← Rick Renner Podcast (Audio)
Rick Renner Podcast (Audio)
Home Group - The Gifts of the Holy Spirit - What is Their Purpose?
00:25:00
Join Rick Renner and guests, including Joseph Z., as they delve into the purpose and significance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Explore the 21 spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible and their role in the body of Christ. This insightful discussion...
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome to Home Group. My name is Rick Renner, and we're so glad that you're here with us. And the US is me, Maxim Yasnikov, who's my assistant, and Mr. Andrei Vasiliev, who's the director of IGNC. And today we have another guest, and that is Joseph Z. Yay. I want to welcome you to Home Group.
- [00:25]
B
Thank you for having me. This is wonderful to be with homegroup. And of course you, Rick, Andre and Maxime. I just am so grateful to be with you and your wonderful community today. Thank you, sir.
- [00:37]
A
Thank you. Well, you've been with us here on the set, but it's the first time you've ever been with us long distance. And thank you so much for spending time with us. And for those of you that do not know Joseph, Joseph is a very dear friend of mine. He is so dear that every day I speak to my assistant, I speak to my wife, my sons, my A team, and Joseph every day. He really is an important part of my life. And Joseph has a prophetic ministry and was really a gift of God to me because so many people who claim to be prophetic are silly. But Joseph is established in the word of God. His prophetic insight is sharp, and I regularly watch his program and watch what he's doing, read his books, and he's really a gift to the body of Christ. And Joseph, I'm grateful for you. You know that I am. And. And I want to welcome you. And today we're going to be asking you some questions about the Holy Spirit. And Andre is going to be leading, so I'm just going to turn it right over to Andre.
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B
Okay, sir, thank you.
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C
Can you give us a list.
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A
Of.
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C
The gifts and tell us what are they for? What is the purpose?
- [01:51]
B
We know the gifts of the Spirit are founded in Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans chapter 12. And you begin to see things. If I could. I'm going to go to whiteboard. I'm just going to draw kind of where they intersect. Is that okay? I'll just start there. Great, Kanye, great. Okay, let's do that. I'll just come over here and hopefully everybody can still hear me with this microphone and everybody hear me.
- [02:14]
A
Okay, hold on. You sound great.
- [02:16]
B
Okay, so here's what we recognize. You know, when we talk about the gifts of the Spirit, we realize that they intersect. And I believe this really is a representation of the body of Christ. Now this is something we call a diagram, a Venn diagram that. And so we see Ephesians 4:11, we see 1 Corinthians 12, we see Romans 12. And in all of these areas we see that there are five governmental or foundational gifts. In Romans chapter 12, we see that there are the seven motivational gifts and the nine manifestational gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. So when we're looking at all these together, they fundamentally come to 21 gifts total. And I believe this is a representation of the body of Christ. When we work all together, there are fundamentally. Now you could say there's different gifts that might operate in different ways, and there might be a few extras you could add to this, but fundamentally there's this many. There is 21 gifts that operate in the body. And when you put these together, this is the body of Christ. So we recognize in First John, chapter 4, verse 17, it says, as he is, so are we in this world together. We are his body in the world. You know, we're the body becoming the bride of Christ. But as the body, these gifts function together. And I like to say it this way, that the five govern themselves and the other gifts together. So 21 gifts are governed by the five fold ministry in Ephesians 4:11. And then you've got a variety of gifts that really are so important. And the reason they're so important is because we need each other in the body. And this is why you who are watching a part of home group and a part of Good News Church, you really have the ability to find your place in the body of Christ. And everybody needs each other in the body. Every joint supplies. And when you recognize this, it brings great order to the body. So this is why we've got to be together. But one of the big things in the body of Christ is order. You recognize is with the fivefold ministry. And that is where apostles govern, prophets help guide, they stand with apostles. Then you've got evangelists, pastors and teachers that fulfill the work of the kingdom of God in leadership. And they edify and equip the entire body of Christ. They do that with each other and they do that with these other gifts that are here. And of course we can go into, you know, all the specifics of these gifts. But this is why the Lord wants us to know about this. When we begin to understand that we find our place in the body together, we can begin to take territory and begin to do what he's called us to do. You know, you got helps ministry, you've got the gift of serving administration's leadership. Then you got spiritual gifting that operates as well, and each gift is very, very vital to make the body of Christ really function at its highest level. But together there are 21 gifts. And together we can begin to operate at a very, very high level. Now some of the things we've got to understand in the gifts of the Spirit is that the Lord wants us to exercise them and work in them. So we really bring life to the greater body of Christ. And so I'll come back over to the microphone and talk right to you about this. Additionally now, when we're talking about the gifts of the Spirit, one of the things that we recognize is church government. You've got to have leadership in the body of Christ. And so we know Episcop Rick, we know that he is a leader in the body of Christ as an apostle. And apostles, they do what they govern, they teach, they begin to set foundation. And one of the signs of an apostle that I, that I'm so thrilled to be a part of is the fact that they do an impossible work where nobody's done it before. They do things that are just absolutely mind blowing to the natural mind. And prophets, they're second in the flow of this. They stand with apostles to help govern the church, bring guidance, and really just begin to see what the spirit of the Lord is saying. Then you got evangelists that go out and win the lost, they equip the saints. Then you've got pastors and teachers that really begin to heal and strengthen and nurture and teach and nourish the body at a high, high level. And so that's the ultimate thing. And one of the questions that we got asked at the beginning of this is I was asked, how do you know that you're a prophet? I think Andre was asking that question. Is that right, Andre? Right. Okay. Well, I want to say something about that. Whenever you find a gifting, especially a governmental gift or a five fold ministry gift, there are four witnesses that called Jes into his office when he was, you know, on earth and did these things. And this is found in John chapter 5. In John chapter 5, we see something really powerful, the fourfold witnesses of a calling. Now maybe somebody's watching and saying, well, what is my calling? Am I called to be an apostle, a prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher? You got to recognize something about it though. When you're called whatever gifting you're called, in whatever arena you're called in, there is a criteria for that. And here's one example of it, but found here in John chapter 5. Let me give this to you. And this will Help clarify some things for people. Because a lot of people come along and they say, I'm a prophet, I'm an apostle, I'm a pastor. They just give themselves a little title or even a little name tag. And that does not qualify you, but the word of God does. And I'll show you. It says here in John 5, 31, this is the words of Jesus. And he's saying, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. Verse 32, there is another, there is another who bears witness of me. And I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. Verse 33, it goes on here and says in verse 33, you have sent to John, and he has borne witness of the truth. So number one, the first of the four witnesses, number one was John the prophet. John the Baptist bore witness of Jesus. So we could say, number one, I'll go to the whiteboard and just list this for us. Number one, when we're looking at the four witnesses of a gifting, We got to recognize that number one, it's a peer or a contemporary. So that's number one. And this, of course, is found in John, chapter five, John five, and the four witnesses of a calling. So first of all, we see that John the Baptist was a peer and a contemporary of Jesus. Then it goes on after this. It says in verse 33 of John, chapter 5, you sent John. He has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. Verse 35, he was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice. And his light. Verse 36, but I have a greater witness than John's for the works which the Father has given me to finish. The very works that I do bear witness of me. So number two, number two, we realize it was the works that bear witness. So you have to have somebody that's a peer or a contemporary to you that recognizes that you are called, that you are anointed in this space. But secondly, your works bear witness to the calling on your life. The works, the works that you do. He says, jesus said, the works I do bear witness of me. Then verse 37 of John, chapter five goes on. In verse 37, we see number three goes right into it. Number three, it says in the scripture, and the Father himself who sent me has testified of me, the Father Himself. Number three, we see the Father God. God calls a person. You know, we ordain a minister, we ordain people. We recognize that we simply Recognize God has called them. And we recognize that calling. And that's when we begin to recognize that people are called and called to be ordained or brought in to be commissioned for ministry. Now, this applies to your life and your calling as well. You have peers, people around you recognize the call in your life, the works you do match that call on your life. And then there's a witness from God the Father that people recognize on your life. Now, the fourth one is very powerful. The fourth one, it goes on from verse 37. It says, and the Father himself who sent me has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form. Verse 38 of John, chapter 5. But you do not have his word abiding in you, because whom he sent right him, you do not believe. And Jesus is saying, hey, but here's, here's the truth of it. Verse 39, you search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life. And these are they which testify of me. Jesus is saying, the word of God also must testify of this calling or of him. So here we see number four. We need to say the word of God or the scripture. A calling must line up with the scripture. So the four witnesses that a person has called. And this is how I, you know, when people ask me, Joseph, you say, you're in the office of the prophet. You have these things that operate in your life. Well, these four criteria are how I knew God had called me, because I had contemporaries that spoke into it and they said, yes, this is true of your gifting. The works we did and that the Lord put on my life began to balance and show that it matched even the contemporary point of view of it. And. And then the Father, there was a witness. People knew God had called me. People knew God calls an individual. And then it must be very scriptural. You've got to be balanced with the word of God. If any one of these is not matching any person's gifting or calling, then you recognize they're probably not actually called in these spaces. This is what Jesus, the criteria he had. And I believe this is the criteria for any fivefold minister or anybody that's moving in a specific gift or place in the body. So I'll come back over to the mic and we can talk about it if you like.
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A
Joseph, that's tremendous.
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B
Thank you, sir.
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A
When I was just a young man and God told me he was going to call me into apostolic ministry, he said to me, don't tell anybody. They will tell you. They will tell you.
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B
Wow.
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A
And People as I, you know, as our work begin to grow and what we, what we do became the works became obvious. Yes. People began saying, you're an apostle, aren't you? And finally I felt the freedom to say, that is the call on my life. Others told me, but I already knew it. But wow, that is just tremendous, what you just showed us. Thank you so much, Joseph.
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B
Well, it's one of the things I bear witness with you over Rick, too. And so many people who are truly called, they don't need to flaunt it. They don't even crave it. They don't desire to be called a title, but it finds them. And I believe that's how God does it, even in the Bible. And Rick, you're such a great example.
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A
Thank you, Joseph. I'm very leery of people that flaunt titles. You know, when this home group began, you called me Episcopal Rick, which means bishopric. Well, in Russia, that's a title that people use the word pastor as a title. It's fine to use that term. But I'm a little leery at people who freely use the word apostle and prophet. And the reason I'm leery is because most of them are not.
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B
I agree.
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A
Most of them don't even understand what it means to be an apostle, to be a prophet. That's why I like you, because I know you're the real deal. But thank you. This was tremendous. Thank you, Joseph.
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C
You know, there are certain believers that are called into the fivefold ministry, and there are many believers who are not called into the five fold ministry. Is it possible for them not to have any gifts? Is it possible for a Christian not to have any gifts of the Holy Spirit?
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B
No. No, that's not possible. If you have the Holy Spirit, I like to say it, you are fully loaded. You have everything that the Holy Spirit offers. Now, we have all kinds of gifts and things that we could talk about, but every single person, every believer can move in any one of the gifts that are listed in 1 Corinthians 12 or Romans chapter 12. You can move in any of them. But there's a difference. You know, when you have a fivefold minister, for example, a fivefold minister has a responsibility given to them by God to edify and equip the body. The gifts are available to everybody, including prophecy, including healing, including speaking in tongues, including all these things. But at the end of the day, you see, administrations and administration is just as vital as prophecy. The gift of helps is just as vital as prophecy. The gift of leadership, the gift of giving the gift of all these things are so vital. And we've got to begin to recognize that just because somebody. You know, I'll give you an example. Sometimes people are in meetings and people that are more inclined to a Holy spirit feeling or sensation sometimes will experience things or they'll. Maybe they fall on the floor or maybe they feel something different than another person. And the people with gifts of administration or sometimes the gift of helps, sometimes they look at that and they say, I don't feel anything. Why are these people falling on the floor and I'm still standing? And why are these people shaking and experiencing something powerful? And yet I feel like maybe I'm not spiritual because I'm watching this happen. Why isn't it happening to me? Well, it could be because your gifting is different than their gifting. And God anoints people differently. It doesn't make somebody more or less spiritual. It just makes them more inclined to the gifting or the way God has designed them. And so don't ever, you know, for those of you who are watching homegroup right now, please don't ever look at yourself as not spiritual because you don't feel something the way somebody else does or you don't experience something the way somebody else does. And nor should somebody who experiences things feel like they're more spiritual than somebody else who's administrating or leading or doing that. And so we've got to come to this place where we realize the Holy Spirit works through all of our gifts uniquely. But again, there's that distinction. The distinction is, if you're a fivefold minister, it means God has placed a responsibility on you to edify and equip the saints. That's what we do in Ephesians 4, 11, 12. We edify and we equip the saints. The saints, honestly, they're designed to do the work of the ministry. The fivefold ministry begins to equip and help them and teach them like we're doing right now. But you who are watching, you're watching home group right now. And the Lord has equipped you. So you go out and you be that light in the world. You go out, and those that are around you, you go and impact them. And that is how God operates with his church. The 21 gifts of the Spirit, or the gifts in the body of Christ are absolutely here so we can impact the world around us. God designed you. God Almighty designed you to touch those around you, whatever gift you work in. And one gift is not more important than the other. We know that every joint supplies and the hand cannot say to the toe, I don't need you. You know, I have no need of you. And some people, you know, Andre, I think of this. Some people in the body of Christ, they like to, you know, elevate gifts above another gift. And they say this gift is more important than this gift. And that is like if a person were to start out in a race or run a marathon and they're going to go run, that would be the equivalent of stomping on your own foot before you started to run, saying, I don't need that foot because I have hands, I have eyes, or whatever. And if you begin to stomp on that foot, you will not run very well in that race, that marathon where the Lord has called us to really appreciate every one of the gifts in the body and celebrate them. I know personally, my favorite gift in the body of Christ is the gift of helps. I think the gift of helps is the most potent and powerful gift in the body in the 21 gifts. Because without the gift of helps, people who come alongside and serve, like so many of you do, who come alongside leadership and just begin to help and stand together, that gift right there is so important. Those who cook, those who stand, those who allow the ministry to be done, those who go to church and serve and maybe prepare a meeting beforehand and set things up and tear things down and really just bring their abilities to help to the ministry is one of the most overlooked and powerful gifts in the 21.
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A
You know, you said that we're all fully loaded. And a question that I think is not a right question is when people say, what gift do you have? Well, when the Holy Spirit came in me, he came with everything. He came with the mind of God, the power of God, the gifts of the Spirit, the fruit of it's all in me. Including, especially if we're talking about 1 Corinthians 9. All nine of those gifts are resident in me. They're resident in Andre and Maxime and every believer. They're wherever the Holy Spirit is because they're his.
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B
That's right.
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A
But people may, because of their temperament or because of their personality, be more inclined to move in one gift.
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B
True.
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A
And I think that our temperament has a great deal to play in which gift really flows through us more readily. They could all flow through us, but some people are more prone to prophecy. Some people are more prone to word of knowledge or healing or miracles. Denise, Denise just temperamentally is very prone for that. Heather is very prone for moving in, healing. And so A lot of it has to do with our personality, but all of them potentially could operate in any believer.
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B
It's true. Rick, I like to call it, you know, when people go to get educated, they go to university or school, they'll have a major that they really work in and a minority. And I believe that that works in the gifts of the Spirit, that whenever you read the Bible until it starts talking back to you, you read the Bible so much that it begins to educate your mind, it changes your soul, it begins to change the way you make decisions. It's present with you. The word of God is living and powerful. It's active in your life. And when you do that, what's going to happen is your major gifting will rise to the top. And when needed, the Holy Spirit will touch on the minor gifting in your life, meaning anything else he chooses to do. So your major. For me, I know when I read the Bible, like when I first got saved, I would read the whole New Testament or listen to it on audio once a week. The whole thing, just pound through it. Pound through it and listen to it. And what I found is the gifting in my life, like word of knowledge would just happen. I'd be in a meeting, I'd see somebody standing in a meeting, and I would just know things about them. It would just begin to happen. Or dreams would come alive for other people. They might find that they're in a situation where they can operate in one of the gifts God's given them. Whether it's the working of miracles or helps, like we said, or administrations, they just find they're in the right place at the right time to help bring structure to things. And they just administrate and all these gifts. And as you said, the fruits of the Spirit come alive when we spend time with the Lord and the Word of God, that will bring the gifting alive. The other thing that brings gifting alive, whatever your gifting is a major or a minor, what brings it alive is also who you hang out with.
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A
Who.
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B
You hang out with, the people who are around you. You know, some people can have the right gifting, the right anointing, but they're with the wrong people. And when you're with the wrong people, you can be limited in what you're called to do. You can be living holy, you can be righteous, you can be on point, you can have a great prayer life. But if you're not aligned, like with the church, like Good News Church, or you're not aligned with your people, and I'm so thankful you're watching this broadcast right now for homegroup, because that means you are aligning with the people God's called you to be with. And that is going to bring your gifting alive in you. By default.
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A
Thank you.
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B
By default. Yes, sir.
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A
Andrei.
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C
First chapter Paul is saying to Timothy, the gift or the gifts that are in you, Stir up. That means that your gift can either diminish or grow. And how do you stir up a gift or the gift? I'm seeing lots of believers, many believers baptized or, you know, praying in tongues. But the way they live just shows that they have no gifts. Or it looks like they have no gifts.
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B
Okay, I'll be quick. We recognize this, that you cannot neglect the gift of God first, Timothy 4:14. That was given to you by prophecy and the laying on of hands. We could get into a lot of this. You make a good warfare by remembering the prophecies given over you. But you've got to go back and remember the things God's done for you. And I just want to say this without, you know, getting way into it, speaking in tongues, if you will. Pray in tongues. And you continually pray in tongues. Rick has a wonderful teaching on this side of the Book of Jude that you are really building up and expanding your house. You're expanding the building of your life, you're expanding what God's put in you. And your gifting will come alive. So you stir up the gifts by remembering what God's done for you, meditating on that, and then you begin to pray in the spirit. Read that Bible and pray in the spirit and fellowship with the people God's called you to be with. And I'm telling you, that gift will come alive. It'll stir up.
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A
Thank you. That was tremendous, Andrew.
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B
And today we are finishing, friends, and we wish you peace and grace in your lives.
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C
Peace and grace.