Power Tools Of The Apostolic Church
“And with great power gave the apostles
witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them
all.”
Acts 4:33
Recently when the contractor was working on the construction
of our Bible School facility he used electric saws, sanders, and other building
equipment. This made the work progress
very quickly and the entire facility was built in record time. Without these powerful tools the building
would have been much slower. We would have had to depend on manual labor. That
is, men using their own power to accomplish the work. Would you sew with your hands if an electric
sewing machine was in your house? Would you walk if a powerful car was in your
compound?
Eastwood Anaba, in Operating Spiritual Gifts relates, “A brand new automobile in perfect condition and filled with gas,
cannot serve the purpose of transporting people, unless someone gets into it,
turns on the ignition and begins to manipulate the clutch, gears, accelerator
and brakes....Having established that physical gifts must be operated or
manipulated before their usefulness become evident, let me state here that in
the spiritual realm the same logic applies...Physical gifts received by people,
were not created by the recipient but he is expected to operate the gift for his
benefit. Likewise, spiritual gifts are
not created by men, but men who receive such heavenly blessing, must know how
to yield to the operation of these gifts by the Holy Ghost in them.”
The Spiritual work of building the house of God, the body
of Christ needs powerful tools. The
tools involved in reaching a world will take not only our power, but the power
of the Spirit. One of the ways that we
see a manifestation of the power is through the operation of Spiritual
Gifts. Before God can use us in Spiritual
Gifts we must first receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This gives us that dynamic power to be
witnesses in all of the world (Acts
1:8).
In Acts 3 we see the Gifts of the Spirit in operation in the
lives of men of God. Once Peter received power
(through the baptism of the Holy Spirit); he also received faith; and we see him immediately being
used in the Gifts of the Spirit. In
fact, in Acts 3, we see a variety of spiritual gifts in operation. The healing
of the lame man surpassed the capability of Peter and John and entered into the
realm of the Spirit. These gifts were
for the building up of the Church.
We see a more in depth study of the Gifts of the Spirit in
the story of the Corinthian Church. This
Church was having problems understanding the Gifts of the Spirit. Because of
this, the Apostle Paul gave teaching on the subject in 1 Corinthians
12-14. We should be thankful for the
Corinthian Church having trouble because we could be left without instruction
over something that we should really understand by the Holy Spirit. Every
Church needs teaching on the Gifts of the Spirit. These gifts are to be used by the Church
throughout all of time until Jesus comes back. Every man of God should be used in
the Gifts of the Spirit. When we begin
to love the world enough to realize we need the operation of the Gifts of the
Spirit then we will see a supernatural move of God.
For many years the Gifts of the Spirit have been greatly
misused (teachers should give some examples of misuses they have encountered in
their own experiences). When we see something misused, what should be our
response? Should we avoid usage at all? The answer for misuse is proper use. We cannot stop allowing the Gifts of the
Spirit to operate in our churches just because someone misuses them,
misunderstands them, or pretends that he is being used of God when he is not. The
Apostle Paul did not want us to be ignorant of Spiritual Gifts.
Therefore he directed his teaching to the brethren. God is still wanting to communicate with the
Church but sometimes the Church does not always want to listen.
“He that hath an ear
let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.” (Revelation 2:7) Why not begin to hear what the Spirit is
saying to the Church? He does not need a
group of people who cannot listen. He does not want us to be ignorant but to
understand. God wants us to have the
best!
If we are ignorant of the Gifts of the Spirit it is for one
of the following three reasons:
1. You were
never taught.
2. You
didn’t want to learn.
3. You did
not understand.
We need to relax and simply say,
“Have your way,
Lord. Teach me your way!”
The Apostle Paul tells us to “covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more
excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:31) We must “follow after charity (love) and desire
spiritual gifts.” (1 Corinthians 14:1) We do not receive the gifts to exalt
ourselves; to make a name for ourselves; or to be lifted up in pride. The only way to use the gifts is with love. Love
is the powerful force that causes us to want
to be used in the Gifts of the Spirit. Love must come first and then we will desire
the gifts to serve God better. Putting Spiritual Gifts ahead of love would be a
serious mistake. Love is the universal language understood by all classes of
people.
“Gifts of the
Spirit” is
the term that is used to specify its own nature. It refers to the supernatural
manifestation that comes to us as gifts from the Holy Spirit. They are
manifested through believers to profit everyone. They are for the upbuilding of
the Church.
If the Church does not have the operation and manifestation
of the Gifts of the Spirit it is deprived of the upbuilding and edifying that
comes from the gifts and presence of the Holy Ghost in the church. We must
believe the Word of God and its promises in order to have power and authority
that will be noticed by the world.
George Shalm, in his book Spiritual Gifts for the Dynamic Church states that, “The Gifts of the Spirit were designed to
be the very heartbeat of the living, vibrant Body of Christ. If we accept the concept that evangelism is
the basic ministry of the church, then we must realize that we are doomed for
failure if we do not avail ourselves to the equipment God has provided....The
early apostles were quickly taught that the most effective manner of presenting
the gospel was one of power.”
It is time for us to awaken to the needs of the spiritual
gifts and ask:
“Why can’t I have
it? Why can’t I have it now?”
Even Paul proclaimed, “But
the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” (1 Corinthians 12:7) This means that all of us can be used in
the Gifts of the Spirit.
Robert Kennedy once said,
Some people ask, “Why?”
Others of us ask “Why not?”
But I ask, “Why not, NOW?”
I ask you,
“Why not use God’s power tools NOW?”
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