1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian Gifts of the Spirit, The final say | Page 2

Hi everyone
This week’s devotionals will be the conclusion of our recent series on the
person of the Holy Spirit. So far in our journey on the beauty of this third
Person of the Trinity, whom we have spoken about,we have discussed His
Person, His Priorities, His Fruit and His Gifts.
This week I would like to try and encapsulate using one illustration of the
entire portfolio of spiritual gifts.
Last week we took a look at the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3 and
noted that, as much as some of the gifts in these churches were in
operation, it was very noticeable that there were some churches that were
most definitely missing the work of the other gifts. The body is designed to
work in unity where the interdependence between the gifts is the key to the
sustaining and the empowering of the local church. A church is not meant
to operate off the giftedness of only a few people, because this would just
lead to a similar dilemma to that which these first century churches faced.
But this last Sunday I took you to a story in the Old Testament which is the
perfect picture of all the gifts working together to fulfil the purpose of God.
The most important thing to note here was the supernatural dynamic to the
story. This illustrates the profound truth that when all the gifts work
together, something in the supernatural realm is activated and
God?s blessing is the net result.
The story we are referring to is the story of NEHEMIAH. Nehemiah was
taken captive to the land of Persia where he served as the cup bearer to
the king. One day his brother, Hanani, told him of the devastation of
Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s heart was broken and the journey toward the
restoration of the walls of Jerusalem began. Won’t you read, before you go
any further,Nehemiah 1 – 6 and underline anything that resembles one of
the 23 gifts of the Spirit that we have been speaking about these past few
weeks. The story culminates with the restoration of the walls and a great
celebration at the supernatural hand of God.
At this point, I could be tempted to talk you through all of the different gifts
as they unfold in the story, but I will leave that part to you. I would,
however, like to answer just one rather introspective question, and that is
simply: If the story of Nehemiah is a model for us today, why is it
that we do not see the same blessing in our churches?