BRAZIL WRAP-UP: RELY ON THE GIFTS
Hello Friends!
I started writing this post in a Boeing B767-300 at 30,000 feet between Rio and Atlanta. That was a couple of days ago . . .
This Brazil trip has been one of the most intense mission trips I have ever participated in. [Read my first missions report about overcoming by the blood in Brazil First 48 Hours here.]
I am continually amazed and astounded by the ways of God.
An Epiphany About Spiritual Gifts
Since this year’s beginning, themes of the Epiphany season have been a roadmap for our spiritual journey. [See the first three issues of The Divine Perspective Vol 2. ]
This mission’s adventure was full of epiphany moments as I experienced new understandings and revelations of God’s personality and methods.
Pastor/Evangelist Rick Bonfim taught extensively on the spiritual gifts, deliverance, and praying to overcome the occult.
Pastor Rick is energetic and fearless at 80 years old. During our discipleship training sessions, he shared many mind-blowing deliverance stories from his many years of ministry experience. His outstanding book, Praying With Accuracy: Ministering to the Needs of Others through Prayer cites some of these stories and principles.[1] [By the way, you can hear the audiobook version narrated by yours-truly for free on my website here [link].
After one account, I asked him, “How did you know to do such and such?”
He looked at me and replied, “I rely on the gifts. I depend on the gifts the whole time, all the time.”
Ah ha, another epiphany. Rely on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Afterwards, some team members visited "Christ The Redeemer" overlooking Rio.
Background about Spiritual Gifts
You may be wondering what “depend on the gifts” means. And what are the gifts of the Holy Spirit?
An in-depth discussion or exploration of Spiritual gifts is beyond the scope of this article. However, I want to share a few thoughts and an excellent chart pastor Rick gave us as an overview.
To begin, let me share some commentary from Dr. Rob’s perspective. One could argue that spiritual gifts fall into the category of being for those mature in the faith (Hebrews 5:14). As I see it, foundational principles for understanding and applying the spiritual gifts include:
- God uses the gifts of the Holy Spirit to do the work of building his kingdom. God builds his kingdom through his people—regular, everyday people. In other words, spiritual gifts are not just for some elite class of spiritual superstars.
- The gifts of the Holy Spirit are a resource freely given by God to all Christians willing to receive and activate them.
- Since they are from Almighty God, the spiritual gifts are a source of unique, divine spiritual power.
- The Bible is filled with examples of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in action. These accounts are for more than just the historical record. Instead, spiritual gifts are deployed by God to be employed by God’s people each and every day in every possible way.
These prerequisites support the RBM chart’s concluding idea that God’s gifts are “FOR THE COMMON GOOD” (1 Cor 12:7).
SPIRITUAL GIFTS CHART by RICK BONFIM MINISTRIES
What Are The Spiritual Gifts ?
Here is a summary of the Spiritual Gifts chart based on 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (nine gifts of the Spirit) and Galatians 5:22 (nine fruits of the Spirit), organized into three categories.
1. Revelation Gifts. Revelation gifts reveal something about or from the heart of God. These include words of knowledge, words of wisdom, and discerning of spirits. The accompanying fruits of this category include love, joy, and peace. Revelation Gifts are about “You and God.”
2. Power Gifts. Power Gifts “get it done” with the power of God. These include faith, gifts of healing, and the working of miracles. The accompanying fruits of this category include patience, kindness, and goodness. Power Gifts are about “You and others.”
3. Vocal Gifts. Vocal Gifts “speak it” and “confirm it,” the word of God. These include prophecy, unknown languages (tongues), and interpretation of unknown languages. The accompanying fruits of this category include faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Vocal Gifts are about “You and yourself with God.”
Jennifer Bauman preaching deliverance with power and authority.
The Holy Spirit At Work in Our Brazil Mission
On this mission trip, one clear purpose of God was to participate in Jesus’ Isaiah 61 / Luke 4:18-19 objective to preach the good news and release those in captivity.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to him. Luke 4:18-19
The bulk of our ministry occurred within 6 services in 5 days at the Central Methodist Church of Cariacia (Vitoria, Brazil). The services were always more than 3 hours long, usually beginning at about 7:00 pm with extensive invocation prayers, a worship music set of about an hour, preaching for about an hour, and then over an hour of prayer ministry at the altar. It was a wild and glorious scene, with much anointing oil being applied. Manifestations of deliverance were everywhere.
Prayer Line. We prayed for hundreds of people every night.
Honestly, you had to have been there in that context to understand the experience with discernment. There was much repentance and deliverance, and God was glorified.
God is glorified when the lost repent. God is glorified when the sick and oppressed are healed and delivered. God is glorified when God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are magnified, exalted, and praised. Thanks be to God!
Pastor Orlando thanked our team afterward:
This weekend greatly exceeded our expectations. You don’t have any idea of the impact you are leaving here. In the spiritual world, what happened here was an explosion. You ministered to us deeply about who we are, deep things that only God knows. And we are going to put these things into practice as our church goes forward. I was on vacation before this, and the Lord had told me he was going to give us something special. And I must say this conference was utterly above normal! I want to ask the Lord that this year would be a turnaround year for you! A year of harvest, that fruit would be many in your ministry.
We prayed for thousands of people. I got vocal fatigue, not from singing every night, but from praying too loud during ministry time!
ORANGEWOOD GUITAR DONATION
I was very happy to donate this very nice mahagony Oliver Orangewood Guitar with case and accessories. When we made the presentation, church let out a big shout. Quality instruments are both difficult to obtain and to afford. Thank you to our Rob Still Ministries supporters who make this possible!
Conclusion:
A big take away for me from this trip was to rely on the gifts of God to do the work of the kingdom.
More than that, God’s gifts can change everything about our lives.
So I pray for you to gain a deeper understanding and application of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts, freely given by God, are not reserved for a select few but are accessible to all who are willing to receive and activate them. They serve as a divine source of power, energy and ability to do good for others.
And that is today’s Divine Perspective!
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Have a great day!
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