Friday 22 February 2013

The Seal of God...Part 2

Praise God today and forever! I said in the other post that the fact that one or many read about Jesus doesn't mean they know Him. You might wonder why I said that. It is simple. I can read other religious books such as the Koran but I won't necessarily  and automatically become a Muslim.But the Holy Spirit has been promised to all those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of the Most High God. The Holy Spirit comes into us to give us power (Acts 1:8), to teach us all things( John 14:26), and reveal the mysteries of God (1 Corinth 2:10-15). We can no longer live in ignorance and become like those who haven't heard of the good news, because we cannot please God if we live by the flesh and not by the Spirit (Rom. 8:8). Paul writes in Romans 8:14 that those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. We are the children of God; redeemed, purchased and saved by the blood of Jesus. We no longer live as the unbelievers, but live by the faith in the Son of God because Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20).

Many pastors preach part of the Bible and not the whole Bible. They preach what will be comfortable and acceptable for the congregation and even themselves. It is demeaning to God for Christians to doubt his power which is the Spirit of God dwelling is us. If we doubt, then  what separate us from the world if we don't believe in the power of God. In Mark 16:15-18, Jesus explicitly said that specific signs will accompany all those who believe and are baptized : i) they will drive out demons( demons still exist by the way-they are fallen spirits and don't die) ii) they will speak in new tongues iii) they will pick up snakes with their hands and will not hurt them iv) they will place their hands on sick people and they will recover. 

We know for certain these signs followed Jesus in his ministry. So why is it that others believe that this signs cannot come upon believers in this 21st Century? This is evidence of the Spirit of God which was so evident in Christ Jesus' life and ministry. Again, all these signs followed the apostles both men and women. Peter and Paul raised the dead (Acts 9:36-42 and Acts 20:9-12) respectively. In Acts 2, all the disciples spoke in new tongues and healed the sick throughout their ministries. Even Paul was attacked by a viper but didn't die when all the people thought he was going to die (Acts 28:3-6).

We shouldn't forget that Jesus said in John 14:12 " anyone who has faith in me will do the works I have been doing and even greater things than these"(There is no limitation to this "anyone" because i am part of that "anyone" and you are part too). This shows that Christ Jesus want us to do all that he did and even more than that. If we have a faith just like the mustard seed, we will be able to do wonders as Jesus said to us in Luke 17:6 and Matthew 17:20. If you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you and have faith, nothing will be impossible for you because all things are possible to them that believe (Mark 9:23). The Holy Spirit requires our genuine faith in God to function. We have a "Spirit" in us that is from God. And the word of God remains forever. If it worked for Paul, Peter, James, John, Philip etc it will still work for me and you because Christ Jesus is alive and he is the Word of God (John 1:14).

You might asked how then can one receive the Holy Spirit! Firstly, you need to be baptized in water and be prayed for by spirit filled pastors (Instances in Acts 19:1-6 when Paul Paul prays for certain believers and they receive the Holy Spirit; Acts 2; Acts 4:31), and secondly you can receive the Holy Spirit through ministration or preaching of the word of God (Example of this is Cornelius and his family in Acts 10:1-48; 11:1-18). There are fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and evidence of the Spirit (1 Corinth 12:7-10). I am talking about the evidence of the Holy Spirit in us.

Finally, God is expecting a deeper relationship with us. To be pleased by God, we need to live by the Spirit because a man who has not the Spirit of God does not accept things of the Spirit because they are foolishness unto them, and cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corith 2:14). It's about time we make Christ Jesus our first love and live in our Spirit because God is Spirit and those who worship him must worship in truth and in Spirit ( John 4:24). Know who you are in Christ Jesus because we are here on earth to reign, subdue and have dominion on earth. We have obtained the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven when Jesus died and redeemed us. We are gods (John 10:34) because we have the Holy Spirit in us. 


Amen. God bless you for reading!