Fathers Power Tools by Phil Kinney
1 Corinthians 12
Heavenly Dad’s Power Tools
Today we will continue with our series on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
I thought we could tie this in with Father’s Day, and view the gifts of the Holy Spirit as Dad’s power tools.
You see we have a choice in going through life. We can do things the world’s way which is difficult, labour intensive and the results rely entirely on us, or we can plug into the Holy Spirit power available to us, and really make a difference.
For example:
1. Screw driver – have you ever put together a cabinet with a screwdriver? If you are like me pretty soon your hand is tired, the screws don’t go in, and since most put together projects have a strange set of instructions, you end up having to undo the screws, which just makes things more labour intensive and difficult.
....But with a power drill as a screw driver it is much easier and quicker – and if you make a mistake – just whip that screw back out and start again.
2. Sawing with a saw. This is a very labour intensive project, just plain hard work. And you have to keep turning over the wood and making sure everything is lined up right (with me it generally isn’t and I have to try and straighten the edges –which doesn’t work because then I end up shortening the plank and have to start again)...just plain hard work
....But with a power saw – straight through, no stress, very little time and effort.
3. Nailing with a hammer – banging constantly. Very loud, very slow, and usually very painful (OW my thumb!)
.....But with a nail gun – less noise, less time and effort, less pain!
This is the same with the power gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is the painful and slow way of doing things under our own energy, or there is using the Spirit’s Power tools.
The Power gifts are: " to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles”. 1 Corinthians 12:9
So what are these gifts?
Important to remember that the gifts – the power tools of Spirit work the same as power tools of the builder – to build the Body of Christ. We are all in the building game – to build the Kingdom of God. And we need to use spiritual tools to build a spiritual Kingdom.
Gifts of Healings: A supernatural intervention of God’s healing power over sickness and disease without natural means
The Working of Miracles: A supernatural gift from God to work a miracle. It is an intervention of God in the course of nature.
In other words, the working of a miracle is the sun and moon standing still. It is dividing the Red Sea, turning water into wine, or feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes. It is walking on water.
Gifts of Healings: A supernatural intervention of God’s healing power over sickness and disease without natural means.
Basically - God healing people of all kinds of sickness and diseases.
The Gift of Faith: A divine supernatural manifestation of God’s faith imparted to you at a specific time, at a specific place, for a specific purpose.
The gift of faith has nothing to do with the simple faith that comes “...by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
The gift of faith is when God unscrews our head, empties out all the doubt, unbelief and everything else that hinders faith, and He pours in ‘God’s Faith”. It is not some weak thing. It is a miraculous gift from God. It’s God’s ability – God’s power to receive miracles. (as demonstrated in Acts 3:1-6).
Talk About
Have you ever prayed for someone to be healed? What happened?
Do you expect God to use you to heal sick people? (cf Mark 16: 14 - 18)
Do you pray for family members to be healed of minor illnesses such as headaches etc?
Take time as a group to pray for each other, and ask God for something to share with each other or the group. This could be an image, an impression, a Scripture verse, a word. Take a chance and share these - this all about learning to hear God's voice.
Remember - Read through the NT starts 27th September. Take the challenge on as a group
