206 Responding to God’s voice Part 2

How God speaks to us   Talk 22 Responding to God’s Voice (Part 2)

Receiving and using spiritual gifts

1 Corinthians 12:11 tells us that it’s the Holy Spirit himself who determines what gifts he should give us. But that does not mean that we cannot put ourselves in a position where we are most likely to receive them. As we draw this series to a conclusion, let me share with you five keys to receiving and using them. They are relevant, not only to spiritual gifts, but also to the whole question of letting God speak to us and through us.

Desire them eagerly

In 1 Corinthians 14:1 we are told to eagerly desire spiritual gifts. The Greek verb here is zeloō. Paul uses it three times in connection with spiritual gifts. Here, and in 1 Corinthians 12:31 where he encourages the Corinthians to eagerly desire the greater gifts by which he probably means those that are of the greatest value in building up the church. See 14:12 where he uses it again.

The verb is a really strong word – the KJV translates it covet earnestly – and is the origin of our English word zeal. You may remember that one of Jesus’ disciples was called Simon the Zealot (Matthew 10:4). The Zealots were a fanatical political group who were determined to overthrow the power of the Romans, no matter the cost. I mention this simply to emphasise the strength of the word that Paul uses to indicate what should be our attitude to spiritual gifts.

So, our starting point, if we want to be used in spiritual gifts, is to ask ourselves how eagerly we desire them. Then, the next step will be to stop making excuses.

Stop making excuses

I’m mentioning this because it’s amazing how easy it seems to be to make excuses for not doing the things we know we ought to do. Now I’m not suggesting that every listener will be making all these excuses, and it may be that you’re making none of them. But I know from experience that the things I’m going to mention are common causes of Christians not entering into some of the wonderful blessings God has in store for them.

Excuse Number 1   I’m not worthy

The first excuse is quite understandable. In fact, it sounds very spiritual. We know it’s wrong to boast, and surely, to say I’m not worthy is showing humility? But God doesn’t give us these gifts because we deserve them. They come from his grace. That’s why Paul calls them charismata (1 Corinthians 12:4) which comes from the word charis meaning grace.

In fact, everything God gives us comes from his grace. Even the gift of eternal life is a charisma. In Romans 6:23 Paul says that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. And the word for gift here is charisma. We don’t receive eternal life because we deserve it, but because of God’s grace.

And the same is true of spiritual gifts. We receive them despite our unworthiness, or to put it another way, because we have already been made worthy in Christ. The Corinthians are a clear example of this principle. They were not lacking in spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:7), but this was certainly not because they were particularly good Christians[1]. So we should not hold back from seeking spiritual gifts for ourselves because we are conscious of our own shortcomings.

Excuse Number 2   I’m not suitable

This covers a range of excuses – I’m not talented enough, old enough, clever enough, and so on. It’s here that another word Paul uses can help us. In 1 Corinthians 12:1 he refers to the gifts he’s about to talk about as pneumatika. The basic meaning of this word is spiritual, but in the context it’s probably better understood to mean supernatural.

As we’ve said, all God’s gifts come from his grace, so they’re all charismata.  There are natural gifts and supernatural gifts[2].  Paul refers to the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 as pneumatika because these particular gifts are supernatural. That means that there’s no limit as to the persons God may give them to. They have nothing to do with our natural talents. And they’re available to all God’s people, irrespective of age, gender, or social status (Acts 2:17ff).

Excuse Number 3   They’re beyond my reach

Sometimes we’re tempted to think that the wonderful gifts we’re talking about are somehow beyond our reach. We’re conscious of our own humanity and spiritual gifts are manifestations of the supernatural power that comes from God himself.  God is in heaven and we are on earth. Surely they’re beyond our reach? But no, they are not. Spiritual gifts do not come from God in outer space!  They come from God who lives inside you.

This is where another word Paul uses to describe these gifts will help us. In 1 Corinthians 12:7 he refers to them as a manifestation. The Greek word is phaner­osis (v7). It comes from a verb meaning to shine and has been defined as a clear display, an outward evidencing of a latent principle.  

To understand this better, please think about a lightbulb. Electricity is the power at work inside it. The light that shines from it is the evidence that the electricity is there. It’s a manifestation of the power within. Now think of yourself as the lightbulb, and the Holy Spirit as the power at work inside you, and spiritual gifts as the outward evidence of that power.

It’s the Holy Spirit who gives these gifts and he lives inside you. He can manifest through you any gift he chooses. In verse 6 Paul also  calls them energemata, which literally means things worked inside. This means that potentially any of the gifts could be at work in you, because the Giver is already there! But, following our analogy of the lightbulb, it’s our responsibility to keep the electricity flowing if the light is to shine. We need to keep filled with the Spirit and the gifts will come. 

 

 

Keep filled with the Spirit

In Ephesians 5:18 we’re told to be filled with the Spirit. As we saw in an earlier talk, we can best understand what Paul means by this by looking in Acts at the descriptions given there of people being filled with the Spirit. These examples paint a clear picture for us of what Paul means when he tells us to be filled with the Spirit.

We learn from Acts that it’s a supernatural experience that is received suddenly rather than gradually and is accompanied by miraculous gifts that greatly empower our witness for Christ. Jesus’ first disciples began to exercise the gifts of the Spirit when they were first filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost and began to speak in tongues (Acts 2:4)[3].  And if we want to be used in spiritual gifts it’s clear that we too need to be filled with the Spirit.

Now the fact that Paul tells us to be filled with the Spirit implies that there is something we can do about it. God’s Spirit is always available to us, but it’s our responsibility to be filled. In 2 Timothy 1:6-8 Paul says to Timothy:

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord…

There can be no doubt that the ‘spirit’ referred to in these verses is the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit who gives us power and produces in us fruit like love and self-discipline. He also enables us to testify about the Lord (cf. Acts 1:8). So the gift of God that Timothy received through the laying on of Paul’s hands was the gift of the Holy Spirit[4].

But what does Paul mean when he tells Timothy to fan this gift into flame? The Greek word here is anazopureo. It literally mean give life again to the fire. We have the fire of God’s Spirit within us, but it’s our responsibility to keep it burning. Or, following the analogy we gave earlier, to keep the electricity flowing. And to do that, we need to pray, not only with our mind but also with our spirit, but that’s a subject for our next section.

Pray

Talking about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 14:12-15, Paul says this:

12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

13 For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says.

14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.

15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.

In verse 12 Paul acknowledges that the Corinthians are eager to have spiritual gifts, but he wants them to concentrate on gifts that build up the church. He is emphasising something he’s already said in verses 1-5 where he makes it clear that prophecy is more valuable for the church than speaking in tongues. Tongues are useful for personal edification (v4), but prophecy will edify the church. However, tongues can be a means of edifying the church, but only if it’s accompanied by the gift of interpretation (v5).

So, in verse 13 he says that anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they are saying. That way the church will be edified as well as the person speaking in tongues. And, apart from anything else, this verse shows us that, if we’re eagerly desiring a spiritual gift (v12), we should pray for it.

Paul then goes on in verses 14-15 to tell us something very important about speaking in tongues. Although, as we’ve seen, it’s of no value to the church unless it’s interpreted, it’s of great value to the individual Christian. He says that when he pray in tongues we are praying with the spirit. This is different from praying with the mind which is what we do when we pray in English (or any other language we have learned).

So if we pray in tongues we are praying with our spirit. This is not a reference to the Holy Spirit, although of course it’s the Holy Spirit who enables us to speak in tongues. When I pray in English, I understand what I’m saying, but when I pray I tongues I do not. But, even so, Paul says it edifies me (v4).

So, Paul says in verse 15:

What shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, I will also pray with my mind.

This clearly shows his determination to do both. And if we are to fan into flame the gift of the Spirit, we need to too. Like Jackie Pullinger, who testifies that speaking in tongues for fifteen minutes a day has resulted in her seeing amazing miracles among drug addicts in Hong Kong, spiritual gifts will happen in our lives as we fan into flame the gift of the Spirit within us. We need to keep filled with the Spirit by praying with our spirit (in tongues) and praying with our understanding (in English) specifically asking for spiritual gifts, as Paul encourages the Corinthians in verse 13, for example.

But how do I know what to pray for? Aren’t the gifts distributed as the Holy Spirit determines? And what if I start asking for a gift that it’s not his will for me to have? These are the kind of questions my students often asked me, and I quite understand why. But the problem is, if we don’t know what to pray for, we probably won’t pray for any of them.

As I was thinking and praying about the best way to answer these questions, I felt the Lord say to me,

Tell them to pray for whatever gift they like. I’m delighted they’re praying for any of the gifts. I will direct them as they continue to pray.

I quickly saw the Lord’s wisdom in giving that advice. All God’s gifts are good, and it’s good to pray for any of them. But if the gift we’re asking for is not for us, the Lord will move us towards the ones that are. As we said in an earlier talk, God usually guides us when we’re on the move. Remember the illustration of the SATNAV?

It’s also helpful to remember that, when we don’t know what to pray for as we pray with our mind (in English), if we pray with our spirit (in tongues), not understanding what we are saying, the words we speak in tongues may well be voicing a request for the very gifts God is planning to give us.

Act in faith

So, if we’re eagerly desiring for God not only to speak to us, but also to speak through us, if we’ve stopped making excuses, if we’re keeping filled with the Spirit, and if we’re praying that God will give us these wonderful gifts, all we need to do now is act in faith.

Jesus himself said that gifts like tongues, healings and miracles would accompany those who believe (Mark 16:17-18), and the apostle Paul tells us that those who prophesy should do so in accordance with their faith (Romans 12:6). And James tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). We have to do something. If we want God to speak through us, we have to speak.

An example of this is how I began to exercise the gift of interpreting tongues, which I’ve already told you about in an earlier talk. I acted in faith, despite my doubts. Nelson Mandela once said:

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not the one who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

Similarly, faith is not the absence of doubt. It’s overcoming your doubts by trusting the Lord. He doesn’t give stones or scorpions or snakes when we ask for the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:11-13) or when we ask for his gifts (Matthew 7:9-11). Trusting in these promises, we can act in faith, knowing that God will not let us down.

 

If you’ve enjoyed this series, you’ll want to get a copy of my new book,

The Voice of God – how he speaks to us today

 

Available from my website: www.davidpetts.org

 

228 pages containing all the teaching in the podcasts, and more.

 

£12.00 per copy (including postage)