Missy that was George's intention's to bring confusion to you, and to discourage you and thus in and of itself tells you the value of the topic you inquired about, the father never trys to encourage his children from receiving his Gifts, press in and receive all he has for you.
In Romans 12, we find that God has distributed gifts of the Holy Spirit into the lives of believers for the benefit of the whole church. Because of the abuse of some, many have recoiled from these wonderful gifts that God has given. Some have seen the excesses and those who have gone too far in one direction with these gifts, and they think, "I don't want anything to do with that kind of activity."
However, you can go too far in the other direction as well. The gifts of the Spirit are real, and they are available for Christians today. Not only should we be using them in our lives, but we also should be seeking the gift or gifts He has placed in our lives.
But we need to realize the gifts God has placed in our lives are always the best ones for us.
Sadly, many of us are not utilizing these gifts in our lives. We don't understand our role in the church, which is upward, inward, and outward. In other words, we are here to worship God, build up one another, and reach out to a lost world with the gospel.
First, we are here to worship God. Ephesians 1:12 tells us that God has called us as Christians to live for the praise of His glory. We are here on Earth to glorify and to know the God who made us.
1 Peter 2:9 says we are "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (NKJV).
That is not just true of the church in general. That is true of us as individuals.
Second, we are here to build up one another. Paul said that his own goal was not merely to evangelize, but to "present every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (Colossians 1:28 NKJV).
Third, we are here to reach out to a lost world with the gospel. Jesus told us to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . . " (Matthew 28:19 NKJV). And again in Mark 16, Jesus told us to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (verse 15, NKJV).
We must keep these principles in their proper balance. We don't want to emphasize one at the expense of another or take them out of their proper order.
In Ephesians 4, Paul talks about how this balance must come into place and how our gifts play into this.
Ephesians tells us that God has given us these gifts "for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (4:12 NKJV). Another way to translate this verse is "to equip God's people for work and His service."
The Charisma/gifts of GOD always follow the proclaimation
of the Gospel,
They do not follow the Believer.
When the Gospel is made known,the Holy Spirit will make His Life and Presence known to those Proclaiming and heasring the Gospel.
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Mar 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
The reason we do not see the holy Spirit making His Life and Presence known today;
We do not proclaim the Gospel of Yeshua.
The people are being told that which is not the Gospel.
Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
It is also interesting to note that all of the main Bible translations except the KJV have this big note after Mark 16:8: "The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20!!"
Which is important since the following bogus passage is in Mark 16:16-18: Jesus says, "Whoever believes *AND IS BAPTIZED* will be saved...And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My Name they will... pick up snakes with your hands, and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all."
The Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Christ continually point to Mark 16:16 to prove baptismal regeneration and 10's of thousands of people have lost their lives or become brain dead by following Mark 16:17,18 which has brought great dishonor to Christianity.
I believe we should all seek all the spiritual gifts. God will reveal to you what your own gifts are - those spiritual gifts that He will bless you with that you can use for His glory. In addition, I bellieve you should also continue to try to understand all the gifts, and ask God for them.
Looks like you've had plenty of scripture thrown at you. My experience is certainly yes to your questions, although I never really dwelled about praying for the gifts. They just came as I believed. Many times the gifts came when I really didn't want them in a way, as the Holy Spirit is asking something of me that was foreign to my nature, old nature that is. God gives the gifts, you cannot control them, but they do give you a feeling of power and energy that nothing can compare to. Any time I hear someone say that those gifts aren't operating anymore, and I don't care which gift it is you are talking about, I really wonder if that person is a spiritual christian. I was a carnal christian for about 25 years, and that is a weak and miserable time in my life, with satan's hand on all that I did, a complete failure in spite of what other people saw and thought. When I began to believe, which included sincere study for the truth, sincere truth about myself, to myself and Jesus, and confessing the Gospel, walking in faith and believing unto righteousness, God began laying the gifts on me.
Hope this helps you. Study to show yourself approved.
Well said David and as you said carnality stuck it's head up, and when mR carnality shows up you can what he his fighting against is vitally important to you.
