Lesson 10 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

      The most rejected part of the life of the believer is reliance on the Holy Spirit.  He is the One Who Jesus said, "The Father would send to us another Comforter" after His ascension.  The Holy Spirit's title is really much more than a Comforter, He is the One to Whom the Father has entrusted the growth and maturity of His family.
     The primary ministry of the Holy Spirit is to point people to salvation by revealing the redemptive work of Jesus at the cross and resurrection.  Once He has revealed salvation through the Blood and grace of Jesus, the Holy Spirit has to reveal to the Church what all that really means to us.
    Jesus said in John 14:26 (Amplified), "But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf). He will teach you all things, and He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."  In John 16:13 (Amplified) Jesus said, "He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come (that will happen in the future)."
     Remember how the things we know now about the Church, the new birth, the sonship rights, the return of the Lord, the redemption from the curse, the covenant of grace and the time of the end, had not yet happened and were for the future.  It's been the Holy Spirit's ministry to reveal all these things we now know, to the Church.  He has been ever busy about the appointment the Father has sent Him to do.
     The Holy Spirit has brought the Love of God into the hearts of God's family, according to Romans 5:5 (Amplified) which says, "Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us."  We've failed in so many aspects about having His presence in our lives and it continues today.
     The Holy Spirit is the One Who the Father has entrusted His family to.  The promise of the resurrection has even been given over to Him.  Romans 8:11 (Amplified) says, "And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you."
     For many in the Church,the Holy Spirit has been and remains a mystery or at least Someone Who isn't personable or Someone with Whom one could actually have a relationship with.  The Holy Spirit was inspiring men to write down what the Father was speaking to His children.  2Timothy 3:16-17 (Amplified) says, "Every scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience (and) for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose and action)."  Verse 17 says, "So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well-fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work."
     It requires the Holy Spirit's presence and His ministry, to reveal to the hearts of Christians, the fullness of what Jesus has done.  Romans 8:15-17 (Amplified) tells us, "For (the Spirit which) you have now received (is) not a Spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption (the Spirit producing sonship) in (the bliss of) which we cry, Abba, (Father) Father. 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."
     When man read this scripture without the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, he always centers in on the phrase of "Sharing in His sufferings."  This gives us leave to justify whatever goes on in our lives as "God's will" and the "suffering we must endure."  Although it's true that there has been much suffering since the Church was breathed to life, this scripture isn't about focusing on suffering, but on being children of God and heirs of His glory and majesty.
     We will suffer persecution for being Christians because of the Name of Jesus, but through all of these things, we are "more than conquerors through Christ" Who loves us.  Without the Holy Spirit's revealing the spiritual things of God's Word, we bring the spiritual truth into a carnal "religion" that brings us once more, into bondage to the world.
     This is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit.  God established the old covenant and the Law through Moses, but before that, there was a covenant of grace that came through Abraham.  The only way to return to this grace covenant, was to destroy sin and not just cover it up through animal sacrifice.  The ministry of Jesus had to come to earth.  He was to be born without sin, fulfill the Law, die as a sinner or in the place of sinners, pay the Full penalty for our transgressions, be separated from the Father, buried in death and raised as Lord and Savior of the Church, ascend into the heavenlies on our behalf and take upon Himself the ministry of the High Priest over the covenant people and to be our intercessor before the throne of God for all time.  His earthly ministry was completed and now would come the next part of God's work, which was bringing man back to Himself.
     The Holy Spirit was now God poured out in the hearts of man, to live in them and walk with them (through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit).  No longer would God have to deal with man in the flesh, but in the spirit.  Now, the inside of the cup would be clean by sacrifice, instead of just the outside.  Matthew 23:25-26 (Amplified) says, "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites) for you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but within they are full of extortion (prey, spoil, plunder) and grasping self0indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so the outside may be clean.?
     No matter how we kept the Law and how hard we tried, we were still under the sentence of "spiritual death" from the Garden.  The only way to "be clean" was from the inside out and only the Holy Spirit of the Life of God, could do this.  Once the inside was clean, the outside would then conform to the new life within us by His presence.
     The Holy Spirit was now to reveal to us what this new life in Christ was really all about.  He was to show us all things and cleanse the vessel of all things not from God.  As he began unveil Jesus to the spirit of the believer, we were to be changed "from one glory to another glory, from glory to glory." 
     The Holy Spirit would reveal the power of this sacrifice and the completeness of it for the removal of sin in our lives.  He would show us, by His ministry in us, that through Jesus, we are completely in right standing with God and righteous in His eyes.  The Holy Spirit would teach us about the mystery that had been hidden before the foundation of the world and we would have this mystery revealed to us through Him.  The Holy Spirit isn't just for the Upper Room or for speaking in tongues.  He is living in us as the Guide, Teacher and God Himself.

Lesson 9 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

    Jesus spoke much concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit.  When He spoke about the Holy Spirit, Jesus spoke about the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit that would come to men after Jesus went to the Father.  That work and ministry has mostly been neglected by the Church.  We haven't been taught to "listen" to His leadings or how to yield to His voice.
     When Jesus was near the completion of His earthly ministry, He told the disciples that He would not leave them without Someone to replace Him.  John 14:25-26 (Amplified) says, "I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by) the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf) He will teach you all things; And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."
     Jesus tells them in Verse 27 that He was "leaving or giving" His peace to them.  This peace is a work of the same Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit, alone, can bring the peace of God into your heart (spirit) in the midst of the world's turmoil.  Remember how Jesus said the Father would sent the Holy Spirit to earth in His stead.  The Holy Spirit was to be our Comforter.  The comfort Jesus received in the face of adversity, came from the same Holy Spirit the Father sent to us.
      How many people and how many times have you seen them seeking comfort in this world, when there's none to be found?  Whether you're concerned about your finances, job, children or any other thing, it can bring dis-comfort to you.  After telling His disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit, He said in John 14:27 (Amplified), "Peace I leave with you; My Peace (My Own peace) I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts (spirits) be troubled, neither let them be afraid (stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled)."
     The Holy Spirit came as a direct order from the Father on our behalf.  He is the One Who will "bring to remembrance" the things Jesus said and to bring boldness and comfort to the Church.  Too many times, we forget what Jesus said about the earthly ministry and work of the Holy Spirit.  When we learn to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we will always be comforted in our walk with the Father.  The flesh only desires to condemn and accuse us before ourselves over our past.  The Holy Spirit comes to encourage and convince us of the finished work of Christ.
     We won't find comfort from listening to the flesh or the world.  The "accuser" of the Church is the devil and he won't let you remember what Jesus says about you, only what the world and the unrenewed mind says about you.  How can one live in peace and comfort and in the presence of a Holy God by only remembering who he used to be before Jesus made him new?  Remembering those past things would only make us be "cowardly" in His presence.
     The Word tells us in Hebrews 4:16 (Amplified), "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners) that we may receive mercy (for our failures) and find grace to help in good time for every need (appropriate help and well times help, coming just when we need it)."
     The only way we can "Come boldly to God's throne of grace," is when we allow the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to bring Christ's Own peace in our hearts.  If we try approaching His throne of grace through our own efforts, then it is no longer grace.  And, when it's not grace, then it is works, which will always cause us to fall short in our flesh.  We cannot do enough good works to qualify in His throne room.  It must be grace.
     When we allow the Holy Spirit into our lives, we can walk in the life of the new man leave behind the old man, dead and buried in baptism.  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 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 death."
     Only when we allow the Comforter and Counselor to counsel us in our "new man," can we be free from the condemnation of the dictates (reminders) of the flesh.  The old man will always remind you of who you were.  The Holy Spirit will remind you of who you are now through Christ.
     As Christians, we seem to struggle with this the most in our walk with God.  We remain cowardly and intimidated in the presence of our Father.  Without the working of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, we can never be comfortable in the presence of our own Heavenly Father.  We grieve the Holy Spirit by going back to the carnal mind instead of allowing Him to bring forth the mind of the Spirit to us.
     Romans 15:13 (Amplified) says, "May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing (through the experience of your faith) that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope."
     1Corinthians 1:6-7 (Amplified) says, "In this way (our) witnessing concerning Christ (the Messiah) was so confirmed and established and made sure in you that you are not (consciously) falling behind or lacking in any special spiritual endowment of Christian grace (the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating in your souls by the Holy Spirit) while you wait and watch (constantly living in hope) for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and (His) being made visible to all."
     There are things that cause some to "fall behind in" and "lack in," because we don't allow the Holy Spirit to work the "Peace that passes all understanding" in us.  When we're more conscious of who we were instead of who we are in Christ, we can never be bold before the throne of grace or be at ease in the Father's house.
     I can imagine how this must be the most difficult part of the Holy Spirit was dispatched to do.  It's only when He can make us confident in this, can He begin revealing what Jesus has truly done for us.  Even when we're minister and preaching God's Word, but without the Holy Spirit giving life to our words, our words can only bring remorse and not repentance.
     1Corinthians 2:4-5 (Amplified) says, "And my language and message was not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power (a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them) So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy) but the power of God."
    
    

Lesson 8 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

     The work and ministry of the Holy Spirit began after Jesus ascended to the Father in heaven.  He is the One Who reveals the finished work of Jesus, to the Church and the world.  Even the life of the believer is dependent upon the Holy 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 benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
     Without the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we simply take the Spirit of the Word and create another man-made religion from it.  Even though the Word is Spirit, it can only be discerned through the Holy Spirit.  His work is cut-out for Him and is an ongoing thing in the world and the Church.  Everything in the new covenant must be revealed by the Holy Spirit in order to have it "profit" the family of God or the world. 
     Most of us can recall trying to read the Bible at one time or another and having it make no sense at all.  But, when the Holy Spirit began moving in our lives, the Word became alive.  This is the work that He is charged with in this dispensation.  Without His illuminating and revealing the Life in the Word, it seems like simply any other book to us.  We still struggle with miracles, tongues, healing and prophecy, as though they are "passed away."  Until we allow the Holy Spirit His place in the ministry, we will simply not see everything Jesus has actually done for us.
 We've mostly limited what Jesus has done for us, to forgiveness of sin and going to heaven.  A limited few have gone a little further to the knowing of His voice and fellowshipping with Him in the Spirit.  By failing to recognize the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit, we've missed most of what the Father wants in our lives.  We've focused more on what we can't do rather than on what we can do.  We've dwelt more on the suffering rather than the victory the suffering gained for us.
    Many Christians stopped at the cross, instead of being raised together and "Seated together with Jesus at the right hand of the Father in heavenly places," like Ephesians 2:6 says.  We've believed that these were future things instead of things that Jesus has already done.  Only the Holy Spirit can make these things real in the believer's heart.  We've accepted the death on the cross, but haven't always accepted the Life of His resurrection for ourselves.
     The Church's thought life and actions have mostly centered on our past life as sinners.  Most of our sermons have been about abstaining from sin.  Although it is true we should abstain from sin, our life shouldn't be consumed by this.  Our life should be consumed by the Holy Spirit.
     Galatians 5:16 (Amplified) says, "But I say, walk and live (habitually) in the Holy Spirit (responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit) then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh of human nature without God)."
     For centuries, the awareness of the flesh has dominated the awareness of the Spirit.  It's the Holy Spirit's job to bring forth the revelation of who we are now and not who we used to be.  The Holy Spirit has received from the Father, the work and ministry of bringing the Family of God into completeness and maturity.  What a frustrating job that would be for anyone but Him.  As He reveals a new light on the works of Jesus, we in turn, fight over it because it conflicts with what the flesh relationship with Jesus has conditioned us to believe.
     1Corinthians 2:7-10 (Amplified) says, "But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden (from the human understanding) now revealed to us by God - (that wisdom) which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification (to lift us into the glory of His presence). None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory."  Verses 9-10 say, "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 ready 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 Spirit. For the Holy Spirit searches diligently, diligently exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God (the divine councils and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny)."
     The above scripture tells us that the work of the Holy Spirit is to (by His Own self), reveal the hidden mysteries and counsels and profound things of God to His people and to the world.  Things that man could never know on his own, are now available to the Church by the Holy Spirit.  All of the mysteries of God are revealed to us by His Spirit.
     As the God's family matures and the End of the Age is being reached, all the things the Father has desired for His children are ready to be revealed.  Only the Holy Spirit can show us these things.  We must begin to recognize and appreciate His ministry in these last days.
     For most of the Church, we have only acknowledge Him in a very limited way.  Most of us have been so very unfamiliar with Him that we considered His presence as our "having a hunch" or "something tells me" or "I feel like I was told to do this."  We were afraid to even believe that the Holy Spirit was the One Who was dealing and speaking into our lives, lest someone would mock us or disassociate with us.  We need to come to know Him.
     
    

Lesson 7 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

     When Jesus rose from the grave and was seated at the right hand of the Father, the new covenant was just beginning.  Jesus fulfilled the old covenant by becoming the perfect and last sacrifice.  He had become the law and the penalty and the curse of the Law by His Own Blood and death.  Jesus was now to take His place in the Heavenlies and take on the ministry of the High Priest over the new covenant.  In His stead here on earth, Jesus was to send down the Holy Spirit Who was and is, to bring about the new birth and the new covenant.
     Jesus ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit's ministry began.  This ministry was no longer one of works, but one of grace and faith in that grace.  The Holy Spirit began revealing to the hearts of men, the sacrifice of Jesus on their behalf.  They would then believe, by faith in His finished works, and the Holy Spirit could now bring the very life of Christ into their spirits and they could be born again from on high.  We could be transformed and raised with Him from death unto the Life of God.  By our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit can bring the righteousness of God into the place of sin and separation. 
     It's only the Holy Spirit Who could reveal this new revelation to mankind and it's only He Who can show us the way unto salvation in Christ.  If we allowed the Holy Spirit to unveil Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world and we believed what He showed us, then we could be saved.  Mankind still must choose to believe or not to believe.
     Romans 3:23-5 (Amplified) says, "Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives. (All) are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy) through the redemption which is (provided) in Christ Jesus."  Verse 25 goes on, "Whom God put forward (before the eyes of all) as a mercy seat and propitiation by His Blood (the cleansing and life giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received through faith."  This was done to show God's righteousness, because His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment.
     The Holy Spirit was responsible for bringing to light, this sacrifice and cause faith to arise for the salvation of the new birth.  His job was not only to reveal what Jesus had done, but also reveal what Jesus continues to do for those who would believe.
     This is no small matter to be responsible for, because man had been spiritually dead and separated from God since the fall of man in the Garden.  Man only knew God by the works of the flesh and the Law.  Now, we'd be required to put aside the works of the flesh and trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 4:4-5 (Amplified) says, "Now to a laborer, his wages are not counted as a favor or a gift, but as an obligation (something owed to him). But to one who, not working (by the Law) trusts (believes fully) in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness (the standing acceptable to God)."
     Without the ministry of the Holy Spirit, man continues struggling to become righteous by his own works and deeds.  Only the Holy Spirit can bring this revelation into man's heart.  Even some into today's Church still struggle to achieve right standing with God by dressing a certain way, attending the "right" church, observing certain days or eating certain foods or donating money in the offering a certain way.
     The Holy Spirit is constantly in the process of revealing deeper things in man's hearts and is never content with leaving the revelation of the our Lord unfinished.  To be sure, this must be as difficult, if not more so, than it was when Jesus was on earth as a Man.  People could at least see and hear Jesus when He walked among them.  Many did believe then, but many did not.
     We must trust fully in the truth of God's Word as the Holy Spirit reveals it to us, because we cannot see Him like they did.  John 16:13-5 (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) and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come (that will happen in the future)."
     Keep in mind that at this point, the death, burial, resurrection, and the new birth and the Church were still to come  when Jesus made this statement.  He goes on in Verse 14, "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."  Verse 15 says, "Everything that the Father has is Mine."  The Holy Spirit will take the things of Jesus and will reveal, declare, disclose and transmit them to you.
     Can you see here, the ministry of the Holy Spirit as the Teacher and Guide of the Church?  Everything the Father has, is Jesus'.  And, it's the Holy Spirit's ministry to transmit these things in our spirit.  We keep hoping for a "sign" or some kind of tangible thing to grasp hold of.  We are still holding back the revelation that the Holy Spirit has come to give us.
     Each time He reveals more of the things He holds to give us, some of us would rather cling to what we think we know instead of what He does know.  Jesus lists the work of the Holy Spirit in John 16:7 (Amplified) which says, "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) but if I go away, I will send Him to you (to be in close fellowship with you)."
     The Holy Spirit's ministry is revelation to the lost man and working on behalf of the born again man.  His ministry is revealing Jesus to all the world.  The work of the Holy Spirit is to be our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener and Stand-by and to work on behalf of the Church.  We can see His work in the lives of many people, but fail to recognize that it's Him Who is at work in the Church.
     For some reason, the Church seems afraid to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit, because we believe we are "dishonoring" the Lord Jesus Christ.  We just read, though, in John 16:13 (Amplified) that, "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)."
     If God is truly Three in One, like we believe, then how can we think we're being disloyal to Jesus when we receive the very Spirit Who worked through Jesus when He was here as a Man?  Jesus said that, "It wasn't Him, but the FATHER in Him Who was doing the work."

    

Lesson 6 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

     The Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood part of the entire new covenant.  He is the One Who was sent to be the Administrator and Counselor of the finished work of Christ.  We've had a very limited view of what the Holy Spirit has been sent to do in and through the Church.  Mostly, we only viewed Him in connection with the Gifts of the Spirit and the speaking of tongues and not His ministry as the Teacher and guide of the Church.
      It's through the Holy Spirit that the Love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts, according to Romans 5:5 (Amplified) which says, "Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given us."  That bears repeating:  The Holy Spirit has been given us!  This isn't something that only a few chosen Christians have nor is He Someone Who must be earned by good works.  The Holy Spirit is a gift, just like righteousness is a gift and justification is a gift.  All these gifts came through your salvation, when you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
     We've never truly allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal these gifts by His ministry.  His ministry to revealing to the Church what Jesus gave us in His resurrection.  Many in the Church have been waiting to receive these things when they get to heaven.  The Holy Spirit's ministry is to bring the power and presence of heaven to earth.  The first step to receiving these things is to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is God.  He is not Casper the ghost or something spooky and weird.  He is God!
     We consider ourselves "supernatural" people, but then get upset over supernatural things.  I know some Christians who believe that healing is of the devil and that speaking in tongues is foolishness.  How can we ever hope to know our Father if everything He is doing is rejected by His people?
     Romans 8:2 (Amplified) says, "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 death."  We still seem to focus more on the Law of sin and death than we do with the Law of our new being.  We mouth words like new people and then judge ourselves by the old order.  It's almost like we don't dare speak or believe that what the Holy Spirit came to do, is real.
     Romans 8:15-17 (Amplified) says, "For (the Spirit) which you have NOW received (is) not a Spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption (the Spirit producing Sonship) in (the bliss of) which we cry, Abba (Father) Father!"  Verses 16-17 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 in His suffering if we are the share His glory."
     We've seemed to have gleaned only the last part of Verse 17 about Jesus' suffering.  Only the Holy Spirit can show us "His suffering."  We think the cross was Jesus' suffering.  If this is true, then Jesus' death on the cross is what we must share.  The Word says that Jesus did this for us and not to us.  We couldn't suffer the death on the cross, because we were never sinless or righteous enough to die for the world.  This isn't suffering that we share with Him.  This was the suffering He bore for us.  The suffering He bore that we're to bear is the rejection of the people, the misunderstanding of the world and sometimes the Church, the separation from the flesh, and the sorrow over the unsaved.
     Let me show you some of the sufferings we are supposed to be sharing as He did.  There was a certain man in the Gospel of John 5:5 (Amplified) who suffered from a deep seated disorder for thirty-eight years.  Jesus told the man to "Take up your bed and walk."  The man did what Jesus told him to do and walked.  The religious order, feeling as though Jesus was outside their authority, began persecuting Him, saying in Verse 16, "For this reason the Jews began to persecute (annoy, torment) Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath."
     You will find that throughout Jesus' ministry, not all His sufferings happened on the cross.  This suffering was on our behalf and the persecution was from our pride and disbelief.  If you allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the difference to you between suffering as He did and suffering the cross, then it will be easier for you to distinguish the difference in suffering.
     I've witnessed how in my Christian walk, that whenever you dare go deeper in realm and understanding with the Holy Spirit, then you begin to suffer by being put our of fellowship and being abandoned by others.  There are currently many false prophets and ungodly men preaching lies and false doctrines.  Many people are being caught up in these things because we haven't allowed or accepted the Holy Spirit as the Teacher of the Church.  This is the time for the Church's greatest glory and the time for the world's greatest deception.  Only the Holy Spirit can show us the truth of Christ.
     Somehow, we've allowed the enemy to steal many things from our inheritance.  Many have been deceived into receiving the world's idea of truth.  Jesus said that, "When the Holy Spirit comes, He will lead, guide and show us all things that He (Jesus) has taught."  Many believe that only includes the four gospels, while others read only the Epistles because Jesus spoke through and to the apostles.  Only the Holy Spirit can show us the truth of Christ.
     There's a big difference between man's idea of what Jesus has done and the Holy Spirit's idea of what Jesus has done.  Man still wants to live under the Law and atone for his own sin by works.  The Holy Spirit wants man to live by faith in His grace and receive the gift that Jesus granted to all who will believe.  He wants us to understand that the old, religious order isn't always grace.
     I know Christians who believe that if someone wears make-up or certain types of clothing, then you cannot receive the Holy Spirit.  This is man's idea of "earning" the gift of the Holy Spirit by works.  Acts 2:39 (Amplified) says, "For the promise (of the Holy Spirit) is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away (even) to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself."
     Notice how this verse says nothing about how or if you wear make-up or if you "earn" or deserve the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It says that the Holy Spirit is to as many as the Lord bids and invites to come to Him.  How can we continue quoting John 3:16 and then tell others that it must be done on our own terms?  As I read about Paul's suffering for the gospel and the uproar that came against the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in Acts 23, I realize how we still seem to live more by what we want rather than what He teaches.
    

Lesson 5 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

     As we begin studying the Holy Spirit, I have spent much time searching out scriptures on the speaking of tongues and praying thusly.  The reason is, this seems to be one of the most misunderstood parts of His Ministry.  There have been many things taught with misunderstanding about the speaking of tongues. To simplify this teaching, let me reveal the two different types of tongues the Holy Spirit directs in the Church.
     We find the prayer language that is given when one is baptized in the Holy Spirit, in 1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified), which says, "For one who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the (Holy) Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to the understanding)."
    No one can give interpretation of this language and say, "Thus says the Lord..." to the people.  This is not God speaking to men, through the Holy Spirit, but it is the Holy Spirit speaking through your spirit to God and revealing mysteries to you through the Holy Spirit.
     1Corinthians 14:27-8 (Amplified) says, "If some speak in a (strange) tongue, let the number be limited to two or at the most three, and each one (taking his) turn, and let one interpret and explain what is said. But if there is no one to do the interpreting, let each of them keep still in church and talk to himself and God."
     One language is to be interpreted in edifying the Church and the other language has one interpreter because it's your spirit seeking wisdom from God.  1Corinthians 14:2 speaks about an unknown tongue and 1Corinthians 14:27 speaks about a strange tongue with an interpreter.  One is unknown because it's the language of the spirit realm and the other is a strange tongue because it's strange to the hearer and is spoken in tongues from the Father to an individual.  The gift of interpretation is also "Given by the Holy Spirit as He chooses, to edify the Body of Christ."
       Both are gifts of the Spirit (if you will), because until you were filled with or baptized in the Holy Spirit, you could do neither.  Unknown tongues is simply the new language of the new man given to speak to God.  The other language or "strange tongue" is God speaking to His family through the Holy Spirit and man's born again spirit.
      Paul said in 1Corinthians 14:18-19 (Amplified) that, "I thank God I speak in (strange) or unknown tongues (languages) more than any of you or all of you put together.  Nevertheless, in public worship, I would rather say five words with my understanding and intelligently in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a (strange) tongue (language)."  The reason for Paul's saying this is found in Verse 2 which says, "For one who speaks in and unknown tongue, speaks not to men but to God."
     Paul didn't say we're not to speak in the unknown tongue, but if we do so, then no one would understand us.  Paul said he'd rather speak five words with his understanding, rather than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.  If he was speaking to God in an unknown tongue, then he would be edified, but no one else would be.  In Verse 4 Paul says, "He who speaks in a strange tongue edifies and improves himself."   
     If a man stood up in church and said (in the language of the people or country), "Jesus dies for your sins," then these five words would edify the whole church and not himself alone.  Don't confuse the difference in the prayer language of the born again spirit and the gift of tongues with interpretation of tongues to the people.  You will rob yourself of one the greatest parts of the new birth if you misunderstand the difference between the two.  You will be robbed of the ability to speak mysteries to God and to receive the answer to some of your most complex trials in life.  These are obviously not mysteries to God, but to you.  The Holy Spirit will give you insight and wisdom in your spirit (that will be revealed to your mind) to walk in.
     This new language is for the new man who has been born again in the Holy Spirit.  It bypasses your intellect and reaches into the realm of the Spirit Who has all the answers for your walk here on earth.  We've been able to only pray according to our own intellect and now by speaking in tongues, we can reach beyond that and actually pray with the Mind of Christ.
     The same is true concerning other things in the Holy Spirit's ministry and works.  He is the One Who gives or distributes these gifts as He will in order to profit and benefit the whole Church.  Mark 16:17-18 (Amplified) says, "These attesting signs will accompany those who believe, in My Name, they will drive out demons, they will speak in "new languages" they will pick up serpents, and (even) if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them, they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well."
     Although these are "signs" of the Holy Spirit living in people, they are not the "gifts" of the Spirit listed in 1Corinthians 12.  These are what Paul wrote through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, saying, are for "Those who believe."  The question then, is, DO YOU BELIEVE?
     I know people who don't believe in speaking in tongues, but they do believe in laying hands on the sick.  I also know people who don't believe in laying hands on the sick, but do believe in casting out devils.  All these supernatural signs are the work of the Holy Spirit Who now lives in the new born man's spirit.  Even Jesus said, "It's not Me, but the Father in Me that does the work."  Isn't the Holy Spirit the Father?  Of course, He is.  Why then would it be any different for Him to work through you?
     Don't confuse the work of the Holy Spirit with the ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit.  He gives these gifts (and all are gifts), as He wills for the profit or help of everyone.  It's simply God's nature to help all who need help.  He doesn't always wait for an Apostle to who up in order to heal someone.  He is capable of using anyone who "Will believe in His Name," according to Mark 16:17.   

Lesson 4 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

     Many of the things we've learned about the Holy Spirit in today's churches, have been incomplete.  Somehow, the Holy Spirit has taken a backseat to other teachings we receive after being saved.  Many believe that His job is done.  But, nothing can be further from the truth. Before and after we are saved, the Holy Spirit is the One Who has been entrusted with out new birth and growth as Christians.
     John 14:26 (Amplified) says, "But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by), The Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf). He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."
    Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was being sent in Jesus' stead and will represent and act on His behalf.  1Corinthians 12:11 (Amplified) tells us, "All these (gifts, achievements, abilities) these gifts of the Spirit, are inspired and brought to pass by One and the same (Holy) Spirit; Who apportions to each person individually (exactly) as He chooses."
     The Holy Spirit is the One Who decides what gifts and which person, or persons, He will manifest the gifts through.  As He indwells you, then you, at anytime,  will have the potential for one or all of the gifts to flow through you (at His will).
     Through revelation given him, Paul says that we should make ourselves candidates for the gifts to function in and through us.  Thus, he says in 1Corinthians 12:31 (Amplified), "But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces) And yet I will show you a still more excellent way (one that is better by far and the highest of them all-Love."
     Here, the great Apostle was revealing the very thing the Holy Spirit uses when "apportioning to each person (exactly) as He chooses."  The Holy Spirit is in charge of these gifts and He is in charge of who receives them.  Paul said that seeking love is better than seeking these gifts.  Love makes you available and trustworthy for any and all of these gifts to flow through.
    Some of seek the gift we think is the "best" gift, while others believe that if God would simply perform one great miracle, then we would have more people to minister to and that their church would fill up.  By the authority of Jesus, Paul spoke saying that when we love to the point that it hurts us to see someone who is lost, maimed, blind or crippled, then Love will flow through the Holy Spirit to set them free.
     After the beheading of John the Baptist, Jesus went to be alone in Mark 6:33-4 (Amplified) which says, "Now many (people) saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the surrounding towns, and they got there ahead of those (Jesus and His disciples) in the boat."  Verse 34 says, "As Jesus landed, He saw a great crowd waiting, And He was moved by compassion for them."  This is what the Holy Spirit is looking for the believer's heart.  When God's love becomes your love, you will "be moved by compassion" to set the captives free.  Whatever it takes to free them, the Holy Spirit will move through you, exactly as He chooses, and free them.
     We are to yield only to the Holy Spirit and He is to teach and instruct us both in wisdom and love.  We can make ourselves candidates for the gifts of the Spirit to flow through us, when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.  Romans 5:5 (Amplified) says, "Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us."
     Even the "Love of God" must come through our fostering knowledge and a relationship with the Holy Spirit.  There are so many things in the heart of a Christian that never get released into the world, because we will not allow the Holy Spirit to manifest in our lives. 
     There is a gift of tongues that flows from the Holy Spirit and there is also the language of the new creation that allows us to pray in tongues.  1Corinthians 14 tells us that, "The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet."  This simply means that it's up to you whether or not you speak or are silent.  God won't choke this new language out from you or force you to speak.  It all comes from trusting and yielding to the Holy Spirit.
     Instead of our being one of those people who always says, "This isn't for everyone" or "not everyone does these things or speaks in tongues," we should learn to "desire, seek after and pursue" these gifts through love.  How many people are seeking someone who will finally manifest God into the dying world?
     The Holy Spirit is the Teacher of the Church.  We all need the five fold ministry from Ephesians 4, but we should not discard the Holy Spirit as the Teacher in our lives.  1John 2:20 (Amplified) says, "But you have been anointed by (you hold a sacred appointment from, you have been given an unction from) the Holy One, and you all know (the truth) or you know all things."  We also read in 1John 2:27 (Amplified) which says, "But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him, abides (permanently) in you; (So) then you have no need that anyone should instruct you, But just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything and is true and is no falsehood, so you must abide in (live in, never depart from) Him (being rooted in Him, knit to Him) Just as (His anointing) has taught you to do."
     This doesn't mean we don't need the five-fold ministry or the fellowship of the Church.  It does mean that we are still must listen to the Holy Spirit on our own.  We shouldn't rely solely on what someone else has said, without seeking from the Word and the Holy Spirit.

Lesson 3 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

     Acts 2:4 (Amplified) says, "And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) Languages (Tongues) as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud expression (in each tongues in appropriate words)."
     Acts 10:44-46 (Amplified) says that, "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening to the message. And the believers from among the circumcised (the Jews) who came with Peter were surprised and amazed because the free gift of the Holy Spirit had been bestowed and poured out largely even on the gentiles. For they heard them talking in (unknown) tongues (languages) and extolling and magnifying God."
      Acts 11:15-16 (Amplified) says, "When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He did on us at the beginning."  Verse 16 says, "Then I recalled the declaration of the Lord, how He said, John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with (be placed in, introduced into) the Holy Spirit."
     Acts 19:2-6 (Amplified) says, "And he asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed (on Jesus as the Christ)? And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. And he asked into what (baptism) then were you baptized? They said, Into John's baptism."  Verses 4-6 go on, "And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, continually telling the people that they should believe in the One Who was to come after him, that, in Jesus (having a conviction full of joyful trust that He is Christ, the Messiah and being obedient to Him). On hearing this they were baptized (again, this time) in the Name of the Lord Jesus. And Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke in (foreign, unknown tongues)  languages and prophesied."
     These are only some on the scriptures concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit found in the Word.  In each one, we find that when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the people, they spoke in tongues or different languages.  They received the "gift" of tongues and others heard them in their own language.  In Acts 2, the people spoke in "unknown tongues" that no one understood, so they were accused of being drunk.
     The gift of tongues is used only as the "Spirit gives it."  1Corinthians 12:7 (Amplified) says, "But to each one is given the manifestation of the (Holy) Spirit (the evidence, the spiritual illumination of the Spirit) for good and profit."
     The gift of tongues is a way to speak the Gospel to people of different language without the speaker having never learned or been taught this language himself.  The speaking of the gift of tongues is to be used in the congregation in order to convey God's message to His Church.  1Corinthians 14:26-28,32 (Amplified) says, "What then brethren, is (the right course)? When you meet together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a disclosure of special knowledge or information, an utterance in a (strange) tongue, or an interpretation of it, (but) let everything be constructive and edifying and for the good of all."  Verses 27-28 say, "If some speak in a (strange) tongue (gift of tongues) let the number be limited to two or at the most three, and each one (taking his) turn, and let one interpret and explain (what is said). But if there is no one to do the interpreting, let each of them keep still in church and talk to himself and to God."  Verse 32 goes on to say, "For the spirits of the prophets (the speakers in tongues) are under the  speaker's control (and subject to being silenced as may be necessary."
     This may seem like a lengthy and different explanation of the difference between unknown tongues (the prayer language of the believer) and the gift of tongues where the Holy Spirit can speak through a person in a foreign language in order to reveal Jesus to someone of a different language or country.
     Paul explains the unknown tongue in 1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) saying, "For one who speaks in an unknown tongue, speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the (Holy) Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to the understanding)."
     The unknown tongue or language of the new, born again spirit, can now communicate with god in a language that can "bypass" his intellect.  There will be no doubt, no unbelief, and no interference in his "perfect" prayer.  Your spirit can ask for and receive things from the Father into your life, that the carnal mind knows nothing about.  The new spirit man by passes your mind and feeds wisdom directly into his own spirit.  1Corinthians 14:4 (Amplified) says, "He who speaks in a (strange) tongue, edifies and improves himself."
     This is the language of the spirit we use to commune with our Father, Who is a Spirit.  We can commune Spirit to spirit, without interference.  If the Father didn't believe we needed the unknown tongues, then He wouldn't have given it to us.  This is a language of prayer that the devil cannot interfere with at all.  You are speaking directly to God in an unknown tongue.  The language isn't unknown to God, but it is unknown to your intellect and to the devil.
     Does this mean that if you don't speak in tongues, then you are not saved?  Of course not., because "All who call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved."  But, tongues is certainly a tool of God to be used in the life of the believer for edification and building up our most holy faith and praying for others.
     If the Lord woke you at 2a.m. to pray for me, then what would you pray?  You don't know me.  You don't know what I need.  You don't even know if I'm in danger or where I'm at.  What would you pray? 
     This is why 1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) is so very precious to me.  Thus, it says, "For one who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men, but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the (Holy) Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to the understanding)."
     It's a wonderful thing to be able to pray in the Spirit for others, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, without my even having to be concerned whether it's God's will because it's God Who is actually praying through me.
     One unknown language is God speaking through a person to His people and the other is your spirit  speaking to God through the Holy Spirit.  Both are grace and spirit for the individual and the Church.  BOTH   ARE  GOD.  If I am limited in my prayer life because of my own language, then I can't always ask for what I need in my spirit.  I have needs in my spirit that my mind cannot understand.  Now, "Ask and you shall receive" is unlimited to my spirit.

Lesson 2 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

     We've mastered the art of jumping to conclusions when it comes to God's Word.  We tend to complicate what God has made simple enough so that a child can understand.  If the Father wanted to make things hard to understand, then He certainly could have done so.  A Being Who can speak an entire universe into place, would have no problem confusing us.
     God went to great lengths making His Word understandable to His people.  As carnal Christians, we have responded to His Word in the carnal realm.  God, however, is Spirit and we must understand it by the Spirit.  Jesus said in John14,15 & 16 that when the Holy Spirit came, He would lead us and guide us and show us all things that are to come.  The Holy Spirit was to be, and is now the Teacher of the Church.
     We have argued over things that are simple and have tried making them difficult to understand, like the speaking of tongues, for instance.  If a man is born in Germany, then he speaks German.  If he is born in France, then he speaks French.  And, if a man is born in Spain, then he speaks Spanish.  When a man is born in the Spirit, then he speaks spirit; it's really that simple, because it's the language of the spirit.  We confuse the gifts of the Spirit with the speaking of tongues.  1Corinthians 14:2-5 (Amplified) says, "For one who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands and catches his meaning; because in the (Holy) Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to the understanding). But (on the other hand) the one (who interprets the divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching) speaks to men for their upbuilding and constructive spiritual progress and encouragement and consolation."  Verses 4-5 say, He who speaks in a (strange) tongue edifies and improves himself, but he who prophesies (interpreting the divine will and purpose and teaching with inspiration) edifies and improves the Church and promotes growth in Christian wisdom, piety, holiness, and happiness. No I wish that you might all speak in (unknown) tongues, but more especially (I want you to prophesy (to be inspired to preach and interpret the divine will and purpose)."
     Paul continues his teaching concerning the Gift of Tongues and the interpretation of tongues and the unknown tongues.  He says that tongues and the interpretation of tongues equals prophecy.  The unknown tongue (language of the born again spirit) is not God speaking to man, but man speaking to God.  Verse 2 is where Paul says that, "One who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God."  And, in Verse 4, we read, "He who speaks in a (strange) tongue edifies and improves himself."
     The gift of tongues is God speaking through a person to His people (with and interpretation).  The language of the born again spirit, is his spirit speaking to God.  One of these is God speaking through you and the other is you speaking to God.
     Jesus refers to the language of the Spirit in Mark 16:17 (Amplified) saying, "And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe; in My Name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages."  Jude 1:20 (Amplified) says, "But you; beloved, build yourselves up (founded) on your most holy faith (make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher) praying in the Holy Spirit."
     The above scripture in Jude mirrors 1Corinthians 14:4 (Amplified) which says, "He who speaks in a (strange) tongue edifies and improves himself."  Jude says you build up yourself by praying in the Holy Spirit.
     Genesis 11:6-8 (Amplified) says, "And the Lord said, Behold, they are one people and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do, and now nothing they have imagined they can do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confound (mix up, confuse) their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from that place upon the face of the whole earth, and they gave up building the city."
     We discover in the Book of Acts 2:1-4, that God has started a new building project and it is called "the Church."  The first thing God did when deciding to on this project, was to give the Church a new language so they could receive building plans from the Master Builder.
    This source of communication was to be the language of the Spirit.  It was a mystery to the natural man and the enemy, but to the believer it was strength and revelation.  It was to be a language that would exceed the common language and limits of the mind and would reach into the depths of the very Spirit and wisdom of God Himself.
     Another source of confusion in the Church is a result of lumping the second coming of Christ with the rapture of the Church into one event.  These two events occur at different times and in different circumstances.  We haven't been led by the Holy Spirit and have insisted on walking in the carnal mind.  We have been cheated and have cheated others of their liberties in Christ.
    This is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit Who is no less God than the Father and no less God than Jesus.  The three are One in their fullness.  Under the old covenant, God dealt with His people in His person.  Then, the appointed time arrived when Jesus came as a Spirit filled man and the last Adam.  He came to deal and die and be raised from the dead for the "new creation."  When Jesus had fulfilled the death and resurrection on earth, He ascended to the Father.  At the appointed time of Pentecost, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit came.
     When Jesus was here on earth in His flesh and blood body, He could only be in one place at a time.  Now, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, God can move and be in more than one person at a time.  He can build a house and temple for His Spirit and presence in all His people simultaneously.  This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Because we can identify with Jesus as a Man, it's easier than identifying with the Holy Spirit, Whom we cannot see.
     The Holy Spirit is as real and tangible as Jesus is and was.  We remain carnally minded without the Holy Spirit revealing the mysteries of the Father.  The only way to know God is through the Holy Spirit.  Man made religion has at least gotten us to the point where we have received the Spirit through the new birth.  It has also trapped us at the infant state of this new birth.
     I can now talk to God at anytime, through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the speaking of new tongues.  1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) says that, "When a man speaks in an (unknown) tongue, he speaks not to men, but unto God" and that "in the spirit, he speaks mysteries."  Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I'm not limited to my learned vocabulary, but to the unlimited vocabulary of the Holy Spirit.  I can ask God for things my spirit needs, without my intellect even knowing I need them.  Restoring a "common language" to the Church has brought about a new building program.  Through the restoration of a new and special language of the Spirit, we can commune with God Who is a Spirit.  We have one language, one Spirit, one Lord, one purpose and one kingdom through the Holy Spirit and our born again spirit.
     The work of the Holy Spirit is to bring the power of this new creation to the spirit and life of God's children, by revelation through the Word of God.  This work of the Holy Spirit is to take back dominion and to bring about the power of God, through the Church and the Holy Spirit.  The light of the Holy Spirit comes to reveal Jesus to the world.  We are to be a supernatural peoples by the very ministry and work of the Holy Spirit in our new lives.  How can we ever hope to become what God has made us to be, if we aren't led by the Spirit?
     The Gifts of the Spirit aren't as some have supposed, only for the early Church or the clergy, but for all those the Holy Spirit chooses to manifest them through as He wills.  Why would He manifest the gifts of healing to someone who doesn't believe in healing?  Mark 16:17 (Amplified) says that, "These signs will accompany those who believe."

Lesson 1 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

     There's been much written and preached about Jesus and He's been the focal point of man's ministry.  It's true that without Jesus, no one could be saved.  Jesus is so much easier to teach, preach and deal with in men's lives because we can identify with Him as a man.  Jesus was someone we can even envision with our mind's eye, because of His being made flesh.
     The Holy Spirit, in Whom the ministry is now being revealed, is much harder for men to understand because we cannot see Him like we could Jesus.  Each generation has their own ministry and their appointed time of ministry, but very little has been taught or revealed about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, even though without Him we will never know Jesus or the Father.  The Holy Spirit and He alone, can reveal the things of God to the spirit of the believer.
     Most teachings about the Holy Spirit are about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit found in 1Corinthians 12.  And, most of these teachings have actually been wrong.  We've heard many various teachings concerning the Gifts of the Spirit and have heard others teach that these gifts have "all passed away."  If the Gifts have passed away, then so has He.
     We taught these erroneously because we failed to let the One Whom we were teaching about, to reveal them to us.  Most of the things we teach concerning the Holy Spirit were taught from a purely carnal mind and not from the Mind of Christ.  Jesus said 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."
     We have almost exclusively omitted the ministry of the Holy Spirit from our teachings.  When we teach about the things of God for the Church, we have all but rejected anything in His Word about the Holy Spirit.  Even Jesus didn't perform any miracles in His ministry before He received the Holy Spirit at His baptism in the Jordan River.
     Luke 4:1 (Amplified) says, "Then Jesus, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in (by) the (Holy) Spirit."  We also read in Luke 4:18-19 (Amplified) that, "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). To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord (the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound."
     Before being His baptism of the Holy Spirit, Jesus didn't perform any miracles (none were recorded).  Because the Words Jesus speak are Spirit and truth, it would benefit us greatly if we allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to us.  2Timothy 3:16-17 (Amplified) says, "Every scripture is God breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience (and) for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action). So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work."
     Without the Holy Spirit's input, we only have what the unrenewed mind of man (the carnal mind) can devise from the Word.  We've mostly centered in on the sin nature (carnal mind) of man rather than the righteousness that Jesus came to reveal.  By ignoring what the Holy Spirit was doing in and through Jesus, we have centered in on the wrong thing.
     John 3:17-19 (Amplified) says, "For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. He who believes in Him (who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him) is not judged (He who trusts in Him never comes up for judgement; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation-he incurs no damnation) but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already (he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence) because he has not believed in and trusted in the Name of the Only Begotten Son of God (He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's Name)"  Verse 19 goes on, "The (basis of the) judgement (indictment, the test by which men are judged , the ground (for the sentence) lies in this; the Light has come into the world and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil."
     The Holy Spirit was sent to convict the world of righteousness through Jesus and to reveal Jesus as the Light in the darkness.  The Holy Spirit is the only way to actually know the Father because God is a Spirit.  John 4:24 (Amplified) says, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth (reality)." 
     You might ask, "What is reality?"  Reality is the Spirit, not the natural.  John 1:3 (Amplified) tells us, "All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being."  We hold so many outlooks on the Word of God in today's churches, because as carnal minded men, we still see things differently from one another.  The Holy Spirit is the only One Who can bring all things into reconciliation.  When the Holy Spirit leads us, we all go in the same direction.  He will never tell one man that he's still a sinner (even after being saved) and then tell someone else that he is righteous in Christ Jesus.  He only speaks God's Word.
     Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, man still focuses on the sins of the flesh and the old man, instead of the finished work of Jesus by the Holy Spirit.  When we teach about being made the righteousness of God in Christ, the flesh (carnal mind) will reject that Word, but the Holy Spirit will confirm it.  It's not only the teachings of 1Corinthians 12 that reveal the Holy Spirit, but it is the Holy Spirit Who reveals 1Corinthians 12.  
     As we share in the work and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, please keep your heart open to what He will teach us by His presence. 

Lesson 4 Holidays or Holy-days

     Many of the holidays have been just that for too many years.  Even in the Christian family unit, most of the children lose sleep in expectation of Santa Claus' arrival rather than Jesus' arrival in the manger.  I don't think we should rob our children of the joy of Christmas by simply not observing it, but I do believe we should teach them the true meaning it holds.
     We need to remember that it's the Father Who set up the plan of redemption in the first place.  A lot of us were probably raised in a culture that taught more about Santa rather than Jesus.  God can still reach through all the things making the truth seem snowy and bring us to it.
    Many of us received salvation later in life.  I would that I had been born again when I was a child, but I wasn't.  God still managed to reach me in the darkness, despite my past, beliefs and unbelief.  I remember dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating and I remember taking my own children and doing the same.  God still managed to get us all out of it.
     If you were saved later in life, then you must trust Him to still reach your family.  We try preaching at them more than teaching them sometimes.  I recall going to work at the paper mill, several years ago, and some my fellow workers were wondering why a Pastor would take another job.  I didn't leave my place as a Pastor, I extended the message of Christ to another group who needed Christ too.
     When I interviewed for the job, I informed the manager that I was a Pastor and wouldn't work on Sundays if hired.  He was gracious about that condition and hired me anyway.  Most of the men working there heard that they hired a preacher and were waiting to see "what" I was.  I went there to share Jesus, but I also made an obligation to the man who hired me and I intended to live up to both.
     The guys I worked with were good, hard working men who loved their families.  They worked hard and provided for their loved ones.  I had to prove myself as a man who expected no favors and who would work as hard, get just as dirty and sweat as much as everyone else, when I first started working there.
     Gaining the respect of the men I worked with was as important as the reason I went there.  They watched to see if I would expect a task with a lesser degree of difficulty or if I would be slack on the job.  Finally, I was accepted as one of the guys, not only as a Pastor, but as a Christian man.  Then, I was able to share what I really had come there to do.
     Jesus went into the places that were open to Him, in order to teach and preach the Gospel.  Many people didn't want to hear His message, but many did.  The holidays were fast approaching when I started working in the paper mill.  I was surprised how few of my fellow workers knew what Easter was really about.  I found it difficult to believe that in today's America, that grown men and women, good men and women, had no idea that Easter was the time we celebrate Jesus' resurrection.
     I took that opportunity to share the truth of Easter and it became a Holy-day and not just a holiday to them.  They didn't reject Easter as Jesus'  resurrection day, they just didn't know that it was.  Many were saved during the three years I worked at that mill.
     Later, during the Christmas season, I was able to share the truth of Christmas with them.  Everyone was busy buying gifts and showing love to their families in the only fashion they knew.  After learning the truth why we celebrate Christmas, one young man bought his daughter her first Bible.  He found a Children's Bible and for the first time, he read to his daughter (along with himself) about the Christmas miracle of Jesus' birth.
     He had never before, in his thirty-two years, read the account of the virgin birth and the true meaning of Christmas.  I had now become a Holy-day instead of a holiday.  One couple who had been living together for ten years, asked me to marry me when they heard and believed.
     There are many here in America, where there's a church on every corner, who have never heard about Jesus.  Jesus never told the sinner to "Come into the church and hear the Gospel."  He instructed the Church to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel."  We've taken for granted that they've all heard, but they haven't.
     They have heard religious rules and rites from many churches.  Many have been put off by someone who doesn't practice what he preaches or by someone's misunderstanding of the Word.  The Church sometimes, looks like doesn't know what they believe either.  One group teaches one thing while another group teaches something else.  We can't seem to agree on what we believe.
     Our light has been put under a bushel and appears diminished in the eyes of the unsaved.  There aren't any of my fellow workers who attend my church, but they are in the family of God with me.  None of them go to my church, even today, but I know that they are all still following God and serving Him.  God never told us to "Fence the sheep," only to "Feed the sheep."  I can't tell you where they fit into the Body of Christ, but Jesus knows because He fits the parts together as He sees fit and each part is important where He places them.
     I've found that many Christians don't even understand what "Baptism" really is or what it represents.  Very little is being taught about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in today's churches.  Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit or in the presence of the Spirit or in the supernatural power of God has been '"passed away" in most of our churches.  Even most of our Sunday morning gatherings have become more holiday than Holy-days.  We've become accustomed to not realizing the presence of the Holy Spirit, the gift of prophecy and tongues and the interpretation of tongues during our services, that they've ceased in many Christian gatherings.  Our most revered days of observation have become long weekends.
    There are Christians who refuse to observe such holidays as Christmas and Easter because the world celebrates them as pagan holidays.  I say that, "Where two or more are gathered in His Name, He is in the midst of them."  It doesn't matter what the world thinks about these days, but what the Church does with them.  Instead of letting the world decide which days we observe, the Church should decide.  If we allow the world to determine which days we can observe as Holy, then we won't have any left.
     Any day in which a Christian will call upon His Name is a Holy day, even if he is the only one who observes it.  We don't need to have the world agree with us, only Jesus.  The Apostle John stood on the Isle of Patmos and declared it was the Lord's Day, when the Lord appeared in all His glory.  I doubt that many, if any, would have the faith to declare it was a Holy day, let alone a holiday.  But, John did.  The Feast of Passover isn't a day we, as Christians, observe under the Law, but under grace.  It was one day remembered from years past when their ancestors were freed from Egypt, under the Law.  We celebrate every day as Passover, because our Passover Lam is still alive and His Blood is being applied on the Mercy Seat in heaven for us.
     They had one day of deliverance from the bondage of slavery, but we have an eternity of deliverance and a daily source of deliverance by His presence and His BLood.
     Have a great resurrection celebration this Sunday and every other day of the year because He is Risen.
   

Lesson 3 Holidays or Holy-days

     As Christians, we've been ready to hand over the things we deem sacred and let them be removed from our own faith.  Every day is a "Day that the Lord has made," to knowledgeable Christian.  We've yielded certain things over to the world system and the enemy.  Even Halloween can be celebrated as a Holy day which is "All Hallows Eve."  No matter the day or feast, if Christians will reclaim these days and gather together in prayer, then that day will be a holy day.\
     What day cannot be dedicated to the Lord Who made them?  We've never really discovered who we truly are because of Jesus.  We have centered on the things satan has done to discourage our celebrating these days, instead of what Jesus did and exalting Him for that.  It's true that many of the women, children and men of the faith have been tortured and martyred for their faith (even today in the Middle Ease and Africa).   At the same time, Jesus has been exalted by the strength and the miracles revealed through them.
     We've focused more on the suffering than on the victory.  All of these people died in victory by maintaining their faith in Christ.  We have mostly set our minds of "suffering" like Jesus suffered.  The suffering of Jesus didn't occur only by what happened on the cross.  What He suffered on the cross was to make us free.  Even if we were to suffer that way, it wouldn't be for the salvation and deliverance of mankind, but for the satisfaction of warped minds of demonic men.  What we're mostly called to suffer is the rejection of family, friends and others, because of our faith and our stand for Christ.  Although it's true that Christians throughout the world have suffered torture and death, it was mostly done trying to deter their following Christ.
     For Jesus to have suffered rejection from those He came to deliver, must have been almost more than He could bear.  He bore the curse, so that we might be blessed.  He bore our sickness and disease, so we could be healed.  He bore our sins, so we might be in right standing with the Father.  He was cast out the Father's presence, so that we can be one with the Father like He is One with the Father.
     He bore so many things so that we don't have to.  Certainly, we will be persecuted by the world and the devil, but we at least know why.  Let's be sure what that suffering is.
     Many Christians are "suffering" at the hands of other Christians who exclude them from the fellowship in their faith.  We don't seem to all believe exactly the same and others labeled wrongly.  Some will even take offense at this very blog because I don't believe that God is the source of my suffering.  Did God know that if I did what He told me to do, then I would suffer persecution?  Of course He did.  I chose to accept that as part of my ministry when I accepted His call.
     God is not the source of my suffering, He is the source of my power and strength to endure it.  Since being saved, I have walked in a place with my Father that seems to differ from many other Christian brothers.  I cam faced with two decisions in my walk, today.  I can forget what God told me in order to get along with everyone else or I can proceed with what He instructed me to do and not be received by some.  This is a "suffering" that I choose and God will honor it.
     There are those today who have written off the United States as a "waste of time" and there are those who call her "Mystery Babylon."  There are those who believe that such disasters as Hurricane Katrina were sent by God to punish New Orleans and the U.S.  If God were to use a hurricane to punish sin in America, then it wouldn't have stopped at New Orleans, but would have left destruction from New York to California.
     What some have forgotten is that God has already judged sin in Jesus.  Those who have received Jesus have had their sins paid for.  Those who reject Him will have to pay the same price that Jesus bore for their sin.  John 3:17-19 (Amplified) says, "For God did not send His Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him."  Verse 18 says, "He who believes in Him (who clings to, trust in, relies on Him) is not judged (he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgement; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation-he incurs no damnation); but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is already judged (he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence) because he has not believed in and trusted in the Name of the Only begotten Son of God (He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's Name)."  Verse 19 says, The (basis of the) judgement (indictment) the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this; the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light; for their works (deeds) were evil."
     When God brings judgement on this earth and on sin, the whole world will know about it.  Right now, the grace through Jesus, has put judgment on hold until the allotted time.  The upheaval we see on this planet presently, is the "signs of the times" and the "beginning of sorrows."  It is sin manifesting itself for the Last Days.
    Matthew 24:6-8 and Romans 8:19-23 tell us that the weight of sin is still burdening the whole of creation, except those who have been born again.  Even the planet itself is falling apart because of the curse that on it through Adam.  Like a pregnant woman in labor, the closer the time of deliverance gets, the more intense the labor pains become.  We are on the very edge of total deliverance.  Jesus is coming back soon.
     We must begin listening more closely to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit.  We, the Church, have almost let the devil lead our prayer life instead of the Holy Spirit.  We wait until the devil tears something up and then pray and believe God to fix it.  Even under the old covenant, God's men were told in advance of impending calamities or of doom.  Why wouldn't it be the same for us now, who are in the new covenant?
     We've been quick to allow the enemy to "run the show."  We're not called to comment on how dark things are becoming, but to speak and be the Light" against the darkness.  We're not called to sit around discussing how rotten and defiled things are, but we're to be the salt which is used to stop decay and preserve the good.
     All of these days we turn over to the enemy, is really our surrendering them.  We fight about whether we should celebrate such days as Christmas, Easter, the Lord's Day, the Sabbath, Halloween and even whether we should have mid-week services.  Every day we relinquish is one more day that satan has take lordship of.  It's not about being dogmatic, but being open to the Spirit of the Lord.
     When we finally arrive home in God's house, we will realize just how "small" the things we made "big" deals over were and how they really didn't matter to Him.  We seem to believe we have it altogether, but truthfully, we haven't begun to.
     If you are right in what God has told you to do and in what He has revealed to you and you know it is God, then don't change.  Hold your ground and God will bless you in it.  One of the most misused holiday (holy day) and one we've surrendered to the world is New Years.  We've allowed it to be overtaken as a time to set goals that most of us never achieve or a time for everyone to get drunk.  This was the 8th day, according to the scriptures, and was to be the very first shedding of the Blood of Jesus by circumcision for the fulfilling of the Law and the completion of that covenant by blood.
     If you look at what has become holidays in our culture, then you will find that nearly without exception, they were originally meant to be holy days.  Is this just coincidence or the work of a cunning enemy?  Don't give up on Holy Days and don't give up on America.  God isn't done with our nation yet.  I believe that, "Where sin abounds, the grace of God does much more abound."  2Chronicles 7:14 (Amplified) is still available to pray, regardless of what others may think.  When we turn back to God's Word and pray, then He will heal our land.  
    
     
    
    
    

Lesson 2 Holidays or Holy-days

     In Romans 14:1-23 we examined how we choose to eat certain things and observe certain days as being holy to the new covenant believers.  Many have chose not to observe such days as Christmas or Easter because they believe these originated from pagan feast days.
     If a man chooses not to observe these days because of their origin, then he is honoring God by not observing them, according to Romans14:5-6.  And, if another man chooses to take back that day and observe it, then he is also honoring God in it, according to Romans 14:5-6.
     Every day belongs to the Lord because it is He Who has made them.  I choose, as a believer, to take back what the pagans ceased for themselves and claim it as belonging to the Church.  As far as I can find in the Word, no day should be left to the enemy to have as his own day.
     Many look to the old covenant and choose to abstain from certain meats and foods.  If that's where their faith is, then they are honoring God in it.  Those of us who believe we can now partake of all things because of Jesus, are also honoring God in it.  Paul addresses this account of clean and unclean things in 1Corinthians 10:23-33 (Amplified).  Paul said that if we used our liberty in Christ and others don't understand it, then we should not let our liberty become an offense to others.  Thus, Verses 25-26 say, "(As to meat offered to idols) eat anything that is sold in the meat market without raising any question or investigating on the grounds of conscientious scruples. For the (whole) earth is the Lord's, and everything that is in it."  Paul goes on to say why we should abstain from certain things in Verses 28-29 which say, "But if someone tells you, this has been offered in sacrifice to an idol, do not eat it, out of consideration for the person who informed you, and for conscience's sake. I mean for the sake of his conscience; not yours, I do not eat it. For why would another man's scruples apply to me and my liberty of action be determined by his conscience?"  Verses 30-32 say, "If I partake (of my food) with thankfulness, why am I accused and spoken evil of because of that for which I give thanks? So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God." Paul goes on to say in the next verse that our liberty in Christ shouldn't become a stumbling block to others.
     We should listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit as to how we conduct our "liberty" in Christ.  If my brother in Christ refuses to eat pork out of respect for Christ, then why should I make light of him by using my liberty to partake of the the pork and offend his faith?  I can easily manage to eat my breakfast without bacon rather than be an offense to him.
     I do not believe I should relinquish Easter to a rabbit and let the world (and the Church) forget what resurrection Sunday is truly about.  So, I celebrate Easter for what I choose to believe, the resurrection.  I also celebrate Christmas, not because of a fat man who sneaks into our homes at night, but because the of the Light Who came into the darkness.  I enjoy the lights and the Spirit of God Who moves on the hearts of people at Christmastime.
     I keep Christ in Christmas and I don't do Xmas or snowmen.  We allow the world and the devil to usurp the liberties that Jesus gave us.  I am free in Him and have a knowledge of how to use my liberties in Christ.
     Even the Passover Feast has been somewhat hindered because of tradition and understanding. Jesus said at the Last Supper, "Whenever you receive the bread and the wine, do it in remembrance of Me."  This is the feast of Passover to the Christian.  We can observe it once a year or we can break bread and partake of the cup at anytime because our Passover Lamb is a constant covering that we constantly need to remind ourselves of.
     Jesus' Blood is always a covering to the believer and is the cause of our liberty.  It's because of the Blood, the destroyer has to "pass over" those whom the Blood covers.  When I partake of communion, I always honor God for His Gift of the Lamb.  I remind myself of what His Blood has done for me and I remind the destroyer that I am off limits to him because of the Blood of Jesus.
     I choose to walk in my liberty as a free man who has knowledge of my freedom.  There are things I choose not to walk in, in the presence of others, because it would cause them to stumble.  I am free to do things and I am free not to do these things.  Which ever I choose, I am still free.  This is what Paul spoke about when he said he had become "all things, to all men." 
     God never called me to "fence the sheep," only to "feed then sheep."  I've found that lambs cannot always digest what the full grown sheep can.  A we feed them accordingly, they will grow into maturity.  We seem to struggle with being free for the Spirit of God to instruct us in our lives.  We, mostly, gather into camps filled with others who "believe" the same way we do and do not seek outside that group.
     We've made our own Laws to walk under, instead of walking in the liberty that was purchased for us.  We impose our own ideas on others, based on our idea of liberty.  Many have been cheated out of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit by those who oppose that gift of God.  And, it's the same for healing, tongues, prayer and many other gifts.  We've allowed others to come in and "spy out" our liberties in Christ with their own understanding.  Many are still holding God's people under the confines of the Law and not allowing their daring to trust the Holy Spirit's guiding the liberty Christ bought for them.
     Many shepherds believe that if they give the people their liberty, then they will abuse it.  It might be true for some, but the Lord is the One Who gave the liberty to all who will believe.  If He can trust His Word and His Spirit with the liberty in us, then surely I should be able to give God's people the same consideration.
     Paul wrote about this in nearly all of his Epistles; especially Galatians.  Some tried putting the people back under the Law and tried doling out the inheritance of the new birth in the way an allowance is earned.  What they failed to realize is, that we can never earn it, it was the gift of grace.
     Some in the Body of Christ walk in more light than others and are looked upon as being "too far out."  As Christian people, we are all called to hear and study God's Word.  We are supposed to know, through the Holy Spirit, what is Christ and what is not.  God is capable of doing everything He said He would do, whether or not we believe it.
     We differ in our knowledge and faith in what Jesus has done and we've allowed the enemy to "split" the camp (that was never meant to be divided).  The truth is that we all have the same inheritance and the same liberty in Christ.  The only problem has been that some don't understand this liberty.  And, because we don't understand it and we're unsure it is really of God, we hold back or stay away from it.  This also is honoring God, because anyone who is saved wishes to do what God wants them to do.
     Is it possible for me to speak in tongues and attend a church that abstains from this liberty?  Of course it is.  Can I walk in healing and attend a church that doesn't believe God still heals?  Of course I can.  I can walk in liberty, even though no one else does, but I cannot do it as a matter of pride to be offensive.  What do we say about the differing levels of faith in Christ?  Do I simply stop in my pursuit of Jesus and stay with everyone else?  Or, do I continue in my quest while still fellowshipping with the Body? 
     Romans 14:22-23 (Amplified) says, "Your personal convictions (in such matters) exercise (them) as in God's presence, keeping them to yourself (striving only to know the truth and obey His will) Blessed (happy, to be envied) is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves (who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do). (This does not mean things that you know are sin) but things that you have learned from the Holy Spirit concerning your liberty."  Verse 23 says, "But the man who has doubts (misgivings, and uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats (perhaps because of you) stands condemned (before God) because he is not true to his convictions and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin (whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful)."
     Paul is writing about the stumbling block we must be watchful for.  Our liberty should not push other people past where their faith is.  We're not to leave them without faith, but aren't called to push them past it either.  We must be patient in our teaching and feeding of their faith.  And, we must be certain their faith is in the right place.