The Gift of the Word of Wisdom

Let’s continue our examination of the “revelation gifts” by looking at a second one, the gift of the word of wisdom. In last week’s blog we talked about the verses of Acts 9: 10-13. There we saw that Ananias hesitated to act at first, having heard of the evil Saul had done. But the Lord reassured him through the spiritual gift of the word of wisdom that this man Saul was a chosen vessel of God and would bear the Lord’s name to the Gentiles.

Actually, Ananias was hearing a word of wisdom through the gift of prophecy! The word of knowledge told the whereabouts of Saul and the purpose that needed to be accomplished. The word of wisdom revealed the future destiny for Saul. The gift of prophecy, coupled with the laying on of hands and the gifts of healing, changed Saul from a blind man who murdered Christians to a godly man who saved them and led them to the light of Jesus Christ. It is good to remember that all three spiritual revelation gifts are bestowed ...

The Gift of the Word of Knowledge 

This week we will begin our study of the three “revelation gifts” which are known as the gift of the word of knowledge, the gift of the word of wisdom, and the gift of discerning of spirits. Let’s start today with the gift of the word of knowledge.

The word of knowledge gift is defined as supernatural revelation by the Holy Spirit of certain facts in the mind of God. This knowledge is in part and only recalls a portion of the past or present. Sometimes the gift will inform us of impending danger, trouble, or judgment. At other times, the gift reveals secrets of men, recalls forgotten knowledge, converts a sinner, detects evil, or gives encouragement.

Once when I was counseling a young lady regarding her continual fear, I suggested we stop talking and pray for a few minutes. Immediately I saw a vision of a little girl on the ground and someone had fallen and was lying on top of her. These two people had been climbing up an embankment and in the proc...

The Gift of Prophecy

Prophecy is the third “inspiration gift” of the Holy Spirit. It is defined as a supernatural utterance in a known tongue. This gift is an opportunity to speak to man the Word of the Lord. 

Prophecy will exhort, edify, or comfort. As exhortation, the spiritual gift of prophecy brings encouragement and/or a beckoning toward God. The edifying prophecy removes fear, feelings of inadequacy, and increases strength. Comforting prophecy gives the feeling of assistance, hope, cheering up, or consolation.

In Numbers 11: 29 Moses said he wished that everyone could prophesy, and today in this Church age, that is possible. Prophecy is available to all. In the Old Testament, prophecy was mostly foretelling. But in the New Testament, prophecy is forth telling. Its main purpose is to make us better Christians.

My first experiences with the spiritual gift of prophecy were honestly personally scary for me. I was afraid that I might make a mistake or mislead someone. But a prophe...

The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues

As we continue our study of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, let’s now look at another of the “inspiration gifts.”  Tongues manifesting as one of the spiritual gifts often occur in meetings and large or small assemblies. This gift of tongues alerts an audience to listen for someone to then give an interpretation of the tongue into an understood language.

We might ask, “Why tongues and interpretation?”  The answer is that tongues and the interpretation of tongues is a sign to the unbeliever. More than once I have heard stories where someone has spoken in tongues, and when the interpretation came, the unbeliever was astounded to know that another person could speak his/her language.

One time I spoke in an unknown tongue in a chapel in Israel and then gave the interpretation of the tongue. Our tour guide recognized the language I spoke and was amazed that I knew the dialect so well. When I told him that I did not know how to speak the language, b...

The Gift of Tongues

As we mentioned last week, the Nine Gifts of the Spirit are often studied in three groups of three gifts each. We will be starting with the “inspiration gifts” and the first of these is commonly called “the gift of tongues.”

“Tongues” is defined as supernatural utterance by the Holy Spirit in languages never learned by the speaker. The languages are not understood by the speaker’s mind nor necessarily even understood by those who hear the utterance.

Tongues have been given to the Church as a means of communication with a living God. I once asked the Lord, “Why do we need tongues?”  He showed me a picture of a clear crystal river flowing at the foot of the throne of God. Then I saw my tongues, my spiritual language, rising from my lips as a stream, going all the way up to that heavenly river in front of the throne. I knew that each time I prayed in tongues, I tapped into that river’s flow and then it flowed right back to me. My tongues were like a conduit from the...

Introduction to the Nine Spiritual Gifts

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:1 that we should not be “ignorant” regarding spiritual gifts. Ignorant means unaware, untutored, or uninformed. Being ignorant of the spiritual gifts can frustrate the purposes of God, keep us from fulfilling God’s will in the earth, or lead us to making up our own systems for supernatural giftings.

Occult practices, witchcraft, mediums, witches, and wizards have all tried to create their own supernatural ways. Their methods are not the type we should emulate or use as believers according to the Scriptures in Deuteronomy 18. If we follow such ways, we can bring a curse upon ourselves! The Corinthian Church did not lack experience with God’s spiritual gifts, but they did lack in understanding how to operate in them properly.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural, not natural. They are weapons of warfare given to the Body of Christ that we might further the Gospel, set captives free, and minis...

As Believers and certainly as Mothers of Nations, Christmas is more than just a holiday for us. It is a time to reflect on many things that God wants us to remember and to honor. Today let’s briefly look at seven things that we should always be aware of in relation to celebrating Christmas.

First, God loves us. John 3: 16 reminds us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son for the salvation of mankind. This verse is sometimes called “the gospel in a nutshell.”  Jesus came to set mankind free from the power of sin and death.

Second, God’s love is magnificently manifested in the birth of His Son Jesus who grew to become a man. This man demonstrated the Father’s love for us in all that He said and did. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him." (1 John 3: 1 NKJV)

Third, God’s love demonstrates and exemplifies mercy beyond our understandi...

Today we will conclude our discussion of integrity by examining several of the blessings and fruits of walking with integrity in both our personal lives as believers and in our ministry endeavors in the kingdom of God.

First, our integrity releases God to divinely intervene on our behalf. We see this blessing or principle revealed in Genesis 20: 1-6 in the life of King Abimelech as he interacted with Abraham and Sarah.

1 And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.”  And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”  4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister?' And she, even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the ...

Let’s continue in today's entry with a few more scriptural examples of integrity in the lives of men and women in God’s Word. I love how these “real life” examples bring home the importance that God places on integrity in the lives of His people.

The unnamed prophet that visits King Jeroboam:  We find his story in 1 Kings 13: 1-26 where we read that this prophet was sent to deliver a high-level Word of the Lord to the king. The word: Three hundred years in the future, Josiah (named in the prophecy) would destroy this altar in Israel where the king was now offering sacrifice. (v. 2)

The prophet was instructed by God to deliver the Word and return by the same way that he came, not eating or drinking with anyone. (v. 8-9) He refused to eat or drink with the king and went on his way. But he met another man who lied to him, saying he was a prophet and that an angel had told him to bring the prophet to his home to eat and drink.

While eating and drinking, another Word comes forth saying t...

As we continue our discussion of the challenges and blessing of integrity, let’s now consider why integrity of character is important. First of all, God deems integrity of heart as a highly valued character quality. The Word talks a lot about integrity and most certainly it is part of becoming Christ-like. 

Our integrity as Mothers of Nations reveals His character of integrity to the rest of the world. It’s a witness! Integrity "speaks!"  Secondly, integrity of ministry and leadership causes people to be more receptive to the Gospel. Finally, integrity of lifestyle validates the power of God to change one’s life from darkness to light empowered to live in victory, holiness, and righteousness. Bottom line, does Jesus make a difference or not? 

There are so many scriptural examples of integrity in the lives of men and women in God’s Word. Shall we take a look at several of those now?

King Solomon:  God’s covenant with Solomon was based on this heart character of integrity. The followi...