Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life
How can Christians pursue and implement the miraculous gifts of the Spirit without falling into fanatical excess and splitting the church in the process?
The Bible teaches us that we are to be filled with God's Spirit and that God's presence and grace is manifested among his people as they serve, love, and minister to one another. Yet some of the gifts that God offers to his people aren't commonly seen in many churches today. Gifts of prophecy, healing, tongues, and other supernatural gifts of God seem to be absent, and many Christians are unsure how to cultivate an atmosphere where God's Spirit can work while remaining committed to the foundational truth of God's Word.
In Practicing the Power, pastor and author Sam Storms offers practical steps to understanding and exercising spiritual gifts in a way that remains grounded in the word and centered in the gospel, including:
- Combining sound theology with inspiring personal examples.
- Covering all kinds of practical and theological questions about using gifts.
- Practical ways to express the compassion of Jesus to others by partnering with Him in spiritual gifts.
With examples drawn from his 40 years of ministry as a pastor and teacher, Practicing the Power offers help to pastors, elders, and church members to understand what changes are needed to see God move in supernatural power and to guard against excess and abuse of the spiritual gifts.
If you long to see God's Spirit move in your church and life, and aren't sure why that isn't happening or where to begin, this book is for you.
Top Highlights
“Obedience must matter more to you than success or your image.” (source)
“Fasting is not about denying yourself; it’s about satisfying yourself . . . in God. Fasting is not about physical pain, but spiritual pleasure. Fasting is the first cousin to prayer in the sense that together they are the ordained means by which God is pleased to give us what we need.” (source)
“Unlike those scenarios I described in the earlier half of this chapter, prophecy is always based upon a revelation from the Spirit of God. It is not the same as enlightenment or illumination from the Spirit, which quickens and enables us to more deeply understand and appreciate the truths of God’s Word. Rather in prophecy, the Holy Spirit supernaturally discloses information, facts, or insights not otherwise available by natural avenues of knowledge.” (source)
“The reason we should be succinct in prayer is that God knows what we need before we ask him. But if God knows all our problems and needs before we ask, why ask at all? We must remember that, generally speaking, God has determined not to fulfill our needs unless we ask him to. Our petitions are the means by which God has purposed to give us what he already knows we need.” (source)
“The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Gifts, ‘Gifts are God going public among His people.’1” (source)
Product Details
- Title : Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life
- Authors:
- Storms, Sam
- Chandler, Matt
- Publisher: Zondervan
- Publication Date: 2017
- ISBN: 9780310533856
Reviews
0 ratings
Dennis Doolittle
12/19/2022
Finally, an author who 'gets it'. I bought the soft cover for a position in my church and was pleased to see it here. This book cuts through the clutter and presents a clear, and comprehensive vision of the use of the gifts in the church. Following Pauls's admonition to earnestly seek the gifts, especially prophesy, Storms spends most of the book on this topic.