One of the biggest reasons that the body of Christ hasn’t made a greater impact on our generation today is because of our failure to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
God confirms His Word with signs following, confirming the message, that God was truly the One speaking through them.
Hebrews 2:3-4 says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” The Lord bore witness to the accuracy of their message through miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said all true believers would flow in the miraculous: “And these signs will follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 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.” If a Christian’s life isn’t supernatural, it’s superficial.
Mark goes on to say that messages based in God’s Word would be confirmed by signs following: “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”
Jesus even said, “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not” (John 10:37). That’s a strong statement. If we were to apply that standard to ministers today, most wouldn’t be believed.
Most of the preaching done in the name of the Lord today is without the power of the Holy Spirit manifesting through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is not the way the Lord intended it to be.
The “main line” denominations have developed doctrines to cope with this obvious discrepancy. However, regardless of the rationale, it’s absurd to think that we can be effective without the power of the Holy Spirit confirming the preaching of God’s Word. If Jesus and the early apostles needed their preaching validated, how can we do any less?
Even the non-denominational churches have fallen away from ministering in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts that operate in most “Spirit-filled” churches are simply words of exhortation or prophecy. There is much more.
There are times when people will be skeptical after hearing a person teach, but the demonstration of God’s power through the gifts will turn them into believers. It’s like the teaching fills their minds with God’s Word, then the gifts of the Holy Spirit reveal the truth of the Word.
One of the most important steps to flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit is to earnestly desire them. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:31, “But covet earnestly the best gifts.” He repeated that thought in 1 Corinthians 14:1 when he said, “Desire spiritual gifts.” Another way of saying this is, if you can live without flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you will. You must seek these gifts with all your heart (Jer. 29:13).
It’s also very important to understand that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are always flowing. God doesn’t turn them “on” and “off.” We are the ones who are “on” or “off.” That’s a startling statement to many people and one that verges on blasphemy to some, but it’s true. The Lord is always ready to flow through us in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
It’s just like praying in tongues. We don’t have to wait for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to come on us to speak in tongues. We can pray in tongues at any time. It’s not us turning on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is always on and giving us the ability to speak in tongues. Therefore, whenever we turn ourselves on, the gift of tongues is there to allow us to communicate with our heavenly Father. Praise the Lord! That’s the way it is with all the gifts.
You can flow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit at any time. I said, We can read the thought of people’s hearts and tell them things that have to be coming from the Holy Spirit.
No one has received everything that the Holy Spirit has for them. Therefore, the Lord is always seeking to release more to us through His supernatural gifts. Whenever we put ourselves in a mode to be His channel, His gifts will flow. The old “Pentecostal” doctrine of the anointing coming and going is not a New Testament truth. First John 2:27 says, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you.”
Another great truth about flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit is what John Osteen called “the divine flow.” This is based on, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Therefore, whenever we discern the love of God flowing through us toward someone, God is reaching out to them through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. All we must do is follow that flow through faith.
When our heart goes out to a person, although we never me them the love of God begins flowing through us to them Because of that love alone, we can tell them God has a word for them. We may not have a single word for them, but we know God’s love is flowing, therefore, God and His gifts are flowing to them. We start by saying, “God loves you.” God then will flood our mind with things to minister to them.
This is the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom in operation. God gave the knowledge of what has happened to a person then gives words of wisdom to instruct them on how to deal with it. This all comes because we follow the love that we feel in our heart.
This has happened to us all, but most of the time we don’t understand this is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and we miss an opportunity.
It is imperative that we learn to recognize and flow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It’s not only a blessing to us, but the lives of other people may depend on it. You are carrying someone’s miracle. Don’t let it stay inside. You must learn how to release it.