How To: Flow In The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit

I believe that one of the biggest reasons that the body of Christ hasnt made a
greater impact on our generation today is because of our failure to operate in
the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Without a doubt, Jesus and the first apostles used
the gifts like a bell, calling men to their message and confirming that God was
truly the One speaking through them.
Hebrews 2:3-4 says, How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;
which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and
wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to
his own will? The Lord bore witness to the accuracy of their message through
miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said all true believers would flow in the miraculous:
And these signs will follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out
devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if
they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover. If a Christians life isnt supernatural, its
superficial.
Mark goes on to say that messages based in Gods Word would be confirmed
by signs following: So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was
received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went
forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming
the word with signs following. Amen.
Jesus even said, If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not (John
10:37). Thats a strong statement. If we were to apply that standard to
ministers today, most wouldnt be believed.
The vast majority of preaching done in the name of the Lord today is without
the power of the Holy Spirit manifest through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is
not the way the Lord intended it to be.

The main line denominations have developed doctrines to cope with this
obvious discrepancy. However, regardless of the rationale, its absurd to think
that we can be effective without the power of the Holy Spirit confirming the
preaching of Gods Word. If Jesus and the early apostles needed their
preaching validated, how can we do any less?
Even the non-denominational churches have fallen away from ministering in
the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts that operate in most Spirit-filled churches
are simply words of exhortation or prophecy. There is much more.
The Lord has used the gifts of the Holy Spirit mightily in my life and ministry to
confirm His Word. There are countless times when people were still skeptical
after hearing me teach, but the demonstration of Gods power through the
gifts turned them into believers. Its like the teaching fills their mouths with
Gods Word, then the gifts of the Holy Spirit slap them on the back and make
them swallow it. Hallelujah!
One of the most important steps to flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit is to
earnestly desire them. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:31, But covet earnestly
the best gifts. He repeated that thought in 1 Corinthians 14:1 when he said,
Desire spiritual gifts. Another way of saying this is, as long as you can live
without flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you will. You have to seek these
gifts with all your heart (Jer. 29:13).
Its also very important to understand that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are
always flowing. God doesnt turn them on and off. We are the ones who are
on or off. Thats a startling statement to many people and one that verges
on blasphemy to some, but its true. The Lord is always ready to flow through
us in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Its just like praying in tongues. We dont have to wait for the anointing of the
Holy Spirit to come on us to speak in tongues. We can pray in tongues at any
time. Its not us turning on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is always on and

giving us the ability to speak in tongues. Therefore, whenever we turn

ourselves on, the gift of tongues is there to allow us to communicate with our
heavenly Father. Praise the Lord! Thats the way it is with all the gifts.
I remember one time that I was teaching along these lines in our Charis Bible
College. One of the students said, So, you are saying that you can flow in the
gifts of the Holy Spirit at any time? I said, Thats right and Ill prove it to you.
I then started down each row and just started reading the students mail. I
was telling them things that had to be coming from the Holy Spirit. It was
awesome.
No one has received everything that the Holy Spirit has for them. Therefore,
the Lord is always seeking to release more to us through His supernatural
gifts. Whenever we put ourselves in a mode to be His channel, His gifts will
flow. The old Pentecostal doctrine of the anointing coming and going is not a
New Testament truth. First John 2:27 says, But the anointing which ye have
received of him abideth in you.
Another great truth about flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit is what John
Osteen called the divine flow. This is based on, God is love (1 John 4:8).
Therefore, whenever we discern the love of God flowing through us toward
someone, God is reaching out to them through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. All
we have to do is follow that flow through faith.
Once when I was pastoring a little church in Pritchett, Colorado, my heart just
went out to a woman in the back of the room. Id never seen her before, and
there was nothing natural that drew me to her. It was just the love of God
flowing through me to her. Because of that love alone, I told her that God had
a word for her. I didnt have one single word to say to her, but I knew Gods
love was flowing; and therefore, God and His gifts were flowing to her. I just
started by saying, God loves you. God then flooded my mind with things to
minister to her.

It was a long word from the Lord, but I specifically told her about how she was
grieving over the loss of someone and was confused about why God allowed
it. I kept saying, It wasnt God that allowed it. It was the Destroyer. I said that
a number of times. She broke down in tears and was really ministered to.
After the service, she told me that she had just lost her son to leukemia. They
believed that God allowed this disease. But just before her son died, he saw
this huge demon over their town, which the Lord told him was named the
Destroyer. They didnt know how to interpret that until I spoke to them through
the gifts of the Holy Spirit and put it all in order. They were set free.
This was the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom in operation. God
gave the knowledge of what had happened and then gave words of wisdom to
instruct them on how to deal with it. This all came because I followed the love
that I felt in my heart.
This has happened to us all, but most of the time we dont understand this is a
gift of the Holy Spirit, and we miss an opportunity. Ive learned this the hard
way.
There was a man who had been my youth director when I was just a young
boy. He left our Baptist church before I was a teenager, and I heard how he
had been baptized in the Holy Spirit and was seeing great miracles happen.
He had one room in his church that was filled with the wheelchairs, crutches,
and braces of people who were healed and didnt need them anymore.
During a three- or four-month period of time, I thought about this man often. It
was usually while I was in prayer that he would just come to mind, and I would
feel the compassion of God toward him. I would just wonder what was
happening with him and then dismiss the thoughts. Later, I found that he had
died in a freak accident where a red ant bit him on the thumb.
As soon as I heard of his death, I knew that the reason I had been thinking of
him so often was because the Lord was trying to get me to intercede for him.

Over a decade later, I met this mans son, and I confessed to him my failure to
pray for his dad. He told me that I was at least the twelfth person who had told
him a similar story. The Lord had impressed many of us to intercede for this
man, but none of us recognized it as the Lord.
It is imperative that we learn to recognize and flow in the gifts of the Holy
Spirit. Its not only a blessing to us, but the lives of other people may depend
on it. You are carrying someones miracle. Dont let it stay inside. You have to
learn how to release it.
There is much more that the Lord has shown me about flowing in the gifts of
the Holy Spirit. This article doesnt come close to covering all the material I
have on my series entitled, How To: Flow in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. I really
encourage you to get this teaching and start moving supernaturally in a whole
new way.
My new three-part album is laced with personal examples of how the Lord has
used me in the gifts. I share how I learned to recognize and respond to Gods
gifts in such a practical way that I know it will help you to do the same. This is
very practical teaching about a very supernatural lifestyle. Its awesome!