Becoming the most powerful influential people on earth

Who do you think are the most powerful influential people on earth?

 

Politicians

Entertainers

Businessmen

Athletes

Scientist

 

Who? Each of these are influential in their own way but I believe there is another group of people who are the most influential people in the world.

 

Those who prayed and

 

– the iron curtain came down

– Isis was stopped

– Hitler was stopped

– the Mon Valley will be changed

 

Prayer is one of the keys to life for a Christian but for many, it becomes a drudgery or an exercise in futility

 

During the sermon on the mount, the disciples had often noticed Jesus praying they recognized the impact of His prayers and asked, “Teach us how to do what you do when you pray”

 

Luke 11:1-4

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth, as it is in heaven.

3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

4 And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.”

This is a beautiful prayer but meant to be a pattern rather than a rote prayer and teaches us to understand how to see the mountains moved.

 

It all begins with what do you believe about your relationship to God? If we are speaking to someone to whom we are unfamiliar how do we know our request will even be heard? How do we know if heard that it will be taken seriously?

 

Until this moment in time God was known as “I AM, God the provider, protector, judge,” but Jesus showed us the Father

 

John 14:10,11

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”

 

John 15:15

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 

It is the relationship first that causes prayer to work so Jesus teaches us to pray by saying

 

“Our Father”

 

He is not just any Father but He is our Father. There is an intimacy, in that we believe He truly knows and loves us as “our Father” He adores us as His children…we are the same DNA it is seen in the fruit of the Spirit.

 

We recognize how much He loved us because of the sacrifice He made of His own Son!

 

So when we are preparing to come to him and we want to see the world changed it must be to a person who really knows us and that we truly know…we have His heartbeat and He has ours…seeing things happen is easy because of relationship and expectation of things happening is natural because of relationship.

 

We have a genuine Father and the real power behind Him is His love!

 

Once we recognize Him as our loving heavenly Father we have to take another step if we want to come to a place of answered prayer and changing the world

 

“Hallowed be your name”

 

I know this is an odd and archaic phraseology. However, as know we are loved by God and he is our Father we must recognize a reverence and respect for him…If a president, (pick your favorite one) walked into this room would you keep chatting, would you ignore him, would you go up to him with a snarky comment? Would you go to him with your list of demands or would you be quiet, wait for him to speak, would you want to hear what he had to say, would you be willing to discuss with him your needs and listen to his response….would you honor him….Moses took off his shoes…a centurion felt unworthy for Jesus to come to his home. It is not really about actions as much as it is heart….but our actions reveal our heart…when you are coming to the Lord are you recognizing that He is your Lord, in other words, are you in His word, do you honor him with the way you talk, your actions toward others, daily working on your stuff to become more like Him

 

Colossians 3:17

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

 

When we honor God we recognize his role in our lives, that He really is Lord and we reflect that in all we do. So when we come to him in prayer our hearts are already in a position to share His heart for the world, our communities, our families, and our lives….as we honor the Lord he hears and answers our prayers and at the same time as we live a life that honors the Lord we see our prayers being answered as we have grown to have His heart for every situation in our lives

 

Next are two types of requests the first being

 

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

 

You have heard me share about this verse recently. We are the ones who live and love in such a way to bring to release the Kingdom in the lives of others all around….His Kingdom brings love joy, peace, hope, freedom and so much more and we have it in our hearts.

Jesus’ purpose in telling us to pray His kingdom come first is a faith walk.

 

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. NKJV

 

When mankind fell we went from being “God-relationship” centered to being self-centered….seeking God’s kingdom first does a couple of critical things

 

  • It shows the Lord we are returning to God-centeredness
  • It shows the Lord that we trust him with all the stuff we need

 

When we are praying God’s Kingdom come we are asking for the hope, the love, the joy, the peace all the things man tries to create but is unable to….God’s Kingdom established will ultimately meet every need of every person

 

Most of what we think we need is only a poor substitute for what God already has for us in the Kingdom

 

– His kingdom will supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory

– His Kingdom brings right relationships through real love…God is love

– His kingdom allows us to have the fullness of days and success because he placed his dreams and visions in us to fulfill.

 

We serve in social service ways to meet the needs of people and this shows our love of both God and man but when we are talking about the Kingdom we are talking about changing the hearts of mankind Let me give you an example of what I mean….before I say this I am not against a strong defense, our military or police but this gives you a different take

 

25,000 children on average die every week from malnourishment and poor sanitation yet if even a portion of the money spent on armaments were to be available for proper water, hospitals, and sanitation we could put an end to these needless deaths

 

I am by no means promoting disarmament but it is fear, greed, and hatred that cause the spending of this disproportionate amount of funds…If the Kingdom were established in our world; peace, love, joy would replace greed, fear, and hatred.

 

No one can solve the problems of this world as believer’s we can bring the solution to this world….as we pray then take action and watch God take action the Kingdom of God will be established

 

See it needs to begin in our hearts first…we can’t change a world if these things don’t live in our hearts…so when we come to God we must come first with our hearts in line with His Kingdom if so we will change the world….more on this next week

 

Today do you know him as loving, caring Father?

 

Is your heart in line with His heart in living like you honor Him?

 

Is your heart in line with the Kingdom or are you still living in fear, bitterness, jealousy, envy, hatred, and anger? Today lets get it right let’s make your prayers and your life world changing

 

 

 

 

What’s the big deal about Easter?

Something that happened 2000 years ago that no one today has witnessed today.

 

Some say Jesus is only a myth and didn’t really exist

 

Jesus is mentioned in writings by both Jewish and Romans nonbelievers as having been an actual person Josephus a Jewish historian who wrote of the time of Christ and both Tacitus and Pliny men who held the highest offices of state in the Roman government with disdain wrote about Jesus.

 

In the earliest writings of Jewish rabbis they renounced the birth of Jesus as illegitimate

 

The Gospels and all of Paul’s letters were written within the lifetime of many who witnessed Jesus and easily could have refuted them but they did not

 

Some say Jesus didn’t really die on the cross just passed out from the torture

 

– Modern Forensics and medical research have described to us that no one could survive the type of torture Jesus went through from the beating with the cat of nine-tails to the crucifixion itself and then evidence of blood and water flowing out of their piercing His side (See “A Physicians view of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ” by Dr. C Truman Davis Or “on the physical death of Jesus Christ”, Journal of American Medicine March 21, 1986

 

– Jesus death was never disputed by the Jews, neither his enemies nor his friends. Those who hated him try to cover up his death and resurrection through bribery.

 

Some say he didn’t rise from the dead

 

– His life was witnessed for forty days after the crucifixion

– the earliest creed pronounced by the church which included many who were alive at the time proclaims Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

 

So you are saying to me maybe Jesus did live, die, and resurrect what does it mean to me?

 

According to Psychology Today magazine, our greatest fear as human beings is death

 

The resurrection takes care of that one in a very big way

 

It shows us God’s absolute power over life and death

 

John 3:14-16

And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

 

Revelation 1:17,18

 

Jesus is talking and he says….“Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”

 

God spoke through King David in Psalm 139 when he said “And in Your book were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”…..all of our days are number by God life and death are completely in His hands.

 

When this life ends our new life begins with Him face to face 2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

 

To further emphasize we don’t need to live in fear of death or anything for that matter.

 

If this all happened then Jesus words are true

 

– He prepared a place for us in heaven John 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

 

– He promised us life and life abundantly…in a contrasting statement Jesus compares what life is like when we live a life trusting him versus a life of trusting in ourselves John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

 

John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit confirms that not only does Jesus give life but He is life and gives it freely to anyone who believes

 

1 John 5:11,12 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

 

– friendship with God John 15:13-15 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. We must understand that God not only loves us…but he likes us as well

 

– Joy – with so much heart-ache, fear, and shear exhaustion He promised us joy John 15:9-11 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”

 

 

It proves to us that Jesus is who he claimed to be

 

If He said he would arise from the dead and he did then you can count on everything else that he said to be true

 

This also deals with our second greatest fear as human beings….being abandoned, rejected, unloved

 

– he claimed to be God…John 8:58

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” 59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him.

every time Jesus used an “I AM” statement he was further emphasizing his divinity

 

“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12)
“I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6)

“I am the only way to the Father” (John 14:6)
“I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25)

“I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11)
“I am the door” (John 10:9)
“I am the living bread” (John 6:51)
“I am the true vine” (John 15:1)
“I am the Alpha and Omega” Rev.1:7,8)

One of His favorite titles for himself was that of son of Man

Daniel 7: 13,14

As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.

Jesus was not hiding his divinity but he was not arrogant to say of himself all the time…I am a teacher, Messiah, or prophet but the PhDs of the law knew what he was saying, they threatened to stone him, called him a blasphemer knowing exactly what Jesus was saying

– that God loves us

God loves us – John 3:16, 17 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

 

Contrary to popular belief Jesus didn’t come to condemn anyone but the religious but to bring everyone to the truth of his love…then when we come to that truth we don’t need condemnation because real love draws us to him and away from sin, religious and all the things that makes us feel alone, abandoned, rejected

 

God ‘s love seen …“thief on the cross” –

– man recognized Jesus as Lord

– nothing he could do but ask

– today you will be with me

 

This is just part of the big deal about Easter…but now that you know this, allow me to ask a couple of questions

 

Believing the Easter story is true gives us hope that there is life after death and there is…we will all live eternally live the challenge is where? Heaven is based on believing that Jesus is who he said he is, a relationship with Him which in a relationship we are welcomed into His home as our new home because of relationship, not rules but love..Do you have a relationship with Him? Do you know him as a friend? If not we can make that right on the Easter morning

 

Second, you may have had a relationship with Jesus at a point but life happened and you forgot about keeping that relationship strong…let me tell you a secret….God hasn’t forgotten about you! He still sees you, He still knows you and loves you…prodigal son story Luke 15:11 – 32

Is it time for you to come back home?

 

Be the agent of change – stepping out of our comfort zone

Acts 2: 2-9

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?

 

A couple things about this passage – I believe that this is literally every person heard the Gospel message in their own language but I believe it can be taken another way

 

  • we need to share the love of Christ in a way that everyone can understand it (hear it in their own language)
  • we need to not be afraid to cross-cultural, economic, racial barriers and the Lord will show us how to reach them “Are not all these who speak Galileans?”

 

The result of people hearing the good news in a way they could understand it, by men and women moving in the power of the Holy Spirit, who was not afraid to be uncomfortable speaking to people of different cultures, races, economic strata

 

5000 people came to the knowledge of Christ

 

Do we need this today? Jesus said “yes” it should be who we are!

 

Allow me to explain what I mean….this is why I know we need to move in the gifts in our schools, neighborhood, places we work, shop, and live

 

Matthew 5: 13-16

You are like salt for everyone on earth. But if salt no longer tastes like salt, how can it make food salty? All it is good for is to be thrown out and walked on.14 You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, 15 and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. 16 Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.

 

Jesus is saying that we are salt, light, and a city on a hill!

 

We are “a city on a hill”

 

What does it mean to be a “city on a hill” the best word to describe it is conspicuous. You can be seen at all angles all of the time.

 

The minute you proclaim that you are a Christian people begin watching you, they begin analyzing your life…they want to know

 

– is this real?

– is this religious?

– are you playing a game?

 

Jesus is saying all of us collectively become “a city on the hill”

 

Jesus also said we are the light

 

– There is no substitute for light, nothing can take its place. As Christians no one can take our place or do our jobs, there is no substitute for us

 

– Light is the only answer to darkness. When light comes there is no problem with darkness.

 

He called us salt

 

We are to give flavor to an otherwise bland world – take an egg for eggsample J totally bland but sprinkle on a little salt and it has flavor

 

We are to make the world flavorful but for whom? God! We need to think of ourselves as little salt granules spread throughout the earth spreading love, grace, prayers, and worship in a way that make the earth acceptable to God in a way that the earth would not be without us (as it will experience after the rapture)

Salt also prevents rotting or another word for that is corruption! In the time Jesus walked the earth there was no refrigeration. To preserve meat, it was salted to prevent it from rotting or holding back the forces of corruption. It is our responsibility to hold back the forces of corruption—moral corruption, social corruption, political corruption—until God’s purposes of mercy and grace have been worked out for this world of ours.

 

Not everyone is looking for hope, love, life, joy or freedom. Believe it or not, some are content in their misery, selfishness, and corruption. Still, many more have no concept that they can have joy, life, and freedom until they see that someone else has it.

 

As a “Spirit-filled” believer just simply being who we are, allowing the light, salt, the Spirit of the living God live through us (our identity is in Him) we are like the 120 from the upper room that day we begin to share the love of Christ in a way everyone can understand it.

 

We are no longer intimidated by social position, cultural, racial, or educational differences, but the power of the Gospel will naturally supernaturally flow through you. We have the tools in our toolbox!

 

As a Spirit-filled believer, you have at least three key tools that make being salt, light, and a city on the hill possible… I am assuming that you are doing things on a daily basis like reading your Bible and praying.

 

Remember

 

The gifts of the Spirit “What’s next part 2-4” 1 Corinthians 12 and 14

 

Moving in them in very practical ways at first (if you missed any of the teachings you can always go on the app or www.christiancenter.us to hear the whole story)

 

Prophetic – begin encouraging people

Healing – you will begin to have a heart for the sick and broken

Discerning of spirits – you begin to see people in the bondage, brokenness, hurting and are able to show them Jesus in a way that sets them free

 

Love – others and yourself “What’s next part 1” and “Love yourself”

 

– God values everyone, so should we

– be generous with your time, talent, and treasure

– Eliminate all forms of prejudice

– Always treat others as people Jesus died for

– Act like Jesus in word and deed

– You are the object of God’s great love Jeremiah 31:3, John 3:16

 

 

The rest of the fruit of the Spirit –

 

I have taught numerous times on the fruit of the Spirit but just as a reminder

 

Galatians 5:22,23

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, kindness, faithfulness, 23 self-control; against such things, there is no law.

 

Luke 6:43,44

 

A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.

 

John 15:5

 

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

 

We will naturally supernaturally also flow in the fruit of the Spirit, we have to if we are tied into the vine, that is Jesus.

 

As a Spirit-filled believer it is against our very nature to not have the fruit of the Spirit flowing in us…remember last week 2 Corinthians 5:17

 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

 

We become like the 120 who shared that day that 5000 came to Christ by living every day as salt, light and a city on the hill through flowing in the gifts, knowing we are loved and loving others. The fruit of the Spirit is a natural outgrowth of who we are

 

This causes us very naturally to be agents of change…we naturally change the world…we must change the world…if we love then we will change the world

 

Please take this challenge today…step out of your comfort zone and be the agents of change God has called you to be

what’s next Part 4

What’s next? Part 4

 

We have talked about many of the gifts so far, are any of you starting to practice them yet?

 

Can someone share his or her experience?

 

Today I’m going to talk about prophecy, speaking in tongues, prayer language, and interpretation of tongues but I need to start with two other gifts that many of you may have and may use daily but don’t realize they can be amplified as you surrender them to the Holy Spirit.

 

 

1 Corinthians 12:27,28

 

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.

 

Helps and Administration, these are two very practical and vital gifts of the Spirit that the church literally cannot survive without them

 

Helps

 

The spiritual gift of helping, service, or ministering, covers a wide range of activities in its application.

 

The word Antilepsis is translated “helping” and is found in 1 Corinthians 12:28.  It’s meaning: to help or aid in love within the community.

 

The Holy Spirit endows some believers with this gift to fill the many gaps of ministry and meet the needs of the church as it fulfills the Great Commission.

 

Everything about this gift is practical as Bill Wilson our friend from New York says wondering about your call? The need IS the call!

 

While it starts as a practical gift, empowered by the Holy Spirit it is never a drudgery mostly a joy, and leaves you with a feeling of accomplishment because it is not about any pat on the back from a person but about knowing the Holy Spirit is empowering you for something that He desires to have accomplished. This gift fills in the gaps that are so needful for the Kingdom and the Gospel to be advanced and the church to touch the most amount of lives

 

We see people with this gift in passages like Acts 6:1-7, 1 Corinthians 16:15-16, and many others.

 

Administration – 1 Cor. 12:28; Acts 6:2-3

 

This is a unique term that refers to a shipmaster or captain. The literal meaning is “to steer,” or “to rule or govern.”

 

With this gift the Holy Spirit enables certain Christians to organize, direct, and implement plans to lead others in the various ministries of the Church.

 

This gift is closely related to the gift of Leadership, but is more goal or task oriented and is also more concerned with details and organization

 

Again this gift is very practical some shine in this gift all of the time and if they really shine it is because the Holy Spirit is empowering them in their natural ability to go to a supernatural level able to anticipate needs and solves problems well before they arrive.

 

This gift can tie in with the practical side of the prophetic understanding what the needs are and how to organize the solution before a problem happens

 

Which brings us to prophecy

 

Prophecy

 

The spiritual gift of prophecy is an extraordinary and unique gift.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:1 to “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”

 

This gift is a blessing to the church and should not be quenched or despised (1 Thessalonians 5:20).  Those who have the gift of prophecy differ from the Old Testament Prophets who spoke the authoritative Word of God directly.  Their words were recorded as Scripture as they proclaimed, “Thus says The Lord,” whereas the messages from those with the spiritual gift of prophecy must be tested which means they can be wrong (1 Corinthians 14:29-33; 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21; 1 John 4:1-3).

 

These messages can take the form of exhortation, correction, disclosure of secret sins, prediction of future events, comfort, inspiration, or other revelations given to equip and edify the body of Christ

 

1 Corinthians 14:3-4, 24-25

 

But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church

 

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you

 

Practically speaking here is a way you can begin to flow in this gift. Being that it is, by Paul’s definition, an edification, exhortation, and comfort, you can begin encouraging people, helping them to see the best in themselves, asking the Lord to show you ways to encourage others and help to build them up

 

You see God sees the best in people, (1 Corinthians 13) He encourages them to be better, do better and as we do that, we begin to understand the Father’s heart for people, we begin to see them through His eyes and the Holy Spirit begins to work through us to enhance what we are seeing through God’s eyes

 

As we learn to see through the Lord’s eyes, we learn to hear His voice more clearly and are able to speak to people more of what is on His heart developing the prophetic gift within us

 

Share prophetic word about what will happen if we begin doing these things

 

Tongues, interpretation of tongues, praying in the Spirit

 

I don’t know of any way to practically start speaking in tongues or interpreting tongues

 

I know some will try to help others to receive their prayer language by saying repeat after me, or things like that. Sometimes that helps sometimes it hinders. Learning to speak/pray in tongues for most of us is a battle of mind versus spirit. It just doesn’t make sense to our minds to allow our spirits to communicate directly to God.

 

Which brings us to a Praying in the Spirit

 

1 Corinthians 14:14 “For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying”

 

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Ephesians 6:18

 

There is a key difference here between praying in the Spirit and functioning in tongues for the benefit of the body…it would be like having a personal word of knowledge or word of wisdom for someone and having a public word…if you are praying in tongues it should be quiet and focused as if praying in English but if you are going to make a proclamation in tongues it needs to be loud enough for all to hear but also must be interpreted

 

Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” Romans 8:26

 

Likewise, Jude (the half-brother of Jesus) encourages us to pray in the Spirit (Jesus’ brothers James and Jude were in the upper room when the Holy Spirit descended Acts 1:14)

 

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit” Jude 20

 

I have found praying in the Spirit to be critical to building me up so I can handle the daily-ness of life, which generally changes the environment and reveals areas that need work and areas that are being overcome

 

Please take the leap of faith…begin choosing to flow in a gift. If you have not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit I hope this has taken some of the fear or concern out of it for you and that you would be willing to come

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s next? Part 3

What’s next Part 3

 

I want to continue this morning sharing about the gifts of the Spirit

 

Rick Warren author of the “Purpose Drive life,” and pastor of Saddleback church says this about the gifts of the Spirit

“God gave me a gift, not for me but for you, and God gave you a gift, not for you but for me. If you don’t use your gift, you’re depriving me; if I don’t use my gift, I’m robbing you.”

1 Peter 4:10,11

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

What are some of these gifts that Peter is talking about? Some are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 before we go there again…

As I mentioned through the Rick Warren quote and through Jesus words in Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The gifts are for us to touch the lives of others…salvation is for us but the world needs us to flow in the gifts of the Spirit so that they might know Jesus is real

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills

 

Part of the reason the gifts generally start more gently is they are given to any Christian regardless of level of maturity…always be aware just because someone has a particular gift doesn’t mean they are mature, that was part of the problem in the early church but hopefully it encourages you to not be afraid to be open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit because you are “not mature enough”

 

Two weeks ago I talked about words of wisdom, healing and discerning of spirits and how they may practically be seen in your life in the beginning stages…let’s see how far we get today

 

Lets start with the “word of knowledge”

 

Word of knowledge

1 Cor. 12:8 – “for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit”

  • Information that was not be obtained naturally
  • An utterance of facts given by divine inspiration through, mind, vision, dream, or some other insight that would otherwise remain unknown
  • teaching based on divine insight and revelation.

 

This gift may start in you in one of two ways very naturally.

 

– You could be working on a project, car, craft, your taxes even and not have clue what to do, you stop and pray and the Lord gives you the understanding of how to solve the problem. God will use this type of thing as you are working at your job, in your hobby it is not a guess it is a divine insight given to you in a very naturally supernatural way to show everyone that God really cares

 

Another way this gift may start in your life is you may be struggling with something and not knowing what to do, not having any insight into a solution and the Lord gives you a dream that gives insight into the problem.

 

Reinhard Bonnke dream story

Standing on the street corner in the Hill

 

The Lord has the solution to every problem. He sees everything from every perspective…he wants to give us the insight we need and to help others through knowledge they know we would not know naturally.

 

God can give you this gift and make it effective in raising your children, doing better at your job, having greater success in your business and of course using it in the church to share with people things that you would not know other than the Lord communicating it to you

 

Gift of faith – 1 Corinthians 12:9, Acts 4:19,20

 

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,

 

This is not to be confused with saving faith

 

The Holy Spirit distributes this gift to some in the church to encourage and build up the church in her confidence in God.  Those with the gift of faith trust that God is sovereign and He is good.  They take Him at His Word and put the full weight of their lives in His hands

 

Tegucigalpa – both the mortars and the flight

Kyrgyzstan – no connection

Sudan –

Flight into Pittsburgh

Meeting the president of Kyrgyzstan

 

A simple way this may develop in you is that you are no longer afraid. You hear the news, you see all that is happening around you

 

If we are afraid we will never do the things the Lord has called us to there is no reward without risk and faith is spelled R-I-S-K

 

We can not proclaim to trust the Lord and live in fear

 

You can have this gift easily but deciding to live this way and watch the Lord multiply your peace and joy…what an impact you will have on those around you

 

We need this gift more than ever in a world filled with nothing but division and fear…imagine what this will do for others

 

Working of miracles (1 Cor. 12:10; Acts 6:8)

 

The spiritual gift of miracles is described in Scripture much like the gift of healing.  It is found in 1 Corinthians 12:10 and the Greek phrase

 

10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

 

energemata dynameon – literally translates “workings of powers.”  The double plural most likely means that these gifts were diverse and were not permanently available at the will of the gifted believer, but instead were bestowed at various times and circumstances.  Thus, the gifts are subject to the divine will of God and His purposes and are not decided by the one who performs the miraculous works.

 

We know that Jesus performed many miracles in His earthly ministry, even more than those recorded in Scripture (John 20:30-31, Acts 2:22).

 

I am not sure there is a simple and easy way to move in this gift other than when you need one just believe and expect it

 

Too often we believe God to be the God of the Old and New Testament but not the same God today.

 

I am here today in so many ways because of a miracle…don’t tell me God can’t do the impossible…every day I believe for one miracle after another

 

Siberian gas

Dead baby raised

 

This gift and faith often go hand in hand…however one way we can see this happen on a regular basis from my point of view is leading someone to Christ…every person who surrenders their lives to Jesus is a miracle every Mom that walks through this door for our outreach, every child that comes for VBS all of them being drawn by the Holy Spirit is a miracle

 

To me the greatest working of a miracle I am looking for is for you to begin to believe and walk in the fullness of the Spirit in a way that touches everyone around you…that you begin to see the power of God in your life.

 

Can I ask you today…can you see the need for these gifts in our everyday lives

 

Can you imagine with me a world where Christians are solving problems by the power of the Holy Spirit, where they are walking in the full confidence of God’s protection and purpose, and where the impossible is made possible on a regular basis

 

Can you imagine the hope, peace and life we could bring to the world if we lived this way…if God awakened a Christian to know that a shooter was going to a school, or simply that a child will need extra lunch money to help another child. You were never afraid because you had a supernatural trust in God

 

Our brothers and sisters in persecuted countries around the world live this way…I have seen it first hand…will you?

 

 

 

 

Love Yourself

Love yourself

 

Weird huh! Just thinking about that makes some feel weird, out of place, but it is a command of God…I’ll get to that in a minute

 

Do you ever look down on yourself?

Do you ever feel that you aren’t good enough?

Do you find yourself responding to people out of insecurity?

Do you find yourself critical of your family heritage?

Do you wish you had been born into a different family, race, class?

Do you always have to hide who you are, you are afraid to be who you are?

Are you afraid to spend time alone?

Are you always conforming to the wants of others and becoming who and what they want you to be?

Do you fail to acknowledge and appreciate your own achievements?

Are you very self-critical?

Do you fail to take care of yourself, physically?

 

Some of these things can be positive if kept in a balance…we want to serve and love people and sometimes it takes loving like this to do that… but all of them can be signs that you don’t love yourself.

 

Here I go again bringing that up! Two weeks ago I shared this about when Jesus was confronted by a lawyer regarding which law was best

 

Matthew 22:36-39

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

 

Two weeks ago I focused on our need to love others and that is absolutely needful but… allow me to stress another point

 

We must love ourselves if we are going to truly love others….don’t get weird on me…stay with me

 

I mentioned this last week Peter and John were on their way into the temple when a lame beggar asked them for money

 

Acts 3:6

But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

 

Notice what Peter said, “what I have is what I can give to you!”

 

As a Christian what is inside you to give? If God is love yet you reject yourself, the way He created you, your family heritage, your gifts, your calling if you don’t feel like you have anything to offer what is that saying to God?

 

Loving ourselves came seem counter to Jesus command to lay down our lives for others and for him….but what value is it to give up something that you don’t value in the first place

 

I know you have heard this but “God doesn’t make junk”

 

The basis of our walk in Christ is love. The honest and real way we will change the world is by our love. The power of the gifts flowing through us is based on our love.

 

When we don’t love ourselves…

 

We are being critical of God and His love for us

 

We get mad at God. We don’t believe he is going to come through for us. We feel somehow we are less valuable or less important than others

 

John 3:16

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

 

Romans 5:8

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

 

We are acting as if we aren’t part of the family of God

 

We feel as if God will take care of so and so, God will meet their need but he won’t meet mine.

We are afraid to trust in the promises of God because somehow they don’t apply to us. He sees and knows everyone else but isn’t interested in us or what we are going through

 

We demand that God does things our way…he loves us too much to do that children would eat candy until they are sick, would get hurt if we didn’t protect them

 

1 John 3:1

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

 

1 John 4:7,8

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

 

We have rejected the value God places on us

 

We feel we have to work to please God or to strive to make him happy with us

 

We are constantly angry or worn out trying to be “good enough”

 

We strive to get his attention so he will “look at you”

 

He already loves you more than you can comprehend and all he longs for is that you will know how much you are love and love him in return

 

Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving kindness, I have drawn you.

 

Psalm 139:14

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

 

This is what we need to grasp today

 

God so loved you, saw you as so valuable that he sacrificed his son’s life for your life (pop illustration) you are just that important John 3:16

 

He sees you as so valuable that he has chosen you to be the object of His great love Jeremiah 31:3

 

He so values, loves and trusts you that He has created a very specific plan for you, designed to use your skills, intellect, personality and all to be a blessing for you Jeremiah 29:11

 

We can’t fully function in the power of God apart from knowing that we are truly loved, valuable, and have His Spirit of love preeminent in our lives….the ability and authority we have to bring freedom, joy, peace, salvation, strength to others is directly related to the way we see ourselves in the light of God’s love

 

1 John 4:12,13

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this, we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

 

Psalm 139 if needed

 

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;

You understand my thought afar off.

3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,

And are acquainted with all my ways.

4 For there is not a word on my tongue,

But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

5 You have hedged me behind and before,

And laid Your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is high, I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”

Even the night shall be light about me;

12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,

But the night shines as the day;

The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

13 For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book, they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You.

 

What you have inside of you is all you can give out, the level of your belief limits the level of your impact in the lives of others.

 

Some today need a heart healing to come to the place of loving themselves, others, others need the Holy Spirit to release them to forgive themselves and/or others. Some today know that God simply wants to do a work in them to help them love themselves and others more

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s next? Part 2

What’s next…Part 2

 

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

 

This verse is the key to what’s next

As I mentioned last week, we don’t have the spirit of this world which is fear and timidity….instead we have been given a Spirit of power, love and self discipline.

 

Why have we been given this Spirit…Acts 1:8 tells us so we can impact the lives of others the whole world

 

Power

 

I touched on some of the power gifts two weeks ago and I know to most they are a little overwhelming but they can start in very practical ways and the Lord can show you how to take them deeper as you begin small….Jesus said He who is faithful with little will be entrusted with much…I will share with you how to do this next week.

 

In Romans 12:6-8 there are a list of gifts that Paul tells us are from the Father. These are gifts of authority and personality. In Ephesians 4:11-16 these are gifts that Jesus gives to bring oversight to the church.

 

The Corinthian church was primarily non-Jews and they were hungry for the Holy Spirit. It was a church that was alive, the church was engaged in the community, the worship was dynamic, it was a church that was a mix racially, economically, status in the community, and every way imaginable. They flowed in the gifts of the Holy Spirit to not only build each other up but to impact the community.

 

How did they do that?

 

The Holy Spirit is with us always. He is there to…

 

Guide,

Speak truth

Convict

Empower

Cause us to remember

Cause us to understand

Just to name a few

 

These are powerful gifts but if they are spooky they will not impact people but instead turn them off and to jump right into using a power gift is something that doesn’t happen often but God does allow us to learn how to trust the Holy Spirit with bigger things as we are faithful with little.

 

Today I want to give you some insight into how the Lord may begin using some of these gifts in you…as you learn to distinguish you from the Holy Spirit…he will trust you more with greater authority and power.

 

At the end of these notes and on our website I go into greater detail about the gifts but for today’s purpose, this is to give you a start into launching recognizing the Holy Spirit giving gifts to you to help you to change the world.

 

Most of these gifts will start working in your life with close friends, family, and our church…safe places for you to learn to discern what the Holy Spirit is doing and saying

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

 

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills

 

Part of the reason the gifts generally start more gently is they are given to any Christian regardless of the level of maturity…always be aware just because someone has a particular gift doesn’t mean they are mature, that was part of the problem in the early church but hopefully, it encourages you to not be afraid to be open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit because you are “not mature enough”

Always remember if someone is saying they have a gift but their love is lacking they are either extremely immature in their gift or don’t really have the gift at all…God is love and love is the basis the power of God

 

You can flow in the gifts immediately with full power but more often people don’t think they received the gift because it doesn’t look like what they think it should look like. Today I want to share with you about some (not all that would take too long) of the gifts can look like as you are first using them

 

Word of wisdom –

1 Corinthians 12:8 “for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit”

 

1) Wisdom insight into something unknown

2) The right application of truth.

3) Divine direction.

4) Seeing the world through God’s perspective.

5) Supernatural perspective to ascertain the divine means of accomplishing God’s will.

 

This gift helps you to answer life’s questions and give others insight but one very practical thing that will start is a person’s life if they have this gift is a respect and awe of the Lord with wisdom comes a respect for what God is saying and honoring of all He is doing…you know when you are in his presence and you look forward to Him being with you

 

But you may also begin to understand God’s word easier, be able to share it more plainly and at the same time you may begin to give answers to people when they have life questions and will have the answers to your questions more easily….this is only the beginning

 

Gifts of healing (1 Cor. 12:9, 28; Acts 28:1-10)

 

1 Corinthians 12:9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.

 

The spiritual gift of healing found in 1 Corinthians 12:9 is actually plural in the Greek.

Charismata iamaton – is literally translated “gifts of healings.”

 

This gift is interesting in that there is no guarantee that a person will always be able to heal anyone he or she desires.  It is subject to the sovereign will of God, as all spiritual gifts are.

 

One of the ways this gift begins to show up in a person’s life is they will begin to have a great heart of compassion for the sick and hurting, you may even want to start seeking people out who are sick and hurting going to hospitals look forward to being able to pray for people who are broken

 

You will also begin to share compassionate words and time with people. As you begin to pray for the sick, they will actually begin to be healed…you are not the healer God is but he will honor and reward your compassion and love It was out of Jesus great compassion that he raised the dead, fed the masses, and healed the sick Matthew 14:14

 

“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick”

 

The last gift I want to talk about today is discerning of spirits

 

Discerning of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10; Luke 8:29, Hebrews 5:14)

 

1 Corinthians 12:9 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit.

 

The spiritual gift of discernment is also known as the gift of “discernment of spirits” or “distinguishing between spirits.”

 

The Greek word for the gift of discernment is Diakrisis.  The word describes being able to distinguish, discern, judge or appraise a person, statement, situation, or environment.

 

In the New Testament it describes the ability to distinguish between spirits as in 1 Corinthians 12:10, and to discern good and evil as in Hebrews 5:14.

 

OK, you might be saying I don’t see any guys running around with pitched forks and horns….the problem is the devil doesn’t actually look that way…you have already seen him at work and just didn’t know it. This gift starts out helping you to be sensitive to what is going on around you. Your heart begins to break as you see how the enemy or the flesh have cause someone to end up in a mess or the clerk or customer who is chewing you out, you now see them through Jesus’ eyes and you can begin to understand what is really happening. You can see someone that the Lord really wants to show himself to, you just naturally know this. You can see if someone is demonized and the Lord will give you little glimpses of how to give them hope.

 

The Holy Spirit empowers us to impact the world, to show them, Jesus, to give them hope, freedom, and a real relationship with a God who sent His son to die for them because of his love.

 

The gifts of the Spirit should always accentuate that purpose. They grow stronger and more powerful with use and they honor the Lord more the more powerful they become. They always push people to the Father, or the Son so the people can come into relationship with them.

 

Our job, hopefully in light of this today is to help you acknowledge and grow in the gifts as the Lord is using them through you.

 

As you grow, you become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit and His leading and your heart breaks for the things that break God’s heart and with that, he molds you into a vessel he can use even more powerfully…just don’t deny the Holy Spirit’s work in you.

 

We would like to allow our ministry team to exercise their gifts today by praying for you

 

 

NOT FOR PROPRESENTER JUST FOR THE NOTES

 

Gifts of the Spirit

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

 

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills

 

These are gifts given by the Holy Spirit, they are not necessarily given to mature Christians, the gifts themselves can be matured but God grants these freely

 

They are gifts given for the benefit of everyone.

 

Please remember the Apostle Paul was stressing that these gifts were active among the members of the church in Corinth. These were more than the Apostles these we all the believers in the church in that city.They were out of order in their flow and function so Paul wrote this portion of the letter to clarify the order and function of the gifts.

 

Also in between the teaching of the functionality of the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 is chapter 13 the love chapter. That was placed there because apart from love these gifts are useless to honor God they will honor the flesh but certainly not God.

 

The first two are logos “word” gifts

 

These are words of truth made know through the Holy Spirit, since the spirit is the Spirit of Truth John 14:17

 

 

1 Word of wisdom –

1 Cor. 12:8 “for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit”

 

1) Wisdom insight into something unknown

2) Right application of truth.

3) Divine direction.

4) Seeing the world through God’s perspective.

5) Supernatural perspective to ascertain the divine means for accomplishing God’s will.

 

The one who uses this gift and the one who is benefited by this gift begin to have a healthy understanding of awe or fear of the Lord (fear, awe of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom – Proverbs 1:7)

 

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 1 Corinthians 2: 6,7

 

In 1st Corinthians 1:17 Paul says “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.” In other words he came with divine words or words of wisdom to preach the Gospel

 

Someone who speaks with this gift will help others understand the Lord’s will and purpose

 

Word of wisdom takes the next gift word of knowledge and knows how to apply the divine knowledge given

 

 

  • Gifts of healing (1 Cor. 12:9, 28; Acts 28:1-10)

 

The spiritual gift of healing found in 1 Corinthians 12:9 is actually plural in the Greek.

Charismata iamaton – is literally translated “gifts of healings.”

 

This spiritual gift is closely related to the gifts of faith and miracles.  All spiritual gifts are to be exercised in faith, but gifts of healings involve a special measure of it.  This gift is interesting in that there is no guarantee that a person will always be able to heal anyone he or she desires.  It is subject to the sovereign will of God, as all spiritual gifts are.

 

The Disciples were given authority to heal and cast out demons, but they were not always successful.  The Apostle Paul was not able to heal himself and was told that God’s grace was sufficient to carry him through his infirmity without removing it from him (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

 

This gift is given at various times and places to reveal the God of heaven to the sick and tormented.  If healing is not granted, then we can conclude that God has greater plans for letting the person go through the illness or infirmity.

 

Those who have this gift are:

– compassionate toward the sick and pray over them regularly.

– have great faith and trust that God can and will heal some and are not deterred when He chooses not to.

– motivated knowing that God’s revealed power will draw people to faith in Jesus.

– their ultimate concern is the spiritual well-being of those being healed and their relationship with Jesus.

– they yearn for the day that there will be no more pain and suffering, and sin will no longer wreak havoc on the people of God.

 

 

  • Discerning of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10; Luke 8:29)

 

The spiritual gift of discernment is also known as the gift of “discernment of spirits” or “distinguishing between spirits.”

 

The Greek word for the gift of discernment is Diakrisis.  The word describes being able to distinguish, discern, judge or appraise a person, statement, situation, or environment.

 

In the New Testament it describes the ability to distinguish between spirits as in 1 Corinthians 12:10, and to discern good and evil as in Hebrews 5:14.

 

The Holy Spirit gives the gift of discernment to enable certain Christians to clearly recognize and distinguish between the influence of God, Satan, the world, and the flesh in a given situation. The church needs those with this gift to warn believers in times of danger or keep them from being led astray by false teaching.  See also I Corinthians 12:10, Acts 5:3-6; 16:16-18; 1 John 4:1.

 

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world”

 

What’s next…. Part 1

What’s next…. Part 1

 

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

 

We have had 14 people come to the Lord to the best of our knowledge 67 people received prayer for the baptism of the Holy Spirit our church culture is changing God is on the move…what do we do next?

 

This verse is the key to what’s next

 

As I mentioned last week, we don’t have the spirit of this world which is fear and timidity….instead, we have been given a Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.

 

Why have we been given this Spirit…Acts 1:8 tells us so we can impact the lives of others the whole world

 

Power

I touched on some of the power gifts last week and I know to most they are a little overwhelming but they can start in very practical ways and the Lord can show you how to take them deeper as you begin small….Jesus said He who is faithful with little will be entrusted with much…I will share with you how to do this next week.

 

Self –discipline we will get to next week as well…I think

 

Love – Valentine’s day is Wednesday so let’s talk

 

When Jesus was confronted by a Pharisee (a lawyer) about what is the best of all the laws he said this Matthew 22:36-39

 

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

 

We need to take a look at the context of loving your neighbor. How should we really treat one another? Here is the reference Jesus was using!

 

There are 4 kinds of love in the Greek.

 

Philio – which is deep friendship, a love for another’s happiness above our own. Matt. 6:5, 10:37, 23:6, 26:48; Mark 14:44; Luke 20:46, 22:47; John 5:20 (plus a dozen more times)

Storge – is a natural affection like one would naturally have toward a child, pet or someone close – Romans 1:31, 12:10; 2 Timothy 3:3

Eros – erotic love, based on body chemistry, a love to satisfy self and is conditional

Agape – most noble form of love, it is a love out of valuing someone, a love that keeps on giving even when the return is unresponsive it is used over 320 times in the new testament.

 

It is agape that Jesus uses when He is quoting Leviticus 19

 

Leviticus 19:9-18

When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10 It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.11 “Do not steal. “Do not deceive or cheat one another.12 “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord. 13 “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay. 14 “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord. 15 “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.16 “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. “Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the Lord. 17 “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. 18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

 

Loving one another means:

 

9-10 “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10 It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.”

 

Be generous with each other even strangers…we all have more than enough so never hoard but always be free to give of the way God has blessed real love is generous not expecting anything in return….Giving is a characteristic of God (John 3:16)

 

11 “Do not steal. “Do not deceive or cheat one another.” Be careful to give people the credit, respect, love they deserve. If we steal, deceive or cheat one another it is because we do not place God’s value on the person we are stealing from. We are told to give honor to whom honor is do, to show our love for the Lord by loving each other and that requires respect, we often steal blessing from someone when we don’t give them the credit or thanks they are due and we steal that from them

 

12 “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord. Act like a Christian in word and deed. When we don’t love the Lord enough to respect and honor him we may carry the label Christian but if we are not acting Christ-like we are living a false testimony that defiles His name. By the way, the only way to act like a Christian is to read and know God’s word many people claim to act like Christ but have no understanding of really what that means they paint him with their brush

 

13 “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.” For my purpose, today defrauding is similar to verse 11 but the cheating of wages. There is the obvious, pay someone what they are due, pay your bills on time, and also always give a good hours work for an hours pay. Also if someone helps you thank them quickly and generously. Don’t ever hold back gratitude recognize the value of everyone but at the same time if you are mistreated this way forgive…please most of all don’t cheat God tithe which means 10% comes to storehouse the place where you are receiving and the place that s delivering on God’s promises…giving to people and other organizations is offering and alms but God blesses when we don’t defraud him it shows we love Him by our trust in him to be our source

 

14 “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.” Love means valuing everyone…never take advantage of anyone or look down on them for their limitation or lack that you perceive instead always encourage everyone to do their best that God values them, Jesus died for them we can’t sit in judgment over someone because of their limitations, lack, or sin we must love them, pray for them and help them to become more like Jesus. This applies to the elderly as well RESPECT

 

15 “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.” We prejudge people when we size them up before we get to know them based on dress, weight, height, culture, skin color, or any other external thing. Eliminate prejudice and sectarianism from your life. God loves everyone not everyone is a child of God until they come to Jesus but when we twist our point of view and don’t look at people through Jesus eyes we have prejudged them and have taken the place of God. We can judge sin but if we do it is for the purpose of helping someone to be free

 

16 “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. “Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the Lord.” Always uphold someone’s reputation and their life. It is easy to kill a person’s character/reputation and it may seem worse but the Lord sees that as bad as actual murder….yes we will have difficulty with people but we are always to work it out if we can “be at peace with all men as much as it pertains to you” (Romans 12:18)

 

17,18 “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. 18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge real love doesn’t have the ability to hold a grudge or hatred for anyone. This should be a light bulb going off in your heart and mind that you don’t love like Jesus wants if you are walking in unforgiveness. If you are constantly critical of someone you really don’t love…if someone is a problem pray for them, help them if you can, be Jesus to them but hatred is unacceptable for a Christ-follower…I need some of you to watch your conversations and Facebook post. Love looks to raise people up and set them free…it hopes all things! The confrontation part is that if we see someone blatantly sinning and don’t love them enough to say something to them then what kind of love do we have

 

Love balances the gifts, the power, and the self-discipline

 

Jesus said we would be recognized as Christ-like, His friends, followers, disciples, by our love, not education, wealth, influence, or power but love

 

John 13:34,35

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

 

For most of us, some of these things will present quite a challenge and they would if we were doing them on our own but the Holy Spirit in you gives you the power to overcome…to love when love is not returned…this is part of the real power of the Holy Spirit in you..this is part of what is absolutely necessary in the church and outside of the church.

 

Allow me to challenge you today to start by making the decision to love this way in your own family and church family first…practice it there and then take it to the world.

 

Allow the Holy Spirit to work through you, to give you the power to always love this way

 

I understand some of these things may have caused brokenness in you but the Holy Spirit wants to show you how you can love by His power today….let’s let go of the hurt, rejection, unforgiveness and allow the Holy Spirit to work through you

The Power

The power

 

We have talked about tearing down the walls, building a strong foundation, the need to move in power, making sure the anointing remains…today I need us to look at the power the Lord wants us to have that is missing in many

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit for all of us…why

– As one person flowing in the Holy Spirit we are limited by time, energy, and distance…we can only be so many places talk to so many people..but if every Christian can be filled the power the whole world can be reached

– Jesus said greater works will we do (John 14:12 as he talked about the Holy Spirit) is this just the Holy Spirit being with us as we are saved or is there something more?

 

Jesus said Acts 1:5

John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 2: 1-4

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

As far as I can tell from reading Acts and the Epistles every Christian in the first-century church was baptized in the Holy Spirit

Acts 8: 12-17

But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed. 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. 15 As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Acts 19:1-7

And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.

 

These Christ-followers had a relationship with Jesus, they had been immersed in water as a sign of their commitment to following Christ.

 

They had received Christ as their Lord and Savior, The Father was their Father and the Holy Spirit was in them in that you can not have one member of the Trinity and not have all three, immersed, but the apostles knew there was something else that they needed.

 

They were not talking about a passive work but a purposeful work of God! A baptism not of water, but of the Holy Spirit.

 

Matthew 3:11 reflects this from John the Baptist words in

“I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

 

Let me ask you when you came to Christ did you feel like you were baptized in fire?

 

Most of us would say not. This is not a literal fire but a passion for the heart of God but the passion can be wasted if not empowered by God

 

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

 

Jesus said in Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

What is this power he spoke of? The power Paul talked about? The power the early Christians had?

 

It was what is called the infilling or baptism of the Holy Spirit

 

John 14:16, 17

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

 

– Jesus said one would be coming that would be exactly like Him “another”

– He will be with you always

– he will lead you into all truth (also John 16:12,13)

– He lives with you when you come to Christ but fills you when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit

 

Earlier John14:12 Jesus said those who believe will do greater works and then he went on to talk about how…when the Holy Spirit comes on you the power comes

 

John 14:26 we are told

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit because he gave us the Bible as I shared last week he will cause us to remember all things

He will always remind us of our part and responsibility in the Kingdom

John 16: 8-15

And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. 12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

 

– Being filled with the Holy Spirit helps us to know our sin, not live there but to be drawn to freedom

– Being filled with the Spirit enables us to hear the truth, understand the truth, and walk in the truth

– Being filled with the Spirit means your life will glorify God as the Spirit through you will only glorify God

– Being filled with the Spirit opens our understanding to receive all he has for us!

 

BUT THERE IS MORE

 

The fruit of the Spirit and the gifts are alive in those who are filled with the Spirit or at least can be.

 

Galatians 5:22,23

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, kindness, faithfulness, 23 and self-control. There is no law against these things!

 

The gifts of the Spirit are mainly outlined in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 they are bookends to the love chapter I believe because apart from love these gifts are useless (1 Corinthians 13 tells us that by the Holy Spirit)

 

Word of wisdom – supernatural perspective on all things, right application of the truth…

 

Word of knowledge – insight and revelation of previously unknown things

 

Faith – not to be confused with saving faith – this gives peace in any storm a supernatural trust and confidence in God

 

Gifts of healing – healing physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually

 

Working of miracles – feeding people with little to nothing, casting out demons, raising the dead or making them dead

Prophecy – Divine revelation that always points people to Jesus a message or teaching to exhort, correct, equip, disclose sin, predict the future events

 

Discerning of spirits – both the insight into demonic, fleshly and Godly realm, you can tell very clearly if something is God or not…it is a testing of the spirits (1 John 4:1)

 

Tongues and praying in tongues some see these as separate regardless it is the ability to communicate to God and or for God in a known or unknown language that the speaker does not know. WE encourage everyone to have a prayer language as it edifies the person who prays

 

Interpretation of tongues – if tongues is to be used in public it should never be used without someone who can interpret

 

Helping – a supernatural desire to help in all or any way to accomplish the Kingdom purposes

 

Administration – to steer or guide a supernatural gift to order and design what needs to happen in a group with a plan or to accomplish a task

 

Hospitality – a gift to care for, serve, and minister to people through tenderness, compassion and food generally

 

Celibacy – a gift to desire only to give yourself to God for his purposes alone

 

 

This just skims the surface of all of this but all of this is available if you have committed to Christ and want to take the next step to receive the Baptism of or in the Holy Spirit

 

This is all part of the Spirit of power, love, and self-control that we can flow in as Christ-followers

 

Some of you may be saying…I am a spirit-filled believer this teaching is nice for others…the greatest church in the world at the time of Paul was in Ephesus they were flowing in the power of God but they had their struggles so Paul says this

 

Ephesians 5:18

“Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,”

 

If you are ready today to be filled (baptized with the Holy Spirit) for the first time or to be renewed in Him come.

 

You might be asking do I need this? My response to you would be are you seeing the power, confidence, and fruit in your life? If not, then you need this!

 

He is not about falling down, laughing, crying or such things although you may do any of that or nothing if you receive prayer it depends upon what you need instead it is about being renewed in power

 

You may be given a prayer language or not but today you will be filled with the Spirit if you have Jesus as your Lord and savior