THE GIFTS AND FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

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16 Aug 2018 Thursday
Sharing my notes taken at talk delivered by Damian Boon
@ Church of the Holy Family Charismatic Prayer Meet
(points attributed to talk by Rev Fr James Yeo)


John 14:26 - "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”

The Holy Spirit
Author of the Word
gives gifts
in order to teach us
everything
and remind us
of all
that Jesus has said to us.


The GIFTS of the Holy Spirit are given to us to bear FRUIT for God’s Kingdom.
 

 






THREE SETS OF GIFTS MENTIONED IN SCRIPTURE


Institutional gifts
Sanctifying gifts to make us holy, given at baptism
Is 11:2-3 - The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
  • Knowledge
  • Understanding
  • Wisdom
  • Counsel
  • Courage
  • Fear
  • Piety

Charismatic gifts
Charisms and graces for service to God’s people
1 Cor 12:7-11 - To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
  • Tongues
  • Interpretation of tongues
  • Wisdom
  • Knowledge
  • Prophecy
  • Faith
  • Miracles
  • Healing
  • Discernment of spirits

Hierarchical gifts
Rom 12:6 - We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
  • Leadership
  • Administration
  • Preaching
  • Teaching

Eph 4:11 - The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
  • Apostles
  • Prophets
  • Evangelists
  • Pastors
  • Teachers


SEEK FIRST THE GIVER THEN THE GIFTS
The Giver of the gifts 
is always more magnificent
than the gifts.

Seek first the giver 
and then the gifts.

Seek to want more of the Holy Spirit
to be closer to Him
to be in union with Him

The gifts are meaningless
if one does not have 
a relationship with the Giver.


THE GIFTS ARE LIMITLESS
God is abundance
He is goodness
He is generosity
His gifts are limitless.

The gifts are only limited
by our own capacity to receive
what the Lord wants to give us


THE GIFTS ARE GIVEN FOR A REASON
The gifts of the Spirit
are given for the service of God’s Kingdom.
They are given for the common good.
Exercise the gifts we receive

Use them or we will lose them
They are given to us for a purpose



HOW TO RECEIVE THE GIFTS
Desire to receive them
- have a hunger and thirst for the Holy Spirit
Desire to use them
- to serve Him and glorify Him
Be completely open
- allow God to act in His way, in His time
Be thankful
- have a disposition of gratitude and praise

Impediments to receiving the gifts
  • Fear - lack of confidence
  • Doubt - lack of openness
  • Pride - fear of being a fool
  • Despising the gifts - lack of desire

It is not about being sinless
nor a lack of repentance
nor inadequate holiness

It is about our willingness 
and our desire to receive them

The Giver gives in the measure 
  • of us desiring the gifts
  • being ready for them
  • willing to co-operate in receiving them












THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
The purpose of the gifts is to help us bear fruit for God’s Kingdom.
Gal 5:22-23 - The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.
  • Love
  • Joy
  • Peace
  • Patience
  • Goodness
  • Kindness
  • Faithfulness
  • Gentleness
  • Self control


THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Mat 12:33 - Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.
The fruit of the spirit
  • Assists us to discern the plan of God
  • Assures us that we are living in accordance with the mind of God
  • Makes us into the light of the world and salt of the earth.

We are called to be light of the world
Excerpt from Pope Francis’ homily at Mass on the Epiphany (2016) where he spoke about Mysterium Lunae

"Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Is 60:1).

That “light” is the glory of the Lord.  The Church cannot illude herself into thinking that she shines with her own light.

Saint Ambrose expresses this nicely by presenting the moon as a metaphor for the Church:  “The moon is in fact the Church… [she] shines not with her own light, but with the light of Christ. She draws her brightness from the Sun of Justice, and so she can say: ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’” (Hexaemeron, IV, 8, 32).

Christ is the true light shining in the darkness. To the extent that the Church remains anchored in him, to the extent that she lets herself be illumined by him, she is able to bring light into the lives of individuals and peoples.  For this reason the Fathers of the Church saw in her the mysterium lunar.

 
 

 
 
 
 
 




ULTIMATELY, IT IS ALL ABOUT LOVE 
1 Cor 13:1-3 - If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,[a] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

The gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit is ultimately all about love.
All comes to naught if we do not have love.
The hallmark of Christ's disciple is love.

John 13:34 - I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.


IN SUMMARY

Seek the Giver 
Hunger and thirst for Him

Desire the gifts
Be ready to receive them

Use them for the service of God’s Kingdom
Love each other and bear fruit




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