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. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Raise your hand if you believe this scripture is still correct? Lots of hands in the house, only a few tentative ones.
Next question: Is Jesus your Lord? Have you given your entire life to Him?
So then each of you who raised your hands and answered “yes” to the questions — how much of your day is Spirit-led? How much do you allow Him to guide your days? How much can you discern His instructions to you? Can you ‘hear’ His Voice in your mind? Clearly? How much of your day do you converse with Him? Do you ever check with Him about the decisions you are making throughout your day?
Do you believe His wisdom and discretion is better than you own? If yes — can you prove your answer by personal experience?
If we say we believe in the spiritual realm — how much do we live our lives understanding when we are being influenced by that spiritual realm? How much are we being coerced by the lies from the spiritual realm by all the voices of the enemies of God? Can you discern the lies? Can you sense the demonic? Do you have any sense when you are in any real danger from the spiritual realm?
So if all these ‘gifts’ are no longer needed because we have the written scriptures (Bible) -the spiritual realm has now faded away? And there no longer is any need for the Holy Spirit and His discernment in our lives? There is a large movement in certain well known Christian denominational branches that believe in a thing called Cessationism. Which when you boil down their confusing doctrine – that there is no need for the Holy Spirit’s work in one’s life, because we have the Bible. Obviously to me that belief is unscriptural.
Another major factor in hindering the Holy Spirit within the ekklesia is the centralization of the systems. This means the structure of the ‘Sunday service’ or liturgy even in the so-called Holy Spirit doctrinal churches, where we ‘allow’ the Holy Spirit a small portion of the service for Him to ‘move’ (and then it is REALLY limited as to what we will allow Him to do), which is usually during the ‘worship’ portion of the scheduled service. So is He really Lord if we ‘allow’ Him? Or schedule Him? Or limit Him … to our agenda / schedule? Just asking for a ‘friend’.
Why are our systems designed to limit Him? They aren’t?