The Gifts of the Spirit, Part 1

Greetings, friends and new listeners. Welcome to the Archie Hardy Ministries Program. I'm Sharon Otz thanking you for joining us today because we know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Today's teaching by my father, Brother Hardy, is exciting and informative so make sure you get each episode of this outstanding exposition on The Gifts of the Spirit.

Hallelujah. All right, we're going to be preaching on, teaching on, the gifts of the Spirit. But before we do, I want to give a little bit of introduction so we kind of set the scene, take us into the Bible setting of the gifts, and that we can better understand it. First of all, we want to find out what happened on the day of Pentecost. What happened on the day of Pentecost?

Many people teach that on the day of Pentecost the church was founded or was born or brought into existence, but that's not so according to the Scriptures. The Scriptures declare that the church was born when God or when Jesus called His first 12 disciples. Anointed them, gave them power, commissioned them to send them out to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out devils.

You can find it in Matthew the 10th chapter, the 1st and the 5th and 7th verse when He said, And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out, to heal all manner of sicknesses and all manner of diseases. These twelve gods sent forth and commanded them, saying, Go not under the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and as you go preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. The apostles were part of the foundation of the church. Ephesians the 2nd chapter 19th and 20th verse said, Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. The Greek word for church is ekklesia, and ekklesia means the called out ones. When Jesus called out His twelve, He instituted His church, the church was born, the foundation was laid of the twelve apostles, and He being the chief cornerstone. We find that in Matthew the 18th chapter, the 15th to the 18th verse, that the church was already in existence and mentioned by Jesus here in the 18th chapter of Matthew. In the case of the man that was offended by his brother, the Bible said that he was to go to him and him alone.

If he would not hear him, take two or more or three more, they wouldn't hear the two or three because every word had to be established in the mouth of two or three. Then he said, Bring him before the church. And if they did not hear the church, then they were to count him as a publican and as a heathen. So the church came into existence when Jesus officially called the first twelve and commissioned them. They were His foundational apostles, and we're all built upon the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. Now what did happen on the day of Pentecost? God gathered a hundred and twenty of the church, of the believers, in one place. And then Jesus poured out the baptism of the Holy Ghost upon them, filling them with the power of God and gifting them for a ministry.

This was to fulfill what Joel prophesied in Joel 2 28, which Peter repeated in Acts 2 17 and 19. And he said, It shall come to pass through the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And all my servants and all my handmaidens will I pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy.

And I shall show wonders in the heavens above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapors of smooth. So on the day of Pentecost, what Jesus did was to empower 120 believers of the church that obeyed Him and tarried in Jerusalem, as He promised in Acts, the first chapter in the eighth verse, until they be endued with power from on high. This inaugurated the Holy Ghost dispensation.

Holy Ghost now is the active and direct agent of God in the earth to lift up the Lord Jesus Christ and to bring deliverance and healing and victory to mankind. This brought into existence the first charismatic, gifted community made up of charismatic, gifted believers. Now the word charismatic just means gifted. In the Greek it's charismatic, gifts.

It's a plural for gifts. What He did was He empowered His church and gifted them so that they could fulfill their mission was to be their witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ under the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1-8, first Acts 1-5 said that in not many days hence, when He told them to go and wait in the city of Jerusalem, that they would be baptized with the Holy Ghost. In Acts 1-8 He poured out the Holy Ghost, baptized them in the Holy Ghost in power, gifted them and empowered them that they might be witnesses. He said after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts of the earth. This is the story of Acts. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth and we in this 20th century are continuing carrying the gospel under the uttermost parts of the earth. Now 120 received the infilling of the Holy Ghost and were gifted to fulfill this commission.

It wasn't by chance, it was 120. Jewish law said it in order for a group of the Jewish people to form their own community and have their own ruling council, they had to have 120 members. So what God did in effect was set up his first Holy Ghost charismatic community made of charismatic gifted believers. And every time that God would spread the gospel through this first 120, Jerusalem where it happened, Samaria, Judea, and Samaria, every time that God would save, he would pour out the Holy Ghost and they would become an extension, another charismatic community.

The Bible was not written to Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans, anyone else except gifted Holy Ghost filled Christians, especially when I mean the New Testament, especially Pauline's epistles. All these organizations, all these denominations came in after the church went through the Dark Ages and God was gradually giving them truth and bringing them out of the darkness and restoring us back to where the early church started. Every church was a gifted church full of the Charismata, the gifts. Every believer was to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost and receive a gift to enable them to help them to function in an office because we find out that the Bible said that every one of God's people have an office, have a measure of increase, that they are responsible to minister to the rest of the body in order for the body to increase and be edified and be built up. Paul, after Cornelius, the proselyte Gentiles received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, God then called up Paul that he would take it to the whole Roman Empire, this new gifted community made up of gifted believers.

To Paul, the church was known as the body of Christ. He was the first one to get this revelation that it was the body of Christ made of both Jew and Gentile making one new man and upon being placed in the body of Christ, God's intention was to baptize every one of us into the Holy Ghost and give us gifts so that we could minister and function in our office and bring forth our measure of increase. Philip went down to Samaria, preached Christ, they got saved, right away the apostles came down, laid hands on them to receive the Holy Ghost. Paul, wherever he went, his churches were Holy Ghost gifted churches with Holy Ghost gifted people. When he came to Ephesus he found some brethren and he asked him the question in the 19th chapter of Acts, did you receive the Holy Ghost when you believe?

They said we have not even as much heard there whether be a Holy Ghost. Paul said then under what then were you baptized if you didn't hear of the Holy Ghost? They said we heard of John's baptism. We had his baptism.

We were to believe on him that was to come. The baptism with the view of repentance and Paul said that's right but he's come now and you are to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Told him to be baptized afresh in the name of the Lord or by the authority of Jesus and then he laid hands upon them and they all received the baptism of the Holy Ghost speaking in tongues and prophesying.

They cause God's intention is for every believer to be baptized in the Holy Ghost and be gifted so that they can administer their office, their function, their measure of increase. Paul said that every one of us have a gift in 1st Corinthians 7 and he said for I would that all men were even as I myself but every man has his proper gift of God one after this matter another after that. 1st Peter 4 10 Peter said as every man has received the gift even so minister the same as the good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Ephesians the fourth chapter the 16th verse Paul said every one of us has a measure of increase as a joint in the body of Christ to minister to the rest of the body. 16th verse said for whom the whole body fitly joined and compacted by that which each joint supply of.

The body will not be fitly joined in compact without division except that each joint supply according to the effectual working of the measure at every part. When every one of us get in our place receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost and receive our gift and minister in our office and function as he said in Romans the 12th chapter the fourth verse for as we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office but we all have an office. Actually the Greek word is praxis which means function. We all have a function and when we get in our function and bring forth a measure of increase then the body makes an increase of itself.

What does that mean? God adds new members he saves them and is built up in love. The church is a charismatic community where the Spirit is binding believers together and building them up through the wide range of his manifestation of the grace charisma. Each member has a function in the church a contribution necessary for the well-being of the whole church. The charismatic or gifts are indispensable to the community of believers. The unity of the church depends on the proper function of the whole range of the vivors charismatic.

That's just a Greek word for gifts. The church is a charismatic community in unity in and through diversity. In other words we are many we all have not the same office we all not have the same function we all don't have the same gifts but we all are one in the body and have a function in an office and a gift. God didn't make a bunch of clones.

How many understands what I mean? In other words every Christian isn't exactly alike a clone. We are diverse but we're in unity just like there's diverse members in my body but I make up a unified whole and the body of Christ is made up of diverse members with diverse offices functions and gifts but we are all one in Christ. Even the Godhead as we go in a little further even though there are one Godhead there is diversity but unity in the Godhead. We each are individual an individual member an individual organ for the body of Christ we each have an individual function and therefore we have a gift to help us to minister in our function. Not a bunch of clones that's what the problem was as we go in we'll find in Corinth that they were all clones they all were trying to speak in tongues because to them tongues was the sign of the elite of those that had the superior wisdom called Sophia which we'll get in when we get into the word of knowledge and those that had the superior gnosis knowledge they were the perfect ones and the sign of their perfection was speaking in tongues and when they all come into the service that's all they did everybody spoke in tongues and didn't do nothing else and that's why the Holy Ghost through Paul had to regulate the gifts in Corinth because they didn't do anything else in the 14th chapter 1st Corinthians he said to them if you all speak in tongues and that's all you do and somebody comes in that's not saved or not instructed in the ways of the gifts said you're mad they'll say you're crazy how many say Amen how many if the whole church all they did was come in and see if they come in till everybody knew they were a spiritual ones began to speak in tongues and all we did four five six hundred thousand people all we did was speak in tongues for an hour and a half and then after that go home well we might do it once maybe twice we'll come out because we're kind of you know puzzled but after a while that gets old hat how many say amen so we all have divers different offices positions and functions and gifts there's no such a thing in God's plan there was no such a church as not a gifted church there's no such a thing in God's plan that is not a gifted believer he wants every believer to have a gift and manifest and function their gift okay we want to go into the actual nine gifts of the Spirit first Corinthians 12 one he said now rather I would not have you to be ignorant concerning spirituals you notice if you got a King James Version the word gift is in italics and italics means that it wasn't in the original the translators added because spiritual is an adjective and it must have a noun to modify but I don't like the word gift for the word called spiritual the Greek word is Pneumaticon and it means of spiritual they added gifts in italics but I rather like to translate it rather enablements or endowments now concerning spiritual enablements or endowments brethren I would not have you to be ignorant we're going to save the word gift for charisma how many say amen so in the first verse he calls these gifts spiritual enablements and spiritual endowments God endows you in huh God places his spiritual ability so that you may function in that office and with that ability to edify the church to build it up to see souls saved and to see it increased and be built up the second word is Santa Rosa's and that just means manifestation and we find that in the seventh verse and he says for the manifestations of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all here the gift in this chapter enablement is called a manifestation how many say amen a manifestation not of a gift but of the Holy Spirit the manifestation the fan of roses of the Spirit the manifestation of the Spirit not a manifestation of a gift it's letting us know that the Holy Spirit is in the services and in operation and moving it's his revealing himself in the service by a spiritual endowment that he is endowed somebody with how many is following me so far and when I want you to get this very plain now we come to the word that they type all three Charism charisma and charisma is the word for gift so the manifestations in the first Corinthians 12 1 through 12 or first of all spiritual enablements endowments second of all they are manifestations of the Holy Spirit and each one of us is given a manifestation and you need to pray find out what your manifestation is so you can start letting the Lord manifest his manifestations through you him any same and his manifest presence the most important of these words is a charisma charisma first of all comes from the word Charis Charis English meaning means grace Charis grace Charis one of its meetings and the meeting pertaining to the gifts is enabling power and divine ability now what we do is we take Charis and come down and put MA on it and when we do that we get the word what car is ma instead of car risks how many say you ma'am when we put the MA on any now the MA in Greek grammar means the result or portions of so charisma Charis is enabling power and divine ability charisma means the results of grace manifesting itself in portions of God's enabling power I want you to notice the very important word here portions portions you don't get all of God's enabling power and divine ability at once and it's not always there all the time you get a portion how many hears me we can see this in the phrase gifts or Charis Matta of healing remember Charis Matta is just the plural of charisma they don't put an S on it they put the ATA on it how many say Amen they are gifts of healings no one gets and there's no such a thing as the gift of healing can I say it again no such a thing as a gift of healing which means that you have all of the healing power in resident in your life at all times that you can use it anytime you want to heal any disease nobody has that I sure like to have that one how many say Amen but what we do is we get portions of God's enabling power that results in healings how many hears me when God wants to move in healing manifest himself in that way the vessel that he has chose to give portions of his enabling power to heal he will gain to give him a portion for this person in this particular disease and a portion for this person in this particular disease how many say Amen and when God stops giving the portion you no longer have the gifts of healings until God gives you the next portion how many say Amen I know that God uses me in the gifts of healings I wished it was the gift of healing because therefore I'd have healing power on me all the time I could use it all the time and I'd just go around emptying out all the hospitals you know a lot of skeptics say well now if if you you've got the healing power why don't you empty the hospitals how many say Amen but you see it's not the gift of healing that you had the power all time it's the gifts of healings portions of God's healing ability that he gives when he enters into the service huh to you to give to certain individuals everybody doesn't get healed because everybody doesn't believe and everybody's not right with God how many say yeah man amen what an insightful and timely teaching by God's servant brother Hardy on the gifts of the Spirit thank God that he has endowed his church the body of Christ with these nine marvelous manifestations of his Holy Spirit to bring forth mighty works of healings deliverance and revelation to his people and also as a witness to others that they might believe on his son the Lord Jesus Christ when the early church in Acts went forth preaching and teaching the gospel God worked with them confirming his word through mighty signs and wonders how much more do we today need the gifts of the Spirit and this age of counterfeit supernatural manifestations by the kingdom and Prince of Darkness this teaching is vital to our understanding for every believer and answers the question unequivocally and scripturally are the gifts of the Spirit for today and who may operate in the gifts how and when you will understand the operation the purpose and the function of the gifts of the word of wisdom the word of knowledge prophecy and discerning of spirits and how these gifts often work in tandem with each other as well as the power gifts of faith healings and working of miracles and finally you will understand the gift of diverse tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues and what the difference is between the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues given to the individual for his own personal edification and the gift of diverse tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues that operate in the church assembly this complete in-depth teachings on the gifts of the Spirit is available on a double-cd set and can be yours for a lip love gift of $10 or more for the radio ministry request offer 304 our mailing address is RG Hardy ministries p.o. box one seven four four Baltimore Maryland two one two oh three or order online at RG Hardy org that's RG Hardy dot o RG again the offer number is three zero four for the gifts of the Spirit a double two C D set for your love gift of fifteen dollars or more our mailing address p.o. box one seven four four Baltimore Maryland two one two oh three until next time this is Sharon not saying Maranatha you