Worthy is the LAMB+... worthy is the LAMB+... worthy is the LAMB+ that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing! Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto HIM that sitteth on the throne and unto The LAMB+ for ever and ever. Amen.
6/05/2022
Your Own DAY of PENTECOST !
Repost from June 2019 . . .
6/07/2019
SPIRITUAL WARFARE #3: NOT by HUMAN Power ~ The DAY OF PENTECOST !
Acts 4:31 occurred AFTER the Day of Pentecost ! It was yet another out-pouring of the HOLY SPIRIT.
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The FULL truth is this: We cannot do the works of power that the Apostles did . . . WITHOUT HAVING THE SAME BAPTISM of the HOLY SPIRIT, which they received on the Day of Pentecost.
[ We recall the WORKS of power the disciples did when The LORD JESUS directly sent the 70 forth. They returned rejoicing that the [evil] spirits were subject unto them ! Luke 10.
The HOLY SPIRIT was upon them . . . but not yet WITHIN THEM, as on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after His+ RESURRECTION.
Our bodies did not become the Temple of the HOLY SPIRIT until after the Day of PENTECOST. ]
Even the SPIRIT of Truth;
Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him:
but ye know Him;
for He dwelleth with you,and shall be in you.
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We humans must obtain power from the HOLY SPIRIT in order to engage in SPIRITUAL WARFARE . . . VICTORIOUSLY.
We will be FORCED in the inner man to accept TRUTH, want TRUTH, and embrace TRUTH about everything that touches our lives. . . regardless of the discomfort or loss of friends TRUTH may bring.
Why should HE+ grant HOLY SPIRIT power to someone who has a half-hearted allegiance to HIM+ ?
We must be totally walking IN UNISON with our Precious SAVIOR+ in order to know HIS+ Will, then.
Victory over unclean spirits which are afflicting the Body of CHRIST will be available. Works of power like as unto the Early Christians will come forth, for the HOLY SPIRIT never changes !
Then HE+ will grant our plea and place upon us the STEWARDSHIP of the HOLY SPIRIT, with power and fire.
We must take the claim of OWNERSHIP of our lives OUT our hands and place it into HIS+, for real and for all time.
When our lives are emptied out of Self and ALL its temporal goals and we pursue The LORD JESUS CHRIST and His+ Baptism, HE+ will bring us into the Glorious Baptism of the HOLY SPIRIT.
7/18/2008
GIFTS... VS... DISCIPLESHIP
We LIKE GIFTS!
The gifts from GOD are "... without repentance," according to the letter to Romans, 11:29. It says: For the gifts and calling of GOD are without repentance. His+ gifts are blessings for us, helping us through the struggles of life.
His+ GIFTS are freely given, freely dispensed as HE+ sees fit, being the Captain of the Battleground. HE+ equips various ones of us for The Battle... some in one way, some in another... according to what is needed to get the job done His+ way.
Some take the GIFTS as a sign that they are really special, kind of above the rest. I think the GIFTS are given to those who are least, to those who really are humble enough to receive them and humble enough to listen to His+ directives on how to use them. GIFTS are certainly no virtue on our part... but rather on His+ ! That HE+ would entrust us with His+ anointed GIFTS is amazing, in and of itself.
GIFTS come in many ways and for many purposes. I have a special one that helps me; it is what I call the gift of the conviction of sin. (Most wouldn't think of this as a "gift" from GOD, but I do.) No-one can even ENTER the Race without a conviction of sin upon the heart, which should lead to repentance and conversion and salvation. Likewise, no-one can STAY with HIM+ without the correction that this wonderful conviction brings. Woe to that man who turns a deaf ear to the conviction of sin sent upon him... whether he is regenerated or not!
I thank The LORD for giving this gift of His+ grace, called the conviction of sin. Where would we be if we didn't receive His+ conviction when we go astray in our heart? How blessed we are as a people, whom The LORD monitors closely enough to bring such conviction! How blessed, how holy, are those who listen closely enough to Their LORD to receive that conviction!
That goes hand in hand with The GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT, as in Acts 2:38.
And yet, as splendid as the Gift of the HOLY SPIRIT is... it does NOT take the place of our own discipleship. The Baptism of the HOLY SPIRIT, the Anointing of His+ HOLY SPIRIT, does NOT do the walking in discipleship for us. It can pull us along, to some extent, if we are willing to walk in His+ ways. It can reveal to us what we NEED TO DO in order to walk with HIM+. It can "nudge" us along when we're dragging our feet. And, it can comfort us when we are hurt and sad, encouraging our hearts.
BUT... the HOLY SPIRIT CANNOT AND WILL NOT do "our" part in walking with The LORD. We must simply embrace the cross, embrace discipleship, in order to stay WITH The LORD once we are saved.
Discipleship is how we grow. It changes us from gangling youth into mature Christians.
Discipleship is what we do to return unto HIM+. It is how we pick up our cross and die daily to ourselves. Personal discipleship trains us how to die to ourselves and live unto CHRIST.
Our actual labor is not church attendance, as important as that may be. It is not participating in activities, as wholesome or as demanding as they may be. It is not even using the GIFTS HE+ gives us, as exciting as they are to see in operaton.
Discipleship is our gift to
HIM+.