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BACKGROUND
GOD
GOD
I. His Being
II. His nature
III. His character
IV. His will
V. His subsistence
VI. His Fatherhood
MAN
WOMAN
FALL OF MAN
MAN
a. Man in nature
b. Man’s destiny
c. Man ‘s structure
d. Man’s sin
e. Man in God’s image
WOMAN
The
full background to this teaching is available online at this link
DEFINITIONS (For serious students)
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Online links to scriptures (New International Version [NIV] unless otherwise stated) are shown in blue
| THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT |
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The gifts of the Spirit are made available to us by a gracious and loving God so that we may be enabled, (empowered) to do HIS work on this earth with His power inside of us. God does not want us to do HIS work in our own power as so many Christians try to do. He wants us to SUBMIT to HIS guidance and leading. Through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, He will provide the power for us to do the work on His behalf.
These gifts are given to us by God's grace (Charis = grace, Charisma = gifts) and are allocated to each one of us in His infinite wisdom, upon our seeking.
1 Corinthians 12:31
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| The gifts of the Spirit are God's power in us. |
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Spiritual gifts are given for the furtherance of God's kingdom upon the earth, not for our own edification! Unfortunately, many Christians today consider spiritual gifts an end in themselves, rather than God's means of building His kingdom. They feel they have 'arrived' because they have been given a certain gift or gifts.
The Bible is quite clear that the possession of spiritual gifts in themselves is no guarantee to receiving eternal life! God is interested in what we do with them! Unless we are in obedience to Him and use His gifts for the encouragement and expansion of His church, we may not receive eternal life. Sobering thought, isn't it?
Matthew 7:21-3
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| 1. Salvation is God's free gift which is to be reflected in faith and submission to receive eternal life.
2. Spiritual gifts are God's power in us which must be reflected in obedience to God's will to retain eternal life. |
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| WHAT ARE THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT? |
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This subject is both vast and controversial. We can only touch briefly on these in our study.
The gifts outlined in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 are considered here. Reference also needs to be made to Romans 12 and Ephesians 4.
1 Corinthians 12:8-11, Romans 12:3-8, Ephesians 4:1-13
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| 2. Word (Message) of Knowledge. |
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A God given thought, impression, or audible voice of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:13
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| 3. Gift of Faith. |
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The gift of faith is the God given ability to have absolute assurance that God will do what He promises.
Romans 10:17
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| 4. Gift of Healing. |
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Healing is the God given gift through absolute faith by the healer and repentance by the sick person, for god to bring about a process of healing over various periods of time at His will.
Mark 16:18b
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| 5. Gift of Miraculous Powers (Miracles) |
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This is generally associated with instant healing and is the power to do miracles, through faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit moving through one person to another to give immediate healing.
John 14:11-12
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| *6. Gift of Prophecy. |
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It consists of thoughts, visions or audible words put into the mind by the Holy Spirit for sharing with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
1 Corinthians 14:3, 14:31
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| 7. Distinguishing Between Spirits. |
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A person is enabled to distinguish between spirits through a thought, vision, impression or voice from the Holy Spirit, making us aware of the fact that a person, or ourselves, is under the influence of spiritual forces.
Acts 16:18
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| 8. Gift of (Public) Tongues. |
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A maximum of 2-3 messages per meeting which must be interpreted or else not given. This is to be distinguished from the private use of tongues.
1 Corinthians 14:39-40, 14:27-8
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| *9. Interpretation of Tongues. |
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An interpretation (not translation) of a tongue message is given through the power of the Holy Spirit by thought, impression, voice or vision.
1 Corinthians 14:5
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| * |
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All gifts involving a communication with God need to be:
a. Made in the context of a meeting
b. Checked out.
c. Subject to correction.
Unfortunately, our mind can willfully or mistakenly get in the way of communication with the Holy Spirit and it is therefore very important that the speaker be open to correction by others with a similar gifting.
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| THE TONGUES CONTROVERSY |
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The area of speaking in tongues is a potent weapon that satan uses in his battle to turn Christian against Christian and church against church, therefore reducing our effectiveness in the fight against him.
Experts argue, with great vehemence, that speaking in tongues either is, or is not, a necessary sign of a Spirit-filled Christian. It is not my intention to enter these arguments from a theological viewpoint. My practical, personal experience, and observation of others, has taught me:
1. Speaking in tongues is a sign of the release of the Holy Spirit into your soul and is experienced by the large majority of Spirit-filled believers.
2. Private speaking in tongues should be encouraged as it adds an extra dimension to our spiritual life.
3. The true sign of a Spirit-filled believer however, is the production of the fruit of the Spirit in our life. (see ongoing studies)
4. To prevent satan from further dividing the church, all Christians need to exercise tolerance of others' viewpoints on this subject.
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| THE POWER OF THE TONGUE |
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| Revelation 12:11. 'They overcame him (ie satan) by: |
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1. The blood of the Lamb (ie. Jesus)
2. By the word of their testimony (ie. Holy Spirit)
AS A RUDDER STEERS A SHIP, SO THE TONGUE REFLECTS OUR RELIGION!
James 3:4-5
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The tongue is the most dangerous organ in our body, getting us into more trouble than any other It is impossible for us to control our tongue by our human nature. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that our tongue (giving the word of our testimony) can be harnessed to steer our ship (body) so that our words and actions are in harmony, totally focused on our Lord.
1 John 3:18
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| The Word of Our Tesimony is to be Reflected in What We DO Rather Than in What we SAY. |
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| <i>NEXT WEEK: </i>GOD AND MAN continues... |
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 as we enter into the third and most important part of our study, making Jesus the lord of our life doing the will of the Father, as Jesus did.
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| A NOTE FROM DAVID |
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 The precious Holy Spirit! Offers us so much, yet how often we sadden or ignore Him!
"Lord, forgive us of our sin."
May we really make an effort today to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying - and put it into action!
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So until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD!
His servant and yours
Learn more about us at...
www.wwj.org.nz/about.php
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A DAVID'S DOODLING
11. The lips of the foolish blaspheme God, those of the wise honour God, while the godly ones' lips glorify their God.
David Tait
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Check
out the WWJ website for….
More David's Doodlings: www.wwj.org.nz/dd.php
Marriage and Family Facts: http://www.wwj.org.nz/maffacts.php
Just jokes: http://www.wwj.org.nz/jokes.php
Waxing Lyrical: http://www.wwj.org.nz/waxing.php
If Only I'd Thought of it: http://www.wwj.org.nz/thought.php
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