Getting to know the Holy Spirit: Jesus overcomes the Tempter

How did Jesus silence Satan and overcome temptation?

Through his knowledge of the Word! It is written.

Luke 4:4 (NIV)

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ^{(Deut 8:3)}

Matthew 4:7 (NIV)

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ^{(Dt 6:16)}

Matthew 4:10 (NIV)

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ^{(Dt 6:13)}

Three strikes and he’s out!

Matthew 4:11 (NIV)

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

What’s important for us to remember and put into practice from this little section?

1.     Fasting

Although there is no scripture in the Bible that commands us to fast, we do know that fasting was part of Jesus’ lifestyle and as we are called to be imitators of Christ it makes good sense for us to fast at times as well. Just before his encounter with Satan in the wilderness, we are told this:

Matthew 4:2 (NLT)

For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

And Jesus says this to his disciples just after his teaching to them on how to pray:

Matthew 6:16

“When you fast,…………..

Here the Lord says “When you fast” not “if you fast” so from this we can gather that there is an expectation for us to fast.

2.     Knowledge of the Bible

Knowledge of the scriptures should of course be a key priority in our daily walk as Christians and true followers of Christ! As Jesus is the Word, the more we know the Bible the more we will know Jesus!

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit and Jesus the Man

Jesus – The Spirit Filled Man

Jesus – the Spirit filled man. Now this is a statement worth pondering on!

Jesus the man, but not just an ordinary man, a man filled with the Holy Spirit. The kind of man that Jesus wants us to strive to be from day to day – being transformed to His image.

The example that every born-again Christian should be following of course is the example of Jesus, in fact, He is the only example we should be following. The words that every born-again Christian should listen to, follow, believe in and put into practice in our lives are those found in the Bible, the Word of God. His manual for our lives! Jesus and the Word are one.

All right then so let’s have a good look at how the Holy Spirit influenced the life of Jesus and what Jesus said and taught about him (the Holy Spirit) that we need to take hold of and mold our lives into and around. I guess what I need to say now is that every word that comes out from our Lord needs to govern our Christian walk. But let’s look at the specifics of the Holy Spirit.

A good place to start then is in the book of John. If we turn to Chapter 1, we read this from the words that John the Baptist himself spoke:

John 1:32-34

32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

In this chapter from verse 29, John the Baptist is witnessing to his followers that Jesus is the messiah. He goes on to tell them in the three verses above that he saw the Holy Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and remain on Jesus. This was Jesus’ baptism in the Spirit directly from the Father in heaven and in addition to this, verse 33 tells us that it is Jesus who will baptise us (all believers who desire to believe and receive) in the Holy Spirit.

It is interesting to note too that it was only after Jesus was baptised in water and in the Holy Spirit that he began his ministry in great power and wherever he went and taught, miracles, signs and wonders and many other supernatural happenings accompanied his ministry as he moved in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus wants us to emulate him in this way too – he will baptise us in the Holy Spirit so that we are able to do as he did and do even greater things! A victorious Church that is moving in the power of the Holy Spirit and in unity. How cool is that?

Continues next week with....Jesus defeats the Tempter!

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit and Jesus the baby and the boy

The Holy Spirit and how he was influential in the life of Jesus as a baby and a boy when he walked the earth in human form.

The birth of Jesus:

Matt 1:18 (NLT)

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the above verse we are told that Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit thus making God the father of Jesus. This was a significant move of the power of God through the Holy Spirit that had never been done before and will never be done again in any other being – God and the Word becoming flesh in order to fully identify with man!

The verses we have read above show us that the Holy Spirit was active in the life of Jesus the man right from his conception in the womb of his mother Mary.

The Bible doesn’t say much about Jesus as he grew up as a child, or as a young man until he reaches the age of 30 and begins his ministry as a man in the power of the Holy Spirit – that is after being both water-baptised and then immediately baptised with the Holy Spirit.

We’ve established that the birth of Jesus was the work of the Holy Spirit, so let’s now look at the work of the Holy Spirit in the baby Jesus and then the boy Jesus.

The Holy Spirit and the baby Jesus – Luke 2:1-40

In these verses Luke describes three significant, supernatural encounters that occurred in the first eight days in the life of baby Jesus.

1.   An angel of the Lord and a company of the heavenly host appear to a group of shepherds in the fields to tell them about the birth of the long-awaited Messiah – Luke 2:8-20.

2.   At baby Jesus’ dedication at the temple in Jerusalem he is blessed by a man called Simeon who is described as full of the Holy Spirit. Simeon takes Jesus in his arms (a sort of laying on of hands and praying) and praises God for the birth of the Messiah – Luke 2:21-35.

3.   At the same time there was also a prophet named Anna at the temple who also thanked God for the Messiah and spoke about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Proclaiming to all that the long- awaited messiah was finally here!

The Holy Spirit and the boy Jesus – Luke 2:41-52

The next time Jesus is mentioned in the Bible is as a 12-year old boy. In these verses (Luke 2:41-52) we are told that Mary and Joseph and their family (including Jesus) went to Jerusalem to attend the Passover Festival. After the festival they leave for home, but Jesus stays behind without his parents realising. It is only after a day’s travel that they notice that Jesus is missing and return to Jerusalem to find him. It is three days before they find him, and this is what he was doing, remember he is just 12 years old:

Luke 2:46-47 (NIV)

⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.⁴⁷ Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

So, in the above verses we see that this 12-year-old boy is sitting among the teachers of the day asking them questions and they are amazed at his understanding and his answers to their questions. This is the work of the Holy Spirit rising up in him.

After this the Bible doesn't tell us anything further in the life of Jesus the the boy except that he grew in stature and favour with both man and God.

Coming next week: The Spirit filled life of Jesus the man.

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Getting to know the Holy Spirit - The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

In the Old Testament, unlike in the New Testament, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was selective and only for a specific purpose.

Exodus 31:1-5 (NIV)

Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you:

Here we have God telling Moses that He has called out Bezalel and filled him with the Holy Spirit and gifted him with a number of spiritual gifts to enable the construction of the tabernacle and it’s ornamental decoration and to teach others to do the same.

Numbers 27:18 (NIV)

So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him.

In the above verse God tells Moses to lay hands on Joshua as His spirit was in him (Joshua) and the purpose of the spirit being in him was for leadership, Joshua was to succeed Moses as God's anointed leader of Israel. This is also one of the first instances of the laying on of hands on someone for an impartation of the Holy Spirit.

In the book of Judges we see that God raised up a number of Judges, such as Samson, to deliver Israel from oppression. These Judges were only able to act once the Spirit of God had come upon them. The Judges were chosen by God alone for this task. Read the book of Judges for yourselves and you will see what I mean!

1 Samuel 10:10 (NIV)

When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.

In this verse the Holy Spirit came upon Saul and he began to prophesy. Those that were witness to this event then realised that God’s anointing was upon Saul and that he was a changed man as was foretold by the prophet Samuel in verse 6 of this same chapter below.

1 Samuel 10:6 (NIV)

The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

King David knew the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life! The Holy Spirit empowered him to be a great warrior and it was from his lineage that our Lord Jesus took on His humanity. David knew God’s presence was with him through the Holy Spirit as we see in the below verse:

Psalm 139:7 (NIV)

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

And, of course, all the prophets and writers of the Bible, Old and New Testament wrote under the power of the Holy Spirit and by the same token, all prophecy came from men in the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 1:1 (NIV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 Peter 1:21 (NIV)

For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Tim 3:16-17 (NIV)

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

In the Old Testament the infilling of the Holy Spirit was selective and for a period of time and for a specific purpose only, unlike in the New Testament where the infilling of the Holy Spirit is for all Born Again Christians and is permanent.

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

Getting to know the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit and God's Judgement

Gen 6: 3 (NIV)

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

The heading in the NIV version of the Bible for Genesis 6 is Wickedness in the World. In a nutshell God, who sees everything, says he will not put up with man’s sin forever and that His Spirit (The Holy Spirit) will not contend with humans forever. He will bring judgement.

If we look at the Hebrew word for contend, diyn (pron. ‘deen’) or dûn (pron. ‘doon’) we will further see that it means to judge, to strive with and to execute as in to put in motion. In this case it was to put in motion God’s judgement of man.

Hence we have the great flood as depicted from verse 9.

The Holy Spirit acts at God’s command to bring judgement on man’s wickedness. This is the same judgement that will be brought upon the World (those that have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour) at the end of the age. Only this judgement won't be brought with water - it will be brought by fire!

26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Hebrews 10:26-27 (NIV)

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:36-39 (NIV)

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” Revelation 20:11-15 (NIV)

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

Getting to Know the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit and Creation

Introduction

To many Christians The Holy Spirit is still somewhat of a mystery, someone (not something) to be awed from a distance, not fully understood and therefore to be left alone.

How sad is this concept of the Trinitarian God, how undeserving of us, how wrong we are!

In this first article of my “mini-series” I will attempt to show how the love of God is manifest to, in and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

In Acts 1:8 Jesus says this, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus himself says we will receive power – this confirms that the Holy Spirit is the power of God.

We can now look at the ways in which the power of God, through The Holy Spirit, is evidenced in the Old Testament. 

Remember that everything the Holy Spirit does is to the glory of Jesus, and remember too  that God is the same yesterday, today and for always! Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

The Holy Spirit and 'In the beginning'
The Holy Spirit has always been around. He is part of the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In Genesis 2 the Hebrew word for Spirit is “ruach or ruwach” (pronounced roo-akh) and it speaks of wind or breath and even a violent exhalation or a blast, a picture of power and by resemblance spirit. (ref. Strong’s H7307).

Gen 1:1 and 2 (NIV)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

The Good News Bible puts like this:

“In the beginning when God created the universe, the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness and the power of God was moving over the water.”

                                               

So here we see that the power of God, the Holy Spirit, was hovering (Hebrew “rachaph” – pronounced  raw-khaf  – Strong’s ref. H7363) over the water waiting for God’s command, “Let there be…….” to begin creating.

The Holy Spirit is the power of God to create – He has always been there and always will be! he creates things out of nothing at the Word of God! 

The Holy Spirit brings order from chaos.

When God speaks a command, the Holy Spirit brings it to be. "Let there be light", and there was light! "Let us create man in our image", and man was created! The Holy Spirit did God's bidding right at the beginning in creation!

More on the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament next week!

May the name of Jesus be lifted up and glorified!

An extract from my book: Fan Into Flame: Life in the Spirit available on Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1798692120

Rivers of Living Water

Rivers of living water - Flowing from the Temple - The River of Life!

For this article our main scriptures are Ezekiel 47:1-12; John 7:37-39 and Rev 22:1-2 and because there is a spiritual correlation between the Old Testament scriptures and the New Testament scriptures, I would first like to touch very briefly on the topic of Typology.

Typology is where things in the Old Testament represent things in the New. Almost all typology are shadows of Christ or His work on the cross. Even the experiences of people in the Old Testament may give us some valuable lessons although some of them may not not necessarily be shadows.

The Significance of the Old Testament for Today’s Believer

What does the New Testament say?

2 Timothy 3:15-17 (AMP)

15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honourably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

1 Corinthians 10:5-6 and 11 (AMP)

5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them (the Israelites led out of Egypt by Moses) their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things [the warnings and admonitions] took place as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did.

11 Now these things happened to them as an example and warning [to us]; they were written for our instruction (the New Testament Church) [to admonish and equip us], upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

So, in all these scriptures, the Apostle Paul tells us that the Old Testament is just as relevant for Christians today as it was yesterday – long ago!

2 Tim 3:16-17 (NIV)

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Rivers of Living Water: What does this mean to Christians today?

To enable us to understand what 'Rivers of Living Water' means to us today as born-again Christians, let's first examine the term's meaning from the Old Testament from the book of Ezekiel and then correlate it with the New Testament scriptures and the words of Jesus.

The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist.

5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. 6 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea. 11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”

What are the dynamics of Ezekiel’s river of life?

Ezekiel was in the Spirit when he was given his revelation:

• It flows from the temple – vs 1-2

• The further in you go, the deeper it gets and the faster and further it flows – vs 3-6

• Wherever the river goes and whatever it touches, it brings life – vs 7-9

• Wherever it goes it brings provision (teeming with fish and trees continually bear good fruit) and healing – vs 10 -12

• Wherever it goes it changes bad to good (Dead Sea is changed from salt water to fresh water) – vs 8

• Because of the river the trees will continually bear good fruit – vs 12

What does this mean to today’s Christian?

What is the temple today?

1 Cor 6:19 (NIV)

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.

We (Christians) are the temple, both as individuals and corporately as His Church and we belong to God because we have repented from our sin and we know Jesus as our Lord and Saviour

What is the “river” today?

John 7:37-39 (NIV)

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

In verse 37 above we learn that Jesus was in the Temple on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) when he stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink......"

Now, the question is, "Why did Jesus say this at this time on the last and greatest day of the festival?" The Lord does not do or say things randomly there is always a significant spiritual reason for what He says and does! 

So let's have a look at this through the eyes of His audience at the time - the Jews. Only the Jews were allowed in the temple - gentiles were a definite no, no!

This was the last and greatest day of the festival according to John 37 above. On this day a very special ceremony was performed by the priests around the altar. 

This ceremony on the last day was called 'Hoshanna Rabbah' which means 'judgement delivered'. The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated the judgement of the Egyptians during the Exodus and God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and His provision for them in the wilderness.

The celebration, especially on the last day involved lots of music, singing and dancing - a real good old fashioned Jewish party, but sadly all in the flesh! 

During this celebration the priests would march around the Temple's altar seven times pouring out a continuous flow of water on it and praying for God's provision of rain on their crops during the winter which is the rainy season in Israel. The Mediterranean climate of winter rainfall and summer drought! 

Hence the comments our Lord makes in John 7:37-39. He must have had to shout this out really loud to be heard over the noise of the party!

Now we can see why the Lord said what he said! "Anyone who is thirsty come to me and whoever believes in me rivers of living water will flow from them - the Holy Spirit." 

Without the infilling of the Holy Spirit and His guidance, we will not be effective Christians and we will be unable to walk the path to spiritual maturity! Jesus sent the Holy Spirit specifically to help us to do this!

John 14:16-17; 26-27 (AMP)

16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.

26 But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), 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 help you remember everything that I have told you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]

What did Jesus do here when he shouted out his statement

1.  He declared that He was the way to life - He is the Messiah they have been waiting for!

John 14:6 (NIV)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

2.  He turned the physical (the man made ritual and the party) into the Spiritual – the flesh into the Spirit! The Spiritual is so much more important than the physical.  Come to Jesus before all other things!

Mt 6:33 (NIV)

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

When we’re living life in the spirit we won’t have to worry about our physical provision. Life in the Spirit is so much more important for us than trying to satisfy the needs of the flesh.

Galatians 5:16-18 (NIV)

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

3.  He told them that when we hunger and thirst after Him, we will be a blessing to others in many ways, rivers of living water will flow from us and bring life to others who we touch just as Jesus does!

John 6:35 (NIV)

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

We the Church, as born again Christians are need to be fully immersed in the Holy Spirit, both as individuals and corporately as His Church – moving or flowing (like a river) in the power of the Holy Spirit! Glory to Jesus!

Get as deep into the flow of the Holy Spirit as you can! Not just up to the ankles, knees, waist or shoulders, but get fully submerged, let the Holy Spirit take you wherever He wants you to go. Get fully submerged so He can bring glory to Jesus through you! He will lead you in all truth and enable your actions to lift Jesus higher!

Live life in the Spirit as the Apostle Paul encourages to do in Romans 8!

When we, the Church, fully understand and recognise that we have the Holy Spirit within us and can be continually filled with the Spirit and begin to move in His power, wherever we go, good things will happen!

• We will be light in the darkness.

John 1:4-5 (NIV)

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Matthew 5:16 (NIV)

 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

• Signs and wonders will follow us.

Acts 2:43 (NIV)

 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 

• We will heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons.

Matthew 10:8 (NIV)

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

• We will continually bear good fruit.

Matthew 7:17 (NIV)

 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

• Wherever we go we will bring light and life.

Psalm 36:9 (NIV)

For with you is the fountain of life;

    in your light we see light.

• We will have an abundant life.

John 10:10b (AMP)

 I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

• The fruit of the Spirit will be manifest in us and through us. It is to God's glory that we bear much fruit!

John 15:7-8 (AMP)

7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you [that is, if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit, and prove yourselves to be My [true] disciples.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

• We will live in His rest.

Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

• We will have His peace.

John 14:27

 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

• We will live in the unity of the Spirit. 

Ephesians 4:1-6 (NIV)

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

• We will be a powerful Church.

Acts 1:8 (NIV)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

• We will be following the way of God's love and the Spiritual gifts will be manifest in us and through us.

1 Corinthians 14:1 (NIV)

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

When we are fully submerged in the River of Life, the Holy Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of flesh and we will be pleasing to God and walking in the righteousness of Christ where we receive holiness and redemption!

Galatians 5:16-17 (NIV)

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV)

 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 

Remember: 

When you are fully submerged in the Holy Spirit you are no longer in control of your life - He is and this is the place that every Christian needs to be, so that the Holy Spirit can empower you to do great things in the name of Jesus! 

What the Holy Spirit does through you will always bring glory to the name of Jesus! The deeper you go in the Holy Spirit the greater things He will do in you and through you - you will also be transformed more and more into the image of Jesus which should be the ultimate aim of every born again Christian!

It is not about what we do in the flesh, it is about what we do in the Spirit that will bring glory to Jesus! Our salvation does not lie in what we do but in what Jesus did for us on the Cross! And what we do thereafter according to His will in the power of the Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus. We need to be doers of the Word!

Luke 11:28 (NIV)

 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

James 1:22 (NIV)

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 

  

The scriptures encourage us to be imitators of Christ in every way and thus live lives filled with the unconditional love of God!

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT)

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

In the very last chapter of the Book of Revelation and thus the last chapter of the Bible, Jesus brings everything together in a picture of His glorious return where we see the river of life coming together with the tree of life which will bring healing to the nations! Come soon, Lord Jesus! Come! Amen.

Rev 22:1-2 (NIV)

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

It is the Holy Spirit who will lead us and guide us in our daily walk with Christ - it is the Holy Spirit who empowers us and changes us to be more like Jesus.

John 16:12-15 (AMP)

12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [to hear] them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future]. 14 He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Because of this I said that He [the Spirit] will take from what is Mine and will reveal it to you.

Be continually filled with the Holy Spirit - this will please the Father and bring glory to Jesus!

Prayer

Dear Lord, if I have found favour in your eyes teach me your ways. I ask that you continually fill me with your Holy Spirit that through me you would do great things to the glory of your Name. Create in me a pure heart, I pray, and renew a right and steadfast spirit within me. Humble me Lord, I pray, under your mighty hand! Amen.

To Jesus belongs all glory honour and praise!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Last updated: 8 April 2024.