Tag Archives: jesus

MINISTERIAL GIFT: THE PASTOR 2

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KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4:8, 11 “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,pastors and teachers;”

The pastor is a shepherd. He is a shepherd of the flock of God.

Our Lord Jesus is the chief shepherd. We would do well to learn from him. In Matt 9:36, the Lord said ” But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd”. This is the heart of a pastor. He was moved with the need they had. He was not considering what they would give to Him.

The Lord Jesus said the following about the good shepherd in John 10:11″I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep”. This virtue is the great line separating good shepherds from ordinary shepherds and hirelings. The Lord said the good Shepherd lays his life down for his sheep. The word is sacrifice. Sacrifice means willingly giving out something dear, expensive, or costly.

The Lord also talked about the hireling, the man working for his pay or what he would earn. The Lord said in John 10:12 “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep”. This man or pastor is separated from the sheep. He is not ready to lose anything for the sheep. What concerns him is that which would satisfy him. There are so many such pastors these days. The pastor cares for the sheep by feeding them with the word, guides them through wise counsel, and protects them spiritually as he prays and intercedes for them.

The Lord taught in John 17:19 that he sanctifies Himself that the sheep may be sanctified. This is the principle of like begetting like or teaching by setting the right example. Most children take after their father or parents. Pastor, don’t live secretly in sin and think you can produce holy children. It does not work that way.

The Lord also taught that when the blind leads the blind they all get lost. The pastor must search the scriptures to feed himself first and then feed the flock of God.

 PRAYER.                              

Heavenly Father, I pray for all pastors. Give them the heart of the good shepherd. Bring great transformations to the body of Christ through the effective roles of all pastors.

FURTHER STUDIES.

John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine”.

Matthew 15:14 “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the

MINISTERIAL GIFTS: THE GIFT OF THE EVANGELIST

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KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4:8, 11 ” Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,pastors and teachers;”

The next ministerial gift or office to consider is the EVANGELIST. Every Christian is called to be an evangelist. We are all commissioned by the Lord to go to all the world and make. Disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19&20)

Even though we are all to do the work of an evangelist, God, through His special grace, appoints certain individuals, either male or female, to be evangelists.

The evangelist is a proclaimer of the gospel. This is the main reason for his or her calling. His message is about the love and forgiveness of God and calls on men to accept His salvation. Some evangelists are revivalists for the body of Christ, although their prime calling is to call men to salvation.

An evangelist is a gift from God. No one goes to a bible school to become an evangelist, yet through one’s dedication to God in prayer and holiness, the Holy Spirit may appoint an individual to become an evangelist. It is by divine appointment for God that normally confirms this calling with certain unique gifts of the Holy Ghost. The power gifts, which comprise a gift of faith, the gift of working miracles and the gifts of healing are the gifts of the Spirit that are seen in the ministry of an evangelist. Other gifts like the word of knowledge and the gift of discerning spirits can also manifest in an evangelist. Please note; that the Holy Spirit may choose to manifest these gifts yet one’s dedication to God in prayer, fasting and holiness is very paramount in allowing the Holy Spirit to manifest these gifts. Miracles signs and wonders have a special role in publicizing the gospel. Evangelist T L Osborn could not convince the Indians to accept the gospel when he went there as a missionary because there were no miraculous signs to prove the authenticity of his message. He later encountered the resurrected Lord Jesus, through fasting and prayer, and the miracles started. Multitudes now started going to his meetings.

The Lord may call you into the office of an evangelist, yet it would be up to you to wait on the Lord in prayer and fasting to activate the power in you. .

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, may you stir up the hearts of your children to arise in the power of the Spirit with signs and wonders following as they share the message about the Love of God.

FURTHER STUDIES

2 Timothy 4:5 “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry”.

.Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”.

MINISTERIAL GIFTS: PROPHETESSES IN THE BIBLE

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KEY SCRIPTURE Ephesians 4:8, 11 ” Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some, apostles; and some,prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;”

As we consider these ministerial gifts, I wish to state that women are also keenly involved. In the office of the prophets, several women across the bible were prophetesses. I am putting this across because several people have resisted the place or the role of women in the front line to do God’s work.

Shall we go through the bible and consider some of the women who were prophetesses?

Exodus 15:20 “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances”. As a prophetess, she exercised, some level of authority over some of the people.

The next one is Deborah. She was a judge in Israel. Judges 4:4 “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. “In those days, judges carried so much authority. They were like kings.

2 Kings 22:14 ” So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her”.

Isaiah 8:3 “And I went unto the prophetess, and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz”. This woman was Isaiah’s wife.

In the New Testament was Anna. Let’s see what the scriptures said about her. Luke 2:36 “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity”;

Please let us note that God is not a respecter of persons. Anyone who would purge himself or herself from sin and dedicate himself or herself unto God would be a vessel met for the master’s use. The Bible described Anna as a woman who married for only seven years, and her husband died. From then she lived in the temple fasting day and night for eighty-four years (Luke 2:37). If a person dedicates herself this way, won’t the Lord visit her and tell her secrets that other men may not know?

God’s dealings with people are purely based on one’s dedication (Acts 10:34, 35). The male gender is indeed God’s first choice, yet God would accept the woman who avails herself to seek the Lord. At the resurrection story of Jesus, Peter and John with Mary Magdalene went to seek Jesus but these two gentlemen left when the angel told them Jesus had resurrected. Mary did not go but tarried there. The Lord appeared to her and asked her to give a message to the rest of the disciples. John 20:18 KJV ” Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.” Mary acted at this moment as a prophetess.” She was the available vessel for the master’s use

PRAYER

Lord, I pray that every child of God will set him or herself apart unto you so that you can likewise use them for whatever you intend to.

FURTHER STUDIES

Luke 2:37 “And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day”.

2 Timothy 2:21 ” If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work”

MINISTERIAL GIFTS: GIFT OF THE PROPHET

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KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4:8, 11 ” Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;”

We continue with our study on the ministerial gifts. Please understand that the Bible said “and he gave some apostles, some prophets …..” The scripture teaches that the Holy Ghost gave gifts to certain men and women that made them function in certain unique offices, as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Although these people received supernatural gifts to function in these offices, they became gifts unto the body of Christ.

These ministerial gifts are stewards of the mysteries of the gospel 1 Corinthians 4:1” Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God”. As a steward of the mysteries of God, he or she is to serve the rest of the body of Christ with the gift given to him or her. (1st Corinthians.4:1)

The next ministerial gift to look at is the prophet. The prophet is second in rank to the apostle. This office is not entered into by an election or one’s decision to become. It is the sole prerogative of the Holy Spirit to appoint someone to this office. Every prophet must function in all the revelational gifts, which include, word of wisdom, word of knowledge and discernment of spirit. Some of the prophets may have all the power gifts. No prophet operates in all the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. Any man who operates in all nine gifts of the Holy Spirit ceases to be a prophet but an apostle.

The prophet in the Old Testament is called a seer (1st Samuel 9:9). The prophet can know into the past as well as see what is yet to happen in the future.

Many people are fascinated by the ministry of the prophet. They want to know what the future holds. They therefore put a lot of pressure on these prophets to give them messages concerning the future. A person with such an attitude becomes dependent on the prophet. If there are any selfish tendencies in the prophet, he would easily manipulate you to be taking money unduly from you. Everyone ought to learn to live by the word of God.

The prophetic office is such an important office if he or she functions well. He or she is a great blessing to the body of Christ and even the nation as a whole. Whenever the church or nation is getting out of touch with God, it is the prophet who normally tells the mind of God to the people.

A prophet should be very bold since some of the messages about certain individuals are very difficult to talk about. They must also be very prayerful to be very sensitive to the voice of the Spirit. A prophet must not allow the love of money to influence him. He should be careful about extorting money from his audience. May the Lord help every true prophet of God.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I pray for all true prophets of God to be faithful to their calling and resist various temptations that come their way.

FURTHER STUDIES

1 Kings 22:26-27 “And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with the bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace”.

1 Kings 17:1 “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

MINISTERIAL GIFTS: THE APOSTLE

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KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4:8,11 ” 8‘ Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 11‘ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;”

In 1st Corinthians 12, we learnt about the nine supernatural gifts of the Holy Ghost. We see in our key scripture another kind of gift. This time, it is ministerial gifts or ministerial offices.

A ministerial gift is a man or woman who is divinely endowed with the ability to function as an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a pastor, or a teacher to build the church of God. Each office has the unique supernatural gifts that go with it.

The Bible says such men are gifts to the body of Christ, that is, the church. We would consider the office of an apostle in detail. The Bible states clearly the purpose of these ministerial gifts:
Eph 4:12 KJV For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

An apostle ranks first in the order of authority and impact of operation among the ministerial offices. The word apostle means one sent with full power of attorney to act on behalf of another. He is sent to act on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost. An apostle is not called by man or made by man. No one also makes himself or herself an apostle. It is purely divinely appointed Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)He is sent to do work for the Lord and therefore must be fully submitted and subjected to the Lord Jesus. An apostle normally functions in all of the nine supernatural gifts of the Spirit

Some people also claim there are no apostles in our times, and rather, it ended with the apostles in the bible. God still raises apostles in our days. The apostle is different from the other four offices because he has the ability to function fully in any of the other offices. This is why the apostle is ranked first in the ministerial offices and not the prophet. Any person, whether a man or woman with an apostolic calling, has the ability, the authority, and the anointing to raise a church without any outside help. He could also stay there to establish a school and send them forth to go and play various roles in the body of Christ. He can also set up a governing board for the church. Titus 1:5 “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee”:

Today, the title apostle has become common with one not having the gifts and divine authority that go with it. 2 Corinthians 12:12 ” Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds”.

I pray the church of God would be circumspect in the way we go about giving these titles or appointing ourselves to such offices. All things must be done well to gain the right impact in the body of Christ.

PRAYER

I pray that in these last days, the Spirit of God would raise more men and women with an apostolic grace to speed up the end-time work of the church of God, in Jesus’ name I have prayed.

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 4:33 ” And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all”.

Acts 9:27. “But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus”.

COUNTERFEITING THE TRUTH

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KEY SCRIPTURE: Exodus 7:12 ” For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods”.

Every child of God must be very much aware that the devil always seeks to counterfeit the gifts of God. He does this to confuse men about the power of God and that of the devil.

In our key scripture Satan through King Pharaoh of Egypt caused his magicians to work a miracle to challenge God’s power and hardened the heart of the king. In this instance Moses’ rod which had become a serpent swallowed that of the magicians of Egypt. God would always overpower the devil if only Christians would stand for him.

The following story illustrates how the devil counterfeits God’s power.

A village in Java a town in Israel, is dominated by mostly Christians. The following story explains how it happened.

Some years ago, a young Dutch Christian lady missionary came to that village preaching about Jesus and his power to save. A witch doctor confronted her, telling her to leave the place because they could not live on that land together. He explained that he works miracles there and she can’t also come and talk about miracles. This lady missionary said she was not going anywhere. The witch doctor said they should go into a contest to prove who was more powerful, implying the winner would take over.

They announced this contest to the neighbourhood, whilst this witch doctor fasted for three days, and the lady missionary did her normal preaching activities in the village. On the fateful day, the villagers gathered, while the two people met in the arena. The witch doctor asked the lady to act first to prove how powerful her God was, but she declined and asked the man to go ahead. This witch doctor lay on the floor and instantly began to rise like a log of wood lifting itself from the floor. He got to about a knee high and remained there.

The lady did not know what to do. She asked the Lord, and He told her to push him down with her foot and cast the devil out of him. She did exactly that. The demons in him came out and the man came to his normal senses asking “Where he was? ” He had been filled with the demons for so long a time that he had lost touch with the real world. This man accepted Jesus with the whole village.

All the miracles he did were demonic Satan is still using his agents to counterfeit the miracles of God and many are deceived. The lady needed the courage to stop him. We have to also stop these people from canvassing for people to come for money rituals etc. Christians have true power and must be bold to confront these people with the gospel and the power of God.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I pray for boldness for all Christians to arise and boldly preach the gospel, that through thy power they may stop these witch doctors deceiving many.

FURTHER STUDIES:

Acts 13:9-11. “Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness, and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.”

Acts 8:9. “But there was a certain man, called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:”

BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHERS AND PROPHETS

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KEY SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 11:13 ” For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.”

As much as we learn and talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we ought to be aware of the devil counterfeiting these gifts.

Our key scripture tells us clearly that false apostles and deceitful workers are transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. These false apostles abound in our times. In deed, there are many genuine prophets in our times, yet there are quite a lot who are messengers of the devil.

The gift of the word of wisdom, which is to know what would happen in the future, is one of the gifts that these false prophets may counterfeit. The Bible tells us to test every spirit; 1st John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone into the world”. I believe the scripture is very emphatic about this. Try every spirit. How do we try them?

  1. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart with the still small voice or let the peace of God check the things you are hearing and seeing. (Colossians 3:15)
  2. You shall also know them by their fruits: Matthew 7:20: Check out for these signs: Do they exalt themselves? Are their moral lives anything to be inspired by? How do they speak about their fellow ministers?
  3. If his or her prophecy does not come to pass, he is not speaking by the Spirit of God. There are some who would rightly call out people’s names and give a word of knowledge about them, yet the predictions they make about the future do not come to pass.
  4. Any prophet or man of God who makes merchandise of the gospel by charging certain amounts before praying for the needy is very questionable. 1 Corinthians 9:18, what is my reward then? “Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel”.
  5. Any prophet or man of God who tells you to buy certain objects to be used to pray or perform certain oblations (offerings) is questionable
  6. Any man of God who teaches unscriptural doctrines is a false teacher or prophet. One clearly exposes his falsehood if he teaches that Cain killed his brother Abel because of a woman. Another example of such false teaching is those who teach that, the Lord Jesus went to India to learn mystism. These teachings are from wrong sources and are false.

Please note that the Lord Jesus offered His blood to make an eternal redemption for us and no more offerings for our sins. (Hebrews 9:12). May we be careful lest we are deceived by the cunning deceptions of the devil and his agents.

PRAYER
O heavenly Father, open our eyes of understanding so we would know the tricks and schemes of the devil and his agents.

FURTHER STUDIES.

2 Corinthians 11:15. “Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”

Matthew 7:20. “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

STRENGTHENING THE GIFTS OF HEALING

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

The “gifts of healing” is a blessing to humanity. These gifts are given to the church as supernatural weapons to stop the evil attacks of darkness against the body of Christ and humanity as a whole.

Sickness is one of the greatest weapons of The evil one against mankind. Sickness has a terrible financial toll on men. The gifts of healing are a great blessing to men and must be used extensively to stop the devil’s activities.

The gifts of healing become strong in operation when one commits himself to preaching the gospel consistently and ministers to the sick. Please note that when one has this gift manifesting in his life, and he is faithful in ministering to the sick, this gift will graduate from a gift to a ministry. When it becomes a ministry you see its manifestation almost everywhere and every time you minister to the sick. The Bible speak about Philip who began as a deacon a man full of faith and the Holy Ghost. The Bible said he went to Samaria and preached Christ unto them. Acts 8:6-7 reads “And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke hearing and seeing the miracles which he did for unclean spirits crying with loud voice came out of many that were possessed with them and many taken with palsies, and they that were lame were healed. And there was great joy in the city ”. Because of his consistent use of this gift, he had moved from a gift to a ministry.

God is therefore ready to empower as many people who would take Him (God) at His word, set themselves apart from sin and worldliness, and commit themselves to prayer and obeying the word of God in their lives, so the gift of healing would function, to bless mankind as a whole.

One of the greatest joys in the life of every child of God should be to see the power of God work through them to restore the sick to their normal healthy state. You can also be used to bless many who are suffering. God is no respecter of persons, and so any man who commits his life to be a blessing to men would see the strengthening of this gift in his life.

     PRAYER

Thank you, heavenly Father, for this wonderful gifts of healing. Lord, I pray you open up the understanding of all Christians to avail themselves for your use, to answer the cry of humanity.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Mark 16:18. “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

Acts 19:11-12. And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

POWER GIFTS: GIFTS OF HEALING

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

The “gifts of healing” is the only gift that is expressed in the plural. It is not the gift of healing. Rather, it is the gifts of healing.

Why isn’t it stated as just “gift” but “gifts”? There are so many categories of sicknesses, and although one may be graced to heal several sicknesses, he finds it very easy, to heal a particular kind of sickness. Some people sing, and several people would be getting healed. Some have a particular dance that they do that people would be healed. I know of some ministers who would bless water for people to take, and they are made whole. The only requirement is that all these should be done in the name of the Lord and to His glory. Could there be a person who is graced to heal every kind of sickness? I believe it is possible. The scripture says to God that all things are possible. Since He appointed His servants and declared that greater works than what He did, would they do (John 14:12). I believe He can use someone to heal all manner of diseases. The Bible also says all things are possible to him who believes. If you can believe all things will be possible for you.

As I said earlier, there are certain ministers who minister to certain cases more easily than others. The servant of God may be used to heal several sicknesses, but when it comes to a particular condition, there is almost always a breakthrough. The late evangelist T.L. Osborn was used mightily by the Lord to touch many lives. There were divers healings in His meetings, yet the deaf and dumb always predominated over those are set free.

Others are exceptionally successful when it comes to delivering the oppressed from demons.

The gifts of healing always attract a lot of glory and human praise. One must be very careful to always give God the glory when the Lord uses him or her in the healing of the sick. As we all know no man heals anybody. It is the Holy Spirit working through us. We must be careful always to give God the glory.

The story is told of one man of God in the mid-twentieth century called Stephen Jeffrey from Welsh, who was so mightily used by God to touch many lives. One condition he easily handled was rheumatoid arthritis. This man remarked one day that the whole world was at his feet. Within a short moment, he was stricken with rheumatoid arthritis. The very condition he used to heal with ease. He died of this sickness.

Let’s always give the glory to God. To Him belong all praise, the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER
Father, all glory, power, and praise belong to you. You do all things to glorify your name. May you be praised forever more.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Acts 14:14-15 ” Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein”:

Matthew 6:13. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.”

HOW TO RECEIVE THE GIFT OF FAITH

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

How can one receive this gift of faith? I believe this is a question most of us would be asking.

The gift of faith comes with a lot of spiritual responsibilities. All things are possible to the man who has faith, and therefore, one must not just be a wishy-washy Christian to operate in this gift. 2nd Timothy 2:21 says “ If a man therefore purges himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for the master’s use and prepared unto every good work”. The first step is to be sanctified or set apart unto the Lord. It is a heart for God and exalts the Lord, that would fully trust Him against all odds. A man living in sin has no fear of God, yet faith is a great fear of God that makes one fear nothing else.

One can receive this gift by desiring it. 1st Corinthians 14:1 “follow after love and desire spiritual gifts….” Fasting and prayer have been one means to accelerate your desire for the things of the Spirit, Jesus said “ This kind goes not away but by prayer and fasting”. Matthew 17:21. Many great men of God who have been used mightily by God were people who fasted a lot. Some were called into the ministry and imparted with the gift of faith because they were waiting before God in fasting and prayer. The following is how God speaks about the man who fasts and does it rightly in Isaiah 58:12. “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places, thou shall raise the foundation of many generations and thou shall be called the repairer of the breach. The restorer of paths to dwell in”. This is a description of the man of faith.

This gift can also be received through associating with a man of God, with the gift of faith. This could be a personal association that is to live and relate with him or her directly, or indirectly, through watching his teaching materials and listening to his teaching materials. In Acts 4:13, the Bible said the scribes and Pharisees said, considering the boldness of Peter and John, that although they were unlearned, they had been imparted with the faith of the Lord Jesus.

Another way to partake of the gift upon the man of God is to honour him with your substance. Isaac asked his son Esau to prepare a special food for him so he could bless him.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I pray that, out of what I have learnt, help me to avail myself of these things, so I would experience the gift of faith and become a blessing unto my world. In Jesus’ name, I have prayed.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus”.

Romans 1:11” For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established”;