A Christian’s motivational spiritual gift represents what God does in him to shape his perspective on life and motivate his words and actions. Romans 12:3–8 describes “basic motivations,” which are characterized by inherent qualities or abilities within a believer—the Creator’s unique workmanship in him or her Through the motivational gifts, God makes believers aware of needs that He wants to meet through them, for His glory. Then, believers can minister to others through the ministry and manifestation gifts of the Spirit, in ways beyond mere human capability and ingenuity, with maximum effectiveness and minimum weariness. The prophet often displays the spiritual gift of discerning of spirits; he is able to discern true motives as the Holy Spirit gives him divine insights. As a general rule, the prophet is more interested in whether or not the heart is pure than whether or not the activity in question is acceptable. Prophets are usually outspoken, sometimes brash; they tell it like it is. They tend to see issues as “black or white,” not “gray.” A prophet is confident in his use of Scripture, because he regards Scripture as the only source of truth. A mature prophet easily discerns hypocrisy, because God has gifted him to discern Truth. He is usually more teachable than others, especially when discipline or correction is required. When a wise prophet is confronted with his sin, he sees it as God sees it and consequently is crushed (if he is walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh). The prophet accepts absolutes easily. The rest of us try to explain them away; prophets simply take God at His Word. He is not easily swayed by emotions. A prophet has a deep capacity to trust God, based on what God has promised. This is the prophet’s attitude:If it’s right, do it. Trust God for the outcome—it’s His responsibility A prophet’s need to be “painfully truthful” may result in insensitivity or harshness. A prophet’s sense of conviction may tempt him or her to become intolerant or prideful. Because of the prophet’s deep consciousness of sin, he sometimes seems to have a negative, “gloomy” approach to life.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 20:02:42 +0000