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First published by Pastor Musa Bak in Real Manna Ministries  The Revelation Gifts
Revelation gifts are so called because they bring to light things that are hidden. God does not want the church to be in the dark. When these gifts are in manifestation, mysteries are unveiled. The devil has added advantage when the church has no light or insight into a matter. The devil operates and thrives in darkness, but through revelation gifts, the church exposes his activities and exercises dominion over his kingdom. Demon spirits operate freely where there are no revelation gifts in operation. Revelation gifts are also given to help us know the mind of God and to give us direction in life. The church diminishes when it cannot hear from God. Gifts that make up revelation gifts are the gift of the word of wisdom, the gift of the word of knowledge, and the gift of discerning of spirits. Word Of Wisdom The gift of the word of wisdom imparts to an individual, the ability to have an understanding or insight into what is going on in people or situations, especially in challenging or times of confusion and provides the answers, solutions, or a way to deal with such challenges. The gift of the word of wisdom often operates alongside the gift of prophecy and the word of knowledge. The difference between ‘word of wisdom and word of knowledge is that where word of knowledge brings to light hidden things, things that one has no way of knowing without being told, the word of wisdom gives divine direction on a path to take to deal with the difficulty or provides the answers to resolving issues. Illumination always comes anytime the gift of the word of wisdom is in operation and when acted upon, solution and victory are always the outcomes. There are many examples of the operation of the gift of the word of wisdom in the Bible. One of such is the story of how King Jehoshaphat won the battle against the children of Moab and Ammon when they rose up against him in 2 Chronicles 20:1-20. The Lord told Jehoshaphat that he need not have to fight the battle but to set singers and approach the battle with praise. As the children of Israel did as instructed, the Lord smote the Moabites and the Ammonites before them. The gift of the word of wisdom always shows the way to victory. It was also the word of wisdom that was operating through Elisha the prophet when he instructed Naaman to go and wash seven times in the river Jordan; as he did as told, his skin became like that of a little child (2 Kings 5:1-14). It was the gift of the word of wisdom in operation in Joseph, when he counseled with the Pharaoh, on what Egypt should do to be saved from famine (Genesis 41:25-36). The divine instruction or insight on what to do at a time when a miracle or solution to a problem is needed is the operation of the gift of wisdom. I was at a mission field sometime in 1992 in a certain village in Nigeria, where a young lady was brought for me to pray for. She was unconscious for days and at times convulsing. As I began to pray for her, the Lord said I should unchain her and he showed me a bracelet around her ankle and said to remove it. Immediately I broke the bracelet off her ankle, and she revived and was fully restored, such that she asked for food. The revelation of what to do for her deliverance to happen was the operation of the gift of wisdom. When word of wisdom is in operation, you not only get to know what is going on, you get to know also what to do for a solution to come.
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Originally published in Real Manna Ministries by Pastor Musa Bako  Gifts Of Healing
The gifts of healing are the Holy Spirit’s manifestation through a man, empowering him to minister physical healing to people who are afflicted with sickness or disease. It is also worth mentioning here, that every believer can lay his hand on the sick by faith as the Bible says in Mark 16:17 and they will be healed. Healing is a sign that Jesus says will follow them that believe, when they lay their hands on the sick. However, this has nothing to do with the gifts of healing. There are people who are specifically gifted with the healing power of the Holy Spirit and from time to time the Holy Spirit moves them to pray for people who are ill (whom even medical doctors have concluded may never recover from the illness) and they will get healed immediately. The gifts of healing work to reverse death, deliver the oppressed and draw people's attention to Jesus. A typical example of the gifts of healing in manifestation in the Bible, is what we see in the life of Jesus, when virtue came out of Him to heal the woman with the issue of blood. And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes (Mark 5:25-30). We can identify two power gifts manifesting in the scripture above; that is the gift of faith and the gifts of healing. It was the gift of faith, which rested on this woman with the issue of blood, that moved her to believe for healing and it empowered her to press through the crowd, against every odd to touch Jesus' cloth. It was also the gifts of healing that released the virtue from Jesus, which worked healing in the woman. Wherever the gifts of healing are in operation, the gift of faith also comes into play and the person for whom the gifts are in manifestation, gets instant healing and they start to experience immediate recovery. The manifestation of the gifts of healing is not what you get everyday; however, whenever the gifts of healing are in manifestation, supernatural healing occurs, no matter what the ailment is. Working Of Miracles Working of miracles sets aside the natural laws and brings about things or situations that are out of the ordinary. Miracle is the revelation of God’s wonder and mighty power over nature. When miracle happens, nature is reversed. God uses miracles to demonstrate His power and to draw people's attention to Him. When the gift of working of miracles is in play, blind eyes open, the lame walk, the deaf hear, women whose wombs were taken out by doctors receive power to conceive and give birth to babies and even dead people come back to life. One of the examples of working of miracles in the Bible is when Jesus, in John 9:1-7, opened the eyes of the man who was born blind. Jesus spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay and told him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) The man went his way, washed as Jesus had instructed him and came seeing. Jesus turning water into wine was a miracle. Jesus feeding five thousand people with five loves of bread and two fishes was a miracle. I saw a cripple man on a wheel chair jump up and walk, through the ministry of Pastor Enoch Adeboye. This experience was a miracle of God. It was the gift of working of miracles that was demonstrated when Peter reached out and pulled the crippled man at the gate called Beautiful in Acts 3:1-8 and he instantly rose up, jumped and walked. Some healings come about through the gift of working of miracles and not just the gifts of healing. When it is the gifts of healing at work, healing may not necessarily be noticed physically or instantly in some cases, however, the sickness will start dying immediately and recovery will eventually fully occur and the man will rise. Whereas, with healing through the gift of miracles, there will be instantaneous physical manifestation. Miracle recreates what is missing instantly. For instance, it will be the function of the gift of working of miracles and not the gifts of healing, when a man who is told by his doctor that he has a bad kidney, suddenly receives a brand new set of kidneys. It will be the function of the working of miracles and not healing, when a man with leprosy enters a pool and comes out with his flesh like that of a little child (2 Kings 5:1-14). Miracle recreates and replaces what is damaged. Originally appeared in Real Manna, written by Pastor Musa Bako  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another, the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another, diverse kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11 King James Version).
We can see from the passage of the scriptures above that there are nine gifts of the Spirit. All the nine gifts are beneficial to the church; none is non-essential or less in virtue. The gifts serve different purposes and are all for the common good of the body of Christ. The bible says anyone can covet whichever of the gifts he considers as the best gift for him. 1 Corinthians 12:31 says, But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. Concerning coveting the best gifts, it simply means, you can choose the gifts that best compliment your assignment. For instance, the gift of working of miracles in the life of an evangelist will demonstrate God's mighty power, help to lift up Jesus, and draw men to Him. To an evangelist, the working of miracles might be the best gift. To a pastor, possibly, the gifts of the word of wisdom, discernment of spirits, and healing may be his best gifts. This will all depend on an individual’s view on how the gifts fit their own ministry. The nine gifts of the Spirit can be put into three groupings; the power gifts, the revelation gifts, and the utterance gifts. The Power Gifts These gifts are called power gifts because when they are in manifestation, God’s power comes into play. All the gifts of the Spirit are a manifestation of the power of God; however, through power gifts, a physical and tangible transformation in people or situations occurs. Power gifts superimpose themselves on natural laws to enforce a new order; they reverse the natural way of things. Power gifts are the gift of faith, gift of working of miracles and gifts of healing. Gift Of Faith It is important to point out here, that every believer in Christ has got faith. It takes faith to be saved, without faith, no one gets saved. Therefore, no one who is born again is lacking in faith. The gift of faith, however, is different from the faith which is given to us to believe in Jesus, in order to receive salvation (we all have this kind of faith, which keeps us connected to God). The gift of faith is the operation of the Holy Spirit in the life of someone, in a particular situation in time, empowering him to believe in God for an extraordinary manifestation of God. Some tasks that God will like to execute will require supernatural impartation; the gift of faith is that supernatural impartation, that is given to enable the vessel that God will use to believe, receive, envision it happening, and take an unusual step to make it happen. The gift of faith always works alongside the power gifts. An example of the gift of faith in the Bible can be seen in the life of Peter in Matthew 14:25-30 when he stepped out and walked on water when Jesus beckoned him to come to Him. It was the gift of faith that moved Peter to step out into the water and walk on it. Another example of the gift of faith can also be seen in Paul the apostle in Acts 28:1-6, when a venomous viper came out of the heat, from the sticks he put on fire and fastened itself on his hand. However, Paul only shook it off his hand and went on like nothing happened and he lived. Many years ago, I was told about the testimony of a missionary who was going on a mission trip to a certain village by car, but halfway through his trip, his petrol finished and it was in the middle of the night. When he did not know what else to do, he picked a gallon of water he had in the boot, prayed on it and emptied it into the petrol tank, went back into his car, got it started, and continued his journey; that was the gift of faith in action. The gift of faith enables a man to believe and venture into the supernatural. Another person I have noticed operating in the gift of faith is the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye. It takes the gift of faith to venture into a lot of the things I have seen him do over many years. He makes declarations that are out of this world, about doing certain things, which humanly speaking do not make any sense and I see them happen. It looked as an impossible task when he announced that God told him to build an auditorium, one kilometre by half a kilometre long, to seat two million+ people, the first of its kind in the world, but he accomplished it. God gives the gift of faith to enable an ordinary man to achieve an exploit which is out of the ordinary. To be continued. |
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