Altar Worker Prayer Team Ministry Training - Class 2 Series

CLASS 2. - The Importance and Operation of the Supernatural Gifts During

Prayer

A. Becoming a Lightning Rod

When people choose to give their lives to Jesus and receive Him as their personal Lord and Savior, they are re-born and become alive to another realm. They physically live in the natural world and are alive in the spiritual or supernatural realm, giving them the limitless ability to transcend natural talents and personal skills.

Living a supernatural life is a Christian's most powerful yet practical way to live. Christians can live in this natural world with supernatural power to affect change in every life they touch by learning to use what God has given them at the moment of salvation through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Becoming a lightning rod of God's transforming power requires the Christian to move from being passive and intimidated by the gift of the Holy Spirit to becoming intimate and passionate with Him. They must learn that the Holy Spirit is God, yet He is also a friend - not a force.

B. The Gifts that Keep on Giving

When a person chooses to give their life to Jesus and receive Him as their personal Lord and Savior with a repentant heart, they are re-born and become alive to a supernatural realm.

Jesus is the greatest gift ever given. Through the gift of the Savior, every person on this planet has the freedom of choice to receive God's gift of salvation. Salvation makes a person "complete" in Christ (Colossians 2:10). All that the Father is, Jesus is. "All the fullness of the Godhead bodily" dwells in Jesus, and He dwells within the Christian (Col 2:9-10 NKJV). Jesus is the physical presentation of all that the Father is.

Jesus claimed to live a sinless life and to be God, as well as having shared the glory of God in Heaven (John 1:1-5,8:28-29,17:5,46-47). When He was accused of claiming to be God, He did not deny it (John 10:30). Nor did Jesus correct the disciple Thomas when he said to Him, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28 NIV).

Jesus said that if a person believes in God, they should believe in Him (John 14:1). He also claimed to be the ONLY way to God and that He could forgive sins and give everlasting life. (Matthew 11:27; John 6:40,47,10:28-30,11:25,4:6; Luke 5:20-21,7:48-49, 47). He also claimed that He would die and return to life and return to judge the world (Matthew 24:27-30,25:31-32; Mark 14:61-62; Luke 18:31-33; John 10:17,12;32-33,16:16)

Jesus willingly received worship and claimed the role and functions reserved only for the Creator God in the Old Testament, such as the Shepherd, the Rock, and the Sower (Matthew 2:11,7:24-27,13:24-30,14:33,21:15-16; Luke 24:52; John 9:38).

Jesus declared that He had the same level of authority as God (John 5:19), that He existed before Abraham, and had the name of God (Exodus 3:13,14; John 6:35,8:24,58-59, 10:11-14,11:25). Jesus also declared that He was the truth, the Lord of the Sabbath, and those who have seen Him have seen God (Matthew 12:60; John 14:6,9). Jesus told the Apostle John, "I am the Alpha and the Omega…who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8 NIV).

A person can't be converted if they don't acknowledge the claims of Jesus and if the Holy Spirit is not living inside them because; "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9-11 NIV - see also John 14:20).

Jesus prayed for the disciples, the greatest prayer ever prayed on earth.

"that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:21-22 NIV)

Not only did Jesus pray for those around Him, but He also prayed for every individual Christian in the future. God gave the greatest gift ever imagined, and He keeps on giving gifts to His children because every Christian has the gift of the Holy Spirit living in them. They possess - and have access to - all of His promises, gifts, and supernatural power because God is the giver of all gifts. They are to stir up these gifts:

"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." (2 Timothy 1:6 KJV)

The word picture here is of one taking a poker and stirring some dying coals in a fireplace, causing them to burst into flames.

C. Instruments of Grace

The word "grace" comes from the Greek word 'charis.' The supernatural gifts are 'charismatic' grace gifts. The word has various meanings in the Bible. One such word used is about goodwill and loving-kindness shown to people.