Before the sermon, Pastor Dale shared experiences of a former pastor who walked away from his salvation, even though he was miraculously delivered and filled with the Spirit. God doesn’t give up on us. Don’t give up on Him. Psalm 37: 18, 33. Focus on the next step and not the whole plan. God knows the days of the righteous, and their inheritance will be forever.
In 1 Cor. 12 Paul tells believers what we need to know about spiritual gifts. God wants to use each one of us differently and distributes the gifts as He wills, so listen to Him (He does speak to us !!!) and be led by His Spirit. When He speaks, the gifts are close, and be ready for more than one gift to be in operation. For example, a word of knowledge may be followed by the gift of healing. When He starts using you, don’t get so excited you stop the flow of the gifts after the first one is manifested. Go by the voice of the Lord. When someone prophesies over you, check if it reflects on Jesus. Obey Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus gives the ministries (v. 5), the Holy Spirit gives the gifts, and God works the gifts in all the ministries. Eph. 4:7 says that each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Rom. 12:4-6 says that all members do not have the same function or office. We are members of one body (the Church) and are members of one another. We have different gifts according to the grace that is given to us. First there’s a call, then God gives us the grace we need to do what He has told us, and then He gives gifts to give away. 1 Cor. 14:1 Pursue love, desire spiritual gifts, but especially prophesy. Say, “I want to be used by You, Lord!”