TOS014 Charisms of Words of Knowledge and Wisdom (Part 4)

TOS014 Charisms of Words of Knowledge and Wisdom (Part 4); for Audio;

Extraordinary Gifts of Grace Series

A Word of Knowledge is a personal revelation concerning an event of the past. This revelation can be used to trigger a memory that needs to surface so that healing can take place. Sometimes the word can reveal something unknown except to the person receiving prayer that when revealed then builds faith in the Lord’s love and personal care so that healing can take place. These words can guide the prayer leaders to then address particular needs of the person receiving prayer and thus overcome obstacles that can block various types of healing.

Words of Wisdom work closely with Words of Knowledge because they provide the ongoing discernment of revealing and praying the truth. These do not reveal past issues but rather are in the ‘now’ and coming events.

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Welcome to Truth of the Spirit. I’m Patti Brunner. This is the concluding Part 4 of Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit series.

The next charism I want to discuss with you is all about the truth of the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit gives Words of Knowledge and Words of Wisdom it is to share truth with individuals or groups. A Word of Knowledge is a personal revelation concerning an event of the past. It can manifest as a word, a picture, even a color. This revelation can be used to trigger a memory that needs to surface so that healing can take place. Sometimes the word can reveal something unknown except to the person receiving prayer that when revealed then builds faith in the Lord’s love and personal care so that healing can take place. These words can guide the prayer leaders to then address particular needs of the person receiving prayer and thus overcome obstacles that can block various types of healing.

When Msgr. Jim Mancini was assigned to a local parish, each year he gathered up several of us to pray for individual teens of his confirmation class privately during a retreat. The Lord used these moments to reveal for some their need for healing using words of Knowledge. For others the Lord gave Words of wisdom to promise and to impart to them an outpouring of gifts to use in living their faith. The Lord would affirm these things by revealing them to several members of the team at the same time.

Discernment of calling by the Lord to follow the Way to benefit others and the Church are often brought forth. We are one body in Christ. When one member suffers we all suffer. And also, when one member is lifted up and set on a course of healing, ministry or developing a closer relationship with the Lord the whole body is benefited and lifted up. This glorifies God and strengthens the Church. When one person receives prayer by several, it would seem inefficient to the worldliness of time management but there is no constriction of time in eternity and each soul is of utmost importance in the kingdom of God.

Recall the parable of the shepherd who leaves the 99 to go after the one who is lost. In Mathew18: Jesus asks “ 12 What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? 13And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. 14In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” NAB

Never hesitate to set aside what you are doing in the World to minister to the needy in the supernatural.

As I said earlier, sometimes the Words of Knowledge and Words of Wisdom can come in ways besides words! Sensations and flutterings can identify the presence of God and thus reveal to the person receiving prayer that God is with them in their need. Revelation of hot or cold during healing prayer can reveal the touch of God on an affected area. At times a person praying for healing will receive a vision or picture of the infirmity like seeing inside the body itself to identify a blockage, a growth or to visualize the particular healing that is needed. Others might experience sharp pains in areas that the Lord wants to heal or just hear the words of those healings. What the Lord reveals He heals! These Words of Wisdom and Knowledge then/thus? give encouragement, faith and bring healing.

Sometimes people will come for prayer asking for answers to what they should do. On occasion the Lord will give people advice but this area causes for great discernment because it is very easy to slip into the natural desires and wants. A good means of discernment is to ask the Lord to confirm or affirm such counsel like the story of Gideon and the fleece.

The story is this:—Judges 6: 17 Gideon answered the Lord, “If you look on me with favor, give me a sign that you are the one speaking with me…20 The messenger of God said to him: Take the meat and unleavened cakes and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth. When he had done so, 21 the messenger of the LORD stretched out the tip of the staff he held. When he touched the meat and unleavened cakes, a fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes. Then the messenger of the LORD disappeared from sight..

Judges 6: 36 Gideon said to God, “If indeed you are going to save Israel through me, as you have said, 37 I am putting this woolen fleece on the threshing floor, and if dew is on the fleece alone, while all the ground is dry, I shall know that you will save Israel through me, as you have said.” 38 That is what happened. Early the next morning when he wrung out the fleece, he squeezed enough dew from it to fill a bowl. 39 Gideon then said to God, “Do not be angry with me if I speak once more. Let me make just one more test with the fleece. Let the fleece alone be dry, but let there be dew on all the ground.” 40 That is what God did that night: the fleece alone was dry, but there was dew on all the ground.

When the Lord confirms his revelation to us that calls us into action we can thus step forward with confidence in the Lord. Prophetic ministry is actually a ministry of Words of Wisdom and some of the directions revealed can be years in the proving.

Let me share part of my own story: In the spring of the year 2000, Anna, a lady who frequently had prophecies in our prayer group told me that the Lord showed her a vision of me. It was as follows: “Patti was standing at a lighted podium. Her appearance was that of someone 65 or 70 years of age. Her demeanor was very dignified.” She said, “I could not see the audience, but there was a sensation of a very crowded, large assembly. I did not recognize the room.” She said, “I could not hear Patti’s words, but everyone was listening intently; there was no sound in the room.” Years later, at age 64 I first emceed the Arkansas Charismatic Conference in Little Rock and continued for several years. I stood at a lighted podium in front of a large assembly. So by her prophetic word, the Lord shared his plan for me.

Another thing that happened, in February 1, 2004 My husband and I received this word of wisdom from a prophetic ministry team: A woman said, “A change is coming; a meshing of Rick & Patti’s hearts.” It was followed the next month by the Pinkerton Team March 11, 2004 specifically for Rick: will have less stress and less to do even though expansion.

A few days later Rick & I were asked to be Eucharistic Ministers of Communion at the Hospital on the week-ends. This gave us the opportunity to share Jesus and pray together for those in need and to see their improvement as we visited them the next day. We continued that ministry together until five years later when Rick suffered heart failure and had to quit work. He had to stay away from all stress and physical exertion but this gave him time to read the bible and pray, and watch the birds in our back yard. But I think the true fulfillment of these words happened two years later as the Lord called us to expand our ministry by purchasing a ministry house next to our parish. Once the decision was made, he let go of all preparation. After the house was remodeled Rick started slowly improving and the Lord called us both to witness our faith together to others. We continued to mesh together on the spiritual formation of disciples sharing the Truth of the Spirit with a team of fellow evangelists with weekly formation especially in presenting Life in the Spirit series and other spiritual formation. Eventually, the Lord restored a lot of his heart function and he began to sponsor two men’s groups for bible study in the house and I sponsored two women’s groups then we both began to minister together in the St. Andrew School of Evangelization

Again—discernment is key. When we received a word of knowledge about someone’s past, we must inquire of the Lord if the word should be spoken or just used as a means for prayer. The Lord will give confirmation like the fleece story when the word is important to share. Sometimes, I ask the person I’m praying for about the word I’ve heard in such a way that if they deny it, I can move on without causing distress. This has happened when a particular medical condition is revealed or past abuse. I have found that when the Lord reveals, He heals, so I pray for healing but in such a way that the person receiving prayer can agree with the prayer. Sometimes a word has a meaning for the person receiving prayer that is different that a natural conclusion—such as the spider story I told in the earlier podcast, “TS009 Gifts of the Spirit”. Whatever the words are, the Lord brings forth healing after identifying problems, such as the story I told in the podcast, “TS005 Who is the Holy Spirit?” and in the episode “TS013 Charisms of Miracles and Healings”.

When people come for prayer for wisdom to help them make a decision, generally the Lord does not give them specific directions but more often He wants them to know how much He loves them; not to have anxiety.

The Lord always honors the freewill of individual and sometimes He helps people realize that whatever paths they take their particular paths can work for good. Even if a choice is not the best one the Lord is by your side. He will not abandon you—even when you are lost. He continues to call your name to come home to Him.

What of those who reject his words of Knowledge and words of Wisdom? They are free to do so. But they may be rejecting the invitation to come deeper, to come to forgiveness, to come to healing, to come into the Presence of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Here are some things the Church has to say about these Charisms:

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Paragraph 688 “The Church, a communion living in the faith of the apostles which she transmits, is the place where we know the Holy Spirit:

In the Scriptures he inspired,
In the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses;
In the Church’s Magisterium, which he assists;
In the sacramental liturgy, through the words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ;
In prayer, wherein he intercedes for us;
In the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up; in the signs of apostolic and missionary life;
In the witness of saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the work of salvation.”

739 “Because the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ, it is Christ who, as the head of the Body, pours out the Spirit among his members to nourish, heal, and organize them in their mutual functions, to give them life, send them to bear witness, and associate them to his self-offering to the Father and to his intercession for the whole world.”

767 – “When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church. Then the church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun. As the ‘convocation’ of all men for salvation, the Church in her very nature is missionary, sent by Christ to all the nations to make disciples of them.”
The next paragraph continues: 768 –“So that she can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit ‘bestows upon [the Church] varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and this way directs her’. Henceforward the Church, endowed with the gifts of her founder and faithfully observing his precepts of charity, humility and self-denial, receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is on earth the seed and the beginning of that kingdom.”

798 – “The Holy Spirit is ‘the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the Body.’ He works in many ways to build up the Body in charity: …by the many special graces (called ‘charisms’), by which he makes the faithful ‘fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church.’ [252] “

799 – “Whether extraordinary or simple and humble, charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world.”

800 – “Charisms are to be accepted with gratitude by the person who receives them and by all members of the Church as well. They are a wonderfully rich grace for the apostolic vitality and for the holiness of the entire Body of Christ, provided they really are genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit and are used in full conformity with authentic promptings of this same Spirit, that is, in keeping with charity, the true measure of all charisms. [253]”

801 – “It is in this sense that discernment of charisms is always necessary. No charism is exempt from being referred and submitted to the Church’s shepherds. ‘Their office [is] not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good,’ [254] so that all the diverse and complementary charisms work together ‘for the common good.’ [255] “
951 –”Communion of charisms. Within the communion of the church, the Holy Spirit ‘distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank’ for the building up of the Church. [482] now, ‘to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.’ 483

2003 – “Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us. But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments. There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning ‘favor,’ ‘gratuitous gift,’ ‘benefit.’ [53] Whatever their character – sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues – charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church. [54]”

2004 – “Among the special graces ought to be mentioned the graces of state that accompany the exercise of the responsibilities of the Christian life and of the ministries within the Church. Having gifts that differ according to the grace give to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. {55] “

2702 – “The need to involve the senses in interior prayer corresponds to a requirement of our human nature. We are body and spirit and we experience the need to translate our feelings externally. We must pray with our whole being to give all power possible to our supplication.”

2703 – “This need also corresponds to a divine requirement. God seeks worshippers in Spirit and in Truth, and consequently living prayer that rises from the depth of the soul. He also wants the external expressions that associates the body with interior prayer, for it renders Him that perfect homage which is His due.”

CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT Part I: THE CREED Article IX Second Part of this Article: “The Communion of Saints”

“COMMUNION IN OTHER BLESSINGS. Not only the gifts which justify and endear us to God are common. Graces gratuitously granted, such as knowledge, prophecy, the gifts of tongues and of miracles, and others of the same sort, are common also, and are granted even to the wicked, however, for their own but for the general good, for the edification of the Church. Thus, the gift of healing is given not for the sake of him who heals, but for the sake of him who is healed. In fine, every true Christian possesses nothing which he should not consider common to all others with himself, and should therefore be prepared promptly to relieve an indigent fellow-creature. For he that is blessed with worldly goods, and sees his brother in want, and will not assist him, is plainly convicted of not having the love of God within him.64

Those, therefore, who belong to this holy communion, it is manifest, do now enjoy a certain degree of happiness and can truly say: How lovely are thy tabernacles, Lord of hosts! my soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. . . . Blessed are they who dwell in thy house, Lord.65”

Also recommended is the Vatican II document on the laity – “Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium.”

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:7-12 “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.”

Often priests in the confessional will have the gift of reading hearts. Saint Padre Pio was famous for this gift. This is a special Word of Knowledge where the sins of the penitent are revealed to the priest confessor. In this way more complete healing can take place as absolution is given and the penance given can be more efficacious. According to the Lives of the Saints, many saints are recorded with this gift. I have gone to confession with a visiting priest with this gift. For my penance he asked me to pray in tongues. The Lord had given him a word of knowledge that I had that gift.

Through the charisms, Jesus shared the word of wisdom that Lazarus was not dead, even though he had been dead for three days. Through word of wisdom, he knew that the power had gone out to heal the woman with the hemorrhage.

He used words of knowledge in evangelizing the woman at the well towards inner healing, in John 4:17-27; to know there was a coin in the fish to pay the taxes in Matthew 17:27,and about the synagogue official’s daughter in Mark 5:36-40.

History records so many saints who used the charisms of healing, miracles, prophesy, and words of knowledge. Modern saints like Padre Pio and saints from long ago like St. Nicholas of Myra –also known as Santa Claus—raised a child to life, used word of knowledge to find the child, drowned in a pickle barrel, and he also used words of wisdom and quieted storms.

Word of Knowledge aides healing by opening “festered” areas in memory and body. These words help break the barriers that people have that limit the effect of grace.

WORD OF WISDOM is “a supernatural insight given to the members of the Body of Christ which reveals God’s timing and method of ministry in a given situation. It explains or illuminates a given revelation” –especially when and how to use some of the other charismatic gifts– “such as a word of knowledge, discernment of spirit or the communication of revealed prophecy. This is not the same as the wisdom we gain from our experiences in life or intellectual pursuits. “It is not to be confused with the virtue of wisdom. The ‘virtue’ of wisdom given at Baptism and affirmed at Confirmation is a lifelong gift which increases in us as we submit to those who instruct us on our spiritual journey.“ “A ‘word of wisdom’ is a supernatural revelation of God’s timing and method of ministry in a given situation.”

The Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana published this on their website: “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” 1 Cor 12:7 – There are different members, but ONE BODY – all function together. These gifts are free and are dispensed sovereignly by God upon His people for the good of others. These gifts are supernatural abilities bestowed upon individuals by the Holy Spirit. They are not natural abilities. These manifestations are for the common good of the Church and are not to be used to promote the importance of the person bearing the gift. We do not ‘possess’ the manifestation gifts. We are the vehicles the Lord uses for the outpouring of His blessings upon His people. We are the ‘gift bearers’ and must function “with humility, willingness to take risks, trust in God, and love for our brothers and sisters in Christ”[Catechism of the Catholic Church]. Christians open to the manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit, to use them for their own building up and then for the building up of the church, should know what the gifts are and pray for the gift of discernment in when and how to use certain gifts. The Manifestation gifts consist of gifts of Insight / Revelation, gifts of Communication / Utterance, and Power / Dynamic gifts.

GIFTS OF INSIGHT OR REVELATION include EXPRESSION OF KNOWLEDGE (WORD OF KNOWLEDGE) – a supernatural revelation of facts past, present, or future which we did not learn through the efforts of the natural mind – this is not to be confused with the knowledge we have acquired through the study of scriptures, Christian writings or other sources of information, including our own experiences. This is a supernaturally imparted Word. If we proclaim a healing or promise of salvation because of what we have studied, we are being presumptuous, not faith filled. True supernatural knowledge starts with knowing God personally, through Jesus Christ. Jesus and the disciples received many ‘words of knowledge’ from the Holy Spirit. See John 4:17-27, Matthew 17:27, Mark 5:36-40, Acts 5:1-9, Acts 3:1-10 (only a few!)

EXPRESSION OF WISDOM (WORD OF WISDOM / WISDOM IN DISCOURSE) – a supernatural insight given to the members of the Body of Christ which reveals God’s timing and method of ministry in a given situation. It explains or illuminates a given revelation such as a word of knowledge, discernment of spirit or the communication of revealed prophecy. This is not the same , says the Diocesan website, as wisdom we gain from our experiences in life or intellectual pursuits. It is not to be confused with the virtue (Baptismal gift) of wisdom. The ‘virtue’ of wisdom given at Baptism and affirmed at Confirmation is a lifelong gift which increases in us as we submit to those who instruct us on our spiritual journey. But a ‘word of wisdom’ is a supernatural revelation of God’s timing and method of ministry in a given situation.

In the book Gifts of the Holy Spirit by Father Stephen Barham:

“Manifestation Gifts”. He says, after quoting I Corinthians 12, that: Word Gifts that reveal the mind of God; “Logos” “A word of God”

Word of Knowledge – The Lord gives us facts unknown to us to benefit others
Word of Wisdom – a perception of the mind of God and how we should act or say.

In his book, “Come Follow Me“, Fr. Robert DeGrandis calls prophecy a “word” gift and word of knowledge a “revelation” gift. “The nine normal ways referenced in 1 Corinthians 12 include: Words-tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy; Power (gifts)-faith, healing and miracles.; Revelations(gifts) -wisdom, knowledge and discernment” His sister, Dorthea DeGrandis Sudol in “Discernment in Your Life”, 1998, writes that as she prayed for the needs of others the Lord gave her words of knowledge that told her whether the problem was anxiety, fear, depression, etc. “The Lord told me and so I prayed for that need.”

Jesus shows us Word of Knowledge when He tells the woman at the well that she “has no husband” because she has been married so many times and is living with someone new, now, that is not her husband.

On “Word of Knowledge” Bishop Sam Jacobs,an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church,teaches: “It gives specific words for others that will touch their heart to open them to the Word of God.”

This episode concludes the series on the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, but know that there is more. If you would like to read the blog of this episode, you can find it on my website: PatriarchMinistries.com.

You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner. I invite you to subscribe and come back for more. With the Holy Spirit there is always more!

Amen.

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TOS014 Charisms of Words of Knowledge and Wisdom (Part 4)