How The Holy Spirit Gifts Us - Part 12 Series

How the Holy Spirit Gifts Us - Part 12

What we believe series

Acklnowledgements: Dr. Henry Schorr, Centre St. Church, Calgary AB

oWell good morning. So great to see you.

o The story is told of a young couple who had a nasty argument

o And when the dust settled they decided to give each other the silent treatment

o That is a bad idea, but none of you have done that, right?

o But they did that for several days and by Sunday night the young man knew he had a real problem

o His alarm clock was broken and he needed to be up by 5:00 AM Monday morning to board a plane; therefore he needed his wife’s help to wake him up

o So not wanting to be the first to break the silence and lose he wrote on paper ‘please wake me at 5:00 AM’

o He woke up the next morning discovering it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight

o So he was furious and thought he would give his wife a piece of his mind

o But as he was headed out of the bedroom he noticed his note with his wife’s handwriting written ‘It is 5:00 AM. Wake up’ (PAUSE)

o Well friends careless and ungraceful communication can have devastating results

o I am conscious of this as for the last several weeks I have been preparing to speak on the sign manifestation gifts – today healing and miracles – next week speaking in tongues and prophecy

o The sign manifestation gifts have been the centre of abuse, misuse, and misunderstanding for two thousand years

o This has created unnecessary confusion and division between churches and Christians – something I refuse to get drawn into

o As I prepared these messages my prayer has been that we would have clarity where there is confusion, freedom where there is fear, and grace when we believe differently

o So before we start let’s agree not to let our differences cause disharmony in the local church. Agreed?

o All factions and dissensions are a work of the flesh and are not from the Holy Spirit

o Let’s not talk behind each others backs about this – if you want to speak about this come with your Bible open after you have prayed

o Then I would be glad to hear you out

o Do we agree?

o Let me be candid with you once again

o I do not believe there is any Biblical evidence that the sign manifestation gifts ceased in the first century

o That is what some call the Cessationism approach

o To put it simply some theologians and pastors believe the sign gifts ceased with the death of the last apostle; however most today believe they continue on, and I am one of them

o I do not support Cessationism

o The important point is what does the Bible teach

o There is little or no support for the cessations view in most major Christian denominations in Canada, in our Bible schools and seminaries today, although it is still taught in a few

o I am going to speak more on that next week when we cover speaking in tongues and prophecy – so be patient

o Let me make another strong statement

o One should never bring the word of God down to ones experiences; but rather filter your experiences through the Word of God

o Let me make another strong statement

o The sovereignty of God overrides my faith and prayers when it comes to healing and miracles

o All right, now we can start with the gift of healing

o Let’s be honest. Often we do not see the miracles and healing that we pray about

o We struggle with doubts

o We have questions like do I not have enough faith

o What is wrong with me

o Did I not pray long and hard enough

o And we wonder does God even heal today?

o Those are honest questions

o Friends God still heals today

o The Bible is full of miracles and healing

o Remember that Jesus did not heal everyone, but he did heal people wherever he went

o Jesus taught all his apostles and followers to pray for healing (Mt. 28:19; James 5), regardless of our experience

o If healing was not for today, then why would Jesus and James implore Christians to pray, asking for healing and miracles

o Now miracles tend to be God working through nature; healing tends to be God working through a personf

1. Miracles: is the divine enablement to pray for supernatural changes to take place through nature that authenticate who God is, bringing glory to God (Jesus – calming of the sea or God divides the Red Sea)