The Bible says "...covet earnestly the best gifts" in 1 Corinthians 12.
Amen?
The best gifts.
And in the same chapter, it lists down nine gifts of the Spirit.
The other day, I went out with my son for exercise and he was walking with me
and I talked to him about the gifts of the Spirit.
And I said: "Justin, it is very easy to remember them."
It's nine gifts, right?
So it's three, three, three.
Amen.
Three divisions of three gifts each.
And it is very easy to remember them.
For the first group, think of “to say something" and the second group "to know something".
Amen.
And the last three is to "do something".
So the first three gifts are the gifts of prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues.
These are supernatural gifts.
Not talents, not natural talents but are supernatural gifts from heaven.
When you get baptized in the Spirit, you receive these gifts and they are gifts.
The word “gifts” is charisma.
Alright?
They are literally grace gifts!
They are a grace gift.
Now, it's not because someone is extra holy.
We have this impression that someone is extra holy and that is why they have these gifts.
No, no, no.
It's a grace gift!
Grace is undeserved and unearned.
But we need to covet earnestly for them.
Don't just study them.
“Covet” is a very strong word.
And to combine that word with “earnestly”?
Wow.
God is saying: “Have a passionate desire, a red hot desire for these gifts.”
A lot of people say: “Well, if it manifests then it will manifest, you know.”
And some other denominations would say: “Well, we don't believe in the gifts, let alone covet
earnestly.”
Alright?
So they don't see the manifestation of it.
So the first three gifts is to say something.
That's your priestly flow, isn't it?
You are ministering to God by worshiping Him and by praising Him.
Amen.
By lifting up His name.
Praise the Lord.
And that's the priestly part?
What are they?
The three gifts?
The gift of prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues.
They say something.
Alright?
The second group of three is to know something.
Right?
Now, these are the revelation gifts.
To know something.
The word of wisdom— A word that God gives you for the future.
And If God gives you the word, it will come to pass.
Amen.
So, the three gifts to know something is the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge.
The word of knowledge is a present impartation of a word.
For example, when I say that someone here is being healed of this condition, or that
condition.
That does happen quite often in this ministry and that’s a present tense word.
A now word.
The word of wisdom has got to do with the future while the word of knowledge has got
to do with the present.
Please don't think of prophecy as always being about foretelling.
Sometimes, it's just inspired utterance.
Amen.
That encourages and lifts up people out of their heaviness, out of their depression,
and out of their doldrums.
Amen.
And when you speak the word, it is edifying them and it is blessing them.
When Jesus looked at the woman at the well, He says: “You've had five husbands.”
That was a manifestation of the word of knowledge!
It is not the future but the present.
Amen.
Or it got to do with the past.
Amen.
That is the word of knowledge.
Then we have the third one—discerning of spirits.
You can discern angels.
Sometimes, when I worship, I can sense angels around us.
Sometimes when people talk, amen, you can discern.
This person, he's flattering you but he has a very sour spirit.
Amen.
You can sense it.
And that’s the discerning of spirits.
So all these three gifts: word of wisdom, word of knowledge and discerning of spirits
is to know something.
The last group is the power gifts.
It is to do something.
The first group to say something, which fulfils your priestly role.
Amen.
And then to know something is prophetic.
Am I right?
Prophetic role, praise God, your prophetic flow.
And the last one is your kingly flow.
Amen?
And be alert to this.
The three gifts of the last division is the power gifts.
To do something.
And they are the gift of faith, the gifts of healings and the gift of working of miracles.
Amen.
They all involve doing something, amen.
Praying for the sick.
And some people have a gift of healing for, let's say, cancer being healed and they have
a successful track record in that area.
Perhaps, alright, the gifts of healings is always imparted to this particular person
and it manifests in that person.
Some people have these gifts.
And the word “gifts” is plural and the word “healings” is also plural in this
case.
So, there are many types of gifts of healing for different kinds of conditions.
Heaven is so rich!
Amen.
And yet, we are living like beggars.
Amen.
Covet earnestly for the gifts of healings!
And the last one is the gift of faith.
When the gift of faith operates, you just know that you know that you know that you
know that you know.
And I can’t be able to tell you that there are times when I would point to someone and
I'll say something like: “Right now, stand up.”
Alright.
You don't tell someone to stand up until you know for sure.
You know, especially in a church like ours and the ministry like ours, not only thousands,
but hundreds of thousands of people all over the world get to watch it.
But I just knew in my heart at that moment.
I knew that person is healed.
I knew that person can do what he could not do before.
And we have seen this in my ministry as well for a number of years now.
It is a gift of faith!
When the gift of faith is imparted!
It is not always there.
Amen.
Please don't think that of me.
There are times, you know, my wife would tell me to pray for something and I don't feel
like praying.
I am given to moments like that but there are times when this gift of faith operates.
We need to covet earnestly the best gifts.
Amen.
Every time before ministry, I'm coveting earnestly the best gifts.
The best gifts are gifts that are needed for the occasion.
Amen.
You don't take a little knife and use it for sawing wood.
Amen.
It is a good gift and the best gift for butter, but it's not the best gift for sawing wood.
For sawing, what you need is a good chainsaw or just a simple saw.
Alright?
So covet earnestly the best gifts.
It doesn't mean some gifts are better than others.
But what is the gift for the occasion?
And during this time of the lockdown, we can pray!
Amen.
I'm coming to it right now, how we can pray and walk in this!
You don't have to be physically with the person.
You can discern all this and still release it by speaking through Zoom or Skype or any
other way that you're comfortable with.
Amen.
It transcends time and space, hallelujah.
And if you have not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, all you have to do is just
tell the Lord: “Father, in Jesus name, I want this baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Just baptize me with the Holy Spirit.”
And then by faith, notice what I said.
By faith, right after that, believe you have received and start speaking in a heavenly
language.
A language that you have never learned before.
Amen.
And the devil will come and shout at you because the devil knows how powerful that language
is and he would try to tell you: “No, no, you are just making all this up.
Alright.
It’s just a figment of your imagination.”
Why is he attacking you so much?
With all these doubts in your head.
Because he knows that it is a powerful language.
Switch off your head, switch on your heart and let the rivers of living water flow out
of you.
Start praying in the Spirit.
Amen.
Hallelujah.
Remember, pray.
And after you ask the Lord for it, amen.
Thank the Lord for it.
By faith.
And start speaking by faith.
You don't have to feel any emotion and all that.
By faith.
Faith has got nothing to do with your emotions.
It's got to do with the integrity of God's word.
God says: “Those who ask.
If a child asks his father for bread, his father would not give him a stone.
So how much more your Father who gives the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.”
Hallelujah.