In other words, prophets have the prophetic insight to know things in the spirit that others may know but have not shared that information with anyone. God has given me the ability through my prophetic gift to know things that may have happened in someone’s past, or that is currently occurring, and He would couple the gift of wisdom to give them godly wisdom, direction, instructions, and time to make a decision pertaining to their future and destiny in God. Jesus operated in the gift when speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, Nathan at the fig tree, and knowing that Judas was going to betray Him.
Discerning of Spirits
The gift of discerning of spirits is a supernatural power that allows a believer to detect the realm of spiritual activities and their spirits. One of the dynamics and elements of this powerful gift is the Holy Spirit innate ability to perceive, identify, verify, discern, and distinguish between truth and error, spirituality and carnality, angelic and demonic, prophetic and new age/psychic, and the Holy Spirit work or the human spirit/flesh at work. Remarkably, this gift of the Holy Spirit can sense demonic and angelic presence and the power of spiritual insight through supernatural revelation into the schemes, tricks, traps, devices, plans, and purposes of the adversary and his demonic arsenal.
This gift also has the ability to identify specific sicknesses or diseases with the help of the other gifts of wisdom and knowledge working interchangeably. We must understand that other gifts can overlap and mix with each other to fulfill God’s overall purpose. Jesus was also able, through this gift, to perceive men’s thoughts and motivations. The Word of God can sharpen one’s ability in this particular gift. The Bible says the Word of the Lord is sharper then any two-edged sword and pierces down to the bone and marrow, and is the discerner of the heart. The Word of God increases any Holy Spirit gift through the believer.
Faith
The gift of faith is a supernatural ability to contend against unbelief, doubt, anxiety, fear, and uneasiness. This gift gives a believer the ability to trust and believe in God without a shadow of doubt in their heart. In addition, this type of faith given by the Holy Spirit is considered saving faith or the measure of faith that is given to all Spirit-filled believers, but this is faith that is able to meet the demands head-on without any inner reservation. This type of faith is not a gift that every believer has or can just ignorantly utilize, but it comes with an inner conviction and holy discontentment to fulfill the high calling of the Lord.
Moreover, a believer that operates in this type of gift has the supernatural faith allotted to them by the Lord to believe Him for the miracles, and also obtain miracles in his or her own life. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, and intercessors are more prone to operate in this type of faith that is required to demonstrate the kingdom of God that will result in change. I have seen believers more in this gifting even though they may not be called to a fivefold ministry office. We so desperately need the gift of faith to be operative in our lives, and to relate with people of tremendous faith.
Prophets, apostles, and evangelists more often have to move in this type of gift to prophesy, work miracles, heal the sick, win the harvest of souls, and believe God for financial resources. This faith gift has the supernatural potential to meet adverse situations, circumstances, and problems head-on while at the same time trusting in the promises of God’s Word. Have you ever needed a miracle or something immediately and didn’t know how you were going to receive it, but as you read the Word of God, heard a preached message, or overheard someone give a testimony something began to quicken your spirit and all of a sudden all that doubt, fear, unbelief, worry, and distrust that you once had went straight out the window? It was the gift of faith stirring on the inside of you.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) that “now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We must move beyond the simple gift of faith into a realm or dimension of faith that moves mountains. The Bible also says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Prophetically God wants to fine-tune our ability to hear and grow in faith through His Word. When you look at your physical ears, they kind of look like a baby embryo; so that being said, when we hear the Word of God, that faith is summoned, and in the Spirit our faith will mature to trust in His Word because faith comes only by hearing the Word of God. So if you want to grow and move in faith, keep hearing and hearing and hearing God’s prophetic promises over your life, and you will mature and fulfill that call.
Healing
The gift(s) of healing refers to supernatural healing without any human assistance or guidance. Also, notice that it is called the gifts of healing, which is plural. So in other words, there is no one particular way of healing a condition, but through this gift a believer is able to identify one or more areas they are able to flow in without any help from others. This gift is creative in itself, but in some cases, depending on the severity of the sickness or condition, there may be some Spirit-led divine applications of natural directives, implementations, and medical means treating different types of situations. Every sickness may be rare and different and would need special attention when this gift is active. I flow very heavily in the gifts of healing, and God gives me a word of knowledge or divine information about a person’s condition, along with the gift of wisdom and discerning of spirits also working together. I am able to identify the condition, see what demonic spirits of infirmity or disease are at work in their body, and with godly wisdom I am able to walk them through their healing and deliverance with simple instructions.
For example, I was in a meeting once and God revealed to me that there was a person that was having problems walking and had this condition for a very long time and God wanted to heal them. So this woman came walking up to the altar in a walker as my brother and I were ministering healing and prophecy. She was disabled and was in need of not only healing but a total miracle. As we saw her condition, there came upon us a supernatural faith to see her made whole, and my hands began to burn. We both laid our hands on her and commanded her body to align itself to the original design and order of God, and she fell out under the power of God. Suddenly she arose and was not in need of her walker. God totally healed her. She began to run around the church screaming, “Thank You, Jesus” while weeping because the Lord healed her from a lifelong condition she’d had since she was a little girl. The gift of healing was at work along with the gifts of faith and miracles. Prophets can move in the gift of healing, as we see many times throughout the Bible Jesus and others operating in healings.
Working of Miracles
The gift of working of miracles or the miraculous is a supernatural enablement to intervene and superimpose any earthly and evil powers or forces. This type of gift is superior in nature because it transcends beyond natural laws to fulfill God’s eternal purposes. As I stated before, each gift of the Holy Spirit is not limited to one specific function, but can work closely if need be with other gifts of the Spirit. It is not hard to see the manifestation of just one gift at work in a believer’s life, but typically you will witness several of them working closely knit together. The only hard part is identifying these gifts’ manifestations if they are working together. That is why I am simply bringing some clarity to this gift’s function.
This unique gift works closely with the gift of faith and gifts of healing so that in turn it brings authority and power over sickness, death, the devil, and the binding forces of our day. Jesus is the Miracle Worker. The majority of Jesus’ apostolic ministry was prayer, working of miracles, deliverance, healings, casting out demon-possessed individuals, raising the dead, providing supernatural resources, food, fathering, and being about Daddy God’s business. Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God to do what He was able to do. He needed the enablement, endowment, and empowerment of the Spirit to operate on a high realm. This type of gift is vital to the church and world. Can you imagine the church if more people around the world were equipped, trained, and sent to work miracles in marketplaces, workpla
ces, cities, communities, regions, and every realm of society? I have witnessed five-year-olds move in the gifts of miracles. God wants to use and activate this gift in greater way.
Prophecy
The gift of prophecy is a supernatural gift of proclamation and declaration in a known tongue. I define this gift as the God-inspired ability to speak forth in a known tongue as the Holy Spirit gives them utterance according to 1 Corinthians 12:10). The gift of prophecy is a gift that speaks something by the Spirit and not by human intellect. The prophet of God is the mouthpiece or spokesman of God, through whom inspired words of the Lord are uttered. They speak as God’s representatives in the earth, but Christian believers can prophesy who may not be called or stationed in that ministry office. There are several biblical references of people who had the gift of prophecy, one being Philip’s four daughters, who were not prophetesses but were able to prophesy. (See Acts 21:8–14, 9.) I believe that the gift of prophecy and the ministry office of the prophet are now more received today in the twenty-first century then in past centuries. God loves to speak to and through His people.
The Bible says in 2 Peter 1:21 that holy men of God spoke as they were moved of the Holy Spirit. Prophets were holy men that spoke by the Holy Spirit. The word of the Lord through a holy believer is like fresh water springing forth to bring refreshing. It is God’s idea that you prophesy and speak whether you are a beginner or not. The gift of prophecy via the Holy Spirit is only limited to exhortation (stir up), edification (to build up), comfort (to bind up), and I will go so far as to say to bring holy conviction (to open up) for the sole purpose of blessing and upgrading the saints. The gift of prophecy reveals the heart, intention, motive, and counsel of the Lord to individuals and the body of Christ at large. The prophecy has two functions, as I stated before—foretelling and forth-telling. God will get His point across one way or another. Prophecy released in the church brings confirmation, affirmation, and makes strong His word. It also discloses what He is going to do in a particular time, season, and even generation.
Diverse Kinds of Tongues
The gift of diverse or different kinds of tongues is a supernatural utterance spoken in an unknown language or tongue. In other words, the speaker of the diverse kinds of tongues does not understand what they are uttering forth because it is Holy Spirit-inspired. It’s an inspired communication by the Spirit. It also serves as the divine evidence and sign of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Tongues are a sign to unbelievers and, like the gift of prophecy, is a sign to believers. In other words, when the gift of tongues is at work in a believer, usually it will get unbelievers’ attention; I have seen unbelievers question what was happening. I even had an unbeliever ask me if I was crazy, but after I was done this unbeliever eventually became a believer in Christ. The supernatural gift can be also interpreted so that the entire body of Christ is strengthened, encouraged and built up.
Tongues are also used to stir a believer up in their most holy faith in God. I love speaking in diverse tongues because it builds me up to prophesy as well as operate in any other gifts of the Spirit. I utilize the gift of different kinds of tongues to get myself out of the realm of the flesh and move instantly into the spiritual realm. Speaking in tongues takes you into the spiritual realm. We should make it a habit to pray, sing, worship, and even read in tongues. I have made speaking in different kinds of tongues a part of my prayer life. As a youth, after receiving the baptism of the Spirit, I would pray and sing in the Spirit for hours.
I can recall many times growing up in the prophetic that while I was asleep, my peers heard me speaking in tongues. I am reminded of Paul the apostle, who prayed in the Spirit or tongues and worshipped in tongues as well. In other words, he spoke in a known tongue and also in an unknown tongue. There have been times when I sang the song of the Lord in the gift of tongues unto the Lord, and someone would come and tell me that I blessed them, and they knew what I was saying; God prophesied through me in an unknown language. This gift is prevalent among Pentecostal believers. We should not be limited to being with the Spirit, but go beyond that and prophesy and work miracles.
Interpretation of Tongues
The gift of interpretation of tongues is the supernatural ability to disclose and make known in a known tongue the meaning of the unknown tongue that was uttered. We must not confuse the interpretation of tongues or the one who possesses the gift with one who is a translator of a language, because the interpreter never understands the tongue they are interpreting; rather, by supernatural faith they proclaim and reveal by divine revelation the meaning. This gift is exercised in the body of Christ in an unusual, miraculous way that is viewed as a supernatural phenomenon.
The gift of interpretation of tongues usually follows the gift of tongues if there are no prophets who can just prophesy in public the word of the Lord or interpreters present. I can remember a time when I was stretched by faith to operate in this Holy Spirit interpretation gift. Ironically, I had been asking the Lord in prayer to give me this particular gift, and one Sunday morning, the Spirit of God took over a meeting and His glory filled the room. Those in attendance began to speak in tongues for most of the service, then suddenly I felt in my spirit a supernatural faith to interpret what was released. Of course, I had no clue what everyone was saying, but no one stood up to acknowledge that they had a prophecy or word of the Lord, so I volunteered and spoke by faith what I sensed God was saying through the gifts of tongues that were corporately spoken. The people were amazed, blessed, edified, and some were even weeping because God spoke through me and confirmed His plan to some of them who were present. In this gift, a Spirit-filled believer is not interpreting and operating through their own mind or intellect, but having the mind of Christ to share His heart.
ROMANS 12:3–8: THE MOTIVATIONAL GIFTS OF THE FATHER
Prophecy
We can see that in this particular category prophecy is once again mentioned. We can see that the Father views prophets, prophecy, and the prophetic ministry as an important aspect to the body of Christ. The motivational gift serves its purpose to reveal Christ, and prophecy has a major role in the church, which is characterized in a general sense as a whole to influence the world around us. Prophecy spoken through a man or woman of God who walks in humility, good godly character, and integrity can bring transformation to whole nations, cities, territories, and churches. Romans 12:3–8 really outlines the purpose, motivation, and reason for serving God with your spiritual gifts. Verse 6 says that those who prophesy should use it to the grace that is given to them and also minister prophetically to the proportion of their faith. I always say that your car can only go but so far as your gas tank allows. So in other words, a person can only prophesy to the measure of their faith. I have seen people prophesy outside their grace or measure of faith and wreck themselves before they got started.
The Bible says that we should grow in grace. That means to me that we can grow in the anointing and gift in our lives. If we are faithful over the few things that are given to us, then we can become mature rulers over much. Prophecy in general is vital to the overall makeup of the church, as well as the other gifts. The Bible also says to whom much is given much is required. God knows how much we can take because He knows His children better than we know ourselves. Those operating in the motivational gift to prophesy will speak with divine insight to the strategies and spiritual DNA of heaven and see to it that it comes to pass in the earth. Those who possess this motivational gift of prophecy or to prophesy will not waver or compromise themselves for the sake of population or worldly fame but become worthy, valuable assets to the kingdom of God and His victorious church. The Father utilizes this motivational prophetic gift as what I call the “eyes” (to see) and “ears” (to hear) of the body of Christ.
Ministry
Ministry is not for the faint at heart but those who are going to endure until the end. Ministry is not for the purpose of becoming wealthy and to lord over people, but it is primarily to serve, love, help, and minist
er to meet the needs of others. Jesus said that He did not come to be served but to serve. Whatever capacity of ministry we function in, we must never forget that we are servants first and leaders second. When Philip inquired about who will be least or greatest in the kingdom, Jesus’ response to his question was that those who want to be great must be the servant or slave of all first. In other words, humility is greatness! I remember my twin brother, Naim, sharing with me that his boss would always say, “Naim, how can I serve you? We work for you!” I thought that statement was profound. That being said, ministry is working for others. It’s our service to help others become better, which is the Father’s motive and should be ours as well.
Prophets are especially called to serve God and His people, and operate in the ministry of helps. That’s right; I said the ministry of helps. How can a person lead if they never helped another lead? The Bible says in Amos 3:7 (NKJV, emphasis added), “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secrets to his servants the prophets.” We can see that in this scripture the prophets were called servants first before they were called prophets. In other words, prophets and prophetic believers are servants of God first before they are leaders in their sphere of influence, activity, or work. The office of deacon is also an ordained ministry in the local church and is an important part of the upkeep and maintenance of the work of the Lord. This type of gift of the Father, generally speaking, represents spiritually the “hands” in the body of Christ. We need more laborers in the kingdom who don’t have feeble hands and legs.
Born to Prophesy Page 17
