AS HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN PREVIOUS BLOGS CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT, HE IS PART OF THE TRIUNE GOD, THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT.
THE HOLY SPIRIT, THEN, BEGINS THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH BY DRAWING THOSE WHO WILL TO THE FATHER THROUGH JESUS, FOR IT IS WRITTEN: (JESUS TALKING TO THOMAS) "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME." (JOHN 14:6). ONCE A PERSON SURRENDERS HIS LIFE TO THE FATHER THROUGH JESUS WITH THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BECOMES BORN FROM ABOVE - JOHN 3:3 (JESUS TALKING TO NICODEMUS) "MOST ASSUREDLY, I SAY TO YOU, UNLESS ONE IS BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD", AND WHEN THIS SURRENDER TAKES PLACE, THEN HE/SHE IS READY TO BE SANCTIFIED (SET APART), FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR SANCTIFIER, I.E THE ONE WHO CONFORMS US INTO THE IMAGE OF JESUS CHRIST.
NOW COMES THE CRITICAL NEXT STEP IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER....BEING "BORN AGAIN" IS THE ENTRY INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH, BUT THERE IS A CRUCIAL "NEXT STEP" FOR THOSE WHO DESIRE TO BE ALL THAT GOD WANTS THEM TO BE....AND THAT IS BEING BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT AS JESUS WAS IN THE RIVER JORDAN AT HIS BAPTISM BY JOHN THE BAPTIST. ( MATTHEW 3:13-17)
AT THIS JUNCTURE, YOU COULD WELL ASK..."JUST WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH SPIRITUAL WARFARE?"
IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THIS CRUCIAL QUESTION, LET'S VISIT MATTHEW 4:1-11... VERSE 1: "THEN JESUS WAS LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT INTO THE WILDERNESS TO BE TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL." IT WAS THEN AND ONLY THEN THAT JESUS WAS EMPOWERED TO TAKE ON SATAN, MEANING THAT JESUS WAS FILLED (BAPTIZED) WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT WHICH THEN ENABLED HIM TO BEGIN WARFARE WITH SATAN TO "SET THE CAPTIVE FREE" AS WAS THE MINISTRY FOR WHICH GOD HAD SENT HIM TO EARTH, AS IT WAS SATAN'S MISSION TO DESTROY JESUS WITH HIS DECEPTIVE WAYS! REMEMBER, IN VERSE 11, "THEN THE DEVIL LEFT HIM (JESUS) AND BEHOLD, ANGELS CAME AND MINISTERED TO HIM." BUT THIS WAS NOT THE END...FOR SATAN WOULD INDEED RETURN TO CONTINUE HIS MJSSION TO DESTROY JESUS. LITTLE DID HE KNOW JESUS COULD NOT BE DESTROYED....CRUCIFIED, YES, BUT HE ROSE AGAIN, AND NOW IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER...DOING WHAT? INTERCEDING FOR GOD'S CHILDREN, AND BECAUSE THEY ARE, IT IS WRITTEN, "WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS". (ROMANS 8:34B,37) PRAISE GOD!
FAST FORWARD TO CALVARY, FOR SATAN HAD THE AUDACITY IN HIS PRIDE, TO BELIEVE HE HAD IN FACT, ELIMINATED ONCE AND FOR ALL, THE SON OF GOD! BUT PRAISE GOD, HE LOST THE BATTLE! HOWEVER, NOW THE BATTLE IS FOCUSED ON THOSE OF US IN THE BODY OF CHRIST! WHY SO? BECAUSE THE GOD IN US IS A THREAT TO HIM! BUT WE MUST KEEP IN THE MIND THE SCRIPTURAL ASSURANCE WE READ IN 1 JOHN 4:4 (THE APOSTLE JOHN TALKING ABOUT THE ANTICHRIST WHO IS ALREADY IN THE WORLD) "YOU ARE OF GOD, LITTLE CHILDREN, AND HAVE OVERCOME THEM", FOR SPIRIT FILLED BELIEVERS ARE EMPOWERED TO OVERCOME THOSE WHO TRY TO DESTROY US), BECAUSE "HE (THE HOLY SPIRIT) WHO IS IN YOU IS GREATER THAN HE (SATAN) WHO IS IN THE WORLD." AND ALSO KEEP IN MIND, THE COMFORTING ASSURANCE THAT WHICH IS WRITTEN IN ISAIAH 54:17 "BUT NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU SHALL PROSPER, AND EVERY TONGUE THAT SHALL RISE AGAINST YOU IN JUDGEMENT YOU SHALL SHOW TO BE WRONG."THIS [ PEACE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, SECURITY, TRIUMPH OVER OPPOSITION] IS THE HERITAGE OF THE SAINTS OF THE LORD [ THOSE IN WHOM THE IDEAL SERVANT OF THE LORD IS REPRODUCED].". (AMPLIFIED BIBLE)
THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
THE QUESTION IS..."WHY GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND WHAT ARE THEY"?
BEFORE WE TACKLE THESE QUESTIONS, LET DO A LITTLE BIT OF EXPLORING THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AGAIN...
IT HAS BEEN STATED IN PREVIOUS BLOGS THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT FIRST APPEARED ON THE BIBLICAL SCENE IN GENESIS 1:1 WHERE THE TRIUNE GOD WAS INTRODUCED..."ELOHIM", (GOD PLURAL)...THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. WE NEXT READ ABOUT HIM IN VERSE 1:2: "THE SPIRIT OF GOD HOVERED OVER THE FACE OF THE WATERS."
AS WAS SHARED IN BLOGS 9/10, THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS ACTIVE ONLY AS THE FATHER DIRECTED HIM WITH SITUATIONS/INDIVIDUALS AS APPROPRIATE....TAKE FOR EXAMPLE THE ANIMALS BEING CALLED INTO THE ARK.
HOW DID THAT HAPPEN...THE HOLY SPIRIT DREW THEM FROM EVERY WHERE, AND AS WELL,THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKED IN THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS, PROTECTING THEM AND PROVIDING FOR THEIR EVERY NEED.
ANOTHER SPECIFIC EXAMPLE IS FOUND IN EXODUS 31:3 WHERE THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES: "THEN THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES, SAYING: 'SEE, I HAVE CALLED BY NAME BEZALEL, THE SON OF UR, THE SON OF HUR, OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH, AND I HAVE FILLED HIM WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD, IN WISDOM, IN UNDERSTANDING, IN KNOWLEDGE, AND IN ALL MANNER OF WORKMANSHIP, TO DESIGN ARTISTIC WORKS, TO WORK IN GOLD, IN SILVER AND IN BRONZE......AND I, INDEED I
HAVE APPOINTED WITH HIM, AHOLIAB......THAT THEY MAKE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.'"
TO BRING THIS UP TO PRESENT TIME....THE HOLY SPIRIT "MOVEMENT" BEGAN IN 1900 IN TOPEKA, KANSAS WHEN CHARLES PARHAM LAID HIS HANDS ON AGNES OSMAN AND SHE BEGAN SPEAKING IN TONGUES (ONE OF THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT)...FAST FORWARD TO THE FAMOUS AZUSA STREET REVIVAL IN 1906...THAT INTRODUCED IN EARNEST, THE "PENTACOSTAL MOVEMENT WHICH HAS BE
BEEN GOING ON SINCE. MANY PENTECOSTAL LEADERS AND CHURCHES SPRUNG UP AFTER THIS SO THE HOLY SPIRIT COULD FUNCTION IN THEIR CONGREGATIONS....THE SECOND PHASE BEGAN AFTER WORLD WAR 2. THEN IN 1960, DENNIS BENNETT, AN EPISCOPAL PRIEST IN VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA EXPERIENCED THE BAPTISM OF HOLY SPIRIT AND HE WAS DISMISSED FROM THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH! IN 1970, THE MOVEMENT REALLY CAME INTO BEING IN A POWERFUL WAY...(C. PETER WAGNER YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS...) YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THE BUMPER STICKER WHICH DECLARED: "I FOUND IT"....SHOULD HAVE BEEN "PRAISE GOD, JESUS FOUND ME"!!
A MOMENT FOR A PERSONAL TESTAMONY....I WAS "BORN AGAIN" IN 1975 AND ABOUT A YEAR LATER, A FRIEND GAVE ME DENNIS BENNETT'S BOOK THE HOLY SPIRIT AND YOU. WHEN I FINISHED READING IT, I CLOSED IT AND DECLARED TO THE LORD, (SINCE GROWING UP IN VERY CONSERVATIVE NEW ENGLAND): "LORD, I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS, "BUT IF THIS IS OF YOU, I WANT IT ALL!" IMMEDIATELY THERE CAME A WORD OUT OF MY MOUTH THAT MADE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE TO ME....I WENT TO MY WIFE AND SHARED WITH HER WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED...SHE SMILED AND DECLARED..."THAT IS THE BEGINNING OF YOUR PRAYER LANGUAGE (SPEAKING IN TONGUES)." I ASKED HER HOW SHE KNEW...SHE SAID...."I HAVE SPOKEN IN TONGUES FOR OVER A YEAR"! I WAS ASTOUNDED AND REPLIED..."HOW COME YOU DIDN'T SHARE THAT PROFOUND EXPERIENCE WITH ME"...AND HER RESPONSE WAS:" I DIDN'T KNOW HOW YOU WOULD ACT"....KNOWING THAT SHE HAD MARRIED A CONSERVATIVE YANKEE WHO TRAGICALLY HAD GROWN UP IN A DEAD CHURCH AND KNEW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING OF ANY OF THIS!
THAT WAS THAT FOR THE EVENING...HOWEVER, ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL THE NEXT MORNING, (I WAS AN ELEMENTARY. PRINCIPAL THEN IN FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA.), I BROKE OUT IN A SONG IN AN UNKNOWN LANGUAGE...AND I WASN'T THE KIND OF GUY WHO SANG IN THE CAR....I LIKE TO SAY..."YOU COULD HAVE TAKEN THE CAR OUT FROM UNDER ME, AND I WOULD HAVE FLOATED TO SCHOOL, IT WAS THAT POWERFUL!! AND I HAVEN'T BEEN THE SAME SINCE, PRAISE GOD!"
THE QUESTION NOW BECOMES FOR YOU...CAN YOU PRAY AS I DID MANY YEARS AGO: "LORD, I AM NOT SURE ABOUT ALL OF THIS THAT I AM READING/HEARING, BUT IF THIS IS OF YOU, I WANT ALL THAT YOU HAVE FOR ME SO THAT I CAN BE THE MAN/WOMAN YOU SO DESIRE ME TO BE AND HAVE THE EMPOWERMENT/GIFTS/FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH ALL THAT WHICH YOU HAVE SLATED FOR ME IN MY DAILY LIFE."
THESE ARE THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS (FOUND IN 1 CORINTHIANS 12-14) WHICH THE HOLY SPIRIT PROVIDES TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BAPTIZED IN HIM. THEY WILL BE DISCUSSED IN DETAIL IN BLOG 12 AS WILL THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT:
- GIFT OF KNOWLEDGE - GIFT OF PROPHECY
- GIFT OF FAITH - GIFT OF DISCERNING OF SPIRITS
- GIFT OF HEALING - GIFT OF TONGUES
- GIFT OF MIRACLES - GIFT OF INTERPRETING TONGUES
- GIFT OF WISDOM - GIFT OF ADMINISTRATION
- GIFT OF HELPS
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS LISTED IN GALATIONS 5:22-26:
- LOVE - GOODNESS
- JOY - FAITHFULNESS
- PEACE - GENTLENESS
- LONGSUFFERING - SELF CONTROL
- KINDNESS
AND AGAIN, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE LIKE THE BEREANS: "TO FIND OUT WHETHER THESE THINGS WERE SO." (ACTS 17:11)
BE GLORIFIED ALMIGHTY GOD, BE GLORIFIED.
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- LOVE - GOODNESS
- JOY - FAITHFULNESS
- PEACE - GENTLENESS
- LONGSUFFERING - SELF CONTROL
- KINDNESS
AND AGAIN, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE LIKE THE BEREANS: "TO FIND OUT WHETHER THESE THINGS WERE SO." (ACTS 17:11)
BE GLORIFIED ALMIGHTY GOD, BE GLORIFIED.
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