Have you ever met someone who said something like this to you: "I do not know if this is for you but here is what the Lord is telling me to share with you."? If you have that person has just exercised a Spiritual Gift called "Word of Wisdom" or "Word of Knowledge". These are gifts which the Holy Spirit uses to either reveal in a supernatural way something to us about an event that is going to happen or speak about an event that happened to us that no one else knows about.
Since I believe that God still uses the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 today my purpose of this post is not to determine that point. What I want to do is encourage you to consider several things if someone does share a "Word of Wisdom or Knowledge" with you.
I will use examples I have either experienced or heard about.
One night I was at a worship event called “Presence and Power” and after the teaching about how the Holy Spirit moves in our lives the speaker asked if any of us was feeling the power of the Holy Spirit? There were probably 125 people in the room and I along with about ten other people raised our hand. The speaker looked around the room and chose three of us to come up for prayer and I was one of the three.
He then asked people to look at us and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal something about us that we either needed to hear to confirm what was being stirred in us. People came forward and prayed for each of us. One lady who was new to our congregation and who did not know me began to pray and she used Luke 4: 18–19 as she prayed about what she felt the Holy Spirit wanted me to hear.
Luke 4: 18-19 God's Spirit is on me; he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, "This is God's year to act!"
She prayed that I would respond to the call to go to the addicted, the rejected and the down and out.
This woman did not know me or my background, she did not know I had gone through 2 years of extensive pastoral training, she did not know that during that training I had felt the call to do ministry to the poor, the addicted, the rejected. The Holy Spirit used her to confirm what He had placed on my heart but that I was struggling with for the year after I graduated and was ordained.
Another example is I know of a pastor who was prayed over at a convention and was told that someone would come into his life to help him in his ministry. All of the details of the circumstances are not important.
I believe that in both of these situations this is what needs to considered:
1. Was the word truly for us?
2. If so then what should our response be?
I believe that sometimes people get a word of wisdom or knowledge and believe it is for a certain person and it may have been for some one else that they know or see in the room. That is why we need to see if the word lines up with what God has revealed to us already or that we have actually experienced. For example if the word was about me being a star basketball player I would have to seriously question if it was for me since I am 60 years old and 5’6” tall. But if it lines up with what I have felt God calling me to do then I should seriously consider responding to it by seeking the opportunities to do what I am be called to do.
If the Holy Spirit is telling me that I need to consider input from another person and I actually come into contact with that other person I need to carefully listen to counsel of that person. What they say may not agree with my goals and plans but it might be what God actually wants me to pursue. If the Holy Spirit spoke through another person about pursuing things in a slightly different manner I need to deeply consider what the person shared before I discard it. I may be passing over a blessing from God because the ideas were not exactly like mine. The goal may have been the same but the method was slightly different. If I believed the person was sent to me supernaturally then there was a purpose for the ideas being different than what I had.
So how do you apply this to your own life? First, if you are open to receiving a word from God that is supernatural in nature place yourself in situations where people can speak to you in that way. There are conferences and worship services that are available for this type of experience. Second, be open to new ideas when they are shared. Third, be willing to use those new ideas if they move you toward your goal or dream.
Suggested reading: “Naturally Supernatural” by Gary Best
“Power Healing” by John Wimber
“Without Walls” by Randy White
“ 7 Practices of Effective Ministry” by Andy Stanley
These books can be purchased by clicking on the title or by going to your Christian book store.
Since I believe that God still uses the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 today my purpose of this post is not to determine that point. What I want to do is encourage you to consider several things if someone does share a "Word of Wisdom or Knowledge" with you.
I will use examples I have either experienced or heard about.
One night I was at a worship event called “Presence and Power” and after the teaching about how the Holy Spirit moves in our lives the speaker asked if any of us was feeling the power of the Holy Spirit? There were probably 125 people in the room and I along with about ten other people raised our hand. The speaker looked around the room and chose three of us to come up for prayer and I was one of the three.
He then asked people to look at us and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal something about us that we either needed to hear to confirm what was being stirred in us. People came forward and prayed for each of us. One lady who was new to our congregation and who did not know me began to pray and she used Luke 4: 18–19 as she prayed about what she felt the Holy Spirit wanted me to hear.
Luke 4: 18-19 God's Spirit is on me; he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, "This is God's year to act!"
She prayed that I would respond to the call to go to the addicted, the rejected and the down and out.
This woman did not know me or my background, she did not know I had gone through 2 years of extensive pastoral training, she did not know that during that training I had felt the call to do ministry to the poor, the addicted, the rejected. The Holy Spirit used her to confirm what He had placed on my heart but that I was struggling with for the year after I graduated and was ordained.
Another example is I know of a pastor who was prayed over at a convention and was told that someone would come into his life to help him in his ministry. All of the details of the circumstances are not important.
I believe that in both of these situations this is what needs to considered:
1. Was the word truly for us?
2. If so then what should our response be?
I believe that sometimes people get a word of wisdom or knowledge and believe it is for a certain person and it may have been for some one else that they know or see in the room. That is why we need to see if the word lines up with what God has revealed to us already or that we have actually experienced. For example if the word was about me being a star basketball player I would have to seriously question if it was for me since I am 60 years old and 5’6” tall. But if it lines up with what I have felt God calling me to do then I should seriously consider responding to it by seeking the opportunities to do what I am be called to do.
If the Holy Spirit is telling me that I need to consider input from another person and I actually come into contact with that other person I need to carefully listen to counsel of that person. What they say may not agree with my goals and plans but it might be what God actually wants me to pursue. If the Holy Spirit spoke through another person about pursuing things in a slightly different manner I need to deeply consider what the person shared before I discard it. I may be passing over a blessing from God because the ideas were not exactly like mine. The goal may have been the same but the method was slightly different. If I believed the person was sent to me supernaturally then there was a purpose for the ideas being different than what I had.
So how do you apply this to your own life? First, if you are open to receiving a word from God that is supernatural in nature place yourself in situations where people can speak to you in that way. There are conferences and worship services that are available for this type of experience. Second, be open to new ideas when they are shared. Third, be willing to use those new ideas if they move you toward your goal or dream.
Suggested reading: “Naturally Supernatural” by Gary Best
“Power Healing” by John Wimber
“Without Walls” by Randy White
“ 7 Practices of Effective Ministry” by Andy Stanley
These books can be purchased by clicking on the title or by going to your Christian book store.
No comments:
Post a Comment