God’s agenda is so glorious, and His love and purposes for our lives are so great, that everything else pales in comparison. We should all be like Nehemiah, who, when the enemies of Israel tried to get him to come out of the city and talk with them on the Plain of Ono, said, “... I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?
July 21 Being full of Holy Spirit is not evidenced in tongues; it is evidenced by being full.
We have delegated authority to establish His Kingdom wherever the sole of our foot treads. But while God calls us “kings,” the degree to which we walk in that position is still a matter of potential. And God is not responsible for making us reach our potential. It requires our participation.
Let me put this in my words: Solomon asked for a hearing heart, and God said, Okay, I’ll give you wisdom. The implication is that wisdom is not just a deposit made into somebody who now has all the answers. It implies that the ability to hear the voice of God is the key to wisdom. Wisdom, then, is a relational fruit.
The Holy Spirit eagerly reveals His mysteries to all who are truly hungry. He makes us hungry in the first place and reminds us that our hunger cannot be satisfied except by receiving the love of God. Take your current level of hunger and ask Him to increase it even as He satisfies it. He will do it.
It’s difficult to get the same fruit as the early Church when we value a book they didn’t have more than the Holy Spirit they did have. To value the Scriptures above the Holy Spirit is idolatry. It’s not “Father, Son, and Holy Bible.” The Bible reveals God, but is itself not God.
Because of the Holy Spirit living inside of me, I am able to do the very works that Jesus did. His experience is an example for what I should expect from my Christian life. Thank You, Lord, that I can do all things because of Your Presence living within me!
We went from rotten sinners to born-again saints in a single moment when we accepted salvation. Once the blood of Jesus has wiped out sin, you can’t get any cleaner. That doesn’t mean we can avoid the hurdles and issues that come with changing your life and renewing your mind. Maturity is a process. But as my associate Kris says, “You are not a sinner; you are a saint. It doesn’t mean that you can’t sin; it just means that you are no longer a professional.” That’s the story of your life.
Many people criticize those who long to experience more in God, but I don’t trust the ones who don’t. We are not going to be kept free from deception by abandoning experience. In fact, the ones who do not hunger more for God are already deceived.
We don’t lead because we are necessarily the most qualified; we lead because we are “called” to be the leader.
We need all five of them, working together. In short, apostles govern, prophets guide, evangelists gather, pastors guard, and teachers ground.
Saying what the Father is saying releases the creative nature and Presence of God into a situation to bring His influence and change.
We have authority over any storm we can sleep in. You have to have peace to give it away. Abiding in peace makes us a threat to any storm.
Royalty is my identity. Servanthood is my assignment. Intimacy with God is my life source. So, before God, I’m an intimate. Before people, I’m a servant. Before the powers of hell, I’m a ruler, with no tolerance for their influence.
Many people are impressed by their problems. They live in reaction to the devil.
If we are not careful, the steady stream of bad news will cloud our awareness of what God is saying and doing. Deception sets in that positions us to live and act defensively instead of continuing to respond to God’s leading.
He has made us stewards of the presence of God. It is not as though we can manipulate and use His presence for our own religious purposes. We are moved upon by the Holy Spirit, thereby becoming co-laborers with Christ.
It is quite another to endure and respect those whose passion is to pursue living an authentic Gospel in ways that challenge our comfort zones. Such is the nature of real faith. It offends the stationary.
One of the toughest lessons a Christian can learn is how to trust and praise God in the uncertain time between a promise and its fulfillment.
Something is always expected from us when God is revealed to be with us. It is a grave mistake to think the Holy Spirit is among us simply to comfort or encourage. That is a given. He is also present to make possible the impossible task in front of us! Perhaps this is part of what the apostle Paul.