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Posts Tagged ‘witness’

Day 135, A Second Experience in the Holy Spirit

Posted in Under-the-Influence, Devo Shorts 2011, tagged , , , , , , on July 27, 2020| Leave a Comment »

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“For He had not yet fallen upon any of them, but they had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 8:16 AMP

For most of the Body of Christ who have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, this has been experienced as a second event with the Holy Spirit. One that is subsequent to salvation.  While there are always exceptions, some people have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit while being baptized in water…, mostly, the Lord has an order about how salvation and then the Baptism in the Holy Spirit proceed.

Having said that, I also recognize, the Lord is Sovereign, and He can do what He desires.  The story of Cornelius in Acts 10 is one of those exceptions. God moved upon Cornelius with a vision about men from Joppa coming to him so he and his family would be blessed.

Meanwhile, the Apostle Peter also received a vision from the Lord, about going to Cornelius. The Lord had to work on both parties, Peter and Cornelius, to pave the way for them to receive without doubt, or discrimination, or hesitation what the Lord wanted them to do.

Thus, before Cornelius and his family were technically saved (by correct procedure), the Holy Spirit falls upon all those listening to Peter’s message. They then heard them speaking in unknown tongues, because the Holy Spirit had been bestowed and poured out even on Gentiles.

This break with accepted protocol was apparently needed because there was deep bias within the Apostolic Leadership about the Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit like this. So the Lord had to work to manage the situation, and He did!

The result was this consensus:

“Can anyone forbid or refuse water for baptizing these people, seeing that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Acts 10:47 AMP

Here is an interesting point: it was “seen” that these people had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit – just as the disciples had.  Meaning, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, there was the evidence of speaking in tongues, just as initially occurred in Acts 2:4, with the disciples in the Upper Room.

So, in baptism, there is an immersion.  In water baptism, we testify of the work of salvation that has occurred on the inside by being immersed in water (Col 2:11-13). We are making a declaration that we believe we are saved by the work of Jesus on the Cross.

Likewise, in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is also an immersion, but this time it is with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16 AMP):

“John answered them all by saying, I baptize you with water; but He Who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of Whose sandals I am not fit to unfasten. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

So John’s baptism is unto repentance but Jesus’ baptism is unto power.  John’s immersed in water, Jesus’ immersed with the Holy Spirit.

Once Jesus had ascended to Heaven to the right hand of the Father, the way was opened for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit after the first believers had obeyed and tarried in Jerusalem to await the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4-8).

Believers today no longer have to wait in that same sense, for the Promise is already released. It is available to anyone today who meets the requirements to receive it. That, however, can bring problems that confuse the believer, and possibly delay their receiving…

Let’s look at this for a moment…

Acts 2:38-39:

“And Peter answered them (the convicted crowd of Jews had asked what they should do after Peter recounts a brief history of Who Jesus is….)

Repent, (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself.”

So we can see that a willingness to change your view and accept the will of God in your heart is a requirement to receive this Baptism. Thus, if you have not already received Jesus as your Savior and Lord, this is unavailable to you. With salvation, comes the new heart that is needed, and the willingness to trust the Lord and be aligned with His will. 

Also, being first baptized in water for the forgiveness of sins is the normal order, but not unable to be superseded by the Lord as He sees fit (as was demonstrated by Cornelius).

Now, I am really writing this to address the fact that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a second work of the Holy Spirit, generally, although we see in the word exceptions. Sometimes.

Why do I say that this is a second work?  Because the disciples had already been saved before they came to the upper room. Salvation was already in place for them…John 20:21-22:

“Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you! [Just] as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you.  And having said this, He breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit!”

So the upper room was a second work of the Holy Spirit, not for their salvation, but so they would have power to be witnesses to the Lord and would begin living and working according to the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-8; Gal 5:13-26)

This is a point of confusion for many. Some people merge these two baptisms into one. But simply stated, there are two different medium for the baptisms here: one being water and one being the Holy Spirit. Only the Lord can bring these together in one event as He dictates.  It, however, is not the norm.

Having said that, I must say this.  There is no reason to believe that you must be saved many years before you somehow are “qualified” for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In truth it is always a gift of grace that we never earn.  Meeting the requirements that our heart is in the proper place is different than being qualified!

There are many factors that delay our pursuit and receipt of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, but I must say from the Lord’s standpoint all things are ready and in place for anyone to receive this very day…

The notion that you loiter in a salvation mode awaiting processing for greater gifting is false.  The enemy would prefer you to delay this process as long as possible, even indefinately so as to keep you from a walk and living in the Spirit and in power.

To that end he tries to convince people that it is not for everyone. And so, there have been sown into belief structures and doctrines that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not for everyone, and in fact, the word has even been misinterpreted to support that very notion.

Next time I will pick up more on this topic and specifically why the Baptism is for everyone who is a believer.

Shalom…

 

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Day 117, “Have Unqualified Unadulterated Belief”

Posted in Under-the-Influence, Devo Shorts 2011, tagged , , , , , on April 20, 2018| 2 Comments »

“… you are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)?”  Rom 6:16 Amp

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A Slave to Lower Thinking?

As God was preparing Moses to be His Ambassador in Exodus 4, God changed Moses’ rod from a rod into a serpent. And then God had Moses take it by the tail and it is changed back into a rod.

God told Moses to put His hand into his bosom, and what was a normal hand suddenly was leprous and as white as snow.  And then God changed it back and the hand was restored as before.

These instances were not simply a change in perception or thinking.  God did not cause Moses to just believe his rod was a snake, or his hand was leprous… he got to experience the reality of those situations, and the reality of God’s authority…

Christ is the True Reality

When Nebuchadnezzar was changed from being the king into a wild creature that ate grass, had feathers and long nails, this was not just a change in his thinking – it was a change in his reality.  He became a beast of the field whose thinking and understanding were likewise crippled, until God intervened again. 

To live like a beast of the field for seven years I want you to see that Nebuchadnezzar’s thinking was not responsible for his growing feathers and long nails.  And as there were outward manifestations of physiological change, I believe we should expect that there were internal changes that made it possible for him to live in such a state – such as a stomach equipped to digest grass.

To try and explain away what Nebuchadnezzar experienced for seven years as some kind of psychotic state in which he simply believed he was a beast, places the reality of the situation into the realm of the soul (your perception or thoughts about it) and not the spirit (where full truth resides). It refutes the reality of the changes he underwent.

Evidence of Last Days Crisis

In 2Tim 3:1-5 a state of deterioration is described in those who profess to be believers in God.  It demonstrates a conscious resistance to the power of God’s Word, and consequently that resistance manifests itself as a form of religiousness that is counterfeit to real Christianity.

These people are completely lovers of self and self-conscious.  This is their true focus.  Conversely, true believers are Christ conscious – they continually lose sight of themselves and their lower lives, and focus on Christ.

They are without natural affection and thus they operate in loose morals and conduct.  A true believer is gifted with God’s love operating within his heart and bringing him to a level of moral excellence operating within his soul.

The description continues within verse four to describe the perverseness these people operate at — constantly in the realm of their soul which as they have given it the pre-eminence – their soul, in its state of depravity, rules over them.  All they are about is self: their needs, their desires, etc.

Verse five talks about them having a form a religion, but they deny and are stranger to the power of true Christianity.

What has happened? 

Everyone gets to set the watermark of God’s control and involvement in their lives.  Where we simply allow God to clean the outside of our cup of life, but give no access to Him for bringing change about within us, where we adopt a religious form externally with no abiding life of His inside — we set ourselves on the road to being counterfeiters of true belief in Christ.

The danger begins when we fail to allow our thinking to be transformed by the word of God.  Though once maybe having received God’s life, we are now trying to progress only according to our thinking – our soul which once was washed when we were saved, has become corroded for lack of cleaning and renewal by the word of God.

This is the purpose and function of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit!  Where salvation brings the residence of God through the Holy Spirit into my spirit, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit brings the enduement of power of the Holy Spirit over and throughout the functioning of the soul!  Over my real self!  Now there is power like never before, to choose to love, to die to myself and loose my lower life, and to be the witness in power that God calls each of us to be who have received Christ. 

Salvation begins at the door of the spirit, but the victory of Christlikeness and walking in Him begins when I receive His enduement of power, His clothing, His life, His armor, His light … as covering over my real self!

From Nebuchadnezzar to Crisis of Belief

The progression to a corrupted state as 2Tim 3:1-5 describes, begins with resisting truth.  We try and explain away something like the transformation of Nebuchadnezzar as simply his deranged thinking.  We absolutely fail to acknowledge God’s right or power to take someone through this process.

We dismiss Moses’ examples of the rod, or leprosy as colorful stories.  We completely fail to realize that belief resides in our heart, and that while we may read the word and even understand it – UNTIL WE GIVE THE WORD ACCESS AND A PLACE OF UNIQUIVICAL RULE IN OUR HEARTS AND SUBMIT TO IT AS TRUTH WE ARE SIMPLY TRYING TO CONTROL THINGS AT THE LEVEL OF OUR MIND. 

As you continuously surrender to your own thinking, believing it to be true, you become a slave to your own thinking and its limitations. You then do not possess truth, but a carefully crafted and restricted perversion which cannot yield life or transmit life to others.

So what is the remedy? Realize what you have been doing.  See the great distance between where you are and the fullness God has provided for. Repent of rebellion in your heart and idolatry – for you have been trying to be your own God.  Submit to God – resist all of Satan’s tactics and lies, and he will flee. Come to the Lord humbly, believing what His word says, and receive the Promise of the Father (Lk 24:49, and Acts 1:4- Acts 2:39), receive the Holy Spirit’s power upon and be filled throughout your souls and begin the journey of walking in the Spirit like you have never known.

Then, as you receive the truth without compromise, your experience of God’s Spirit operating on and through you will increase. He will make you what He wants you to become – in Him!

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Day 115, Where is Your Place?

Posted in Under-the-Influence, Devo Shorts 2011, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

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Have faith in God constantly…

Don’t doubt… believe…

Whatever you have asked for… BELIEVE you HAVE received it…  (Mk 11:22-24)

Be well-balanced…

Withstand him (your enemy); be firm in faith [against his onset – rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you.”  (1Pet 5:8-10 Amp)

Saint of God where is your place?  It is to be in faith… in confidence in God.  It is to be withstanding every assault of the the enemy, because you have be given power to do that very thing – that you will be a witness for the Lord!

We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us. So why do we struggle so?  We all have the same Peter tendency… to get caught up in looking at the waves and their appearance overwhelms us.

So you at this very moment have a choice:  to stand or to cave; to arise to the challenge or collapse under what it looks like.  I encourage you … keep your eyes on the Lord!  If Peter had, he wouldn’t have noticed the waves!  But remember, even though he did notice them, and did sink, Jesus had him — and He was safe.

No matter what is threatening, no matter what storm rages around you — in Christ you are safe, the overcoming one lives in you. You have supernatural buoyancy!  He’s got you!

The goal is to outlast the assault by faith and do not doubt.  Proverbs 12:21 tells us that no actual evil or misfortune or calamity shall come upon the righteous…. Are you experiencing evil or calamity?  Is it like the fiery furnace of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?  They were in the furnace for sure.  But the furnace couldn’t touch them.  Not even the smoke could cling to them!

You are no different if you are in Christ! If it looks evil, or calamitous, just trust God… you have been given a great opportunity to demonstrate the power and faithfulness of God!

So stand Saint! Stand in confidence in the One Who is always faithful.  Stand in faith, knowing He never leaves you or forsakes you!  Stand … and take your place as a witness for the Holy demonstration of the ages of what His grace is bringing forward in this very time.

Stand Saint … and take your place in Him, in the cloud of witnesses! He’s got you.

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