Hii everyone๐๐ค Hope you are all doing great by God’s Grace Welcome back for another teaching of FAITH. Lets get started! The Word of God is so true, powerful and Life-changing๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and being convinced of what we do not see. This scripture tells us the definition of Faith. It tells us that Faith is the certainity/ assurance that what you hope for in Christ, would actually take place, even though you don’t currently see it with your eyes.
Faith is built up intensionally . It must be done actively and not passively. Some of the key ways we can build up our faith are: 1ใPrayer in both human and heavenly language(tongues) 2ใReading and Meditating on God’s Word 3ใGoing to Bible-based church and fellowshiping with Brethren 4ใ Listening to Faith-filled sermons and music online 5ใRemembering what God has done for us in the past 6ใTelling others about what God has done for us and Listening to others’ testimonies 7ใAnd EXCERSING THE FAITH which God already built up in you.
Today Im going to talk about the 7th point, that is EXERCISING THE FAITH that the Holy Spirit built in us.๐ช๐ช
This is one of the fundamental ways how faith could be built. This is so fascinating, because it is based on a philosophy that contradicts a philosophy of the earth. This philosophy of the earth is, the more you use your resources, the lesser you would have remaining (more like commonsense๐๐). But faith is based on a Heavenly philosophy: The more you use it, the more shall be added unto you!๐๐๐
So the more you exercise the faith you already have, the more your trust in God would be built and the more the hope and faith you would have.
And do you know what is more interesting??
James 2 : 26 tells us that Faith without works is dead! If we don’t exercise the faith God gave us, God says that it is not faith at all. If we have faith, IT WILL BE SHOWN BY OUR ACTIONS.
For instance: A medical student has faith that God would make him/her a successful doctor one day. A doctor who would be a blessing to nations. But if the student doesn’t invest time studying and preparing for the medical career that God has instore, that shows that the faith is DEAD. But the student who trusts and has faith in God, would partner with the Holy Spirit , use time wisely and study very well.
Lets not deceive ourselves brethren, our actions shows whether or not we have REAL FAITH! Always remember we cannot deceive God, but we could only deceive ourselves. A person reaps what they sow.
But be encouraged brethren, the Holy Spirit who is in us and with us will certainly help us to exercise our faith, thus building trust in God. Trust is the foundation of every relationship, including our walk with the God. God gives us GRACE, to build and exercise our faith.
Lets take an example from the Bible, In Genesis 6:13,14 God told Noah that He was about to send a flood and so instructed Noah to build an ark. And Genesis 6:22 says that Noah did all that God wanted Him to do.
In Hebrews 11:7 Noah was credited for His Faith in God! That was REAL Faith!!!
So in conclusion: Exercising the EXISTING Faith in God, is very important for MORE faith to be ADDED unto us. So make a decision TODAY , to exercise your faith in God and you will see miracles in your life and spiritual GROWTH!!!๐ช
Thank you so much for reading. God bless you all! ๐๐ค
Hello everyone๐, trust you are doing good? Thank you for joining us as we continue to look at our series on “what faith is” and I am certain that we are being blessed. So starting from today we will be looking at examples of people in the Bible who showed Faith in God and we’ll learn from them,so please journey with me๐
Today,we’ll be looking at a sub-theme called:
Expectancy of Faith.
I’ll also like to call this “Be it unto you according to your faith” and our case study for today is “MARY”.
A prophecy was given by Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14 which was: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” So the Bible states clearly here that a virgin of Nazareth will actually conceive and give birth to Jesus but note that the name of the virgin wasn’t specifically mentioned. So I believe it is safe to say here that Mary was able to manifest this prophesy because of her faith. Let’s see why this is so.
Then Mary responded, saying, โThis is amazing! I will be a mother for the Lord! As his servant, I accept whatever he has for me. May everything you have told me come to pass.โ And the angel left her. Luke 1:38 TPT
She said: I accept whatever He has for me.
So let’s look at Luke 1:26- 56 Mary had just received a visit from Angel Gabriel, He came to her and said “And having come in, the angel said to her, โRejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!โ (Luke 1:28). Of course just like every other person would be she was troubled about what kind of greeting that was,the angel noticed that since she was worried,fear could come into her heart and if she was afraid she would not have been able to act in faith,and if she didn’t act in faith there could have been an hindrance to her birthing Jesus, for “her faith was needed to conceive the promise of God”. So immediately the angel said Fear not! Glory to God! He said fear not. Often times,we allow fear into our hearts when we even know the promise of God,but don’t let that doubt or worry or trouble settle down in your heart,just like the angel told Mary,FEAR NOT!
So the angel continued to tell her about the promise of God,he told her the word of God because he knew the word of God would bring Faith into her heart. No wonder Romans 10:17 says “faith comes by hearing,and hearing by the word of God.” And then he didn’t stop there but went forward to give her a testimony in Luke 1:36 about how Elizabeth in her old age had also conceived. Little wonder why Revelation 12:11 says “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
Indeed testimonies about what God has done should boost our faith in what God will do! This was a principle Angel Gabriel used in Luke1:36.
And after Mary had heard all of this we can see what she proceeded on to say in the verse we looked at earlier in Luke 1:38. She REJOICED at this and accepted it!
Faith doesn’t just stop at believing and accepting what God has said,Faith goes further to REJOICE over what has been said and acts on it!
Oh yes,this is another principle of Faith that Mary exhibited here. In Luke 1:39-56, we see that Mary didn’t just stop at rejoicing over what had been said,she acted on it and excitedly went further to Elizabeth, her cousin’s house to rejoice with her. Please note here that there was no apparent evidence to show that Mary was already pregnant, no! The Bible doesn’t tell us of any, but Mary went to Elizabeth’s house with full assurance in her heart that she was already pregnant with Jesus. I am so certain that when Mary greeted Elizabeth, it was not just a normal greeting, it was a greeting filled with Faith and rejoicing, because the Bible says immediately Elizabeth heard the greeting,even the baby in her womb recognized the faith in the greeting and started rejoicing with Mary! This is so profound.
Your faith in God is contagious!
Please note that as soon as Faith filled the atmosphere, the Holyspirit began to move mightily and Elizabeth prophesied with power!
If you can be filled with so much Faith and speak words filled with as much Faith, God will move mightily in your life and cause miracles to happen.
You are blessed because you believe.
This is another principle we can learn here. According to Elizabeth,Mary wasn’t blessed because of the promise,she was blessed because she believed the promise! And if we continue the scriptures in Luke chapter 1,we see that she went ahead to sing songs showing she had Faith in God’s promises and I believe that was the time she actually then conceived Jesus.
CONCLUSION.
There is something called “Expectancy theory”
The Expectancy Theory of Motivation attempts to explain why people behave the way they do.
Do you show up at the office early, work hard, and stay late. Why do you behave this way? Maybe itโs because in return you expect and want to be promoted quickly, and given pay rises?
Expectancy Theory basically states that a person behaves the way they do because they are motivated to select that behavior ahead of others because of what they expect the result of that behavior to be.
The truth is that everyone is expecting something to happen, either good or bad,you can’t be in the middle. So please ask yourself,what are you believing will happen? and how are you behaving in expectation to what you believe actually happening?
I sincerely hope that Just as Mary, you will rejoice over all God has said about you.
Thanks for reading, please feel free to like,share,comment and follow this blog.
So today we continue with the series we started last week on “What Faith Is”, if you are just joining us please endeavour to check out the previous post,the link is at the end of this post.
According to Hebrews11:1 GNB
To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.
We have to understand that we are the “faith children of a faith God“.Ephesians 2:8 makes us understand that we have been saved by God’s grace through Faith!So the pathway through which we received salvation in the first place was by Faith.
We have been saved by our Faith in God.
Every Child of God has Faith in God!
By Faith,we also understand that the world was created by the power of God’s words.We were not there when all of these happened, but because we are faith Children, we believe!
Just as the currency on earth is money The currency of heaven is called “Faith”. According to John1:18,No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. So all we do as children of God,we do by Faith.
Galatians 2:20 says:I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Do we see that?the life we live now just like Paul we live “BY” Faith in the son of God! By Faith in the son of God. Our living and everything we do is by faith!
So in many places in the bible including Habakuk2:4,Romans1:17,Galatians3:11,Hebrews10:38,it is written the Just or Righteous shall live by Faith!
As usual we will end with excerpt from the book “E-mail from God by Claire and Curt Cloninger”.
Dear Child,
It’s easy to look at powerful people in the bible and say, “I could never be a Moses,a David,or a Mary.” Let me tell you something that might surprise you. Each of them had only one thing going for them in the beginning- Faith.
Moses told me he couldn’t speak well enough to confront Pharaoh for Me. I said,”Trust Me,Moses”.He did,and he set my people free. David was just a kid with a slingshot who went out against a raging giant. David believed I was with him though,and he brought Goliath down.Mary was just a teenage girl but because she believed the words of an Angel,she became the mother of Jesus. My most powerful people are those who give me Faith the size of a mustard seed.
Your Faith Father,
God.
Thanks so much for reading,please don’t forget to like,subscribe and follow this blog.
Thank you for joining us today as we start a new series about “FAITH.” I am so excited as we start today because I am extremely certain that we are all going to be blessed and transformed by this through the word of God.
Now let’s go quickly into what we have for today,we will start on the introduction about “what Faith is” and continue next week from where we will stop today.
Many of us,actually all of us on earth do have faith,because we do believe in certain things. For example, if a person wants to sit down on a chair, you see the chair and you have faith that the chair will not break and you will be able to perfectly sit on it,but obviously if you see a chair that is broken you won’t sit on it because you also have faith that you will fall down if you sit on it! So I hope we see that everyone really has faith so we just have to direct the faith we have to the right principle or person.
What is Faith?
Faith literally is a strong feeling of trust or confidence. It is the strong believe in the doctrines of a religion,based on spiritual conviction rather than proof. Synonym for faith is “trust”. For this series our focus will mostly be on Hebrews chapter one and other scriptures though as the Holyspirit leads us.
Now,let’s take a look at what the scriptures say Faith is.
“NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].” Hebrews 11:1 AMPC
Faith is Now!
Oh,how I love this definition of faith. Let’s briefly explore together what this means.
Now,”Faith”,not later but NOW!Faith is the assurance of what we hope for,it is the confirmation,the “title deed” of the things we hope for. Faith is not hope,but rather the “assurance of our hope”. Title deed is a legal deed or document constituting evidence of a right,especially to ownership of property. So basically when you have a title deed of something,it just implies that,”that thing”,whatever it may be belongs to you! Why? Because of that document,it is your proof. So let’s say,even if I was not present when the house was bought,I know it belongs to you,by seeing the title deed. It is “your proof” that what you say you have is yours.
In the same manner,even if you cannot see physically what you hope for,as far as you have faith,you have “whatever”it is you hope for. I am sincerely praying to God that our eyes are opened,so we can clearly see what the scriptures mean.
“So whatever you hope for,the proof that you have it is FAITH! The proof of what you do not see is FAITH! The conviction that you have what you say you have or what the word of God says you have is FAITH! Though you cannot see it physically,FAITH perceives it as reality.”
I’ll like to end this blog post with an excerpt from the book” E-mail from God for Grads by Claire and Curt Cloninger” as I did in the previous post.
My Child,
I know that sometimes you pray as hard as you know how and things just don’t turn out the way you prayed they would.Then you wonder where I was all that time. Did I hear you?Of course I did. Although you can’t see me,I’m always here.
Faith doesn’t take a detour around pain;it builds a road through your pain.Faith doesn’t make things easy but it does give you extra strength for hard times. Faith can move mountains,even mountains like fear,loneliness, and hopelessness. Let me strengthen your faith.
Your faithful friend,
God.
Thank you for staying with us till the end of this post today,feel free to like,share and follow this blog.
Thank you for joining us again today,so glad to have you here. So in the spirit of Easter celebration, we will be looking at the death and resurrection of Jesus. So will like us to have a sub-theme;
Yes, He is risen, so what next?
Hmmm๐ค So we will be looking at three major victories amongst others that we have because Jesus is risen!!!
He isnโt hereโhe has risen victoriously, just as he said! Come inside the tomb and see the place where our Lord was lying. Matthew 28:6 TPT
1. Righteousness.
This scripture has really been re-echoing in my heart:
2 Corinthians 5:21
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”.
He made Him who knew no sin to become sin…please let’s follow carefully, Jesus had never sinned and God made Jesus to not even sin,but rather become sin!Let’s really think about this for the next one to two minutes. The “sin” used here is a noun,and we know that a noun is the name of a person,animal,place or thing. In greek,this word”sin” means hamartia or tragic flaw. So Jesus,all embodiment of wisdom in all His perfection and glory took on the nature of that thing called sin(sexual immorality,addictions,lies,basically every deviation from truth) He took them all,every flaw you may have and He was nailed to the cross. So you know what happened? When Jesus hung on the cross,He wasn’t hung up on the cross just as Jesus,but also as SIN,yours and mine! Oh yes,every humiliation,shame and disdain He faced was done also to “the body of sin” Ever heard of that before?
“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin”. Romans 6:6โญ-โฌ7 NKJV
Message translation in Romans 6:11 reads:
” From now on,think of it this way:sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you;God speaks your mother tongue and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God.”
Why did Jesus become sin? So that we might become the righteousness of God in Jesus and so now,we live in the power of resurrection! It is therefore big time error,big time flaw and tragedy for “the righteousness of God to live in sin”,no!no! It is error.
What is Righteousness?
According to the Greek translation, righteousness is called “dikaiosunฤ”,the state of him who is as he ought to be, it is the condition acceptable to God, it is a nature and a noun. Therefore as a believer who is dead to sin and is now resurrected with God, there is a state we ought to be in and that we are in now, it is called righteousness.
“Since there was a body of sin who died, there is also a body of righteousness who is now living!praise God! You are that body of righteousness who is living with Christ in you,the hope of glory.”
We Receive grace to say No! to every form of sin in Jesus name. Amen.Jesus has died for our sins,so we enjoy the freedom and blessings that come with living righteously.Sin is not for us,it is for the world! righteousness belongs to us! ( see Titus 2:11, John 1:29,36).
2. Blessings.
” for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,that though He was rich,yet for your sakes Hebecame poor,that you through His poverty might become rich”.
2 Corinthians 8:9 NKJV
From the above scriptures,we can see that through the death and resurrection of Jesus,we have been blessed with the blessings of Abraham. Can I give you a little assignment? Please find out what the blessings of Abraham are and begin to confess them over your life,because they are ours to enjoy without measure!
3. Healing.
“But [in fact] He has borne our griefs, And He has carried our sorrows and pains; Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken, Struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him]. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]; The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him, And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4โญ-โฌ5 AMP
“He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed”. 1 Peter 2:24 AMP
Beloved,the same stripes and wounds that Jesus bore on His body that signifies He died for our sins are the same stripes that signifies that we have been healed. Once you become a child of God and believe that Jesus carried your sins for you and that the body of sin was crucified and now you live to righteousness,you should also believe that,that same “body of sin” had on it sickness,weakness and disease on it, it had on it cancer,covid-19 and any other disease you can think of.The punishment for our well-being has fallen on Him already,no need for us to wallow in sickness, you were healed and saved over 2000 years ago when Jesus Christ died and rose again.Now, receive His salvation and healing!No wonder He could say it is finished(John19:30) and the angels could say He has risen victoriously!! Glory to God.
Conclusion.
As believers, we believe in these “truth” and we continue to confess them, remember; “the more we soak in these truth the more we naturally walk in them”. I’ll leave us with this scripture:
Romans 8:37;
Yet in all these things,we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us (so much that He died for us).
I am really excited to be writing this again today and sharing it with you all,thank you for deciding to read this. We were supposed to start a new series today,but just last night, I was prompted to rather write about something so precious to the heart of God . It’s about love. I won’t really go into details,will try to be brief and precise so yes,let’s go!
God is LOVE, LOVE is God. I’m talking about the God-kind of love,about AGAPE.(see 1John4:8)
“This is how much God loved the world:He gave His son,His one and only son.And this is why:so that no one need be destroyed;by believing in Him,anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was.He came to help,to put the world right again”. John 3:16-17 MSG.
The best way to thank Him is to receive His love.
God told them,”I’ve never quit loving you and never will.Expect love,love,and more love! Jeremiah31:3 MSG
God is not angry at you,instead He is well pleased with you.He loves you so much and He is “wooing” you to Himself,He is drawing you to Himself with Lovingkindness.He loves you irrespective of what you have done.
I strongly believe that even in this season,God is trying to make us understand that He is the only one that really matters. It’s quite ironical that we spend most of our time chasing after money,fame,riches and we forget the one that really matters the most. I am not saying they are bad,they definitely aren’t but I just sincerely hope that during this time and after all “these” is over,we learn to chase after God,the one who really matters the most,your creator, the one who formed you in your mother’s belly and knows your end from your beginning.
If you have sinned,remember ;
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9 NKJV
If you have not yet believed in Jesus(accepted Him as your saviour),remember;
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 NKJV
If you have done the above just now for the first time congratulations!!welcome to the family of Love,it’s that simple and please let me know so I can be praying for you.
In conclusion, I’ll leave us with these words,they are excerpts from a book called “E-mail from God for Grads by Claire and Curt Cloninger”.
I love you so much,and I will never stop loving you. I want you to know my love and rely on it. How do you learn to love me? Start by receiving my love for you.Once you realize how much I love you,that I sacrificed my son just to be with you,that I have wonderful plans for your life and that I am proud of you,you’ll want to love me back . Once you love me,obeying me won’t be a painful duty;it will be Joy. Love me with everything you have.Love me with your body-dance, run, play a musical instrument,feed hungry people. Love me with your emotions-cry,yell,laugh,sing. Love me with your mind-write poetry,solve difficult problems,draw great pictures. I am passionate!Just look at the intense world I made. I don’t do anything halfway. It’s all or nothing,you be the same way.Go for it.
And remember: no matter what happens,you can never loose my love.
Your loving father,
God.
I hope this blessed us today,please feel free to like,comment and share๐.
Thank you for joining us again today,am grateful to God that we are being blessed. So today we will end our series on the Holyspirit in you,there is still much more to be said but I believe that even as you are more open now to the ministry of the Holyspirit,He will keep speaking to your hearts and teach you all the more we need to know.
Let’s do a quick recap of all we have learnt so far. In the first series,we started by introducing the person of the Holyspirit,we talked about His other names and what they meant. In the second post,we talked about the Holyspirit being the only one authorized by God to reveal “truth”to us. In the third post,we talked about how Jesus wants us to have intimacy with the Holyspirit FOREVER. I encourage us to quickly go back and review the previous scriptures we have been talking about.
As we come to an end of this series today(at least for now),I’ll like us to talk about something I believe is dear to the heart of God ๐. We’ll be focusing on the book of Acts today. Let me just quickly chip in something before we continue. An important feature of Acts is the activity of the Holyspirit,who comes with power upon the believers in Jerusalem on the day of pentecost and continues to guide and strengthen the church and its leaders throughout the events recorded in the book. I encourage you to go and study the book of Acts so you could understand how we are to live in this present day as believers.
So now let’s continue…I’ll like us to have a sub-theme for today:
The power(ability) conferred in you through the Holyspirit.
But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth. Acts 1:8 AMPC
When the Holyspirit is in us as believers,2 of the numerous things that we see or receive are:
1. Power
But you shall receive POWER when the Holyspirit comes upon you.Amplified goes further to say ABILITY,efficiency and might!! Glory to God. If we stop here today, I believe we have learnt a lot,but narhh let’s continue๐. So power here means dunamis in greek. I am sure by now, you already have a bible that gives both greek and Hebrew translations,if you don’t have one, I recommend “my sword bible app”, it will really help you grow spiritually as you study the scriptures. So yes let’s continue.
There are three different types of power that I have come across in the bible so far,there might be more though. They are:kratos(mighty power to rule, Eph6:10), Exousia(authority,luke10:19) and dunamis(miracle working power).The only kind of power that you receive when the Holyspirit dwells in you is DUNAMIS- For the purpose of today,we’ll focus more on this one.
WHAT IS DUNAMIS ?
In the literal term of the word ‘dynamite’, it is a term used for something outstanding or very dangerous,it is an explosive. It also means ‘inherent powers’. These are powers that Congress and the president need in order to get the job done right.It is something that is permanent,stuck in something else so firmly that they can’t be separated,it is used to describe attributes that are part of the essential nature of something.
Dunamis is the miracle working power of God,it is the power that works miracles, the power that heals,that restores,that delivers and sets the captives free.(see luke1:35,Matthew 13:53-54,58,Luke 4:36). It was actually the DUNAMIS- that flowed out of Jesus that caused the healings(Mark5:30). Beloved that same dunamis is in you!yes you!
One might argue that the devil also has power, In Luke 10:19, Jesus gave us exousia over the dunamis of the devil, that’s what He says there,He gave us authority over the power of the devil, Amplified version says He didn’t just give us authority(exousia) but He also gave us the power,ability (dunamis) to exercise the authority(exousia)over the powers of the enemy!!!
The devil has power but he doesn’t have authority,Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him,the one you serve and love has all the authority in the universe and He has given it to you! Glory to God!
Then Jesus, armed with the Holy Spiritโs power, returned to Galilee, and his fame spread throughout the region. Luke 4:14 TPT
It was after Jesus was armed with the power(dunamis) of the Holyspirit that His ministry began,because this is the power that brings about the miracles needed to witness effectively. You cannot effectively witness to the lost without the wonder working power of the Holyspirit,if Jesus needed it,we definitely need it too, no wonder He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holyspirit before they went to witness…
Jesus was also anointed with the Holyspirit and dunamis and because of this He could go around healing, preaching and teaching.
2. Ability to pray effectively.
Before the Holyspirit came,the disciples asked Jesus, teach us how to pray(Matthew 6:8-13),but after the Holyspirit came upon them on the day of pentecost,they didn’t need anyone to teach them how to pray again,they began to pray effectively. Praise God!
And they were all filled [that is, diffused throughout their being] with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (different languages), as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out [clearly and appropriately]. Acts 2:4 AMP.
When the Holyspirit dwells in us, we are able to pray by speaking in other tongues, oh what a great benefit this is to us as believers, the benefit of praying in other tongues cannot be overemphasized, it is through this means that you can actually grow in your prayer life .
And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we donโt even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words. Romans 8:26 TPT
Most times we do not know how to pray or what to pray for,the Holyspirit helps us pray the mind of God for us.
But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit; Jude 1:20 AMPC
How do we make progress?How do we rise? By praying in the Holyspirit.
Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. James 5:16 AMPC
Tremendous power(DUNAMIS-)is released through the effective prayer of a believer and I believe that kind of prayer is best prayed in the Holyspirit.
“Everytime we pray as believers,we have easy access to tremendous power-dunamis that is already available to us.”
Most of us believers know that we have the same kind of power in us that Jesus had while on earth through the Holyspirit, but most times it’s like we can’t access it,we walk as mere men because we don’t walk in this power. I am certain that this dunamis kind of power is released in the place of prayer. I want to encourage us to spend ample time,many hours praying in the spirit daily,make this a daily practice,it will cause us to be able to access this kind of power freely.
I’ll like to leave us with this scripture today:
“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Ephesians6:18 NLT
Message translation says pray HARD AND LONG.
Conclusion.
As we read earlier in Acts2:4, everyone present on the day of pentecost began to speak in other tongues that day. So if you don’t pray in other tongues,wherever you are,I pray for you today that right now,you will open your mouth and begin to speak in other tongues as the Holyspirit begins to give you utterance. As a child of God,the Holyspirit is in you, receive this gift of speaking in tongues now,believe,open your mouth and begin to speak right now in Jesus name!Amen.
It’s so good to have you here again as we continue with our series: Holyspirit in the life of a believer; last week we learnt that Holyspirit is the Spirit of truth and He is the only one authorized by God to reveal truth to us .
Today,we’ll continue by looking at John14:16-18
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 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. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. John 14:16โญ-โฌ18 KJV
Here,we see that Jesus said that He will give us “another Comforter “that will abide with us forever. The word ‘another ‘ signifies that there was one before but now,there will be another๐ค,it literally means the Holyspirit has come to take the place of Christ with us as believers …hmmm, let me explain further because this is what the scripture is saying …
Jesus is saying here;look my disciples,I am going,I am going back to my father,but don’t be sad, instead be happy ,it is better for you that I go;when I was here in human flesh I could not be in Jerusalem and in Samaria at the same time ,when I was with Lazarus,I could not be with Mary(my mother) at the same time,I was limited in that aspect. Yes I know that I am your leader,teacher,Lord,Saviour,master,healer,provider and so much more, I know that while I was here the woman with the issue of blood could touch the hem of my garment and be made whole (Luke8:43-48), Yes I know all of that.. But please understand,as I go,you are not losing me, you are actually gaining me because another version of me is coming,another type of me is coming,He won’t only dwell with you as I did ,rather He will live in you!!He has come to stay with you for life, He won’t go away, He loves you too much to go,Everywhere you go,He will go with you because He is in you!!He will continually be present in you forever!!He does the same things I do,He loves the same things I love,He hates the same things I hate,He wants the same thing I want.He is literally me but in another form,we are of the same kind.
In the greek word “another comforter” here means “allos parakletos” which is being translated another of the same kind of comfoter. There is another greek word called “heteros” for another but this one means another of a different kind(see Romans7:23,Acts7:18,Matthew 11:3),it is no mistake that “allos” was used here to refer to “another of the same kind”.
Let’s proceed to verses 17 and 18,there is something I want us to see here ๐
Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive,because it seems Him not nor know Him; BUT you know Him!!Glory to God. The “know” here means “ginosko” in the greek word ,it is different from the”know” used in 1John2:20 and in John 16:30,here the “know” means “eido”. Few other scriptures where “ginosko”was used to mean “know”are :John17:3,Genesis4:1,1 John2:3-6, Philippians 3:10,Matt1:25,luke 8:46.
Now,what’s the difference between “ginosko”and “eido”? Eido is headknowledge, or the accumulation of facts and raw data but ginosko is heart knowledge,knowing with your intimate experience and by intimacy,it means to learn to know,understand and perceive,it’s the Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman,it’s the same ginosko used when Jesus said He perceived virtue had come out of Him,He didn’t read it in a book or hear someone say it,He knew it in His heart.
Similarly,that’s what Jesus is saying here,you “ginosko”Him,for He dwells with you…notice here it didn’t say will dwell with you,it’s not a future tense,it’s in present tense,He dwells with you but now will be in you ,this is what Jesus told His disciples. We can see that Jesus had been dwelling with His disciples all along;Therefore we can actually say that the same Jesus who dwelt with His disciples is the same Jesus living in us now in the person of the Holyspirit,another version of Jesus but the same kind as Jesus.
The same Jesus who dwelt with His disciples is the same Jesus living in us now as believers in the person of the Holyspirit,another version of Jesus but the same kind as Jesus.
That’s why verse 18 says I will not leave you comfortless,I will come to you, and indeed He has come to us,Jesus has come to us in the person of the Holyspirit,He is in you,He is in every believer!!
Conclusion.
As we come to a conclusion today, I want to emphasize on the fact that the Holyspirit is in you to stay forever,He is not leaving you so fear not. Beloved,you will not come to “know” the Holyspirit,I mean the know expected of us by Jesus Himself,that’s “ginosko” by reading this post,or just hearing about Him,or reading about Him,Yes you “know” Him,that’s “eido”Him but ginosko is only achieved by intimacy and experience , it’s of the heart,not the head. He is not someone you know once and that’s all,He is someone you learn to know continuously,you can get to know His heart,know His feelings,get to feel His presence,know what He likes and what He doesn’t like and ultimately get to know and recognize His voice.This is the kind of relationship Jesus wants to have with us,this is what the Holyspirit wants,this should be our desire as believers:To know Him who lives in us forever.
Please say this along with me,Holyspirit I love you,I want you,I need you,please help me know you,please help me know your heart,please help me know your ways,help me know your desires,help me know your presence,I love you more than anything in this world,I love you more than life itself.
Remember,we’ve been called to have a love relationship with the Holyspirit,it’s a love walk,are you ready to walk in this path?
Thank you๐ for joining us again as we continue to look at our series:The Holyspirit in the life of a believer. I am so certain we are being blessed and all Glory to God!
Our introductory text was from John 16:7
However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. John 16:7 AMPC
Today let’s begin by looking at John16:12-13.
I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or to grasp them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. John 16:12โญ-โฌ13 AMPC
Jesus clearly said to His disciples that He had many things to say to them but they could not bear it then,that means there were some things Jesus wanted to say to His disciples in the four gospels,but He didn’t because they could not handle it ,most probably because the Holyspirit had not yet been given. Then in the very next verse ,there is a “but”..but when He,the Spirit of truth(the truth-giving Spirit)comes,He will guide us into All TRUTH,let’s pause here first.
The Holyspirit is not only the Spirit of truth,He is the truth-giving Spirit,let’s notice that it’s in present continuous tense . HE is the Spirit that gives truth continuously to us . Now,what is TRUTH? “Truth” here is quite different from the word “true“. A Person might have been diagnosed of a terminal illness, that might be true,but is not the truth. The one who gives “truth”is the Holyspirit,isn’t that amazing! He is the truth-giving Spirit, He is the truth-giving Spirit,He is the truth-giving Spirit;let that sink down..
The only one who is authorized to give you the “truth” is the Holyspirit,no wonder Roman3:4a says:
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;
The “true” here is the same word used as “truth” in John16:13 and the same used of Jesus in John 14:6 when He said He is the way,”the truth” and the life.I am just trying to help us understand that what is “true” may be different from “truth”. Jesus is the word of God,Jesus is the truth, the word of God is the truth,BUT who gives you this word?who reveals Jesus to you?who gives you revelation of this truth? It is the Holyspirit, the Spirit of truth who gives us the truth,He is the truth-giving Spirit!
1 John2:20
But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. 1 John 2:20 NLT
You are not like those that know not the truth, why? The following words answer it…for the Holy one being God has given you His Spirit, and all of you, “ALL” not some, know the truth( you know all things as some other versions say), No lie ever comes from the truth. Amplified version goes further to explain that: All of you know the truth because He, the Holyspirit teaches us, illuminates our minds and guards us from error.
Most times, we fall into error as believers not because we didn’t know it was error,but because we refused to listen or have not been paying attention to the truth-giving Spirit.
I havenโt been writing this to tell you something you donโt know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesnโt breed lies. 1 John 2:21 MSG
Whenever you face a situation that does not correspond to the truth you know,let that situation be a lie,you rather speak “the truth”,pray “the truth” praise God! and you will see that issue correspond to “the truth”.
Let’s briefly continue with John16:13b
He wonโt speak on his own, but only what he hears from the Father, and he will reveal prophetically to you what is to come. John 16:13b TPT
This is not far-fetched from us as believers,it happens to us already, let’s please pay more attention to the ministry of the Holyspirit. The Holyspirit hears God speak in heaven and comes and tell you,imagine what a best friend we have ๐,what a best gift Jesus left with us ๐. He gives us revelation from the scriptures,shows us the secrets of the kingdom not known to mere men , He tells you about you, about God,about Jesus and also about the future and your own future…I don’t know about you,but that’s definitely the kind of best friend I want to have and that is the best friend we have – The Holyspirit.
As we end the blog of today, I’ll leave you with these words….
Engage the Holyspirit more in your everyday life,every second,every minute and every hour of your life and as you do, things will become more clear to you,you will not only hear Him speak but you will know when He speaks , you will recognize His voice ,all the “whys” you have will be answered. He is there with you right now,the fact that you can not see Him with your physical eyes does not mean He is unreal, He longs for you to speak with Him as He continually tells you “all truth” why don’t you just say something sweet to Him right now, where you are..He wants your fellowship,
Thank you for joining us in our first ever blog series. Today we will begin a series on “The Holyspirit in the life of a believer”..I am so excited๐as we begin this journey together and I am sure you will be blessed.
Our text for today will be from John 16:7
However, I am telling you nothing but truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. John 16:7 AMPC
Jesus said that it is to our own advantage that He goes away,because if He goes, He will send the Holyspirit to us, He refers to Him as the Spirit of truth(John16:13).Imagine Jesus, with all the miracles, signs and wonders that He did (Acts10:38) saying it is better for us as believers, that He goes away. He even urged His disciples in Acts1:4 not to leave Jerusalem, not to do anything including preaching the gospel “until” they received the promise of the father .
I believe what should be in the heart of every one reading this verse is “why” will Jesus say that , who is this “Spirit of truth ” that I should not do anything without Him?
Now let’s take a look at who the Holyspirit is and some of these advantages Jesus was talking about .The Greek meaning of the comforter Jesus mentioned in John16:7 means “parakletos”..it also gives the definition that the Holyspirit is destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles(after the ascension to the father ),to lead them to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth, and give them divine strength needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom.
Let’s take a look at the other names of the “Spirit of truth”
1. Comforter.
The Holyspirit comforts and consoles us as believers,praise God!We are not left in this world without a Comforter, that is why Matthew5:4 says, Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. The Greek word for “comforted” there is also “parakletos” the same word that means the Holyspirit in John16:7
2. Counsellor .
This is already one of the names of Jesus mentioned in Isaiah 9:6. It means to advise, give counsel and consult.Just imagine a specialist at the hospital who is called a consultant, He/she is the highest form of a doctor , and when you have an issue and you come to the hospital for the very first time, you go see a consultant, you tell him about what the problem is and he profers a solution for you. That is the same thing the Holyspirit does for us, you consult Him and he offers a solution for you to any problem.Praise God!
3. Helper.
I like this one๐. The Holyspirit helps you and I, He has been called to our aid, He doesn’t get the job done for you but He helps you get the Job done! Romans 8:26* He helps us pray right*.
4. Advocate/intercessor.
One who pleads another’s cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense,legal assistant of Christ in His exaltation at God’s right hand,pleading with God the father for the pardon of our sins. Romans 8:27
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:27 KJV
The greek word for intercession here is “entugchano“,the same used concerning Jesus in Hebrews7:25.
5. Strengthener.
The Holyspirit gives us strength;He is our divine encourager, whenever you feel weak,or you facing a difficult situation,remember to ask the Holyspirit for strength,we are not left alone! According to 2Corinthians 12:9; God’s strength is made “perfect”in our weakness, the strength there means Dunamis which is the same used in Acts1:8 for power. So when the Holyspirit lives in us, He constantly gives us Dunamis- the strength/power of God.
6. Standby.
Finally, the Holyspirit is our standby;He is waiting and ever ready to help us, but we have to ask Him for help, because He is a gentleman and will never intrude our privacy.
As we end today’s blog here, I want us to know that the most important person here on earth is the HOLYSPIRIT, He is the precious gift that Jesus has left here with us for our own benefit and He longs to have a sweet fellowship with us. No wonder when we say let’s “share the grace” this is what we say:
Now, may the grace and joyous favor of the Lord Jesus Christ, the unambiguous love of God, and the precious communion that we share in the Holy Spirit be yours continually. Amen! 2 Corinthians 13:14 TPT.
Souls.org 