Victory!

The main weapon the enemy will use is fear and intimidation, but God's Kingdom is superior to any other! We have victory in Jesus!

Hearing the Holy Spirit

Hearing the Holy Spirit

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

Because He has anointed me To preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18-19 & Isaiah 61

Without the Spirit of the Lord we are lost.

Romans 8:1-17 

In Acts 1:15-26 the disciples had to make a judgment call on whom to replace Judas with. From 120 people they narrowed the choice down to two men.  Then after praying they still had to cast lots just to be sure of God’s will.

Christians today are still able to make guess work of what God’s will is. But it’s not suppose to be that way. The Holy Spirit provides guidance when “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit…”

Prayer without ceasing is not having a monologue. It is a conversation.

Up until the baptism of the Holy Spirit we had to figure out the will of God by what the Spirit spoke to prophets or through angels or by signs. Gideon put out a fleece of wool; the disciples cast lots. However after being filled with the Spirit we no longer hear of the practice of “casting lots.”

I don't discredit signs or the work of the angels, this is still observed today, but God in His grace has also given us a gift of a direct link. A connection built on relationship!

 If we look to Jesus as the example; the bible tells us that Jesus was 1^st filled then led by the Spirit in to the wilderness. 

Mark 1:12 says “immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.”

I must make clear that Jesus was never forced to do anything. He was not forced to die on the cross, heal people, or teach people. It was always His choice. And Jesus was not forced into the wilderness.  The word “drove” does not imply reluctance from Jesus, but rather stresses the conviction the Spirit gave Him. 

As Christians it is a necessity to put into practice being “filled” then “led by the Spirit” and to “live according to the Spirit.”

Our bodies are now the temple and we are called to be filled with the Spirit. We are not supposed to allow the Spirit to only partially dwell in us but rather be filled and to constantly be filling. We need to allow Him free access to every part of us and then to be pouring out into the atmosphere around us. Otherwise we are susceptible and our choices and decisions can be affected by the enemy and the flesh.

“Everything outside of the presence is under the influence of distortion.  This means I will misjudge circumstances in my life. I will misjudge the circumstance in people around me that I have been called to serve. The only thing that brings clarity to life is the glory. No giant looks big in the glory. You’ll never be impressed with the size of a problem in the presence. If you’re intimidated by the problem you’re not in the glory.” Bill Johnson

The enemy is over - joyed to see Christians let prejudice or offense take control of decisions rather than going to the Holy Spirit and letting the Spirit direct us in our decisions and choices.

 God has given us the choice, He will never force us, to seek Him. If we do choose to seek Him then we can ask that He would fill us with His Spirit and He will be faithful. From the very beginning God has wanted to be with us.

PRAYER

Father, I am humbled to realize that the Holy Spirit is the gift of your presence inside of me, given by your grace to empower, comfort, and encourage. I am convicted that I need to listen to the Holy Spirit more attentively and I need to seek the power of the Holy Spirit more faithfully. Use the Holy Spirit to conform me to the character and compassion of Jesus. Help me walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. I am committed to seek and to wait and to listen, and then to obey as your Holy Spirit works in my life.

In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.