Gifts of the Spirit The Other Side of Trust (Manifestation Gifts Explained)

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1 Gifts of the Spirit The Other Side of Trust (Manifestation Gifts Explained) A Message by Michael Ott Follow Me (Hebrews 13:12-14) I have been praying and seeking answers to so many questions about what I see in my bible that I don't see in the church today. I have seen miracles and wonders but not to the same level that I see written in the book of Acts. It is through this seeking that I was praying last week and was given the following words from our Father. My son, please speak unto my amazing children. To those who have the full attention of my heart. They are precious in my sight and I rejoice that they have not given up even though times have not been easy. Through all the troubles of this life they have remained faithful and have not given in to the pressure to quit. I am so delighted in them, so speak to them these words. My chosen ones, you are my plan for this age. You are my greatest desire. The earth has waited for ages for you to get here. You who will not follow religion but will set aside all the lies you have been taught and follow me into a realm yet to be discovered. Just as Abraham followed me into the wilderness and didn't know where he was going but walked with me into the unknown; so you also have left behind the safety of religious Egypt to follow me into the realm of the Spirit. There are great unknown treasures for you to discover in the realm of my Spirit. Just as Abraham followed me you are following also. This new realm is about to unfold to you. I told you in scripture to be spiritually minded is life and peace and this is where I am leading you. Not just into an earthly realm but into the heavenly realm. When you become fully awake unto this realm then you can rule over the works of my hands. This is why many of the things you see in your bible haven t worked for the church in this age. They have tried to rule from Egypt and not come above for authority. Jesus correctly stated that all authority in heaven and earth was given unto him so there is only one place to get authority. Many have taught that this authority is already given but this is not the case. It is given to those who will forsake the religion of Egypt and follow me into the wilderness. This is why the early church walked in more power and authority than today s church. Authority is given because of relationship. As you spend more time with me and give up the ways of the world then more and more power will become available to you. Just as Moses had to leave Egypt and be changed before he could go back and conquer Egypt, so it is with you. You must leave all the traditions of religion and be willing to

2 follow me into the realm of the Spirit. Just as my Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness so you to have been led into the wilderness. You wonder why not many are coming yet and why things are not as you thought. It is for this purpose. You must be willing to leave the safety of the world church and come to me in the wilderness where you will be changed into people of great authority and power. After you have forsaken all and are willing to be ridiculed and to live a life different from the rest of the world church, you will be changed and this is where you will find your true identity. Let s look at the world church for a moment. Are they doing anything different from your civic organizations? They hold meetings and have music for entertainment. They make plans and yes they help do things such as feed and clothe the poor, and those are good things but they need to be accompanied by signs and wonders and miracles and this is where I am taking you. I am delighted that you have a heart for those who are not fortunate. These are good things but don t forget you are destined for power and authority and not just for another program. The world church is focused on the politics and events of the day. They search the scriptures to find a way to gain all the things the world wants and call it blessing. They draw the people in but have no power to defeat the darkness which is the true problem in people s lives. It s good to feed and clothe people but until you have the power to break the spirit of poverty off of them you have only kept them and not changed them. Don t forget you are my beloved. You are destined to reign in holiness. You are destined for great authority. If you will continue with me on this path into the unknown you will be given power to make a real difference in the world and not just to be a Band-Aid church. Now let s look at the early church. They were all raised in a religious system and had a system in place of worship and sacrifice but they left that behind and followed me into a new realm. They faced death for their decision because the religious system didn't want to give up ruler ship. The system in place had no power but they didn't want to see their system replaced. Does this sound familiar? The apostles left all they had known and because their lives were wholly given unto me I gave them power. Resurrection power only comes to those who are dead to the world. You must be willing to leave the dead religion to walk in the power of resurrection. That s why I told you to reckon yourselves to be dead to sin but alive unto me. Once and for all reckon the old ways of doing church to be dead and come alive to me my children. Follow my Spirit into the place of prayer and let me put to death the old ways by my Spirit. You can never put the old ways to death using the old ways. All the self-help practices in the modern church do nothing but keep alive the old man that I killed on a cross. Think about Jesus: He was baptized and my Spirit came upon him and my voice shouted in delight this is my beloved son! What happened next? He was led into the wilderness where he was given the temptation to use his authority to please himself. He was tempted to be given kingship over a dead realm but instead chose to die unto his own

3 ways and come alive unto my purpose. Once he was dead to his own will he was given power over all. This is how authority comes. When you die to your own desires and are willing to forsake all that the world has, then you are given great power. My beloved look at the church of the world. Do they have any power? You see a miracle here and there by my grace but do you see anything that resembles the early church? Be honest and look at it. Do you see blind healed and deaf healed and a church that is so healthy that you have to ask if there are any sick among you? Do you see thousands added in a day in anyone's church? I put the desire in you to see those things restored and that is my plan. Follow me into the secret place and put away all the teaching of the world church and let me teach you. Did not I say in scripture that everyone would be taught of God? Separate yourselves from the teaching of the world church and come to me in the secret place and write down what you hear. I am teaching you by my Spirit and want you to be teachers yourselves. What you need to know will not come through books and sermons and studies. It will come through fellowship with me in Spirit. I seek those who worship me in Spirit and truth not in knowledge and learning. Do you see how Jesus took the disciples away from all the teaching of their day and taught them himself? When the day of Pentecost came did books and pencils fall out of heaven or did they receive a person called Holy Spirit? What came was not an it ; it was me in Spirit form. I didn't bring books and learning; I brought an abiding relationship. I want you to learn from me and not about me. If you study all the books written by the world church you will only become what they are. If you study all the things that I am teaching you in the Spirit you will become like me. You are changed from glory to glory by looking into my face and not by looking into the latest book by the latest preacher pretending to have authority. Of all those who claim to have revelation and authority do any of them resemble what you see of Jesus in the scriptures? Do you see any of them who are so full of holiness and power that people are afraid to go near them as they were afraid of the apostles? It s time to awaken to the reality of who you are my children. You become who you are supposed to be when you become awakened to the reality of your Father. It s by spending time with me and focusing on my voice that you are changed. If you follow my voice it will lead you to my face where you can see me eye to eye and be changed into the glorious people I destined you to become. Don t let the world church tell you who you are. Come to me and I will show you who you are. My beloved you followed me into this unknown wilderness now will you let me teach you while you are here so you can go back to the world and make a difference. As you come alive unto me you will die to all the ways of the world church and then you can return filled with the Spirit and with power to rescue others who are trapped in the world church system. The scriptures say that there would be a day when a church would arise that had a form of godliness but denied my power. It has arrived. The modern church claims to have authority but they can t have resurrection power until they first die to the ways of the world. They want to have a resurrection without a cross. They want my power so that they can

4 carve themselves out a bigger portion of Egypt. They want to use my power to claim authority for gain just as the heathen do. They claim authority over you by giving themselves names like bishop and apostle and elder. Beware of these and look instead for those who call themselves unprofitable servants, and bond slaves and those who don t look to steal authority. If a man is truly an apostle he will not have to tell you he is. You will recognize him by my presence on his life. I am calling you out my beloved. I want better things for you than the world church has to offer. I want you to know me in the power of resurrection life and to be filled with my Spirit and my Power and given my authority to rule in my kingdom and not your own. I love you too much and you have followed me and left your homes and churches and your very lives to follow me. You have come too far to go back to the Egypt world church system of doing things. Let s make the rest of the journey together. Come to me and die to your own agenda and let me fill you with my presence. Then you will be sent back into the world in power and might and can become more than conquerors. What does that mean? It means that you will not just defeat the enemy and take his territory. That would make you a conqueror. To take that same territory and build into it my kingdom to replace the old system would make you more than a conqueror. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, you have come to enforce that victory and to replace the kingdom of darkness with the kingdom of light. So my chosen ones, will you forsake the world church and see yourselves as those who reign in holiness and not as those who are just another church in just another world system? I am so glad because I know you will. You have followed me this far and I know that you will make the transformation. I know these things because I believe in you. I chose you for this mission because I knew you would follow me. Continue in my word. My continuing, abiding word spoken to you by my Spirit and then you will be my disciples and then you will know the truth and then that truth you know will make you free. I ask you my beloved to put aside the teaching of the world church and let me teach you because it is my great joy to be your teacher. Keep abiding in my love and keep bearing my good fruit. I love you my beloved with an everlasting love. Rest in my presence and let my life become yours. You are glorious in my eyes and soon the world will see you revealed as the glorious ones on whom the fire has returned.

5 Gifts of the Spirit The Other Side of Trust (Manifestation Gifts Explained) Source: Institute in Basic Life Principles Manifestation Gifts: Otherwise known as the sign gifts, these are a direct manifestation of the Holy Spirit through a person to demonstrate God s power. The Holy Spirit will always point to Jesus Christ through the manifestation of these gifts (I Cor 12:3). It is important to remember that these gifts are intended for the edification of the body of Christ (I Cor 12:7, 14:12). Only the gift of tongues (without an interpreter) is given for the edification of the person (I Cor 14:5). It would be proper to assume that the majority of these gifts are given to speak into others. It is important to note that in the Word of God there are only three Greek prepositions used in the connection of the Holy Spirit to us. John 14:16-17 tells us of two of those prepositions, Para meaning with you (the Holy Spirit comes along side us and prompts us to salvation) and En meaning in you, or inside you (this is what happens when we accept Christ as Savior). There are only a few instances where the third one is found and it always had a strange consequence. Epi, meaning upon you, is found in Acts 1:8, 10:44 (Epipipto) and 19:6. Epi in the Greek means to rest upon. In each case that the preposition Epi is used, you see a controlling of the Holy Spirit on that which He fell. Finally, in I Cor 12:8 is says that these gifts are given through the Holy Spirit. The Greek word there is dia which means denoting the channel of an act. The instances where these gifts are manifested through us are simply the Holy Spirit using us as a vessel to work through. Please understand that the person receiving these gifts is in full control of themselves. In the gift of prophecy, I Cor 14:32 says that the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. The Greek word for subject is hypotasso which means to obey or be under obedience of. In other words, the prophet can still control when they speak the results of their gift. Verse 33 says God is not a God of confusion but of peace. The infusion of the Holy Spirit s work into the life of a Christian is the POWER of the Christian walk. To ignore the sign gifts would be to ignore the very power that Christ intends for our personal walk with Him and to take (in part) from the body of Christ what God intends for us to contribute. We cannot possibly reach our FULL POTENTIAL for Christ without submitting to the Holy Spirit in this area. Each Christian is given at least one of these gifts for the common good of the body of Christ - to be used for the body (I Cor 12:7). The Greek word for each is hekastos which means each or every. YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN AT LEAST ONE OF THESE! In some cases, a Christian can be given multiple ones, but no one is given them all.

6 Word of Wisdom A Word of Wisdom is a wisdom given by the Holy Spirit in a specific situation. This is not a blanket gift of wisdom. Instead, it is a divine clarity of God s wisdom given through a person for a specific instance or purpose. The Greek for word is logos. The Strong s meaning for this is something said or better stated, an utterance. The Greek word for wisdom is sophia. Strong s defines it specifically as wisdom, broad and full of intelligence. This shows a gifting for a specific event and purpose. This does not mean that the person receiving this gift will have a continual wisdom. It is simply a divine utterance given by the Holy Spirit singular. However, a person with this gift will receive these utterances as often as the Holy Spirit wants to give them just as the other gifts. John Rea, author of The Layman s Commentary on the Holy Spirit, says that words of wisdom are given to Christians to enable them to know what to do or say in specific situations. Jesus manifested a word of wisdom when, to the Pharisees who were intent on trapping Him with their question about paying a tax to Caesar, He gave His famous reply: Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar s; and to God the things that are God s (Matt 22:21 NASB). He promised us similar wisdom for times of emergency, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say (Luke 12:12 NASB). I Cor 2:10-11 says that only a persons spirit knows the depths of that persons thoughts. Therefore, only the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of the Father. The Holy Spirit reveals the thoughts of the Father and will ALWAYS point to Jesus Christ. Word of Knowledge A Word of Knowledge is a divine understanding of the facts. Just like the word of wisdom, very little information is given in scripture regarding this gift. We do know that it is knowledge given beyond human study. Just as in the previous gift, word is logos in the Greek meaning an utterance. The word knowledge in the Greek is gnosis. This means knowledge and understanding. The Holy Spirit gives this gift to some believers to bring about divine understanding of God s Word. The person with this gift will have a strong foundation of scripture and probably has a lot memorized. This gift is manifested through a person to give divine insight to the body of Christ. You will see this gift sometimes given to those with the motivational gift of teaching. John Rae says, This spiritual gift is one manifestation of divine knowledge that is given when information is needed immediately and when the only way to get that information is through supernatural means: a revelation of God. He also said, This gift is used to protect the Christian, to show how to pray more effectively, or to show him how to help others.

7 Gift of Faith We have all been assigned a measure of faith consistent with God s will for our lives. NOT EVERYONE has the same faith (Rom 12:3). The manifestation gift of Faith is different than other aspects of faith in the Word of God. Don t confuse it with the saving faith given to accept Christ as Savior (Eph 2:8-9). It is even different than the everyday faith that Christ asks us to have in our daily walk with Him. This faith is one that is given outside of our normal operation. This is an EXTRAORDINARY faith! A faith given of the Holy Spirit that in logical circles makes no sense. We know this in part because of it s grouping with the other sign gifts. As with each of the other sign gifts, the Holy Spirit manifests Himself through a Christian specifically for the edification of the church - not for our growth personally. That is what makes this gifting of faith unique! As with all of the other manifestation or sign gifts, this gift occurs as the Holy Spirit directly operates through the person receiving this gift. This is not a blanket gift where it enables a person to have faith in anything they want. It is administered when the Holy Spirit performs it for a specific purpose. This faith often happens in conjunction to a crisis situation and can come on with a sudden surge. Or perhaps the surety of a vision within ministry and a faith to see it through the culmination. With this Holy Spirit given faith, a person will speak in Jesus name and it will come to pass. When this gift is in operation, we will be unshakable in our belief that God will do what He has promised to do - NO MATTER the obstacles facing us! God will do it even when it seems to be impossible. Remember, however, this gift is only in operation when the Holy Spirit is creating it - it doesn t mean that if you have this gift then you can have the faith for anything to happen. It will ALWAYS be subject to the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that even a small amount of this faith could move mountains! (Matt 17:20; 21:21, I Cor 13:2) The Greek word for faith, found in I Cor 12:9, is pistis which means a persuasion or moral conviction of the truth. When this gift (given by the Holy Spirit) is in operation, the person wielding it is IMMOVABLE and singularly focused in that faith. As with ALL of the sign gifts, this will ALWAYS agree with scripture and will often have multiple confirmations. (Examples found in Hebrews 11) Gift of Healing(s) This is one of the most widely misused sign gifts today. This gift is not for making one a healer, but is specific gifts (plural) of healing. The outcome of healing is ALWAYS subject to the sovereignty of God. Let me restate this: People do NOT become healers with this gift - it is subject to the will of the Father. You see this combined with raising the dead and casting out demons as well (Matt 10:5-8). The Greek word for healing is iama from the root word iaomai which means to cure or to make whole. This word is plural in the Greek. The Holy Spirit gives the person with this gift specific instances of it; again, not by the will of the person but by the will of the God who directs the Holy Spirit (Heb 2:4). This gift is closely related to the gifts of faith and miracles and you will often see multiples of them being exercised at the same time.

8 Throughout the Gospels, Jesus heavily uses this gift of healing and casting out demons to demonstrate that He was sent by God. That same blueprint still exists today. Often times, the Holy Spirit uses gifts of healing and casting out demons (etc.) to establish an understanding of God s presence in the hearts of unbelievers. You see this often in underdeveloped areas of the world where little has been given and the Gospel not widely known. Unfortunately, in highly developed countries you don t see it as much because we have been given so many signs of God and have ignored them. Healing s are intended to draw people to the Father through Jesus Christ. He wants those healed to see His power and respond in love (Luke 17:15-19, Mark 5:18-20). James directs the church elders to lay hands, anoint with oil and pray for the healing of the sick (James 5:13-16). Physical healing should always lead to faith in Jesus Christ. Either a saving faith for those who don t know Him or an increase of faith in a persons walk with Christ. Working of Miracles There were more miracles performed in the earthly ministry of Jesus than in all other times combined (John 21:25). The GREATEST miracle of course was the resurrection of Jesus (I Cor 15). In I Cor 12:10, it says that the Holy Spirit gifts the workings of miracles to some. The Greek word for working is energema and means an effect, the operation of or workings. The Greek for miracles is dynamis meaning a force or miraculous power. It is where we get our English word dynamite from. This gift fundamentally means the operation of miraculous power. As with the other gifts, it is fundamental to understand that this is only in operation when the Holy Spirit is controlling it through the person given this gift. Having this gift does NOT mean that we can operate it at will or that we become a miracle worker. The fact that both words (workings and miracles) in the Greek are plural give insight that this gift is given in instances, same as all of the other manifestation gifts. Miracles were performed by Jesus as well as given to the church to reveal the presence and power of God the Father. It was (and is) to get our attention and point us to Jesus Christ. Miracles often drew people to a saving knowledge of the Lord as well as strengthened the faith of the believer (Acts 4:29-31, 9:35, 42 and others). This is still the result today. The person with this gift will NEVER claim credit for themselves but will always point to Jesus Christ. This gift is usually accompanied by a gifting of faith and is preceded by much prayer. (See also Gal 3:5, Acts 9:36-41, 20:7-12) Gift of Prophecy The gift of prophecy is the only gift that is included in all three categories of spiritual gifts: (1) motivational gifts (Rom 12:3-9), (2) ministry gifts (I Cor 12:27-31, Eph 4:11-12) and (3) manifestation gifts (I Cor 12:7-11). This gift is used by the Holy Spirit to convict people of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come (John 16:7-11) (iblp.org).

9 The Greek word for prophecy is propheteia meaning prediction or prophesying - a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God. This is widely used by the Holy Spirit to reprove and admonish the wicked, comfort the afflicted or reveal things that are hidden current and future. I Cor 14:24-25 says that the gift of prophecy is used in the body of Christ to convict the sin of unbelievers. It is used to draw people to Christ. John Rea explains that Preaching is a means of expressing and explaining what one already knows, that which he has learned or studied previously. Prophesying, however, is directly proclaiming the mind of God, by the inspiration and prompting of the Holy Spirit, and not from one s own thoughts. It is supernatural speech in a known language The Holy Spirit leads believers to express truths that are in complete agreement with the Word of God. Again, the Holy Spirit will NEVER contradict the Word of God and will ALWAYS point to the person of Jesus Christ. This gift is given, as the other manifestation gifts, in instances where the Holy Spirit wants to give it. The revelation given is to benefit the body of Christ (I Cor 12:7, see also 14:1-6). It is important to understand that Paul (I Cor 14:26-33a) says that there is an important order in which we are to use the gift of prophecy (as well as tongues). This is simply to produce order and keep from confusion which the enemy wants our services to have. In verse 32, it says that the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets (ESV). The Greek word for subject is hyptasso meaning subordinate or under the obedience of. This means that a prophet can control the timing of when they say what the Holy Spirit has given them. This is to keep the service or gathering in a decent order so that all may be edified (I Cor 14:39-40). Discerning of Spirits The Holy Spirit gives the gift of discernment to allow the person receiving this gift to clearly distinguish where an influence is coming from - human, Satan or God. This is a critical gift to the church because the Bible says that many will come in the Name of God, but will lead men astray (Matt 24:5). Discernment is given at many different levels, however, this particular gift is the Holy Spirit working through the gift (as with all the other manifestation gifts). Don t confuse the wisdom of seeing clearly with this gift of discernment. Discerning the spirits is the Holy Spirit guiding a situation that otherwise can t be seen by human wisdom. The Greek word for discerning is diakrisis which means judicial estimation or discernment - a distinguishing. This gift can allow the person given it to see aspects of the spiritual world in which the warfare is waged. An example of this is when Elisha asked God to open the eyes of his servant in II Kings 6:17. What the servant saw as God opened his eyes was the truth about the entire spiritual battle. Another possible example is when Peter confronted Ananias sin in Acts 5:1-6 (in this case, the gift of prophecy and discerning between spirits are closely related). See also I John 4:1 and Acts 16: This gift is critical for the protection of the body of Christ.

10 Various Kinds of Tongues This gifting, along with the interpretation of tongues, is probably one of the most widely mis-used and mis-understood of the gifts. Tongues, or any of the other gifts for that matter, are NOT a requirement for salvation or even God using a Christian in their life. Each of these sign gifts are simply a manifestation of the Holy Spirit Himself working through us. A lack of one of these gifts DOES NOT indicate a persons salvation or walk with God. Remember, none of the sign gifts can be explained or understood through a natural lens. They require an extraordinary step of faith and willingness to be available to the Holy Spirit for His purpose. These are supernatural giftings. As the Holy Spirit chooses to give these gifts, He then equips the believer with what they need. The Greek word for various kinds is genos which means kin, born, country (-man), diversity, generation, kind (-red), nation. In other words, the aggregate of many individuals of the same nature, kind or sort. The word for tongues is glossa which means of uncertain affinity, the tongue by implication - a language (specially, one naturally unacquired). To put this in understandable terms: kindred languages that are not naturally acquired. This gift is given to fulfill several different purposes: 1. As a means of divine worship, praise or prayer by an individual. (Jude 20-21) 2. For the purpose of edifying the Church through instruction, exhortation or correction. In these cases, interpretation of tongues is needed since God s message to His people in a tongue cannot be understood without interpretation. (I Cor 14:5, 9, 12-13, 27-28, 39-40) 3. As a sign to unbelievers. (I Cor 14:22) Tongues is a prayer language that a persons spirit communicates to the Holy Spirit with (I Cor 14:2). It is a language given by the Holy Spirit through un-natural means - a language, not made up gibberish. If you are having to make it up then it is not the gift of tongues. Often times, when one is given this gift it is can be traced to a specific known language or dialect and is typically spot on in its performance. (Acts 2:2-11) It is a tremendous benefit to our personal prayer and worship. Paul says, however, that tongues (without interpretation) benefits only the person doing it (I Cor 14:5-11). He said that I want all to speak in tongues. In that phrase, he established the importance of this gift. However, it pales in comparison to something that would benefit the church (vs 5). Verse 13 says that if we are given this gift, we should pray that we might also interpret (be given the gift of interpretation) so that the church may be edified. Interpretation of Tongues This gifting is fairly straight forward. The interpretation of tongues is just that - the understanding of the Holy Spirit s manifestation of an unknown tongue.

11 The Greek word for interpretation is hermeneia which means translation or interpretation. As stated earlier, the Greek word for tongues is glossa which means of uncertain affinity, the tongue by implication - a language (specially, one naturally unacquired). Putting these together could be paraphrased a translation of languages that have not been naturally acquired. The gift of tongues coupled with the gift of interpretation of tongues will benefit the church in similar ways as prophecy would. That is why Paul instructs us to pray that he may interpret. A Word of Warning Let All Things be Done Decently and in Order! in part from the Institute in Basic Life Principles Edification of the church body is paramount and there should never be a display of the gifts that confuse or create chaos. This is what was happening at the Church of Corinth which in part prompted Paul s writing of I Corinthians. He instructed there to be a measure of control over how these gifts are to be used and displayed (I Cor 14). He made clear throughout that chapter (and specifically vs 32) that we have the capability to stay within a functional order with these gifts. (Study all of ch 14 carefully) The Apostle Paul devotes much of his first letter to the church in Corinth to issues relating to spiritual gifts. He concludes the instructions and insights of I Cor with this exhortation: Let all things be done decently and in order (I Cor 14:40). Earlier in the letter, Paul had stated, God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. (I Cor 14:33) The manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit are supposed to all contribute to the orderliness of God s design of working in the Church and the world. These supernatural, spiritual gifts are awe-inspiring. As instruments of God s work, we must seek to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and to submit to God, instead of yielding to the influence of our sinful natures. Then when the Holy Spirit works among believers and bestows spiritual gifts, there will be peace and orderliness, not strife and confusion. God will be glorified and the Church will be edified!