him Father. of many, although he had not physically seen the promise.

The final step of faith is to confess that you have the answer. You keep declaring that everything is alright. Abraham started calling himself the father of many nations, although he had no child.

Please understand that before you make your confessions, you would have first, seen the answer, persuaded yourself of it, and then embraced it excitedly. If you do these things rightly, your answer can not elude you.

CONFESSION

Thank you, Father, for your word. I see my answer as I persuade myself of it, embrace it heartily, and boldly confess it.

THOUGHT: YOUR FAITH WILL NOT FAIL, KEEP WORKING IT.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”.

Hebrews 11:11. “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised”