ACTS 29 TODAY

coming to the knowledge of the TRUTH

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Three Categories of Gifts

For Three Purposes

Now let’s look at the divine sequence found in First Corinthians 12:28. We know that Jesus only ascended on high once and gave gifts unto men. But for the sake of teaching you how First Corinthians 12:28 ties in to Ephesians 4:11, let’s just say that, hypothetically speaking,Jesus ascended on high in three different phases — one time for each of three categories of gifts.

The first time, Jesus grabbed a handful of five fold ministry gifts and threw them down into the Body of Christ. A whole group of people stood up to receive the gifts.

(LB) sadly today there is only 1 ministry that is widely accepted and honored and that is the pastor, so you can see why progress in the Church is so amazingly slow HARD TO FUNCTION WITH JUST ONE FINGER ON YOUR HAND.

One said, “My gosh, I’m an apostle to the Body!” Another said, “I am separated to the office of the prophet.” Someone else said, “I’m called to be an evangelist.” Others exclaimed, “The gift of teaching has landed on me!” or “I’m called to be a pastor!” Those who were called to these ministry offices stood up, recognized their calling, and said, “We have received grace for this.”

For what purpose did He give these ministry offices? He gave them for the perfecting, or the maturing,of the saints (Eph. 4:12). Those in the five fold ministry are supposed to supply the Body of Christ with the revelation knowledge they receive from the Lord. They are to minister the Word of God to bring the saints from spiritual milk to strong meat. In this way, the saints can mature until their transformation is complete.

Then let’s say Jesus looked the Body over and said, “The five fold ministry offices are not enough for the smooth operation of the Body of Christ. I must ascend and grab another handful.”

So in this hypothetical illustration, He ascended on high a second time. He grabbed another handful of gifts and threw them down into the Body. This time thousands upon thousands of people stood up and said, “Why, I’m called to helps!” or “I’ve received the gift of governments.” And to these, Jesus said, “Good for you! I have given you your grace, and it is just as much a gift to My Church as the apostle or prophet.”

And what do helps and governments do in the Body of Christ? They fulfill the second purpose listed in Ephesians 4:12: They do the work of the ministry.

(LB) THIS IS WHERE THE LIGHTS REALLY CAME ON FOR ME AS FAR AS UNDERSTANDING THIS PROGRESSION, THESE PEOPLE ARE CALLED TO DO THE …..WORK…..OF THE MINISTRY…..NOT …THE MINISTRY. THAT IS THE CALLING OF HELPS AND GOVERNMENTS.

But as Jesus looked the Body over one more time, He said, “It isn’t enough. My people still have to learn to operate out of My Spirit.” So He ascended one more time to finish equipping the Body of Christ. This time He grabbed the eighth operation of God — diversities of tongues— and threw it into the entire Body of Christ.

Every person in the Body should have stood up and received this gift. Why? Because the most important manifestation of the diversities of tongues is the direct operation of the Holy Spirit within the believer’s spirit to edify himself.

That is the purpose that this one operation fulfills: It is given for the edification of the saints — until what happens? Until we all come into the unity of the faith. Until we quit being deceived by the cunning craftiness of men. Until we fulfill our call, speaking the truth in love.

Every one of us is supposed to receive this operation, because if we are ever going to come into the unity of the faith, we must learn how to release the power of the Holy Spirit, our Teacher who dwells inside of us. He is more than willing to pray hour after hour in divine secrets and mysteries before the Father to help us prepare spiritually for the operation to which God separated us at our rebirth.

So when Jesus ascended on high, He gave three categories of gifts for three separate purposes: the five fold ministry for the maturing of the saints; helps and governments for the work of the ministry; and diversities of tongues for the edifying of the Body of Christ  These three categories were given so that we would all come into the unity of the faith and the fullness of the knowledge of the Son of God (Eph. 4:13).

Attaining the Unity of the Faith

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The devil has tried to utterly confuse the Church regarding the subject of tongues. He wants us to get so discouraged that we just quit using this divine gift.

(LB) WHY DO YOU THINK THE dEVIL HAS WORKED SO HARD TO KEEP TONGUES FOR EDIFICATION OUT OF THE CHURCH…SO THAT THE BODY OF CHRIST WILL NEVER COME INTO THE UNITY OF THE FAITH AND STOP BEING DECEIVED BY MEN WHO MISLEAD.

 

Yet of the three categories of gifts given unto men, God designated an entire category to one lone operation, the diversities of tongues! That one operation holds a third of the categories that it takes to bring the Body of Christ into the unity of the faith. (Think about that the next time someone tells you it doesn’t do any good to pray in tongues or that you can pray too much in tongues!)

Therefore, it would behoove us to find out from His Word the important role this operation is to play in our lives. The truth is, if all we ever fulfilled in the Body of Christ was the eighth operation of diversities of tongues, we would still be a gift to the Body of Christ for the edification of the saints. But no matter what other operation we are called by God to fulfill, we have access to this third category and the edification it provides as we pray in the Holy Ghost.

Yet despite the importance God places on diversities of tongues, many in the Body of Christ want to downplay or even exclude it. But if the category Jesus gave for the edifying of the saints is excluded, how are we ever going to come into the unity of the faith?

It takes all three categories of gifts fulfilling all three purposes listed in Ephesians 4:12 for the Body of Christ to arrive at the place of unity God intended. And as each “measure of the gift of Christ” fulfills his or her call, the Body of Christ will begin to stand up…unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ(Eph. 4:13).

Why is all this necessary? Ephesians 4:14 and 15 tells us:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.

Isn’t it interesting why we need these gifts that Jesus gave unto men? We need them so we won’t be deceived by the cunning craftiness of men.

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(LB) WOW THIS WAS A FULL MEAL DEAL, THIS REALLY HELPED ME FINALLY UNDERSTAND EPH 4 FULLY AND REALLY MAKES SENSE TO.

YOU SEE THE dEVIL COULD CARE LESS THE PEOPLE GO TO CHURCH, TITHE, AND TRY TO BE GOOD PEOPLE.

IN FACT HE LOVES IT WHEN THOUSANDS GO TO SOME BUILDING ON SUNDAYS AND LISTEN TO A HUMANISTIC, POWERLESS, AND UN ANOINTED SERMONET.

WHY? BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER GROW UP IN CHRIST THEY WILL NEVER BE A THREAT TO HIS KINGDOM, SO JUST LET THEM BE.

ITS THE ONE WHO PRAYS IN TONGUES FOR EDIFICATION HOURS ON END, WHO WORSHIPS AND STUDIES THE WORD AT HOME DURING THE WEEK THAT KEEPS THE dEVIL UP AT NIGHT.

Keep on praying, saith the Spirit of Grace,

and entering into Me,

And I’ll deliver things to you.

It will cause you and your loved ones

to be set free.

Just release Me, saith the Lord,

And you’ll soon see

that when I move in My power,

I can set people free.

THIS WORD GIVEN BY DAVE ROBERSON

BYE BYE LARRY

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ACTS 29 TODAY

coming to the knowledge of the TRUTH

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He Gave Gifts to All Men

So let’s go back now to Ephesians 4 to take a closer look

at God’s design for the working of the Body of Christ. It

will help us understand the role of diversities of

tongues in God’s government.

(He [Jesus] that descended is the same also that

ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all

things.)

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and

some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;For

the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the

ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the

knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto

the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

— Ephesians 4:10-13

During the ’80s, I sat under a lot of teaching on this

passage of Scripture. This is how I was taught: Jesus

ascended on high, and He gave the five fold ministry

offices as a gift to the Church. For what purpose? For

the perfecting of the saints so that each and every

believer can do the work of the ministry, which then

brings edification to the Body of Christ.

Does this interpretation sound familiar? Well, I’ll tell

you what this teaching did for us ministers: Almost

everywhere we went to minister, the congregations

treated us as if we were the President of the United

States!

 

I must admit that I didn’t mind riding the wave of all

that glory, especially in my more carnal early years. I

enjoyed the fire out of it! At camp meetings, we

ministers would be introduced something like this:

“Jesus ascended on high, led captivity captive, and gave

gifts unto men. And now let’s welcome one of those gifts

to the Body of Christ — evangelist and teacher

Dave Roberson!”

Somewhere deep inside, a thought lurked that I didn’t

even articulate to myself: You poor little peasants. I was

singled out as a special gift to you for your maturing so

you could do the work of the ministry for the edifying

of the Body of Christ. But the whole reason you’re being

edified and matured is the great gift that resides down

on the inside of me.I began to think I was something

special. (Thank God, since then He has healed me of

that unhealthy attitude!)

I could always tell which churches had received the

governmental teaching on “gifts to the Body of Christ,”

because I was always treated very respectfully in those

churches. For instance, I have had a Rolls Royce

assigned to me for my transportation and a man put on

duty in the room next to mine just in case I got a whim

at two o’clock in the morning for an ice cream cone! I

would be lying to you if I said I didn’t like that kind of

treatment.

But some of us ministers began to expect that kind of

special treatment as our God-given right. If everything

in the hotel room wasn’t just right, we wanted to

complain. “Where is my‘ super-duper’ fruit basket?

Where is the guy who is supposed to be in the next

room, just waiting to drive me to the meeting?” I can

remember feeling insulted if the host church didn’t

have a car parked in front immediately after the

service so I could go out and get in it!

My wife was the first one to really recognize my wrong

attitude. One evening Rosalie and I were riding in the

elevator, and someone attending the camp meeting

spouted out to me above the heads of the people, “Boy,

the other ministers ought to hear you teach!” I replied

sourly, “Yeah, if they hung around long enough, they

would.” My wife caught the prideful attitude behind my

response and took me to task about it later.

But, you see, the teaching I was receiving on God’s

government wasn’t helping my attitude.Every time I

heard Ephesians 4 taught that way, my head would get a

little fatter as I became a little more convinced that I

was a special gift to the Body. Thank God, if we keep

praying in the Holy Ghost and speaking mysteries to the

Father, He will straighten us out!

God sent me for a long run on a short rope and jerked

the slack out of me regarding my wrong, prideful

attitude. He revealed to my spirit the role that the other

operations — including diversities of tongues — play in

His government. I was so shocked when I first

understood what He was saying. I said, “Oh, Lord, You

weren’t exalting us ministers at all!”

You see, it’s good to give honor where honor is due and

to show respect to a minister of the Gospel. But if you

think that his calling is more honored than yours, think

again. God is no respecter of persons. You are also a

precious gift to the Body of Christ! Whatever your

calling or office, it is every bit as important as a

minister’s calling in God’s eyes. You should be treated

with just as much respect as any minister is shown.

So in context, Paul is referring to the entire Body of

Christ in First Corinthians 12:27. Then in verse 28, Paul

says, And God hath set some in the church….He goes on

to list all eight operations of God. Just as in Ephesians

4:11, he begins with the five fold ministry.

Then he goes on to list helps, governments, and

diversities of tongues. You see, when Jesus ascended on

high, He presented His shed blood to the Father for the

redemption of mankind, sat down at the right hand of

the Father, and said, “It is finished.” Then He began to

fill all in all — the entire Body of Christ — with His gifts.

WELL I AM FULL UP, SO STAY TUNED WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED, THERE IS SOOOOO MUCH MORE TO COME ON THE VITAL ROLE OF PRAYING IN TONGUES.

UNTIL NEXT TIME;]

AMBASSADOR / SERVANT

LARRY

 

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ACTS 29 TODAY

coming to the knowledge of the TRUTH

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The Miracle of Tongues

In the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Actually, the devil does whatever he can to prevent

people from ever receiving the baptism of the Holy

Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

you don’t need the baptism of the HOLY SPIRIT AND FOR SURE NOT TONGUES (HE HE)

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I didn’t know that the moment I said, “Fill me with the

Holy Ghost,” the Holy Ghost had begun to create His

supernatural words in my spirit. So the words came out

in stammering lips because I was afraid to say them out

loud. I was sure it would be just me speaking. I didn’t

realize that my mouth was actually shaping an entire

supernatural language of the Holy Spirit.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out

of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.(But this

spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him

should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given;

because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)— John 7:38,39

It wasn’t long before I was speaking a full prayer

language by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Benefits of Praying in Tongues

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Now, if God the Holy Spirit literally creates this

language in our spirit, what kind of prayer could it

possibly be? What benefits could it possibly hold for

us? We’ve already seen some of the benefits of praying

in other tongues, and we’ll discuss several of them in

depth later on. But I want to just mention a few of the

benefits right now.

For one thing, the Holy Spirit came into our spirit to

bring us revelation knowledge of the Cross and

everything that Jesus has become to us. Also, on the day

you and I spoke with tongues, a viable, powerful

working of God’s government came into operation

within designed to give us and cause us to understand

what no man can give us through natural means—

spiritual authority.

This spiritual power and authority is the means God

gives us to overcome torment , worry, fear, and the

hopelessness that can take over our lives when we

move from one overwhelming situation to another,

continually losing ground. Praying in other tongues also

supplies the power to overcome character flaws —

those deep-seated character traits that keep cropping

up and robbing us of our stamina and initiative to

overcome in the face of the common testings and trials

that precede almost every major victory and promotion

by God.

Praying in tongues always affects us in a positive way.

God says that it edifies us (1 Cor.14:4). In Jude 20, He

says that it builds us up on our most holy faith. As we

faithfully spend time praying in tongues, our lives begin

to be transformed. The Word of God begins to come

alive as we place our spirit, the “candle of the Lord”

(Prov. 20:27), in the hands of the expert Illuminator.

We need to understand the One to whom the Father

turned us over for our instruction the One to whom we

can lend our spirit in prayer. Remember, it is the third

Person of the Trinity Himself, the Holy Spirit of

promise, who has filled us.

We should consider it our privilege and heart’s desire

to lock ourselves away with the Holy Spirit in prayer.

He has no problems or concerns of His own to pray

about; He is not the One who needs illumination. Yet He

is more than willing to pray through us for all that

concerns us. He is eager to teach us and to guide us into

all truth (John 16:13).

 

It doesn’t matter what kind of carnal state we are in

when we are first born again. It doesn’t matter if we’ve

been stealing money, lying, drinking whiskey, or

stalking women down dark alleys. When we are

baptized in the Holy Spirit, that first simple little gift of

speaking in tongues goes into operation for one reason:

to edify or build us up. That’s why we are not to wait to

pray in tongues until we feel sufficiently spiritual.

“But, Brother Roberson, I live a carnal lifestyle.” That

can change. God wants to bring you from “there to

here” — from a life of carnality to a life of freedom and

victory. That’s why the Holy Spirit came, bringing His

supernatural language with Him. No matter how

spiritual or nonspiritual you may feel, when you start

praying in the Holy Ghost, you have begun the edi-

fication process.

Dave Roberson

UNTIL NEXT TIME

 

AMBASSADOR / SERVANT

LARRY

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ACTS 29 TODAY

coming to the knowledge of the TRUTH

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Diversities of Tongues In God’s Government

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We’ve seen that the diversities of tongues is an entire

operation of God placed into God’s government to serve

a crucial purpose. To deny it is to deny the perfecting of

the Body of Christ.

So let’s find out more about the role of diversities of

tongues in God’s government and the reason God would

designate an entire operation to it. I want you to

understand what He has made available to us through

this awesome gift of speaking with tongues — a gift that

Satan has deceived many into believing is either

obsolete or insignificant.

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The Unique Nature Of Diversities of Tongues

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There is only one operation we can fulfill immediately

after we are born again: the eighth operation of

diversities of tongues. The moment we receive Jesus as

Savior, we can also receive the baptism of the Holy

Spirit and begin to speak with other tongues, which

begins our spiritual qualification for any and all of the

other operations to which we may be called.

A person cannot become a mighty apostle or prophet

five minutes after he is born again even if that is what

he is called to be. He first must become qualified,

trained, prepared, and seasoned by the Holy Spirit

before God will separate him to the office he is called

to.

That’s true with any of the first seven operations listed

in First Corinthians 12:28. Not everyone is qualified to

teach God’s Word. You can tell that by the people who

nod off to sleep while some ministers teach! A person

can’t immediately enter into a full-blown ministry oper-

ating in the working of miracles or gifts of healings

either.

In every one of the first seven operations, including

helps and governments, a person must first be found

faithful and receive the equipping of the Holy Ghost

before he can fulfill the operation to which he is called.

On the other hand, a person can move into the eighth

operation instantaneously with his rebirth.

Suppose the person responds to an altar call and says,

“I receive Jesus as Savior.” Then someone steps up and

says to him, “You just received God’s nature. Now you

need to be filled with the Holy Ghost.”

He asks, “What are you talking about?” He learns that

because his spirit just became the receptor of a new

nature, he is now able to receive the baptism of the

Holy Spirit. “Yes, I’d like to be filled with the Holy

Ghost,” he says.

 

“Then receive the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father.”

All of a sudden, the person’s chin starts shaking. “Speak

it out,” he is instructed. His mouth starts forming

words, and soon he is speaking in tongues. He dances

around for days, speaking in his new language with

great joy.

Why did God design it that way? Why are tongues

available to us instantaneously with our rebirth?

Because praying in tongues has everything to do with

our becoming prepared and qualified for our particular

calling. And as we pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit is

able to build into our heart the understanding of God’s

will for our personal lives.

Sometimes people get the baptism of the Holy Ghost

mixed up with the new birth. However, there is a great

difference between being born again and receiving the

indwelling fullness of the Holy Spirit’s Presence.

The Holy Spirit is a Person just as each of us is a person.

When we were born again, we received Him in the

creative process that caused us to become new

creations. But we didn’t receive Him in His fullness

until we were baptized in the holy ghost. Now he lives

inside us, partnering with us in prayer, empowering

our lives, and bringing revelation of the word as we

walk in obedience to god

It is Gods will that the moment we are born again, we

lift our hands in submission and praise to receive the

baptism of the Holy Spirit. that’s the very best way be

filled with the Holy Spirit. But the dEVIL has managed

to separate the new birth from the baptism of the Holy

Spirit through divisions of doctrines so that now, as a

rule, the two experiences don’t occur together.

DAVE ROBERSON

(LB) MANY CHURCHES NOW DON’T EVEN TEACH THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ANYMORE, ALL THE YEARS I WAS IN TRAVELING MINISTRY, EVEN THE SO CALLED SPIRIT FILLED CHURCHES HAD A LARGE PERCENTAGE THAT WERE NOT FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT OR HAD BEEN BUT NEVER EXPERIENCED THEIR PRAYER LANGUAGE.

AS ONE OF THE 3 FOUNDATION STONES OF OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES, ITS NOT TO HARD TO SEE WHY THE MAJORITY OF THE CHURCH IS SOOOO WEAK AND POWERLESS, THEY HAVE REJECTED THE VERY POWER OF GOD TO WORK IN THEIR LIVES, GOD HELP US.

UNTIL NEXT TIME REMEMBER:

THE HOLY SPIRIT TEACHES US EVERYTHING WE CANNOT DISCERN, HE SHOWS US MYSTERIES AND DIVINE SECRETS WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GOD AND HIS WAYS, HE IS…….OUR FIRST AND FOREMOST TEACHER

AMBASSADOR / SERVANT

LARRY

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