Today, for a few minutes again, we're going to
go deep into the study of the gifts of the Spirit.
I want you to get out your Bibles and follow
me in the reading of a portion of the Word of
God. Remember that nothing that I can say is
as powerful as the written Word. The Word of
God. And always remember one thing. If Catherine
Kuhlman says one thing and the Bible says another,
the Bible is right. If you have been taught one
thing, if your church teaches one thing, if your
pastor teaches one thing, if your priest teaches
one thing, and the... Bible says another. The
Bible is always right. Know that sometimes I
think it's the hardest thing in the world for
some folk to get rid of some of their preconceived
ideas and come back again to the Word of God.
It would be a wonderful day if all professing
Christians everywhere, both protestant and catholic
could get back to the word of god back again
to thus saith the lord we have so much church
ology we have so much theory there's so much
creed there's so much of man's doctrine and so
little And so again, I'm going to ask you to
please get out your Bible. Follow me in the reading
of the Scripture. The 12th chapter, 1 Corinthians.
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit. There is only one Holy Spirit. And whenever
I speak of the gifts of the Spirit, the one person,
The Holy Spirit is the giver of these gifts that
you and I are talking about. There are differences
of administrations, but the same Lord. There
are diversities of operations, but it's the same
God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation
of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the
word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge
by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same
Spirit, to another the gifts of healing by the
same Spirit, to another the working of miracles,
to another prophecy, to another discerning of
spirits, to another diverse kinds of... tongues
to another the interpretation of tongues but
all these worketh that one and the self same
spirit dividing to every man severally as he
will all right we can get right down to the meat
of the truth of the word and for just a minute
We're going to talk about this gift of prophecy.
And we can look upon these gifts as being temporary
gifts, but watch it not in the sense that it
has been taught by some. Whenever I speak of
these gifts as being temporary gifts, they will
be in operation as long... as the Church of the
Lord Jesus Christ is here on earth. These gifts
did not cease. These gifts that the Holy Spirit
gives will not cease. They will continue to be
in operation as long as the Church of the Lord
Jesus Christ is here on earth. They will only
cease. When the Holy Spirit leads, the time of
the great catching up, and the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ is caught up with him. Don't
let anybody tell you that these gifts and many,
many more, which are not mentioned here in the
Word, are in operation now and will continue
to be in operation. operation in the church.
You know, we have really sold ourselves short.
Christians have really sold themselves short.
Or should I say, they have allowed themselves
to be sold. Little do you know what you're missing
by having been sold short. For many a pastor
stands his pulpit. and will say that these gifts
ceased with the early church. Anything, my friend,
that Peter received, anything that John received,
anything that was given to the early church is
for us today. And don't let... Anybody sell you
short when it comes to the things of the Spirit.
All right, here we go. We come to this gift of
prophecy. What is this gift of prophecy? It's
very simple. It's explained in 1 Corinthians,
the 14th chapter, the third verse. He that prophesieth
speaketh unto men to edification and... exhortation,
and comfort. It's so simple. There it is. He
that prophesied speaketh unto men to edification.
Revelation is not mentioned. Sometimes I think
we get very confused when it comes to the gift
of prophecy. And there are those who have...
hallucinations that they had been given some
gift to prophesy beyond that which is in the
word of god and that's when we get off into fanaticism
beloved the holy spirit will never give to an
individual he'll not give to any man any woman
more than that which is written in the word.
Know that. In Revelation, the 22nd chapter, the
19th verse, if any man shall take away from the
words of the book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part out of the book of life and
out of the holy city and from the things which
are written in this book. If any man shall add
unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book. He will
not give to any individual lower than that which
is written in the Bible. Know that. This may
not seem vitally important to you. But it is
vitally important because if someone should stand
up and say that they've been given the gift of
prophecy and would give something contrary to
the Word of God or add to the Word of God, they
are committing a gross sin. And the Holy Spirit
has no part in that whatsoever. That makes, my
friend, for false doctrine and false cults are
born from that very thing. No? There can be no
doubt as to what is meant by the gift of prophecy.
He that prophesieth. speaketh unto men to edification,
exhortation, and comfort. I think the simplest
way of explaining the gift of prophecy is to
say that it is a gift of communication. The word.
The word, beloved. And I consider the gift of
prophecy one... of the three greatest gifts that
the Holy Spirit can give. And we know that there
are gifts that are greater than other gifts because
the word itself says, covet earnestly the best
gifts. Personally, I consider the three greatest
gifts the gift of the word of knowledge. Remember,
he is perfect knowledge. And for him to give
a gift to an individual, a part of his absolute
knowledge, it is like giving us literally a part
of himself, a part of the world. of his knowledge,
he who is perfect wisdom, absolute wisdom, to
have him to give an individual, literally a part
of himself, the gift of the word of wisdom, of
something that is absolute perfection. This wonderful
gift of prophecy. Where you can stand and have
the Holy Spirit so speak through lips of clay,
where the Holy Spirit can so take the mind, where
the Holy Spirit can so take the yieldedness of
that vessel and commute and communicate. to those
who are out there in the audience the true meaning
of the Word of God. That is one of the greatest
gifts that the Holy Spirit can give to an individual.
Oh, beloved, I believe that of all of the gifts,
including the gift of the Word of Knowledge,
including the gift of the Word of Wisdom, I still
believe... that i would personally rather that
the holy spirit would give me that gift of prophecy
where i could stand before men and women under
the anointing of the holy spirit and could communicate
through the holy spirit the word of the living
God that it would become life to you and you
could understand it and understanding you would
accept the Christ as the personal savior through
the understanding of the word you would seek
to be filled with the holy spirit through the
understanding of the word as the holy spirit
gives it the Bible would open up to you. It would
become alive, a living thing. Oh, to speak, to
preach, and have men and women have an understanding
of the Word of God. And that's what the Bible
says. He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to
edification, exhortation, and comfort. Jesus
had that gift. The Holy Spirit had given Jesus
that marvelous gift. No one ever sat in the presence
of Jesus. and did not fully understand everything
that he said. So simple, children could understand.
I can't begin to tell you this moment how I covet
that gift. The word of God so profound that in
the natural, the most intellectual person cannot
understand it. They read it, they have no understanding
whatsoever. Men of law, men of medicine, statesmen,
brilliant people intellectually, and yet in reading
the Word, the living Word, they have no understanding.
The Bible is different than any other book in
the whole world. Only the Holy Spirit, can reveal
the Word. There is a gift that the Holy Spirit
gives to certain people. And it is a gift. It
is not their own natural ability. It is not their
own talent. I told you before that talent and
gifts of the Spirit are not the same. There is
a... that the Holy Spirit himself gives to an
individual where that one in speaking can communicate
with the one who is listening and that one receives
the revelation of the word and understanding
of the word. And that one grows. That one goes
deep into the things of God. That, I believe,
is the gift that I covet more than anything else
in the world. I know me. I know my own heart.
Sure, it's wonderful to see bodies healed with
the power of God. I thrill in every miracle service
to see sick bodies healed. But there's something
greater to have someone say, Oh, Miss Cooman,
as I listened to the preaching of the word, as
those words left your lips, I had an understanding
of the word. That, my friend, is a gift that
only the Holy Spirit can give.