Cart is empty “I was attending this conference because I felt that I needed to seek the Lord with my all. I am a regular on Sunday and Wednesday as well. At first I just thought this was another day service, wondering if I could get some crumbs that would fall from the table. Well, they did and I heard a story about how the Holy Spirit touched a young pastor during vacation. This gave me confidence and confirmation of almost a mirror situation that happened to me. Man, I thought people would think I was crazy if I told the story, let alone I always wondered if it was really God or just my mind. Well, I know in my heart and soul what the truth is. I would also like to point out that the Spirit led three of the team members to pray and prophesy over me. However, this took place on two different days. I was just happy to be amongst my church family, not expecting anything to happen. I was really shocked when each person from SL prayed and told me how the Lord is going to use me. I was also told the Lord knows I’m going through tough things, and it feels like I’m being pressed. I was then handed a garlic press with a note and a study word. Wow! How did the SL team know? I have never to my knowledge met any of these people that prayed for me at the conference. They were spot on and gave me encouragement that God is in control and cares.
Thank you SL team for being obedient to God!”
-Smith
Thank you so much for that testimony. It has been so humbling to hear everything that God did through the conference.
This week we will be going to finish out the last section of the nine gifts, the Revelation Gifts.
Gifts that “Reveal”: Revelation Gifts
Word of Wisdom: supernatural perspective
1 Corinthians 12:8 – To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom…
The word of wisdom is usually for the future and is for the purpose of giving a divine direction. This does not mean that it is for wisdom in all subjects. It gives wisdom and insight into a future situation that has not taken place yet.
One definition of the word of wisdom is the “supernatural perspective to ascertain the divine means for accomplishing God’s will in given situations…” – Jack Hanford Spirit Filled Bible
Working in this gift does not make one a prophet. One can prophesy or give a word of wisdom without being in the office of a prophet, as it is explained in Ephesians 4:11-12
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
Word of Wisdom is a tool to “equip the saints” to do the work of the Lord.
Word of Knowledge: supernatural revelation of certain facts in the mind of God
1 Corinthians 12:8 – …to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit…
The word of knowledge can be defined as the “supernatural revelation by the Holy Spirit of certain facts in the mind of God. To work in this gift is to know something from God that we could not know any other way. It can be something that has happened in the past or present about a person, place, or thing. This is not natural knowledge. This is a supernatural revelation of the divine will and plan.
An example of a word of knowledge can be demonstrated through a situation our team went through. We were at a conference and had felt in prayer that we were going to minister to a young woman who would be wearing a yellow sweater. God revealed some other attributes about her so that when we saw her, we would know that the word he had given us was for her. We were able to purchase some gifts for her in advance and when the day came we were able to pick her out of the crowd and deliver the word God had given us for her.
How can we know this information? We are His sheep and we know His voice! We are trained and we sit in His presence and give ear to his voice and learn to be led. We learn to follow the Spirit and direction of Jesus, our King, who only says and does what He hears His Father say and do. This is something that can be learned and practiced, just like any of the other gifts. It is through spending time with Holy Spirit that we are able to operate in the word of knowledge.
And we don’t always get it right! Sometimes we are off, and that’s okay. The point is that we are allowing our ears to hear what the Lord would say to us and stepping out in faith.
Discernment of spirits: supernatural insight into the spiritual realm
1 Corinthians 12:10 – “to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits…”
The discernment of spirits can be defined as the “supernatural revelation of the plan and purposes of the enemy and his forces.” – Jack Hayford Spirit Filled Bible
Discernment Spirits is the perceive by seeing. It is not judgement of others, of their faults or weaknesses. This is not about judging people in the natural, but about discerning what is going on in the spirit realm. This is distinguishing between all classes of spirits: angels, demons, and even human spirits.
An example of discerning an angel comes from 2 Kings 6:15-17
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
They saw into both realms in this situation.
Another example of people seeing into the spiritual realm is when Jesus and three of his closest disciples went up on the mount of transfiguration. Suddenly there appeared with Jesus, Moses and Elisha, men that had been dead for thousands of years. (Matthew 17:1)
In Daniel 10: 4- 9, Daniel describes a visitation from the angel Gabriel. “On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.”
Another example of people seeing into the spiritual realm is when Jesus and three of his closest disciples went up on the mount of transfiguration. Suddenly there appeared with Jesus, Moses and Elisha, men that had been dead for thousands of years. (Matthew 17:1) The discip[les were able to see Jesus in his glorified state.
The purpose of discernment is not so we can say, “Hey! Look how cool I am!” It is so we can see what is going on and pray into what God wants to do in the situation.
In all of the gifts, we are to walk with Jesus, to seek His face, not become obsessed with the manifestations. We want to learn how to operate these gifts with courage and boldness, but also in honor., We never want to expose someone and bring shame or hurt. You may sense something, like they have been molested or something similar. That piece of information would not be good to share in front of everyone. In some cases it may not even need to be shared with the person. Remember, God always has something good to say. He may be showing this secret to you so you can simply pray for the person. Not every secret that God shares with you needs to be shared with others. That is where wisdom and discernment comes into play!
All in all, we hope this series has been encouraging for you and we hope that as you get to know the Giver even more that you will step out and practice using the gifts to minister His love to those around you!
