Giver
September 23rd 2005, 09:31 AM
(1 Corinthians 14:26-29) “So, my dear brothers, what conclusion is to be drawn? At all your meetings let everyone be ready with a psalm or a sermon or a revelation, or ready to use his gift of tongues or to give an interpretation; but it must always be for the common good, If there are people present with the gift of tongues, let only two or three, at the most, be allowed to use it, and only one at a time, and there must be someone to interpret. If there is no interpreter present, they must keep quiet in church and speak only to themselves and to God. As for prophets, let two or three of them speak, and the others attend to them.”
I was in my early forties when Jesus started revealing Himself to me. I had been going to church almost every day for over fifteen years, and I had never experienced anyone walking in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The first time I was exposed to any of the gifts was when my wife started talking strangely, and the room we were in filled with the nicest aroma I had ever smelled. She started saying over and over again “I love you;” I somehow knew that she wasn’t talking to me, but at the time, I didn’t understand what was happening. This went on for about a half hour, then she said, “Open up your heart, and let my light shine.” At the time this happened, I didn’t know my wife had the gift of tongues, much less the gift of interpretation of tongues. After about two years, I was also given the gift of tongues, and Jesus used this gift to teach me. I would have a question for Jesus, and then get a tongue, and my wife would interpret the tongue, which would be the answer to my question. One night, Jesus let me know that He didn’t want me to depend on this method as my primary means of communicating with Him, so He told me to pray to be sensitive and open to His touch and word all day long.
With regards to the gift of healing, my wife and I have had Jesus heal through us, but neither one of us would say we have the gift of healing. Our first experience with healing was when our daughter was born blind, and my wife had a real heartfelt prayer that God would heal our daughter. She was healed, and now 28 years later, she has twenty-fifteen eyesight, whereas the rest of the family requires glasses. Jesus has healed others through our prayers over the last thirty years, but that isn’t our ministry. I would like to share what may be an explanation of what a New Testament prophet does, which is what I believe God has called me to be. The first time Jesus used me this way, I was at a prayer meeting and a Catholic priest was talking about how fortunate we all were to be under the umbrella of the Church’s protection. The Holy Spirit gave me a word, and told me to get up and tell everyone. I asked my wife to pray for me; because I knew what I had to tell them wouldn’t be well received. I had to tell everyone that no matter who tells them anything about God, be it a bishop, priest, or anyone, they were to ask Jesus if it was right or wrong.
Twenty-seven years ago, I was told that a time was coming soon when man would suffer more than he has ever suffered. I was to give a word and leave. Out of that word, a community would grow. He wanted a place of safety for His people.
Sometimes while talking to a person about God, I will be given knowledge of something that person is hiding about themselves. At one time I was a member of a large body of ministers, and I would be told by the Holy Spirit to bring words to that body of ministers.
Giver
I was in my early forties when Jesus started revealing Himself to me. I had been going to church almost every day for over fifteen years, and I had never experienced anyone walking in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The first time I was exposed to any of the gifts was when my wife started talking strangely, and the room we were in filled with the nicest aroma I had ever smelled. She started saying over and over again “I love you;” I somehow knew that she wasn’t talking to me, but at the time, I didn’t understand what was happening. This went on for about a half hour, then she said, “Open up your heart, and let my light shine.” At the time this happened, I didn’t know my wife had the gift of tongues, much less the gift of interpretation of tongues. After about two years, I was also given the gift of tongues, and Jesus used this gift to teach me. I would have a question for Jesus, and then get a tongue, and my wife would interpret the tongue, which would be the answer to my question. One night, Jesus let me know that He didn’t want me to depend on this method as my primary means of communicating with Him, so He told me to pray to be sensitive and open to His touch and word all day long.
With regards to the gift of healing, my wife and I have had Jesus heal through us, but neither one of us would say we have the gift of healing. Our first experience with healing was when our daughter was born blind, and my wife had a real heartfelt prayer that God would heal our daughter. She was healed, and now 28 years later, she has twenty-fifteen eyesight, whereas the rest of the family requires glasses. Jesus has healed others through our prayers over the last thirty years, but that isn’t our ministry. I would like to share what may be an explanation of what a New Testament prophet does, which is what I believe God has called me to be. The first time Jesus used me this way, I was at a prayer meeting and a Catholic priest was talking about how fortunate we all were to be under the umbrella of the Church’s protection. The Holy Spirit gave me a word, and told me to get up and tell everyone. I asked my wife to pray for me; because I knew what I had to tell them wouldn’t be well received. I had to tell everyone that no matter who tells them anything about God, be it a bishop, priest, or anyone, they were to ask Jesus if it was right or wrong.
Twenty-seven years ago, I was told that a time was coming soon when man would suffer more than he has ever suffered. I was to give a word and leave. Out of that word, a community would grow. He wanted a place of safety for His people.
Sometimes while talking to a person about God, I will be given knowledge of something that person is hiding about themselves. At one time I was a member of a large body of ministers, and I would be told by the Holy Spirit to bring words to that body of ministers.
Giver