How do we receive Gods gifts?

This post is dedicated to my church family who is going through the Transformations course. This evening as I was going through chapter 4 I was answering question 12 (the title of this post) then as I was answering I kept writing. I didnt edit it. I wrote it here the way it flowed from my pen. My prayer for you would be that it would bring speak to your heart and bring you edification.
Please comment as to how this spoke to you as I really believe that God has inspired me to write this. (Your a great spritual family)

According to Luke 11:13 we need to simply ask God for his gifts. In Acts 19:6 we read that Paul placed his hands on people at certain times to recieve Gods gifts. Then in Ephesians 2:8 we read that we recieve Gods gifts through faith.

In summary:

1. Ask God for his gifts.
2. Laying on of hands.
3. Recieve Gods gift in faith.

We need to believe that we have the gifts of the Holy Spirit within us.

For example:

If you were preparing to teach on a specific topic, you would ask God to lead you and give you the gift of teaching in order that he would be glorified. If appropriate you would ask others to lay hands on you and join you in prayer. Then you need to step out of the boat. (AKA take a step of faith) This is the acid test right here. Faith is an action word... YOU Choose... You have two options in this scenario.

Option 1

You say to yourself "I know what I prepared in this message and it isnt good enough. I dont have the history to speak on this topic so I will save it for another time. Or "I will wing it" without faith that God will cover you and our teaching falls flat.

Option 2

You talk with God "God I know that your word says that you will help me to speak if I will put my trust in you. I am afraid father. What if I mess up? What if your heart isn't portrayed well?" When it comes to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, they are all there and they WILL be evident as we step out in faith. We will not recieve God's grace any other way. It doesnt work any other way. It cant. God's word is crystal clear on Grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are there for anyone as long as they step out of the boat....out of their comfort zone....out of thier fears...out of thier selfishness..out of thier issues that hinder God's grace from flowing into our lives. We need to put our trust in our father God, not worrying about where we are going.

Here is what that looks like.

Romans 12:6
Prophesy: You get a sense in your heart that God is speaking to you. What do you do? You share it in faith that God is putting something on your heart for the other person, with the humility that you may be wrong. However you may be bringing salvation or healing to thier heart.

Romans 12:7
Serving: You see that a young family is struggling with thier young children. You go to them in faith trusting that God has put them on your heart for a specific reason. Little did you know that your act of service was exactly what thier hearts needed.

Teaching: We already covered this one earlier.

Romans 12:8
Encouraging: You look over a crowd of people and a specific person stands out. You go in faith to that person and share an encouraging word with them. Little did you know that they were broken and hurting and needing encouragement.

Contributing to the needs of others: While in a conversation a specific need comes up. You are impressed in your heart to respond. You ask yourself "Is it God or myself?" (We should be asking this question in all situatons we are in) The feeling remains. (Jeremiah 20:9) So you then decide in fath to respond to that specific need. Little did you know that the person that you blessed had been praying and asking God for months to fill that specific need.

Leadership: You feel that God is asking you to move in a direction that may not be comfortable to those that you are leading. You are faced with a choice. Not move in that direction or move out in faith. Then as you walk out in faith, God empowers you to do things that you couldn't dream.


Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we recieve mercy and grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

AMEN