John 14:26 (Amplified) says, "But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by) the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf). He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."
There are so very many parts of the Holy Spirit's ministry and works that have gone unnoticed in today's Church. Jesus said that, "He, the Holy Spirit, was sent in His Name, in His place, to represent Him, and act on His behalf." We cannot receive and understand the full representation of Jesus in our walk, without receiving the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal Jesus in all His power, glory and Lordship in our lives today. He will not only reveal Jesus in His earthly walk, but the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus in His Heavenly Kingdom too. We miss most of what was paid for on Calvary with Jesus' Sacrifice without the Holy Spirit's revelation. Many people just plan to "live right and go to heaven." Although, both things are correct and should be observed, they are far from representing what Jesus said He would do. Without the Holy Spirit's conveying this truth into our heart, we fail in the first goal of "living right." Good works aren't "being right with God," but being righteous in God brings forth good works.
As Christians, our goal of course is "going to heaven." Although this is to be our destination through Jesus, the Holy Spirit will teach us to bring heaven to earth on the behalf of others and ourselves. The Holy Spirit is also our Counselor and according to John 14:26 (Amplified), when we wisdom and counsel in our walk with God, then He is the One Who will provide it. Remember that He has come to "Act on behalf of Jesus." Isaiah 9:6 (Amplified) says, "His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor." In this place of representation, it's the same as Jesus speaking wisdom and counsel to us through the Holy Spirit.
In John 14:27 Jesus said He would give us, "His Peace." Isaiah 9:6 calls Jesus "The Prince of Peace." This peace is distributed to our hearts by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also our "Helper." He is our "Ever present help in our time of need." He is also our Intercessor, according to Romans 8:26-27 (Amplified) which says, "So too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer, nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance." [He is also called our "Advocate," in John 14:26]. Verse 27 goes on, "And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the Holy Spirit (what His intent is) because the Holy Spirit intercedes and pleads (before God) in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will."
1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) tells us, "For one who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the Holy Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to the understanding)." 1Corinthians 2:12-13 (Amplified) says, "Now we have not received the Spirit (that belongs to) the world, but the Holy Spirit Who is from God (given to us), that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts (of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly) bestowed on us by God. And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Holy Spirit combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language (to those who possess the Holy Spirit)."
We see from these scriptures that the Holy Spirit interprets the Word of God in spiritual "Truth." Men, in their wisdom, cannot interpret the truth or revelation of the "Life" in the Word, but can only define the Word in carnal understanding.
John 14:26 says that the Holy Spirit is our "Strengthener." Paul writes to the Church in Ephesians 6:18 (Amplified) saying, "Be strong in the Lord (be empowered through your union with Him) draw your strength from Him (that Strength which His boundless might provides)." Paul admonishes in Ephesians 6:18 (Amplified), "Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all (manner of) prayer and entreaty, To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people)."
Without the Holy Spirit standing in His place on behalf of Jesus and the Church, we have very little to hold us together. Many Christ think of Jesus as being seated in heaven and not really available here on earth like we want Him to be. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit came, "In [My] Name, in My place, to represent Me, and act on My behalf." The Holy Spirit is the One Who lives in us and moves through us and glorifies the Father and the Son by manifesting Himself through us.
We fail and fall short in too many areas of our Christian walk when we don't acknowledge the Holy Spirit. We mostly fail to think of the Holy Spirit in the terms Jesus spoke of Him. We mostly think of the Holy Spirit when speaking about the Gifts of the Spirit and speaking in tongues. Many dismiss the Holy Spirit as not "being for everyone" or as being "restricted." But, He is the One Who is sent to embody and empower and teach the family of God. This is a job that all of heaven has placed in the capable hands of the Holy Spirit to perform.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Lesson 52 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
The Church has been on this earth for two-thousand years and for most of that time, we never truly knew who we were in Christ. In these last days, the Holy Spirit has begun revealing Jesus to us ins such a way that the Church is coming into the glory of God's family. We never dared believe that we were anything more than "forgiven sinners." We read God's Word and continue seeing ourselves other than the way God sees us. We read the Word like we are "still just sinners." We rarely read God's Word as the "Redeemed of the Lord," but like those waiting to be redeemed still.
When I was a sinner, I found out how to be saved by reading God's Word. After I was saved, I found out that I was no longer a sinner, but I was a son of God. And, as a son of God, everything I read in the Word took on a whole new light. When the Word said that I was a "new creation," I simply believed what it said. If I am a new creation, then everything I used to be was gone and I was now in right standing with my Heavenly Father by the Sacrifice of Jesus.
For me to say that "I am still a sinner," is to imply to God that the Blood of Jesus wasn't enough to cleanse me. This is prideful to God. We've had it backwards for years concerning the meaning of pride and humility. Humbling ourselves under God's Mighty hand means that no matter how you feel or what you think, if God says you're righteous through Jesus, then true humility will bow to God's way. Pride says though, that you're still unrighteous.
If we're truly born again, then we are born of the same Seed or Word that Jesus was born of. The same seed will always produce the same result. You can never plant an acorn and get and apple tree. If Jesus is the Word (and you know He is), then when we were born again by the Word, that Seed still produced sons and daughters unto God.
We have God's Own attributes and His DNA flowing in us. It's not for when we get to heaven. The very same Holy Spirit Who lived in Jesus lives in every born again believer on earth. The Holy Spirit is waiting for us to acknowledge His presence in us and allow Him guide and empower us in these last times.
We have arrived at the time of our Lord's returning. The time of the harvest is at hand. The Church is faced with a ministry we have never been faced with before. We are now the very laborers who will reap the harvest that will fill the Father's house. To accomplish this, we must allow the Holy Spirit to live by God's grace in our lives like never before.
It's only through the Holy Spirit that we can achiever the signs and wonders the world needs to see to desperately in these last days. We've had many revivals throughout the years, but none can rival the move of what the Holy Spirit is about to do in our day. Those who will allow the Holy Spirit to do what He needs to do in this time, will step into the supernatural anointing of the last days work of harvest.
Even Jesus didn't get everyone to believe what He said, so He proved it by His works. We've believed that we only needed to preach the Word and the people would believe. Jesus said to, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; those that believe would be saved, those that did not would be damned (and these signs would follow those who believed)," in Mark 16. We are the generation that will have these "signs" manifested to the world. I don't have to tell you that sin is abounding throughout our nation and the world in these last days. Don't get your eyes fixed on the sin, but get your eyes fixed on God's grace. The Word says that, "Where iniquity does abound, the grace of God does much more abound." More sin, more grace.
The Lord showed me a vision of these last days. He was still sowing the Word by hand. He had a leather pouch hung by a strap around His shoulder and was "broadcasting" seed by hand. I watched as He moved through the field sowing and He showed me the horizon where hundreds of bright red combines were stacked stories high and hundreds of feet wide. They were all lined in a row and ready to reap the harvest. We've been sowing for a long time in this last days ministry. Many of the Seed of His Word has laid dormant, but His Word is "Incorruptible Seed" and still lives where we have sown it. When it all begins to "ripen" into live, then we will have a quick harvest. Amos 9:13 (Amplified) says, "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt (that is, everything heretofore barren and unfruitful shall overflow with spiritual blessing)."
This is the day for the manifestation of God's Spirit on this earth. We've entered into a time of demonstration of the Holy Spirit will happen like never before. Those who will yield themselves to His leading and will listen to His Voice will author the "Last Chapter" of the Book of Acts. The things we witnessed in the Book of Acts are only the beginning for the Church. "The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former house."
We're not leaving here with a whimper, but with a shout of glory! As Jesus prepares to "catch up" His Church, it will be with great power and with signs and wonders. Everyone will be able to see His glory as the Church is empower by His Holy Spirit. Many signs, wonders, healing and miracles will be an invitation for all people (from the least to the greatest) to see His glory. The time is now for the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit to be poured out on this planet like never before.
When I was a sinner, I found out how to be saved by reading God's Word. After I was saved, I found out that I was no longer a sinner, but I was a son of God. And, as a son of God, everything I read in the Word took on a whole new light. When the Word said that I was a "new creation," I simply believed what it said. If I am a new creation, then everything I used to be was gone and I was now in right standing with my Heavenly Father by the Sacrifice of Jesus.
For me to say that "I am still a sinner," is to imply to God that the Blood of Jesus wasn't enough to cleanse me. This is prideful to God. We've had it backwards for years concerning the meaning of pride and humility. Humbling ourselves under God's Mighty hand means that no matter how you feel or what you think, if God says you're righteous through Jesus, then true humility will bow to God's way. Pride says though, that you're still unrighteous.
If we're truly born again, then we are born of the same Seed or Word that Jesus was born of. The same seed will always produce the same result. You can never plant an acorn and get and apple tree. If Jesus is the Word (and you know He is), then when we were born again by the Word, that Seed still produced sons and daughters unto God.
We have God's Own attributes and His DNA flowing in us. It's not for when we get to heaven. The very same Holy Spirit Who lived in Jesus lives in every born again believer on earth. The Holy Spirit is waiting for us to acknowledge His presence in us and allow Him guide and empower us in these last times.
We have arrived at the time of our Lord's returning. The time of the harvest is at hand. The Church is faced with a ministry we have never been faced with before. We are now the very laborers who will reap the harvest that will fill the Father's house. To accomplish this, we must allow the Holy Spirit to live by God's grace in our lives like never before.
It's only through the Holy Spirit that we can achiever the signs and wonders the world needs to see to desperately in these last days. We've had many revivals throughout the years, but none can rival the move of what the Holy Spirit is about to do in our day. Those who will allow the Holy Spirit to do what He needs to do in this time, will step into the supernatural anointing of the last days work of harvest.
Even Jesus didn't get everyone to believe what He said, so He proved it by His works. We've believed that we only needed to preach the Word and the people would believe. Jesus said to, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; those that believe would be saved, those that did not would be damned (and these signs would follow those who believed)," in Mark 16. We are the generation that will have these "signs" manifested to the world. I don't have to tell you that sin is abounding throughout our nation and the world in these last days. Don't get your eyes fixed on the sin, but get your eyes fixed on God's grace. The Word says that, "Where iniquity does abound, the grace of God does much more abound." More sin, more grace.
The Lord showed me a vision of these last days. He was still sowing the Word by hand. He had a leather pouch hung by a strap around His shoulder and was "broadcasting" seed by hand. I watched as He moved through the field sowing and He showed me the horizon where hundreds of bright red combines were stacked stories high and hundreds of feet wide. They were all lined in a row and ready to reap the harvest. We've been sowing for a long time in this last days ministry. Many of the Seed of His Word has laid dormant, but His Word is "Incorruptible Seed" and still lives where we have sown it. When it all begins to "ripen" into live, then we will have a quick harvest. Amos 9:13 (Amplified) says, "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt (that is, everything heretofore barren and unfruitful shall overflow with spiritual blessing)."
This is the day for the manifestation of God's Spirit on this earth. We've entered into a time of demonstration of the Holy Spirit will happen like never before. Those who will yield themselves to His leading and will listen to His Voice will author the "Last Chapter" of the Book of Acts. The things we witnessed in the Book of Acts are only the beginning for the Church. "The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former house."
We're not leaving here with a whimper, but with a shout of glory! As Jesus prepares to "catch up" His Church, it will be with great power and with signs and wonders. Everyone will be able to see His glory as the Church is empower by His Holy Spirit. Many signs, wonders, healing and miracles will be an invitation for all people (from the least to the greatest) to see His glory. The time is now for the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit to be poured out on this planet like never before.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Lesson 51 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
We've been taught that we were excluded from God because of sin. God, however, never excluded us, but He was already preparing a way back into His presence. From the very moment Adam fell, the Lord spoke about our deliverance being put back in place. Genesis 3:15 (Amplified) says, "God said unto the serpent, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He will bruise and tread your head under foot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel."
God foretold the coming of Jesus for our restoration back into His presence, the moment Adam fell. We've believed that had become ugly in God's sight somehow, but nothing could be further from the truth. Adam and His Heavenly Father were in fellowship for perhaps thousands of years before the fall. Remember, time was still in the endless age of God until the fall of Adam. Adam's fall brought and end because of death.
Because of Jesus, we've been restored back into the age of innocence like Adam in the beginning. "Old things have passed away, and all things have been made new," according to 2Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified) which says, "Therefore if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether) the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come."
Did you notice that we've become a new creation? God has now spoken a "new creation" back into being, just like He spoke creation in the beginning. We're not only forgiven sinners, but we're new creations altogether. Both our moral and spiritual condition has passed away. We are morally clean and we're spiritually brand new.
By the indwelling of God's Spirit, we're back where we were intended to be from the beginning. The authority given to Adam was enhanced by the Authority Jesus retook. We're not only restored, but we've been placed in a better condition than Adam was. Genesis 1:28 (Amplified) says, "And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it (using all its vast resources in the service of God and man); and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth."
The authority of Adam was limited to the things of the earth. Through Jesus, we've been given a new authority that extends beyond Adam's authority. In John 16:15 (Amplified) Jesus said, "Everything that the Father has is Mine.
God foretold the coming of Jesus for our restoration back into His presence, the moment Adam fell. We've believed that had become ugly in God's sight somehow, but nothing could be further from the truth. Adam and His Heavenly Father were in fellowship for perhaps thousands of years before the fall. Remember, time was still in the endless age of God until the fall of Adam. Adam's fall brought and end because of death.
Because of Jesus, we've been restored back into the age of innocence like Adam in the beginning. "Old things have passed away, and all things have been made new," according to 2Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified) which says, "Therefore if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether) the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come."
Did you notice that we've become a new creation? God has now spoken a "new creation" back into being, just like He spoke creation in the beginning. We're not only forgiven sinners, but we're new creations altogether. Both our moral and spiritual condition has passed away. We are morally clean and we're spiritually brand new.
By the indwelling of God's Spirit, we're back where we were intended to be from the beginning. The authority given to Adam was enhanced by the Authority Jesus retook. We're not only restored, but we've been placed in a better condition than Adam was. Genesis 1:28 (Amplified) says, "And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it (using all its vast resources in the service of God and man); and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth."
The authority of Adam was limited to the things of the earth. Through Jesus, we've been given a new authority that extends beyond Adam's authority. In John 16:15 (Amplified) Jesus said, "Everything that the Father has is Mine.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Lesson 50 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
We've been looking at many things concerning the Holy Spirit and all these things are important. His most important work and ministry, though, is revealing the Lord Jesus Christ to us. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:26 (Amplified), "But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-By) the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf). He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."
This message wasn't true for only the four Gospels. Since Jesus is the Word, everything Paul received in the "third heaven" was the revelation and person of Jesus. Without the Holy Spirit's revealing Jesus to Paul (and his recording it in the Epistles), we would have no idea Who He really is in our lives. We sometimes believe that Jesus' ministry ended at the cross and His resurrection, but nothing can be further from the truth. The cross was where Jesus took our place of judgment for Adam's transgression and upon His entrance into heaven is where He placed us with Himself.
We believe we know everything there is to know about the cross. Mostly, though, we still see it from an earthly viewpoint and not the spirit. And, because we've failed to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus like He wishes too, we still identify more with the first Adam than with the Last Adam, Jesus. Because one man, Adam, all have sinned and died. Because of One Man, Jesus, all have been made righteous and alive again to God. Read Romans 5 and allow the Holy Spirit to show you Jesus as He is now.
If we would only allow the Holy Spirit reveal Jesus to us and in our lives today, then we would be able to walk in close fellowship with our Heavenly Father. We speak about how Jesus will "never leave us or forsake us" and then act like He has gone to heaven and left us behind. Ephesians 2:5-6 (Amplified) says, "Even when we were dead (slain) by (our own) shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ (He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him), for it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation)." Verse 6 goes on, "And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together (giving us joint-seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere (by virtue of us being) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
The Holy Spirit doesn't only reveal Jesus as the Man Jesus in His earthly walk, but He reveals the Risen Jesus Christ Who is now seated in the heavenlies with the Father. The Holy Spirit's ministry continues progressing and growing on earth as the revelation of Jesus the Christ is unveiled. Each new revealing of Jesus to the believer requires more of the Holy Spirit's anointing come into play in our earthly walk.
We can never grow to where we're supposed to be, until the Holy Spirit reveals that walk to us. It's hasn't been an easy task for Him to accomplish in the Church. When we don't really understand His ministry, we allow our carnal reasonings to leave God's Word void of power in our daily lives. Instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal our righteousness by our faith, we set out to establish our own righteousness by works. We can never make ourselves righteous, so we're always short of being where we wanted to be...in His presence.
\ Let's read 2Corinthians 6:1-2 (Amplified) in the context of the Holy Spirit's shedding light on the finished work of Jesus. Thus, it says, "Laboring together (as God's fellow workers) with Him then, we beg of you not to receive the grace of God in vain (that merciful kindness by which God exerts His Holy influence on souls and turns them to Christ, keeping and strengthening them-do not receive it to no purpose)." Verse 2 says, "In the time of favor (of an assured welcome) I have listened to and heeded your call, and I have helped you on the day of deliverance (the day of salvation). Behold, now is truly the time for a gracious welcome and acceptance (of you from God) behold, now is the day of salvation!"
You've already been welcomed and accepted by God through Christ Jesus. So, it's not "If" you are accepted, but it's "now you are" accepted by God. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the complete and masterful way in which Jesus has already made us holy, righteous, sanctified and always acceptable to God by His sacrifice. Without the Holy Spirit's revelation, we will continue seeing ourselves as being "outside" of the righteousness and right standing with God.
The greatest part of the Holy Spirit's ministry is revealing Jesus to the Church. The Word says that, "We are changed from glory to glory as we behold Him." Only the Holy Spirit can reveal Jesus in this glory to us.
This message wasn't true for only the four Gospels. Since Jesus is the Word, everything Paul received in the "third heaven" was the revelation and person of Jesus. Without the Holy Spirit's revealing Jesus to Paul (and his recording it in the Epistles), we would have no idea Who He really is in our lives. We sometimes believe that Jesus' ministry ended at the cross and His resurrection, but nothing can be further from the truth. The cross was where Jesus took our place of judgment for Adam's transgression and upon His entrance into heaven is where He placed us with Himself.
We believe we know everything there is to know about the cross. Mostly, though, we still see it from an earthly viewpoint and not the spirit. And, because we've failed to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus like He wishes too, we still identify more with the first Adam than with the Last Adam, Jesus. Because one man, Adam, all have sinned and died. Because of One Man, Jesus, all have been made righteous and alive again to God. Read Romans 5 and allow the Holy Spirit to show you Jesus as He is now.
If we would only allow the Holy Spirit reveal Jesus to us and in our lives today, then we would be able to walk in close fellowship with our Heavenly Father. We speak about how Jesus will "never leave us or forsake us" and then act like He has gone to heaven and left us behind. Ephesians 2:5-6 (Amplified) says, "Even when we were dead (slain) by (our own) shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ (He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him), for it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation)." Verse 6 goes on, "And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together (giving us joint-seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere (by virtue of us being) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
The Holy Spirit doesn't only reveal Jesus as the Man Jesus in His earthly walk, but He reveals the Risen Jesus Christ Who is now seated in the heavenlies with the Father. The Holy Spirit's ministry continues progressing and growing on earth as the revelation of Jesus the Christ is unveiled. Each new revealing of Jesus to the believer requires more of the Holy Spirit's anointing come into play in our earthly walk.
We can never grow to where we're supposed to be, until the Holy Spirit reveals that walk to us. It's hasn't been an easy task for Him to accomplish in the Church. When we don't really understand His ministry, we allow our carnal reasonings to leave God's Word void of power in our daily lives. Instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal our righteousness by our faith, we set out to establish our own righteousness by works. We can never make ourselves righteous, so we're always short of being where we wanted to be...in His presence.
\ Let's read 2Corinthians 6:1-2 (Amplified) in the context of the Holy Spirit's shedding light on the finished work of Jesus. Thus, it says, "Laboring together (as God's fellow workers) with Him then, we beg of you not to receive the grace of God in vain (that merciful kindness by which God exerts His Holy influence on souls and turns them to Christ, keeping and strengthening them-do not receive it to no purpose)." Verse 2 says, "In the time of favor (of an assured welcome) I have listened to and heeded your call, and I have helped you on the day of deliverance (the day of salvation). Behold, now is truly the time for a gracious welcome and acceptance (of you from God) behold, now is the day of salvation!"
You've already been welcomed and accepted by God through Christ Jesus. So, it's not "If" you are accepted, but it's "now you are" accepted by God. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the complete and masterful way in which Jesus has already made us holy, righteous, sanctified and always acceptable to God by His sacrifice. Without the Holy Spirit's revelation, we will continue seeing ourselves as being "outside" of the righteousness and right standing with God.
The greatest part of the Holy Spirit's ministry is revealing Jesus to the Church. The Word says that, "We are changed from glory to glory as we behold Him." Only the Holy Spirit can reveal Jesus in this glory to us.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Lesson 49 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
John 16:13 (Amplified) says, "But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the truth giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all truth (the whole, full truth) For He will not speak His Own message (on His Own authority) but He will tell whatever He hears (from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him); and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come (that will happen in the future)."
John 14:10 (Amplified) says, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? What I am telling you I do not say on My Own authority and of My Own accord, but the Father Who lives continually in Me does the (His) works (His Own miracles, deeds of power)."
Jesus tells His followers above, that the very same message the Father gave Him, is the very same message the Father will speak to us through the Holy Spirit. It's the Father is us Who does the works and the gives the Words we speak. Because the Holy Spirit is the same Spirit of Truth Who spoke through Jesus, He is now speaking to and through us by the Father.
Hebrews 1:1-3 (Amplified) says that, "In many separate revelations (each of which set forth a portion of the truth) and in different ways God spoke of old to (our) forefathers in and by the prophets. (But) in the last of these days He has spoken to us in (the person of a ) Son; Whom He appointed Heir and Lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time (He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them in order)." Verse 3 says, "He is the Sole Expression of the Glory of God (the Light-Being, the out raying or radiance of the Divine), and He is the perfect imprint and very Image of (God's) nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty Word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the Divine Majesty on High."
The Father Who spoke to us through Jesus is the same Father Who is speaking to us by His Holy Spirit. It's the same Words, the same power, the same Spirit and we are to only speak His Word and do as we see Him do. We can see what the Father does by watching what Jesus did. It was and is, the Father in Him Who did the works.
We can clearly see what the Father is doing when we examine Jesus' actions. We've been taught and have heard that "one can never know what God will do" and that "It might not be God's will to heal sometimes." If we watch Jesus, then we can clearly see what the Father's will is towards healing and delivering the oppressed. We cannot find one instant where Jesus failed to heal or deliver anyone who came to Him. In fact, there were people who were healed by only their response to His presence.
The woman with the issue of blood and blind Bartimaeus received their healing and deliverance simply by stopping Jesus as He passed by them. The only way we will ever know our Father on this side of heaven, is to know Jesus. Jesus is after all, the Father wrapped in flesh, right?
It's always been God's will to heal and bless His people. Under the old covenant, God was hindered by the lack of Life in the people's spirit because those in the old covenant were not "made alive" by the Holy Spirit. They weren't born again by the Holy Spirit, so God had to deal with them as merely flesh and blood people. He had deal from the outside in, instead of the inside out. The way of the old covenant was the best God could do until He could get Jesus on earth. Jesus spoke of this when He told the Scribes and Pharisees they were "white washed tombs." They were clean on the outside, but were filled with dead men's bones on the inside.
Now, we're under the new covenant and God can (and does) speak and live directly into our born again spirit, according to Romans 8:14 (Amplified) which says, "As many are led of the Spirit, these are the sons of God." Thus, it says, "Now, as sons of God, we are to walk, and speak, and act, as Jesus did when He was in His earthly ministry." Jesus was the prototype of what God's Own family was to be in the creation. God never intended for His family to be under subjection to the devil and sin.
We were created by our Father with the very same seed as Jesus was...the Word of God. 1Peter 1:23-25 (Amplified) says, "You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin (seed,sperm), but from One that is immortal by the everliving and lasting Word of God." Verse 24 says, "For all flesh (mankind) is like grass, and all its glory (honor) like (the) flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower drops off." Verse 25 says, "But the Word of the Lord (Divine instruction, the Gospel) endures forever. And this Word is the good news which was preached to you."
The Word (which is Spirit), is what has caused us to be born again and new creations. 1Peter 1:4-5 (Amplified) says, "(Born a new) into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay (imperishable), unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you. Who are guarded (garrisoned) by God's power through (your) faith (til you fully inherit that final) salvation that is ready to be revealed (for you) in the last time." This "final salvation" is to the the glorified body that we will receive at the Lord's coming or our earthly death.
Until we receive our new body, we are to walk in this one like Jesus did in His earthly reign. We've been lied to by satan (shocker !) for nearly two thousand years about who we are and what we are on this earth. It hasn't been God holding out on us, but we haven't known what He truly expects us to be. In the beginning, we were made in His Image and in His Likeness. Through Jesus, we have now become new creations made in His Image and in His Likeness. We're not only made like Adam, but we're made in the Image and Likeness of the Last Adam, Jesus. This last Adam, Who is Jesus, is on a higher plane than the first Adam.
Hebrews 1:2 (Amplified) says, "But in the Last of these days, He has spoken to us in (the Person of a) Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of All Things." The first Adam wasn't "Heir and lawful owner of all things." Now, as Joint-heirs with Christ, we've inherited much more than the first Adam. The authority the first Adam held was limited, but the Last Adam, Jesus, is as Heir of All Things.
We are now offspring of the Seed of the Last Adam, the Word of God, like we were supposed to be the offspring of Adam before the fall. Because the first Adam was a supernatural being and was to walk "naturally supernatural," we too are supernatural beings and are to walk "naturally supernatural."
John 14:10 (Amplified) says, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? What I am telling you I do not say on My Own authority and of My Own accord, but the Father Who lives continually in Me does the (His) works (His Own miracles, deeds of power)."
Jesus tells His followers above, that the very same message the Father gave Him, is the very same message the Father will speak to us through the Holy Spirit. It's the Father is us Who does the works and the gives the Words we speak. Because the Holy Spirit is the same Spirit of Truth Who spoke through Jesus, He is now speaking to and through us by the Father.
Hebrews 1:1-3 (Amplified) says that, "In many separate revelations (each of which set forth a portion of the truth) and in different ways God spoke of old to (our) forefathers in and by the prophets. (But) in the last of these days He has spoken to us in (the person of a ) Son; Whom He appointed Heir and Lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time (He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them in order)." Verse 3 says, "He is the Sole Expression of the Glory of God (the Light-Being, the out raying or radiance of the Divine), and He is the perfect imprint and very Image of (God's) nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty Word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the Divine Majesty on High."
The Father Who spoke to us through Jesus is the same Father Who is speaking to us by His Holy Spirit. It's the same Words, the same power, the same Spirit and we are to only speak His Word and do as we see Him do. We can see what the Father does by watching what Jesus did. It was and is, the Father in Him Who did the works.
We can clearly see what the Father is doing when we examine Jesus' actions. We've been taught and have heard that "one can never know what God will do" and that "It might not be God's will to heal sometimes." If we watch Jesus, then we can clearly see what the Father's will is towards healing and delivering the oppressed. We cannot find one instant where Jesus failed to heal or deliver anyone who came to Him. In fact, there were people who were healed by only their response to His presence.
The woman with the issue of blood and blind Bartimaeus received their healing and deliverance simply by stopping Jesus as He passed by them. The only way we will ever know our Father on this side of heaven, is to know Jesus. Jesus is after all, the Father wrapped in flesh, right?
It's always been God's will to heal and bless His people. Under the old covenant, God was hindered by the lack of Life in the people's spirit because those in the old covenant were not "made alive" by the Holy Spirit. They weren't born again by the Holy Spirit, so God had to deal with them as merely flesh and blood people. He had deal from the outside in, instead of the inside out. The way of the old covenant was the best God could do until He could get Jesus on earth. Jesus spoke of this when He told the Scribes and Pharisees they were "white washed tombs." They were clean on the outside, but were filled with dead men's bones on the inside.
Now, we're under the new covenant and God can (and does) speak and live directly into our born again spirit, according to Romans 8:14 (Amplified) which says, "As many are led of the Spirit, these are the sons of God." Thus, it says, "Now, as sons of God, we are to walk, and speak, and act, as Jesus did when He was in His earthly ministry." Jesus was the prototype of what God's Own family was to be in the creation. God never intended for His family to be under subjection to the devil and sin.
We were created by our Father with the very same seed as Jesus was...the Word of God. 1Peter 1:23-25 (Amplified) says, "You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin (seed,sperm), but from One that is immortal by the everliving and lasting Word of God." Verse 24 says, "For all flesh (mankind) is like grass, and all its glory (honor) like (the) flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower drops off." Verse 25 says, "But the Word of the Lord (Divine instruction, the Gospel) endures forever. And this Word is the good news which was preached to you."
The Word (which is Spirit), is what has caused us to be born again and new creations. 1Peter 1:4-5 (Amplified) says, "(Born a new) into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay (imperishable), unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you. Who are guarded (garrisoned) by God's power through (your) faith (til you fully inherit that final) salvation that is ready to be revealed (for you) in the last time." This "final salvation" is to the the glorified body that we will receive at the Lord's coming or our earthly death.
Until we receive our new body, we are to walk in this one like Jesus did in His earthly reign. We've been lied to by satan (shocker !) for nearly two thousand years about who we are and what we are on this earth. It hasn't been God holding out on us, but we haven't known what He truly expects us to be. In the beginning, we were made in His Image and in His Likeness. Through Jesus, we have now become new creations made in His Image and in His Likeness. We're not only made like Adam, but we're made in the Image and Likeness of the Last Adam, Jesus. This last Adam, Who is Jesus, is on a higher plane than the first Adam.
Hebrews 1:2 (Amplified) says, "But in the Last of these days, He has spoken to us in (the Person of a) Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of All Things." The first Adam wasn't "Heir and lawful owner of all things." Now, as Joint-heirs with Christ, we've inherited much more than the first Adam. The authority the first Adam held was limited, but the Last Adam, Jesus, is as Heir of All Things.
We are now offspring of the Seed of the Last Adam, the Word of God, like we were supposed to be the offspring of Adam before the fall. Because the first Adam was a supernatural being and was to walk "naturally supernatural," we too are supernatural beings and are to walk "naturally supernatural."
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Lesson 48 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
We've spent a significant amount of time learning about the Holy Spirit because this is His Dispensation of the ministry. When Jesus ascended to heaven, after finishing His earthly ministry, He entered into the ministry of High Priest and Lord of all. He would seat Himself at the Father's right hand and would be our Advocate in the heavens. He had settled the sin problem and the righteousness problem, as well as the whole curse of the Law and the old covenant or the Law. He had brought about the Blood and Body needed for our cleansing by His Own self as our Sacrifice.
When Jesus had been raised from the dead as the First Fruits offering, He made the new birth available to all who will believe in Him. We could now be born again by the Holy Spirit Who as sent by the Father to indwell His new family. We would no longer be dead in trespass and sin, but would be brand new creations of the Father. We have the Holy Spirit to lead us by His indwelling presence instead of the Law making us obey.
Once the Holy Spirit was introduced to the world, there would never be the need for another sacrifice for our sins and trespasses, nor would there be any need for our lack of understanding His will. The Holy Spirit would now be available to everyone who will receive Him. And, He will live inside us just like Jesus was and is living inside us.
The Father would no longer be locked into the Holy of Holies, but has now made us the Holy of Holies to live in and walk in. He would now be our God and we would be His people. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, God could be revealed to us as Father, like He was to Jesus. This Awesome God would be revealed by the Holy Spirit, as Abba, Father!
The new ministry (which is our new covenant) would make us no longer servants, but children who are born again in His Image and Likeness like it was in the beginning. Now the Holy Spirit works to remove the old image from our eyes and reveal what our new image is to be. We would no longer see what religion dictated, but see a new creature that the Jesus' sacrifice cleansed us and made us to be.
The Holy Spirit's ministry came to Him by the Father Himself. The Holy Spirit will not speak His Own message, but that which the Father has given Him. We now must read the Word of God in a new and different manner than before. As sinners, we heard the Holy Spirit speak to us as the unsaved and speak to bring us into the family by faith in Jesus. For those of us who believed, He had to reveal who we are now in the Father's House and Eyes.
We've made the Holy Spirit's ministry more difficult because we were slow to believe. We've remained focused more on who we once were instead of who we've been made to be in God's eyes through Jesus. It's been a long and tender work of the Holy Spirit to show us, through Jesus, that "Old things have passed away and all things have now become new, our sin and iniquity He will remember no more" and how we've been made righteous and in right standing with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The Holy Spirit reveals that this righteousness is not our own, but is God's Own righteousness given to us by His gift of grace. It wasn't something we could earn or deserve or could obtain on our own, but a gift of God by His love for us.
This is why the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit is so very important. Man's carnal mind cannot comprehend this. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal and convince us, through His presence within us, that this isn't based on our righteousness, but on His righteousness. Only God is righteous and it's His righteousness that has been given to us. If it's His righteousness that we have, then how can you ever hope to improve on that?
Once the Holy Spirit has shown us that we are righteous in God's eyes, His next assignment is teaching us that we have access to everything God has for us, through Jesus. We are skeptical about being worthy to be healed, blessed or that God will even hear us when we pray. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all the truth and show us who we've become through Jesus.
We've spent so many years being under the condemnation of our past, we cannot see the liberty of who we are. Being under condemnation of our past seems pious to the carnal mind, but it's really being full of self pride and exalting ourselves higher than the Sacrifice of Jesus that made us righteous.
It's through the ministry of the Holy Spirit that we can ever come to the knowledge of what Jesus has made us to be. Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Therefore (there is) NOW no condemnation (no adjusting guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live (and) walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life (which is) in Christ Jesus (the law of our new being) has freed me from the law of sin and of death."
Without the Holy Spirit's revealing the truth of the scriptures, we think the above truth is for some time in the future and not for now. We still believe we're not to forget for a moment that "we're still sinners who were saved by grace." Do you see? Without the Holy Spirit revealing this truth to us, we get saved by the Sacrifice of the Blood of Jesus and still see ourselves like we were instead of who He has made us to be.
It's only the Holy Spirit Who can unfold the full truth of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. We seem to be afraid to believe this truth. Even some of the brethren have made railing accusations against those believing this revelation. Joshua and Caleb dared believe God's call to "Take the land!" They were reproached by the rest of the Isrealites, but they were right when everyone else said they were wrong. God honored their faith and their uncompromising stand on His Word and sent them forth as captains to take the Promised Land.
The work and ministry of the Holy Spirit will continue until the coming of the Lord. He will still be challenging and teaching us new and great things about our Lord and what our Lord has done on our behalf. The place that our Father has raised us into and has delivered into our hands, is so far beyond what we can ever think or imagine and only the Holy Spirit can reveal these things in our lives. Our old man remains dead unto God and only the new creation we've been made into is alive in Him. The old, dead man cannot receive even the things written in these blogs, but if you allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate these truths to you, then He will lift you up.
When Jesus had been raised from the dead as the First Fruits offering, He made the new birth available to all who will believe in Him. We could now be born again by the Holy Spirit Who as sent by the Father to indwell His new family. We would no longer be dead in trespass and sin, but would be brand new creations of the Father. We have the Holy Spirit to lead us by His indwelling presence instead of the Law making us obey.
Once the Holy Spirit was introduced to the world, there would never be the need for another sacrifice for our sins and trespasses, nor would there be any need for our lack of understanding His will. The Holy Spirit would now be available to everyone who will receive Him. And, He will live inside us just like Jesus was and is living inside us.
The Father would no longer be locked into the Holy of Holies, but has now made us the Holy of Holies to live in and walk in. He would now be our God and we would be His people. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, God could be revealed to us as Father, like He was to Jesus. This Awesome God would be revealed by the Holy Spirit, as Abba, Father!
The new ministry (which is our new covenant) would make us no longer servants, but children who are born again in His Image and Likeness like it was in the beginning. Now the Holy Spirit works to remove the old image from our eyes and reveal what our new image is to be. We would no longer see what religion dictated, but see a new creature that the Jesus' sacrifice cleansed us and made us to be.
The Holy Spirit's ministry came to Him by the Father Himself. The Holy Spirit will not speak His Own message, but that which the Father has given Him. We now must read the Word of God in a new and different manner than before. As sinners, we heard the Holy Spirit speak to us as the unsaved and speak to bring us into the family by faith in Jesus. For those of us who believed, He had to reveal who we are now in the Father's House and Eyes.
We've made the Holy Spirit's ministry more difficult because we were slow to believe. We've remained focused more on who we once were instead of who we've been made to be in God's eyes through Jesus. It's been a long and tender work of the Holy Spirit to show us, through Jesus, that "Old things have passed away and all things have now become new, our sin and iniquity He will remember no more" and how we've been made righteous and in right standing with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The Holy Spirit reveals that this righteousness is not our own, but is God's Own righteousness given to us by His gift of grace. It wasn't something we could earn or deserve or could obtain on our own, but a gift of God by His love for us.
This is why the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit is so very important. Man's carnal mind cannot comprehend this. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal and convince us, through His presence within us, that this isn't based on our righteousness, but on His righteousness. Only God is righteous and it's His righteousness that has been given to us. If it's His righteousness that we have, then how can you ever hope to improve on that?
Once the Holy Spirit has shown us that we are righteous in God's eyes, His next assignment is teaching us that we have access to everything God has for us, through Jesus. We are skeptical about being worthy to be healed, blessed or that God will even hear us when we pray. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all the truth and show us who we've become through Jesus.
We've spent so many years being under the condemnation of our past, we cannot see the liberty of who we are. Being under condemnation of our past seems pious to the carnal mind, but it's really being full of self pride and exalting ourselves higher than the Sacrifice of Jesus that made us righteous.
It's through the ministry of the Holy Spirit that we can ever come to the knowledge of what Jesus has made us to be. Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Therefore (there is) NOW no condemnation (no adjusting guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live (and) walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life (which is) in Christ Jesus (the law of our new being) has freed me from the law of sin and of death."
Without the Holy Spirit's revealing the truth of the scriptures, we think the above truth is for some time in the future and not for now. We still believe we're not to forget for a moment that "we're still sinners who were saved by grace." Do you see? Without the Holy Spirit revealing this truth to us, we get saved by the Sacrifice of the Blood of Jesus and still see ourselves like we were instead of who He has made us to be.
It's only the Holy Spirit Who can unfold the full truth of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. We seem to be afraid to believe this truth. Even some of the brethren have made railing accusations against those believing this revelation. Joshua and Caleb dared believe God's call to "Take the land!" They were reproached by the rest of the Isrealites, but they were right when everyone else said they were wrong. God honored their faith and their uncompromising stand on His Word and sent them forth as captains to take the Promised Land.
The work and ministry of the Holy Spirit will continue until the coming of the Lord. He will still be challenging and teaching us new and great things about our Lord and what our Lord has done on our behalf. The place that our Father has raised us into and has delivered into our hands, is so far beyond what we can ever think or imagine and only the Holy Spirit can reveal these things in our lives. Our old man remains dead unto God and only the new creation we've been made into is alive in Him. The old, dead man cannot receive even the things written in these blogs, but if you allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate these truths to you, then He will lift you up.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Lesson 47 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
John 4:24 (Amplified) says, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being) and those that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth (reality)." Matthew 3:16-17 (Amplified) says, "And when Jesus was baptized, He went up at once out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he (John) saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is My Son, My Beloved, in Whom I delight."
In John 14:26 (Amplified) Jesus tells His disciples, "But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by) the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf). He will teach you all things; And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."
Jesus says in John 14:12 (Amplified), "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do, and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father."
I write out the scriptures so that everyone can read them here and know what the Word of the Lord says for themselves. Religion says that "No one can do the greater works that Jesus spoke of." The greater work that Jesus spoke about is getting a man born again. Jesus couldn't get a man born again during His earthly ministry because while He was on earth and hadn't yet gone to the cross as our Sacrifice, the new birth couldn't come about. We are equipped by the Name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit to do the works that He had done because we now have the Father living in us just like He did in Jesus.
Jesus Himself told His followers that, "It is not Me but the Father in Me that does the works." This same, Awesome Holy Spirit has come to live in us like He did in Jesus. The power of the Holy Spirit hasn't diminished in the slightest, but because we haven't learned otherwise, we limit His ministry. There have been numerous divisions and fissures in the Church over "new teachings" and "revelation knowledge" being received as truth.
One of the most significant things from Jesus's ministry has almost been completely overlooked and is found in John 3:34 (Amplified) which says, "For since He Whom God has sent speaks the Words of God (proclaims God's Own message) God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless of the gift God makes of His Spirit." He also says in John 6:63 (Amplified), It is the Spirit Who gives life (He is the life giver); the flesh conveys no benefits whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
We've never been taught to speak only in accordance with God's Word and those who do so have been ridiculed for doing so. Jesus said, I only speak what the Father tells Me to speak." We've heard the phrases, "Name it and claim it" and "Blab it and grab it" before. There are certainly some who misuse this gift of power and have brought reproach and doubt upon this truth. It remains, however, a powerful truth.
Wisdom from the Holy Spirit will teach us how to speak God's Word in power and in truth. Most babies learn to walk before learning to talk. Words are the most powerful things that men have ever had available for producing, controlling, building, destroying, blessing or cursing and the Church has power in what we say through the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.
After all, isn't Jesus called the "Word of God made flesh?" Is He now any less than the Word of God than He was as Genesis 1 says, "In the beginning was the Word?" When we speak the Word, we speak the life of Jesus over anyone or anything we're speaking to.
The Holy Spirit empowers the words that we speak and He only will confirm that which is of God. If you're not speaking scripture, then you should speak in line with the scripture. How can the Holy Spirit empower words that contradict God's Word? How can He uphold things that are against the covenant of God?
Jesus said that, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father." God's will should be so open and known to the Church and easy for the Church to know. If Jesus didn't do something, then God doesn't do it. If Jesus healed people, then God heals. Where did we arrive with so many misconceptions and wrong views of our Father? We should only need to watch what Jesus did and Who He is and then we would know the Father.
The Holy Spirit is here to reveal God and life to a dying and lost world. He's been poured out and into the Church so that we should be the light and salt to the earth. The limits we've placed on the Holy Spirit have been a burden on His ministry. Some might say, "God will just do whatever He wants to do anyway, so..." It is true that it's going to come out the way God says it would, but we were to be included in this ministry.
I never want the Holy Spirit to bypass me in God's last days movements. I want to be in a position for the Holy Spirit to be unlimited in my life. One of the things I must do in order to become a candidate for this to occur, is to watch my words. I'm often reminded of Psalm 2 when thinking of this generation. We're "supposed to be politically correct." The governments and worldly people are to watch over their words and some Christians agree.
The Lord tells us how He views what we do with our words in Psalm 12:2-8 (Amplified) which says, "To his neighbor each one speak words without use or worth or truth; with flattering lips and double heart (deceitfully) they speak. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongues that speak proud boasting. Those who say, with our tongues we prevail; our lips are our own (to command at our will) who is Lord and master over us?"
Many believe that those in the Church who believe these truths are "fanatics and hyper faith people" and that it really doesn't matter what we say. The Word says that, "The Holy Spirit watches over the Word of God to perform it." He doesn't watch over "my words," but His Words. My tongue is "not mine to command," according to the above scripture.
How can the Holy Spirit make you sick when "He sent His Word to heal and deliver us," like Psalm 107:20 says? Many of our brothers have received a "spirit of infirmity" to teach them, instead of the Holy Spirit. Many well meaning, but misinformed ministers have taught throughout the years that God sent a sickness to teach us something. The Holy Spirit would say, "It's My job to teach you."
The Holy Spirit cannot and will not empower our words of death, weakness and sickness. There is, however, one who will take these words and use them to his advantage in your life. The Holy Spirit will only empower God's Word and not your word. He is prepared to "Reap that which we sow" because words are seeds. Matthew 4:14 (Amplified) says, "The sower sows the word." Words are seeds. All words are seeds. We have seeds of poison ivy and seeds of roses and beauty. Both seeds will grow with equal vigor when planted or sown. The soil doesn't discriminate which seed it wants to grow. It will grow whichever seed that "falls into the soil."
We have allowed seeds of unbelief and doubt to be sown into our soil (or heart) and it has choked out the seed of truth. Romans 3:12-18 (Amplified) says, "All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one. Their throat is a yawning grave, they use their tongues to deceive (to mislead and to deal treacherously) the venom of asps is beneath their lips, their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood." Verses 16-18 go on, "Destruction (as it dashed them to pieces) and misery marks their way. And they have no experience of the way of peace (they nothing about peace, for a peaceful way they do not ever recognize) There is no (reverential) fear of God before their eyes."
These scriptures are true for both the world and the Church., if we will continually speak them forth. Only God's Word will prevail and bring forth life, healing, power, peace, salvation, righteousness and the glory of God, because the Holy Spirit, in His ministry, will only watch over God's Word to perform it. The rest of the seeds (words) will produce the same crops the world has harvested for thousands of years. If you plant poison ivy, then you will get poison ivy. Poison ivy (words) will never produce sweet corn, potatoes or anything other than poison ivy.
No matter how much He wishes to help us, the Holy Spirit cannot change the seeds once they are sown. Galatians 6:7-8 (Amplified) says, "Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside) (He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God) For whatever a man sows, that and only that is what he will reap."
It's Verse 8 that reveals the full measure of our words (seeds). Thus, it says, "Speak the seed of the world and reap the harvest of the world. Sow to the Kingdom (God's Word) and reap to the spirit."
In John 14:26 (Amplified) Jesus tells His disciples, "But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by) the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf). He will teach you all things; And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."
Jesus says in John 14:12 (Amplified), "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do, and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father."
I write out the scriptures so that everyone can read them here and know what the Word of the Lord says for themselves. Religion says that "No one can do the greater works that Jesus spoke of." The greater work that Jesus spoke about is getting a man born again. Jesus couldn't get a man born again during His earthly ministry because while He was on earth and hadn't yet gone to the cross as our Sacrifice, the new birth couldn't come about. We are equipped by the Name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit to do the works that He had done because we now have the Father living in us just like He did in Jesus.
Jesus Himself told His followers that, "It is not Me but the Father in Me that does the works." This same, Awesome Holy Spirit has come to live in us like He did in Jesus. The power of the Holy Spirit hasn't diminished in the slightest, but because we haven't learned otherwise, we limit His ministry. There have been numerous divisions and fissures in the Church over "new teachings" and "revelation knowledge" being received as truth.
One of the most significant things from Jesus's ministry has almost been completely overlooked and is found in John 3:34 (Amplified) which says, "For since He Whom God has sent speaks the Words of God (proclaims God's Own message) God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless of the gift God makes of His Spirit." He also says in John 6:63 (Amplified), It is the Spirit Who gives life (He is the life giver); the flesh conveys no benefits whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
We've never been taught to speak only in accordance with God's Word and those who do so have been ridiculed for doing so. Jesus said, I only speak what the Father tells Me to speak." We've heard the phrases, "Name it and claim it" and "Blab it and grab it" before. There are certainly some who misuse this gift of power and have brought reproach and doubt upon this truth. It remains, however, a powerful truth.
Wisdom from the Holy Spirit will teach us how to speak God's Word in power and in truth. Most babies learn to walk before learning to talk. Words are the most powerful things that men have ever had available for producing, controlling, building, destroying, blessing or cursing and the Church has power in what we say through the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.
After all, isn't Jesus called the "Word of God made flesh?" Is He now any less than the Word of God than He was as Genesis 1 says, "In the beginning was the Word?" When we speak the Word, we speak the life of Jesus over anyone or anything we're speaking to.
The Holy Spirit empowers the words that we speak and He only will confirm that which is of God. If you're not speaking scripture, then you should speak in line with the scripture. How can the Holy Spirit empower words that contradict God's Word? How can He uphold things that are against the covenant of God?
Jesus said that, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father." God's will should be so open and known to the Church and easy for the Church to know. If Jesus didn't do something, then God doesn't do it. If Jesus healed people, then God heals. Where did we arrive with so many misconceptions and wrong views of our Father? We should only need to watch what Jesus did and Who He is and then we would know the Father.
The Holy Spirit is here to reveal God and life to a dying and lost world. He's been poured out and into the Church so that we should be the light and salt to the earth. The limits we've placed on the Holy Spirit have been a burden on His ministry. Some might say, "God will just do whatever He wants to do anyway, so..." It is true that it's going to come out the way God says it would, but we were to be included in this ministry.
I never want the Holy Spirit to bypass me in God's last days movements. I want to be in a position for the Holy Spirit to be unlimited in my life. One of the things I must do in order to become a candidate for this to occur, is to watch my words. I'm often reminded of Psalm 2 when thinking of this generation. We're "supposed to be politically correct." The governments and worldly people are to watch over their words and some Christians agree.
The Lord tells us how He views what we do with our words in Psalm 12:2-8 (Amplified) which says, "To his neighbor each one speak words without use or worth or truth; with flattering lips and double heart (deceitfully) they speak. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongues that speak proud boasting. Those who say, with our tongues we prevail; our lips are our own (to command at our will) who is Lord and master over us?"
Many believe that those in the Church who believe these truths are "fanatics and hyper faith people" and that it really doesn't matter what we say. The Word says that, "The Holy Spirit watches over the Word of God to perform it." He doesn't watch over "my words," but His Words. My tongue is "not mine to command," according to the above scripture.
How can the Holy Spirit make you sick when "He sent His Word to heal and deliver us," like Psalm 107:20 says? Many of our brothers have received a "spirit of infirmity" to teach them, instead of the Holy Spirit. Many well meaning, but misinformed ministers have taught throughout the years that God sent a sickness to teach us something. The Holy Spirit would say, "It's My job to teach you."
The Holy Spirit cannot and will not empower our words of death, weakness and sickness. There is, however, one who will take these words and use them to his advantage in your life. The Holy Spirit will only empower God's Word and not your word. He is prepared to "Reap that which we sow" because words are seeds. Matthew 4:14 (Amplified) says, "The sower sows the word." Words are seeds. All words are seeds. We have seeds of poison ivy and seeds of roses and beauty. Both seeds will grow with equal vigor when planted or sown. The soil doesn't discriminate which seed it wants to grow. It will grow whichever seed that "falls into the soil."
We have allowed seeds of unbelief and doubt to be sown into our soil (or heart) and it has choked out the seed of truth. Romans 3:12-18 (Amplified) says, "All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one. Their throat is a yawning grave, they use their tongues to deceive (to mislead and to deal treacherously) the venom of asps is beneath their lips, their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood." Verses 16-18 go on, "Destruction (as it dashed them to pieces) and misery marks their way. And they have no experience of the way of peace (they nothing about peace, for a peaceful way they do not ever recognize) There is no (reverential) fear of God before their eyes."
These scriptures are true for both the world and the Church., if we will continually speak them forth. Only God's Word will prevail and bring forth life, healing, power, peace, salvation, righteousness and the glory of God, because the Holy Spirit, in His ministry, will only watch over God's Word to perform it. The rest of the seeds (words) will produce the same crops the world has harvested for thousands of years. If you plant poison ivy, then you will get poison ivy. Poison ivy (words) will never produce sweet corn, potatoes or anything other than poison ivy.
No matter how much He wishes to help us, the Holy Spirit cannot change the seeds once they are sown. Galatians 6:7-8 (Amplified) says, "Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside) (He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God) For whatever a man sows, that and only that is what he will reap."
It's Verse 8 that reveals the full measure of our words (seeds). Thus, it says, "Speak the seed of the world and reap the harvest of the world. Sow to the Kingdom (God's Word) and reap to the spirit."
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Lesson 46 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Deuteronomy 29:29 (Amplified) says, "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but the things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever that we may do all the words of this Law."
Isaiah 45:2-3 (Amplified) says, "I will go before you and level the mountains (to make crooked places straight); I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron." Verse 3 says, "And I will give you the treasure of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, Who calls you by your name."
1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) says, "For one who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meanings because in the (Holy) Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to the understanding)."
1Corinthians 2:9-10 (Amplified) tells us, "But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man (all that) God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him (who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed)." Verse 10 goes on, "Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the Holy Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God (the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny)."
I've placed these scriptures together in this manner to bring the focus back onto the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of God's family. The Holy Spirit is the One Who brings revelation and maturity to God's family. How are we supposed to grow in our walk without His bringing the "hidden secrets and counsels of God" into the Church? Jesus said in John 16:13 that, "The Holy Spirit is to be our Teacher."
Satan has fought against the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues for many, many years. The scriptures given at the beginning of this lesson (and there are many more), tell us that growth in the Church only comes by the Holy Spirit's guidance and revelation of the Word. The "hidden secrets" we have heard from the Holy Spirit could only be revealed by the Holy Spirit. Many of the "secret counsels" of God have been revealed in these last days to those who are earnestly seeking God. Many of these secret things have been spoken to today's Church and we have failed to receive them because we don't allow the Holy Spirit to be our Teacher.
Only the Spirit knows the counsels and only the Holy Spirit can reveal them. We, the Church, have had the Holy Spirit in and among us since Pentecost, according to 2Corinthians 2:10 (Amplified) which says, "But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit." If God didn't wish for us to know these secrets, then He wouldn't reveal them to us. BUT HE HAS.
Right now, in the Church, the Holy Spirit has all the revelation of Jesus in its fullness. Only through the Holy Spirit can Jesus be shown and manifest in all His Glory to the Church. When we pray in tongues (or in the Holy Spirit), God can reveal the hidden secrets to the spirit of His children. God is Spirit and Truth and we need to be "led by the Spirit" in order to understand spiritual things.
These hidden truths and revelations don't come by human intellect, but by His Spirit. These hidden secrets don't come into your head, but into your spirit. Once the Holy Spirit has brought Light into darkness, we can clearly see by His Light and Glory.
For centuries, satan has fought against our receiving and walking in the Holy Spirit. This is because when we allow the Holy Spirit to bring forth revelation to the Church, satan can no longer hold us in darkness. He cannot stop a person from being born again, but if he can prevent us from seeing into the Spirit of God and receiving hidden secrets, then we will remain in the darkness (not sin, but darkness) even though the Light is available.
How many of us have ever heard that, "Tongues have ceased" or that "they're of the devil" or that "They;re not for everyone?" Why would something that is so crucial to our Christian walk be so controversial in the Church? Because, when God opens the Church's "eyes through hidden secrets," then the enemy's weapons will be ended in our lives. This will bring victory to not only you, but to all you bring this Light to.
God isn't holding out or holding back. He has revealed Himself to us through and by His Spirit. Many can teach us how to be religious, while the Holy Spirit teaches us how to be righteous in God. This isn't the carnal righteousness from man's rules. This is spiritual righteousness by God's Blood!
Isaiah 45:2-3 (Amplified) says, "I will go before you and level the mountains (to make crooked places straight); I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron." Verse 3 says, "And I will give you the treasure of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, Who calls you by your name."
1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) says, "For one who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meanings because in the (Holy) Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to the understanding)."
1Corinthians 2:9-10 (Amplified) tells us, "But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man (all that) God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him (who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed)." Verse 10 goes on, "Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the Holy Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God (the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny)."
I've placed these scriptures together in this manner to bring the focus back onto the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of God's family. The Holy Spirit is the One Who brings revelation and maturity to God's family. How are we supposed to grow in our walk without His bringing the "hidden secrets and counsels of God" into the Church? Jesus said in John 16:13 that, "The Holy Spirit is to be our Teacher."
Satan has fought against the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues for many, many years. The scriptures given at the beginning of this lesson (and there are many more), tell us that growth in the Church only comes by the Holy Spirit's guidance and revelation of the Word. The "hidden secrets" we have heard from the Holy Spirit could only be revealed by the Holy Spirit. Many of the "secret counsels" of God have been revealed in these last days to those who are earnestly seeking God. Many of these secret things have been spoken to today's Church and we have failed to receive them because we don't allow the Holy Spirit to be our Teacher.
Only the Spirit knows the counsels and only the Holy Spirit can reveal them. We, the Church, have had the Holy Spirit in and among us since Pentecost, according to 2Corinthians 2:10 (Amplified) which says, "But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit." If God didn't wish for us to know these secrets, then He wouldn't reveal them to us. BUT HE HAS.
Right now, in the Church, the Holy Spirit has all the revelation of Jesus in its fullness. Only through the Holy Spirit can Jesus be shown and manifest in all His Glory to the Church. When we pray in tongues (or in the Holy Spirit), God can reveal the hidden secrets to the spirit of His children. God is Spirit and Truth and we need to be "led by the Spirit" in order to understand spiritual things.
These hidden truths and revelations don't come by human intellect, but by His Spirit. These hidden secrets don't come into your head, but into your spirit. Once the Holy Spirit has brought Light into darkness, we can clearly see by His Light and Glory.
For centuries, satan has fought against our receiving and walking in the Holy Spirit. This is because when we allow the Holy Spirit to bring forth revelation to the Church, satan can no longer hold us in darkness. He cannot stop a person from being born again, but if he can prevent us from seeing into the Spirit of God and receiving hidden secrets, then we will remain in the darkness (not sin, but darkness) even though the Light is available.
How many of us have ever heard that, "Tongues have ceased" or that "they're of the devil" or that "They;re not for everyone?" Why would something that is so crucial to our Christian walk be so controversial in the Church? Because, when God opens the Church's "eyes through hidden secrets," then the enemy's weapons will be ended in our lives. This will bring victory to not only you, but to all you bring this Light to.
God isn't holding out or holding back. He has revealed Himself to us through and by His Spirit. Many can teach us how to be religious, while the Holy Spirit teaches us how to be righteous in God. This isn't the carnal righteousness from man's rules. This is spiritual righteousness by God's Blood!
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Lesson 45 The Work and MInistry of the Holy Spirit
We have greatly underestimated the Holy Spirit's ministry in the Body of Christ. All of the revelation and wisdom of the Word has been placed in His hands. Man's wisdom has diminished the wisdom of God by failing to recognize His work in the Church. Like those have done for centuries before us, we become rigid in what we think the Word says and then refuse to change.
1Corinthians 2:9-11 (Amplified) says, "But on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, (all that) God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him (who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed)."
There are things that God has made ready and prepared for us that we can only know and understand by the Holy Spirit. Verses 10 & 11 go on, "Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed by His Spirit, for the Holy Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God (the divine counsels and hidden things and beyond man's scrutiny) For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man's thoughts except the man's own spirit withing him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."
The Holy Spirit is the only One Who can know and understand the thoughts and things (hidden counsels) of God. Bible school and church Bible studies can only teach what men know, without the hidden counsel of the Holy Spirit teaching and revealing the things God knows, to us. 1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) says, "For he who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the Holy Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to the understanding)."
The Church has struggled for hundreds of years with "speaking in tongues." Churches have split apart, fought in our own faith and become downright angry with one another over the speaking of tongues. Yet, the Word tells us that God has revealed the hidden counsels and things of God to us, by the Holy Spirit. We have also read the Word which says, "When a person speaks in an unknown tongue, he speaks secret truths and hidden things not obvious to man's understanding."
The Holy Spirit is the only One Who knows the mind of God. How can we expect to know His thoughts and counsels with the Holy Spirit's revealing them to us? We are told to speak in tongues or pray in the Spirit in Jude 20 (Amplified) which says, "But you beloved, build yourselves up (founded) on your most holy faith (make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher) praying in the Holy Spirit."
Praying in the Holy Spirit is the Biblical way of growing in the Lord and making progress in your walk with Him. This is precisely what Paul said in 1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified), "Speaking not to men, but unto God, speaking mysteries (hidden counsel) and Hidden things." How can we ever hope to know the "hidden things" God has for us without the Holy Spirit's revealing them to us?
We just read that God has revealed these things to us "by and through the Holy Spirit." These things are not hidden from the Church, but for the Church. Only those who are born again of the Spirit can truly receive the things of the Spirit. Jesus said that the "Things (Words) He taught are Spirit and Truth." Only the Holy Spirit can impart the Spirit life into the Words that we read. The carnal mind can be educated enough to understand what the words mean, but only the Holy Spirit can impart the mysteries of the Spirit from the Word.
Have you ever had someone say that they "Tried to read the Bible, but they couldn't understand it? These things are spiritually discerned and can only be received by your spirit; otherwise, they are just words. As we study the scriptures, we must go beyond just education and receive revelation.
We have had hidden counsels revealed to us by the Holy Spirit that came and died before having a chance to grow into the full truth for the Church. The truth of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, has been a truth for more than two thousand years, but is still not the truth to all the Church.
We continue denying the truth about Spiritual things because we simply do not allow the Holy Spirit do His work in our lives. We've read that, "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard and it hasn't entered into the hearts of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him." But, the Word doesn't stop there (like a lot of us do), but goes on to say, "God has revealed them to us by His Holy Spirit." Men cannot understand these things without the Holy Spirit.
If God has revealed them to us by His Holy Spirit and we can "pray these secret things in the Holy Spirit," according to Jude 20 and 1Corinthians 14:2, then "These hidden truths will build up our faith and ourselves higher and higher, like an edifice (or building) praying in the Holy Spirit." Why don't we then enter into the deeper things of God?
1Corinthians 2:13 (Amplified) speaks about these hidden truths of God, saying, "We are setting forth these truths in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Holy Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language (to those who posses the Holy Spirit)." Verse 14 goes on to explain that, "These spiritual things are foolishness to the natural (or carnal) minds, without the Holy Spirit to reveal them to us."
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit is the most crucial thing in the Church for those who wish to be used by God before Jesus' soon coming return. Without the Holy Spirit to lead us into all the truth, how can we ever know what to do or how to do it or when to do it?
Praying in tongues is not "gibberish" like some people claim, but are "Mysteries being revealed into our spirit, by the Holy Spirit." Satan has fought ferociously trying to prevent the Church's hearing this truth, because this would be his downfall over the Christian believer. Once the Church receives the full truth that the Father wants us to have, then what can stop God from moving in the supernatural flow of His presence throughout the world? Nothing.
It's only the Body of Christ has privy to these hidden truths and mysteries, by the Holy Spirit. His work and His ministry can only be fulfilled in the Spirit and not the flesh. All man's self-imposed rituals cannot take the place of the Spirit of Liberty that has come for us to follow.
1Corinthians 2:9-11 (Amplified) says, "But on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, (all that) God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him (who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed)."
There are things that God has made ready and prepared for us that we can only know and understand by the Holy Spirit. Verses 10 & 11 go on, "Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed by His Spirit, for the Holy Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God (the divine counsels and hidden things and beyond man's scrutiny) For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man's thoughts except the man's own spirit withing him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."
The Holy Spirit is the only One Who can know and understand the thoughts and things (hidden counsels) of God. Bible school and church Bible studies can only teach what men know, without the hidden counsel of the Holy Spirit teaching and revealing the things God knows, to us. 1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) says, "For he who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the Holy Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to the understanding)."
The Church has struggled for hundreds of years with "speaking in tongues." Churches have split apart, fought in our own faith and become downright angry with one another over the speaking of tongues. Yet, the Word tells us that God has revealed the hidden counsels and things of God to us, by the Holy Spirit. We have also read the Word which says, "When a person speaks in an unknown tongue, he speaks secret truths and hidden things not obvious to man's understanding."
The Holy Spirit is the only One Who knows the mind of God. How can we expect to know His thoughts and counsels with the Holy Spirit's revealing them to us? We are told to speak in tongues or pray in the Spirit in Jude 20 (Amplified) which says, "But you beloved, build yourselves up (founded) on your most holy faith (make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher) praying in the Holy Spirit."
Praying in the Holy Spirit is the Biblical way of growing in the Lord and making progress in your walk with Him. This is precisely what Paul said in 1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified), "Speaking not to men, but unto God, speaking mysteries (hidden counsel) and Hidden things." How can we ever hope to know the "hidden things" God has for us without the Holy Spirit's revealing them to us?
We just read that God has revealed these things to us "by and through the Holy Spirit." These things are not hidden from the Church, but for the Church. Only those who are born again of the Spirit can truly receive the things of the Spirit. Jesus said that the "Things (Words) He taught are Spirit and Truth." Only the Holy Spirit can impart the Spirit life into the Words that we read. The carnal mind can be educated enough to understand what the words mean, but only the Holy Spirit can impart the mysteries of the Spirit from the Word.
Have you ever had someone say that they "Tried to read the Bible, but they couldn't understand it? These things are spiritually discerned and can only be received by your spirit; otherwise, they are just words. As we study the scriptures, we must go beyond just education and receive revelation.
We have had hidden counsels revealed to us by the Holy Spirit that came and died before having a chance to grow into the full truth for the Church. The truth of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, has been a truth for more than two thousand years, but is still not the truth to all the Church.
We continue denying the truth about Spiritual things because we simply do not allow the Holy Spirit do His work in our lives. We've read that, "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard and it hasn't entered into the hearts of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him." But, the Word doesn't stop there (like a lot of us do), but goes on to say, "God has revealed them to us by His Holy Spirit." Men cannot understand these things without the Holy Spirit.
If God has revealed them to us by His Holy Spirit and we can "pray these secret things in the Holy Spirit," according to Jude 20 and 1Corinthians 14:2, then "These hidden truths will build up our faith and ourselves higher and higher, like an edifice (or building) praying in the Holy Spirit." Why don't we then enter into the deeper things of God?
1Corinthians 2:13 (Amplified) speaks about these hidden truths of God, saying, "We are setting forth these truths in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Holy Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language (to those who posses the Holy Spirit)." Verse 14 goes on to explain that, "These spiritual things are foolishness to the natural (or carnal) minds, without the Holy Spirit to reveal them to us."
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit is the most crucial thing in the Church for those who wish to be used by God before Jesus' soon coming return. Without the Holy Spirit to lead us into all the truth, how can we ever know what to do or how to do it or when to do it?
Praying in tongues is not "gibberish" like some people claim, but are "Mysteries being revealed into our spirit, by the Holy Spirit." Satan has fought ferociously trying to prevent the Church's hearing this truth, because this would be his downfall over the Christian believer. Once the Church receives the full truth that the Father wants us to have, then what can stop God from moving in the supernatural flow of His presence throughout the world? Nothing.
It's only the Body of Christ has privy to these hidden truths and mysteries, by the Holy Spirit. His work and His ministry can only be fulfilled in the Spirit and not the flesh. All man's self-imposed rituals cannot take the place of the Spirit of Liberty that has come for us to follow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)