How Do We Pursue Spiritual Gifts? | Episode 115

[@ernestdaigle9319]

All credit goes to JESUS CHRIST for our spiritual gifts!!All glory to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords JESUS CHRIST!!

[@dreamarichards4972]

Amen! I agree!! God bless Brother David Bernard!

[@WayneChurchill-zd3pm]

Will said seek god first and all things will be aided

[@melinahoule2067]

Thank you I love you God bless you IJN

[@patielli7]

This pod cast is truly a blessing. I thank God for general superintendent David K Bernard and his teaching of the word of God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

[@crisangelojomoc1987]

Amazing. Thank you Pastor David Bernard

[@wevenlabesig9218]

Amen, We should pursue love, because spiritual gifts will be useless ,if you don't LOVE. A deeper meaning for that, Loving the people who can't love.

[@Martin-xv]

Love this, sound teaching brother Bernard!

[@leeguesman4778]

Worth listening to twice. Focus on others rather than self.

[@aguilarcarls]

GOD bless you pastor. Please talk about the first on God, and support to the brother's.

[@merarismagante]

Thanks so much for the inspiring Word of God... Spiritual Gifts

[@dimplecabunoc1114]

Amen!❤

[@Post-Trib]

Agreed. It's more important to seek the will of God and do his will. Those who have the hope of salvation should purge themselves of all the sin and filth of the flesh. The more fruitful one is, the more useful and gifted they will be. "He must increase. But i must decrease" John

[@mosesmoses2867]

Thank you, you are truly man of God, great message,

[@donaldgreathouse6611]

Absolutely! Thank you again brothers for these posts! God's blessing on you in Jesus name.

[@leewhite675]

Every city needs a building program for more upc churches in their city

[@leemcmurray6542]

Thank you Brother Bernard.

[@deaconobuasi]

Yes

[@darrelltangalobani4127]

Amen❤

[@1GodInJesusChrist]

Bro. Bernard, is there some way you can make a podcast on John 10:34. And how to respond to it in case one ever wants to evangelize to say JW’s or Mormons.

[@nelsonstiveens5140]

Is an excellent book 👌🏼

[@JamesMiller-vx8zy]

We'll said as usual.

[@gabrielzubbyokeomauzoegwu]

Amen 🔥📖🙌👏

[@beehamrick4673]

I keep having dreams bad dreams almost on a nightly basis any suggestions

[@mt9567]

Repent, pray through, be holy, etc!.............. THEN..... If that doesn't work (or you just want some practical advice) I suggest the herbal tea Chamomile (flowers that kinda taste like apples). It's the only known herbal remedy for 'nightmares' or 'night terrors'. It's a very mild nervine that actually works. It tastes pretty good too!

[@leewhite675]

How do souls who have only one upc church in a city of 250,000 persue spiritual gifts.??????

[@tto7365]

Not sure what you mean by that

[@jackiet5334]

If we could be honest, there seems little spiritual gifting activity in the churches today. If there are, where are all the testimonies and shouts of praise from the people? Lots of YT chatter on gifts and talk about gifts, but no YT pods or time to encourage the saints with accounts of miraculous deliverance, healings. Of course, then one would say, well, the gifts are shown during church service, and you must show all the disciplines and attend pastor's service. What about shut-ins, the disabled, those without transportation, elderly who are too feeble to attend church? I find that the modern churches have tried in past to make a display of evangelical healing ministries, where they travel to churches, rent venues, and advertise that they are a healing ministry. In order for the evangelist to prove he is gifted, he can only minister to people with obvious deformities, or disabilities. If that person is healed, and can suddenly walk, or move or a limb grows, it is a 'showing' miracle. Please consider the millions of saints who suffer from chronic diseases, with pain every day, afflicted with symptoms that DO NOT show on the outside. These won't suffice to go up to the altar and prove the man of God has a gift of healing, because all they can rely on is that person's testimony. Spectacle ministries, I don't believe, are very compassionate toward the real suffering. The gifts of the Spirit are for everyone in the Body of Christ, and we don't tell God who can and who can't exercise that gift, just because they are not attending one's specific church. God can and will answer individual prayers, and those who aren't 'in' the churches as they stand today. God is not a respecter of persons. He is faithful and loving and just and will answer prayers from lonely saints, in Jesus Christ. Modern churches have little time to devote to the lonely; modern churches are too busy with worldly governance. I've heard this and don't know for certain, but it appears that some Pastors are afraid to permit the saints to have prayer services in their homes, unless the pastor has given his permission. Are they afraid to lose control over who ministers, because it might take the control away from them? Also, mercy and compassion are not gifts, but are the fruit of the Spirit. As Christians, we who were given mercy and forgiveness from our Lord, should easily want to show mercy and forgiveness to others. I know some silently suffering loving christians, who have gifts of faith, encouragement, and they might not be displayed here and there, with books and talk, but the signs follow without fanfare and fleshly pride.

[@JAXMAXYT]

We're can you explain speaking in tongues all at once in church?

[@JAXMAXYT]

In reference to eibg decently and in order

[@jajuanbrown02]

Hello friend! I think I can shine a bit of light on that. Firstly it's important to note that not every occurrence of speaking in tongues we see in scripture serves the same purpose or role. For example, in Acts 2, 10, and 19, we see groups of people speaking in tongues all at the same time and no where does the Bible indicate that these tongues were interpreted. This is because this kind of speaking in tongues is the initial sign that a person has received the Holy Ghost. Simply converting, accepting the Lord as your Savior, or Baptism in Jesus name alone are not how we know a person has received the Holy Ghost. In Acts 8, we see a group of people who "heard the word", "received the word" and "were baptized" but notice that NO ONE was filled with the Holy Ghost. Phillip knews this because they didn't speak with tongues as was the case in Acts 2. The other kind of speaking in tongues, which is the kind spoken of in this podcast, is the Gift of Diverse Tongues (also called the Gift of Tongues). This is not the same as the speaking in tongues we see in Acts because in all the occurrences in Acts, the tongues that were being spoken were for the edification (meaning the lifting up, or encouragement) of the speaker. What Paul is speaking about in 1 Corinthians 12-14 is a speaking in tongues that is to occur for the edification of the entire church. Paul explains that since neither the speaker using this Gift nor any member of the church understands thr language being spoken in the message in tongues for the church, there must be an interpretation given, hence the gift of the interpretation of tongues. Now to answer your question more directly. When you have a group of believers all of whom are speaking in tongues to edify themselves (which is perfectly normal and biblical as seen in Acts 2, 10, and 19) then there is no limit or cap on how many should be speaking at a time. This is because the speaker is talking directly to God. However, whenever people begin to operate in the Gift of tongues, which is speaking in tongues to the congregation, there must be structure to this. This is why Paul says two or at most three should do this and if an interpretation isn't given, then don't keep speaking the message in tongues to the church. An analogy that might bring this together is congregational prayer vs preaching. There is nothing wrong with having a church full of people all praying at the same time. Even if they are praying for different things or are feeling different things emotionally, there's nothing wrong with everyone praying at once. For the same reason, having multiple people speaking in tongues at the same time, for personal edification, is fine. Also when it comes time to preach, you don't have multiple preachers trying to speak at the same time. That would be incredibly chaotic. Similarly, when a message in tongues is given, meaning the operation of the Gift of tongues, there are limitations on how many speakers should be delivering this message for the sake of order. Just to clarify any confusion this analogy may have caused, Paul says two or at most three, but this doesn't mean that they would be speaking in tongues to the congregation simultaneously. It would be like have 2 or 3 people preach the same message. Each would do it one at a time, but may not use the exact same word to deliver the message. I hope this clears up some of your confusion and if there is anything else I can do for you please let me know. Blessings!

[@jajuanbrown02]

@@boardbill5852 Hello! I think you bring up some very valid concerns and I would like to address each of them directly. If after this you still have concerns/questions, I would love to continue this dialog. 1) How are those who suffer from aglossia (the absence of the whole tongue), suppose to receive the Holy Ghost if speaking in tongues is the byproduct? To begin, I believe it is important to note that the word “tongues” in the phrase “speaking in other/unknown tongues” is the word glossa. While this word can refer to the organ, as in the condition you mentioned, it can also refer to languages. In Acts 2:5-11 we see a host of people from various nations, and when they heard these people speaking in tongues, it was in languages that would have been unknown to the speakers. This means that to speak with other tongues simply means to speak, by the supernatural leading and impartation of the Holy Ghost, in a language unknown to the speaker. This would mean that an individual could speak in tongues in any language so long as the speaker did not know said language. I make this point because not all sounds formed by the human mouth require the use of the tongue. In fact, at least 13 of the 26 letters in the English alphabet can be pronounced without the use of the tongue as discovered in a 2019 research paper on aglossia (McMicken, et. al). I say this to implement a thought exercise. Since speaking in tongues is something that occurs as the Holy Ghost gives one the ability, this would mean that the languages and words available to an individual speaking in tongues are dependent on the vocabulary of God, not that of the individual. As God is omniscient, this means that the entire vocabulary of all languages in both heaven and earth are available to an individual speaking in tongues. Who is to say that God doesn’t know a language which never requires the use of the tongue? Moreover, who is to say that the individual speak must say something different each time they speak with tongues? The phrase being spoken by the individual could be like that of the angels which only say “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty- the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come” without ceasing for all eternity (Revelation 4:8). In the one occasion in Scripture where a person spoke with tongues and the listener understood what was said, the listener described them talking about "the wonderful works of God", so I dont believe that the message being spoke has any limitations on length or complexity so long as it is about the wonderful works of God. As God is the one who provides the words being spoken, I dont believe there is any issue here. I understand the concern of one with aglossia, but I do not believe that God is limited because we may have physical limitation. It is well within His knowledge and ability to enable someone to speak in manner that matches their situation. It is also important to note that congenital aglossia (being born without a tongue) is an extremely rare occurrence with one source citing only 11 known cases worldwide. Furthermore glossectomy (the partial or complete removal of the tongue), though not as uncommon as congenital aglossia, is also relatively rare and is responsible for the majority of people without a tongue. I would say that if such a rare individual genuinely wanted to receive the Holy Ghost, then God can meet their circumstance with a miracle to match it. Be that miraculously providing them a tongue, allowing them to speak phrases or words that did not require the use of the tongue, or anything else He saw fit, this miracle could still occur. We even hear that if people stopped praising God, then the rocks would try out in our place, and they have no tongues, vocal cords, lungs, or any biological components (Luke 19:40). As this manifestation of the Holy Ghost depends completely on the ability of God and not that of the individual in question, I believe that even those without tongues can still speak with tongues.

[@jajuanbrown02]

@@boardbill5852 2) Peter did not say “the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on everyone when they receive the Holy Ghost” but rather “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.” I believe that my explanation for your third comment may provide more clarification for this, but I will briefly answer here and let my third response hopefully clear up any confusion. You are right, Peter did not say “the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on everyone when they receive the Holy Ghost”. However, I believe a strong case can be made that when Peter said “the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning” he would have expected no other sign to follow an individual receiving the Holy Ghost, and his word choice was largely influenced by the audience he was speaking to. When we look at Acts 10:44 we see Peter’s message interrupted by these people receiving the Holy Ghost. I will quote verses 45 and 46 together so the thought is more clearly conveyed: “And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God…”. Both the Peter and those with him understood that the speaking in tongues that occurred could not have happened unless the Gentiles were filled with the Holy Ghost. We see in this passage that speaking in tongues is directly linked to being filled with the Spirit. In other words, had Peter gone to these people with the expectation for them to receive the Holy Ghost (and to clarify, he did not), then he would have only known that they had received it upon witnessing them speak in tongues. The amazement of Peter illustrates to us that he had no expectation for them to receive the Spirit but upon witnessing this miraculous sign, he knew for certain that they had received it. His comparison of this event to what he and the other Jews had personally experienced can be attributed to the audience that he was speaking to. At this point, it was believed that only Jews could receive the Spirit and experience that salvation of Christ. Gentiles were any person completely lacking Jewish blood, so Samarians would be considered the “half-breeds” so to speak. For Peter to not only have heard God tell him, “don’t call dirty what I have called clean”, and then proceed to witness people who he thought couldn’t be saved be filled with the Holy Ghost and water baptized, there needed to be some clarification and even revision to what it meant to be Christian. At that point, Christianity was still a sect of Judaism. In Judaism, Gentiles were not considered equal to Jews and could not participate in the same sacrifices, activities, or places of prayer as a Jew could, hence the outermost court of the temple being the Court of the Gentiles (Matthew 21). To address these matters, in Acts 11 there was a meeting of the Apostles and other Jewish believers to officially discuss what Peter witnessed and what should be done about it. In Acts 11:4, we see Peter had even rehearsed how to convey this point as it would be pivotal in how Gentiles would be viewed moving forward. To make it as clear as possible that, regarding salvation, there is absolutely no difference between Jews and Gentiles, Peters explains to an audience of Jews that when a Gentile received the Holy Ghost it was 100% identical to how a Jew would receive the Holy Ghost (aka “how we did at the beginning” verse 15). We see him continue to explain that Jews and Gentiles were the same in God’s eyes in verses 16-18. In conclusion, Peter’s word choice of comparing the events of Cornelius and his household to the events of Pentecost were purely to emphasize the point that his audience was gathered to discuss-that Gentiles and Jews can both be filled with the Holy Ghost and when they do, it will be the same.

[@jajuanbrown02]

@@boardbill5852 3) Scripture does not say that Phillip knew they hadn’t received the Holy Ghost because they didn’t speak with tongues, he knew because they had never been chrismated/confirmed (the laying on of hands). While I do believe that the laying on of hands is an incredibly important aspect of any ministry, I do not believe Scripture implies that the laying on of hands is how a person receives the Spirit or that it is how we know one has received the Spirit. To this point, we can look at Acts 10. Peter went to Cornelius believing that Gentiles were unable to receive the Spirit but preached to them because God instructed him to. Furthermore, Scripture says while Peter was speaking to this group, they received the Holy Ghost. In Acts 10:34-43, we see what Peter is saying and in verse 44 he is seemingly interrupted by them receiving the Holy Ghost. Furthermore, Act 10:46 shows us that they spoke with tongues. Peter did not need to lay hands on this group for them to receive the Holy Ghost, so I don’t believe we can state that the laying on of hands is necessary for one to receive the Spirit. All the occurrences in the New Testament, following the ascension of Christ, of people receiving the Spirit are recorded in Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 9, Acts 10, Acts 11, Acts 19, and Acts 22 (with Acts 11 and 22 because recitations of Acts 10 and 9 respectively). In Acts 2 they spoke with tongues upon receiving the Holy Ghost (verse 4). In Acts 10 they spoke with tongues upon receiving the Holy Ghost (verses 44-46). In Acts 19 they spoke with tongues upon receiving the Holy Ghost (verses 5-6). Acts 9 refers to the conversion of Paul and though neither this account nor Acts 22 mention him speaking in tongues, we know from his other writings that he also experienced speaking with tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18). This means that the only New Testament occurrence following the ascension of Jesus where people receive the Spirit and nowhere in Scripture does it directly say they “spoke with tongues” would be Acts 8. Despite this, reading this passage reveals crucial information regarding how we know an individual has initially received the Holy Ghost. We have a group of people who were in one accord (Acts 8:6), who believed the message that was being preached to them (Acts 8:12), and that were baptized (8:12). Despite these wonderful things no one received the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:15-16). This lets us know that simply being in one accord, believing the word, or the act itself of being water baptized are not how we know a person has received the Holy Ghost. While this passage does not say they spoke tongues, it does say that they received the Holy Ghost and upon doing so, a miraculous, external occurrences took place. We know this because a sorcerer attempted to purchase the ability to do this (Acts 8:17-19). I say all of this to say that of the 5 aforementioned occasions where receiving the Holy Ghost are mentioned, we know with absolute certainty that the people in 4 of those occasions spoke with tongues at some point. Even if one was to say that speaking in tongues itself was not the sign of receiving the Holy Ghost, we must acknowledge that all 5 occasions resulted in some external, supernatural manifestation that all individuals in these occurrences experienced (Acts 2:4, Acts 8:17, Acts 9:17-18 + 1 Corinthians 14:18, Acts 10:45-46, Acts 19:4-6). I believe the evidence and patterns of Scripture in 4 of the 5 occasions allow us to also logically and realistically deduce that those in Acts 8 spoke with tongues. I can understand where some would disapprove of this logical step. If that is the case, I would pose the following questions: if not speaking tongues, what then is the external, supernatural occurrence that will happen upon an individual receiving the Spirit? Can said occurrence be realistically deduced to have occurred among all 5 occasions of people receiving the Spirit in Acts? If you have any more questions, Id love to continue talking with you, even if that means changing platforms.

[@firestartersministries6058]

Is impartation biblical

[@leewhite675]

Why is it that upc pastors over 65 don't retire like everyone else?? Younger pastors could use the job .

[@leewhite675]

What will god say when he comes back and finds only one upc church per city .

[@DannyLoyd]

they came through the laying on hands by the apostles, after the apostles died, spiritual gifts ceased. Acts 8:18 " now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles hands...." Acts 19:6 " And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the HS came on them..." Romans 1:11 " For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift..." Acts 2 and Acts 10 are the only cases of HS Baptism and that was to fulfill the prophecy of Joel 2 , poured out on all flesh, Jew and Gentile. Today, there is only one baptism and that is water baptism. Lastly, 1Cor 13 states that prophecy, tongues, knowledge would cease when the perfect comes. The context is talking about partial revelation so the perfect is complete revelation and we have that. James 1:25 and also John 16 the apostles would be lead into all truth. So, miracles have ceased.

[@DannyLoyd]

if not, let David go to St. Jude's and heal all the sick children, Mark 16:18 " they WILL LAY HANDS ON THE SICK AND THEY WILL RECOVER"....I have a feeling we will be waiting a very long time for David to do that