We All Have Gifts

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Moses put the spirit on seventy elders who then prophesied. The spirit also rested on two others who had not been present with the seventy, and those two also prophesied.

Joshua pled with Moses stop the two elders from prophesying, but Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:24-29).

Moses said nothing about age, authority, or gender. Rather, he said all.

We shouldn’t get angry or defensive when someone exercises spiritual gifts? There are enough for all.

Many centuries after Moses, John told Christ, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

Christ wasn’t threatened or jealous. “‘Do not stop him,’ Christ said. ‘For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us . . . anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name . . . will certainly not lose their reward.’” (Mark 9:38-41).

Christ didn’t mention authority, age, or gender, or political or religious affiliation. He said, anyone.

“We all have gifts,” Paul said (Romans 12:6).

Women and men of God aren’t defensive or jealous of others’ gifts. There is room for all.