You live on when you die because you have an eternal tent, house, body; i.e. a spirit. The real you is already eternal, your temporary body will become dust and fade away but your true self will live on. When that body fades away, so will sickness, pain, lack and all the things that limit us on this planet. The amazing news about your true eternal identity is that you can live from it now.
Several folks have told me this is my best sermon ever! Personally, I also see this sermon as potentially the most offensive sermon ever. Why? Because I answer the question, “why isn’t it working for me?” Over and over in the ministry of Jesus we see him hold people responsible. Jesus holds people responsible for not being able to get healed and he holds his disciples responsible for not being able to heal people. This is not an article about healing per se, it’s an article about why we don’t receive or walk in the power Jesus gave us. Click to read the full article.
Praying in the spirit is one of the dividing lines between charismatic and denominational Christians. The Charismatics have made people feel like if you not praying in tongues, you're not as spiritual as you should be. And some denominations teach their folks that tongues is of the devil. I personally pray in tongues almost daily, for reasons I'll list below. I first want to show you a few passages on the topic.
When you believe in Jesus and his finished work, you receive his spirit. From then on it's your choice to be filled with the spirit. Being filled with the spirit is when you allow the Holy Spirit to come upon you to bear fruit and empower all the gifts. That's the bottom line, but let's look a little closer.
After Jesus' resurrection, he appeared to over 500 people over a period of 40 days. One appearance was to His closest disciples where he gave them His spirit. "And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:22) Then he tells those same people to wait on the spirit to come upon them so they will be endued with power.
Most of us think of power when we think about the baptism of/in the spirit. We immediately think of praying in tongues and power to do miracles. While this is a byproduct of being baptized in the spirit there is another reason for the baptism. The main reason God immerses you in his spirit is to purify, cleanse and sanctify you so he can live in you and make you his eternal child. The baptism of the spirit is the adoption process we go through to be changed into righteous and eternal children of God.
The spirit of God is like unlimited or infinitely high voltage power. If humans were exposed to his direct spirit/power, we would instantly die. His power must be stepped down for us to not die from his presence. Much of my teaching is based on the heart, in this illustration you can look at your heart as the transformer that steps down God's power. Jesus taught this in the parable of the sower. He basically says that you can experience as much of the kingdom as your transformer/heart will allow you to experience. I pray you increase the capacity of your transformer to allow more power to flow!
You are a king and a priest of God's kingdom that shall reign in this life. He has raised you with Christ and seated you in Heavenly places. You are a co-heir of everything Jesus inherited in his resurrection and ascension.
That sounds wonderful, it sounds very spiritual, but what does it mean to you now? Do you actually know how to live within those realities in this present life?
We go through our days relating to people through our biases and filters without taking the time to get to know people. Often times it's because there is not enough time to get to know everyone but that doesn't absolve us from general compassion toward all of mankind. We are to be clothed with compassion. When someone looks at you do they see compassion just a clearly as they see the shirt you're wearing? It's time for the body of Christ to lead with love and not be so easily offended.
We have been raised with Christ and seated in "Heavenly places." Most people misinterpret this to mean we have been "resurrected" with Christ. "Raised with Christ and seated in Heavenly places" is actually a declaration of authority. You haven't been resurrected yet but you have been given authority.
Believers have the same authority on this planet as Jesus and we are to be reigning on this planet as such. Not so you'll drive a Mercedes and live in a mansion, but so that God could increase the influence of his kingdom in the earth through you.
