Q & A VIII

1 Cor.12:4-6 “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.  There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.”

Question: At what point are these gifts deposited in the individual – before or after salvation, or during the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or are people born with it?

Answer: The gifts of the Holy Spirit are distributed anytime from salvation forward. It could be at the point of salvation. Some people begin to speak in tongues and get gifts at salvation. It could be during the baptism of the Holy Spirit or afterwards. However, some people can have several abilities and different delivery channels before salvation. But it cannot be categorised as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Some people are just spiritually active, spiritually sensitive before they get saved. When they get saved and they surrender it to God, they catch fire. Some people dream dreams before they are saved. But it cannot be categorised as the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is enablement from heaven that God probably gave them, that is if it is a neutral ability. It can be a channel through which the Holy Spirit later delivers His gift when the person gets saved. The gifts of the Holy Spirit can manifest anytime after the person gives his or her life to Jesus.

Question: How do others get to benefit from things God shows you that are specifically for you?

Answer: God chooses to do what He wants to do, He is Sovereign. For example, years ago, God chose to show me my Pastor’s notes the night before he taught. On Saturday night for example, in my time with the Lord, I actually download my Pastor’s entire sermon. Not by choice, I was not even praying for it. I would be spending time with the Lord and He would tell me. And in church, I know what my Pastor’s next point is even before he says it. At that point in the journey of the church, our meeting place was in a tent. On some days, the tent will get very hot and uncomfortable. And my Pastor, a wise man, would opt to cut his sermon short so that people would not faint.

When that happens, obviously because I have seen the full thing, I would get upset. That happened a few times and God stopped telling me. It was a privilege; God probably took it away so that it does not cause problems for me. But why did He reveal it in the first place? There are certain things you tell people just because they are your friends. If you have fellowship with God to a certain level, He will feel obliged to tell you certain things and He will. Yet the fact that He tells you does not mean you become puffed up, or arrogant, or think it is a right.

Prayer: Lord, I honour You. I am grateful for the privilege of walking with You and thankful for every gift and ability by Your Spirit. Lord, teach me, grow me, in Jesus Name. Amen!