Doing the Word Brings Revival
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
Why be doers of the Word? Because the world is looking for truth in uncertain times, we can be examples of faith and righteousness.
Your friends and family and the world around you need to see someone who is experiencing the benefits of following God. The world needs to see our love for one another. The world needs the hope that comes from someone who inherits God's promises by walking uprightly.
You are not blessed because of your works, but your works are evidence of your faith. The world is starving for something real, and as we live well within our freedom in Christ, we become His witnesses. As we become His witnesses, we give the world around us hope. And the world is desperate for hope.
The world is confused and afraid, but they don't have to be. We have the solution. But if our relationship with Christ is not benefitting us in this life, we have some work to do. The work is to believe, to become more persuaded of the character of God.
As you do the Word, blessings will follow, and people will see that God is real in your life. Our lives can be testimonies of the faithfulness of God. You can not improve on your salvation through your works, but how you live can affect what you experience in life and bring hope to those who need God.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Do the Word, live by faith, and watch the world come to you asking why your life is different. Then you'll get to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ boldly.
Watch the video above for the full sermon on this topic.
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The Spiritual Practices of Meditation and Contemplation
85% to 95% of your thoughts, feelings, and actions are the same as the day before. Ultimately we bypass our ability to think and change our lives and do what our environment has trained us to be and do. Our obligations, responsibilities, jobs, and relationships dictate our lives to us without thought much of the time. The body becomes the brain.
In other words, you become programmed to do what your external world has told you to do. And you don’t do anything else unless you feel like it. And most people don’t feel like doing much beyond what they have to do. The carnal world and desires become our default. You can retrain your mind to habitualize spiritual awareness and interaction. You can change your life and take control of your present and your future when you decide what you will think about and how you will cultivate a new future based on God’s possibilities.
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true... and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Meditation is focused intentional thought. Contemplation is to consider a matter from multiple perspectives. We want to focus on God’s Word and consider the many ways His spirit can move in our lives and empower us to manifest His fruit and promises. Meditation and contemplation are not mystical exercises where you try to leave your body and travel into Heaven to have a mysterious encounter with God. Meditation is simply when you intentionally focus your thoughts on a specific matter.
Most of us meditate all the time. We call it daydreaming, worrying, or spacing out. But more is happening than random thoughts darting around your mind. You are shaping your life in those moments. You are programming beliefs into your heart. And you are creating your future. Romans 12:2 says we are transformed as we meditate or renew our minds.
The question is, on what are you pondering? What thoughts are you allowing to create emotion and beliefs? Because you will be transformed into that image, whether it's healthy or destructive. Your life reflects your habitual thought patterns, especially when you allow your emotions to be affected by what you're focusing on. This is why the Bible gives us much instruction on how to think and what to think about.
Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law or instruction always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Ephesians 4:22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Thoughts are not magic, they merely determine how you respond to and feel about things, which guides your choices. The goal of meditation is to expose yourself to the Word of God to the degree that you not only agree with it and understand it doctrinally, but its promises and expectations become real to you. And even possible. If you read God’s Word and feel like the promises are far from you, you have identified where you need to persuade your heart of His power and faithfulness.
Being shaped by our habitual thought patterns is easy to understand concerning worry. How much time do you spend worrying? How do you feel afterward? Afraid probably. That sense of fear created from how you were thinking will shape your decisions and even how you interpret the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life.
The solution is to meditate on, ponder, think about God's Word until it becomes believable and possible. Think about Heaven. Think about the victory of Christ. Think about God's love for you. Think about what life would be like if you were healed, prosperous, happy, and wise. Those are all things God is trying to establish in you now, so your joy may be full, and so you can be a blessing to others.
The spiritual practices of contemplation and meditation are catalysts to transformation. As we hold God's Word in our minds and hearts, His logos, His word, His logic emanates into our thinking, emotions, and choices. It's a way to reprogram our set points. “Be still and know God” becomes more than a lovely thought. It becomes a way of life to be led by God.
WHEN YOU HOLD THE WORD IN YOUR MIND AND HEART IT WILL PRODUCE FRUIT AND TRANSFORMATION
85% to 95% of your thoughts, feelings, and actions are the same as the day before. Ultimately we bypass our ability to think and change our lives and do what our environment has trained us to be and do. Our obligations, responsibilities, jobs, and relationships dictate our lives to us without thought much of the time. The body becomes the brain.
In other words, you become programmed to do what your external world has told you to do. And you don’t do anything else unless you feel like it. And most people don’t feel like doing much beyond what they have to do. The carnal world and desires become our default. You can retrain your mind to habitualize spiritual awareness and interaction. You can change your life and take control of your present and your future when you decide what you will think about and how you will cultivate a new future based on God’s possibilities.
You can discipline your mind and heart to agree with the Word of God. No matter your emotions, your feelings, or the circumstances you're in. The Word of God is spiritual and can change any circumstance. Focused intentional thought on the Word of God will produce fruit in your life. But you must allow it to create emotions and even expectations that guide you into your desired future rather than just your obligations in life.
Try it. Grab your Bible and find some good news. Focus on it and think about it until it starts to change your feelings. Then commit to believe it and live by it. Watch your life begin to reflect God's will for you. You will prove God's desire for your life through this process. His desire for you is "on earth as it is in Heaven."
I have created several Tools for Transformation that will help you focus on God's Word and cultivate the power of His Spirit in your inner man. Click the button below to browse my resources.
Watch the video above for the full sermon on this topic.
Watch the Spiritual Practices and Disciplines Series on YouTube.
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Discipline Yourself to Pray God's Will
Prayer is perhaps the most fundamental spiritual discipline we can practice. Prayer is a conversation with God. It’s when you rent all that is fearful and ungodly from your soul. Prayer is when you set your mind of things above and allow your thinking to be shaped in the spiritual realm of God’s Kingdom. Prayer is when you let your requests be known to God. Prayer is when you contend for something Jesus paid for, whether for yourself or another person. Prayer is declaring the promises of God into your life. Jesus gave us insight into the proper inner state of prayer.
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form. And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”
When we engage in spiritual practices and disciplines, we start from a place of completion in Christ. Christ has done the work of salvation. Our inner spirit man is complete already in Christ. We can do nothing in our flesh to improve our salvation, and our spirit is whole. Spiritual practices are to be actuated in our lives so we will experience the things that God has already given us in Christ on a more regular basis.
We are not trying to engage in a self-development program where we become something that we are not. Instead, we are training our mind, soul, and body to yield to our spiritual identity. You can not improve on your salvation, but you can experience more of it. Jesus paid for your complete and total salvation, but we must discipline ourselves to believe and receive.
There is no formal list of spiritual practices in scripture, only a gathering of ideas rooted in scripture. Spiritual practices vary from Bible study, silence before the Lord, generosity, service to others, giving to the poor to prayer, meditation, and contemplation. All of those activities and actions do not gain us more righteousness or make us more holy. Instead, they are either an expression of our faith or mind-renewal exercises to more deeply believe what’s already true of us spiritually.
We can be empowered in our minds, soul, and bodies from our completed spiritual state to reflect our perfected inner identity outwardly. Not to retain salvation but to express it. Not to become more holy, but to allow our holy state to influence the rest of our being. As we do so, we bear the fruit of Christ’s spirit within us, and we show the world what it looks like to yield to the transformative power of God.
The world is starving for truth. Our lives can reflect the ultimate truth, God is real, and He loves humankind. In this world, we should want to be the best version of ourselves we can be. I challenge you to aim as high as you can. You’re not striving for righteousness or anything Jesus paid for, and you are just optimizing your faculties to experience all that is yours in him fully.
Discipline yourself to break off the limitations of your old way of thinking, otherwise known as the flesh. You no longer live according to your own strength, or your flesh, you walk influenced by the power of God’s Spirit.
Living by the spirit optimizes your potential. Your potential is not derived from your flesh or your human nature, it’s derived from a divine nature, Christ in you the hope of glory. The hope of life according to the way God sees it. Therefore, endeavor to believe, do whatever you can to discipline yourself to believe. When you believe, all things are possible. Make every effort to repent and believe.
Prayer
Prayer is perhaps the most fundamental spiritual discipline we can practice. Prayer is a conversation with God. It’s when you rent all that is fearful and ungodly from your soul. Prayer is when you set your mind of things above and allow your thinking to be shaped in the spiritual realm of God’s Kingdom. Prayer is when you let your requests be known to God. Prayer is when you contend for something Jesus paid for, whether for yourself or another person. Prayer is declaring the promises of God into your life. Jesus gave us insight into the proper inner state of prayer.
Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
We have more teaching on prayer from Jesus here.
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
This is the ultimate paradox. Believe that you HAVE RECEIVED and it WILL BE yours. The result of your prayer life should leave you believing that you have already received something. What? Everything Jesus paid for. What did Jesus pay for? That’s a good question. I suggest spending time studying atonement and what Jesus accomplished through his self-sacrificial offering. You’ll find that it includes peace, wholeness, deliverance, provision, healing, and several other things.
When you pray, pray according to God’s will as expressed in the life, death, grave experience, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. In that is the will of God for you. In that is what you can legally pray in your life. Prayer is an exercise in mind-renewal to believe that you have ALREADY RECEIVED what you are requesting from God. The prayer becomes more of a declaration of the finished work of Jesus.
When you pray, BELIEVE that it is ALREADY YOURS, and it SHALL come to pass.
I recommend taking some time to write a prayer for yourself. Include your health, finances, ministry, family, and whatever else God would lead you to include. Then, speak from a place of completion, thanking the Father for it already being yours in Christ.
Watch the video above for the full sermon on this topic.
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That Your Joy May Be Full
"I am deeply dissatisfied in life."
I recently watched part of a conversation between two successful A-list actors. They were describing their fulfillment in life while acting versus their real-life. They both agreed that while they were acting, they had a sense of fulfillment they didn’t get out of their real-lives.
The male actor basically said he only feels satisfied and fulfilled when he's pretending to be another person in a world that's not real. I realize that's my summary of his brief statement, but I think there's a more significant takeaway that applies to our faith walk.
I speak with people who love Jesus but feel very dissatisfied in life. You wouldn't know from their Christian activity; how much they read their Bible and how much they give to their church, how much they volunteer. If you were to look at the list of Christian obligations, they check the box for most if not all of them. So why the dissatisfaction? Shouldn't all that Christian activity bring a sense of fulfillment and purpose?
"I am deeply dissatisfied in life."
I recently watched part of a conversation between two successful A-list actors. They were describing their fulfillment in life while acting versus their real-life. They both agreed that while they were acting, they had a sense of fulfillment they didn’t get out of their real-lives.
The male actor basically said he only feels satisfied and fulfilled when he's pretending to be another person in a world that's not real. I realize that's my summary of his brief statement, but I think there's a more significant takeaway that applies to our faith walk.
I speak with people who love Jesus but feel very dissatisfied in life. You wouldn't know from their Christian activity; how much they read their Bible and how much they give to their church, how much they volunteer. If you were to look at the list of Christian obligations, they check the box for most if not all of them. So why the dissatisfaction? Shouldn't all that Christian activity bring a sense of fulfillment and purpose?
Not necessarily. Not if that person's heart isn't in it, or they're doing those things because they feel like that's what they're supposed to do. In Christianity, if you serve, give, and do other things just because you're supposed to do them, you'll eventually want to stop doing them.
The parallel is this. Often the Christian is dissatisfied with life but feels like they're getting a sense of fulfillment when they're on stage acting like a Christian. But when they go home or into the rest of their lives, it feels empty. That leads the Christian to need their church to be exciting for them and give them a purpose. If you need your church to provide you with a sense of purpose, be careful. We are to organize and equip one another for the work of the ministry, but the equipping itself should not replace an authentic expression of ministry. Serving and being involved with a church community can be very fulfilling and rewarding if it's a genuine expression of who you truly are.
But there is still dissatisfaction even when the Christian’s schedule is booked with church programs and religious activity. When we're dissatisfied with life as Jesus followers, it's up to us to rearrange our lives to live from meaning and purpose, even in the mundane. I pray you have an outlet for your faith, and not just a stage to act on. I encourage you to serve and operate in your place in the Body of Christ. But I caution you not to let that be just a role you play.
God is not interested in your amount of activities in His name. He's interested in you being fully engaged in everything you do. Life is hard sometimes. Things happen that are so disappointing that it affects how we make decisions for the rest of our lives. We often give up on ourselves and slip into a survival mentality, believing that living a fulfilled life is not for us. While life may be challenging, we have a promise from God that our joy can be full, even amid disappointment, fear, persecution, suffering, and failure.
John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
Jesus goes on to talk about rejection and persecution from the world. I’ve seen it too many times, people’s lives are hard so they want their Christian life to be fun and exciting to give them a reprieve from the world and its troubles. There’s nothing wrong with fun and exciting faith, but joy is a deeper sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that is spiritual and not from the world.
God wants your joy to be full. He doesn't want you to just act like your joy is full at church or in your Christian activity. He wants you to have a deep sense of fulfillment and purpose in your ordinary and extraordinary moments. That takes living with courage. Courage is not always easy. Sometimes courage is overcoming boredom and depression to connect with God in a way that transcends temporary worldly fulfillment.
Don’t grow weary my friend. The Christian life is the most fulfilling way to live on planet earth. But be careful not to simply go through the motions. God is not on trial, needing to prove Himself to you when you’re disconnected. It’s up to you to dig into your heart and stir up the Spirit within you.
It’s a paradox because the way you stir up your spirit is by engaging in spiritual practices and disciplines. But we’ve all seen it, and maybe even experienced it. These practices and disciplines can grow emotionless and mechanical if they’re not engaged in a relational context with God. Things like prayer, meditation, worship, giving, and serving. Much like life for the actor, we look for another context in which to find fulfillment.
The actor feels alive when pretending to love something in a fake context. We must not let our faith expression become a fake expression in the context of church and ministry. I challenge you to find ways to genuinely engage God on an emotional level and do ministry toward others from a sense of purpose in him, living from fulfillment rather than for it.
We can learn a lesson from Joshua who took over the leadership position for the nation of Israel.. When God called Joshua to take over for Moses, he said this.
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
Joshua was facing an impossible situation after wandering in the desert for 40 years. He probably wanted to walk straight into the Promised Land and rest. Maybe kick his feet up and enjoy a church picnic. But he had work to do. Work that would give him plenty of opportunities to disconnect from the mission and retreat into his own world.
You are in the same position. You have the impossible task of representing God in his world. You are called to make disciples and perform miracles. Are you allowing church and Christian activity to replace that mission because it gives you an outlet close enough to the real thing? Or are you ready to be courageous? I can’t tell you what your next step is, but I can tell you that you need to prepare your heart. Be ready to be courageous. Make a commitment to not be discouraged.
Do you have anything to be courageous over in your life? Do you have something to live for that challenges you beyond your natural ability, causing you to depend on God's power? If not, don't beat yourself up, but begin to challenge yourself to give all of yourself to something. Don't pretend to give yourself to the work of Christ, go all in! Be courageous! Do not be discouraged! Do not be dismayed! The LORD, your God, is with you.
Watch the video above for the full sermon on this topic.
Watch the Spiritual Practices and Disciplines Series on YouTube.
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You Have the Ministry of Righteousness and Reconciliation
You are a minister of the New Covenant. You are to minister life by the power of the Spirit. You are to offer the hope of faith-righteousness through Christ. Being a minister of the New Covenant doesn’t mean you only read or minister out of the New Testament books of the Bible, it means you minister to others out of the promises inherited through the finished work of Jesus.
The work of Jesus in His sinless life, as well as His death, burial, and resurrection, are the sureties of the eternal covenant we have with God in Christ. Ministering to others out of the authority and victory of Christ can only be done by the Spirit of God who dwells in us.
“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation”
#10 in The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Are you a Christian? Do you follow Jesus? Are you fulfilling the call of God on your life? Not sure what your calling is? There are FOUR general facets of the ministry all New Covenant believers have. The following passages will give you insight into the nature of your ministry toward others..
2 Corinthians 3:2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. 12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— 13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. NKJV
You are a minister of the New Covenant. You are to minister life by the power of the Spirit. You are to offer the hope of faith-righteousness through Christ. Being a minister of the New Covenant doesn’t mean you only read or minister out of the New Testament books of the Bible, it means you minister to others out of the promises inherited through the finished work of Jesus.
The work of Jesus in His sinless life, as well as His death, burial, and resurrection, are the sureties of the eternal covenant we have with God in Christ. Ministering to others out of the authority and victory of Christ can only be done by the Spirit of God who dwells in us.
We do not use the Law or tactics of condemnation, we use the principles of freedom from sin, death, and condemnation. It’s good news to tell people that God loves them and Jesus bore the effects of their sin in His body. It’s good news to tell people that God loves them and will help them when they are weak. God is not trying to make people weak so they’ll suffer, He will give us grace to experience powerful, victorious transformation. The Spirit will help you minister to others in such a way that their hearts grasp what Jesus did for them and begin to live in the newness of spiritual life for themselves.
We also have the ministry of reconciliation. We are fully validated and equipped representatives, citizens, of Heaven. We are to deliver the good news of the victory over life that is available in God’s kingdom. Your task is to tell people this good news. God will work through you as you go, He is in fact pleading with others through you to come to Him for deliverance and salvation.
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. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
You have the ministry of:
The New Covenant
Righteousness
The Spirit
Reconciliation
Move toward the world with this in mind. Have your heart and mind prepared in that you are a carrier of the Spirit of God, equipped with the Gospel to tell people that GOD IS NOT MAD AT THEM. God is not holding their sins against them and it’s safe to go to Him without fear of rejection or judgment. Go forward and invite people to be reconciled to God, preaching the word of faith-righteousness!
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Praying in Tongues Rewires Your Brain to Establish Your Identity
When you pray in tongues, your brain enters a state where your sense of self, who you think you are, is open to suggestion. In this time of prayer, the Spirit of God himself will bear witness with your spirit that you are His child and a joint heir with Jesus. As you prime your physiology with the gift of tongues, you can become rewired to transform into the image of Christ. It already happened on a spiritual level at your new birth; it occurs in the rest of your being as you pray with your spirit in an unknown language.
I believe this is true because life and death are in the power of the tongue. You are yielding your authority to God and are allowing Him to establish His will in you, which is to be conformed to the image of Christ.
“I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.”
#9 in The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Under the Old Covenant, the priests would perform sacrifices and intercede on behalf of Israel for forgiveness. They had to do this continually because the people kept breaking the Law, and they themselves were not perfect. But Jesus secured a New Covenant in his blood. He offered himself as a sin offering once and for all time, with no need to continue offering sacrifices on behalf of our forgiveness. In Him, we are forgiven once and for all time.
He is now our high priest under this New and Better Covenant. His intercession on our behalf now focuses on strengthening us to receive the benefits and riches of God's kingdom, so we are equipped and blessed to spread the Gospel.
Hebrews 7:24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the Law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.
As our eternal high priest, he is continually praying (interceding) for us. He is not interceding for forgiveness continually like Old Covenant priests, he is praying to help us when we're weak. He prays for us when we don’t know what to pray.
Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. 27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Take a moment and be thankful for the fact that Jesus is praying for you, at this moment, as you read this. What do you think he is praying? We know he's praying for the areas you are weak. We know he's helping you pray because you don't always know what to pray. He is not continually asking God to forgive since he's the one-time sufficient sacrifice for your sin, what else is he praying?
Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.
He continually affirms your identity, spirit to spirit. When Jesus prays for you from Heaven, he reminds you that you are God's child. Not just a child, but an heir. And not just an heir, but a co-heir with Jesus. Not only do you have an inheritance from God as a child of God, but you receive the same thing as Jesus.
Jesus is always praying for you that you would receive everything he died to give you. A complete and total salvation. God wants you to have what Jesus died for you to receive. If you receive the same thing Jesus received, you should know what Jesus received and how to pray so that it is established in your life. Salvation is yours now. The Greek word for salvation is soteria, which means; deliverance from Messianic judgment, restoration, wholeness, healing, prosperity. (Click here for a study link on soteria. Click here for a study link on sozo.)
It's already yours. It's will is already probated through the death of Christ. And it's been made alive in you through the resurrection of Christ. So when you have trouble believing and receiving your inheritance, you can allow Jesus to pray for you that it be established in your life.
We see from Romans 8:26 that the spirit prays from a place of unity with our spirits, from inside us, from our hearts. He helps and prays with us in the form of groaning too deep for words. Does this ever happen to you? You become so aware of God's presence that words lose their meaning, but yet you still have to pray?
Paul calls this praying with your spirit or praying in an unknown tongue. Your mind is unfruitful, but your spirit is effective in this kind of prayer (1 Corinthians 14:14-16). You can pray with your spirit, and when you do, you are yielding the power in your tongue to allow Jesus to pray for you through you. When you pray with your spirit in an unknown tongue, you are allowing God to pray a perfect prayer through you that is according to His will for you. I don't know about you, but I want to co-labor with God and let Him pray perfect powerful prayers through me as much as I can.
But wait, there’s more…
Your Brain Gets Rewired
There is another fascinating aspect to praying in tongues that we only now know through electrical brain-imaging. Dr. Andrew Newberg of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has conducted research on the brains of Christians while praying in tongues. His brain imaging tests report that the part of the brain that controls speech is not active while praying in tongues. This means the subject does not know what they are saying; their "understanding is unfruitful."
Another conclusion is this; "These findings could be interpreted as the subject's sense of self-being taken over by something else... We believe this is the first scientific imaging study evaluating changes in cerebral activity -- looking at what actually happens to the brain -- when someone is speaking in tongues. This study also showed a number of other changes in the brain, including those areas involved in emotions and establishing our sense of self." Dr. Newberg - University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
By the way, this was only true of Christians praying in tongues. Dr. Newberg conducted the same studies on Buddhist and Franciscan Monks, and both of those groups' brain images did not change to reflect the same results while praying. They chanted and prayed in a language known to them according to their brain activity.
When you pray in tongues, your brain enters a state where your sense of self, who you think you are, is open to suggestion. In this time of prayer, the Spirit of God himself will bear witness with your spirit that you are His child and a joint heir with Jesus. As you prime your physiology with the gift of tongues, you can become rewired to transform into the image of Christ. It already happened on a spiritual level at your new birth; it occurs in the rest of your being as you pray with your spirit in an unknown language.
I believe this is true because life and death are in the power of the tongue. You are yielding your authority to God and are allowing Him to establish His will in you, which is to be conformed to the image of Christ.
If you pray in tongues, do it more. Do it from the heart, not from the mind. If you do not utilize the gift of praying with your spirit in an unknown tongue, ask God to help you and begin to do it. You do not need another dose of the Holy Spirit, you have all of Him if you are born again. Use this gift, use it daily. Don't frustrate the gift with your mind, and don't try to control the narrative of the prayer with your mind. Do it from the heart with your spirit. And rejoice in the fact that God is strengthening you, edifying you, and transforming you as you exercise this gift.
Videos from Dr. Newberg
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The Gifts of the Spirit Work Through You By Love
How do you operate in the gifts of the Spirit? Rest in God’s love until it becomes an intimate experience for you. Experiencing His love for you will manifest as love for others and you will walk in power toward them. The gifts are not special anointings, they are expressions of our love and God’s love for people.
The Spirit pours out of like water, that wellspring of life that Jesus described in John 7:38. That water pours out of us and seeks the dry places in people’s lives. The Spirit becomes what is needed for people. We do not have to try to operate in a specific gift, our task is to be motivated by love for people, then notice what the Spirit is trying to become for that person. It may be a word of encouragement, it may be a healing, it may be a word of correction, it may be a Bible passage, it may be insight about the future, it may be many things.
The more sensitive you are to God’s love for yourself and others, the more sensitive you’ll be to what the Spirit is trying to become for others.
“Pursue love and desire the gifts...”
#8 in The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Paul sums up his teaching about the gifts in this one idea, “pursue love and desire the gifts.” It’s not the other way around. We are not to pursue or chase after the gifts of the spirit, we are to pursue love.
Firstly, the more correct name is graces of the Spirit. The word “gifts” in the Bible is the Greek word charisma, which is mostly translated as grace. Grace is God’s divine influence in our hearts which brings about capacity and abilities. To use the word “gift” implies a talent, or some kind of possession. You do not have a gift of the Spirit, you experience CHARISMA or the expression of God’s divine influence.
You can experience this expression of his influence within yourself and for others. Paul teaches us that we should desire grace to flow through us in the forms of words of knowledge/wisdom, miracles, and the like. It is healthy to want to see grace operating in your ministry, but we shouldn’t chase after specific expressions of grace.
The priority is love, not the manifestation of the gifts. The gifts are available to bless people as we move toward them in love. Even the one gift that Paul says we should desire the most, prophecy, is all about comforting and building people up in God’s love.
God gave because he loved and Jesus did what he did out of compassion for people. When we pursue gifts not motivated by love, all sorts of things can go awry. When the gifts are the focus, without being an expression of love from a mature heart, the one expressing the gift may think it is his power or his special anointing. We’ve all heard stories about healing ministers falling into sin even though they have miracles in their ministries.
The power of God still works when there is faith. Even a donkey can prophesy. There’s nothing special about the person who can perform miracles, any believer can do it. The goal is to minister to people out of compassion and access the gifts along the way if there is a need.
How To Operate In The Gifts
Grace (gifts) is accessed by faith (Romans 5:2) and faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). Ultimately, grace is an expression of love, specifically God’s love for others being poured out through our hearts.
Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
This passage is an excellent description of how grace works. Christ is poured out into our hearts, which roots us in God’s love. When we comprehend and experience that love, we are filled with the fullness of God. This is another way of describing being filled with the Holy Spirit. This is an ongoing experience for the believer. This is not a one-time event. We can continually live under the influence of Christ being poured into our hearts so we are rooted in God’s love for us. As we experience and comprehend God’s love, we are filled with the Spirit. And what happens when you are filled with the Spirit? You are endued with power.
So how do you operate in the gifts of the Spirit? Rest in God’s love until it becomes an intimate experience for you. Experiencing His love for you will manifest as love for others and you will walk in power toward them. The gifts are not special anointings, they are expressions of our love and God’s love for people.
The Spirit pours out of like water, that wellspring of life that Jesus described in John 7:38. That water pours out of us and seeks the dry places in people’s lives. The Spirit becomes what is needed for people. We do not have to try to operate in a specific gift, our task is to be motivated by love for people, then notice what the Spirit is trying to become for that person. It may be a word of encouragement, it may be a healing, it may be a word of correction, it may be a Bible passage, it may be insight about the future, it may be many things.
The more sensitive you are to God’s love for yourself and others, the more sensitive you’ll be to what the Spirit is trying to become for others.
As you minister to others, don’t try to hear God, cultivate compassion. Empathize with them, identify with them and keep your heart open to God in the process. As your heart is filled with compassion for people, you will create a channel for His power to flow as well.
Do you want to operate in the gifts? Practice loving people. Listen to them. See them as God sees them. Remove their condemnation and administer peace. When love is your motivation you will never fail.
Homework
Read 1 Corinthians, chapters 12 through 14. Notice that Paul emphasizes that it's the same spirit that works all gifts through all people. Pay attention to the list of graces of the Spirit in chapter 12. The conclusion of Paul's teaching about the graces of the Spirit is found in chapter 14, pursue love and desire the gifts. Don't chase gifts, but expect them to happen in your life and ministry.
Then read the book of Mark. Identify when Jesus is operating in the graces of the Spirit. Pay attention to, what he does before, who he is speaking to, what he says immediately after and anything else that stands out to you.
I'd love to hear your observations and revelations in the comments below.
If you’d like to hear much more detail on this topic, watch the video at the top of the page.
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How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit
Being baptized with the spirit and being filled with the spirit are two different things. When you hear the Gospel and believe, the Spirit baptizes you into the body of Christ and Christ immerses you in His spirit who lives in you from then on, never to leave you. You receive the Holy Spirit when you are born again. To be filled with the Spirit is when that indwelling Spirit comes upon you to empower, strengthen and lead you. The spirit never leaves you but His empowerment may not always be resting upon you. Let’s chat about how to yield to His influence by grace through faith.
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
#7 in The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
To be filled with the Spirit is not describing when you receive the Spirit of God, it’s when you yield to Him and are under His influence. You can say being filled with the Spirit is when He comes upon you in power. While you received the Spirit when you first heard the Gospel and believed, you may not have known you could yield to His influence in your life.
In recent articles, I point out that baptism with the Spirit and baptism into the body of Christ happens when you first hear and believe the Gospel. From then on, you can be filled (under the influence) of the Spirit.
I teach on this topic in much more detail in the sermon above. For this article, I want to give you a practical exercise on how to be filled with the Holy Spirit and yield to the influence of the Holy Spirit so He will come upon you for power.
This passage gives us practical instruction to become filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not a formula, and these are not the only things you can do to experience the Spirit's empowerment. You can also pray with your Spirit. Next week’s article will cover praying with your Spirit. This verse has 2 practical things you can do to be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To be filled with the Spirit
Sing songs and hymns amongst yourselves (sounds like church)
Sing spiritual songs amongst yourselves (sounds like singing with your spirit)
Make melody in your heart to the Lord
Be thankful
Experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit is not just for ministry toward others, it’s for your personal life too. You can do these things when you’re depressed, feeling anxious, are afraid, or facing temptation. You can meditate on the negative or fearful circumstances of your life, or you can sing songs in your heart to the Lord. You can let lack and fear invade your imagination as you foresee destruction, or you can be thankful for the blessings in your life and have faith in His promises. You can complain and watch conspiracy videos that keep you focused on demonic topics, or you can lift your spirit by putting on His Spirit.
There are many ways to experience the filling of the Spirit. I pray you live a daily lifestyle of choosing to yield to Him in everything. Try it. Practice putting on the Spirit. Develop your own way of putting on His power. Be intentional about it.
If you’d like to hear much more detail on this topic, watch the video at the top of the page.
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Baptism with the Holy Spirit
When does the baptism with the Holy Spirit happen? Can you be born again without this baptism? The truth is, when you hear and believe the Gospel, the Spirit baptizes you into Christ and Christ puts His spirit in you, of baptizes you with the Holy Spirit, they happen at the same time. You don’t have to wait to receive the Holy Spirit. From then on you can be filled with the Spirit or influenced by the spirit. Today we discuss these topics, we pray the create a firm foundation in the finished work of Jesus.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
#6 in The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Understanding the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not that complicated.
Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
You either have the spirit of God dwelling in you, or you don’t. Being baptized with or in the spirit is not a separate event from the born-again experience. When you hear and believe the Gospel, the Holy Spirit baptizes you into the body of Christ, and Jesus immerses you into His spirit or seals you with His spirit at the same time.
1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
John 1:33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
Ephesians 1:3 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
From then on, God lives in you.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
When you are baptized into the sin-removing, new creation generating authority of Christ by grace through faith, the Holy Spirit places you in the body of Christ, and Christ places His spirit in you. You are forever in-dwelt, sealed, and anointed with His spirit. You can then yield to the Holy Spirit to come upon you or fill you for fruit and power. More on this in my next sermon and article.
Baptism With Fire
What does it mean that Jesus will baptize you with fire?
Isaiah 4:4 when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
Charismatics assume fire equals power but it never meant that in the culture that wrote the Bible. Fire always denotes judgment or cleansing, never power.
“He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.—As heard and understood at the time, the baptism with the Holy Ghost would imply that the souls baptized would be plunged, as it were, in that creative and informing Spirit which was the source of life and holiness and wisdom. The baptism “with fire” would convey, in its turn, the thought of a power at once destroying evil and purifying good. The appearance of the “tongues like as of fire” that accompanied the gift of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was an outward visible sign, an extension of the symbolism, rather than the actual fulfillment of the promise.” ~ Ellicott’s Commentary
When you hear and believe the Gospel, God goes to work in you, making you a new creature. He adopts you and places you into His family by His Spirit. Jesus becomes your Lord, Savior, high priest, salvation, sanctification, and a host of other things at that moment. When God gives you a new heart, Jesus goes to work immersing you in His spirit and cleansing your mere human nature from you. His judgment on your behalf goes to work in you, making it possible for you to be given His righteousness. You do not have to wait until another point in time to receive it be baptized with the spirit. You are a vessel that is able to contain the Holy Spirit of God from the moment you believe.
When Were the Apostles Baptized with the Spirit?
This can be a confusing question. We see Jesus breathe on the disciples to receive the spirit after he is resurrected. Then He tells them to wait in Jerusalem until they are endued with power. Then the spirit is poured out of Heaven, and they hear a rushing wind, at which point Acts says they are baptized with the spirit. Then in Acts 4 we see that Peter becomes filled with the spirit as he answers his accusers. How should we understand the receiving, baptizing, and being filled with the spirit?
John 20:22 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
What does "receive" mean? It means to receive.
Luke 24:49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Did he tell them to wait to receive the spirit? No, He had already given them the spirit. They were waiting to be clothed with power.
Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Why did they have to wait for the power? Because the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out. I can’t say I fully understand why that is so, but we do have this passage as a precedent. “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” John 7:39
We see that once the spirit is poured out in the earth, being born again, being baptized with the spirit, and being endued with power can all happen simultaneously.
From then on, it's ministered this way...
Acts 2: 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
Being baptized in the name or authority of Jesus is to be born again. Receiving the gift of the spirit is to be baptized with the spirit. From that point, you can become clothed with the spirit. Being endued with power or clothed with the spirit seems to be an act of faith to access the grace/power that He placed in us.
Being filled with the spirit or under the influence of the spirit is an act of faith. Praying in tongues, experiencing the fruit of the spirit, and performing the spirit's gifts are all aspects of being filled with the spirit. How do you yield to the influence of the spirit to be filled with the spirit to experience his power in you and through you? That is the topic of my next sermon and article. Rejoice that you are sealed with the Spirit and He will never leave you or forsake you. You have been made just like Jesus so you can be confident in the last day of judgment. Until then you can be empowered by His spirit to participate in the increase of His kingdom. Watch the message above for more on this topic.
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Baptism In the Name / Body of Jesus Christ
One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to baptize people into the Body of Christ. He does this when someone hears and believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible authors use a few phrases to describe this event; being born again, made a new creation, going from death to life in Christ, are made new, undergo a circumcision made without hands, washed in the blood of Christ, and probably a few more.
When the Holy Spirit baptized you into the body of Christ, you are sanctified (cleansed of sin), given a new heart, and are indwelt by God’s spirit. The Holy Spirit cleanses you with the blood of Christ, which leaves you in a spiritually holy state, able to house God’s spirit. This cleansing also places you in a right state before God, he gives you the gift of righteousness.
All of this happens when the Holy Spirit baptizes you in the name of Jesus Christ, which happens when you hear and believe the Gospel.
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”
#5 in The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Hebrews 6 tells us that we should be grounded in the foundations of the faith. One of those foundations is the doctrine of baptisms. Water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit get most of the spotlight in Christianity, but there is another baptism, baptism into Christ.
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - 1 Corinthians 12:13a
One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to baptize people into the Body of Christ. He does this when someone hears and believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible authors use a few phrases to describe this event; being born again, made a new creation, going from death to life in Christ, are made new, undergo a circumcision made without hands, washed in the blood of Christ, and probably a few more.
When the Holy Spirit baptized you into the body of Christ, you are sanctified (cleansed of sin), given a new heart, and are indwelt by God’s spirit. The Holy Spirit cleanses you with the blood of Christ, which leaves you in a spiritually holy state, able to house God’s spirit. This cleansing also places you in a right state before God, he gives you the gift of righteousness.
All of this happens when the Holy Spirit baptizes you in the name of Jesus Christ, which happens when you hear and believe the Gospel.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This is an important phrase, “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” “Name” denotes authority. To be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ isn’t about what words are spoken when you are water baptized, it’s about being immersed into the authority of Christ. He becomes your Lord. When you are placed in him he removes your sin because his blood/authority has the power to do so.
This is a spiritual event that changes your inner man and makes you a new creature that will live forever in the presence of God.
Water isn’t involved in the baptism the Holy Spirit performs. Water Baptism is merely an outward expression of your baptism into Christ. Water Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ IS salvation.
If you think of water every time you hear the word baptism, read this passage again.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Why are you baptized in the name of Jesus Christ? For the remission of sins. Can water wash away sin? No! What washes away sin? The blood of Christ.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
You are forgiven BECAUSE OF of the blood of Jesus, and you are cleansed BY the blood of Jesus because Jesus has the authority to cleanse you of sin. Water baptism does not remit your sin, only the blood of Jesus can. I’m not trying to belittle water baptism, I’m just placing emphasis on the spiritual baptism of being immersed into Christ.
Here are a few more passages on being baptized in the name/authority of Christ for more understanding.
Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Being baptized into Christ isn’t about being dunked in water, it’s ALL about being immersed into his death and resurrection. We die in him and receive new life in him because we are immersed into him. The old man dies and we become new.
Colossians 2:11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
When you believe the good news that Jesus died to set you free from sin and death, and that you can have eternal life in him, you are plunged into Christ forever!!
Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Baptism with the Holy Spirit
Being baptized in the name of Jesus isn’t about which words are spoken when you come out of the water, it’s about being immersed in his death, and therefore his resurrection.
Another amazing thing happens at this point of baptism, Jesus baptized you with God’s spirit. Essentially two baptisms happen to you when you believe the Gospel, the Spirit places you into Christ, and then Jesus places the Spirit in you.
Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Here we see that Jesus baptized us with the Holy Spirit. The Baptism with/in/of the Spirit is NOT a separate event. Peter tells us that we receive this gift of the spirit when we are baptized into the name of Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit acts as a high priest in our lives and administers the blood of Christ to us when we believe the Gospel. Once the Spirit cleanses us with the blood of Christ, Christ then places His spirit IN us. He has to clean us up before he can live in us.
What about Acts 2?
What about Apollos and the early church members that Paul encountered? Weren’t they born again but had not received the baptism of the spirit? Let’s investigate.
Acts 18:24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.
Acts 19:1 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 men were only baptized in the baptism of John. John’s baptism was for repentance but baptism into Christ is for salvation. These men were not born again. They hadn’t heard that they were supposed to believe on Jesus for the remission of sins. Once they heard this and believed on Jesus, they were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
The spiritual event of being born again happened the very moment they believed. They were not taken to water to be baptized, the spirit baptized them where they stood.
Then Paul laid hands on them to participate with the spirit so they would walk in the power of God which could now come upon them. Paul did not lay hands on them to give them the spirit. Paul knew that when you believe, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, just as Peter said in Acts 2:38
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
I hope Acts 2:38 means more to you now. I pray you see the depth in this passage. Peter gives us the new birth process in one passage. When you believe you are placed in Christ, your sins are removed and you receive the Holy Spirit!!!
If you believe in Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit. You don’t have part of the Holy Spirit, you have all of him. You don’t have to wait for him to show up and empower you, he lives in you and empowers you from the inside.
I will go into this point in more detail in my next sermon/article. For now, rejoice that you are IN CHRIST!!
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