John 14:26 (Amplified) tells us, "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."
1Corinthians 2:9-13 (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). Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Holy 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 beyond man's scrutiny)." Verses 11-13 go on, "For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man's thoughts except the man's own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehends) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 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)."
God's Word simply tells us, in the above scriptures, that we only understand the mysteries of God from man's point of view when we don't have the Holy Spirit to reveal them to us. Man man religion has never been acceptable to God and never will be. Without the Holy Spirit, man can only come to his own conclusions about God and His plan. Only the Holy Spirit can show us the "hidden things" of God.
The Holy Spirit reveals the very person of the Father to those who will hear. For those who do not hear the things from the Holy Spirit, these revelations become controversial and misconstrued. Therefore, we have division in the different denominations of the Church. The Holy Spirit doesn't tell one group something about the Father and then tell something completely contrary to another group. If we would only listen, then the Holy Spirit will tell each of us the same truth. Man's wisdom will not entertain the truth if it contradicts his own ideals.
We have walked in the darkness of man's ideas for so long, that when the truth is given, it seems completely wrong to us. Some believe that it's blasphemous to say that, "We are like Jesus." Yet, Jesus said in John 17:20-23 (Amplified) that, "Neither for these alone do I pray (it is not for their sake only that I make this request), but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching. That they all may be one (just) as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us; so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me." Verses 22-23 go on, "I have given them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be One, (even) as We are One. I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and (definitely) recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved (them) even as You have loved Me."
We have just read the Words or Truths that Jesus said, but without the Holy Spirit to reveal these truths, we think only of their applying when we arrive in heaven and not for when we're alive in these flesh and blood bodies. Having a Christian proclaim that "he is in the same Likeness and Image of Jesus," will most likely end poorly in today's Church.
I'm not saying that you are the Savior or the Lord, but only that through what Jesus has done we were born again by the Seed or the Word of God into the same Image and Likeness of Jesus Himself. I have brothers and sisters among my own earthly family, but we are not the "same one"rather, we are of the "same blood." We share the same parents, the same DNA and the same likenesses as our parents. No pregnant mother would ever think that her child would be something other than human. It would be a human being whether it's a boy or a girl. It would look human, talk like a human and it would grow to be an adult and produce another human.
We were a "new creation" created by God into His Own Image and His Own Likeness. This was God's plan from the beginning and He has not changed. When Adam fell in the Garden of Eden and man was separated from the Father in his spirit, God set a plan in order to bring His children back to Him. Jesus was the Plan and It Worked! Now, through Jesus, we can be born again back into what the Father intended us to be when He created all things for us. The Inheritance that Jesus has, is also ours, through Him.
Jesus said in John 16:14-15 (Amplified) that, "He the Holy Spirit will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you. Everything that the Father has is Mine, that is what I meant when I said that He, the Holy Spirit, will take the things that are Mine, and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."
Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) says, "The Spirit Himself (thus) testifies together with our own spirit, (assuring us) that we (are God's children) or children of God. And if we are (His) children, then we are (His) heirs, also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (sharing His inheritance with Him); only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory."
Can you recall the things that Jesus suffered when He told the people that "He was God's Son" and that "The Father and I are One?" When you try telling people that you are God's son and that you are one with your Heavenly Father and Jesus, you will suffer like He suffered in the opinions of the people.
It will sound like you're boastful and arrogant when you tell others these truths, if they do not have the Holy Spirit to reveal it to them. Denying that what Jesus said is true is saying that His Word is wrong and what He said is a lie. We are either what He said we are or He lied. You know that Jesus is not a liar, so we must agree with His Word. It might make you uncomfortable initially because we were taught differently, but once we know the truth, IT CHANGES EVERYTHING!
Monday, August 31, 2015
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Lesson 64 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
We have undersold the ministry and the working of the Holy Spirit in the Church for many years. We lack understanding of Who He is and what His role is in the Church. His role in most congregations has simply been the speaking of other tongues and the Gifts of the Spirit. He is the One Jesus and the Father have delegated the completion of the Church to. We seem to forget that He, the Holy Spirit, is God Himself Who is walking and dealing with the entire world. He is the One Who draws the unsaved and He is the One Who is perfecting the Church.
The Church has been given many revelations and instructions over the last two-thousand years. The Holy Spirit has been teaching and guiding the family of God into a more accurate and powerful body. We have rejected many of His teachings and instructions because they seem "contrary" to our church doctrines. One will find in the Word how even Jesus didn't begin His ministry until the Holy Spirit came upon Him at the Jordan River.
It has been and is the Holy Spirit's job in the God-head, to take that which is spoken and bring it to pass. No word, no action. Genesis 1:1-4 (Amplified) says, "In the beginning God (prepared,formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep, The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters." Verses 3-4 go on, "And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it: and God separated the light from the darkness."
We see the Trinity, the three fold God-head working in unison. The light wasn't the sun, that was created in Genesis 1:16-17 (Amplified) which says, "And God made the two great lights-the greater light (the sun) to rule, the day and the lesser light (the moon) to rule the night. He also made the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth."
When God said, "Let there be light," it was His Word (brought to pass by the Holy Spirit) Who became that light. The Holy Spirit didn't have anything to create, until God spoke. We find the order of creation explained in John 1:1-5 (Amplified) which says, "In the beginning (before all time) was the Word (Christ) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him, and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being." Verses 4-5 say, "And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it (put it out, or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it)."
Although the entire God-head (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) were all present, until the Word was spoken by God, no light came. Once God spoke, the Holy Spirit took that Word and performed His part of the ministry. This is still His present ministry, according to 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 is the gift God makes of His Spirit."
When we speak in in line with what God's Word says, the Holy Spirit will take what the Fathers says and create or bring to pass whatever God's Word says. The Holy Spirit is the power and creative force in God's Word. We see this throughout the Word of God, but sometimes we fail to recognize His role in our lives.
Throughout the years, I've seen people who have decided that it really doesn't make a difference what we say. They believe we can't take a word from the Logos (the Word, the principle of divine reason and creative order, Jesus Incarnate) and simply speak it to have it work in our lives. Do you realize that is what Jesus did in His Own earthly ministry?
Jesus repeatedly said that He "only spoke what He heard the Father speak." He stood in the synagogue in Luke 4:18 (Amplified) proclaiming, "The Spirit of the Lord (is) upon Me, because He has anointed Me (the Anointed One, the Messiah) to preach the good news (the gospel) to the poor He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed (who are down trodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity)."
The above scripture tells us that He Whom God sent, speaks only God's Word and He gave Him the Holy Spirit without measure. Jesus spoke God's Own Word, the words that were written centuries before in Isaiah 61:1-2. Jesus was very deliberate in what He spoke. Even while on the cross, He spoke and gave power by the Holy Spirit to bring it to pass, just like in the beginning when God and the Holy Spirit brought His Words to pass.
The Holy Spirit watches over God's Word to perform it. He is not authorized to fulfill anything except God's Own Word. Jesus said that "He only spoke what the Father spoke" and that He "only did what He heard the Father say and do." This not only means that the Spirit of God continuously spoke to Him, but it includes what had been written was God speaking to Him. When we read God's Word, it's still God speaking to us, through His Word. All the promises of God are God speaking to us now. The promise of salvation in Romans 10:8-10 is our acceptance of God speaking to us. When we spoke the Words of salvation, the Holy Spirit took that Word and brought it to pass in our lives.
It's peculiar how we can accept that part of God's Word and put faith in it, but then not do so for the rest of the Word. When we begin aligning our conversation with the Word, the same Holy Spirit Who brought the manifestation of what Jesus spoke, will bring forth that same manifestation to God's Word in our lives. God is not obligated to fulfill all words, but only His Words.
Have you noticed when people spoke contrary to God's Word didn't receive the promise of the Word? Hebrews 3-4 tells about those coming out of Egypt were not speaking what God said, but voiced their own words of unbelief and anger against His Word. Those people didn't receive the promises because the Holy Spirit only confirms God's Word.
We wonder why we do not see the manifestation of the power of God in today's churches. It's mostly because we don't give the Holy Spirit anything to work with. Remember that Jesus, Whom God sent, only spoke God's Word and God gave Jesus the Spirit, without measure. Many Christians say that, "Healing has passed away" and "Miracles have ceased" and "God uses sickness to teach us." What part of this speech is the Holy Spirit going to manifest, when He only says and does what the Father says and do?
Do we really believe that it doesn't matter what we say?
The Church has been given many revelations and instructions over the last two-thousand years. The Holy Spirit has been teaching and guiding the family of God into a more accurate and powerful body. We have rejected many of His teachings and instructions because they seem "contrary" to our church doctrines. One will find in the Word how even Jesus didn't begin His ministry until the Holy Spirit came upon Him at the Jordan River.
It has been and is the Holy Spirit's job in the God-head, to take that which is spoken and bring it to pass. No word, no action. Genesis 1:1-4 (Amplified) says, "In the beginning God (prepared,formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep, The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters." Verses 3-4 go on, "And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it: and God separated the light from the darkness."
We see the Trinity, the three fold God-head working in unison. The light wasn't the sun, that was created in Genesis 1:16-17 (Amplified) which says, "And God made the two great lights-the greater light (the sun) to rule, the day and the lesser light (the moon) to rule the night. He also made the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth."
When God said, "Let there be light," it was His Word (brought to pass by the Holy Spirit) Who became that light. The Holy Spirit didn't have anything to create, until God spoke. We find the order of creation explained in John 1:1-5 (Amplified) which says, "In the beginning (before all time) was the Word (Christ) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him, and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being." Verses 4-5 say, "And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it (put it out, or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it)."
Although the entire God-head (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) were all present, until the Word was spoken by God, no light came. Once God spoke, the Holy Spirit took that Word and performed His part of the ministry. This is still His present ministry, according to 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 is the gift God makes of His Spirit."
When we speak in in line with what God's Word says, the Holy Spirit will take what the Fathers says and create or bring to pass whatever God's Word says. The Holy Spirit is the power and creative force in God's Word. We see this throughout the Word of God, but sometimes we fail to recognize His role in our lives.
Throughout the years, I've seen people who have decided that it really doesn't make a difference what we say. They believe we can't take a word from the Logos (the Word, the principle of divine reason and creative order, Jesus Incarnate) and simply speak it to have it work in our lives. Do you realize that is what Jesus did in His Own earthly ministry?
Jesus repeatedly said that He "only spoke what He heard the Father speak." He stood in the synagogue in Luke 4:18 (Amplified) proclaiming, "The Spirit of the Lord (is) upon Me, because He has anointed Me (the Anointed One, the Messiah) to preach the good news (the gospel) to the poor He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed (who are down trodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity)."
The above scripture tells us that He Whom God sent, speaks only God's Word and He gave Him the Holy Spirit without measure. Jesus spoke God's Own Word, the words that were written centuries before in Isaiah 61:1-2. Jesus was very deliberate in what He spoke. Even while on the cross, He spoke and gave power by the Holy Spirit to bring it to pass, just like in the beginning when God and the Holy Spirit brought His Words to pass.
The Holy Spirit watches over God's Word to perform it. He is not authorized to fulfill anything except God's Own Word. Jesus said that "He only spoke what the Father spoke" and that He "only did what He heard the Father say and do." This not only means that the Spirit of God continuously spoke to Him, but it includes what had been written was God speaking to Him. When we read God's Word, it's still God speaking to us, through His Word. All the promises of God are God speaking to us now. The promise of salvation in Romans 10:8-10 is our acceptance of God speaking to us. When we spoke the Words of salvation, the Holy Spirit took that Word and brought it to pass in our lives.
It's peculiar how we can accept that part of God's Word and put faith in it, but then not do so for the rest of the Word. When we begin aligning our conversation with the Word, the same Holy Spirit Who brought the manifestation of what Jesus spoke, will bring forth that same manifestation to God's Word in our lives. God is not obligated to fulfill all words, but only His Words.
Have you noticed when people spoke contrary to God's Word didn't receive the promise of the Word? Hebrews 3-4 tells about those coming out of Egypt were not speaking what God said, but voiced their own words of unbelief and anger against His Word. Those people didn't receive the promises because the Holy Spirit only confirms God's Word.
We wonder why we do not see the manifestation of the power of God in today's churches. It's mostly because we don't give the Holy Spirit anything to work with. Remember that Jesus, Whom God sent, only spoke God's Word and God gave Jesus the Spirit, without measure. Many Christians say that, "Healing has passed away" and "Miracles have ceased" and "God uses sickness to teach us." What part of this speech is the Holy Spirit going to manifest, when He only says and does what the Father says and do?
Do we really believe that it doesn't matter what we say?
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Lesson 63 The Work and MInistry of the Holy Spirit
Genesis 1:1-3 (Amplified) says, "In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned and created) the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters And God said, Let there be light; and there was light."
The beginning of what we know as creation was formed and fashioned for man, not God. Like all fathers, our Heavenly Father longed for family and fellowship with someone in His class of being. God always was and is and did not become God when He created the heavens and earth. Of all the beings in the world of the spirit, there was none in His class of being. The angels were created by and for Him, but were not in His class of being.
In Genesis 1:26 (Amplified), "God said, Let Us (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) make mankind in Our Image, after Our Likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea; over the birds of the air, all (tame) beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth." Everything God created was for mankind to inhabit.
Mankind was created by a Spirit, in the same Image of His Spirit and in God's Likeness. We were living spirits like God is a living Spirit. Jesus tells His disciples in John 6:63 (Amplified) that, "It is the Spirit Who gives life (He is the Life-Giver); the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
When the Father created us, we were made just like Him according to John 4:24 (Amplified) which says, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being) and those that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth (reality)." We've always been spirit beings first and clothes with flesh as a means to be in contact with the physical world that God made for His family to live in.
In Genesis 2:7 (Amplified) we read, "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of Spirit of Life, and man became a living being." We were made by a Spirit, in the same Likeness and Image of our Father. We became "Born of the Spirit," by a Spirit. We were then clothed by flesh and bone as physical beings in a physical world. The fleshly housing of man made him able to have contact with the physical realm and things of it. We were to inhabit the natural world the Father created for us, but we were to learn, grow, be led by, speak and deal in the spirit. We were to be led by the Holy Spirit just like Jesus was in His fleshly Body. And, we were do like Jesus Who only did what He heard from the Father and let the Father in Him do the works. Jesus was a flesh and blood Man Who was so sensitive in His Spirit, that He always heard when the Spirit spoke to Him.
Remember that God is a Spirit and this Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "I only go where the Father says to go, I only do what the Father says to do and I only says what I hear the Father say to do." When Jesus made this statement about only doing what He heard the Father telling Him to do, He was simply being led by the Spirit.
We were made to walk in the spirit and live in the spirit, while being housed in this physical flesh and blood body. This body was only intended to be "clothing" for our real self, which is our spirit. After the fall of the man Adam in the Garden, we became more and more reliant on the physical contact rather than the spirit. Today's Church is even looking to see or feel the presence of the Lord. We've tried seeking and feeling God in our natural body. God is a Spirit and the Word of God is Spirit, according to John 6:63 (Amplified) which says, 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 were made in the spirit in His Likeness and Image and we were clothed by flesh, but our true resemblance to our Father is our spirit. We were made to communicate with Him by our spirit because our flesh cannot perceive or recognize spiritual things. Our flesh still hesitates to accept the reality of miracles, even when God performs them directly in front of us.
When the Holy Spirit, coupled with the Word, is revealed to us, we can then see the real Kingdom of God. Through His resurrection, we have already been placed in His Kingdom with Jesus. Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified) says, "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 our being) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
The Holy Spirit is the One Who reveals Jesus to us by the anointed Word of God. When we read God's Word, we are seeing our Heavenly Father through Jesus. Jesus came to reveal God to us as Father. Until Jesus arrived on earth, we only had a vague picture of God from the old covenant. Jesus brought a new revelation of God by a new covenant, as Father. Man never dared bring God into the familiar "Father." Now, through Jesus, the Father has been revealed and now the Holy Spirit is revealing Jesus to the Church in a more intimate manner than ever before.
Jesus said, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father." The only way we can know God in the intimate, familiar "Father," is by watching Jesus in His earthly ministry. If we will listen to the Holy Spirit, then we will be able to know what God's will is in every area of our lives. If we wonder if it's God's will to heal the sick, then the Holy Spirit will reveal the answer by asking, "Did Jesus heal all who came to Him?" If Jesus did heal everyone who came to Him, then that is God's will for healing. Everything Jesus did while in His earthly ministry is God's will. Did Jesus place hardships on the people in order to teach them something? If not, then neither does the Father place hardships on us to teach us something. When the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us, we are to see our Father in everything He did.
The Shekinah Glory of God is the presence of His Spirit. This same glory was given to Jesus at His baptism in the Jordan River. John 1:33 (Amplified) says, "And I did not know Him nor recognize Him, but He Who sent me to baptize in (with) water, said to me, Upon Him Who you shall see the Spirit descend and remain, that One is He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit."
Now we can understand what Jesus meant when He said in John 17:22 (Amplified), "I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one (even) as We are One." The "glory and honor" Jesus speaks of is the indwelling Shekinah, the actual presence of God Himself Who is living and making us one with Himself, just like He and Jesus are One in the Spirit. John 16:14 (Amplified) says, "He (the Holy Spirit) will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."
The Holy Spirit can reveal Jesus and everything that is His (including the Father and Son relationship) to us. And, because of this revelation, we can truly know this Awesome God as Father. We can know His will, His heart, His grace, His healing, His mercy, and His very self by seeing Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.
Many times we only see Jesus through the four gospels. We Him as He gives small insights of the new birth and family relationship to the old covenant people. Jesus could not reveal the entire plan of God to them because satan would have tried preventing His death on the cross. 1Corinthians 2:7-8 (Amplified) says, "But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden (from human understanding) and now revealed to us by God (that wisdom) which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification (to lift us unto the glory of His presence) None of the rulers of this age or world perceived this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory."
1Corinthians 2:10 (Amplified) 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)."
The Holy Spirit show us what no man ever knew before about our Father. This is His work and ministry. He is the Only One Who can know the heart of our Father. Without the Holy Spirit revealing God as Father, we retain a portrait of the old covenant God. We call Him "Father," but still act like we don't know Him. We fear His presence many times, like He only comes to condemn or punish. We view Him by the things He did in the Old Testament. Without the Holy Spirit's guiding, we fail to understand what God did in the old covenant as grace and love.
Some of us fully expect for God to bring trials and tests and hardships upon us in order to discipline us like in the Old Testament. This comes from not seeing God in the Father Image. Once we learn how to listen to the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy a fellowship with Him as family. I cannot recall ever being afraid of my earthly father. I knew I could go to him at anytime for anything and he would always be there. I was comfortable in his presence and enjoyed his company. I never had to make an appointment or "prepare" myself to come to him.
We act like we must fast and pray in order to be heard by God and we've spent countless hours waiting on heaven to hear us, when all we needed to say was, "In the Name of Jesus." When we approach the Father In the Name of Jesus, we have entered into the Throne Room of Grace. All of heaven hears us when we use that Name. We have struggled putting faith into our prayer life and personal life, by not allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal the Father, through Jesus. None of Jesus' disciples had a problem wondering what His will was towards mankind, because they knew Him.
We should, by the Holy Spirit, know our Father by simply watching Jesus. Have you noticed that we approach them in different ways? We think of Jesus in one way and think of the Father in another. Jesus said, though, that, "When you see Me, you have seen Him." Wouldn't it be wonderful to be as sure of the Father as we are of Jesus? He only came to do the Father's will. Everything we saw Jesus do is the will of the Father. It is true when we got saved and until we reach the final end of our walk and go home to heaven. If Jesus did it, then so has our Father.
The beginning of what we know as creation was formed and fashioned for man, not God. Like all fathers, our Heavenly Father longed for family and fellowship with someone in His class of being. God always was and is and did not become God when He created the heavens and earth. Of all the beings in the world of the spirit, there was none in His class of being. The angels were created by and for Him, but were not in His class of being.
In Genesis 1:26 (Amplified), "God said, Let Us (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) make mankind in Our Image, after Our Likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea; over the birds of the air, all (tame) beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth." Everything God created was for mankind to inhabit.
Mankind was created by a Spirit, in the same Image of His Spirit and in God's Likeness. We were living spirits like God is a living Spirit. Jesus tells His disciples in John 6:63 (Amplified) that, "It is the Spirit Who gives life (He is the Life-Giver); the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
When the Father created us, we were made just like Him according to John 4:24 (Amplified) which says, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being) and those that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth (reality)." We've always been spirit beings first and clothes with flesh as a means to be in contact with the physical world that God made for His family to live in.
In Genesis 2:7 (Amplified) we read, "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of Spirit of Life, and man became a living being." We were made by a Spirit, in the same Likeness and Image of our Father. We became "Born of the Spirit," by a Spirit. We were then clothed by flesh and bone as physical beings in a physical world. The fleshly housing of man made him able to have contact with the physical realm and things of it. We were to inhabit the natural world the Father created for us, but we were to learn, grow, be led by, speak and deal in the spirit. We were to be led by the Holy Spirit just like Jesus was in His fleshly Body. And, we were do like Jesus Who only did what He heard from the Father and let the Father in Him do the works. Jesus was a flesh and blood Man Who was so sensitive in His Spirit, that He always heard when the Spirit spoke to Him.
Remember that God is a Spirit and this Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "I only go where the Father says to go, I only do what the Father says to do and I only says what I hear the Father say to do." When Jesus made this statement about only doing what He heard the Father telling Him to do, He was simply being led by the Spirit.
We were made to walk in the spirit and live in the spirit, while being housed in this physical flesh and blood body. This body was only intended to be "clothing" for our real self, which is our spirit. After the fall of the man Adam in the Garden, we became more and more reliant on the physical contact rather than the spirit. Today's Church is even looking to see or feel the presence of the Lord. We've tried seeking and feeling God in our natural body. God is a Spirit and the Word of God is Spirit, according to John 6:63 (Amplified) which says, 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 were made in the spirit in His Likeness and Image and we were clothed by flesh, but our true resemblance to our Father is our spirit. We were made to communicate with Him by our spirit because our flesh cannot perceive or recognize spiritual things. Our flesh still hesitates to accept the reality of miracles, even when God performs them directly in front of us.
When the Holy Spirit, coupled with the Word, is revealed to us, we can then see the real Kingdom of God. Through His resurrection, we have already been placed in His Kingdom with Jesus. Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified) says, "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 our being) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
The Holy Spirit is the One Who reveals Jesus to us by the anointed Word of God. When we read God's Word, we are seeing our Heavenly Father through Jesus. Jesus came to reveal God to us as Father. Until Jesus arrived on earth, we only had a vague picture of God from the old covenant. Jesus brought a new revelation of God by a new covenant, as Father. Man never dared bring God into the familiar "Father." Now, through Jesus, the Father has been revealed and now the Holy Spirit is revealing Jesus to the Church in a more intimate manner than ever before.
Jesus said, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father." The only way we can know God in the intimate, familiar "Father," is by watching Jesus in His earthly ministry. If we will listen to the Holy Spirit, then we will be able to know what God's will is in every area of our lives. If we wonder if it's God's will to heal the sick, then the Holy Spirit will reveal the answer by asking, "Did Jesus heal all who came to Him?" If Jesus did heal everyone who came to Him, then that is God's will for healing. Everything Jesus did while in His earthly ministry is God's will. Did Jesus place hardships on the people in order to teach them something? If not, then neither does the Father place hardships on us to teach us something. When the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us, we are to see our Father in everything He did.
The Shekinah Glory of God is the presence of His Spirit. This same glory was given to Jesus at His baptism in the Jordan River. John 1:33 (Amplified) says, "And I did not know Him nor recognize Him, but He Who sent me to baptize in (with) water, said to me, Upon Him Who you shall see the Spirit descend and remain, that One is He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit."
Now we can understand what Jesus meant when He said in John 17:22 (Amplified), "I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one (even) as We are One." The "glory and honor" Jesus speaks of is the indwelling Shekinah, the actual presence of God Himself Who is living and making us one with Himself, just like He and Jesus are One in the Spirit. John 16:14 (Amplified) says, "He (the Holy Spirit) will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."
The Holy Spirit can reveal Jesus and everything that is His (including the Father and Son relationship) to us. And, because of this revelation, we can truly know this Awesome God as Father. We can know His will, His heart, His grace, His healing, His mercy, and His very self by seeing Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.
Many times we only see Jesus through the four gospels. We Him as He gives small insights of the new birth and family relationship to the old covenant people. Jesus could not reveal the entire plan of God to them because satan would have tried preventing His death on the cross. 1Corinthians 2:7-8 (Amplified) says, "But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden (from human understanding) and now revealed to us by God (that wisdom) which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification (to lift us unto the glory of His presence) None of the rulers of this age or world perceived this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory."
1Corinthians 2:10 (Amplified) 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)."
The Holy Spirit show us what no man ever knew before about our Father. This is His work and ministry. He is the Only One Who can know the heart of our Father. Without the Holy Spirit revealing God as Father, we retain a portrait of the old covenant God. We call Him "Father," but still act like we don't know Him. We fear His presence many times, like He only comes to condemn or punish. We view Him by the things He did in the Old Testament. Without the Holy Spirit's guiding, we fail to understand what God did in the old covenant as grace and love.
Some of us fully expect for God to bring trials and tests and hardships upon us in order to discipline us like in the Old Testament. This comes from not seeing God in the Father Image. Once we learn how to listen to the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy a fellowship with Him as family. I cannot recall ever being afraid of my earthly father. I knew I could go to him at anytime for anything and he would always be there. I was comfortable in his presence and enjoyed his company. I never had to make an appointment or "prepare" myself to come to him.
We act like we must fast and pray in order to be heard by God and we've spent countless hours waiting on heaven to hear us, when all we needed to say was, "In the Name of Jesus." When we approach the Father In the Name of Jesus, we have entered into the Throne Room of Grace. All of heaven hears us when we use that Name. We have struggled putting faith into our prayer life and personal life, by not allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal the Father, through Jesus. None of Jesus' disciples had a problem wondering what His will was towards mankind, because they knew Him.
We should, by the Holy Spirit, know our Father by simply watching Jesus. Have you noticed that we approach them in different ways? We think of Jesus in one way and think of the Father in another. Jesus said, though, that, "When you see Me, you have seen Him." Wouldn't it be wonderful to be as sure of the Father as we are of Jesus? He only came to do the Father's will. Everything we saw Jesus do is the will of the Father. It is true when we got saved and until we reach the final end of our walk and go home to heaven. If Jesus did it, then so has our Father.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Lesson 62 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
2Corinthians 1:18-20 (Amplified) says, "As surely as God is trustworthy and faithful and means what He says, our speech and message to you has not been yes (that might mean) no. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus (the Messiah) Who has been preached among you by us, by myself, by Silvanus, and Timothy, was not yes and no; but in Him it is (always the divine) yes for as many as are the promises of God, they all find their yes (answer) in Him (Christ). For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him (in His person and by His agency) to the glory of God."
We, the Church, are supposed to see the true heart of God through Jesus as the Holy Spirit reveals Him to us. Jesus couldn't reveal certain things while He remained on earth, but the Holy Spirit can now reveal it all. Jesus said that, "When you see Me, you see the Father." They responded to Him in John 8:9 (Amplified), "Then they said to Him, where is this Father of Yours. Jesus answered, You know My Father as little as you know Me. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also."
We have struggled with this concept in the Church for many years. For whatever reason, we think of God as the Old Testament God of Moses and the Law, rather than actually seeing Jesus as God. We make a separation between God and Jesus, although Jesus said many times, and in many ways, that "It is the Father in Me Who does the works" and "I only do what the Father instructs Me to do." He also said that, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father in Me." Still, we have an uncertain Image of God in our minds.
The biggest problem we've had concerning walking in faith has been this uncertainty about God and what He would do. We knew He could do anything, we just didn't know if He would do it. The Holy Spirit has been sent to bring Jesus and our Heavenly Father into the same "will and deed" in our spirit. As He reveals Jesus as Who He is, by the Holy Spirit, we will begin to actually see God. We won't see them as separate, but will actually bring into focus, the Three as One and the very same God and Father.
In the Gospels, we see Jesus as a Man of love, mercy, grace, emotion and feeling of compassion. When we see God, we see One of power, judgment, anger, smoke, fire and the Laws of rigidity and unwilling to yield. Jesus came to show the world the true heart of the Father and not just the God of Law. Jesus showed us the way God wished to always be, but couldn't because sin still stood in His way. Through Jesus, the Holy Spirit can now reveal the true and intimate heart of our Father.
As the Holy Spirit brings these Two Figures of the God-Head into the same Spirit and Image, we can learn the Person of the Father towards His children. The Church's lack of faith has been because of our lack of the Father's identity. We've almost viewed Him as being a dual personality. As the Holy Spirit brings the Father into focus by the actual figure of Jesus, we've given a real live, flesh and blood vision of our Heavenly Father.
No man has ever seen God, but the One Who was sent by God, which is the Son, Jesus. Hollywood has portrayed God with fire and brimstone preaching that is frightening and unapproachable. Jesus brought a whole new outlook on this seemingly unreachable Being, when He revealed Him as Father.
The Holy Spirit has to bring Jesus, the Father and the family into one body and one Spirit, by His Divine presence in our spirit. We've become one even as Jesus and the Father are One. John 17:21-22 (Amplified) says,"That all may be one, (just) as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me. I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one (even) as We are One."
As we read the Words Jesus uttered, we continue struggling to accept them in our hearts. As flesh and blood beings (or at least, still in this flesh and blood world), we have trouble seeing ourselves like Jesus and the Father see us. We have a strong awareness of our faults and weaknesses and this brings Images of the God of Law and Punishment, which is the very Image we held before our new birth.
The Holy Spirit's work is to reveal Jesus the world as Savior and reveal the heart of the Father to the Church through Jesus. It's always been that "No one has seen the Father, but the Son." We must still see God through Jesus, not by religion or Law. We must see Him by the Blood of the new covenant that allows Him into our hearts, because sin is no longer a barrier dividing us. This Awesome God is now Abba Father.
We, the Church, are supposed to see the true heart of God through Jesus as the Holy Spirit reveals Him to us. Jesus couldn't reveal certain things while He remained on earth, but the Holy Spirit can now reveal it all. Jesus said that, "When you see Me, you see the Father." They responded to Him in John 8:9 (Amplified), "Then they said to Him, where is this Father of Yours. Jesus answered, You know My Father as little as you know Me. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also."
We have struggled with this concept in the Church for many years. For whatever reason, we think of God as the Old Testament God of Moses and the Law, rather than actually seeing Jesus as God. We make a separation between God and Jesus, although Jesus said many times, and in many ways, that "It is the Father in Me Who does the works" and "I only do what the Father instructs Me to do." He also said that, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father in Me." Still, we have an uncertain Image of God in our minds.
The biggest problem we've had concerning walking in faith has been this uncertainty about God and what He would do. We knew He could do anything, we just didn't know if He would do it. The Holy Spirit has been sent to bring Jesus and our Heavenly Father into the same "will and deed" in our spirit. As He reveals Jesus as Who He is, by the Holy Spirit, we will begin to actually see God. We won't see them as separate, but will actually bring into focus, the Three as One and the very same God and Father.
In the Gospels, we see Jesus as a Man of love, mercy, grace, emotion and feeling of compassion. When we see God, we see One of power, judgment, anger, smoke, fire and the Laws of rigidity and unwilling to yield. Jesus came to show the world the true heart of the Father and not just the God of Law. Jesus showed us the way God wished to always be, but couldn't because sin still stood in His way. Through Jesus, the Holy Spirit can now reveal the true and intimate heart of our Father.
As the Holy Spirit brings these Two Figures of the God-Head into the same Spirit and Image, we can learn the Person of the Father towards His children. The Church's lack of faith has been because of our lack of the Father's identity. We've almost viewed Him as being a dual personality. As the Holy Spirit brings the Father into focus by the actual figure of Jesus, we've given a real live, flesh and blood vision of our Heavenly Father.
No man has ever seen God, but the One Who was sent by God, which is the Son, Jesus. Hollywood has portrayed God with fire and brimstone preaching that is frightening and unapproachable. Jesus brought a whole new outlook on this seemingly unreachable Being, when He revealed Him as Father.
The Holy Spirit has to bring Jesus, the Father and the family into one body and one Spirit, by His Divine presence in our spirit. We've become one even as Jesus and the Father are One. John 17:21-22 (Amplified) says,"That all may be one, (just) as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me. I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one (even) as We are One."
As we read the Words Jesus uttered, we continue struggling to accept them in our hearts. As flesh and blood beings (or at least, still in this flesh and blood world), we have trouble seeing ourselves like Jesus and the Father see us. We have a strong awareness of our faults and weaknesses and this brings Images of the God of Law and Punishment, which is the very Image we held before our new birth.
The Holy Spirit's work is to reveal Jesus the world as Savior and reveal the heart of the Father to the Church through Jesus. It's always been that "No one has seen the Father, but the Son." We must still see God through Jesus, not by religion or Law. We must see Him by the Blood of the new covenant that allows Him into our hearts, because sin is no longer a barrier dividing us. This Awesome God is now Abba Father.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Lesson 61 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
John 16:13-14 (Amplified) says, "But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the truth giving Spirit comes), He will guide you into all the 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) He will announce and give to you the things that are to come (that will happen in the future) He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."
It is imperative that in this day and hour we learn to lean on and listen to the Voice of the Spirit of God. This is the time and hour of the coming of the Lord. This is the dispensation of the climax of the age. Jesus is due to return for His bride at any time. Many will scoff at this word like they did in Bethlehem. Many will say that nothing has changed, just like they did in times past. 1Thessalonians 5:4-8 (Amplified) tells us, "You are not in (given up to the power of) darkness, brethren, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief. For you are all sons of Light and sons of the Day, We do not belong either to the night or to darkness accordingly then, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us keep wide awake (alert, watchful, cautious, and on guard) and let us be sober (calm, collected, and circumspect)." Verses 7-8 go on, "For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. But we belong to the day; therefore, let us be sober and put on the breastplate (corset) of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation."
Jesus told of certain signs and events that would precede His coming. Like no other, this generation has seen those signs come to pass. Jesus said that the, "Generation who sees these signs come to pass will not pass away before they see His return." We've watched so many things in the last fifty years pointing to the time of His coming.
We see the world around us growing darker and darker, but we also see a great harvest being reaped. America has been protected from many of the things that have come upon our brethren in other countries. The greatest thing facing our country is mediocrity. We seem oblivious to the changes occurring in our own nation. It hasn't come by battle, but by compromise. We've allowed things to occur here that I never dreamed could happen. Our government has become God in their own eyes. It has been making changes by vote that should have been subdued by prayer.
There are many who accuse me of being an alarmist for stating such things or believe I'm a fanatic. If you are a Christian at all, then you must know that Jesus said He was coming back. Did we think that this wasn't true? We always believed that it was for another generation, but that generation has to come at one time or another.
As we watched a nation being born in one day (in 1948, the Balfour Declaration birthed the Nation of Israel was extinction), the time clock began counting down. We saw the Holy City of Jerusalem was delivered back into Israeli control after the end of the six day war for the first time in two thousand years, just like Jesus said it would be. Jesus also said that the generation that sees these things come to pass, would not pass away until they see His coming. I am part of that generation and I'm looking for His coming.
The Holy Spirit is preparing the Church for His return even now. Revelation knowledge is being broadcast throughout all the Church, if we "have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. I'm not about to set a time or date for His coming...other than to say it's soon. We, the Church, have a job to do that we've never faced before. We are to reap the End-Time Harvest for the Father. The Lord has prepared technology for these times so that God's Word can be broadcast into places you may never see. The Word can go forth in power by the airways in countries where minister, Priests and Christians are martyred.
This great end time revival or awakening (reviving the world to life and the Church to awaken) is already underway. This is the time to heed the Voice of the Holy Spirit and get your life and house in order and prepare for Jesus' return. If we've been asleep, then it's time to awaken and draw near to Him. Remember back to when you first got saved. Rekindle that flame in your life. Dedicate yourself to spending more time in the Word and listen to the Teacher, the Holy Spirit.
I know there must be a quickening in your spirit that has been there for some time. We might not have recognized what it was for awhile, but now you know that your spirit sense and knows of His coming. The Holy Spirit, in your spirit, knows the Mind of Christ.
It is imperative that in this day and hour we learn to lean on and listen to the Voice of the Spirit of God. This is the time and hour of the coming of the Lord. This is the dispensation of the climax of the age. Jesus is due to return for His bride at any time. Many will scoff at this word like they did in Bethlehem. Many will say that nothing has changed, just like they did in times past. 1Thessalonians 5:4-8 (Amplified) tells us, "You are not in (given up to the power of) darkness, brethren, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief. For you are all sons of Light and sons of the Day, We do not belong either to the night or to darkness accordingly then, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us keep wide awake (alert, watchful, cautious, and on guard) and let us be sober (calm, collected, and circumspect)." Verses 7-8 go on, "For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. But we belong to the day; therefore, let us be sober and put on the breastplate (corset) of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation."
Jesus told of certain signs and events that would precede His coming. Like no other, this generation has seen those signs come to pass. Jesus said that the, "Generation who sees these signs come to pass will not pass away before they see His return." We've watched so many things in the last fifty years pointing to the time of His coming.
We see the world around us growing darker and darker, but we also see a great harvest being reaped. America has been protected from many of the things that have come upon our brethren in other countries. The greatest thing facing our country is mediocrity. We seem oblivious to the changes occurring in our own nation. It hasn't come by battle, but by compromise. We've allowed things to occur here that I never dreamed could happen. Our government has become God in their own eyes. It has been making changes by vote that should have been subdued by prayer.
There are many who accuse me of being an alarmist for stating such things or believe I'm a fanatic. If you are a Christian at all, then you must know that Jesus said He was coming back. Did we think that this wasn't true? We always believed that it was for another generation, but that generation has to come at one time or another.
As we watched a nation being born in one day (in 1948, the Balfour Declaration birthed the Nation of Israel was extinction), the time clock began counting down. We saw the Holy City of Jerusalem was delivered back into Israeli control after the end of the six day war for the first time in two thousand years, just like Jesus said it would be. Jesus also said that the generation that sees these things come to pass, would not pass away until they see His coming. I am part of that generation and I'm looking for His coming.
The Holy Spirit is preparing the Church for His return even now. Revelation knowledge is being broadcast throughout all the Church, if we "have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. I'm not about to set a time or date for His coming...other than to say it's soon. We, the Church, have a job to do that we've never faced before. We are to reap the End-Time Harvest for the Father. The Lord has prepared technology for these times so that God's Word can be broadcast into places you may never see. The Word can go forth in power by the airways in countries where minister, Priests and Christians are martyred.
This great end time revival or awakening (reviving the world to life and the Church to awaken) is already underway. This is the time to heed the Voice of the Holy Spirit and get your life and house in order and prepare for Jesus' return. If we've been asleep, then it's time to awaken and draw near to Him. Remember back to when you first got saved. Rekindle that flame in your life. Dedicate yourself to spending more time in the Word and listen to the Teacher, the Holy Spirit.
I know there must be a quickening in your spirit that has been there for some time. We might not have recognized what it was for awhile, but now you know that your spirit sense and knows of His coming. The Holy Spirit, in your spirit, knows the Mind of Christ.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Lesson 60 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Acts 1 :1-5,8 (Amplified) says, "In the former account (which I prepared), O Theophilus, I made (a continuous report( dealing with all the things which Jesus began to do and to teach Until the day when He ascended, After He through the Holy Spirit had instructed and commanded the Apostles (special messengers) Whom He had chosen, to them also He showed Himself alive after His passion (His suffering in the Garden and on the cross) by (a series of) many convincing demonstrations (unquestionable evidences and infallible proofs) appearing to them during forty days and talking (to them) about the things of the Kingdom of God)." Verses 4-5, 8 go on, "And while being in their company and eating with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised, of which (He said) you have heard Me speak For John baptized with water, but not many days from now you shall be baptized with (placed in, introduced into) the Holy Spirit." Verse 8 says, "But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth."
What we know as the Book of Acts should be the Acts of the Holy Spirit because it was Him in them who put faith in Him, Who gave the power that changed the world. John 15:26 (Amplified) tells us, "But when the (Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Stand-by) comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He (Himself) will testify regarding Me."
Jesus came to reveal God as our Father, His plan of Salvation and His goodness. Jesus hinted at the new creation that would come through His death and resurrection. Now, the Holy Spirit has been sent to us regarding and revealing Jesus in His triumph and glory. Until Jesus came, no one had seen God as Father. And, until the Holy Spirit arrived, no one had seen Jesus in His exalted state. Even now, unless the Holy Spirit is allowed to do His job in our lives, we only see a portion of the Resurrected Christ.
Acts 1:2 (Amplified) says, "Until the day when He ascended after He through the Holy Spirit had instructed and commanded the Apostles (special messengers) whom He had chosen." We see that the commands and instructions were now open by the Holy Spirit through Jesus. We see in Acts 1:3 how Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, spoke to the Apostles about the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God (the real realm of where we have been placed in through Jesus) isn't some undisciplined, unorganized place in "Never, Neverland," but the Kingdom was responsible for all of creation. It's a very organized place with laws of citizenship that we must learn to operate in. The Holy Spirit's job is to reveal these laws of citizenship to God's people. When we function in the laws of the Kingdom, it lifts us up out of the laws that function on earth.
Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, (there is) now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the 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."
One law of the Kingdom is the Law of the Spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus, this is the "law of our new being." Since we're a new creation, we function in a different set of laws or conditions. The old law that we lived by, could only bring sin and death. We learned over the centuries how to function in these laws and even those who seemed successful under it and achieved fame and fortune, still were operating in the law of sin and death.
Jesus operated in a higher law, in His earthly walk, that overcame the lower law of sin and death. He defied gravity by walking on water. He defied lack when feeding the multitude. He defied death by speaking and giving life to dead people. All the laws of sin and death were placed under the Law
of the Spirit of Life.
These are Kingdom laws or ordinances that function through the new creation by the revelation and teaching of the Holy Spirit. The disciples witnessed these laws function , but they had no idea what they were. God's government, the Kingdom, has laws that it functions and is ruled by. Unlike the laws the earth is governed by, these laws are unchangeable. As we learn to operate in the Kingdom laws, we supersede the laws governing a fallen planet.
We have a law of gravity that functions on this planet. What goes up, must come down. We also have the law of lift and the law of thrust. By using the law of lift and thrust, we can supersede the law of gravity and fly in airplanes. If you turn the airplane off at thirty-thousand feet, then the law of gravity will bring it down.
As children of God, we've been raised together with Jesus into a new form of laws. We've been placed into God's Kingdom where the King rules by His Own set of laws. Through our new birth, we've been given the ability to function in God's principles and in a higher set of laws.
Many of these principles and Kingdom laws have been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit over the last four or five decades, and have been mostly ignored or put down by many Christians.
Many of the men and women the Holy Spirit raised up during these past four or five decades were dismissed as frauds or fools by many children of God. We were being taught by the Holy Spirit about speaking God's Word and not our own, but many dismissed these teachings as "Name it and claim it" and missed one of the Kingdom's laws that function in power. These men and women who taught on faith were dismissed as "fools." Once again, the Holy Spirit began teaching on God's grace and once again, we rejected the message. It seemed like each lesson the Holy Spirit introduced to the Church was rejected and ignored by the majority of the Church.
The Church continued trying to receive from the Kingdom of the Spirit and Life in Christ Jesus by the same laws of sin and death. We tried walking in our new life by the same laws governing us before being saved. If we would allow the Holy Spirit to teach us how to function in our new life, then we could walk above the laws that hold us down. It seems like all our earthly laws are in direct opposition to the laws of the Kingdom.
The world's law tells us to get all we can and then hold onto it. The Kingdom laws say if we give, then God will multiply it back to us. Nearly everything we were taught as children are opposite of the Kingdom's principles. It's hard to turn loose of what we know in order to gain what we have in Christ.
Because everything the Spirit teaches us goes against the carnal mind, we struggle with them. Many still think our Heavenly Father is the Author of all our problems in one form or another. We cannot seem to fathom how it's God's goodness that brings men to repentance and that "all good and perfect gifts come down from the Father"and there is "no shadow of turning or changing."
The Holy Spirit puts the power in the Name of Jesus. His Name and faith in His Name made man at the gate of the Garden Beautiful whole. The Sons of Selba tried casting out demons "in the Name of Jesus that Paul preached," but were unsuccessful because they didn't have faith in that Name. To the degree of knowledge we have of the Kingdom is the degree that our prayer, faith, grace or Kingdom laws will work from here. We must learn to listen to the Teacher, the Holy Spirit Who will lead us and direct us into all truth.
What we know as the Book of Acts should be the Acts of the Holy Spirit because it was Him in them who put faith in Him, Who gave the power that changed the world. John 15:26 (Amplified) tells us, "But when the (Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Stand-by) comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He (Himself) will testify regarding Me."
Jesus came to reveal God as our Father, His plan of Salvation and His goodness. Jesus hinted at the new creation that would come through His death and resurrection. Now, the Holy Spirit has been sent to us regarding and revealing Jesus in His triumph and glory. Until Jesus came, no one had seen God as Father. And, until the Holy Spirit arrived, no one had seen Jesus in His exalted state. Even now, unless the Holy Spirit is allowed to do His job in our lives, we only see a portion of the Resurrected Christ.
Acts 1:2 (Amplified) says, "Until the day when He ascended after He through the Holy Spirit had instructed and commanded the Apostles (special messengers) whom He had chosen." We see that the commands and instructions were now open by the Holy Spirit through Jesus. We see in Acts 1:3 how Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, spoke to the Apostles about the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God (the real realm of where we have been placed in through Jesus) isn't some undisciplined, unorganized place in "Never, Neverland," but the Kingdom was responsible for all of creation. It's a very organized place with laws of citizenship that we must learn to operate in. The Holy Spirit's job is to reveal these laws of citizenship to God's people. When we function in the laws of the Kingdom, it lifts us up out of the laws that function on earth.
Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, (there is) now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the 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."
One law of the Kingdom is the Law of the Spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus, this is the "law of our new being." Since we're a new creation, we function in a different set of laws or conditions. The old law that we lived by, could only bring sin and death. We learned over the centuries how to function in these laws and even those who seemed successful under it and achieved fame and fortune, still were operating in the law of sin and death.
Jesus operated in a higher law, in His earthly walk, that overcame the lower law of sin and death. He defied gravity by walking on water. He defied lack when feeding the multitude. He defied death by speaking and giving life to dead people. All the laws of sin and death were placed under the Law
of the Spirit of Life.
These are Kingdom laws or ordinances that function through the new creation by the revelation and teaching of the Holy Spirit. The disciples witnessed these laws function , but they had no idea what they were. God's government, the Kingdom, has laws that it functions and is ruled by. Unlike the laws the earth is governed by, these laws are unchangeable. As we learn to operate in the Kingdom laws, we supersede the laws governing a fallen planet.
We have a law of gravity that functions on this planet. What goes up, must come down. We also have the law of lift and the law of thrust. By using the law of lift and thrust, we can supersede the law of gravity and fly in airplanes. If you turn the airplane off at thirty-thousand feet, then the law of gravity will bring it down.
As children of God, we've been raised together with Jesus into a new form of laws. We've been placed into God's Kingdom where the King rules by His Own set of laws. Through our new birth, we've been given the ability to function in God's principles and in a higher set of laws.
Many of these principles and Kingdom laws have been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit over the last four or five decades, and have been mostly ignored or put down by many Christians.
Many of the men and women the Holy Spirit raised up during these past four or five decades were dismissed as frauds or fools by many children of God. We were being taught by the Holy Spirit about speaking God's Word and not our own, but many dismissed these teachings as "Name it and claim it" and missed one of the Kingdom's laws that function in power. These men and women who taught on faith were dismissed as "fools." Once again, the Holy Spirit began teaching on God's grace and once again, we rejected the message. It seemed like each lesson the Holy Spirit introduced to the Church was rejected and ignored by the majority of the Church.
The Church continued trying to receive from the Kingdom of the Spirit and Life in Christ Jesus by the same laws of sin and death. We tried walking in our new life by the same laws governing us before being saved. If we would allow the Holy Spirit to teach us how to function in our new life, then we could walk above the laws that hold us down. It seems like all our earthly laws are in direct opposition to the laws of the Kingdom.
The world's law tells us to get all we can and then hold onto it. The Kingdom laws say if we give, then God will multiply it back to us. Nearly everything we were taught as children are opposite of the Kingdom's principles. It's hard to turn loose of what we know in order to gain what we have in Christ.
Because everything the Spirit teaches us goes against the carnal mind, we struggle with them. Many still think our Heavenly Father is the Author of all our problems in one form or another. We cannot seem to fathom how it's God's goodness that brings men to repentance and that "all good and perfect gifts come down from the Father"and there is "no shadow of turning or changing."
The Holy Spirit puts the power in the Name of Jesus. His Name and faith in His Name made man at the gate of the Garden Beautiful whole. The Sons of Selba tried casting out demons "in the Name of Jesus that Paul preached," but were unsuccessful because they didn't have faith in that Name. To the degree of knowledge we have of the Kingdom is the degree that our prayer, faith, grace or Kingdom laws will work from here. We must learn to listen to the Teacher, the Holy Spirit Who will lead us and direct us into all truth.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Lesson 59 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit has been given the ministry of perfecting and bringing the Church, the Body of Christ into existence. He was sent by the Father after the resurrection of Jesus to reveal the truth and revelation of the new creation. We've walked in some light of the truth, but only a small portion of it. We can only see it from man's viewpoint, without the Spirit of Truth.
We've been given some revelation about salvation in Ephesians 2:5 (Amplified) which 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)."
We've shortened that scripture and confess, "We are saved by grace." If we read down to Verse 8, then we will read, "For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through (your) faith. And this (salvation) is not of yourselves (your own doing, it came not through your own striving) but it is the gift of God."
John 1:16 (Amplified) tells us, "For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor gift (heaped) upon gift."
For too many instances we have looked at these spiritual blessing as though they were intended only for when we get to heaven. What we've failed to realize is that the spiritual blessings were the Father pouring out heaven on earth. Ephesians 2:8 says that we were given "one grace after another." We've believed that the extent of this grace allowed us to be saved and nothing more. This is "salvation by grace through faith." If your faith will continue after being saved, then it will bring us into more grace.
This is the Holy Spirit's ministry. He reveals Jesus to the Church from faith to faith and one grace after another. 2Peter 1:2 (Amplified) tells us, "May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and more conflicts) be multiplied to you in (the full, personal, precise, and correct) knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."
This "correct and precise knowledge of God and Jesus" can only come through the Holy Spirit. Most of the knowledge we have about God or Jesus, came more from man's ideal than from the Spirit of Truth. Jesus said that, "No one knows the Father, but the Son." Man's knowledge has been slanted by religion and we seemingly wish to hear that rather than the Truth.
Many things that have caused division in the Church are man-made doctrines and certainly not "correct or precise knowledge." Only the Holy Spirit can take us from on grace to another and from one faith to another. It is by grace from the Father that brought forth our salvation by faith, according to John 1:17 (Amplified) which says, "For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor, and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ."
This grace has been here on earth in fullness ever since Jesus came. Grace without faith does nothing in our lives. If we do not apply faith to His grace, then we simply do not receive that portion of His grace. Grace has been here all along for salvation, but we are saved by grace through faith. I know many unsaved persons. It's not that God doesn't want them saved or that His grace isn't enough for them to be saved, but it's because they haven't mixed faith with His grace.
The same grace that saved us will heal us, one grace after another. The Church has argued for so many years about whether these things were meant for everyone. It's only that some have had more grace revealed to them by a "precise and correct knowledge of Jesus" through the Holy Spirit. As we allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into this correct knowledge of Jesus by revelation, we will move from faith to faith. Many have argued that one cannot take a promise from God's Word and expect it to work for him. Isn't that exactly what we've done when we heard or read His promise from Romans 10:9 (Amplified) which says, "If you will believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He has been raised from the dead, and confess the Lord Jesus with our mouth, we shall be saved."
Isn't this a promise given that we put faith in and then by that, we were saved? This same promise of salvation is the same Jesus Who took away not only our sin, but everything under the curse. Romans 8:1-3 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, (there is) now no condemnation (no adjudging 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." Verse 3 goes on, "For God has done what the Law could not do (its power) being weakened by the flesh (the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit) sending His Own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin. (God) condemned sin in the flesh (subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice)."
The Law of the Spirit of Life that was in Christ Jesus, it the same Law that now works in us by His grace. The difference is that some will place faith in those promises and some will not. It is available to those who will believe...one grace after another, gift heaped upon gift, blessing upon blessing and favor upon favor. Grace didn't end when we got born again, but this initial act of faith opened the door that had been closed before our receiving the Lord Jesus. Now, we can "come boldly to God's throne of grace to receive that grace and help whenever we need it.
This first act of faith in His grace was the place the Holy Spirit springboards from to catapult us into the blessing of our new Law of Life in Christ Jesus. The same faith in God's saving grace, is the same faith to more faith where we enter grace for our healing, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Gifts of the Spirit and every other spiritual blessing promised by God.
We've been given some revelation about salvation in Ephesians 2:5 (Amplified) which 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)."
We've shortened that scripture and confess, "We are saved by grace." If we read down to Verse 8, then we will read, "For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through (your) faith. And this (salvation) is not of yourselves (your own doing, it came not through your own striving) but it is the gift of God."
John 1:16 (Amplified) tells us, "For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor gift (heaped) upon gift."
For too many instances we have looked at these spiritual blessing as though they were intended only for when we get to heaven. What we've failed to realize is that the spiritual blessings were the Father pouring out heaven on earth. Ephesians 2:8 says that we were given "one grace after another." We've believed that the extent of this grace allowed us to be saved and nothing more. This is "salvation by grace through faith." If your faith will continue after being saved, then it will bring us into more grace.
This is the Holy Spirit's ministry. He reveals Jesus to the Church from faith to faith and one grace after another. 2Peter 1:2 (Amplified) tells us, "May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and more conflicts) be multiplied to you in (the full, personal, precise, and correct) knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."
This "correct and precise knowledge of God and Jesus" can only come through the Holy Spirit. Most of the knowledge we have about God or Jesus, came more from man's ideal than from the Spirit of Truth. Jesus said that, "No one knows the Father, but the Son." Man's knowledge has been slanted by religion and we seemingly wish to hear that rather than the Truth.
Many things that have caused division in the Church are man-made doctrines and certainly not "correct or precise knowledge." Only the Holy Spirit can take us from on grace to another and from one faith to another. It is by grace from the Father that brought forth our salvation by faith, according to John 1:17 (Amplified) which says, "For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor, and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ."
This grace has been here on earth in fullness ever since Jesus came. Grace without faith does nothing in our lives. If we do not apply faith to His grace, then we simply do not receive that portion of His grace. Grace has been here all along for salvation, but we are saved by grace through faith. I know many unsaved persons. It's not that God doesn't want them saved or that His grace isn't enough for them to be saved, but it's because they haven't mixed faith with His grace.
The same grace that saved us will heal us, one grace after another. The Church has argued for so many years about whether these things were meant for everyone. It's only that some have had more grace revealed to them by a "precise and correct knowledge of Jesus" through the Holy Spirit. As we allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into this correct knowledge of Jesus by revelation, we will move from faith to faith. Many have argued that one cannot take a promise from God's Word and expect it to work for him. Isn't that exactly what we've done when we heard or read His promise from Romans 10:9 (Amplified) which says, "If you will believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He has been raised from the dead, and confess the Lord Jesus with our mouth, we shall be saved."
Isn't this a promise given that we put faith in and then by that, we were saved? This same promise of salvation is the same Jesus Who took away not only our sin, but everything under the curse. Romans 8:1-3 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, (there is) now no condemnation (no adjudging 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." Verse 3 goes on, "For God has done what the Law could not do (its power) being weakened by the flesh (the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit) sending His Own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin. (God) condemned sin in the flesh (subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice)."
The Law of the Spirit of Life that was in Christ Jesus, it the same Law that now works in us by His grace. The difference is that some will place faith in those promises and some will not. It is available to those who will believe...one grace after another, gift heaped upon gift, blessing upon blessing and favor upon favor. Grace didn't end when we got born again, but this initial act of faith opened the door that had been closed before our receiving the Lord Jesus. Now, we can "come boldly to God's throne of grace to receive that grace and help whenever we need it.
This first act of faith in His grace was the place the Holy Spirit springboards from to catapult us into the blessing of our new Law of Life in Christ Jesus. The same faith in God's saving grace, is the same faith to more faith where we enter grace for our healing, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Gifts of the Spirit and every other spiritual blessing promised by God.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Lesson 58 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Jesus laid out some things about the Holy Spirit's ministry as He prepared Himself to go to the cross. It was to be a two-fold ministry, with one part of the ministry being the revealing Jesus to the world as the Messiah and the second part was teaching the Church about the new covenant. The Holy Spirit would reveal Jesus to the unsaved as the Sacrifice and payment for our sin and He would continuously reveal Jesus in His present day ministry to the Church.
It seems that it's easier to reveal Jesus as Savior than as Lord. Jesus is not Lord in the believer's life when he holds back anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, prejudice and all things of the old man. If I remain bitter over something that occurred in my past, then the Holy Spirit's job is to reveal what needs to done to change it and how to change it.
There has been confusion in the Church for many years concerning the way God brings about surrender of these "hidden" things in our lives. Some believe that God uses these things to correct us, while others can't even discern the difference between God's work and satan's work.
Listen closely to what Jesus says in John 16:7-15 (Amplified) because it will make a difference in how you receive and in what you receive from the Father. Thus, Verse 7 starts, "However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Stand-by) will not come to you ( into close fellowship with you). And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about (righteousness of heart and right standing with God) and about judgment.About sin, because they do not believe in Me (trust in, rely on, adhere to Me) About righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God), because I go to My Father, and you will see Me no more." Verses 11-13 say, About judgment because the ruler, (evil genius, prince) of the world (satan) is judged and condemned and his sentence is already passed upon him. I still have many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or take them upon you or to grasp them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth (the truth giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the 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 Him) and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come (that will happen in the future)." Verses 14- 15 end, "He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) that which is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you. Everything that the Father has is Mine, that is what I meant when I said that He (the Spirit), will take the things that are Mine, and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."
The above verses perfectly sum up the two-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit. He will bring demonstration to the world about its sin, which is that they do not believe in Jesus. And, to the Church, He will teach righteousness or right standing with God and He will also teach them about judgment, which is that satan ,"the evil genius and ruler of darkness" has already been judged and sentenced.
If you an unsaved sinner, then the Holy Spirit will convict your heart about your sin in order to bring you to salvation. He will also reveal the penalty for their sin or their being in connection with satan. He will reveal what happens when the sinner remains in their sin, which is that the judgment of satan is the judgment for not receiving salvation and the payment for their sin. He will reveal Jesus and His righteousness to the Church. And, He will reveal that we are saved through the sacrifice of Jesus and have come into right standing with God because of Jesus. He will reveal how everything the Father has is Jesus'. The Holy Spirit will take all the things we've inherited through Jesus and reveal them to us.
This is the two-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit and without Him one can never know the conviction of his sin. We certainly cannot understand our being made righteous or in right standing with God without the revelation from the Spirit of Truth.
The second part of the Holy Spirit's ministry is more difficult to explain or understand than the first. It seems like most of us knew we were sinners, but we didn't know how to get out of it. But, we still have a difficult time believing that we were made righteous in Jesus before God. We struggle with condemnation and guilt over who we were before being saved and fail to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal who we are in Christ now. We seemingly place more faith in our past rather than in what our Lamb has done in our presence.
If the Truth giving Spirit doesn't reveal to us who we've become in Jesus, then we still simply see ourselves as old "sinners who were saved by grace." Only the Holy Spirit can convince us of our righteousness in Christ. Everything the Father has belongs to Jesus, according to Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) which says, "The Spirit Himself thus testifies together with our own spirit (assuring us) that we are children of God. And if we are (His) children, then we are (His) heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (sharing His inheritance with Him) only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory."
Many Christians get hung up with the latter part of this verse and misinterpret what "His sufferings" really are. The Holy Spirit wasn't speaking about Jesus' sufferings on Calvary's cross, this was for our sake. The suffering that Jesus endured was for His being righteous in the midst of the self-righteous people surrounding Him. He was misunderstood even by His Own family for doing what seemed like only God could do. This kind of suffering comes through the persecution from the world and the misunderstanding from even some in the Church.
Only the Holy Spirit can convince and convict the Church in righteousness. Mere men only see it as being prideful to say that we're righteous through Christ. The second part of the Holy Spirit's ministry is one that He, and only He alone, can fulfill in our Christian walk. We walk in religion instead of relationship with Christ without the Holy Spirit's direction in our prayer life and our lives. I've been told that, "You can't simply take a promise of God and proclaim it, in order to make it work." My reply is, "That's exactly what we did when we heard about the promise we would be saved if we simply believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus is the Son of God and ask His forgiveness, then we would be saved."
Is this not simply obtaining the promise by faith and confession? Why would the same principle not work with all the other promises of God?
It seems that it's easier to reveal Jesus as Savior than as Lord. Jesus is not Lord in the believer's life when he holds back anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, prejudice and all things of the old man. If I remain bitter over something that occurred in my past, then the Holy Spirit's job is to reveal what needs to done to change it and how to change it.
There has been confusion in the Church for many years concerning the way God brings about surrender of these "hidden" things in our lives. Some believe that God uses these things to correct us, while others can't even discern the difference between God's work and satan's work.
Listen closely to what Jesus says in John 16:7-15 (Amplified) because it will make a difference in how you receive and in what you receive from the Father. Thus, Verse 7 starts, "However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Stand-by) will not come to you ( into close fellowship with you). And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about (righteousness of heart and right standing with God) and about judgment.About sin, because they do not believe in Me (trust in, rely on, adhere to Me) About righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God), because I go to My Father, and you will see Me no more." Verses 11-13 say, About judgment because the ruler, (evil genius, prince) of the world (satan) is judged and condemned and his sentence is already passed upon him. I still have many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or take them upon you or to grasp them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth (the truth giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the 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 Him) and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come (that will happen in the future)." Verses 14- 15 end, "He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) that which is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you. Everything that the Father has is Mine, that is what I meant when I said that He (the Spirit), will take the things that are Mine, and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."
The above verses perfectly sum up the two-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit. He will bring demonstration to the world about its sin, which is that they do not believe in Jesus. And, to the Church, He will teach righteousness or right standing with God and He will also teach them about judgment, which is that satan ,"the evil genius and ruler of darkness" has already been judged and sentenced.
If you an unsaved sinner, then the Holy Spirit will convict your heart about your sin in order to bring you to salvation. He will also reveal the penalty for their sin or their being in connection with satan. He will reveal what happens when the sinner remains in their sin, which is that the judgment of satan is the judgment for not receiving salvation and the payment for their sin. He will reveal Jesus and His righteousness to the Church. And, He will reveal that we are saved through the sacrifice of Jesus and have come into right standing with God because of Jesus. He will reveal how everything the Father has is Jesus'. The Holy Spirit will take all the things we've inherited through Jesus and reveal them to us.
This is the two-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit and without Him one can never know the conviction of his sin. We certainly cannot understand our being made righteous or in right standing with God without the revelation from the Spirit of Truth.
The second part of the Holy Spirit's ministry is more difficult to explain or understand than the first. It seems like most of us knew we were sinners, but we didn't know how to get out of it. But, we still have a difficult time believing that we were made righteous in Jesus before God. We struggle with condemnation and guilt over who we were before being saved and fail to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal who we are in Christ now. We seemingly place more faith in our past rather than in what our Lamb has done in our presence.
If the Truth giving Spirit doesn't reveal to us who we've become in Jesus, then we still simply see ourselves as old "sinners who were saved by grace." Only the Holy Spirit can convince us of our righteousness in Christ. Everything the Father has belongs to Jesus, according to Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) which says, "The Spirit Himself thus testifies together with our own spirit (assuring us) that we are children of God. And if we are (His) children, then we are (His) heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (sharing His inheritance with Him) only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory."
Many Christians get hung up with the latter part of this verse and misinterpret what "His sufferings" really are. The Holy Spirit wasn't speaking about Jesus' sufferings on Calvary's cross, this was for our sake. The suffering that Jesus endured was for His being righteous in the midst of the self-righteous people surrounding Him. He was misunderstood even by His Own family for doing what seemed like only God could do. This kind of suffering comes through the persecution from the world and the misunderstanding from even some in the Church.
Only the Holy Spirit can convince and convict the Church in righteousness. Mere men only see it as being prideful to say that we're righteous through Christ. The second part of the Holy Spirit's ministry is one that He, and only He alone, can fulfill in our Christian walk. We walk in religion instead of relationship with Christ without the Holy Spirit's direction in our prayer life and our lives. I've been told that, "You can't simply take a promise of God and proclaim it, in order to make it work." My reply is, "That's exactly what we did when we heard about the promise we would be saved if we simply believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus is the Son of God and ask His forgiveness, then we would be saved."
Is this not simply obtaining the promise by faith and confession? Why would the same principle not work with all the other promises of God?
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Lesson 57 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Luke 3:21-23 (Amplified) says, "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized, and (while He was still) praying, the (visible) heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven saying, You are My Son, My Beloved! In You I am well pleased and find delight." Verse 23 goes on, "Jesus Himself, when He began (His ministry) was about thirty years of age, being as He was supposed the Son of Joseph, the son of Heli."
Jesus Himself didn't begin His ministry and work until the Holy Spirit came upon Him (He was baptized in the Holy Spirit) empowering Him. Acts 10:38 (Amplified) says, "How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the (Holy) Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by (the power of) the devil, for God was with Him."
Acts 1:5,8 (Amplified) tells us, "For John baptized with water, but not many days from now you shall be baptized with (placed in, introduced into) the Holy Spirit." Verse 8 goes on, "But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, And you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth."
We find the evidence of the working and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all the believers continue into Acts 2 through the end of that book. Read John 14:17 (Amplified) which says,
"The Spirit of truth (the Holy Spirit) Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart) because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you (constantly) and will be in you."
We see that the Holy Spirit is that part of the God Head (Trinity of God) Who brings God's power come to pass on this earth. 1Corinthians 12:4 (Amplified) says, "Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians, due to the power of divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit) and they vary, but the (Holy) Spirit remains the same."
The very same Holy Spirit Who was in Jesus, came on the Day of Pentecost and empowered the disciples and He is the same Spirit Who empowers the Body of Christ in this same dispensation. Did you notice that 1Corinthians 12:4 says that the Holy Spirit works gifts in certain Christians due to the "power or divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit?"
To what degree are you allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal His divine grace in your soul? We know that a man's soul is made up of his mind, his will and his emotions, but to what degree has the Church renewed our minds to the leading of the Holy Spirit? Romans 12:2 (Amplified) says, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), (fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs) but be transformed (changed) by the (entire) renewal of your mind (by its new ideals and its new attitude)."
To function in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must not be like those Jesus spoke of in John 14:17 (Amplified) which says that, "The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit because they cannot see Him or recognize Him." The Church (we) "Do not live only by what we see or feel, but by faith in God." We must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal His power of divine grace in our souls (our minds, will and emotions).
I told you about the "unclaimed riches" God spoke to me about and how Christians are not claiming them. 1Corinthians 12:4 says that "the Gifts of the Spirit operate in those who understand the divine measure of grace." To what degree do we understand or know the divine measure of His grace? Are we still limiting the power of His grace or do we allow grace to reach its full limit and expression of God's love for us?
We must understand the power of His salvation and grace and we must never limit God's grace by believing it only works when we're in heaven. It is His grace received NOW that gets us to heaven. We often only think of 2Corinthians 9:8 in relationship with money or our offerings. It's true that Paul is speaking about this, but we also know that we give more than money and offerings. Galatians 6:7 (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 will he reap."
When we sow to grace, we reap from grace. When we allow the power of divine grace to operate in our souls, we will also reap from the Lord accordingly, by the same Holy Spirit. As we come to recognize this grace in our spirit and soul, the Holy Spirit will release this understanding of grace into the lives of others through us. This grace results in "setting the captives free."
The Holy Spirit will release the gifts from His Own presence required to set at liberty all who are bound. Those who operate in the Gifts of the Spirit aren't chosen randomly, but are selected by the Holy Spirit from among those who operate in the understanding of the power of divine grace operating in their souls.
The grace fueling the Gifts of the Spirit is based upon how much we understand what grace has provided not only in our lives, but in the lives of those needing it. Those who need to understand the grace for healing in their body and have the understanding of divine grace operating in their souls through the Holy Spirit, become candidates for these Gifts to function in and through their lives.
We are different persons with different personalities and we might not function in exactly the same way or manner, but we still will operate by the same Holy Spirit.
Look back to 2Corinthians 9:8 (Amplified) and let this scripture not only be working in our giving of offerings, but also in our gifts of love. Thus, it says, "And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient (possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation."
Would you consider the healing the sick, giving sight to the blind or raising the cripple as being charitable things to give? If they are, then God will make all grace abound to the things which we sow into the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit is seeking those who will come to recognize the fullness of His grace. We must first understand what His grace has given before we will understand the power of His divine grace operating in our souls. How much do you think His grace has done in your life? When we come to know the answer to that, then we can begin knowing the power of His divine grace.
Jesus Himself didn't begin His ministry and work until the Holy Spirit came upon Him (He was baptized in the Holy Spirit) empowering Him. Acts 10:38 (Amplified) says, "How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the (Holy) Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by (the power of) the devil, for God was with Him."
Acts 1:5,8 (Amplified) tells us, "For John baptized with water, but not many days from now you shall be baptized with (placed in, introduced into) the Holy Spirit." Verse 8 goes on, "But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, And you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth."
We find the evidence of the working and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all the believers continue into Acts 2 through the end of that book. Read John 14:17 (Amplified) which says,
"The Spirit of truth (the Holy Spirit) Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart) because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you (constantly) and will be in you."
We see that the Holy Spirit is that part of the God Head (Trinity of God) Who brings God's power come to pass on this earth. 1Corinthians 12:4 (Amplified) says, "Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians, due to the power of divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit) and they vary, but the (Holy) Spirit remains the same."
The very same Holy Spirit Who was in Jesus, came on the Day of Pentecost and empowered the disciples and He is the same Spirit Who empowers the Body of Christ in this same dispensation. Did you notice that 1Corinthians 12:4 says that the Holy Spirit works gifts in certain Christians due to the "power or divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit?"
To what degree are you allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal His divine grace in your soul? We know that a man's soul is made up of his mind, his will and his emotions, but to what degree has the Church renewed our minds to the leading of the Holy Spirit? Romans 12:2 (Amplified) says, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), (fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs) but be transformed (changed) by the (entire) renewal of your mind (by its new ideals and its new attitude)."
To function in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must not be like those Jesus spoke of in John 14:17 (Amplified) which says that, "The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit because they cannot see Him or recognize Him." The Church (we) "Do not live only by what we see or feel, but by faith in God." We must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal His power of divine grace in our souls (our minds, will and emotions).
I told you about the "unclaimed riches" God spoke to me about and how Christians are not claiming them. 1Corinthians 12:4 says that "the Gifts of the Spirit operate in those who understand the divine measure of grace." To what degree do we understand or know the divine measure of His grace? Are we still limiting the power of His grace or do we allow grace to reach its full limit and expression of God's love for us?
We must understand the power of His salvation and grace and we must never limit God's grace by believing it only works when we're in heaven. It is His grace received NOW that gets us to heaven. We often only think of 2Corinthians 9:8 in relationship with money or our offerings. It's true that Paul is speaking about this, but we also know that we give more than money and offerings. Galatians 6:7 (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 will he reap."
When we sow to grace, we reap from grace. When we allow the power of divine grace to operate in our souls, we will also reap from the Lord accordingly, by the same Holy Spirit. As we come to recognize this grace in our spirit and soul, the Holy Spirit will release this understanding of grace into the lives of others through us. This grace results in "setting the captives free."
The Holy Spirit will release the gifts from His Own presence required to set at liberty all who are bound. Those who operate in the Gifts of the Spirit aren't chosen randomly, but are selected by the Holy Spirit from among those who operate in the understanding of the power of divine grace operating in their souls.
The grace fueling the Gifts of the Spirit is based upon how much we understand what grace has provided not only in our lives, but in the lives of those needing it. Those who need to understand the grace for healing in their body and have the understanding of divine grace operating in their souls through the Holy Spirit, become candidates for these Gifts to function in and through their lives.
We are different persons with different personalities and we might not function in exactly the same way or manner, but we still will operate by the same Holy Spirit.
Look back to 2Corinthians 9:8 (Amplified) and let this scripture not only be working in our giving of offerings, but also in our gifts of love. Thus, it says, "And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient (possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation."
Would you consider the healing the sick, giving sight to the blind or raising the cripple as being charitable things to give? If they are, then God will make all grace abound to the things which we sow into the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit is seeking those who will come to recognize the fullness of His grace. We must first understand what His grace has given before we will understand the power of His divine grace operating in our souls. How much do you think His grace has done in your life? When we come to know the answer to that, then we can begin knowing the power of His divine grace.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Lesson 56 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Somehow, we have more faith in the fallen, first Adam's sin than we do in the Last Adam's righteousness. We identify more with sin than righteousness because we don't allow the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus from faith to faith. We are righteous because of what Jesus did for us and not because of anything we've done...this is faith. Do you have more faith in your past than you do in your future?
The Lord revealed one of the steps of faith found in the 23rd Psalm. Many only read this at funerals. The Lord spoke to me saying, "This isn't a funeral passage, but a living promise." Psalm 23:4 (Amplified) says, "Yes, though I walk through the (deep, sunless) valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for you are with me; Your rod (to protect) and Your staff (to guide) they comfort me."
The Lord told me that this earth where I'm now walking is the Valley of the shadow of death. God also said that when He's there with me, there are no shadows because He is Light and Life. And, God promised to guide and lead me in this valley and that He's provided a table of covenant of the Bread and Cup where we can fellowship in peace. Even in the presence of the enemy, there is a place of communion with Him that the enemy cannot penetrate.
He is my Shepherd. If you know anything about livestock (especially about sheep), then you know how a shepherd would never lead his sheep to anything other than good pasture land. If you lead sheep into briars and thorns, then their wool would become tangled to the point where could die if not found in time. Genesis 22:13 (Amplified) says, "Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns."
Good shepherds would always lead their sheep to clean, still waters. If you lead sheep into swift currents or rapids, then they could drown when their wool gets soaked. The rapids would saturate their wool and make them become too heavy to swim out. Do you honestly think that our Shepherd is not wise enough to know this?
Our Shepherd "leads us" and doesn't drive us "into paths of righteousness (uprightness and right standing with Him-not for our earnings it, but) for His Name's sake." Our Shepherd is the Shepherd of our souls and He "restores our souls." Thus, Psalm 23:3 (Amplified) says, "He refreshes and restores my life (myself)." The restoration of our souls or inner selves is something we haven't allowed the Holy Spirit, by faith, to bring to light in our lives.
Before being saved, I smoked cigarettes and I enjoyed doing so. I wanted to quit smoking after being saved, but felt powerless to do so. I tried sheer willpower to stop, but I couldn't throw away my Lucky Strikes and would buy another pack. I didn't believe God would reject me for smoking, but I found myself blowing smoke into the faces of those I was witnessing to. I felt like my witness for Christ was being compromised by my bad habit.
I went to the Lord with my problem and He delivered me from smoking. I no longer had any desire for a smoke, but maybe even greater than this, the Lord restored my soul. I wasn't seeking cigarettes, but I wasn't repulsed by them either. I was restored to a place of innocence like I had never ever smoked. I discovered that by putting faith in my Shepherd, He would do the same for my sin conscience if I allowed Him to do so. I had to allow Him to do so, by faith.
He restores my soul, my mind, my will and my emotions. The old covenant people in Hebrews 10:2-3 had a fresh remembrance of sin conscience every time they made a sacrifice. By faith, I came to the Lord knowing that I was a sinner and was lost. By faith, I received His gift of grace that not only removed my sin, but my old life as well. By faith, I allowed my old self to die with Him on the cross. By faith, I allowed the Holy Spirit to show me the new creation that was raised with Jesus at His resurrection. And, by faith, I have allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus as the Shepherd of my soul.
In each of these steps, the Holy Spirit has by faith, revealed Jesus in my life. This might seem like boasting, if so, then let me boast in Him. I am what I am because "He made me to be one with Him like He is One with the Father," according to John 17 (the entire chapter). The only way of enjoying life like John 10:10 says, is by allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal how life in Him is supposed to by lived.
The Holy Spirit has come to reveal and continue to reveal Jesus in all His glory, to the Church. It's only then that the world can see the Light we are called to be. His Name and faith in His Name, has made this man whole from faith to faith, like in Acts 3:16. Amen.
The Lord revealed one of the steps of faith found in the 23rd Psalm. Many only read this at funerals. The Lord spoke to me saying, "This isn't a funeral passage, but a living promise." Psalm 23:4 (Amplified) says, "Yes, though I walk through the (deep, sunless) valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for you are with me; Your rod (to protect) and Your staff (to guide) they comfort me."
The Lord told me that this earth where I'm now walking is the Valley of the shadow of death. God also said that when He's there with me, there are no shadows because He is Light and Life. And, God promised to guide and lead me in this valley and that He's provided a table of covenant of the Bread and Cup where we can fellowship in peace. Even in the presence of the enemy, there is a place of communion with Him that the enemy cannot penetrate.
He is my Shepherd. If you know anything about livestock (especially about sheep), then you know how a shepherd would never lead his sheep to anything other than good pasture land. If you lead sheep into briars and thorns, then their wool would become tangled to the point where could die if not found in time. Genesis 22:13 (Amplified) says, "Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns."
Good shepherds would always lead their sheep to clean, still waters. If you lead sheep into swift currents or rapids, then they could drown when their wool gets soaked. The rapids would saturate their wool and make them become too heavy to swim out. Do you honestly think that our Shepherd is not wise enough to know this?
Our Shepherd "leads us" and doesn't drive us "into paths of righteousness (uprightness and right standing with Him-not for our earnings it, but) for His Name's sake." Our Shepherd is the Shepherd of our souls and He "restores our souls." Thus, Psalm 23:3 (Amplified) says, "He refreshes and restores my life (myself)." The restoration of our souls or inner selves is something we haven't allowed the Holy Spirit, by faith, to bring to light in our lives.
Before being saved, I smoked cigarettes and I enjoyed doing so. I wanted to quit smoking after being saved, but felt powerless to do so. I tried sheer willpower to stop, but I couldn't throw away my Lucky Strikes and would buy another pack. I didn't believe God would reject me for smoking, but I found myself blowing smoke into the faces of those I was witnessing to. I felt like my witness for Christ was being compromised by my bad habit.
I went to the Lord with my problem and He delivered me from smoking. I no longer had any desire for a smoke, but maybe even greater than this, the Lord restored my soul. I wasn't seeking cigarettes, but I wasn't repulsed by them either. I was restored to a place of innocence like I had never ever smoked. I discovered that by putting faith in my Shepherd, He would do the same for my sin conscience if I allowed Him to do so. I had to allow Him to do so, by faith.
He restores my soul, my mind, my will and my emotions. The old covenant people in Hebrews 10:2-3 had a fresh remembrance of sin conscience every time they made a sacrifice. By faith, I came to the Lord knowing that I was a sinner and was lost. By faith, I received His gift of grace that not only removed my sin, but my old life as well. By faith, I allowed my old self to die with Him on the cross. By faith, I allowed the Holy Spirit to show me the new creation that was raised with Jesus at His resurrection. And, by faith, I have allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus as the Shepherd of my soul.
In each of these steps, the Holy Spirit has by faith, revealed Jesus in my life. This might seem like boasting, if so, then let me boast in Him. I am what I am because "He made me to be one with Him like He is One with the Father," according to John 17 (the entire chapter). The only way of enjoying life like John 10:10 says, is by allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal how life in Him is supposed to by lived.
The Holy Spirit has come to reveal and continue to reveal Jesus in all His glory, to the Church. It's only then that the world can see the Light we are called to be. His Name and faith in His Name, has made this man whole from faith to faith, like in Acts 3:16. Amen.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Lesson 55 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Romans 1:17 (Amplified) says, "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith (disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith) as it is written, the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith."
Only the Holy Spirit can lead us into the faith to faith process. We move into that process as He reveals more light on Jesus and Who He is and what He's done. We must first believe that Jesus is the Son of God, by the Holy Spirit and then, by faith, believe that Jesus died in our place. Then, by faith, we must believe that Jesus paid our penalty for sin and He gave us new life. As the Holy Spirit leads us, we must believe that in Him we are justified and declared righteous before God.
These steps take us from faith to faith. Many people have believed by faith, that Jesus died in our stead. And, many have believed that Jesus bore our sins. Now, we must believe by faith, that we are righteous and in right standing with God through Him.
2Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified) tells us, "For our sake He made Christ (virtually) to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become (endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of) the righteousness of God (what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness)."
So many of us have our faith falter at this truth. We confess to believe by faith that Jesus bore our sin and unrighteousness, then we still view ourselves as sinners and quote Romans 3:10 saying, "None are righteous, no not one." We don't allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into the next step of faith Paul speaks of in Romans 3:23-24 (Amplified) which says, "Since all have sinned and are fallen short of the honor and glory, which God bestows and receives. (All) are justified and made upright and in right standing (righteous) with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is (provided) in Christ Jesus."
Although we're in right standing with God, without the Holy Spirit's leading us into this step of faith, we continue standing outside of this truth and still strive to enter into that right standing by works. We've already been declared righteous by the Father Himself, but we only stand in this righteousness by faith. Our own effort deny faith and return to relying on works to enter into righteousness. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must (necessarily) believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him (out)."
The Holy Spirit is the One Who can reveal Jesus to us through His Word and our seeking Him out. The "reward" He gives, is the revealing of what we were seeking. As we seek a way to be righteous before Him, the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus in the Word which proclaims our righteousness in Him. Then, we are pleasing to the Father, because we have come to Him in righteousness by faith in Jesus and not by our own efforts.
When the Holy Spirit is allowed to reveal Jesus to His people, He will lead us from one depth of faith to another. So many believers are content to "just go to heaven" and don't allow Jesus to be Lord in their lives now. We witness many degrees of faith in the Body of Christ today. All must have faith to even be born again, but many stop there.
Many of us in the Church believe that leading someone to salvation is the most important thing in our walk. I suppose this is true, but what about after they're saved? That would be like a mother saying, "I've carried and delivered this baby, and he will survive if he's tough enough." A newborn must be fed, trained, raised and nurtured until he becomes strong and mature to survive on his own.
These infants become what they were fed and trained in. Their faith seems to end in whatever degree we teach them. Although we see many degrees of faith in today's Church, we haven't seen anyone who has reached the full potential of it. The Holy Spirit is the only One Who can take us to this depth of faith. The Lord told me once that, "Grace has provided so much more than our faith has ever yet received." He told me about the "unclaimed riches of grace." There are many things in our covenant of grace that have been provided, but lay dormant because we don't have the faith to receive them.
There's more than just being saved, but so many have stopped there. We see others who have entered into the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speak in other tongues. We see other believers who have faith in their prayers being answered, while others pray, "If if be Thy will." Some in the Body of Christ believe in healing and the Gifts of the Spirit, while others believe that those things have passed away. Each of these show the degree of going from faith to faith.
Some Christians believe God is their problem and puts trials and tests on them. I've known some believers who think God allows satan to put things on them in order to test them. These beliefs come from not allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and reveal Jesus and then receiving man's ideas and religions. The Holy Spirit will never teach one part of God's family that they are righteous and then teach another part of God's family that they are still sinners saved by grace. We were sinners who were saved by grace, but now we're not only forgiven sinners, we are sons and daughters of God. We are the righteousness of God in and through Christ Jesus. You are a whole new creation who is born again of the "incorruptible Seed of God, His Word."
Only the Holy Spirit can lead us into the faith to faith process. We move into that process as He reveals more light on Jesus and Who He is and what He's done. We must first believe that Jesus is the Son of God, by the Holy Spirit and then, by faith, believe that Jesus died in our place. Then, by faith, we must believe that Jesus paid our penalty for sin and He gave us new life. As the Holy Spirit leads us, we must believe that in Him we are justified and declared righteous before God.
These steps take us from faith to faith. Many people have believed by faith, that Jesus died in our stead. And, many have believed that Jesus bore our sins. Now, we must believe by faith, that we are righteous and in right standing with God through Him.
2Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified) tells us, "For our sake He made Christ (virtually) to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become (endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of) the righteousness of God (what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness)."
So many of us have our faith falter at this truth. We confess to believe by faith that Jesus bore our sin and unrighteousness, then we still view ourselves as sinners and quote Romans 3:10 saying, "None are righteous, no not one." We don't allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into the next step of faith Paul speaks of in Romans 3:23-24 (Amplified) which says, "Since all have sinned and are fallen short of the honor and glory, which God bestows and receives. (All) are justified and made upright and in right standing (righteous) with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is (provided) in Christ Jesus."
Although we're in right standing with God, without the Holy Spirit's leading us into this step of faith, we continue standing outside of this truth and still strive to enter into that right standing by works. We've already been declared righteous by the Father Himself, but we only stand in this righteousness by faith. Our own effort deny faith and return to relying on works to enter into righteousness. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must (necessarily) believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him (out)."
The Holy Spirit is the One Who can reveal Jesus to us through His Word and our seeking Him out. The "reward" He gives, is the revealing of what we were seeking. As we seek a way to be righteous before Him, the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus in the Word which proclaims our righteousness in Him. Then, we are pleasing to the Father, because we have come to Him in righteousness by faith in Jesus and not by our own efforts.
When the Holy Spirit is allowed to reveal Jesus to His people, He will lead us from one depth of faith to another. So many believers are content to "just go to heaven" and don't allow Jesus to be Lord in their lives now. We witness many degrees of faith in the Body of Christ today. All must have faith to even be born again, but many stop there.
Many of us in the Church believe that leading someone to salvation is the most important thing in our walk. I suppose this is true, but what about after they're saved? That would be like a mother saying, "I've carried and delivered this baby, and he will survive if he's tough enough." A newborn must be fed, trained, raised and nurtured until he becomes strong and mature to survive on his own.
These infants become what they were fed and trained in. Their faith seems to end in whatever degree we teach them. Although we see many degrees of faith in today's Church, we haven't seen anyone who has reached the full potential of it. The Holy Spirit is the only One Who can take us to this depth of faith. The Lord told me once that, "Grace has provided so much more than our faith has ever yet received." He told me about the "unclaimed riches of grace." There are many things in our covenant of grace that have been provided, but lay dormant because we don't have the faith to receive them.
There's more than just being saved, but so many have stopped there. We see others who have entered into the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speak in other tongues. We see other believers who have faith in their prayers being answered, while others pray, "If if be Thy will." Some in the Body of Christ believe in healing and the Gifts of the Spirit, while others believe that those things have passed away. Each of these show the degree of going from faith to faith.
Some Christians believe God is their problem and puts trials and tests on them. I've known some believers who think God allows satan to put things on them in order to test them. These beliefs come from not allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and reveal Jesus and then receiving man's ideas and religions. The Holy Spirit will never teach one part of God's family that they are righteous and then teach another part of God's family that they are still sinners saved by grace. We were sinners who were saved by grace, but now we're not only forgiven sinners, we are sons and daughters of God. We are the righteousness of God in and through Christ Jesus. You are a whole new creation who is born again of the "incorruptible Seed of God, His Word."
Monday, August 10, 2015
Lesson 54 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
For all of you who've been faithful to follow my blog, forgive my being absent for the last two weeks. I've been in the hay fields putting up hay for the coming winter.
When I had a radio broadcast in Watertown, New York, the radio station's announcer Tony Gullo nicknamed me Cowboy Jim. He didn't do it without reason as I raise horses and beef cattle. Most of my ministry is done in cowboy boots and Levis.
It's been a very busy summer and a trying one. My horse barn was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. We lost everything in it along with one of my horses, Tammy's cat and thirty chickens and a rooster. So, between working on preparations for rebuilding along with haying, I had to take time off for vacation (if you can call that vacation). The Lord has been good to me during this trial and many of the men from church built a shelter for the horses until their barn is completed.
One of the Holy Spirit's ministries is being the Comforter. He never ceased to bring comfort and strength to my family and me,even in the midst of everything going on. And, as long as the Church is here, the Holy Spirit will always be our Comforter and our Strength. His greatest work and ministry is revealing the Lord Jesus to the world as Savior and bringing a continuous revelation of Jesus to the Church.
Many in the Church are now growing in His grace and wisdom at an alarming rate. For many years, the Church walked in a very limited knowledge and understanding about what really occurred after the cross. Most in the Church were familiar with Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, but they were not familiar with His position and ours, because we were raised together with Him and made to sit with Him in heavenly places and were given joint seating with Him, according to Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified).
For many years, we believed that these things were for when we got to heaven. But, we're in the now place with the Father and this means that we (the Church, His Body) are in the same position as the Head of the Body. This means that the Church sits in the same place and authority where Jesus sits. This concept is too hard for our natural man's wisdom to comprehend, but not for our spirit.
For far too long, many in the Church have felt like the Prodigal Son who was still living with the pigs and not really accepted by the Father. The Church has been taught for years that we still weren't pleasing to the Father. No matter how hard we tried or what we did, we remained more conscious of our failures that we were of Jesus' victory. And, all the time we were struggling to be accepted by our Father, He was trying to be accepted by His family. We were unsure of being able to approach Him and even more unsure of His hearing and answering our prayers or meeting our needs. God was doing everything through His Holy Spirit to reach beyond man's teachings and reveal Jesus in us and through us, in His glory.
The Holy Spirit is actually the Shekinah or glory of God Himself. Jesus speaks about the Church and the Holy Spirit in John 17:22 (Amplified), saying, "I have given to them the believer the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one (even) as We are One." This "glory and honor" was the infilling and indwelling of the Holy Spirit Who is God Himself. Now, because of Jesus being raised from the dead and raised up to "sit together at the right hand of the Father," we can be filled with the same Spirit, same glory and the same honor Jesus was filled with. It is the Holy Spirit of God Himself Who lives in us and Who does the work.
Many believe this sounds like boasting and being puffed up with pride, but not to the Father. To the Father, is sounds like He is finally being accepted by His children as truly being our Father. No father wants his children to be afraid or mistrusting of him and our Heavenly Father doesn't want that either.
Some believe it's harsh to say we've been afraid to believe His Word for us. No Christian would dare say that "we don't believe the Bible," but we remain reluctant to believe what God's Word says about us while we're still in this natural body and remain reluctant to receive His Truth. We're not only His children when we get to heaven, we are His children now. God's promises to care for us in our time of need, have no bearing on when we get home with Him because there won't be any needs there. These are promises for here and now.
The Holy Spirit is reaching beyond the realm of religion and is revealing Jesus in the realm of relationship. We've almost reduced Him to an idea instead of I AM. Those serving other gods always have an uneasy feeling of being rejected by their god. Some are also afraid of their god.
Our God gives us the invitation to "Come boldly before His throne of grace" at anytime. We never need be concerned with His rejecting us, turning away from us or being scorned by Him. If God loved us when we were still in sin, then would He love us any less now? God knew who and what we were when He called us and loved us anyway.
The Holy Spirit is working to bring the world to Jesus and He is working to make the Father truly acceptable in the most intimate part of believer's lives. Even after everything He suffered through to eradicate our sin and trespasses and declare us as righteous and holy, we still hesitate to approach Him in peace and in surety.
Don't be afraid to open your innermost, private soul to Him because "He restores our soul," according to Psalm 23. This restoration will bring us back in our soul, our mind, our will and our emotions to a place of innocence (like a newborn baby). God wishes to restore us to the place of innocence before we sinned and relieve us from the fears and guilt stored in our soul from the past. He doesn't even see or remember them. As the Holy Spirit moves, let Him remove the past, along with the memories of the past and the dead man and replace them with His glory and honor.
You have retained "lordship" over the things you hold onto; such as anger, bitterness, hate and unforgiveness, for example. You might have given Him Lordship over some things, but He isn't Lord over other thins in your life. To make Him Lord over those old hurts and emotions, you must surrender them to Him and allow Him to be truly Lord over all.
It sounds odd to say that I've retained lordship over certain things in my life, after making Jesus Lord. If these things are still there, if they still hurt and if they continue causing anger and bitterness in my life, then He hasn't been allowed to take Lordship over them. When He is truly Lord over our lives, then His peace and not the world's peace will reveal His Lordship in our lives. He is, after all, the Prince of Peace. Accept the Father's invitation to "Come boldly before His throne of grace and receive grace and mercy" any time and every time we need it.
When I had a radio broadcast in Watertown, New York, the radio station's announcer Tony Gullo nicknamed me Cowboy Jim. He didn't do it without reason as I raise horses and beef cattle. Most of my ministry is done in cowboy boots and Levis.
It's been a very busy summer and a trying one. My horse barn was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. We lost everything in it along with one of my horses, Tammy's cat and thirty chickens and a rooster. So, between working on preparations for rebuilding along with haying, I had to take time off for vacation (if you can call that vacation). The Lord has been good to me during this trial and many of the men from church built a shelter for the horses until their barn is completed.
One of the Holy Spirit's ministries is being the Comforter. He never ceased to bring comfort and strength to my family and me,even in the midst of everything going on. And, as long as the Church is here, the Holy Spirit will always be our Comforter and our Strength. His greatest work and ministry is revealing the Lord Jesus to the world as Savior and bringing a continuous revelation of Jesus to the Church.
Many in the Church are now growing in His grace and wisdom at an alarming rate. For many years, the Church walked in a very limited knowledge and understanding about what really occurred after the cross. Most in the Church were familiar with Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, but they were not familiar with His position and ours, because we were raised together with Him and made to sit with Him in heavenly places and were given joint seating with Him, according to Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified).
For many years, we believed that these things were for when we got to heaven. But, we're in the now place with the Father and this means that we (the Church, His Body) are in the same position as the Head of the Body. This means that the Church sits in the same place and authority where Jesus sits. This concept is too hard for our natural man's wisdom to comprehend, but not for our spirit.
For far too long, many in the Church have felt like the Prodigal Son who was still living with the pigs and not really accepted by the Father. The Church has been taught for years that we still weren't pleasing to the Father. No matter how hard we tried or what we did, we remained more conscious of our failures that we were of Jesus' victory. And, all the time we were struggling to be accepted by our Father, He was trying to be accepted by His family. We were unsure of being able to approach Him and even more unsure of His hearing and answering our prayers or meeting our needs. God was doing everything through His Holy Spirit to reach beyond man's teachings and reveal Jesus in us and through us, in His glory.
The Holy Spirit is actually the Shekinah or glory of God Himself. Jesus speaks about the Church and the Holy Spirit in John 17:22 (Amplified), saying, "I have given to them the believer the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one (even) as We are One." This "glory and honor" was the infilling and indwelling of the Holy Spirit Who is God Himself. Now, because of Jesus being raised from the dead and raised up to "sit together at the right hand of the Father," we can be filled with the same Spirit, same glory and the same honor Jesus was filled with. It is the Holy Spirit of God Himself Who lives in us and Who does the work.
Many believe this sounds like boasting and being puffed up with pride, but not to the Father. To the Father, is sounds like He is finally being accepted by His children as truly being our Father. No father wants his children to be afraid or mistrusting of him and our Heavenly Father doesn't want that either.
Some believe it's harsh to say we've been afraid to believe His Word for us. No Christian would dare say that "we don't believe the Bible," but we remain reluctant to believe what God's Word says about us while we're still in this natural body and remain reluctant to receive His Truth. We're not only His children when we get to heaven, we are His children now. God's promises to care for us in our time of need, have no bearing on when we get home with Him because there won't be any needs there. These are promises for here and now.
The Holy Spirit is reaching beyond the realm of religion and is revealing Jesus in the realm of relationship. We've almost reduced Him to an idea instead of I AM. Those serving other gods always have an uneasy feeling of being rejected by their god. Some are also afraid of their god.
Our God gives us the invitation to "Come boldly before His throne of grace" at anytime. We never need be concerned with His rejecting us, turning away from us or being scorned by Him. If God loved us when we were still in sin, then would He love us any less now? God knew who and what we were when He called us and loved us anyway.
The Holy Spirit is working to bring the world to Jesus and He is working to make the Father truly acceptable in the most intimate part of believer's lives. Even after everything He suffered through to eradicate our sin and trespasses and declare us as righteous and holy, we still hesitate to approach Him in peace and in surety.
Don't be afraid to open your innermost, private soul to Him because "He restores our soul," according to Psalm 23. This restoration will bring us back in our soul, our mind, our will and our emotions to a place of innocence (like a newborn baby). God wishes to restore us to the place of innocence before we sinned and relieve us from the fears and guilt stored in our soul from the past. He doesn't even see or remember them. As the Holy Spirit moves, let Him remove the past, along with the memories of the past and the dead man and replace them with His glory and honor.
You have retained "lordship" over the things you hold onto; such as anger, bitterness, hate and unforgiveness, for example. You might have given Him Lordship over some things, but He isn't Lord over other thins in your life. To make Him Lord over those old hurts and emotions, you must surrender them to Him and allow Him to be truly Lord over all.
It sounds odd to say that I've retained lordship over certain things in my life, after making Jesus Lord. If these things are still there, if they still hurt and if they continue causing anger and bitterness in my life, then He hasn't been allowed to take Lordship over them. When He is truly Lord over our lives, then His peace and not the world's peace will reveal His Lordship in our lives. He is, after all, the Prince of Peace. Accept the Father's invitation to "Come boldly before His throne of grace and receive grace and mercy" any time and every time we need it.
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