Dear brothers and sisters in Christ our Lord. Greetings to all of us.

On this occasion

I will share about the gifts of holy spirit. At the same time, I want to answer the task given by

father ivo simanullang. All right. We know that the salvation of mankind was made possible

by the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. He is truly present in the world as a human

being for the salvation of mankind itself. After He returned to the Father, He sent the Holy

Spirit to be with us. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and Son. So, He is still present

among us in this world. The Holy Spirit pours out various kinds of gifts, so that people can

really feel His presence. Many people think, that the gifts of the Holy Spirit today no longer

exist, that they only existed in the days of the apostles. We admit that there are still many

people who are closed to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Even, in the body of the Church today,

for most people, the Holy Spirit is still a strange Person in their lives. Consciously or

unconsciously, often the Holy Spirit is not given its proper place and is even unknown.

Therefore, the Holy Spirit is often referred to as the unknown God.

In response to this statement, let us look back at the teachings of the Bible. To this

day the Bible are the primary manual of our faith, and were written by the apostles

themselves. As the main guideline of faith, it means that all that is written in the Bible, we

must have faith and we must firmly believe. So, it is with these gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the

Bible it is clearly written that Jesus sent His Spirit to renew human life until the end of time.

If, for example, someone says that the gifts of the Holy Spirit today no longer exist, it means

that he no longer believes in the Bible, and he considers the Bible to be a book of fairy tales.

It’s so sad!

If only we were willing to open our hearts, we would be able to see the various

gifts, which were truly bestowed on all human beings in real and can be felt, as experienced
by the early church. Let us not just look at it from the mind or the intellect alone. There are

various gifts from God that we cannot analyze with human minds. Of course we know,

humans are not at all equal to God. For that, dear listeners, let us try to accept and live out

His various gifts which will direct our hearts, souls and minds to achieve the highest human

goal of life, namely union with Him. Therefore, on this occasion, I would like to share a little

knowledge about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that we can all grow together, because we

know the gifts of the Holy Spirit and use them appropriately.

There are two forms of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The first is the personal gift of

the Holy Spirit (we can see the basis of the Bible in Isaiah chapter eleven verses two to three

(Isaiah 11: 2-3)). This gift is a means of purifying a person. We get these gifts when we

receive the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist). The second is

called Charismatic Gifts. These gifts are intended for the good of the congregation or service

to God's people and for the benefit of the Church. Today, we will briefly discuss the second

gift, namely the charismatic gifts. Charismatic gifts are expressions of God's power and

presence, given freely to His honor and glory.

Next I will describe some of the distribution of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

According to Saint Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians chapter twelve verses eight to ten

(1 Cor 12: 8-10). These gifts are commonplace and should be present in the local Church.

These gifts are divided into 3 major parts, namely the gift of the Word, the gift of signs, and

the gift of wisdom. Then these three gifts are each further divided into 3 parts. Therefore,

there are nine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

1. First is the gift of the word or the gift of speech.

gift of interpretation, and the gift of prophecy.

1. The gift of speaking in tongues. Through this gift, the person who receives it is used by

God to give His message in a language unknown to the congregation present (we can see in

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians) 1 Cor. 12: 10.28).

2. The gift of interpretation. The gift of speaking in tongues requires another gift of

interpretation which is the gift of interpretation. Without this interpretation, the gift of

speaking in tongues should be questioned whether it really comes from God. For we need to

know that the fruit of the gifts are for building up the church. How could the church be built

if they did not understand what guidance God was giving at that time through the gift of

speaking in tongues? (compare 1 Cor. 12:10).

3. The gift of prophecy. The gift of prophecy is a guidance or message conveyed in one's own

language by a person who is used by God, for communities or individuals who are present at

a meeting. For example, we can see that Jesus prophesied His death and resurrection in

Luke's gospel chapter eighteen verses thirty-one to thirty-four (Luke 18: 31-34). Also the

prophecy that was given to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.

2. the second gift is the gift of signs or the gift of action.

This gift is also divided into three parts, namely the gift of faith, the gift of healing, and the

gift of miracles.

1. The gift of faith. This gift enables a person at any given time to exercise God's power

without the slightest hesitation. The person at that time knew and believed that what was

being prayed for happened. For example, we can see the event that Jesus raised Lazarus.

Jesus was sure that His prayer for Lazarus would be heard by God the Father (cf. John 11:
41-44). Likewise, we can see this in Noah's faith in the Word of God so that he wanted to

build an ark even though the crowd said he was crazy (cf. Gen 6).

2. Gifts of healing. This gift enables a person to become God's instrument for the physical,

mental and spiritual healing of others. For example, when Peter and John healed a lame man

(compare Acts 3: 1- 10). We need to know that in this day and age there are also many people

whom God uses to become channels for His power to heal.

3. The gift of miracles. This gift enables one to become God's instrument either in instant

healing or in other manifestations of God's mighty power. For example, the miracle of

changing water to wine (cf. John 2: 1-11), also the miracle of Dorcas' awakening and death

(cf. Acts 9: 36-43).

3. the third is the Gift of Wisdom or the gift of knowing.

This gift is further divided into three parts, namely the gift of wisdom, knowledge, and the

gift of discerning spirits.

1. The gift of wisdom. Through this gift a person is given an understanding of God's plan in

certain situations and expresses it in the form of words of advice. God inspires a person in a

difficult situation to make the right decision or to give the right answer (cf. 1 Kgs. 3: 16-28;

cf. Matt. 22:21).

2. Gift of knowledge. This gift is called the gift of expression, God reveals something that is

hidden, is happening or experienced by someone, or is being done by God Himself, in order

to heal or renew it.

3. The gift of discerning spirits. With this gift, a person can recognize whether the source of

an inspiration or action comes from the Holy Spirit, his own spirit or an evil spirit (cf. Matt.

16:23; Mt 9:33).
 These gifts are subject to individual free will in the sense that a person is free to

choose whether he wants to be used or not to be used by God. However, sometimes these

gifts are so needed in a church that a person is almost forced to give in to God's will. For

example, the fear that Old Testament prophets experienced when they delivered God's

message. God has a unique way of forcing new people to use these gifts.

Therefore, As Christians, we need to know these gifts (1 Cor. 12: 1). By having the correct

knowledge of these gifts, people can use them to the extent that God wills. Saint Paul himself

said that he wanted us to know the truth about spiritual gifts. Detailed knowledge of the gifts

and experience of using them are a necessary condition for growing in the gifts of the Holy

Ghost.

Then how do you make the gifts of the Holy Spirit grow?

There are three things that must be done by every person if he wants to grow in the gifts of

the Holy Spirit for the service of God's people and for the benefit of the Church, namely:

1. Live a deep prayer life and live according to God's will.

2. Study these gifts and share them regularly with those who also use them.

3. Act as a child, walk wherever God guides and are not afraid to make mistakes.

Let us allow the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself and guide us where He wants to take it. God

always wants to guide all those who pray to enter life in the Spirit. Then we must grow in

these gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In order to grow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we also need to know some of the

dangers, namely:

1. A person who has one gift may feel that he is an expert or professional in this field and he

refuses to be judged by others, because he thinks that others are not experts in that field.
2. If a person is only skilled at using this one gift, it means he does not develop in other gifts.

3. People who have charism and often use God as their tool, for example:

1. Expecting God to intervene charismatically when natural power is deemed sufficient to

solve the problem.

2. refuse to do ordinary work, such as studying or preparing because they think God will give

it all through the gifts of the Spirit.

3. View charismatic activity as an end rather than a means for personal and congregational

development.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit, though powerful, should not be confused with the

sanctity of life. These gifts are different from the sanctifying grace and are not a sign of one's

purity. On the other hand, the use of these gifts can be a manifestation of God's deep love for

the church. The correct use of these gifts will lead to the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is a

true sign of holiness in life.

Finally, because these charismatic gifts are given to someone on behalf of the church, love

for others is the only environment in which the gifts can grow. In other words, the secret to

the growth of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is love for God and neighbor, not love for these

gifts.

Okay, my dear brothers and sisters. that's all I can say on this occasion. therefore,

let us always develop the gifts of holy spirit, for the sake of our service to God and others.

Thank you very much. peace and kindness to all of us.