I was sent this question this morning:
Firstly what is the difference between fruit of the spirit and gift of the spirit?
Secondly why don't we see miracles happen like how they used to in the days of Jesus Christ?
This is how I answered (I'm sharing because I think it'll be useful to you):
To answer your first question, the fruit of the Spirit express the character of Jesus. It is for the manifestation of the personality of Jesus. And so the fruit of the Spirit including love, joy, peace and the others in Galatians 5:22 are for the manifestation of who Jesus is so that the world will know that Jesus is real. It is only by loving other people that they can know that Jesus really loves them. They cannot know until we show them.
On the other hand, the gifts of the Spirit are for the demonstration of the power of God. It brings healing, deliverance and restoration. The gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12 are available to every believer but we must receive them and work with them. The gifts of the Spirit are there already but they must be developed.
The fruit of the Spirit are also in us but we must mature in them.
How do you mature in the fruit of the Spirit? By walking in the Spirit according to Galatians 5:16. Practise the Word of God and obey the Holy Spirit.
To develop the gifts of the Spirit, receive by faith and spend time in the Presence of the Lord. You need to spend time with the Holy Spirit in prayer. Pray in tongues frequently. Engage in frequent fasts; that will tame the flesh and enable you to be more responsive to the Holy Spirit.
For the second question, it's simply because we have not maintained the balance between the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. There is a lot of emphasis on the fruit of the Spirit but not the gifts of the Spirit. Whatever we consistently hear being taught will determine how our lives will become.
Another reason is that many believers simply do not believe that the power is in then to perform miracles. Yet Jesus said that we would do greater works (John 14:12).
Jesus also said these signs will follow those who believe...they will cast out devils, speak in new tongues, lay their hands on the sick and they shall recover.
Believing is the requirement.
Unbelief short circuits the power of God.
When I was seventeen, as a student in Presec, the SU had and Crusade and I was preaching to about 200 "form 1 boys". I was only a teenager who believed in the power of Jesus at work in me. I preached the Gospel and many gave their lives to Christ. When we closed, one of the form one boys in the auditorium came to testify that he was healed of asthma; his breathing was now normal. Glory to God!
Every believer can and must preach the Gospel. Every believer can and must demonstrate the power of God. Every believer can and must prophesy. Every believer can and must love other people!
We can see the power of God always when we assemble as the Church, when we simply believe, seek the Lord in singleness of heart and surrender completely to Him, saying, "Lord, I am not my own. I yield to your Spirit. Express yourself through me. Heal through me. Talk through me. Work through me. Love through me!"
Just DIE to yourself!
You don't need to be ordained to work the works of Jesus and even greater; you simply need to believe.
The power is there but you must tap into it. Stir it up! Speak in tongues like never before! Give time to the Lord. Don't live for yourself anymore. Give yourself wholly to the Lord. Press your ear to the mouth of God!
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