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When you study church history from the time of Jesus Christ until the present, you will find that from about the 300s (A.D.) until the mid 1500s, most churches gradually began to fall away from the teachings of the true Apostolic Church of the Book of Acts. It started with a change in theology and doctrines of what they believed about God and about salvation. Then once the doctrine of the Early Church had been thoroughly changed, the moving and working of the Holy Ghost stopped working in their churches. There were still a few churches here and there that believed the same thing that the original Apostles believed, but mainstream Christianity began to alter itself into a church that did not resemble the original Apostolic church at all.

I've read some of the works of Tertullian, a church father in the 200s, and it is interesting to find that about that time people began to question the doctrine of whether or not Jesus Christ was really the one, God of the Old Testament come in flesh, and Greek philosophers began to create their supposed ideas of how God was, was also about the time that speaking in tongues and the free operation of the Spirit began to become much less common. Tertullian even writes about how that some churches particularly some of the groups known then as the "Modalists" who believed that Jesus was the supreme God still experienced people receiving the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues and healings and such, but in the other churches, particularly even Tertullian's own church where they had began to question the identity of Jesus Christ, the moving of the Spirit of God was much less frequent. The first thing about the doctrine that was changed was the oneness and absolute indivisibility of God. Then eventually, the water baptism formula was changed from "in Jesus' name" to the titles. When the groups that would form the Early Roman Catholic Church met in 381 A.D. to finalize their new theology and vote whether or not there was two persons in the god head or "three," the tongue-talking, Jesus name baptizing, "oneness people" were not even invited. It was at this church council where the decision to enforce a new concept called a "trinity" and water baptism in the titles was first coined and proclaimed. The leaders of the church felt that the "new theology" would be more suitable for people who had been raised paganistic and serving many gods and would therefore bring more converts and unity. Unfortunately, the change of their doctrine from what the Apostles had taught all but stopped the moving of the Holy Spirit within their services.

There was always someone that believed the truth throughout the Dark Ages, but the mainstream Christianity was moving further and further from scripture. Idols were introduced and the worship of saints and prayers to priests and purgatory and the worship of relics and a bunch of other inventions were added. In the 1500s, a priest named Martin Luther began to realize how far the mainstream church had gotten from the scriptures and nailed a list of 95 errors in their theology. The "Lutherans" as the followers of this priest came to be known, changed some things but still did not go back to the original Apostolic doctrine and worship. From that time until now, various churches have received a degree of truth and revelation, but very few have tried to go back to the original Apostolic Church that Jesus Christ established and believe and live as they did both in doctrine and in spirit. The moving of the Spirit has been introduced to the world through these type churches, and slowly churches have reversed the trend of the 200s, having occasional moves of the Spirit despite their doctrinal errors. In this church, I am committed to the idea that God wants a completely restored Apostolic church. We do not want an accidental or occasional move of the Holy Ghost, but we want that to be the norm in our services! Therefore we do not depend upon Catholic church history for our doctrinal beliefs but choose to go back to the Book of Acts and the New Testament and believe as did Peter, John, and Paul! We know that there is only one God, even the devils know that, and that His name is Jesus Christ. We know that the only correct way to baptize according to the scripture is in the name of Jesus Christ, and amazingly people still can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance just as they did in the book of Acts! History proves that if you want your experience in the Spirit to last, then you must change your theology and beliefs to match what the disciples taught and believed and not upon Catholic church history!

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church in England was asked if his church had achieved a complete restoration to the original Apostolic Church. I want you to realize that in those days, the Methodist churches received the Holy Ghost and shouted and danced and cried as the Spirit moved through their services. They were known for their separation from the fashions and trends of their world and that they walked, talked, and dressed differently than everyone else. Many of the churches got a revelation that Jesus Christ was the name of the one, true God of the Old Testament and of Jesus' name baptism. It is well documented in history that the early Methodist churches saw healings and signs and wonders. It is also documented Wesley's response: "No, we have not yet seen the full restoration of the Early Apostolic Church because when it happens, there will be a return of the manifestations of the Gifts of the Spirit." I agree and I feel that our own church is at that point in our own growth. Some of us have never operated in the Gifts of the Spirit because we have been raised in churches where the spirit was quenched. But let's not base the limits of our experience to what we have always done, or what tradition says is normal, but upon the Word of God!

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The spiritual gifts that are given to men are thus:

1. Word of Wisdom

2. Word of Knowledge

3. Gift of Faith

4. Gift of Healing

5. Working of Miracles

6. Gift of Prophecy

7. Discerning of Spirits

8. Divers kinds of Tongues

9. Interpretation of Tongues

Word of Wisdom - The Word of Wisdom is when God gives you a word for someone that involves making the right choice, right decision, or direction. It usually works best when you have no knowledge of the situation. This is because when we have carnal knowledge of a situation, we usually question ourselves whether or not it is us or God. God will usually tell you to instruct someone else what to do. It is best, when you have carnal knowledge of a situation to be SURE that it is the voice of God speaking. I have known people to push what they desired to happen upon someone and say it is the Word of Wisdom. That is NOT a Gift of the Spirit. Remember to exhibit the spiritual fruit of meekness when giving people direction. I have known God to really speak through some people, and the person not receive it because of their attitude and method of delivery. Also, keep in mind that if God has given you a Word of Wisdom for someone that it is for that person, and not necessarily for the whole church to know.

Word of Knowledge - The Word of Knowledge is when God tells you of a situation or event that has happened in someone’s life. God may do this in conjunction with a Word of Wisdom and also give you advice for that person but not always. Sometimes God may give it to you just to encourage a person and let them know that God knows exactly what is going on and has not forgotten them. It is not always the will of God for you to tell the person what God has shared, so we must be sensitive to the Spirit of God for further direction! Sometimes God shares something with you so that you can simply pray for that person. Usually the nature of the event will clue you in to when it is best just to pray and not approach that person.

Gift of Faith - Everyone is given a measure of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. So what is the difference between faith that everyone has and the spiritual Gift of Faith? The Gift of Faith is when God directly speaks to you to step out on faith in a particular situation. For instance, God spoke to me directly and instructed me to pray for Him to bless someone financially unexpected. That week God answered that prayer in a mighty way! I have faith that God can bless financially because of the promises of His Word but the Gift of Faith is different in that God speaks to you directly to step out in faith for a situation. With the expression of Faith, will come the blessing of God fulfilling the expression!

Gift of Healing - Likewise, healing is promised to all believers through the prayer of the elders of the church (James 5). But there are times that God will directly speak to someone to pray for someone to be healed. They may not know that there was even a sickness. Like the Gift of Faith, God will respond to the obedience of His command. Jesus prophesied that being used in this gift would be a sign of a true believer:

Healing means a gradual process of the body will take place. For instance, if you pray for a tumor and the tumor begins to gradually shrink over a period of a few days until it completely disappears, then God has performed a healing. If when you pray, God causes the tumor to drop off and the person is instantly healed, that is a miracle.

Working of Miracles - This refers to the instantaneous act of God. There is no process involved. Miracles are often but not limited to correcting physical illnesses. God can work a miracle by giving you a job, by giving you unexpected money before the bills are due, or by working a situation out that you though impossible. The difference between miracles and the spiritual gift of working of miracles is that in the spiritual gift God will speak to you directly and command you to believe God for a miracle. Nothing is too hard for God!

Gift of Prophecy - This can mean the foretelling of the future, but can also refer to a direct message of God through you in a known tongue. To “prophesy” means “to proclaim.” Sometimes God will instruct you to prophesy to someone or the even the church that an event is going to happen before it does. At other times, God may speak directly to the congregation and exhort, correct, or reveal His purpose through a direct word. The difference between anointed preaching and the gift of prophecy is that anointed preaching is proclaiming the written Word of God through the help of God’s Spirit while the gift of prophecy is proclaiming as a mouthpiece a direct Word from God. It is the difference between saying “God’s Word says” or “I feel like God wants us to” and “Thus saith the Lord God:.” In the gift of prophecy, God speaks through the mouthpiece of a man and speaks to someone or a congregation as if He were literally standing in the room. The Gift of Prophecy will always be in a known language.

Discerning of Spirits - This is one of the most misunderstood gifts even in Apostolic circles. The discerning of Spirits is NOT necessarily when you feel a person’s spirit in rebellion to God. There are three types of spirits in the world: the Spirit of God, evil spirits, and people’s spirits. Hopefully you know what the Spirit of God feels like. If not, then you need to go to an Apostolic worship service where people worship God in spirit and in truth. A demonic spirit feels very oppressive and evil. The most common evil spirits that we face as a child of God is the spirit of fear and the spirit of confusion. A person’s human spirit can also be felt. Especially when it is completely sold out to God or in complete rebellion to God’s will. When it is in rebellion to God’s will it is best to ignore their spirit. You cannot change them and God will not.

The spiritual gift of discerning of spirits is when God speaks to you and brings to your attention a particular spirit. Often you were not even aware of it until God spoke to you. I can still remember the time that God spoke to the man of God about a spirit of adultery in a person and yet the pastor and saints that were close to God had not recognized the spirit there. In other words, the spiritual gift of the discerning of spirits is when God makes you aware of a spirit that is trying to hide itself. For a preacher usually the best thing to do is not to recognize the spirit by identifying it out loud and begin to hit it with scripture. Sometimes, though, God will give you specific instructions to deal with it verbally and then we are to obey God. If God does not tell you to do so, however, do not identify it verbally but hammer it with scripture. Sometimes when a preacher seemingly chases a tangent or gets off on a particular area that does not seem to go with his sermon, he is responding to God identifying a particular spirit for him. In rare cases, God wants you to simply know that it is there and not immediately confront the situation. In those cases, I have learned that you must choose your battles wisely.

Divers kinds of Tongues - This is when God causes you to speak with tongues for the purpose of edifying the church body or others. This is NOT receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Usually this gift will be used in conjunction with the next gift, the Interpretation of tongues, but not always. Last year, I remember God used Bro. Tannehill to give forth tongues and it helped some people to focus on the things of God during our communion service. There was no need for interpretation in that time.

Interpretation of Tongues - Usually though, God will want someone to interpret the tongues in language that everyone understands. The tongues were given to get everyone’s attention that God was about to speak. Usually there is a deep move of the Holy Ghost and the leader of the service will alert everyone to seek after the Lord. After a person gives forth the tongues, then another person, or possibly the same person will interpret. The Gift of Prophecy is the same as this gift without the tongues given first.

The tongues are for unbelievers to be convinced that what is about to be said in the known language is from God. In I Corinthians 14, Paul gave guidelines for this gift, including that there should be at most 3 interpretations per service, and that if God impresses upon the person who gave the tongues the interpretation also, that they should wait and allow someone else the chance to be used by God before interpreting.

God gives some people the interpretation of tongues like a teleprompter flashing the message across their mind. Other people God gives them the first words of the interpretation and when they speak those out, the rest flows out of them almost like speaking in tongues but in a known language. The tongues and interpretation are usually very loud and is very different when a person speaks in tongues receiving the Holy Spirit.

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If you do not have the spiritual gifts operating in your life, then it is because of one of the following reasons:

1. You have not yet received the Holy Ghost.

These gifts are gifts OF THE SPIRIT. That is they are given when you receive the Holy Ghost. Some people are confused when people who do not experience the moving of the Holy Ghost are used in the spiritual gifts. Remember that many people who are members of denomination churches have been filled with the Holy Ghost in their personal prayer time but are afraid to tell anyone about it. My grandmother on my father's side is a prime example. Her church forbade anyone "talking in tongues" in church and their pastor was not completely correct doctrinally, but my father remembers going to bed hearing his mother praying on the porch in a heavenly language. Despite what the church taught, God responded to the sincere hunger of my grandmother. She did not advertise the fact that she had received this experience because her pastor taught that it was not possible to receive that experience!

To get around the fact that they do not have the spiritual gifts operating in their churches, many people teach that your spiritual gift may be something like teaching Sunday School, or comforting others. While God does give various ministries and use the talent of men, those things are not the nine spiritual gifts. Paul listed the spiritual gifts together for a reason.

Also remember that just because God responds to prayer for a healing does not necessarily mean that the minister has the Holy Spirit and is operating in the spiritual gifts. God could have responded to the faith of the one who was healed or someone else who was praying for them at the time!

2. Lack of knowledge or teaching.

You did not know that God wanted to use you in the spiritual gifts or that they are available to you. Or possibly you have never been taught and fully understood exactly what they were and how they operated. That is why I am teaching on them, to remove this excuse in our lives! God wants to use us in these areas, and our church MUST have them operating!

3. You have not desired to be used in the spiritual gifts.

God is a gentleman and will not do anything to you that you do not desire. He will also not do anything through you that you do not want. For us to be used in the spiritual gifts, we must desire to be used.

The word in the Greek for "covet earnestly" means "to burn with zeal." We should desire the best gifts with fervency and passion! What are the best gifts? The ones that are needed at a particular time. Notice that it does not say "covet earnestly the best gift (singular)!" We should never beg God to be used in one particular gift only and disdain the others, but we should pray for God to use us in whichever gift is the most appropriate and needed at the time. If a miracle needs to be done, then tongues and/or interpretation will not be the best gift. If God desires to speak through you in tongues and/or interpretation to the congregation, then stepping out in faith and praying for someone's healing is not the best gift at that moment. We should covet earnestly the "best giftS!"

4. Lack of faith that God can use you or fear.

These gifts are already in you if you have received the Holy Ghost! You've just got to be willing to receive and unwrap the gift and learn how to use it! It is not a matter of you earning it from God for these are spiritual GIFTS, and ones that have already been given to you!

5. You are spiritually immature or fighting the work of the Holy Ghost in some areas of your life that cause God to be unable to trust you with the operation of certain gifts.

A critical spirit and attitude will stop the gift of the Word of Wisdom and Discerning of Spirits quickly! Likewise, God cannot trust a gossip with the Word of Knowledge. People with pride and unsubmissive spirits will abuse and misuse the Working of Miracles and Gift of Healing as well as the Gift of Prophecy. Those who do not have a good scriptural knowledge of the Word of God will allow the Gift of Faith to destroy people.

The problems in the church in Corinth came from people be used in the spiritual gifts while not allowing the fruit of the Spirit, particularly love, to help govern them. If God reveals something that someone is going through, then you must allow genuine love to guide your actions. Usually, standing up in the middle of church and proclaiming what God has shared with you about someone's secret struggles will do more harm than good! We must allow the fruit of the Spirit to guide us! We must be meek in praying for miracles and healings. We should not allow the gift to cause us to become prideful. If God reveals something to us about someone whom we have had problems with in the past, we should show "gentleness." The fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit are meant to work together and help each other! Problems arise when we try to have one without the other and that includes trying to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit without the spiritual gifts to help us! We must have the spiritual gifts and the fruit of the Spirit within our lives and church!

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There are several other things of the Spirit that we need to begin to operate in more frequently.

1. Praying in the Holy Ghost building up our Holy Faith

2. Intercessory Prayer

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If we don't want the things of the Spirit to operate in our life, then God will find someone else that will. He'll reveal to someone else who He really is. He will reveal the power of His saving name of Jesus Christ to someone else. He will reveal to someone else the power of worshipping Him in Spirit and in truth to someone that is willing to move and hunger for the "things of the Spirit."

The story of the prodigal son, how that when the youngest came back, dad killed a fatted calf and threw a party. The oldest didn't come to the party. When the father went out to see why, he looked at the son in amazement and said "you've been with me all this time and everything that I have is yours." In other words, the fatted calves were there and the bread and the tables and the kitchen and the corn and the gravy and all the eldest son had to do was put it all together and desire the party and he could have had it! Because he didn't take advantage of what he had, the blessing went to someone else.

Esau was the same way. He had the birthright but he didn't plan on using it. Jacob wanted it so God allowed Jacob to have it! The churches of the 300s and 400s didn't want the things of the Spirit, so God has allowed us to have the revelations. There are some churches and organizations that are much older than we are that don't want it so it has passed them by. But the same applies to us. If we don't want it, then God will find someone else to be the true Apostolic Church today! Let's allow the things of the Spirit to move in our lives!