You are reminded that the gifts of the Spirit are not museum pieces or relics to be admired from a distance; they are active tools given to every Spirit-filled believer to build, heal, encourage, and equip the body of Christ so that the whole church is strengthened and ministered to in power and love. Be open to identifying and stewarding the gift God has apportioned to you, asking for boldness to operate in humility for the benefit of others. [37:12]
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (ESV)
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Reflection: Which one of the nine gifts listed above do you sense God wants to grow in you? Name that gift and write one concrete step you will take this week to begin exercising it (for example: pray 10 minutes daily specifically for that gift, ask a ministry leader to coach you, or serve in a ministry setting where it can be practiced).
You are called to receive what God has provided: a life of repentance, baptism in Jesus' name, and the promised gift of the Holy Spirit that empowers a new beginning into divine purpose; if that experience is missing from your life, you are invited to respond now with faith and obedience so the Spirit can move freely in and through you. [47:04]
Acts 2:38 (ESV)
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Reflection: If you have not been baptized in Jesus' name and received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, will you commit to come forward to the altar or contact the church office to arrange that baptism by next Sunday? Take that step this week and tell one trusted believer so they can pray with you.
You are reminded that the Lord promised accompanying signs to those who believe — demonstrations of power like casting out demons, speaking in new tongues, healing the sick — and that expecting these confirmations is part of living in the authority of Christ; do not be surprised when God moves, but be ready to participate and testify when He does. [59:57]
Mark 16:17-18 (ESV)
And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Reflection: What is one specific sign you need to see in your life right now (for example: a healing, a breakthrough in addiction, boldness to witness, or a fresh prayer language)? Tonight, pray specifically for that sign and ask two mature believers to agree with you in prayer within the next 48 hours.
You are encouraged to reject the notion that God’s gifts ceased with the apostles; Scripture teaches that the partial will remain until the perfect (Christ’s return), so hunger for the gifts, refuse theological shortcuts that explain them away, and pursue deeper intimacy and manifestation of God’s power in the church today. [57:16]
1 Corinthians 13:8-10 (ESV)
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
Reflection: Identify one teaching or habit in your thinking that has minimized spiritual gifts for you; set aside 30 minutes this week to read 1 Corinthians 12–14 and pray, asking God to correct what is out of line and to open your heart to receive what He still gives today.
You are reminded that greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world; in the midst of addiction, sickness, depression, or spiritual attack, stand firm, come to the altar, call on the Holy Ghost, and refuse to go into battle unarmed — God is bigger than the enemy you face. [01:01:57]
1 John 4:4 (ESV)
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Reflection: Name the single strongest enemy you face today (for example: an addiction, a chronic illness, fear, or oppressive thought). Speak its name aloud before God and declare: “Greater is He in me than [name the enemy].” Then contact one trusted believer or leader and arrange to meet for prayer within 24 hours.
I’m grateful for a Thanksgiving week that reminded me how loved we are—and grateful for a church family that will stop everything to pray, anoint, and believe together for healing. In the middle of worship, I felt a strong pull to lift our faith, to lay hands, to call names, and to believe that God is turning situations even now. We’re stepping into December with a clear assignment: launch our Gifts of the Spirit series under the banner “Acts 29,” not because a hidden chapter exists, but because the story of the Spirit is still being written in us. Receiving the Holy Ghost and baptism in Jesus’ Name isn’t the finish line—it’s the beginning of our call. The gifts are not museum pieces; they are tools in the hands of Spirit-filled believers for the profit of all.
We opened 1 Corinthians 12 and named the nine gifts, underscoring that our church has grown into a measure of maturity where God can trust us to carry them with reverence and love. I shared my own journey—Baptist father, Assemblies of God mother, and a later return through trial and mercy into an apostolic, Pentecostal identity. The Spirit used even a house fire to relocate my life into a place where old hunger came back alive. We prayed over a Baptist pulpit, and God stirred a pastor; prayer changed the atmosphere before it changed the signage. That’s what the Spirit does.
We also faced a battlefield idea: are the gifts for today? Scripture says yes. Jesus promised signs would follow them that believe, not them that believed back then. “That which is perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13 is Christ’s return; until He comes, the church still needs Word and Spirit—wisdom, faith, miracles, discernment, and tongues with interpretation—for a world that is not playing games with addiction, sickness, and despair. So we came to the altar to tarry, to be filled, to be refilled, and to ask God to do something unmistakable in us. I called us to make room—our homes, our schedules, our expectations—for the Spirit to move. We are Acts 29 people.
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