The Blue Tassel: Part 5 - High Priest's Garment Series

Numbers 15:37-41

"37 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, '38 Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. 39 And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, 40 and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.” 

Why would God care that the Israelites put tassels on their garments?  Is it simply so that they will remember to do as the LORD commands?  Yes and no.  Yes, He wanted them to follow His commands but He also knew that they couldn't do that on their own.  Man has no power.  So how does that happen? 

The only One Who perfectly knows God's will as outlined in the Ten Commandments and had the power to carry them out is JESUS!  Because we weren't able to do it, He had Jess fulfill them for us and gave us a new covenant, found in Hebrews 8. Read it carefully:  The only command for us today is to "BELIEVE."  Look to Jesus and "BELEIVE."  Our deal is that we REMEMBER JESUS and that God REMEMBERS OUR SINS NO MORE!

(Our New Covenent.)

That still doesn't answer the question, "So why the tassels on the corners of thier garments?"  Because God is always thinking about and pointing to His Beloved Son and His finished work!  He knows that if we keep our focus on Jesus, we can do all things through Him Who strengthens us.

Every detail, every picture, every name and place name in Hebrew, including the Hebrew letters themselves, have much to tell us.  They all paint beautiful pictures of Jesus.  Such is the case here.  Even when you know that, however, passages like the one above can kinda leave you scratching your head.  

God had Israel build a tabernacle in the wilderness.  Why? All their tents faced away from the desert, toward the tabernacle.  Why?  He had them put a bronze serpent on a pole in the wilderness when they were bitten by poisonous snakes.  Why?  When they looked intently, in faith, to that pole, they were healed.  Why?

Are you sensing a pattern here?   All are depictions of Jesus!  He wanted them looking "TO JESUS!"


Below is a screen shot of a portion of the opening passage in Hebrew.  This also clearly reveals that God wants us "looking to Jesus."

 





 

The passage says that the LORD wanted them to "remember all the commands of the LORD," which today are listed in Hebrews 8 as you saw above.  In this screen shot, on the far right, is the word, "Remember."  The untranslated word next to it, "et: [אֵ֥ת] is Jesus' signature.  "Aleph [אֵ֥] and Tav [ת]" are the first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Jesus is "The First and the Last."  He wants them to remember Jesus!
(For more on the Jesus' Signature, follow this link:
http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-first-and-last.html)

The prophet Malachi in chapter 4 verse 2 wrote of our Lord Jesus that He would arise with "healing in His wings." I always assumed it was some reference to His being protective of us under His wings like a mother hen or mother eagle; you know, like in Psalm 91. Eagles and hens have wings, right?  Well, yes they do and yes, He does protect us like that.  But that isn't what the Holy Spirit meant here at all.

In Jesus' day, every Hebrew male wore a prayer shawl, called a "Tallit."  This garment was required to have a tassel on all four corners with a blue thread woven in it.  Though th hem of any garment is referred to as wings, the tassels of thei tallit are also called wings; "kanaphim," in Hebrew.  

(Tallit: Prayer Shawl."



 

 

The color blue depicts Jesus finished work.  We discussed the meaning of the color, 

"blue," in part 2 of this series.  Here's a link in case you missed it:

http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/07/tekhelet-part-2-high-priest-garment.html

You remember the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years?  She reached out to touch the hem of Jesus' garment, literally the tassel of His Tallit.  She touched the blue tassel by faith, connected with Jesus' finished work and was healed!  This is the only recorded instance in the whole Bible where someone touched His wings!

In order for her to have known to do that at all she would have had to believe , #1, that He was the Messiah and, #2, that there literally was healing power in His "kanaphim."     

Jewish children, both boys and girls, were taught the Torah practically from birth.  She would have been quite familiar with the passage in Malachi 4. 

But Jesus gave her something far more valuable than just her physical healing.  She had come from behind by stealth to touch His tallit.  Who could blame her. According to levitcal law, she was not even supposed to be out in public and, most certainly, not touching other people.  Leviticus 15:19 spells it out in great detail.  She was considered "unclean" and would make anyone else she touched unclean.  She could have been stoned to death for her actions.  

In the Old Testament, all the curses were behind God, at his back.  Because Jesus had not yet died, no one could look at the face of God and live. All they could ever saw of God was His back as He was leaving them.  

But Jesus is not about Law:  He's all about grace!  He reached out and physically, lovingly touched this poor woman who, like a leper, had not been touched by anyone for a long, long time.  He not only restored her health:  He restored her humanity.  WHAT A SAVIOR!!

He wasn't satisfied with her taking her healing by stealth.  He wanted to leave her with more than just her healing so He turned around and showed her His FACE.  He singled her out among that great press of people, restored her health and spoke grace to her in a very personal, very loving way, like He treats all of us.  We are His beloved!

He also called "daughter."  Nowhere else in the entire Bible is it documented that Jesus called anyone else, "daughter."  She is the only one.  Amazing!   

(Woman with the issue of blood.)

Any time you reach out and touch grace, instead of making it UNclean, grace makes YOU clean!  Today, when you and I reach out to Jesus, you can know and believe believe He loves you; that He wants you and I to be healed and whole even more than we do.  

She is a depiction of the church today.  Many Christians, like this woman, feel like God is far away, like He is angry or disappointed with the them, almost as if they are orphans. There is no sense of closeness or family.  Church, WE ARE NOT ORPHANS.  We are "Daughter" to Him.  We are His bride!  HE LOVES US WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE!

So, whenever you touch or are mindful of Jesus' FINISHED work and His love FOR you, your faith in that love for you soars.  You are connecting with His finished work.  

You are, in effect, touching the Blue Tassel.

The The Error of Balaam And The Doctrine Of The Nicolaitans

Numbers 19:19-20

19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?... 20 Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it."

(Balaam hired Balaam to curse Israel.)

Those whom God has blessed cannot be cursed.  That's the message in the story of Balaam.  Believers, you and I, fall into this category of those blessed by God by virtue of the fact that Jesus has FULLY taken upon Himself ALL our curse!  Anyone, ANYONE.....I don't care if they have a PhD.....who preaches or even HINTS that a Christian can either be cursed or under a curse, generational or otherwise, IS PREACHING A LIE.  

If you happen to be hearing this kind of message from the pulpit, be assured of the: IT IS NOT THE GOSPEL.  It is the Error of Balaam spoken about in Revelation chapter 2.

Then, there is the not-so-little matter of the false teaching called "the doctrine of the Nicolaitans."  Both doctrines of demons. 

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 

14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold THE DOCTRINE OF BALAAM, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the DOCTRINE OF THE NOCOLAITANS, WHICH THING I HATE.

"16 Repent, {metanoia-change your mind} or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. {spoken word of God} 

17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat.  And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

Paul wrote about the doctrine of the Nicolaitans to the church in Galatia.  Galataianism, also known as "mixture or balance," is the false teaching which tells you that, though you are saved, you must also keep the Ten Commandments, ADDING your "right doing" to Jesus' finished work.  

AS IF!!  Trying to do that not only avails NOTHING it, sadly, adds the curse below to those who follow that teaching:

Revelation 22:18 

"For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone ADDS to these things, God will ADD to him the plagues that are written in this book;"

YIKES!

Turn to Deuteronomy 28 and read all about them if you like nightmares.  It's an exhaustive, not to mention "frightening, list.

Those who preach this error think that grace must be "balanced" with the law.  Let me tell you something, Church; God's GRACE doesn't need any so-called "balancing."  To go back to the law is to "FALL FROM GRACE."

Galatians 5:4 says, "You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; YOU HAVE FALLEN FROM GRACE."  

Why is it called, "The doctrine of the Nicolaitans?"  Nicholas, for whom the error is named, was actually one of the elders of the early church. He was taught the true gospel but then went off on some tangent, creating a whole satan-inspired movement which is still deceiving much of the Church to this day.   

Well, FLUSH IT!  You and I, Church, can neither be cursed nor are we under the Ten Commandments because God has written His laws on our hearts.  (See Hebrews 10 and/or follow this link for more on that topic:  https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/07/06/the-laws-of-the-new-covenant/)

Does that mean we are "law-less?  Far from it!  We have The Holy Spirit leading us from within.  That's a much better deal. 

It's crystal clear that if you do try to "do the WORKS of the law," even if you are a Christian, YOU ARE UNDER A CURSE....but it was never meant to be your heritage.  God's plan for us is PURE GRACE: No law mixed in.....PERIOD! 

But you don't have to take my word for it; read it for yourself in Hebrews 8.  The Sinaitic covenant, the Ten Commandments, HAS BEEN REPLACED!  Jesus fulfilled it ALL.  That's what He meant when He cried out with a LOUD voice, "FINISHED."

So remind yourself LOUDLY AND OFTEN that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, especially when you sin.  That way you won't fall prey to either to the Error of Balaam or the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans.

The Lampstand: Tabernacle Series Part 3

Exodus 25:31-36

31 “Make a lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. 32 Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. 33 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. 34 And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. 35 One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. 36 The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold."

The solid gold Menorah of Moses' tabernacle was an amazing piece of artistic work. It was made of one solid piece of pure gold, hammered into shape according to the blueprint shown to Moses on the mountain by God.  It depicts both our Lord Jesus and the Church. 

Jesus is the purest, finest, solid gold.  Gold in the Bible a typology of divine righteousness.  It was HAMMERED into shape descriptive of the hammering and beating He took in our place when He bore all our sins.  Hard to imagine isn't it? 

There were "...cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms..."  

Almonds.  Why almonds?  In Israel, the very first tree to awake from it's winter sleep is the almond tree.  Aaron's rod that budded overnight with buds, blossoms and fully ripened almond fruit was, obviously, fashioned from an almond tree.  It's a picture of resurrection:  Life out of death.

The center lamp is called the "shemesh" in Hebrew.  It means "center or servant lamp."  It is removable, is always lighted first, then used to light all of the others.  The six remaining lamps are turned inward to point toward the shemesh.  In other words, toward Jesus!

This is a picture of the church. We carry the light of the gospel in us and bring it's light to the whole world.  

What is the most effective way to reach the lost?  Do we talk to them about their sins?  NO!  Our job is the ministry of RECONCILIATION not CONDEMNATION.  We reach them by pointing TO JESUS not AT sinners.  He is everybody's ANSWER!  

We tell them the truth; that God is not angry at the nor holding their sins against them.  (See II Corinthians 5:18-19.)

"Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD TO HIMSELF, NOT IMPUTING THEIR TRESPASSES TO THEM, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation."

That doesn't mean they are saved.  They still need to accept God's free gift and come home.  Like the prodigal son who still smelled like pigs, our Father will welcome them home and hug them to Himself! 

Though there is a very detailed description of what the menorah itself was supposed to look like, NOWHERE DO YOU FIND ANY OF IT'S MEASUREMENTS.  The only other detail we are told is how much it weighed:

One talent of gold.  

THAT'S 100 LBS folks!!!

Why are it's dimensions not given?  Because it's not the size of your church or ministry that matters; IT'S THE WEIGHT IT CARRIES.  In other words, how influential it is in your community.  It is God Who gives weight to your words or causes them to fall to the ground.  Some words are weightier than others, meaning THEIR WORDS AND TEACHINGS ARE MORE VALUED OR HONORED.  

In Hebrew the word for honor is "kabad," pronounced "kaw-bád," with a guttural "K." It means "honored; to be heavy, weighty.

If God doesn't give "kabad" to your words, they will fall to the ground, having no effect; no weightiness or honor.

But if God gives honor and weightiness to your words, they will have honor and glory and affect the lives of many!  No one will be able to stand against them.

...and that, Church, is why we only know the weight and not the dimensions of The Lampstand.

An Evil Heart

Hebrews 3:12

" Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an EVIL (póneros) heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; "

What did Paul mean by "an evil heart?"  It's a fair question. If someone were to ask you to define evil, you'd probably answer, "something bad," right?  That'd be the first thing to come to my mind probably because that's what we been taught all our lives.  Implication, implication; accusation, accusation.

However, if that is your understanding and you came across this verse in Hebrews 3:12 you would misunderstand, as did I, what God is saying here.

So the question is, "How does God's word define it?"  Let's find out by doing a little word study!  

Every time you see the word, "evil,"  in the New Testament being discussed it is always this word: "póneros," whether it is an evil man, an evil conscience;" evil this, evil that.  If you go look up the definition, however, "bad" appears as a second meaning.

Póneros primarily means:
1. Full of labors, annoyances, hardships. a) pressed and harassed by labors.
2. Bad, of a bad nature, or condition.

When God says, "don't have an evil heart," He means "don't be full of WORRIES, CARES and CONCERNS, your mind swirling with anxieties."  

Even spiritual things like prayer can be turned into a form of work.  For instance, when you are pleading and, especially, begging over and over again, "Oh God, oh God, help me! Please deliver me! Don't let me go!  Remember your servant......." and on and on, it becomes all about you and how hard you are praying, as if your long-winded sweating and straining can convince God to act on your behalf.  

Church, there is no need for that.  Don't you understand that our Daddy is even more willing to help us than we are to be helped?  Jus look at Psalm 91.  He is as close as your breath.  He never told us to beg.  He does, however, tell is to ask and KEEP ON ASKING, seek and KEEP ON SEEKING, knock and KEEP ON KNOCKING, but remain internally at rest, trusting in His perfect provision.

If you really have a solid understanding of how much you are loved by God, you'll trust that He not only wants to answer your prayers, HE WILL.  Every time that need comes back to your thoughts, thank Abba for the answer you KNOW is coming.   Why?  BECAUSE YOU ARE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST.   You stand in the perfection of His Son.  How will Our Father not give us all things because of Jesus?

Daddy doesn't want us to have a conscience filled with worries and cares but to be at peace, resting in His love and provision, FREE FROM AN EVIL HEART!

Somebody Needs To Hear Your Story

Mark 4:35-39

“On the same day, when evening had come, He (Jesus) said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 

And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.    

At the end of the fourth chapter of Mark is an amazing story.  It's the one about Jesus traveling the length of the Sea of Galilee, headed to the region of the Gadarenes.  He was going there for one reason:  To rescue a poor, hopelessly demon-possessed man who lived among the tombs there.  

This unnamed man was in the clutches of a legion of demons.  That's more than 6,000, folks!  In fact it's somewhere between 6-9,000! Yikes!  He was unquestionablyTHE MOST demon-possessed man of all time!

So, Jesus was on His way; NO! He was making a B-line, directly across the Sea of Galillee when suddenly "a great windstorm arose," the account says.  It "arose" alright...with more than a little help. Those demons that possessed this man were roiling up the waters in an effort to sink the boat to stop Jesus. They knew He was coming for them.

{Yawn} You can see how "concerned" Jesus was: HE WAS SLEEPING IN THE STERN OF THE BOAT ON A PILLOW!  That's because He is never concerned about anything the devil is doing.

His disciples, on the other hand, were terrified!  The boat was rapidly filling with water and they feared it would founder!  They rushed over to wake Jesus up.  He arose in response to the cries of His loved ones and rebuked the wind.  All He said was one word in Hebrew:  SHALOM.  

Afterward it says in the Greek text that there was a "MEGA CALM."

The disciples were even more frightened than before!  “But He {Jesus} said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Mark 4:40-41

He was amazed at their response because they had seen countless multitudes healed of every kind of disease, had a front-row seat as crowds of people were fed from 5 loaves of bread and 2 tiny fish the size if sardines!  

These things didn't just happen once; there were so many miracles that the scriptures say there are not enough books in the world to contain an account of them all!  You get He was incredulous!

Some Amy not realize the countless miracles He did because The Holy Spirit has only recorded 33 min order to paint pictures for us of this wonderful Jesus.  He was quite amused that they were shocked when He calmed the storm with one word.

Amazingly, this event was foretold in one of the blessing Jacob spoke over his sons.  Gad, like his brother, Benjamin, must have thought his Dad had a screw loose when he heard the following words:

Genesis 49:19 “Gad, a troop {a legion} shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last."  

A troop shall what???  "Tramp on him?  That's more than 6,000 soldiers!  Now where have we seen that number before?!  Oh yes; that's the number of demons in that man!  

You see, there are prophetic elements in all the blessing over his sons.  The Holy Spirit was painting beautiful pictures of Jesus for us!

Lest anyone, believer or not, feel that they are beyond redemption or that they're too far gone, do you think you could ever be worse off than this demoniac?  In order to be possessed by that many demons, he had obviously “dabbled” in a lot of really things of the world for quite some time.  At last, however, he got so tangled up with evil that NO ONE could help him.  

No one, that is, but Jesus.  

Jesus LOVES US!  He knows each and every one of us and calls us BY NAME.  If you call out to Him, He will make a "B-line" toward you too, just for the asking.  It doesn’t matter what problem or situation you’re in right now or how bad you've been.  He will redeem you out of it, even if it's of your own making.

Look at what happened after this man was  delivered:  He went and preached the Gospel in 10 cities!  I guarantee you MANY came to believe in Jesus because of his incredible story.

If you already know this wonderful Jesus, you, like me, have been no doubt been delivered you out of many things.  If not, all you need to do is ask Him to save you and to redeem you out of it.  

Then GO; Tell someone else your story.  Tell them about YOUR JESUS.  

I guarantee it:  Somebody out there needs to hear your story.

The Gifts And Fruits Of The Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

"And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal."

Our Heavenly Father is such a great Dad!  He has provided everything we need to walk out our Christian life in the 9 gifts and 9 fruits of the Spirit. They're recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 and Galatians 5:22-23, respectively.

The gifts fall into three categories: Three you "say."  Three you "know."  Three you "do." 

They are listed this way in the text:

Say 

1. WORD OF WISDOM

2. WORD OF KNOWLEDGE 

3. PROPHECY 

Know 

4. DISCERNING OF SPIRITS 

5. TONGUES 

6. INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES. 

Do 

7. GIFTS {plural} OF HEALING(S) {plural}

8. WORKING OF MIRACLES
9. FAITH 

The 9 fruits also fall into three categories. Three are for the believer personally, three are for relating to others, and three concern relating to God.

Personal: 

1. LOVE 

2. JOY 

3. PEACE 

Relational:

4. LONG SUFFERING 

5. KINDNESS 

6. GOODNESS 

Relating to God: 

7. FAITHFULNESS 

8. GENTLENESS 

9. SELF CONTROL

The gifts and fruits are meant to be used together in a complementary fashion.  There is a beautiful picture of how to accomplish this hidden in types and shadows in the Old Testament.  Have you ever heard that the New Testament is the Old revealed and the Old is the New concealed?  All the above depicted in the most surprising place!

Bells And Pomegranates.

As you know, everything in the New Testament has a shadow representation in the Old.  The gifts and fruits are found in the most interesting and, probably, the mist unexpected place:  The garments of the high priest!

Exodus 28:33-35
And upon its hem (of the High Priest's garment) you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around:  a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around.  And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord and when he comes out, that he may not die."

(To read about the colors mentioned and their meaning, follow this link:  https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/colors-of-the-ephod-part-3-high-priests-garments-series/)

God's instructions for the bells and pomegranates on the hem of the high priest's garments show us how the gifts and fruits are to be used.  

Pomegranates? Why pomegranates and why did God have them put them on the hem?  The Song of Solomon in 6 verse 7 gives us a clue:
"Like a piece of pomegranate Are your temples behind your veil." 

No, the Shulamite did not have bruises on her temples. Pomegranates have many seeds. Seeds are a typology of our thoughts. Many seeds: Many thoughts.  The juice of the pomegranate seed, being a deep red color, shows us that, in Christ, every one of our thoughts are bathed in and redeemed by the blood of our precious Jesus!  HALLELUJAH!

So what's the deal with the bells?  Bells are a herald of news which can be good or bad. In this case, these golden bells sing out the GOOD NEWS that we have a High Priest who advocates for us to the Father.  Again, HALLELUJAH! 

At the hem of the high priest's garment the bells and pomegranates were placed in alternating fashion,:  Bell, fruit; bell fruit.  It depicts the gifts and fruits working together in harmony. 

Why are they on the hem and not somewhere else?  What is nearest the hem?  His feet.  What do you do with your feet?  WALK or stand.  They were near his feet so that, as he walked, the bells would make a joyful, gentle, pleasant sound.  

As high priest, he was a shadow representation of our Lord Jesus.  After He came and shed His blood, the veil that separated Israel from God was torn giving us those who believe full and unrestricted access to God. 

You and I, Church, as spiritual Israel, are His priests in the world.  As we walk through life, we need to have the gifts and fruits operating in sweet, pleasant harmony, making a JOYFUL NOISE wherever we go.  As we walk, we share the gospel with people as well as minister to one another in His Name using those gifts and fruits. God gave them to us the gift and fruits to aide us in our Christian walk.  We walk them out wherever we go.  That's why it says in Isaiah 52:7,

"How beautiful upon the mountains

Are the FEET of him who brings good news,

Who proclaims peace,

Who brings glad tidings of good things,

Who proclaims salvation,

Who says to Zion,

“Your God reigns!"

(Bells and Pomegranates on the hem of the garment.)

The Gifts of the Spirit.

Here are the Gifts/Bells as they are recorded in 1 Corinthians. 12:8-10 

1. Word of wisdom; 2. Word of knowledge; 3. Faith; 4. Gift"s" of healing"s" (plural); 5. Working of miracles; 6. Prophecy; 7. Discerning of spirits; 8. Tongues; 9. Interpretation of tongues.

Now, here are the Fruits/Pomegranates in the order in which they are recorded in Galatians 5:22-23 

1. love 2. joy 3. peace 4. Long suffering 5. Kindness 6. Goodness 7. Faithfulness 8. Gentleness 9. Self-control

Gift #1 goes with fruit #1, i.e. word of wisdom with love. 

A word of wisdom is foreknowledge of a future event.  Here's an example: 

Suppose someone gets a word about a financial downturn. The people will feel loved and protected when it is given in such a way that they know that, in spite of what is happening in the world, that our Daddy always takes care of us.  We are His own so we need not fear.  The people know and understand that they are loved by God.  The word is not given or meant to frighten but to inform, and encourage and protect.  That is how a word of wisdom given in love. 

Notice, it's a "word," NOT a paragraph. Any more than that is none our business.

#2 gift goes with 2# fruit, i.e. "word of knowledge" with "joy." 
A word of knowledge, unlike wisdom, is of a present situation or current event. 

For example:  Suppose someone needed to be reconciled to another person who had wronged him and, in so doing, the person would be able to get the breakthrough for which he had been praying. 

That would be joyfully received! 

Again, it's a "word," NOT a "paragraph," because any more than that is TMI.  God is not running a gossip mill. 

#3 faith goes with #3, peace. 

When you step out in faith on anything, you feel God's leading because you have a sense of peace about it. I think you get the idea. 

The Dove.

These are all the gifts of The Holy Spirit. Did you ever wonder why He always appears like a Dove?  More word pictures!  The Dove has 9 primary feathers on each wing. When all the gifts and fruits are working together in harmony there is perfect balance. If only the gifts are operating, the Church is trying to fly straight with only one wing.  The same applies if only the fruits are operating.  The church flies straight when both are used in HARMONY. A bird with one wing can only fly in circles, going nowhere and accomplishing nothing. 

If only the gifts are operating, she is more like a "noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." Conversely, fruit without the gifts, too soft and "mushy." The Fruit harmonizes the sound of the Bells, making one's ministry acceptable, harmonious. 

Did you notice that there are Gifts (plural) of healings (plural)?   In the Church, there will be some who may have more success with touching those with back problems; others with lengthening of legs; others cancer, etc, many gift-s of healing-s.  The point is, healing isn't isolated to your church leadership or a select few; it's family-wide. 

Thank you, Daddy, for giving us the Holy Spirit and the wonderful Gifts and Fruits of the Spirit!