Revised - Should spiritual gifts and power be used as a measurement to determine if we are on good terms with God?

This is a re post from November 21, 2010. 

When we desire to learn the character of God, we must read the whole bible including the Old Testament. Many of us Christians do not read the Old Testament. When I had searched out the truth whether salvation was conditional or not, I read the Old Testament.

King Saul was God's appointed and first anointed king of Israel. But as most of you know, King Saul started to disobey God. As a result, God anointed David as king over Israel. Humans live in the present and when we receive an answer, we like to generally assume it is for the now. I am sure if God had anointed some of us as king today for some country, we would go looking to overthrow the current regime using the name of our Lord as leverage. 

But David had to basically wait 17 years. David had the chance to kill Saul and take the throne. But (there is always a but) God allowed Saul to reign. Many see this story or passage and focus on David as the theme of the story line. They say that David was being trained since he was only a boy and had to wait, and so on and so on. This is true as well. 

Let us look at Saul for a moment. King Saul is a king. King Saul has power to rule his kingdom. King Saul commands armies. Even though God had then rejected him as king, God allowed him to continue reigning for 17 more years. He continued reigning with his powers. 

Today, if we hear that God had rejected anyone, we would assume the person to be zapped instantly. We think he should be zapped today, now, in fact this second! But this is not generally the case; therefore, we must learn the character of God as He is long suffering.

Now, let us take things in today's perspective. If we are the children of the Most High, we are today’s kingdoms and priests. As the children of the Most High, many of us are given special gifts or power. Some may be given tongue, prophesy, wisdom, extraordinary healing, word of knowledge, casting out demons, etc. 

In our walk with the Lord, if we stumble, would our gifts or power be taken away? Would it be taken right away? What if sin crouched at our door and we entertained it just once? Would our gift or power be right taken away? 

What if our gifts and/or power were not taken right away and when sin crouched at our door one more time and we decided just one more time to give in. Many Christians realize we can stumble and fall on our face but our gifts are not necessarily taken away right away. We cannot just then assume we are still on good terms with God. Do you see this point? We cannot use the continuation of our gifts or power as a measurement of our obedience to the Lord. 

Whether we are preachers, elders, deacons, apostles, prophets, evangelist, teachers, or just a plain lay believer, we cannot assume just because someone has power or gifts that they are CURRENTLY on good terms with God. But I think we can assume they were at one point. 

So how do we know if they are on good terms now? Always measure by their fruit and that main fruit must be love. It must not always be measured by their gift or power. But at the same token, the gifts and power can be important as well. Although power can be used to validate the person is of God but it can become corrupt.

Just as Saul, he was given power at the beginning. God spoke to him through the prophets. Then the power got to his head and he became disobedient and corrupted. His power had and was beginning to become corrupt. 

Does this mean our spiritual gifts can become corrupt? Yes. Why did God allow Saul to operate as king for 17 more years? Many Israelites probably thought God was still with Saul since he was still king and thus they followed him. Therefore, we must be careful, just as Saul, we can be in rebellion and still have our spiritual powers operating. But just like king Saul, at the end, our corruption will finally catch up and it will destroy us and others who had followed us. 

God is long suffering. God is graceful and merciful.  God allowed Saul 17 years to stay in power. He was still operating with his powers. His powers may represent the gifts we possess today.

We can have spirit filled Christians operating in their gifts but they may have become corrupted or deluded. God will not necessary take away their gifts right away for they are irrevocable. His grace is giving them time to repent. But if they do not repent, the gifts will become corrupted and that channel will be used by the devil for more deception.

And yes, David was being tested at the same time. When we ask for gifts or power, we must wait for our appointed time as well. David had God's heart. David loved Saul even though Saul tried to track him down and kill him. 

Is there a King Saul type of person in your life trying to spiritually kill you? It is the Father's will that you pray for them and love them just as David loved King Saul. God was not only training David, He was giving King Saul 17 years to repent. I believe if King Saul had repented, David would have waited even longer for the throne. It was not about power but of love.  This is true love. 

Are you able to wait 17 years for anything let alone one year? To God this time is only a thin vapor. We must all learn to wait and be still. And while you are waiting, ask for Wisdom, He gives it for free. As you receive spiritual gifts and power, you will need wisdom to operate them for His Glory and Kingdom. 

Romans 11:29

Amplified Bible (AMP)

²⁹For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]

Fire of God!!

Steve Yong Kim