Jackie Pullinger emphasizes the importance of spiritual gifts in the life of believers, explaining that all Christians can receive various gifts of the Holy Spirit as outlined in 1 Corinthians 14. She encourages participants to practice these gifts during their gatherings, highlighting the need for discernment and the proper use of tongues. Pullinger stresses that the purpose of meeting together is to build one another up and to prepare for outreach to the poor and lost. She reminds everyone that they should come with a mindset of contributing to the community rather than just receiving. Ultimately, the goal is to empower ordinary believers to engage in ministry and share the good news effectively.

When Jesus was called by his disciples in John's gospel to go and eat, he said, I have food that you know not of. So we may never get to the coffee break or lunch. Anyway, thanks for having me back and my super musician friends. We just love to be part of what God's doing and we're very impressed with the way you've got ready for this and the intention of your heart and lives to work this out. Just a little comment on what's happened because these six sessions that we've got will be part teaching, part bible, part practicing, and as we go I'll try and explain what's happened. Oh, you guys missed the lovely music, but never mind, hang around, there'll be some more. Right, so I know that some of you were here a couple of years ago when we did some sessions on receiving the power of the Holy Spirit and who could get which spiritual gift, at what time, and how this worked. If you were here then you will have understood, hopefully, from scripture that the nine miraculous gifts in 1 Corinthians 14 all believers may receive from time to time. We don't own any of them, they are word of knowledge, which is not having knowledge, word of wisdom, which is not being wise, gift of faith, which is a one time only, it's not general faith, prophecy, which is the way we have revelation from the Lord to light up a bit of the word of God appropriate for now, and gifts of healings, it's plural, because there are different healings, gift of discernment, which is different from the exercise of discernment, which we should be doing all the time, but it's probably the least practiced activity of the church in this era. So gifts of discernment are again a one time off, and I'll be explaining some of that a little bit more. And then there's the gift of tongues, which you should all have received if you were here a couple of years ago. If by any chance you missed out, we'll certainly pray for you because it's a special offer this weekend. And then the interpretation of tongues, which must accompany tongues when it's spoken in public, otherwise people are upset, mystified, or put off. So the reason much of the church has had a problem over tongues is that people haven't followed the scriptural guidelines as to how they should be used. Tongues is mostly for private prayer, which is Paul's preferred use, and he was the king tongue speaker. He said, I thank God I speak in tongues more than all of you. So if there are any of you still got a problem with it, it's fine, you can have a problem, just don't be rude, because it wouldn't be in the list of gifts if it wasn't good and useful. But this is the only one you can take home, the gift of tongues, and use at will to, and the scripture says that you're edified as you pray in tongues. It doesn't say you feel edified, it just says you are, so you should do it. So last time I was here, we touched on most of those gifts and began to do a little practice. I'm very excited that I've heard you've got on with this, and in the next sessions that I'm with you, I would expect some of you to use some of those gifts. And don't be frightened, but I just might come and tap you on the head, because one of the things that I've practiced doing, and which comes with practice, with God's eyes, is knowing who's got which spiritual gift. That's all. They're in a different order every time, so please don't think one person interprets. That's where the church went backwards. In the late 60s, early 70s, people started receiving the gifts of the Spirit. Then they thought, this one has interpretation, this one has that, and that's terribly unhelpful, because it means everyone else signs off. Instead of saying, dear Lord, this time in this gathering, how would you like to use me? That's all. So we've got six gatherings, and you can be used in every gathering in a slightly different way, because Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25, gives us the purpose of meeting together. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching. So the purpose of meeting together is that we are supposed to be friends. We're supposed to be with friends. So we're here to encourage one another and practice a bit. So we're going to practice over this weekend, praying for the sick. If people are not very sensitive, or if they go on a bit long, this will all be part of learning how not to do it. So it's all good. I learned as much from the funny prayers as I did from the good ones. So, you know, especially in South Africa, you know, they've got frightfully big men over there. They're very big. And I went to one city, and I had no idea why. They took me to a dress shop and bought me six dresses. I didn't like any of them, but, you know, why are they buying me dresses? It took me a long time to understand. They didn't approve of ladies wearing trousers, you know. Anyway, there you are. At least I didn't have to put a hat on my head. So instead of that, they put their hands on my head, awfully heavy. These, you know, six big men praying for the power of the spirit to come upon me. And I was, you know, this happened frequently. They sort of managed to get it wrong most of the time. But anyway, there I was saying, God, I hate this. Oh, God, I hate this. Oh, God. Never mind, Jackie, be a good sport. They are trying. And it was all right, because they really were trying, you know. It was that kind of experience that helped me not to go to places once, because I, you know, I couldn't train them. They were just used to doing it that way and hoping I'd fall over or go pop or something, you know. So over this weekend, have a go, because the purpose of meeting together is so that we can get healed enough to go out and do the job where it needs to be done, which is for the lost and the poor and the oppressed outside who don't know about a place where they're loved or a God who loves them. And so over this weekend, we're also going to be sharing on God's heart for the poor as we go. But my job is, it says in 1 Corinthians 14, 26, when you gather together, everyone has something. And it just gives, I think, not a complete list, but maybe a typical list of what might happen when we gather together. So this should happen whenever God's people gather together, which could be 10,000 in a stadium or three people for lunch. Everybody has something. A hymn, I will go over this, a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. There are many other things. You know, someone else might make the tea. And then there's the PA man who's getting increasingly important. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. Okay. So we're here to build one another up and everybody has a part. So it was fun this morning, wasn't it? Because as well as trying to discern who'd got which gifts and when they should come and how we should pray for people. We've already prayed for lots of people. I've got the added fun of hearing in the spirit which instruments might play. I don't always get it right. You know, this bunch of us never played together before. So that's amazing, isn't it? Yeah. They're not used to one another. Some of them are used to one or two. So what happened was completely unique. Now when the church, we're the church today, meets, it almost never is the same shape twice. So this bunch of us who are here together may never ever meet again in this. So after the coffee break, if we ever get one, there may be some people who've gone off to feed the baby and somebody else has just got off a train. So it's a different shape of church, which means when God's people gather together, if you're not sure you're yet God's people, I think he's probably, you know, on a wooing trip this weekend. So, you know, if you're up for it, he is. But when God's people gather together, God wants to use every single person to help someone else. So we go out feeling better than when we came in. You know, I know a whole lot of bunch of church girls who just can't wait for Sunday lunch. You know, it's, God, I've done my duty for this week, you know. So it's not a service that we're trying to get through. It's, and it's not even what can I get from being here? It's what can I contribute? What can I put in so someone else is encouraged by what God is giving me? And then it makes the job of the so-called leader, and I'm sharing that job this weekend, it makes it a completely different job. When we look at the healing scriptures, we will come across Luke 4, and I'll explain a little bit about that strange word, anointing. But it, the church doesn't need any more special people at the front who do the whole job. We don't need specialists. We need more generalists, which means ordinary people equipped to pray for the sick, and even if you don't know how to have a go this weekend, you never know what God will do, and we'll forgive you. At least, you know, we should, because, you know, we're supposed to be friends here, which is why this should be a safe place to practice. So that's what happened. We didn't plan this as we began to worship, and by the way, I was in Singapore about six weeks ago, and on the first night, we're doing a Confucius conference, actually, but on the first night, the Holy Spirit visited us, and we had lovely, beautiful, quiet music, which, like this morning, really ministered to the deep fears and pains and hurts and questions that are amongst us, and the next morning, my team tried to make it happen again. You can't. If you try to make it happen again, it just, it turns into sort of mushy songs, you know, and you think, oh goodness, they're sleepy, you know, and you need a strong jumpy up-and-down-y song. I personally believe you don't need too many of those, but, you know, it's what does the Spirit want to do, because they're all part of the expression of the heart of Christ and the body of Christ. So we didn't plan this morning, and thank God some people already got healed and touched and set free, and I will begin to give you a little instruction as to how you might, when you, when somebody is responding to the Holy Spirit in a setting such as this, how you might pray for them, okay? The one thing I would encourage you to do this weekend is, some of you know one another. Try not to pray for someone you know, okay? Because by mistake, a whole little bit of counsel might creep in, and you know, it doesn't, counsel doesn't help in this setting. This is not a counseling opportunity. This is making room for the Holy Spirit to touch what's not right in our bodies, or in our thinking, or in our spirits, so he can heal us, set us free. And, you know, once or twice, not here, but I've been in groups where people know one another, and so off they go, and it comes out something like this, Dear Lord, would you let George know that if he only got up early every morning and waited on you, you'd think, oops, not that great. So, I'll give you a verse from Isaiah which covers that one. By the way, I'm terribly impressed you're writing down the scriptures. That's very good. Those of you who've got iPhones, you probably know I'm deeply suspicious. Might be a little bit of messaging going on. Anyway, that's up to you, but what you should try to do is check out what I'm saying. Hugh and I had some long conversations yesterday, which we shall continue, because he wants to check out, and that's healthy. So, you don't have to take anything I'm saying at all. Just check it out. Isaiah, one of my favorite scriptures, and it will help you when you are praying for someone. Isaiah 50, verse 4. Okay, just will one of you read it to your neighbor? Get in twos. One of you read it to your neighbor. Okay, when we come to practice praying for one another, hopefully you'll be very relieved to know you haven't got to say anything, which is good, isn't it? So, here it says he's given me an instructive tongue to note the word that sustains the weary. So, I'll give you an idea of the word. I told someone this story yesterday. I can't remember who, so I'm telling it again. When my husband, John, was in the hospital sick, somebody asked if he could come and pray for him. And, you know, I wasn't thrilled, because all the experts in the world had had a go. And the amazing thing was that Christians turn into herbalists at this point. I don't know. I got shelves full of organic cures, you know, which had all cured someone. And how you sort them out, I've no idea. But one person came to me and said, I think it was barley green. I don't know if anyone here drinks barley green, but here's all these things on barley green, and here's the instructions. It was long pages. I said, he won't read it, and he certainly won't read English. Never mind, they said. There's a video. So, anyway, he never drank barley green. So, when this man from UK arrived in Hong Kong, he said, you know, every time I prayed for John, I felt like crying. And I think I've got a word for him. And somehow, I felt it was all right. He was a hospice specialist. So, he came into the ward where John was lying down. And, you know, after the average person had prayed for John, he felt worse, because they just went on. You know, they might have felt better, but he didn't. So, it's just people are trying. They're trying too hard. They're actually trying to do in the natural what only God can do in the spirit. So, he came over to John, and he said, you know, I think God has given me a word for you. By the way, if you do think that, offer it to someone. Don't push it on them, okay? Nobody's got to receive what you say. You must leave it possible for them to weigh it, or say, you know, you know, I don't want that, you know. So, he looked at him, and he said, I believe the Lord is saying, you're a prince amongst men. That was it. And, you know, if you knew John, of course, he utterly believed he was a prince among men. He sat up in bed. He was lifted up. It was the word that sustained the weary. And then, they had the most wonderful conversation about life and death and the future, and it was amazing. So, you don't have to make a long prayer. You know, you can do that silently, or you can pray in tongues silently. It's not helpful to pray in tongues out loud. It's just not edifying, you know, and it really puts me off if somebody's going, you know, well, I'm being prayed for. So, keep quiet, and practice tongues at home so you can learn to do it loudly and softly and quickly and slowly, and, you know, even in the dentist, you can. It's amazing. So, we're here to talk about the mission of the church for this particular session, and this church this weekend will never meet again. So, take this as the most special opportunity, which will never come again. So, don't waste it. You know, you may be able to share something which will help somebody that you'll never see again. So, if you come to a gathering like this with the understanding that you're here to give something, not get something, it will help you. I do remember my first few Holy Spirit meetings after they were on Thursdays. After a few, the people where we had the meeting very kindly took me aside and said, Jackie, would you please not go on with such long prayers, because it's going to turn off the new people, and nobody will come anymore, and you'll kill our meeting, and so would you please only pray the prayers that come from the Holy Spirit, and if you feel strongly about those other things, find somebody else that feels as strongly and do it somewhere else. So, they were completely safe to say that to me, because I'm completely serious about wanting to be helpful. You know, you'll find serious people are not offendable, so it was all right. I wanted to learn, so after that, I used to pray in tongues, walking around the block before I went into the Thursday meeting. Dear Lord, please give me something that will help someone else, and if you go with this attitude of heart, you're more likely to receive. In fact, you will. Okay, so get ready for the coming sessions. This is what Jesus announced in Luke 4, so we'll look at some more of those scriptures. He has just been baptized in water. The Holy Spirit came upon him, and then he went into the desert, where he was tempted for 40 days, and it says in chapter 4, verse 1, full of the Holy Spirit, he returned from the Jordan, and verse 14, he returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. So, the Spirit came upon him when he was baptized. He was full of the Holy Spirit when he went to be tempted, and he returned in the power of the Spirit, and makes this announcement in the synagogue in Nazareth. In Nazareth, in verse 18, he says, the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. Okay, so a little exercise for you. You can do this in maximum of threes, just make sure that you're not a one. Okay, you can do it in twos. Question, I want you to ask each other, when was Jesus anointed? Okay, if you can sort this out, it will really help you. Okay, so obviously, this extraordinary story, which I don't believe every Christmas, and then I have to believe again, is that the Holy Spirit made his mother pregnant. I mean, who would believe such a story? I mean, really? Do you? You actually believe the Holy Spirit, you know, every Christmas, I have to say to our brothers, you know, it's fine to receive the Holy Spirit, you won't get pregnant. It just happened that way once, you know, it's called the only begotten Son, but you know, you'll have other babies spiritually. So clearly, if you want to use the word Christian, he was a Christian at birth, he was of the Spirit, but there came a time when the Spirit came upon him at his baptism, like a dove, and now he's going to announce what that was for. So, because, you know, before he was 30, he must have seen sick people, you know, it wasn't that God suddenly switched on his heart. If it says in John 3.34 that he had the Holy Spirit without measure, you know, this is amazing. He must have, this must have been not happy for him to see sick people and lepers as he was growing up, but he had practiced listening to his father, who said, not yet, son, you know, but after his baptism, this is when he's released to go, to do what? Back to verse 18, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. Okay, so anointed is past tense, okay, so he didn't say, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me and I feel really anointed today. So that, for some reason, if you insist on going on using this word, that's fine, because I know what you mean, it's just I don't agree with the use of it, because it's now become a compliment. It's not a compliment, it's a fact. You know, when kings were anointed, they were anointed once, they weren't anointed every time they wanted to do something kingly, and half of them were anointed in bad kings. So it's not a compliment to be anointed, it's a fact. And the way a bad king would become a good king would be by repenting and being a good king. I'm going to walk good, you don't need to be re-anointed. So, you know, people are always praying for me to be anointed again, and I think, you know, it's like the South African man, I think, oh God, they're really meaning well, I'll accept what they mean, you know, it's just they don't agree with the language. I quite like them to say, you know, may she move in the power of the Spirit today, may she be sensitive, but will you fill her again with the Spirit? Because you can be filled again and again and again. That's what Ephesians encourages us. Chapter four somewhere says, go on being, being, being. It's a present continuous verb. 518, thank you. Go on being, being filled with the Holy Spirit. So you can, without measure, there's no limit to always wanting to be filled again. So what I've just illustrated, which was clear in Jesus' life, was that there are what I call two complementary works of the Holy Spirit. One is within you, and this occurred for Jesus when he was born, or before he was born, in the womb. So much so that, and John too, John was filled with the Spirit before birth. And so, you know, he recognized his cousin when he was, you know, barely an embryo in Mary's womb, you know, and he looked for joy. So the inner working of the Holy Spirit brings us, or should, if we continue our relationship with Jesus, to make, to bring fruit. And the fruit should be sweet. They should be attractive. You know, I spent years not becoming a Christian, because the ones I'd seen looked so grim. But, you know, when I actually met some people that I liked, then I actually started listening, because they didn't make me feel guilty anymore. So the inner working of the Spirit is the filling of the Holy Spirit, which we can always have, which helps us to grow in relationship and grows fruit. I'd like to share with your neighbor what the fruit are. There are nine. If the PowerPoint man can find them, put them up. They're in Galatians 5.22. Galatians 5.22 is the fruit. I find them very hard to remember. I always remember eight and get one lost. It's an awful song, Fruit of the Spirit. Right. Okay. So nine miraculous gifts of the Spirit, which are gifts. And if you've got them, it just means he gave you a present. It doesn't mean to say you've got any character at all. So no, truly, it's just like babies. When they get born, they get given presents long before anybody's decided they're beautiful. You've got the present ready. So God gives us gifts, and they're not signs of character, and they're not given to people who are remotely worked out. They're given to help fairly unworked out people, help fairly unworked out people. That's it, really. But fruit grows, and it should be attractive. It's the complementary form of evangelism. So the gifts of the Spirit, which are power gifts, are to go out and reach the lost with the verses that Jesus follows on in Luke 4. The fruit of the Spirit are to attract people to come to us because they see we're different, and kind, and gentle, and all of those things. So character takes time to grow. And yeah, back to Luke 4.18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. Now, over this weekend, we'll spend some particular time talking about what that means. Who is poor? We're all poor in some ways. But it's interesting that Jesus started with the poor, isn't it? Because the church has taken a long time to get around to it, as if it's an optional ministry that ladies do on Wednesdays. And I'm in the worship team, but you've got mercy ministry. This is the first thing that Jesus said he was anointed for. And good news is good news. Okay, so I want you to think about good news. Now, it's not good advice. That's why I suggested you don't, during this weekend, pray for people that you know. There's a place for that. But good news is not good advice. It's supposed to be that when somebody hears it, they go, well, that's amazing. Good news for the grannies in Hong Kong, who's, you know, would be, there's a month's supply of free rice, which gets delivered to you. You haven't got to queue all day to get it. And by the way, your son is going to come back and look after you. You know, that would be good news for her. Would your sins are forgiven? That might not be good news for her. We think it ought to be, but you can't push that on people. And as we, it's not, I'm not saying it doesn't matter. It, of course it matters, but Jesus hardly ever started that way. So we've got to be very sensitive in the way we give good news. I know a bunch of men who, they belong to a very serious denomination. Well, it doesn't think it is, but anyway, when people come to Jesus Christ through this particular group of people, there's hardly anyone I know who is as faithful to talking about the forgiveness of sins and the grace of God and faith comes as a gift from the Lord. And, you know, they're terribly, they never stop preaching that. It's, and all over the world, you'll find them on Saturday mornings or Saturday afternoons in suits, in the market squares. They're black suits and they are faithfully preaching good news. Nobody's listening, but they are, they faithfully, because that's their understanding of the gospel. At least they're doing it, you know, at least they're doing it. Question, where you live for the people in your road or the people next door or the mothers in your kids' school, what would be good news? Discuss this.