Being Chosen, Can We Prepare Or Have Effect On The Holy Spirit’s Choice?
I Corinthians 12:8-11 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
There is this huge misunderstanding in the body of Christ about spiritual gifts. It is that either they will come at God’s timing and people should just wait for them, or that they are only for certain individuals. Both are wrong.
Paul said to EAGERLY (earnestly) desire spiritual gifts, especially that you can prophecy.
If we go and dig a little in the Hebrew and Greek, we find the word diṓkō being used here. For “Earnestly pursue” is diṓkō – properly, aggressively chase, like a hunter pursuing a catch (prize). The word (diṓkō) also means pursue with all haste (“chasing” after), earnestly desiring to overtake (apprehend). The meaning of “Eagerly desire” zéloó is to “burn with zeal, to be deeply committed to something, with the implication of accompanying desire – to be earnest, to set one’s heart on, to be completely intent upon.”
We need to understand how the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts and how He chooses people. What does the Holy Spirit look for in a person to move, flow, and operate in spiritual gifts?
Depending on the gift mix, He looks for different things in people; however, the people He chooses have some things in common. But let’s play with the concept some. Those flowing in the spiritual gifts on a high level have been trained for years by the Holy Spirit.
Just as the USA SEAL team is trained, so God needs and wants to train us — but do we desire to move and operate in the gifts as much as these navy seals desire to start their service as seal team members? The navy seal team is trained under a lot of pressure. The men are ordered to link arms and lay down on their backs with their heads and bodies partially submerged in the cold surf. This technique is used to prove endurance and stamina.
They do this for a total of eight minutes before being ordered to get up and run to the sand dunes and completely cover their wet bodies with sand, then they do it all over again. The instructors do not like a silent team, so they will sometimes instruct them to shout the naval battle cry “Hooyah!” The drop out week: This is it, the moment in BUD/s that separates the boys from the men. It is an entire week of endless training in which the trainees only receive a mere three to four hours of sleep total. They are wet, cold and covered with mud; even though they consume 7,000 calories per day, they still lose weight. They have sand in their eyes and medical personnel stand by to watch over the exhausted trainees. This is the point where the instructors yell at them “If you can’t make it, then go home!”
There is a shiny brass bell waiting for them in a pick-up truck; if they choose to leave, all they have to do is ring it three times and they’re gone. During this week is when most of the DOR’s (Drop On Request) happen. It is a rough ride, but if you make it through, you are all the more stronger and ready for the next phase of training. If you make it through BUD/s you are tough, but you are still not a SEAL. You must then move on to basic parachute training at the Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, GA. This training lasts for three weeks, and then you move on to SQT (SEAL Qualification Training) for another fifteen weeks. Upon completion of these two schools, you will be awarded your SEAL trident pin. Congratulations! You’ve become a Navy SEAL.
As you can see, it’s a hard road for these men who choose to take it. The wisdom of the warrior lies in the fact that the warrior knows that the way up is down, the way out is through, the way over is under. The warrior embraces the irony that affliction makes them stronger, perplexity releases them from despair, and regardless of how many times they are knocked down, it never knocks them out. Whatever has been designed to make the warrior fail is in fact what causes them to succeed. When God is training us up as warriors in the Kingdom, there are a lot of people that drop out and do not realize that they are under attack emotionally and spiritually.
They give in before the breaking point of breakthrough. Remember the words from James 1:12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial, because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
James 1:2-3 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Romans 8:29-30 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
God needs strong people that do not crack under a little pressure. People that can stand in adversity knowing their identity in Christ. People that stand their ground in the Spirit. Watchman on the walls. We need prayers to arise! We need people with vision like Nehemiah who rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
A leader who got people interested in the work of the Lord! We need people that hear the call from the Spirit of God, people that are willing to stand in the gap for others. Ezekiel 22:30 I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
We have to understand this truth here from I Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His” — or show Himself strong another translation says. The eyes of the Lord who sees all wonder the earth searching for people He CAN SHOW HIMSELF MIGHTY TO!
I don’t know about you, but I like God showing His might and power in my life and around me. I just gaze upon Him, my Savior. If I put Him first in my life, He will be my God. There are so many promises in the scriptures — like Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. There was this man that has gone to be with the Lord now; he was a prophet but had been rejected from the church. So he became sneaky.
He memorised thousands of the promises of God and thousands of scriptures, and when he would come to a meeting and pray for people, he would speak and release the scriptures; then no one could say anything against his prophecies as he just delivered the words of God. So if you are having a hard time getting your prophetic gift into hard places, where people are afraid of the prophetic, this is a great way to go stealth mode!