Gift of Word of Wisdom

The first spiritual gift that 1 Corinthians 12:8 talks about is the word of wisdom, one of the revelation gifts. First of all I want to clarify that there is a difference between the Gift of the Holy Spirit that was given on the day of Pentecost evidenced by speaking in tongues and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit that God chooses to impart to believers according to his will for the edifying of the body of Christ (the Church). The gift of the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit) builds up the individual when they pray in tongues but the gifts of the Holy Ghost build up the body of believers. Both are essential and the church's function would be impaired and ineffective having one without the other. I would like to pause for a minute here and say that I ran a reference earlier on religious organizations and one thing they have at the top of the list are "by-laws". I understand that everything has to have rules and  be done decently and in order but sometimes our churches limit the power of God because of the by-laws, rules, and regulations. What I mean by that is some organizations only allow for certain parts of the New Testament scriptures to be part of their assembly and eliminate others. Yes, it is true that not everything is written for today when it comes to the law of Moses in the Old Testament. The law was fulfilled in Jesus Christ and he ushered in grace. However, there are some parts of the Old Testament that we are supposed to keep and obey such as the Ten Commandments, for example. That still applies for today. But anyway, to move further in talking about the gifts, the Word of Wisdom is one of those things that are usually not on the program for the order of service in church. One reason being is because the gift of the word of wisdom always deals with future tense situations that have not happened yet but God reveals it to the believer and allows them to see or hear glimpses of what is to come. The reason this gift is so powerful but is often overlooked and pushed out of the church among religious folks is because majority of them are caught up in tradition and are comfortable with the same old same old. Word of wisdom provides something fresh and new to look forward to and it's hard to break the shell of hard-core Christians who think they already know. The believer who has the gift of the word of wisdom might be shunned or put out of certain clicks/groups in the church when the message they share has something to do with the impending judgment or wrath of God coming upon a person or territory because of sin. Many people mistake the word of wisdom as prophecy, but prophecy is nothing more than to provide exhortation, edification, and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:4). Prophecy is not all about telling future events, but when people don't study the word, they will believe what has been passed down for years and accept it as right. Anyway, moving on. It is important that the believer who has the gift of the word of wisdom stay close to the Lord so they will not lose their sharpness or keeness in the Spirit when it comes to hearing the voice of the Lord. Notice I didn't say that they will lose the gift but I said they can lose the sharpness and that sharpness is what makes the operation of the gift accurate. Romans 11:29 says For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, meaning God gives the gifts according to his will without any invoking of the individual to get them on their own. But even though God does not take away the gift once he has granted it, the gift can become contaminated resulting in clairvoyance, which is a power to see things by the power of evil spirits rather than the Holy Spirit. People who fall into that category may have had the genuine gift of the word of wisdom that comes through the Holy Ghost but if they continue to backslide and fall away from truth then they will still be able to use the gift but it will most likely glorify fleshly things that please the carnal mind rather than spiritual things that bring peace, joy, love, and faith which glorifies God. Someone may have the question, "how to get the gift of the word of wisdom"? Well, first of all, the word of wisdom comes from God that he gives to the believer as he sees fit for them to use it in the body of Christ to provide a warning or just to give encouragement that helps the people be able to see beyond their present state and situation. Everything that God reveals through the word of wisdom might not be for the whole entire church body, but it might just be for one individual or a small group of people such as the pastor and deacons and board members of the church, or it could just be something that God wants to reveal to the individual about their own personal lives. Prayer in the known native language and praying in the Spirit (speaking in tongues) are two ways to get connected to the mind of God so he can reveal his will. Fasting is another way, because fasting allows you to set aside time just to meditate on God and spiritual things without being distracted from television, food/drink, sex (with a heterosexual spouse), games, social media, and any other things that soak up your attention and keeps you from focusing on God. Reading the bible daily and studying the scriptures prepares you to receive spirit gifts from God. And living a clean, holy life in the sight of man and God. In order for God to use a person effectively, the vessel that he is working through needs to be clean. One reason for this is because whenever God uses a person to share something they received through divine revelation of the gifts of word of wisdom and word of knowledge (these two gifts usually go together), then Satan will come to try to make them believe that what they just spoke was not from God at all, or he may tempt them to become proud and lifted up thinking they are worthy to have the gift. If a person is not living holy and seeking to please God in their daily lives, then they could easily fall prey to Satan's attacks and lose the effectiveness of the gift. Some of the signs of them losing the effectiveness are getting things wrong that never come to pass, having confused messages that glorify the flesh and the Spirit, speaking things that do not line up with the holy scriptures or the holy nature of God, and deception where they are deceived into believing they are right even when everybody else that hear the message know that it is wrong but they fail to acknowledge they're wrong. As I said earlier, first a person must be filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit and then these other gifts can operate more effective in their lives as they progress in prayer and seeking the will and mind of God. One thing about the Holy Spirit is that the signs will follow the believer (Mark 16:16-18), and the church has the right to measure any message that is given by word of wisdom by the written word of God because God is not going to contradict his word that is already written in order to give a word that is revealed. The two will always line up. That is not to say that everything given in a word of wisdom will be understood by the natural mind instantly, but over time if it is truly a word from God then out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, that word will be established and come to pass at the appointed time of God whether it be judgment or a promise of a blessing. Many times people discredit words uttered when it comes to future events because it has not happened even after so many years have gone by, but we must understand that God is not on our timetable and even if the full manifestation of a thing has not come to pass, when the message is really from the Lord, he will leave signals that point to the coming of the main event. It's just like when God told Abram that he and Sarai would have a son. Well, it didn't come to pass until 25 years later. They became discouraged over the long wait for the manifestation and took matters into their own hands but the promise still came to pass anyway and
God never forsook them but he kept blessing them until he fulfilled what he said. Another thing is that when a Spirit-filled believer gives a message through the word of wisdom and God is orchestrating it, it will produce a certain fear in the hearts of those who hear it. In other words, they will have a totally different feeling come over them than they would if just the Average Joe was talking. The real message will capture the minds of the people that causes them to continue to look forward to the happening of the thing. Only those who remain in tune to the Spirit of Christ will be able to endure until what was revealed in the Spirit by the gift of the word of wisdom is produced in the earth as it was foretold.

Ok world trust me I have been doing my study on the 9 spiritual gifts and putting together a Power Point Presentation because at some point I intend to teach this lesson in a church setting and during online ministry via video recording or live streaming. I'm  very excited about that!!!! However, I just want to give the update on the transition that God has made in mine and my family's life at this point. God has blessed me and my husband to start our own ministry and as of last night in the Men and Women Conference 2014, we are no longer members of Greater Deliverance Worship Center. The move is bitter sweet because we love the Magee Family and the members there, but God has just said that it's time to move on. My husband has always known that he has had the calling of pastor on his life and he is walking in that calling starting today. We will have our first service in the new church called True Grace Tabernacle. So that is the newest change that has occurred in our lives and we are looking forward to God perfecting us and this ministry as we wait patiently and continue to walk in obedience to his Word, will, and way. I know the devil is mad and will shoot all his arrows to try to stop us but as long as we stay prayed up, living holy, teaching and preaching truth, and staying on the battlefield for the Lord and not giving up, then the devil or the world won't be able to do us any harm. Jesus is our pilot and he's in control going before us making the crooked places straight and keeping us during this adventure. God bless you and I pray that maybe someday you can be a part of True Grace Tabernacle Ministries under the leadership of Pastor F. L. Ford, which is my husband. I will update the spiritual gifts lesson some time next week.

Okay, I've started my research on the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit and I have a separate study on the gift of the Holy Spirit. Notice one is GIFT without an s. And the other one is GIFTS with an s. Well the GIFTS are manifestations of the GIFT and God is the giver. So I will discuss all that later but just wanted to update my blog page to let you know that I am doing my homework and not snoozing on the job LOL!!!! Furthermore, I will also incorporate some of my very own experience with operating in the spiritual gifts. God has blessed me over the years to do some great things in the kingdom of God and the best is yet to come. Have a blessed night!!!!

There's More To Come

Well I just want to say that I will be posting some further information besides what I have already because it's time to take this thing to a deeper level. The reason I've stayed so long in the area of salvation is because that is where the most deception and confusion is amongst believers and different denominations. It's crazy how we all have the King James version of the bible but so many different teachings and interpretations. One thing is for sure is that the Apostles were not divided, with the exception of Judas Iscariot, but all heard the same thing from Jesus, all believed the same thing, and all obeyed and taught the same thing. But anyway I'm doing more research and study of the scriptures on things like healing and miracles and having faith to do the impossible with God. This is an area that also needs much attention because not everybody embraces healing and miracles but God is the same God today as he was back then. And I don't mean to bore you, but it's my mission to teach people by however means necessary. I just choose to make online blogging my platform not because I'm weak in the flesh but because I'm less distracted by men who come to church for the wrong reason. Better yet, I think I write better than I speak and can get the point across even if I have to write it several times. But for the next few days I will gather some more information on how the Lord still wants to show himself mighty and strong in our minds, bodies, and souls.

Cry Loud and Spare Not

As I said in my previous post that the Lord showed me about 14 years ago that he would use me to keep lifting up the standard of truth, holiness, and righteousness during a time where so many people are letting it down. What has happened is many of the original Apostolics have backsliden by mixing and mingling with people of the world and denominational congregations who preach and teach a watered down message concerning God's plan of salvation. Over time what you hear and believe repeatedly eventually becomes true to you even if it's not true. So many have settled for souls being baptized in the the titles of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost rather than the correct way in Jesus name. Acts 2:38 fulfills Matthew 28:19 and the scriptures are not contradicting themselves. In Jesus is the fullness of the godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9) and when we are baptized in Jesus name then we are buried with him to rise and walk in the newness of life. We receive that newness of life at the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the way we know that God has filled us with himself is that he will speak through us in other languages that empower us to be a witness (Acts 1:8), to live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world  (Titus 2:12), to overcome the flesh, the devil, and the world and to ultimately be caught up to meet the Lord in the air because the Holy Spirit is the quickening power that will change our mortal bodies from mortality to immortality.The spirit of the world is an enemy to God or another term the spirit of antichrist. The Holy Ghost is a Comforter and Helper to help us in our infirmities and weaknesses. YES!!! Holy Ghost filled people still get weak and sometimes fall but that SPIRIT is perfect in an imperfect person and that is the reason we must continue to strive to do right and consistently lean on the Cross of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of our sins whenever we do fall short. I will have to continue this later. God bless!!!!

Tearing Down Falsehood

I've been doing some in-depth study on other online sites and the majority of ministers are steadily attempting to water down the gospel and using scriptures to validate their theories. What's even worse and sad is that some Apostolics have reneged on what they originally believed as truth concerning salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues, having sins washed away in water baptism in Jesus name, and living holy before God. False teachers ALWAYS take 1 Corinthians 13:1 as a lead way against speaking in tongues for being essential. However, I stand boldly with the truth in confidence in my Lord and savior Jesus Christ that Paul was not saying that speaking in tongues is not necessary but he was mainly saying that speaking in tongues must be mixed with the fruit of the Spirit by showing love or charity. He said If I speak in tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am a tinkling cymbal or sounding brass. That is not saying that speaking in tongues should be done away with altogether because he further wrote I n 1 Corinthians 14:39 for us to prophecy and to forbid not (meaning to do) to speak with tongues. The secular church world loves the kind of teaching that gives them an easy access to establish their own righteousness and their opinions but the Church didn't start in Romans, 1 or 2 Corinthians, or the other following books but the Church started in the book of Acts and what it took for them to be saved then is the same thing that it takes for us. We must hear and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ that he was God incarnate and that he died and rose again for our sins at the cross of Calvary and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name (Luke 24:47). I was reading some material in a book where a guy was writing about another guy's testimony and his description of the guy being baptized in the Spirit was one of weeping and feeling on fire. But he never said that the man spoke in tongues. In other words he is painting a picture that one can be filled without speaking in tongues. However, we must hear, believe, receive, and obey the message of the Cross AND Pentecost. Multimillions of people just stop at the Cross and leave Pentecost out of the equation. It's only the faithful few who will grab the altar by the horns and believe and receive all that God has for them leaving no stone left unturned. This is a crucial hour for the body of believers and I must say(I was going to keep it to myself) that the Lord showed me this in the Spirit some 14 years ago that he was going to use me to keep the standard of holiness, righteousness, and truth lifted up during a time where so many will let it down.

WHY ONLINE MINISTRY?

This is a very unique question and I think I'm well qualified to answer it. First of all, I will start out by saying that online ministry comes with its limitations but it also comes with its benefits and I will list both. An online minister is limited to just preaching or teaching the Word without making a physical connection with his or her audience. This prevents him or her from laying on of hands and praying for people in public. They are limited from baptizing converts in Jesus name. They are limited from witnessing the actual baptism in the Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues that people may receive as a result of responding in faith and repentance after hearing the preached message. An online minister might feel awkward from looking into a camera without knowing who is looking back at him or her.Some online ministers might feel embarrassed to ask for financial donations or tithes and offerings from media watchers but know that it's needed in order to help them get a church building if that's their desire. On the other hand, an online minister might benefit greatly from preaching and teaching from a website or social networking especially if they are an introvert such as myself. Furthermore, one of the greatest benefits, in my opinion, to ministering online is that if you are in a church where the sermon or service is recorded, you pretty much know your audience and will not typically get any disruptions. However, when ministering in person there is ALWAYS somebody who comes to church for the wrong reason and some of those reasons include temptation. Satan loves to tempt both male and female preachers and he doesn't wait until they get in Wal-Mart but he sends his workers to the church to cause confusion and distractions. Online ministers must KEEP A STEADY PRAYER LIFE because nine times out of ten, their audience will not respond with an Amen or Hallelujah for various reasons and the minister must be well equipped to handle that and keep right on preaching or teaching without feeling like a failure and wanting to give up. Some online ministers benefit from love offerings given by media watchers but in this case I believe they have to report such earnings for tax purposes. Some online ministers are only in it because they feel a burning passion and desire in their hearts from the Lord to speak to his people either through words of prophecy, encouragement, or instructions to establish or maintain a right relationship with God. However, in my case, I benefit from online ministry because I don't have to deal with lustful men who come to the church and are only attracted to my flesh but have absolutely no interest in the Word or their souls being saved. There may come a time when I'm traveling from place to place preaching, teaching, baptizing folks, and healing the sick, but as of right now I feel like God has me on a mission to establish a foundation online where people will see that I'm ALL ABOUT CHRIST!!!!! I'm not about using the gospel trying to get rich and I certainly don't want to try to lure men to my body. On another note, I choose to do ministry online because there are sooooooo many women with husbands who are jealous of me so by me not being in a great big diverse area of people, I can better focus on the Word than worrying about some prick' s wife sizing me up with an evil eye because she thinks her man wants me. Forget that!!!! If I got to go through that kind of drama, then just give me a bible and a camera and I can teach you from Genesis to Revelation right from the privacy of my own home. However, at this point in my ministry, if someone wanted to be baptized in Jesus name, I would recommend them to an Apostolic Church  where I know they would be baptized the correct way and the people will pray with them until they received the baptism in the Holy Ghost. As Apostle Paul said in 1Corinthians 3:6 that he planted but Apollos watered and God gave the increase, so I see myself in that vicinity where I work the kingdom of God on this end and some of my other sisters and brothers in Christ can work it on the other end.