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One of the FAQ we get all the time about the gifts of the Holy Spirit is – is it just for special people? Do you have to be a pastor, or on the ministry team to do this? Do you have to pass a test first like get your learners license in power gifts 101?
Let me take you back to one of the first times I prayed for healing.
The first time I prayed for healing for someone I thought I had done something wrong and broken the person.
I was 19, had only been a Christian for a few years and was just discovering that as believers in God – a real God, with real answers for real people with real problems, that we could lay hands on the sick and they would recover and that God called us to step out and be the catalyst or conduit for Him to move and change things here on earth.
Since becoming a Christian I had been on the receiving end of some pretty awesome supernatural things. I had being prophesied over and it blew my mind and felt like someone was reading the most scribbled unreadable parts of my journal, I had experienced deliverance and felt God’s amazing peace and presence and power, and had been physically healed but I had always thought that the people DOING that were more special, more spiritual and that I was just me, just a pleb. I thought and hoped and dreamed that one day, when I was more mature, when I knew God more, when I had my life together, when I knew some answers and had read more of the bible that then I too would be a chosen one.
So fast forward to making that discovery that God doesn’t just call special people to do these amazing things – but anyone who is a Christian and has the holy Spirit inside of them. We are all called. We are all empowered. The power is already there. The power is available. The Bible doesn’t have an exclusion clause – it says that when the Holy Spirit comes upon us we will be filled with power, it says that these signs will follow those who believe, they will lay hands on the sick and they will be made well. There is no clause that says only if you’re holy enough, only if you’ve read the bible 2.7 times, only if you feel good enough, only if you’ve called yourself a Christian for 12 years, only if you’re 32 years old, only if… there are no only ifs.
It’s like when you buy a new air fryer or toastie maker and bring it home…. That thing is designed on purpose with a purpose but until its connected to the power and then the switch is turned on – its just going to gather dust!
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to just gather dust with my life! I want to be activated and living out what God has made me for.
So there I am with this new discovery back at youth and I’m pumped and I’m believing and excited about the possibility of what can happen… that God was like tag you’re it here and now and so we made a moment at youth group to pray for each other. One of the guys had had a really sore back for a long time so we’re like yay lets pray. He showed us how it was impacting how he lived, he couldn’t bend down and touch his fingers to the floor and when he brought his hands together in front of him there was a serious unevenness every single time. So we got him to put his hands as close as they could in front on him and then prayed.
This is where I thought I had got things wrong. So his shorter arm starts to move right in front of our eyes, like muscles in his back were being recalibrated and so his arm was moving into what should be the right position. But then it kept going and going and I was like oh my word we’ve broken him his arms are going to be hanging down by his knees, God I didn’t know what to pray and did I use the wrong words. Then the other arm kind of stretched forward and grew too and then everything just stopped. I confess I probably didn’t look very holy of spiritual. My eyes if they were in a cartoon would have been going boing boing boing. The leader with us asked how he felt and he said he had no pain for the first time in years. We got him to match his hands together and every single time they were perfect.
My freaking out switched back into wonder and awe and thanks. God you healed someone. When we prayed.
This morning we are continuing our series on The Gifts of The Holy Spirit and will be looking at the 3 power gifts: faith, healing and miracles.
Let’s jump back into 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Starting with the gifts of faith. Firstly, there are different kinds of faith mentioned in the NT and to just get all on the same page I’ll touch on what the others are before talking about the gift of faith.
The first kind of faith is saving faith, which every believer has. We see this faith described in Ephesians 2:8–9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This is the faith that every single person who says I’ve given my life to Jesus, I believe he is my lord and saviour, is saved by and it comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).
The writer of the book of Hebrews defined faith as a firm conviction about something.
Hebrews 11:1 ESV Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen
Hebrews 11:6 ESV And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him
Faith trusts, believes and knows because it just knows that God is who He says He is and will do what He has said He will do. Even when we cant see it and every circumstance says these are the facts faith points at God and says I believe.
The second type is found in Galatians 5:22 the fruit of faith or faithfulness. This is a fruit of the Spirit, which grows in the life of a Christian to establish the character of Jesus expressed through the way we live.
There are also the works of faith. James 2:14-17 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Works of faith are actions and accomplishments you achieve through persistence and unwavering trust in the Lord. However, doing good works doesn’t gain God’s favor or save us. Our actions are the response of our faith.
We grow our faith – our works of faith, our fruit of faithfulness and our trust in God but filling up that faith tank with the word of God, with prayer, with community, with worship, with all of the things we do to feed it. These faith things should grow and be more evident in our lives. We should be intentional about them and prioritize them.
But the gifts of faith as a spiritual gift is different and unique in that its not something we feed but its something that God deposits and imparts to us.
The gifts of faith from 1 Corinthians 12: can be looked at as a special ability to trust God beyond the limits of what we think is normally possible. The gifts of faith enables one to demonstrate great confidence in the power and promises of God.
The gifts of faith is not a positive confession, forceful speaking, or wishful thinking.
People empowered with this spiritual gift can stand strong in their beliefs and prayers. No matter what circumstances might happen, nothing can shake their faith in God. It displays God’s powers in ways that can help others and unlock for them faith and a shift in circumstances.
Throughout the Bible, we see people demonstrate supernatural confidence in God’s promises, power, and presence. Their faith equips people to take outlandishly heroic stands for the future of God’s work in the church.
Take a look at the men and women in Hebrews 11. Noah’s faith was an example to his family (who helped build the ark) and ultimately saved humanity from dying out in the flood.
Joshua’s obedience in marching around Jericho showed his men what bold faith looked like, in turn putting God’s faithfulness, power and protection on display for his people and their enemies.
Through faith, Moses charged bravely into many situations that should have led to death. Every time he dared to step forward on nothing but God’s promise of protection, miracles ensued. Not only did he eventually lead the entire population of Israel to freedom, he showed the power of God to thousands of Egyptians as well.
Next in the power gift line up we have the gift of miracles.
Miracles are supernatural events that occur outside the bounds of what is natural. By definition, miracles are rare and out of the ordinary.
Those who have the gift of miracles have been given the ability, by the Holy Spirit, to do powerful and miraculous things, such as raising the dead or restoring the blind to sight, speech to the mute, hearing to the deaf, and the use of limbs to the lame. I want to add in here I always think it’s a miracle when God sets someone free from anxiety or depression or mental health things – because some of those conditions just aren’t about how we’re feeling but about the chemicals being out of order in our body. It is a miracle when God corrects the imbalance which brings peace to our minds and lives.
The Bible provides several examples of believers who were empowered by the Spirit to use miraculous powers. In Acts 3, Peter healed a crippled beggar. In Acts 9 Paul raises Tabitha from death.
I often think the difference between a miracle and a healing is the time frame. Healing sometimes take time. You pray for someone’s torn muscle to be healed and its healed in a week instead of a month. At camp we prayed for Holly’s hip and felt better on the night but woke up the next day with no pain or discomfort. But a miracle is like boom. Now! Here! Right in front of our eyes!
The point of miracles is that they initiate, restore, and strengthen faith in God. You see a miracle or hear about a miracle and on the inside we go yeah, God is real, yeah God has power, yeah nothing is impossible for God. For those who don’t know God yet they look and can be blown away that a miracle happened! Miracles point to Jesus. They point to the wonder and power and greatness of God. They don’t point to the person who is the catalyst praying for the miracle. They are all about God.
Looking at the gift of healing now.
Now with all of the gifts lets remind ourselves that we don’t have to be super spiritual, have our lives super together, be feeling super close to God. We just have to be available and open. When we step out God steps in. It’s about HIS power not our power.
Like my opening story about praying for my friend with the back pain and freaking out at what was happening is to show that all it takes is someone to say YES God I believe, YES God I’ll pray, YES God use me.
None of us have the ability to cure someone who is blind and help them see again. None of us have the ability to make someone walk who cannot walk. None of us have the ability to change an asthmatic into someone who all of a sudden doesn’t have a problem with breathing any more.
Sometimes we just need that reminder to switch the auto pilot off and to be open for opportunities for God to move. Earlier this year our staff read Essential Guide to Healing by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark and even after the first few chapters we all found ourselves stepping out more, intentionally looking for those moments when we could pray for someone, here at church and also in our daily out and about lives. It was like by reading the book we became more aware of the mission and God’s heart to heal.
Time and time again when we read in the gospels about the times Jesus did miracles or healed someone it wasn’t a special healing meeting or a church service. He was on the way somewhere. Or doing something else. Or just going about his ordinary life teaching his disciples. There were moments when people were gathered to him at what seem to be specific moments to hear Jesus speak and they bring the sick and unwell people to Him but so many of the miracles and healings we see in the gospels are as jesus is just doing life.
The woman with the issue of blood interrupted him when he was on the way to pray for a dying girl. Whose father had accosted him while Jesus was staying by the sea of galilee. (LUKE 8)
Jesus had just finished giving the sermon on the mount and had descended the mountain when a leper approached him, followed by The centurion as Jesus arrived at Capernaum. (mathew 8)
Again Jesus was travelling with his disciples and a crowd and he comes across a funeral, and raises the dead son. (LUKE 7)
Jesus was going about his everyday life. He was not at a healing meeting. He was on the way. The challenge for us is are we as we are on the way through our life open to opportunities for God to move? Do we see these interruptions as obstacles or opportunities?
I remember when I was supermarket shopping with both of my kids when they were smaller which means I was on a mission to get in and get out with no one dying and no one losing their cool, especially me. We get to the check out and I’m often up for a convo that turns into a cool God moment. But on that day I was closed for business and was focused on buying my stuff and getting out of there. Being the polite person I am I ask, how are you today, to my check out person. Oh I have a terrible headache. Deflect deflect. Oh that’s no good. Gee these broccoli are a good price. You get the picture. Yeah my head really hurts, I feel so unwell. Oh that’s not good. Its hard when you have to work when you’re not well. Deflect deflect. I’m on mission. Third time they bring it up and I realize my mission to get out of there is the wrong mission. I am on mission. I am on mission as God’s representative here on earth, as someone who believes that we serve a real God, with real answers, for real people with real problems and that as a Christian God’s power flows through me to help people and reveal His goodness and His greatness…. Third time. This may sound weird, but I’m a Christian and I totally believe that we can pray and that God can heal us. Can I pray for you right here as you’re swiping my shopping. Sure that would be awesome. I step out and God stepped in and their headache was GONE. Healed. In the checkout aisle.
So you’ve heard of girl math and boy math, lets do some Go into all the world math.
I read an article, just one, but I read one, about how many people we potentially interact with in a day. It said on average, because they did the math, potentially about 25 interactions and people. Family, work, friends via social media, picking the kids up from school, shopping, all the things. 25 per day. X 7 days of the week – potentially 175 people or interactions per week. Some will be more some will be less. That is one person. That is pastor peter. Pastor peter can potentially interact with 175 people per week. Now if we make it a special person with a special jobs special responsibility to go into the world we have a very small number of potential. Go into the world match says times X 175 interactions per person by 100 – less than the people sitting in this room, and we have 17500 possible moments for us to step out and God to step in. God math. Go into the world math.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are there to touch the world. They’re there not to give us a buzz and make us feel happy but to reach the lost, set the prisoner free, heal the broken, to reveal the goodness and greatness of God. God is not limited to these 4 walls or 2 hours on a Sunday. He can move the 166 hours of the day. Each one of us are positioned in our world on purpose with a purpose – and we have the full resources and power of the Holy Spirit to make a difference for real. This is the beauty of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. At any time you can be the person on the spot for God to flow through. We don’t need to call a pastor or make an appointment or anything. It’s like – very very loose analogy – in the Matrix when Neo is plugged in and all of a sudden I know Kung Fu – we know better than kung fu!
This morning we’re going to make room for God to heal people. I know from personal experience that sickness robs us not only of our health, but our peace and our joy.
It is nearly 14 years since God dramatically healed me – or miracled me – of severe food allergies at our church conference. For a couple of years prior to that I had being becoming more and more unwell and after a doctor joined some dots we started doing tests. On my first allergy test I scored 18 out of 20 – I was allergic to 18 of the most 20 common things. I always have liked to be an overachiever. I had to start restricting what I could eat and even then was still having random reactions that totally ruled my life.
Fast forward to the Saturday morning of church conference and ps james anson started his session with some words of knowledge – carpel tunnel, arthritis and I was like yay that’s cool, go God and then he said severe food allergies. That was me. I stood up and people gathered around me and prayed. Now I had been prayed for time and time again and afterwards people have said why don’t you try and eat something you couldn’t before and my brain would always say you wanna hold my hair while I puke but this time while been prayed for I felt the yes of God. Yes I could eat. Yes I was healed. Which to me sounds like at that moment the gifts of faith was being manifested in me to give me the faith that yes I was healed and I could test it and would be okay. So I did. I ate the most amazing piece of caramel slice I have ever eaten I my life and nothing happened. Normally if I ate something that had an allergen in it within 10 seconds I would know I was in trouble. My lips would tingle. I would immediately feel ill. My temperature would rise quickly. I’d get dizzy and itchy and dizzy and itchy and my brain would fritz from the rush of everything. I have fainted and puked and the whole shebang. But I sat there. And nothing happened. The next day I ate quarter of a piece of soft white fluffy bread. Just a quarter. Then I thought I’d live dangerously and had a donut. And then when nothing happened I ate pasta and Chinese food and pizza and ate everything bad and wonderful. And nothing happened. I was healed. It was a miracle.
For me I have always looked at it I had servere food allergies UNTIL Jesus healed me. Bartimeous was blind UNTIL Jesus healed him. The paralysed man was paralyed UNTIL jesus healed him. Lazarus was dead UNTIL jesus raised him to life.
This morning we are believing that the time of UNTIL for some people is done. That God has prepared such a time as this to step in and heal. All it takes is faith and someone to step out and let Him step in.
The Holy Spirit in the OT used to work through special people at special times for special purposes but in the Mark 16 it says “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Acts 1:8 says but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
Some of the things in our life are only going to change with prayer. Prayer at its simplest definition is talking to God. In our own times of prayer we’re talking to God one on one. When we’re praying for someone its like we’re talking to God about that person.
When I first became a Christian prayer was like a weird thing that seemed really mysterious and if im honest was kind of confusing.
This is my phone. It can watch videos. Take photos. Send texts. Play games. Keep track of my budget. Do the banking. Buy stuff. Browse stuff. Find stuff. Direct me places. Its pretty amazing right. Phones are cool. But if its not connected to wifi… or worse not connected to a power source and charged then its useless. It’s a paper weight. If we are not connected to the power source and connected to the wifi then its just an expensive rectangle that can do nothing. We are like the same with God. Annalia, whats the percentage on your phone right now? Who here is lower than that? I feel the stress!
There is nothing worse than being out and you realize you didn’t charge your phone and its going to go flat unless you do something about it.
We create a routine of plugging our phone in at night so its charge in the morning, or we take our chargers with us or we plug it in as soon as we get home from school. It’s a priority right? Cos we know that if we run out of battery then it cant do all the things we might need it to do.
Your life and the connection to God is through prayer and like your phone needing it every day to stay powered up – you need it every day to stay powered up to live this life and powered up to know God and make Him known, to be with Jesus, become like Jesus and do the stuff Jesus did.
Time and time again in the bible we see jesus made it a habit to make time to spend it with God. He found a quiet place. He got up early in the morning. He drew aside from everyone to pray. Time and time again. Regularly. And that makes me think – if Jesus needed to do this and wanted to do this then it’s a good thing! It’s obviously important.
Jesus wasn’t just doing this to be powered up – though that is part of it – he did it to have relationship and connection with God His Father. Prayer isn’t just about a to do list or a God do list it’s a conversation – us talking, us listening, God talking, God listening.
Did it matter what words I used? Did it matter what name I prayed to? Did it matter where I did it? Did it matter what type of things I prayed about?
Do I have to get the words right?
Some people might think there is a special code or a right combo of words to make prayer work. Prayer isn’t like a magic spell – it is your heart and thoughts to God. It is you talking to God and asking Him to do stuff. You don’t have to know any right words. There are not special words that are going to make God move faster or unlock a magic treasure chest of answers. What matters is our heart attitude.
In fact so many times in the bible when Jesus talked about prayer He said the secret to prayer that works was perseverance. Not giving up. Doing it again and again and again. The bible says in James 5:16 that the effective fervent persevering prayers are effective and accomplish much. That’s the kind of prayers I want to be praying. Prayers that work. Prayers that move. Prayers that change things.
I want each one of us to know that when we pray God hears and moves. Our prayers just don’t go up to the sky into nothingness they go directly to God and then God actions stuff to answer them. If we could see behind the scenes when we prayed we’d be blown away. When we pray angels are assigned and sent out. When we pray situations and things behind the scenes and in the future change. When we move peoples minds change and they act differently. When we pray bodies are healed and physical stuff can happen. Our prayers changes things.
Sometimes we pray just once though and its like oh God blah blah blah blah and if you could do this amen.
In Matthew 7 it says Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
A better way to put it would be for everyone who keeps asking, who keeps seeking and keeps knocking. What’s the pay off – they’ll receive, they’ll find, the door will be opened.
There is a story in Daniel where Daniel is praying and an angel appears to him and says that he is there in response to Daniels prayer 21 days ago and that during that time there had been intense behind the scenes spiritual battle. Sometimes answers to prayer take time. Sometimes that answer is a maybe, sometimes it’s a not yet trust God for the timing, sometimes it is a no, not because God isn’t at work or doesn’t care but because He does care and knows the right answers and the right things we need.
The most important thing to get is that when it comes to prayer and doing the stuff Jesus did Jesus showed us that he made time for prayer every day and that it was his power source and that he encouraged us to not give up and to keep on praying.
Am I connecting with God every day? Am I connected to the power source for my life? When I pray, when I draw aside and meet with Him I’m recharging my life. Just like I dont charge my phone once and expect it to work for the rest of the week so to prayer works the same way.
Let’s do what Jesus did. Pray. Pray without giving up. Praying, believing that God is at work. Praying and connecting with our amazing God.
One thing you may not know about me is that I went to a catholic high school in gore – which is why I say purple work shirt and church and worship – in year 9-11. We had a compulsory religious instruction class and being the girly swot I was, I was nailing 99% in my exams, just to humbly brag. I had memorized pauls missionary journeys and well… strangely, I cant remember anything else that I learned. In one ear and out the other, get the marks and move on. I knew about God but I did not know Him. The Holy Spirit wasn’t even on my radar as a real thing – it was like the other guy, or the father son and holy spirit maybe the force be with you catch phrase code words.
Imagine my surprise when I became a Christian 2 years after this when we had moved when I discovered that the holy spirit was not just words or a phrase or a symbol but a person and God! He is God who moves into our life and the reason that this is important, that He is His own person, who is God is that if we don’t believe that He is the person of God who moves into us we might reduce Him to just an “it” or the other guy or a force who is a power that we employ for our own goals. The Holy Spirit is not a force we activate or employ. He is the Holy Spirit, His own person, God equal to God the father and God the son who moves into our life that we can know and enjoy. We don’t employ Him for our own means and dreams, we enjoy His presence and enjoy His person.
My first encounter with the Holy Spirit – or perhaps I should say the first time I recognized that the Holy Spirit was there and moving in my life was at the easter camp I gave my life to God at. There were plenty of times before that where now I can look back and see the Holy Spirit at work to draw me to God, to open my heart and my eyes to see that God was real, to get me to that place where I was ready to become a Christian – but it was at the easter camp when I came forward at the altar call when I felt God for the first time. My whole body temperature went up, I had tingles in my arms and my hands shook and I cried and laughed a bit and felt this amazing peace and love and a rush of joy that I had never experienced. On a deeper level I felt like I had crossed over a line from darkness to light, from death to life and I felt forgiven and clean and knew that I was now a friend of God.
That camp was an amazing life changing experience. I heard God speak, not a loud voice outside of me, but His voice in my thoughts that I just knew was God, I felt so loved and so much at peace and had a sense of purpose. When worship happened I raised my hands for the first time and again felt that warmth and peace and things I couldn’t put into words.
The funny thing is though that when I left camp and went back to “the real world” no one told me that God was there too. He wasn’t just at camp or just at church – the Holy Spirit is with us 24/7 and as a child of God I could connect with Him.
I vividly remember my 2nd encounter with the Holy Spirit. It was in my bedroom. I had plonked myself in my big blue beanbag at the end of my bed and put on – this ages me – a worship cassette. I had only 2. Totally Radical 2 and a Scripture in Song one that an older lady in church had given me. I just sat there. Listening to the music. All of a sudden it was like the Holy Spirit walked into the room. His presence was there – the same things I felt at camp I was feeling sitting on my beanbag. I felt peace, joy, an intense knowing that God was right there with me. I was to be honest, shocked. After having an amazing time of worship and time with God I literally ran to my youth leaders house, only a block away, lucky her – and was like why didn’t you tell me God comes to your bedroom! She looked at me like, dah, everyone knows that.
So in case you don’t know that today, you can be at home and in the presence of God. You can be in your car driving to work and God can be there. You can be at school, in class, having lunch and God is there. You can be at work and things are going crazy around you and God is there. He is at the café you go to, on your run, at the beach, here at church, wherever you are HE IS. Because the Holy Spirit is not limited to a building or a time or a service – He is with you. In you.
In John 14:16 Jesus tells us about the Holy Spirit.
I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. You know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you
In verse 26 Jesus says But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
That word Advocate is sometimes written as the Helper or the Counselor or Comforter and describes one of the main roles of the Holy Spirit – He is God with us who fills us and reveals the heart of God towards us.
This may seem like Christianity 101 to some people but I am constantly in awe of that – that God the Holy Spirit lives in us.
If we flick to the very first page of the bible Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
The Holy Spirit was there, at creation.
Then we fast forward to exodus and we see the physical manifestion of the presence of God as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night that led the Israelites step by step to the promised land.
Moses set up a tabernacle – a physical location and holy space where people could go and worship. In the middle of the tabernacle was a place called the holy of holies where only the high priest could go after performing special cleansing rituals. In that holy of holies was the ark of the covenant – a gold covered box where the presence of God dwelt. You could not touch it or you would die.
There are lots of accounts in the OT where the Holy Spirit would fill someone and empower them – special people to do special things at special times for special purposes. The very first time this is recorded the special purpose was that the Holy Spirit filled the artisans, the creatives and architects to build the tabernacle and all the decorations. Warriors, prophets, kings and leaders were all filled with the Holy Spirit for those special purposes at special times.
In 2 Chronicles 7:1-16 ERV
1When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from the sky and burned up the burnt offering and the sacrifices. The Glory of the Lord filled the Temple. 2The priests could not enter the Lord’s Temple because the Glory of the Lord filled it. 3When all the Israelites saw the fire come down from heaven and the Glory of the Lord on the Temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces low to the ground. They worshiped and thanked the Lord, singing, “The Lord is good. His faithful love will last forever.”
This is a small fraction of the incredible things that the Holy Spirit did in the OT. Drop in the ocean. Which is why I am constantly in awe that He chooses to live in me.
This is the plan of God. That we would now be the temple of God. That we would be filled with that glorious presence and power. The same Spirit that was at creation, in us. The same Spirit in the ark, in us. The same Spirit that filled the temple, in us.
God wasn’t just looking for a house for His Spirit – the plan was that the Holy Spirit would move into our lives, that we would be a home for the Spirit.
He goes from the one pillar of fire in the wilderness to individual pillars of fire in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost when everything changed. No longer was the Holy Spirit for special people to do special things at special times for special purposes – it was for anyone who believed and gave their life to God.
We live in such a noisy busy world – no matter what age or stage we are at – that has demands on us left right and centre and distractions that pull out our attention and time – there is even a new app called be real that sends you a notification a random time throughout the day that it’s “time to Be Real.” A two-minute timer starts when the user opens the app, giving them a limited amount of time to take a picture of whatever they’re doing at that moment.
It’s meant to encourage people to be more authentic, instead of trying to present their best selves.
When posting a BeReal, the app takes a picture using both your front and back camera, so other people can see what you look like and where you are.
But really, its just another demand on our time and attention – with a 2 minute time pressure!
I was listening to a podcast, not about serial killers, but about the Holy Spirit, in preparation for this morning and they said that the holy spirit is with us 24/7 but the challenge is how do we become more aware of His presence, how do we cooperate with Him more?
There is a famous book by a man who did not expect to become famous – practicing the presence of God. It’s a collection of letters and thoughts by a 15th century monk called Brother Lawrence. Now we might jump to the conclusion that of course a monk could write a book like this because all they do is pray and meditate on the things of God. But Brother Lawrence wasn’t what they call a contemplative monk. His job in the monestry was to work in the kitchen. In the 15th century. No microwave, no dishwasher, no uber eats. It was hard, physical, time consuming labour. Busy work. With lots of hungry potentially grumpy men to feed. All day, every day. I say this so that we don’t assume that its all good and well for brother Lawrence to practice the presence of God but he doesn’t understand the demands of our 21st century life with jobs and families and traffic and all the stuff we deal with here and now.
One of his most famous quotes is this:
The time of business does not differ with me from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees. Brother Lawrence
He’s saying, no matter what I am doing, no matter where I am, no matter whats happening around me, I am in the presence of God. When I’m rushing for a deadline for an assignment for school or work, I’m in the presence of God. When the kids need their homework checked and the microwave is beeping and I’m also trying to send that email, I’m in the presence of God. When I’m hitting red light after red light and getting cut off in traffic, im in the presence of God. When im in the waiting room, presence of God. Whether things are good bad or ugly, presence of God.
I have 4 keys that will help us reorganize and reorientate our lives so that we make more room for the Holy Spirit so that we can be more aware of His presence and person.
- personal
- purpose
- prioritize
- practice
1 Personal
one thing I love about God is that he speaks our own language. He gets us. He knows us. He knows the best way to our heart. The Holy Spirit is personal.
1 Corinthians 2: 9-12 “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him—but God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
God the Holy Spirit, the person of God who moves into our life reveals who God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are to us. It’s personal. He reveals himself to us in ways that we will understand and in ways that will help us draw closer to God, to be transformed, to be holy and obedient, to be close to Him.
For me one of the personal ways that God reveals himself to me is in song lyrics. Over the first part of this year when I was terribly unwell I would go to bed in pain and with dread, my brain overwhelmed with anxiety and rushing thoughts and God would give me a song lyric. I’d look it up, play it on spotify and that song would be like God singing over me. They were His words of hope and healing and exactly what my mind, body, soul and spirit would need to hear and would bring a tangible sense of peace.
Now that might not be your jam – I have a friend who will often post photos of her feet and a feather on Instagram, she finds feathers where she walks and sits and does life in random places – to her that is a message from God that he is with her and like psalm 91:4 says He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. God is speaking her language.
The more we spend time with God and pray and worship and be in His presence, the more we learn to recognize His voice and become more aware of His presence. John 10 says my sheep hear my voice and they will follow me. I think sometimes we make it more complicated than it is. He is the good shepherd and as His sheep you are created and designed to hear His voice. If you are a child of God then God your Father wants you to hear Him and know Him. It’s now personal – no longer do we need to go to a temple, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. No longer do we need a priest or have to wait for a special day – we have personal direct access and relationship because the Holy Spirit lives in us. How good is that!
It’s also personal in the sense that its each one of us filled with the Holy Spirit so its MY relationship with God. It’s great to come to church and listen to preaching podcasts and go to conferences and all of that good stuff but if you expect someone else to facilitate your encounter with God you’ve missed the point. That was the OT experience. They needed the priests to mediate and the prophets to bring the revelation. Now there is no barrier between us because the Holy Spirit lives in us, each one of us.
2 Purpose
The Holy Spirit isn’t just like a holy hug to make you feel good. He does make you feel good because he makes you feel like you are forgiven and loved and like you belong but one of His purposes is to also transform us. That is often uncomfortable. He is that nudge when we go to do something we know crosses the line. He is the one that convicts us when we’ve messed up. He is the one that challenges us to be more like Jesus, to live differently.
Its that moment you go to hit send on that text or DM that slams someone or is rude or is filled with our own frustration and unkindness… and you then hit delete delete delete instead. Or you go to say something and you feel that sense to just shut the words down. Or maybe you were going to do something or go somewhere are you just get a sense that its not the right thing to do.
It’s more than just behaviour, its heart attitude. It’s an awareness of what pleases God and that we don’t want to do anything to draw ourselves away from His presence.
The Holy Spirit also reveals to us who God is. John 14:26 the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
And like I said above from 1 Corinthians 2 the things no eye, ear or heart can comprehend – this is the purpose of the Holy Spirit to reveal these things to us. He helps us make sense of what the word of God says and how to make it real in our lives. He reveals the heart of God to us. He reveals the will of God. He reveals the truth of God.
He empowers us as we step out. Unlike the OT where it was special people doing special things at special times – every single one of us is now empowered by God to do supernatural things. To prophesy. To pray for healing. To have supernatural wisdom or insights.
3 Prioritize.
I love people watching. It was fascinating to see the queues and queues for the queue, and queues watching the queues, or people lining up to see the queen. Not even the queen alive, or even her body, but the queen in a casket. At its longest, the wait time was more than 24 hours and the maximum length was 10 miles long. But people like David Beckham said they would stand for any amount of time to have the opportunity to view their queen. It was a priority for them to show their respects.
When you love something you make time for it. If you value something you make time for it.
I love thomas’ guitar playing. But Thomas didn’t just one day pick up the guitar and boom – instantaneous virtuoso… it took hours of consistent practice. Time that he could have been doing something else.
I read about some of the commonwealth swimmers – some of them got up to train at 4am every day for years. Before school, after school. Weekends. Because they were passionate about what they were doing and their goals. They won the medals to prove it. They made sacrifices and made it a priority. I was talking to one of our youth guys on Friday who gets up at 5am every day for rowing practice. I asked him why he does it and he said, because I love it.
Our calendars reveal the truth about our priorities. How we allocate our time reveals our hearts.
William Paulson says “It is unlikely that we will deepen our relationship with God in a casual or haphazard manner. There will be a need for some intentional commitment and some reorganization in our own lives.”
What needs to change or be reprioritized this week so we can become more aware of His presence?
4 Practice.
Practice makes perfect the saying goes. Malcolm Gladwell says this about business that I think makes sense with our spiritual relationship as well ““Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds.”
The key to knowing the Holy Spirit more is to practice at it and not give up and because we are human and we do give up, the key is to just restart and begin again. We often beat ourselves up – oh my goodness I missed a day, a week, a month reading my bible, I suck as a Christian. Oh my goodness I was praying but I started thinking about what time the next be real alert might be and how I might curate my realness, I suck as a Christian. Oh my goodness I’m thinking about what I’m going to have for lunch during church, I suck as a Christian.
Dallas Willard says this about how we practice the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds. This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in thus “practicing the presence of God” is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him. In the early time of our “practicing” we may well be challenged by our burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God. But these are habits–not the law of gravity–and can be broken. A new, grace- filled habit will replace the former ones as we take intentional steps toward keeping God before us. Soon our minds will return to God as the needle of a compass constantly returns to the north. If God is the great longing of our souls, He will become the pole star of our inward beings. ─Dallas Willard
So as we become distracted – we just make that decision to be aware again. We can also create new grace filled habits that encourage our focus to be on God. When Im listening to worship music I naturally become more aware of His presence so swapping what music we listen to in the car or out for a walk becomes an easy prompt for practicing the presence of God. Same goes for swapping the serial killer podcasts for preaching podcasts, one more naturally makes room for God and well the other….
Having a regular time to read the bible is a grace filled habit that makes room for us to hang out with God. The amount of times that what is on my plan for that day (and im out of step with the plan and use the catch up feature regularly) is exactly what I need to hear amazes me. But I would miss that opportunity to be encouraged and hear God if I didn’t make regular time in His Word a priority.
This week I was super distracted and frustrated and procrasitinated with my calendar. What shows on my laptop did not show on my phone the same and my husband was missing out stuff that I would add on my phone and it was a mess. Literally every time I went to prepare this message or spend time with God I was getting distracted by this. Could not stop thinking about it. Frustration levels rising. And I’m totally doing the oh my goodness I’m meant to be preparing and praying and I suck as a pastor. Friday im trying to prepare and pray and the calendargate would come into my mind. Pushed it away. Taking every thought captive. Looking up my settings, googling solutions, messaging tony, praying, preparing…. Every thought captive, not today satan. You know how you pray those half prayers sometimes. Not really a prayer, kinda a thought kind of directed at God kind of. I half thought half prayed God can you sort this! Grrrr. Literally at that moment I wondered if the app on my phone was the right app. What do you know, it wasn’t. Downloaded google calendar and all is right with the world again. My calendars are all aligned. Sometimes a distraction is an invitation for the Holy Spirit to move. Even in this. Sometimes its an invitation for us to invite Him into the situation.
So what can practicing look like in our real lives?
Regular time in prayer and reading the word – finding the personal way that works for you
Positioning yourself in places where God is – church, river youth, worship nights, connect groups – where you can see other people living it for real and learn from their experiences
Being intentional about the time and opportunities you have – listening to worship in the car, praying while you walk type of thing.
All of this takes intentional commitment and prioritizing.
New habits, shaped by the priority to know God, to have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, who moves into our life to transform us and reveal who God is and His great affection for us.
It also requires waiting – doing it when you’re not feeling it – doing it if you’re not feeling anything. As I said earlier my first few encounters with the Holy Spirit were mind blowing and like nothing I had ever felt before – sometimes its still like that, but more often than not it feels more normal. It also requires faith – we believe in an invisible God. He is always there and when we make that time to spend time with Him He is always doing something. He is always transforming us, always renewing our minds, always revealing truth.
Hebrews 11:6 God rewards those who diligently seek Him
In our first Ghost Stories post we talked about how in the OT the Holy Spirit gave special powers to special people for special purposes at special times.
As Christians the Holy Spirit is in us all the time, always,
In the chat write some of the things that the Holy Spirit does in our lives.
These ARE special things that the Holy Spirit does in our lives!
The last couple of posts we’ve talked more about what the Holy Spirit does TO us – so tonight we’re looking at how the Holy Spirit works THROUGH US.
Because its great that we have peace and guidance and that we can know the Holy Spirit – it is awesome – but its not just for us.
In Acts 1:8 it says “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
It is cool seeing how this outworked for real in the disciples life.
Flick back a few pages and we see the disciples running away from Jesus in the garden of gethsemane, they hide and don’t turn up to his crucifixion (except john), Peter denies him 3 times even when Jesus had told him black and white this would happen, and they’re hiding out in a locked room, freaking out.
But after the Holy Spirit comes upon them in Acts 2 Peter stands up in front of a huge crowd and preaches to them and tells them about Jesus. He has no fear. He has completely being transformed from the inside out. The Holy Spirit gave him boldness and worked THROUGH peter to tell the crowd the good news.
In the Bible, there are a couple of lists of what are usually called either the “gifts of the Holy Spirit” or simply “spiritual gifts.” These gifts from the Holy Spirit are just that; they are gifts. There is nothing we do to earn them, and there is nothing we do to lose them. The Holy Spirit gives them. What we do with the gifts is what is so very important. Let’s read what the Bible says about these gifts.
In 1 Coritnthians 12 we read about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed … there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-12, ESV)
Here, Paul lists several gifts of the Spirit, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. In a way, these are the special powers with special purposes that the Holy Spirit does THROUGH US.
If we were to break it down there are gifts to say, gifts to know and gifts to do.
GIFTS TO SAY
Prophecy
Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues
GIFTS TO KNOW
Wisdom
Word of knowledge – “The revelation of facts past, present or future which were not learned through the efforts of the natural mind” (Rev. Dennis Bennett).
Discernment – “The Gift that gives the Christian insight into the supernatural world. The Gift is to enable the person to know the motivation behind a situation or person” (Rev. Alistair Taylor).
GIFTS TO DO
Faith
Healing
Miracles
Here are some cool things to note.
• Every follower of Jesus is given spiritual gifts. It’s not just for special people.
• Every gift was present for the apostles and is still present today.
• All spiritual gifts are from the same Holy Spirit.
• The Holy Spirit decides who gets what gifts.
• Each gift has a function that serves as a part of God’s mission. We all have a part to play.
Paul, at a different place in Romans, speaks about particular spiritual gifts and how to use them.
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8, NLT)
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit come from the Holy Spirit. There is nothing we do to earn them, but we must open the gifts and do something with them.
The most important thing from these verses is to realize that we are given gifts for a reason. The Holy Spirit gives these gifts to us straight from God. The Holy Spirit works THROUGH US using these gifts. They are to help people know God in the church and outside the church. They are not limited to just being used on Sunday in church but can be used in our everyday lives.
These spiritual gifts are much like the saying, “With great power comes great responsibility.” With power from the spiritual gifts comes a responsibility to use these gifts for the benefit of others.
So lets talk about what using the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Spirit working THROUGH us might look like. I also want to point out that they’re not just for special people – they’re not just for pastors or for adults or anything like that. They are for anyone who is a Christian and anyone can use them which is so cool.
There have been times when I’ve been having a conversation with someone and they ask a question or the conversation goes in a direction and you become aware that what you’re saying is the exact right things that need to be said. That can be the Holy Spirit through you. When Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit gave him the right words to say as he spoke to the crowd. When I’m preaching I have everything prepared and written out and sometimes its like my mind and thoughts get pulled in a direction to say something that I hadn’t prepared or written out. I’m aware that is the Holy Spirit speaking through me.
When we pray for someone to be healed – its not us that does the healing but the Holy Spirit who guides us to pray and who heals the person.
When we prophecy to someone – prophecy is
FROM the heart of God
THROUGH a person
TO a person.
It is the Holy Spirit encouraging and speaking to someone God’s words through us.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit working through us might be the nudge to go and talk to someone about Jesus. Sometimes it might be the nudge to send an encouraging text. Sometimes it might be the nudge to give them $ or something.
In all the different ways we serve at church the Holy Spirit is there to help us and empower us. Whether it is in the worship team or up front or with River Kids or any way the Holy Spirit works through us to help us to serve well.
I don’t know if you’ve seen the Holy Spirit activate tik tok that has gone viral….
People either love it or hate it and think its making a mockery of God. I’m just like that is soooo cringe!
The Holy Spirit isn’t the genie from Aladdin. He’s not santa. He’s not a vending machine.
He’s not something to be activated. He is God. Just as God the father and Jesus the son are God, the Holy Spirit is God. He lives in us when we give our lives to Jesus.
But as it is written:
“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-11
I love the BUT GOD HAS REVEALED THEM TO US THROUGH HIS SPIRIT.
The Holy Spirit reveals to us who God is – His ways, His heart, His love, His guidance, His comfort…Those good things that God has prepared for you, those supernatural realities that are beyond our comprehension, these are the things that the Holy Spirit helps to make real and shows us what they are and what they mean. How good is that!
In John 14:26 we read this,
“But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you that when you recognize the Holy Spirit’s presence with you, he will give you a peace through his presence.” [ASV]
So if the Holy Spirit is there to reveal and teach us and work through us how do we hear the Holy Spirit speaking?
He’s not usually speaking with a big audible voice but speaks using your thoughts, the voice inside your head. He uses your conscience to guide us – have you ever had that moment when you do to something, and you know its maybe wrong and you just feel ugh…. That is the Holy Spirit guiding you.
In Isaiah 30:21 we find,
“Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “this is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.” [NLT]
A park ranger at Yellowstone National Park was leading a group of hikers to a fire lookout. The ranger was so intent on telling the hikers about the flowers and animals that he considered the messages on his two-way radio distracting, so he switched it off. As the group neared the tower, the ranger was met by a nearly breathless lookout, who asked why he hadn’t responded to the messages on his radio. A grizzly bear had been seen stalking the group, and the authorities were trying to warn them of the danger.
Any time we tune out the Holy Spirit or ignore the warnings of the Bible we put ourselves and those around us in danger.
Or the opposite – you feel that nudge to do something but it might be out of your comfort zone but you think I think that’s God…
Sometimes the Holy Spirit will remind you about someone or you feel like to pray for them. That is Him nudging you and inviting you to partner with him in something cool.
Sometimes you’ll be reading your bible and something will jump out at you and by that I mean something will stand out more or you read it and you might feel an emotional response or you just keep on getting drawn to that – take notice of that. That is the Holy Spirit speaking to you and you might need that very promise or that encouragement or that challenge or someone else in your life might need it.
And I encourage you that when you feel those things, when you feel that the Holy Spirit might be speaking to you and leading you – just do it. It might change someones life. It might be the answer to someones prayer. God invites us to be part of the action – He empowers us in those moments and its soooo super cool!
Back in the day phones did not tell you who was calling. The phone would ring and you would not know who it was until you picked it up and said hello and heard their voice. Radical concept right. But if it was your mum or your grandma or your bff you recognised their voice. You knew who it was as soon as they said hi. They don’t even have to say its grandma here – you know who it is. Which was always really awkward when someone wouldn’t say who it was and would just start talking and they would know stuff about your life but you’re like who is this and trying to figure it out!!!
the more you talk to a person and the more you connect with them the more you recognise their voice. Learning to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice is about having connection with them.
Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com
Everyday we are bombarded by voices. Kids in our class. Teachers. Family. Friends. Social Media.
Those voices try, and succeed to shape our identity. They try to pull us down, make us weak, discourage us, and make us fit in with what everyone else is doing and becoming. And what is worse is that we actually often add to those voices with our own. We look in the mirror and go meh. We agree with all the negativity and then cant see the positive stuff. We compare and compete. The worst voice against us is often the one in our own head.
Do you know who should define our identity? our identity is purely what God says about us. Who he says we are is who we are.
You are loved by God.
You are called by God.
God sees the good the bad and the ugly and he says I choose you. I choose you to be in my family. I choose you to be my friend. I choose you to be my representative. I choose you to be my servant. I choose you. I choose you to go out into all the world to preach the gospel and tell people how real I am. I choose you to lay hands on the sick and they will be healed. I choose you to do amazing things.
You are called to make a difference in your generation and the devil wants to shut you down and shut you up but God sees what HE has begun in your life. Its not by our greatness, or our good works, or our talents and abilities but it is by what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. Our only part is to say yes. Our only part is to agree with what God is doing.
This is why prophecy is so powerful. Because it counters the lies we hear from the outside, and the lies we tell ourselves, and is God saying this is who you are. You are my child. I love you. I have a great plan and purpose. It is God speaking His hope and His dreams for us. It is God encouraging us.
God doesn’t major on the mistakes we make. He looks at the potential He has planted in our lives. This is who we are. This is who you are.
God sees you as a son and daughter of God.
He sees you as a leader. He sees you as a world changer. He sees you as a influencer.
In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. Acts 2
The promise is that the Holy Spirit will come and that those who know God, who are Christians, who are filled with the Holy Spirit will be able to prophesy. You see God doesn’t choose special super spiritual people to give prophetic words, He can and does use anyone.
1 Cor 14:1-3 says Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. The one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.
Propehcy strengthens, encourages and comforts.
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Giden he prophesied Gideon you mighty man of valour and Gideon was like who me? No way. God had planted the seeds of greatness and might in Gideons life and Gideon then had to choose to have faith in God and in His words. He had to have a change in identity.
Daniel when he was taken to Bablyon, a captive, a prisoner agreed with the identity that God had spoken into his life. He refused to be assimilated but instead stood up and make a stand for what God had called him to do. He refused to have his identity compromised by the worlds culture and systems, even at the threat of his very life. He knew what God had said and how God had said for him to live and lived by things. He allowed his heavenly identity to shape how he lived.
Joseph dreamed of being a great leader and held onto that sense of calling and identity even when his brothers beat him in a jealous rage, and sold him into slavery. Even when he was falsely accused of having sexual relations with that woman and thrown into jail he kept his sense of identity secure and lived as a leader, regardless of the location and situation. He lived by the promises of God and then was ready for that day when God turned the tables and he became prime minister of Egypt.
What does God say about who you are? What is God saying about who you are to become? You might be like Gideon and look at yourself and say who me? You might be like Joseph and wonder how on earth you’re going to get there. But God has a plan and a purpose and it is Him who shapes your life and knows the days and seasons. When we build our life by the Word of God we have real life.
Whenever I am preaching at church or youth I always begin by praying God, what do you want your people to know? How can I encourage them the most? What is the end in mind? So I always begin with an objective, something that I am pointing to, something that you’ll walk away knowing and walk away going, yeah I can do that!
Today as you read this, I want you to walk away knowing that as Christians we are made for more than just breathing. We are called to partner with God to see incredible change here on earth and to see peoples lives affected by how we live and who we are. Not only that, but we have been given the Holy Spirit, God Himself, to live within us to equip and empower us.
When I was fairly newly saved a guy who prayed for me at a youth group meeting said he felt God wanted me to go home and read Acts 29.
Now you may have just gone through the files of your mind and thought, wait a minute…. there is no Acts 29. Acts finishes, albeit somewhat suddenly and with the hint of a comma in Acts 28. Read the rest of this entry »
I became a christian at an easter camp when I was 16. The speaker did what we call an altar call, asking that if anyone wants to give their life to Jesus to come forward. At first I was like kinda nervous and I knew I wanted to but also it felt really scary to do that in front of everyone. Anyway I did it, I went forward and they prayed and I prayed and I met Jesus, for real. I knew that I was clean and forgiven and had a new start and was a child of God. I knew I had crossed a line, that a minute before I was NOT a Christian but then after that I WAS a Christian. And then the unexpected happened. I felt God. I felt warm and peaceful and these strong emotional feelings and waves and waves of what I can only label as love and as the presence of God. I did not expect that. I didn’t know that could happen! I opened my eyes and said WHAT IS THAT!!!! And the person praying for me said that is the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit is a real person who came to reside within Jesus Christ’s true followers after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.
Some people think that The Holy Spirit is just a force, a wind, a presence, a power. But The Holy Spirit is a real person just as Father God is real and Jesus the Son is real, The Holy Spirit is a real person.
John 14:16-18 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
We can’t spread life and revival without being filled with HIS LIFE and HIS REVIVAL. There are no words or works that can ever replace the POWER and MIGHT that mark the life of a person filled with the Holy Spirit. We can try to duplicate it, but all attempts will come up empty and feel like old religion. It’s easier to play a part than to actually be filled with Him. It’s easier to control a situation than to risk being broken. It’s easier to whine about what we think we deserve than to surrender what we think we need. But how we know Him is how we share Him and expose others to Him. We have to stop trying to imitate and recreate what only HE can do. We are His unique creation. He is ready to do something new, in fact he has already started…we just have to be willing to let go and believe that what He has for us is eons more extravagant than anything we could ever try to do ourselves. ~ The Fearless Experiement / Lindsay McPhail
It’s been a while since I’ve posted – sorry!
I had a stint in hospital and have been busy with work related stuff. Life.
Time in hospital made me stop. You’re stuck in a bed, its noisy and unfamiliar. Time to stop is an invitation to draw close to God. It is a time for worship and prayer. A time for just being. We are not human doings but human beings and for me hospital time is a very big reminder that doing is not my mandate but being a child of God is. Relationship is more important than doing. My identity is not what I do but WHOSE I am and who I am.
This song was my anthem. Let me become more aware of your goodness, let your presence come. Let me see you more. Let me draw close.
One Passion One Devotion 