REVIVAL IN GERMANY ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL EVANGELIST JEAN-LUC TRACHSEL

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Thousands of young people packed the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany for the Fire Festival to praise, worship, and hear the Word of God.

An international evangelist says, that “revival in Germany” is breaking out as hundreds of people are getting “saved, delivered, healed, and baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

“After a short preaching of the ABC of The Gospel hundreds upon hundreds of young people came at the altar to give their lives to Jesus,” shared international evangelist Jean-Luc Trachsel. “Truly it’s harvest time in Europe like here in Stuttgart, Germany.” The Fire Festival kicked off on October 2 and ended on October 5 with a “Jesus March” through Stuttgart. Europe Shall Be Saved partnered with Holy Spirit Night for the event to reach Germany with the Gospel “through young revivalists who will influence the different spheres of society for the Kingdom of God.” Trachsel, the founder of Jean-Luc Trachsel Ministries said, “I’ve seen with my own eyes thousands of people getting saved and today it’s water baptisms in a glorious and joyful atmosphere,” he added.

The six-day event is just the latest example of what is taking place by the Spirit of God in the nation. Night of Hope is another movement taking the Gospel message to the streets of Hamburg, Bremen, Munchen, and many other German cities. Their outdoor crusades are marked by prayer, salvations, and testimonies of healing. “We are thankful to see what God is doing here in Germany,” the group shared on Instagram. Attendees were recently encouraged to “leave old things behind” and embrace their new life in Jesus Christ. “Only Jesus can truly set you free! He is our saviour, king, and deliverer,” they wrote. Evangelist David Rotärmel is behind Night of Hope through his evangelistic ministry, Reviving The World, which is on a mission to “see entire cities revived and shaken by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” “There is an urgency being imprinted on our hearts by the Holy Spirit – NOW is the time to put our hands to the Plow and spread the Gospel like wildfire throughout the nations to every people, tribe, and tongue,” reads a statement on their website.

Much of Europe has abandoned the Christian faith, embraced secularism, and returned to its pagan roots. According to a Pew Research survey, the number of European Christians has been expected to drop by about 100 million, falling from 553 million in 2010 to 454 million in 2050. Meanwhile, Europe’s Muslim population is expected to increase by 63% in that time frame. Trachsel previously told CBN News he is seeing the decline firsthand in Switzerland where only three to five percent of the seven million people are born-again Christians. “I feel the time is coming where here in Europe, maybe the real Christians will have to be underground,” he said. 

Despite those negative trends, massive revival gatherings have been happening this year throughout the continent including a move of God that is reaching Germany as well as France, the Netherlands, Hungary and Italy. The “harvest in Europe is truly ripe,” Trachsel recently shared.

“Holy Spirit Night” is another Europe-wide movement characterized “by praise, prayer, proclamation and the freedom to let the Holy Spirit work,” according to its website. It is currently taking place in 15 countries and 35 different cities including Germany, Ukraine, Belarus, and Austria. Trachsel is urging Europeans to continue to believe for God to move mightily in their countries and is applauding those who are forging ahead on a mission to increase the number of souls for God’s kingdom. “The main reason Jesus came on earth is to save those who are lost,” he shared. “Truly it’s harvest time in Europe.”                                              

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A SOMEONE NOT A SOMETHING.

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This post follows my previous post “Is God a Trinity“. If you have not read it but are interested in looking at the arguments for and against God is a Trinity then I suggest you do so before you read this testimony of Dr Walter Wilson.

The testimony of Dr Walter Wilson is powerful. Converted on December 21st, 1896, Walter had a deep love for the scriptures yet it bothered him that his life did not seem to bear spiritual fruit. In 1913 he was challenged by a missionary with the question, “What is the Holy Spirit to you?”

Wilson answered, “He is one of the persons of the Godhead, a Teacher, a Guide; the third person of the Trinity.

The missionary responded with: “He is just as great, just as precious, just as needed as the other two persons of the Trinity. But you still have not answered my question, What is He to you?”

“He is nothing to me”, Wilson said, surprised at his own candour. “I have no contact with Him, no personal relationship, and get along quite well without Him,” Wilson replied.

“It is because of this that your life is so fruitless even though your efforts are so great“. The missionary’s words taunted Wilson into the next year. He wanted to bear the fruit of the Spirit but feared becoming a fanatic, giving an inferior place to Jesus Christ. On January 14th, 1914 everything changed when Wilson heard a sermon preached by Dr James Gray (he became President of Moody Bible Institute) on Romans 12:1

SERMON BY DR JAMES GRAY
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1

Notice this verse does not tell us to whom we should give our bodies? It is not the Lord Jesus…..He has his own body. It is not God the Father….He remains upon His throne. Another has come to earth without a body….God gives you the privilege and indescribable honour of presenting your bodies to the Holy Spirit, to be His dwelling place on earth. 

After hearing this sermon Walter Wilson prayed the following prayer:

“My Lord, I have mistreated You (HOLY SPIRIT) all my Christian life. I have treated you like a servant….I shall do so NO more. Now I give you this body of mine ; from my head to my feet……………., I hand it over to YOU for YOU to live in it the life that YOU please.”

Walter Wilson, the beloved physician often testified, “Concerning my own experience with the Holy Spirit, I must say the transformation of my life on Jan 14th, 1914 was greater, much greater than the change that took place when I was saved Dec 21st 1896.

Make sure you do not treat the Holy Spirit as a “something”. He is a “someone”.

IS GOD A TRINITY?

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I am convinced that God is a trinity of three persons. There is no dispute about God the Father and God the Son as persons but there is certainly dispute about the Holy Spirit.

The United Church of God is one church denomination that believes the Holy Spirit is something not someone. Their main arguments include the following:

If God were a Trinity, surely Paul, who was taught directly by the resurrected Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12) and who wrote much of the theological underpinnings of the early Church, would have comprehended and taught this concept. Yet we find no such teaching in His writings (which I will dispute). Moreover, Paul’s standard greeting in his letter to the churches, as well as individuals to whom he wrote, consistently mentions “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” And in each of his greetings, he never mentions the Holy Spirit! (The same can also be said of Peter in the salutations of both his epistles.) The same greeting, with only minor variations, appears in every epistle with Paul’s name. Notice how consistent he is in not including the Holy Spirit in his greetings: Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 1:3.

The Holy Spirit is always left out of these greetings—an unbelievable and inexplicable oversight if the Spirit were indeed a person or entity coequal with God the Father and Christ! Paul’s epistles record no attempt on his part to explain the Trinity or Holy Spirit as a divine person equal with God the Father and Jesus Christ. However, in 2 Corinthians 13:14, we have “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

They would argue that in visions of God’s throne recorded in the Bible, although the Father and Christ are seen, the Holy Spirit as a third person is completely absent.

They also argue that Scripture reveals the Holy Spirit not as a person, but as something much different—the divine power through which God acts.

They also claim no theological or biblical justification for referring to the term “Holy Spirit” with masculine pronouns, even in Greek. The Greek word pneuma, translated “spirit” (but also translated “wind” and “breath” in the New Testament) is a grammatically neuter word. So, in the Greek language, pronouns equivalent to the English “it,” “its,” “itself,” “which” or “that” are properly used in referring to this word translated into English as “spirit.”

This information was extracted from the book: Is God a Trinity? United Church of God.

The Scriptures they have difficulty with are the following:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Jesus told the disciples and therefore us that He must go so His Father could send the Holy Spirit to be our counsellor, teacher, comforter, and helper.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26

“When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.” Mark 13:11

It is difficult to understand how “a power” can be our counsellor, teacher, and comforter. Particularly when Paul tells us to make sure we do not grieve the Holy Spirit or quench His work in our lives. You cannot grieve a “power “or “something“.

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 28:19-20

“Do not quench the Spirit“ 1 Thessalonians 5:19

THE HOLY SPIRIT ACTS AS A PERSON:

•HE SPEAKS: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches” (Rev 2:7), “And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” Acts 13:2

•HE TEACHES: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” John 14:26

•HE WITNESSES: “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of me” (John 15:26) “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” Romans 8:16

•Directs your path (Prov. 3:4-5, Proverbs 143:10).

•Helps you and He lives within you forever (John 14:16).

•Guides you in all truth (John 14:17, 16:13a).

•Brings to your remembrance all things He said to you (John 14:26b).

•Tells you things to come (John 16:13).

•Reveals to you the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10).

•Freely gives you all things (1 Cor. 2:12).

•Offers you the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God..” Romans 8:16

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26

Paul also tells us that the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control. He is also the one who provides the gifts for ministry, all nine, as needed.

JESUS IS LORD, HE MUST ALWAYS BE CENTRE STAGE. THE HOLY SPIRIT ALWAYS REVEALS JESUS MORE FULLY.  Where the Holy Spirit is in control, Jesus is proclaimed the Head – the Holy Spirit, His executive.

GOD IS FOUNDATIONAL TO OUR EXISTENCE

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God is foundational to our existence; seeking replacements will be a futile attempt to achieve ultimate fulfillment. Adam was made in the image of God. Man is a trinity just as God is a Trinity. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; we are Body, Soul, and Spirit.

Importantly, man’s spirit was designed to contain the Holy Spirit (oil), enabling him to be the “lamp of the Lord” on Earth and to be in a relationship with God.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

Sadly, the Holy Spirit departed Adam’s spirit when he rebelled against God at the time of the Fall.

In his epoch-making theological treatise, Knowing God, J. I. Packer put it this way:

“What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination, and lays hold of our allegiance, and this the Christian has, in a way that no other man has. For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?” 

Once the grace of God has been tasted and peace is established with the Almighty all else becomes incomparable. God’s grace captures a believer unlike anything else. Hence, evangelism should become the communication of desiring grace for others as they react to God.

Stereotypically, people perceive Christianity as having to attend weekly church meetings, reciting prayers, having a narrow worldview, and restricting one’s lifestyle to do’s and don’ts. When in fact, the Gospel is freedom, fulfillment, and “unspeakable joy.”

“And you will know the truth,” Jesus promises, “and the truth will set you free”

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

Paul similarly states, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans. 5:1).

Did Jesus and Paul purposely fabricate claims to try and make people feel good? Did they have huge egos that required authority over others? Were they deceived? If so, by whom or what? No, they encouraged people towards “the way, the truth, and the life.” so, through Jesus Christ, they can acquire God’s love by receiving the Holy Spirit to enable them once again to be children of God bearing His image.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5

The Gospel is powerful and its grace will surely materialize in those who wholeheartedly call upon the Lord Jesus. It’s a sure thing. The Holy Spirit assures it.

WHO AM I? Solving the identity puzzle (2)

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This is part 2 of my review of Martyn Isles’s book WHO AM I? Solving the identity puzzle. If you have not read my first post I suggest you do. It refers to the serious error of all humans being immortal.

This post will deal with the serious omission from Martyn’s book and that is the role the Holy Spirit played in Adam’s life and now plays in believers’ lives.

When God breathed life into Adam he became a living creature.

“then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7

Proverbs 20:27 tells us that the “spirit of a man” is the lamp of the Lord. A lamp requires oil to function. The Holy Spirit is the oil required to make the lamp of the Lord function. Hence, Adam received from God the Holy Spirit so Adam’s spirit could function as the lamp of the Lord. Adam was then able to function in the spiritual dimension and communicate with God as he did in the Garden of Eden.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

What was immediately lost in The Fall is the Holy Spirit departed Adam and Eve’s spirits so they and we as their descendants are no longer able to communicate directly with God.

The good news is that when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour our Heavenly Father will send the Holy Spirit to once again indwell our spirit to be our helper, our counselor, teacher, and comforter.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:15-17

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.“ John 14:26

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.“ John 16:7

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-15

“Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20

The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control. He is also the one who provides the gifts for ministry.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.“ Galatians 5:22-23

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

“For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:8-11

Jesus told His disciples not to do anything until the Holy Spirit came to indwell their spirits at Pentecost. It was only then that they were empowered to live the Christian life. Likewise for us, unless we have received the Holy Spirit we cannot live the Christian life, it is impossible.

THE POWER BEHIND CHRISTIANITY

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Jesus told the disciples not to do anything until the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. The third person of the Trinity is the reason Christianity grew to be the major religion in the world. Do the traditional/institutional churches really acknowledge that fact?

Despite evolution, most people still believe in a Supreme Being. Also, most people believe Jesus Christ lived on this Earth 2,000 years ago. We have our calendar to testify to that fact (2024). Moreover, we have many descriptions of Jesus in the New Testament such that we, like the first converts have good grounds to conclude that he is something more than a prophet. Other historians like Josephus testify to his life and ministry. However, it is quite another thing to believe that God is three. There is a Third person, a ghostly wind of God, Holy Spirit.

The Bible words for “spirit,” in both Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament), also mean “breath” and “wind.” So it is symbolically apt that when the early Christians were awaiting the promised Spirit in an upstairs room in Jerusalem on Pentecost Sunday, there came the sound of a violent wind. That sound was accompanied by a visual symbol. Over each person’s head, a flame or “tongue” as of fire came to rest, also symbolic of the presence of God—as in the Old Testament fire of Mount Sinai and the pillar of fire that led ancient Israel toward the Promised Land.

On the night he was betrayed and arrested, Jesus told the twelve disciples (John 14-16, John 16:7) that He would go away and it was better that He went away. Why? Jesus said that he would ask the Father for Another One to come. And this One would do even better than what Jesus did. Who is this “Another One” who will come? He is the Holy Spirit. He will come to dwell within us so that we can perform miracles, proclaim the gospel, and live as examples to the world.

How many institutional/traditional churches believe we can do the things the Bible says the Holy Spirit will empower us to do? He will produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) in our lives: love, joy, peace, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness, patience, and self-control. He will provide the gifts of the Spirit for ministry:

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

The Holy Spirit continues to this day to manifest himself—in the spectacular gifts given in this Scripture but also more commonly in other gifts, such as (effective) teaching, evangelism, leadership, service, and hospitality. Are these signs manifest in your church? If not, can I suggest you look for a church where they are evident.

 The Holy Spirit continues to give people the New Birth. God animates us by his Spirit: anima in Latin means “the breath of life,” hence animal. And then God by the Holy Spirit, in the process of sanctification (sanctus being Latin for “holy”) makes us mature children of God.

DO YOU REALLY TRUST GOD?

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If necessary your best prayer is to ask God to strip you of everything so that you are totally dependent upon Him, even for your next meal. Can I suggest you listen to this Jamie Winship video; God stripped Jamie and his family of everything so they had to depend upon Him for all their needs for two years. Once you have lived this way you’ll never want to go back to living the world’s way of total reliance on your own ability. Jamie reveals how God showed him how to witness to Muslims. It will “blow your mind”.

Jamie also learned more about God and His ways by how He answered their prayers, which helped the family know how to pray. Jamie began to fully understand the meaning of being made in the image of God to be in communion with Him. To understand that God is perfection, unblemished by sin. He only does what is right. Jamie wants to please God, so he only wants to do what is right, like Jesus when He was on Earth.

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.‘” John 5:19

Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) to be our counsellor, teacher, comforter, and helper to enable us to live the Christian life.

https://youtu.be/0r98ULww6ME?si=KTZTKqCi_5m9rqIx

YFC REACHING GEN Z WITH 3STORY WAY OF LIFE

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The American ministry Youth for Christ (YFC) is reporting a 20% increase in the number of young people they saw turning to Christ in 2023. The report also shows exciting trends of evangelism amongst young believers. It reveals that in the US, nearly 8000 teenagers gave their lives to Jesus under the ministry’s outreach last year. The ministry also claims that 25% more children were sharing their faith with their peers compared to 2022. Youth for Christ’s CEO and President, Jake Bland, has called it a “rising metric of young leaders” – saying that Generation Z seems to be much more open to discussions. “They are living out YFC’s ‘3Story way of life’ and it’s this rising metric of young leaders that has our full attention.

3Story® is the phrase YFC uses to describe how Christians live in a relationship with God and others. They use three circles to represent these stories—God’s Story, my own story, and the stories of young people. When the circles overlap, it means friendship is growing, trust is building, and transformation is happening.

3Story® helps people who love Jesus stay tightly connected to Him so they might become good news as they talk about the Good News of God’s love to others. It’s a lifestyle we pursue. We want to be people who love like Jesus loves us, who serve as Jesus serves and who are consistently drawing near to God for the sake of young people.

YFC pursues 11-19-year-olds who are walking through pivotal, story-shaping moments; like navigating a new school, becoming a teen parent, spending time in a juvenile institution, or simply enduring the culture of social media. Young people often feel marginalized. As we live 3Story® lives, we represent Jesus who is steady and trustworthy so that young people feel seen, heard, and valued.

Generation Z seems to be much more open to discussions about faith among their peers than the generations that immediately preceded them. It’s clear that this is a strategic opportunity God is creating for ministries like YFC and our Kingdom partners.”

The report noted that compared to last year:

  • Seven percent more teens made a first-time decision for Christ.
  • Thirty-eight percent more students engaged with local churches this year.
  • Twenty-one percent more kids began sharing their faith with their friends.

“Because of God’s faithfulness, 2,907 kids became multipliers of the hope of Christ!” Bland enthused. Yet even as YFC looks back on the year of ministry, Bland notes the numbers only matter because they tell a story.

“In YFC, we aren’t celebrating numbers, scope, or scale. We celebrate how Christ is moving”.

These are more than numbers — every number has a name, and every name has a story. The harvest is ripe among this generation and Jesus is still calling us to pray earnestly and trust Him as Lord of the harvest, the solution for every soul, every story.” Youth For Christ, whose first full-time staff member was Dr Billy Graham in 1944, operates in over 100 nations and has over 130 chapters that impact communities across America through over 1,200 local ministry sites.

Source: Premier Christian News

LIVE A HOLY SPIRIT-EMPOWERED LIFE

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I have found many Christians do not fully understand what Jesus Christ provided for them when He died on their behalf. They understand that Jesus made it possible for them to receive eternal life but only in the next life hence they continue to live on in this life as they did before. Whilst they may have read that Jesus said, I must go so that our Heavenly Father can send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit to indwell our Spirit and enable us to live the Christian life, they are quenching His work in their life (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and grieving Him (Ephesians 4:30).

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

Note that the spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord. A lamp requires oil/Holy Spirit to function as God intended. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the Holy Spirit departed their spirit immediately. They died spiritually then and died physically 900+ years later.

Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to empower us and to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control. The Holy Spirit also provides the gifts of the Spirit for ministry:

The Hope we have and the Power we have does not disappoint, why?

“Not only that (having the peace of God), but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans: 5:3-5

The Holy Spirit assures us of the Future Glory – Romans 8:18-30

“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” Romans 8:23

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27

The Holy Spirit assures us of Final Victory – Romans 8:31-39

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

JESUS CHRIST THE POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD

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“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the experts.” 1 Corinthians 1:19-20

“For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:21-25

Preaching Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Gentiles.

This Scripture should make us realize that salvation is all about God and that the disciple’s role is like when Jesus sent out the seventy disciples, one of obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Sending Out the Seventy

“Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. Don’t carry a money bag, traveling bag, or sandals; don’t greet anyone along the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for the worker is worthy of his wages. Don’t be moving from house to house. When you enter any town, and they welcome you, eat the things set before you. Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you.’ When you enter any town, and they don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘We are wiping off as a witness against you even the dust of your town that clings to our feet. Know this for certain: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.” Luke 10: 3-12

The Cost of Following Jesus

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, and even his own life — he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple... In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say goodbye to all his possessions cannot be My disciple… “. Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!” Luke 14:26-27, 33,35

Jesus tells us we must love our enemies so it is the extent of the comparison that Jesus is making here: we need to love Jesus much more than we love our family or ourselves, not hate our families. Hating is a Semitic expression for loving less.

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37

Without the power of the Holy Spirit which Jesus enabled our Heavenly Father to send to indwell our spirit to be our Counsellor, our Teacher, and our Comforter, it would be impossible to be a follower of Jesus Christ. If you do not have the evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life: the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control then you need to get on your knees, repent, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Also, only then will the gifts of the Spirit be available to you for ministry: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, you will have available the power and wisdom of God.

The Ray Comfort movie below shows that the majority of people do not believe that God destroyed the world with the flood of Noah’s day. This is just one of the Biblical end times signs. The apostle Peter tells us that prior to Jesus’ return scoffers will come.

“Knowing this, first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the “ungodly.” 2 Peter 3:3-7