THE
GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD!
We
have heard accounts of a God who in times past manifested supernatural
acts.
This "God of Wonders" manifested the miraculous throughout
the pages of the Bible. Consider the accounts in Genesis where God Almighty
brought judgment against a
depraved world.
In the time of Noah the world met with annihilation through a great
world-wide flood. Later, in the days of Abraham, God judged a wicked
generation destroying the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the
Bible we are told of supernatural signs and wonders by Moses resulting
in the Israelites deliverance from Egyptian bondage. Similarly accounts
of kings and prophets chronicle the miraculous wonders wrought by the
POWER OF GOD. At the beginning of the "church age" God's power
was described in the book of Acts. Whenever Almighty God is manifested
God's power is clearly in evidence. Now the question is, is this supernatural
power in evidence today, and if not, why not? If we see no evidence
of the power of God we might question the very reality of God.
Without the evidence of God's power being manifested in the world today,
critic's may question the Bible's accuracy or the teachings of the Gospel
of Christ. Is our God on vacation? Are the Biblical accounts mere myths?
Can the Word of God be trusted?
The Christian and secular world are struggling with unbelief.
Romans 1:16 and 1Corinthians 1:18; 1:24; 1Corinthians;
1Corinthians 2:5
These
scriptures and others address the reality of the Power of God.
Have
you seen any evidence that God has touched lives? Is His presence manifest
in a church, temple, or meeting house?
Have you been touched by the
"Power of God?" If you have been born of the Spirit,
(John 3:3) you HAVE indeed been touched by the power of God because
this experience is not by man, the will of man but by the intervention
and the power of The Almighty. If you HAVE NOT experienced the power
of God you may still be going through a religious charade, be it Christian
or another sect including the aetheist ideology. Perhaps you have given
up on any religion because it seems irrelevant to the world we live
in.
Liberal
churches and most mainline Christian churches could function perfectly
well without Christ's RESURRECTION. Too many churches function as social
clubs promoting a positive mental outlook or a self improvement. Paul
the apostle makes it clear that true Christianity can not exist without
Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Without the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus, there could be no authentic church. This is because the supernatural
"Power of God" is derived from the resurrection. Ultimately
there would be no "good news" and there would be no miraculous
conversions today by the power of God. Humanity would have no hope for
redemption and we would all die in our sin. (1Corinthian
15:14-17)
THE
MYSTERY OF HOLY SPIRIT POWER
Power From on High
The Two Words for Power
God Baptized Jesus with Supernatural Ability, Power and Might to Minister
In A Matter of Moments Become
a New Creation
That was Then, What
About Now?
How
You May Receive the Promise of the Father
Speaking
in other Tongues [Spiritual Languages)
Prayer
language and Holy Spirit Ministry
Intercession, a
Spiritual Ministry
A
God of Power Today?
Acts 1 vs 8: But you shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Suggested
Reading: Mark 16; 1Corinthians 12; 1Corinthians 14; Luke 4: Matt. 28
end, Acts 1 & Acts 2, and Others; Romans 1:16 and 1 Corinthians
1:18
The label 'Christians' usually designate folks that are regular
church attenders. I believe very few have actually experienced God's
manifested power or His divine presence in a convincing and dramatic
way. Among the population of nominal Christians there may be another
category, rare and few in number, authentic, believing Christians
who have been regenerated and 'born of the spirit.' These are God's
elect. They are set apart and denoted as God's children. These have
had their name written in heaven and have a place of residency reserved
there. (1Peter C1)
From
our first steps The Almighty guides us in our unique calling in God.
The called believer is now properly denoted as a 'disciple' and
a 'saint.' How unfortunate that these disciples should be merely relegated
to becoming part of another person's pew-sitting audience. How can being
a member of a church congregation and coming to weekly meetings be seen
as fulfilling the 'great commision?' Typically Christian ministry is
only a career choice as any other. What could be more harmful than to
have as a spiritual mentor one who does not even know the God about
whom he presumes to teach. Those referred to as ministry professionals
today are the product of a training center and considered equipt when
they receive their ministerieal credentials. Every believer who is truly
called or approved by God should be fully qualified to minister the
gift that has been entrusted to them. 1 Peter 4:10.
God almighty created the Heavens and the Earth. We are told of miraculous
deeds done in time past by the power of God: For example, the stopping
of the sun's movement which allowed time to give Joshua a military victory;
miracles and signs done by Moses and Aaron in Egypt; the opening of
the Red Sea; the fire of God which came down to consume Elijah's sacrifice
before the priests of Baal. We believers acknowledge by faith, that
Jesus performed miracles outside of realm of natural law, healing, raising
the dead, walking on the water, and changing water into wine, and demonstrating
power over nature. Then we may consider the knowledge miracles. Jesus
the messiah, continually demonstrated that he new the very thoughts
of men and had prophetic powers to know the future. The disciples of
Christ were able to replicate Jesus' miracles only by the power of the
Holy Spirit. Dunamis power equipt the saints only after the birth of
the church age on the first Pentecost, as recorded in the book of The
Acts of the Apostles.
How shall we regard these
accounts? Shall we say they did not occur? Shall we say that God has
changed? The Bible tells us that God has not changed, that He continues
work the same way yesterday, today and forever. Some theology has concluded
that God has changed and that He only empowered discipleship in the
past.
This writer grew up attending numerous traditional churches in which
there were no manifestations of God's presence or power. Neither was
it taught that God could be a intimate co-participant in a fellowship
meeting. Sadly, in my experience, there was no reality that God could
actually provide any benefit in one's everyday life.
A Church House Meeting
The typical church meeting consists of hymns, sung mostly without understanding,
a short message delivered by an qualified authority dressed in clerical
garb; a collection for the maintenance of the church and staff, opening
and closing prayers and a timely dismissal. There may also be a bonus
time to say hello and have a donut.
Hymn singing is too often without conviction or zeal. I would ask you
can anyone give heart felt praise when they do not know the God they
praise? (John 4) "- -You worship what
you do not know - -" Preaching is considered
good if it is well organized and read with the addition of a little
humor and some relavence to contemporary social issues and needs. It
is amazing to me that people continue to support traditions in which
there is nothing spiritual in evidence to validate the truth
in the words which are preached. A congregation is conditioned to expect
nothing more. For all practical purposes one could easily preach that
"God is dead." The doctrine of "cessationism"
is a logical consequence of a church without power from on high.
One
might define faith is 'believing in the God without any way to test
that belief.' No person, no disciple or believer in Jesus the Messiah
can understand or experience the fullness of this truth nor act as a
manifested child of the Most High without supernatural enabling.
"- -No man knows
the things of God except for the Spirit of God - - (1Corinthians 1:11,12)
1John1:1-2 That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word
of life—2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify
to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father
and was made manifest to us—
The passage written above by the apostle John speaks of a literal connection
to the supernatural working of God on many levels. It speaks of a living
and dynamic experience in the matters we live and preach.
Now I thank God for His
excellent Grace, that He has provided all that is necessary to walk
as a child of God, walking in Jesus' footsteps. It is dunamis
power which Jesus promised to all his true disciples. This power is
the God-Power of the Holy Spirit and we were told clearly in the word
we read that it is indispensible in a believer's life. This manifestation
is the evidence of God in us,
which God has provided to fulfill his word and provide us with a first
hand witness of the promises and provisions stated in the Bible. This
power is scripturally promised for every disciple of Jesus Christ.
This power enables and equips us to to better perform the outreaches
of the Gospel of the Kingdom, also called the work of ministry. "You
shall be witnesses of me." Jesus said. This means that we can speak
of those things we have seen as one would in a courtroom where evidence
is given. John the beloved disciple in his first epistle as quoted above,
introduces the letter by saying it is those very things that we have
witnessed, heard, seen, and handled pertaining to the Word. These all
point to tangible kinds of evidence of ongoing experiences with God.
As to witnessing, forget any references that speak of (witnessing) as
going door to door as LDS missionaries or Kingdom Hall JW's who are
required canvass neighborhoods in order to secure a righteous standing
in the Watchtower and Tract Society.
If someone is not taught about this provision in the Word of God, how
can he or she can neither believe it nor appropriate it? If we have
been taught a contrary gospel, then we can not proceed without unlearning
that wrong doctrine. There is another kind of barrier, the spirit of
unbelief. This can be reckoned as the leaven of Pharisees that masquerades
as scripturally correct doctrine but is mostly barren of understanding.
Religious tradition is not unlike the spirit which the Pharisees manifested
to withstand Jesus in the time of his earthly ministry. Bible training
centers are training practitioners in a form of Godliness without power,
presenting doctrinal arguments which contradict the promises of God,
namely that the Power of the Spirit and His ministry gifts are no longer
being manifested today. Jesus said, If you believe you will see the
glory of God.
Paul
stated that he did not bring mere words, spell-binding oratory or philosophy
(intellectual reasoning) but rather, the demonstration of the Holy Spirit
and his Power.( 1 Corinthians 2:3 - 1 Corinthians 2:5 4, And my speech
and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but
in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5, that your faith should
not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.) Today much
of institutional Christianity presents a religion without power. Moreover
if the supernatural is manifested, it is too often looked upon it as
something questionable. On the other hand, those not well grounded in
truth, have the tendency to exalt any man performing these miracles,
placing him on a pedestal. Note in the Book of Acts disciples Paul and
Barnabus had to constrain people from deifying them when powers from
God were displayed.
The
Two Words for Power
The Bible mentions two kinds of power, power (dunamis) and power (exousia).
Both words have a place in understanding the power which is granted
to every believer. Exousia power is the authority or permission to act
granted by God. Jesus declares after his resurrection, All power (exousia,
authority) in heaven and on earth have been given to me -- you go therefore
-- and the commission to his disciples is given to take the Gospel into
every nation. Jesus states in his prayer to the Father in John Chapter
17, "the glory you have given me, I have given to them- The glory
of God is, I believe, a physical manifestation of God's presence, therefore
it must be equated with Power. I will share a phrase with you, that
I believe has been spiritually revealed, the phrase is this, "The
glory of God is the manifested presence of God. In recent years we have
seen the introduction of signs manifesting the glory of God. Some of
these signs may have been gold appearing on people or in the area or
gemstones which suddenly appear. Others have seen notable miracles.
But these signs in themselves should not be taken as absolute validation
of those who minister these signs. One must be diligent in discerning
not only the spirit in which these messages are ministered but also
in testing the scripture to see whether there is a precedent in the
Bible. Toward the end of the age deception is promised with lying signs
and wonders. This means that it may not be the Spirit of God to which
these manifestations attest!
Jesus
speaks of "the promise of the Father" which is the endowment
of power from God. Before returning to heaven, Jesus commanded his disciples,
"to wait in Jerusalem until you are
endued with power from on high." God Baptized Jesus
with this dunamis Power of the Spirit when he was baptized by John in
the Jordan river. Thereafter Jesus walked in the fullness of the Spirit
that enabled him to follow the directions of The Father in all he said
and did. He began is ministry. " -
- God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power who
went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil."
(Acts10:38)
Supernatural
Ability
The ministry of Jesus was a four-fold ministry; teaching, preaching
the kingdom, healing, and deliverance from demonic influences.
In all of these he demonstrated the kingdom authority
that was his as the promised Messiah. This ministry was enforced by
the power of God directed against the forces of Satan. As described
in Luke Chapter 4:18, there is an emphasis on power and authority to
fulfill his commission as promised Messiah and King.
For
this purpose, the Son of God is manifested, That he might destroy the
works of the devil.; (1John 3:8)
Ministry that demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit is at heart
of the Gospel of the Kingdom. It can be summarized as the power to free
people and restore them from conditions of their
fallen state. (Luke Chapter 4:18 - body, soul and spirit)
Read Luke 4:18. This is Lord's original pronouncement of his
commission see where Jesus returns to Nazareth and takes the scroll
of Isaiah and reads Isaiah 61:1 These are Jesus' working orders.
Satan became "the
god of this world" since Adam's forfeiture of authority
in Eden. Humanity has lived in a fallen world placed under Satan's (Lucifer's)
curses that have stricken mankind in general and ourselves and
our families individually. We all lack wholeness, (physical, mental
and spiritual) through the bondage of Satan in sickness, mental oppression,
and spiritual blindness. Satan has lost his role of legal ruler of this
world after Christ's resurrection. Yet, he is still about the task to
steal, kill and destroy. His work as the deceiver is in continuous operation.
Satan has no plan to retire or retreat until Jesus returns with 'power
and great glory' in that great final advent. At that future time,
Christ the Messiah, will command strong angels to place Lucifer and
his agents under guard and remove them from the scene for a very long
time. Then and only then will the earth enjoy a reign of peace and righteousness
hitherto unknown since the fall in fabled Eden.
A
Gospel without power is a false Gospel. First let
us look at Paul's statement, "The Gospel is the Power of God."
The phrase contains a whole lot more than can be grasped in quick reading.
All matters concerning Spiritual workings and gifts must be understood
as God's hand and Spirit
at work in human lives. Think SUPERNATURAL cause and SUPERNATURAL results.
First, consider this, it is God who causes us to believe by giving us
the needed 'measure of faith.' That's right! It is not our own discoveries
and desires that bring us to God. It is God himself that plants the
irresistable call into our soul. Thereafter it is God's hand and power
that prepares us to believe and finally seals us with the Holy Spirit
of promise and remakes us into something called "a new creation."
(See 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Likewise any Gospel which does not introduce us to the reality of spiritual
powers of the enemy that stand against us is a false Gospel. The life
of faith is to a large degree spent in enforcing God's authority in
the earth with respect to our own lives, our families and the lives
of others we care for. Satan's team is positioned to take advantage
of us through our ignorance. Our enemies will take an offensive action
against us unless we are poised to stand our ground. Satan comes to
steal, kill, destroy & deceive, and to perpetuate false Gospels.
The Promise of the Father Help from the Spirit of God for Every Disciple
The book of acts introduces the promise of the Father, What is this
promise of the Father? It is Power from on high!. The Holy Spirit came
to ordinary men and gave them supernatural knowledge, ability and might.
They were clothed with the Glory of God's fire. Under the power of the
Spirit, they manifested total loss of normal mental self control, they
began to utter language which was not their own. They became witnesses.
After being touched by Power (dunamis) we also bear witnesses that our
lives are being remade, renewed, blessed in wholeness, through an agency
which is totally beyond man's natural abilities, but that is something
of the heavens.
Becoming
a New Creation, available to those who believe
The disciples of Jesus included both men and women. They awaited the
Promise of the Father in an upper room in Jerusalem that day
of Pentecost. They were all believers in Jesus. They all had known Jesus
the man of miracles. They all had walked with him. They all knew his
voice and heard his sayings. Yet, as Jesus reckoned, they
were not yet able to minister as God required them to minister.
It was not enough to have known Jesus personally, face to face. They
as well as ourselves can not minister to this world from knowledge and
natural ability alone!
The
continuation of Jesus ministry was to be handed over to his disciples.
Spiritual enablements would replicate Christ within each of them! Then
this Christ within would work through the believer. Suddenly at
the appointed moment each man and woman experienced what the prophets
had written: The prophet Joel writing states: "It shall come to
pass in the latter days that I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh
--' The prophet Ezekiel writes: "-- a new heart will I give you,
and put a new spirit in you; I will remove the heart of stone and put
in a heart of flesh-"(Ezekiel Chapter 36:26) I will write my laws
upon your heart " and David the psalmist prophet writes: "-
Let this be written for a future generation, a people not yet created
shall Praise the Lord" --(Psalm 102,18)
That
was Then, What About Now?
Religious tradition has relegated the book of Acts to "stories"
or fables featuring exploits of unique and favored saints disciples
and apostles. Some teach that God no longer makes disciples and use
them as he once did. They say empowerment from on high as explained
to Peter, James and John is not for today. Be remember God does not
change or lie. He has made a promise he will certainly fulfill that
promise. The "promise of the Father" was all about receiving
divine, enabling power required to minister. The prophetic
promise enables the Ministry of Jesus Christ to continue in the present
church age. The earth will eventually have our sovereign present.
The Kingdom of God will yet be actualized upon the earth.
You
May Receive the Promise of the Father
Only believers can
receive the Holy Spirit. This may require some personal self-evaluation.
Do you believe? What do you believe? Do you believe that you
are a sinner alienated from the life and promises of God? Do you believe
that you have up to this time, either knowing or unknowingly, followed
a life style ruled by Satan's nature, pride and rebellion and self-service
and uncleanness? Do you believe you need a Savior? Do you believe that
Jesus was the lamb of God who carried the sins and offenses of the whole
world as well as your own? Do you believe that the Messiah's blood has
the power to wash all of your sins away and restore you in perfect accord
with God the Father? Do you believe that God loves you and wishes to
forgive you? Do you believe that He has the power to make your life
entire over again and to make you a new creation?
If
so, Hallelujah! An ordinary person like you and me, called outcasts,
or sinners in the Bible, may begin a spiritual life by talking to God
and asking Him to do something in our life. I can assure you of the
truth in this. You need to do two things, the first is to believe. Kindly
note and consider the things discussed above, for these are the essential
elements of believing in the Gospel of Christ. The second is a spoken
confession or petition to God. The psalmist states, "I called (spoke)
unto the Lord with my voice and He heard me out of His holy hill."
(Psalm 3:4 and Psalm 77:1) Confess (say with your own words) what you
know about the promises that the cross of the Lord Jesus has acquired
for you. Make this personal and honest.
Such
a confession or petition to God, is not a ritual but simply getting
honest with God, telling Him that you need Him and His transforming
dunamis (power). Acknowledge that you accept the sacrifice of the Son
of God for your sins. The words when spoken out of a sincere heart set
in motion the gift of God, that we call a new creation. You will be
born from above.
Romans 10:9-10 instructs
us to proclaim this audibly with a statement of believing that Jesus
will meet your need. God honors this confession. He will change you
in an instant and take you into His family. However, you must act in
all sincerity with faith, believing that you will most assuredly receive
the gift of eternal life; this new birth and this new status of righteousness
in Christ Jesus.
This
is the first step of receiving the Promise of the Father, the
gift of the Holy Spirit. If you are already a believer and have a sure
witness of the fact that God has restored your spirit, you are eligible
to become a disciple filled with power.
Must
you be; Worthy; or pure to receive the Holy Spirit baptism?
Do not be misled by doctrine that
requires a believer to be spiritually clean and perfect before receiving
the gift of Holy Spirit power. It is because we are flawed and weak
in the flesh that this gift is given! This is erroneously taught
be some. It is in fact the Holy Spirit himself who provides the ability
to live the God life and provides the power to remove the hindrances
to righteous acts and thoughts in a believer's life. This is another
charis Gift of God.
The
experience of being born of the Spirit, regenerate, made new, (born
again) is a good example of how God (through Christ Jesus) works on
our behalf. All operations of faith operate through a similar sequence
of action to that demonstrated above (Romans Chapter 10, verses 9 and
10.) Belief is followed by action. We believe in our hearts and express
the belief vocally. The Heavenly Father is anxious to give you His Kingdom.
(Luke 12,32).
BELIEVING
IN THE HEART
Believe
and confess that Jesus died to make us free from the penalty of sin.
He also wishes to make you into a true disciple. If we TRULY believe
(know) and confess BELIEVING that God wishes to empower us as he empowered
his first disciples. He desires to give you a good gift and empower
you. Believe that Jesus has done that greater work on our behalf. Receiving
the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" is God's desire for you.
As
he commanded the first disciples so he also commands in order that we
can function as a child of God. In the process of being filled with
the Spirit the disciples in the second chapter of Acts came together
to seek the promise of the Father. They sought it prayerfully. After
the Holy Spirit was poured out there were manifestations for each disciples.
They did not attempt to go out and minister without the experience.
When the moment of fulfillment came - - They began to praise God and
to prophecy and to speak in other languages that the Holy Spirit gave
to them.
Speaking
in 'Other Tongues'
There
is a great amount of contention on the matter of speaking in other languages
after the baptism of power.
Biblical examples indicate that all
who received the baptism of the Spirit spoke in tongues. Since this
endowment of power is such a potent force for realizing the activation
of supernatural wisdom and might the enemy Satan would love to
disable its activation use among disciples. Remember, no power
equals no true gospel. (see 1 Cor. 12)
Holy
Spirit languages are of two varieties,
unknown actual languages and spiritual languages. Not all are given
the gift of receiving known languages that are spoken by tribes and
nations. But heavenly languages and their revelations and not withheld
from any seeking the gift. Understanding and receiving these spiritual
languages are a problem for many believers. There is the matter of relinquishing
mental control, not thinking too much. This is a weird kind of thing
for people to do. Releasing the language utterance is a little confusing.
Does one try or try not to try? It is hard to release words you do not
know by not thinking. The wisdom of God has made it possible to bypass
the normal functions of reasoning and mental operation. Ordinary thought
processes are mostly by-passed when accessing the tongues of God. Words
you speak are not words or vocabulary to "learn." The Spiritually
activated languages of tongues are real languages a form of speech.
They may or may not be identified as any human dialect. A
method which I have used to help if you are blocked or frustrated in
the pursuit of a Spiritual language; Try a syllable at a time. You can
also write on paper a series of syllables each containing a vowel and
consonants in a any sequence. Don't think about it at all just
write them as they seem to
come randomly. Syllables make up words whether known words or unknown.
Paul refers to 2 kinds of tongues; tongues
of men; and of angels (1Cor 13).
Tongues are messages from God, or a way for us to give God perfect praise
to him. At other times tongues along with a spoken interpretation is
a message to edify others.
What
tongues do
Tongues normally work to edify and instruct ourselves on a spiritual
level. Tongues bring revelatory wisdom. Tongues also open the door to
Spiritual experiences of all kinds making us sensitive to comprehend
heavenly things. Tongues build our faith and open understanding of the
Scripture. The Holy Spirit Baptism shows evidence of God working in
our life. It will give us a desire to study the Bible more. It will
give us the passion to spend more time in prayer. It will cause us to
join others and discuss matters of the Kingdom of God. It will inspire
you to do special things to minister to others. You may see yourself
actually visiting certain people are sharing special things with a friend
or neighbor.
Prayer language and Holy Spirit Ministry The gift of Tongues as listed
in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12 is the ability to speak a language having
never learned it. An example is described in Acts Chapter two. Where
Galileans spoke the languages known to many nations who were present.
Experience has taught me that languages can be a part of messages given
publicly in meetings although this is not seen too often. As we pray
in the Spirit our minds are rendered quiescent. the language of the
Spirit has no predictability or conscious control. We find in it many
kinds of expressions both in word and in tones of expression.
Employing Tongues, Praying in the Spirit
Praying in the Spirit, expresses through a Spiritual language God's
perfect will about matters of the moment. When we do not know how to
pray about a particular matter, the Holy Spirit provides the necessary
words. Romans, 8: 26, describes ;groanings; or expressions beyond words.
This is also called praying in the Spirit. Intercessors will lapse into
prayers beyond words where sounds come forth that are very strange to
listen to and may not sound at all like language. We can also receive
the understanding of prayers that we pray or that are prayed by others.
Understanding may come into our minds spontaneously after we have spoken
in tongues, or after someone else has been heard to utter something
in a spiritual language. You may seek and ask the Lord to reveal these
that you pray about so that you mind may also be fruitful. (1Cor 14)
Interpreted tongues equal prophecy. Intercession, a Spiritual Ministry
The ministry of divine intercession is empowered through the language
of the Spirit.
Intercession
a Spiritual Ministry
God through the Holy Spirit calls forth active and anointed intercession.
The Holy Spirit directs our attention to matters that the Father seeks
to address. Some are given this ministry gift in a unique and powerful
way. The Holy Spirit causes such individuals to yield to the Spirit
and bring out the words necessary to enforce the perfect will of God
for many things.
The
expression "travailing in the Spirit" is a very real expression
of Godly Sorrow. It can not be taught! It must be induced by the Holy
Spirit. Just as travail is a Biblical reference to birthing so it is
in the Spirit. It has the fruit of spiritual change or breakthroughs.
Sometimes we see the fruit as answered prayers as when a wayward child
comes to the Lord from a life of sin.
It
has been testified how people awaken in the night to intercede in prayer
for people they know or for those in ministry undergoing trials and
crisis.
Some teachers proclaim revelations that result from spiritual intercession.
Where matters of revelation are concerned as given them by the Holy
Ghost such things must be examined in the light of scripture. When
there is no foundation in the Bible, such inspired 'revelations' should
be discarded.
The power of praying God's will for people, circumstances or nations,
need not depend upon the leading of the rational mind. Sometimes visions
and revelations can accompany intercession where God allows his servant
to see the nature of the circumstances for which he or she is praying.
Praying
in the Spirit and the ministry of intercession is not learned by reading
a 'how to' book. It may be seen demonstrated by men or women with the
gift. Like other spiritual practices it grows by practice and experience.
Intercession is not a method or technique but the actions of the Holy
Spirit through a yielded vessel. God is willing to train
any person who wishes to expand his knowledge of Spiritual things. It
is continued practice that brings ability and fruitfulness in learning
and application of Spiritual things. Disciples are learners. Practice
ministering through prayer, according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Ask the Lord to train you and lead you in the Spirit. Surely it His
will and pleasure to develop his children to become mature "sons
or daughters of God."
Spiritual
Gifts
Each believer has a unique calling and a particular gift(s) that functions
in the body of Christ. We are in fact now a part of the
expression of Christ's manifested presence on the earth. The Body
is comprised of gifts of various kinds that find expression not just
in the arena of everyday life but when the believers gather in
fellowship . (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12,
1 Peter 4:11, Ephesians 4) Expressing God's direction through
the manifold gifts is the perfect function of body fellowship. Such
gatherings edify all of its members and bless their communities.
Bible Mysteries, Chapter
3
E
Book 1:
The Gospel
Without Religion
E Book 2:
A
Disciples Handbook
E Book 3:
Mysteries
in the Bible
Resources:
Understanding Home Fellowships
Frank Viola Interviews a typical church-goer
(Discussion
of Open Church)
Index
to all Charles Pinkney Christian Titles
updated January 31, 2024
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