Being filled with the Spirit.... is our infilling the same as the early church?

[Gideons300]

There has bee a whole lot of debate over the term "Spirit filled". It has divided more than united, and truth be told, some of the most error filled, fleshly, experience-heavy teachings, such as the prosperity doctrine, had their roots in the charismatic church. Ouch.

People have debated back and forth what the real evidence of the baptism with the Holy Spirit is. I like what Leonard Ravenhill said.

"Can you explain how 120 men filled with the Holy Spirit could turn the whole world in one generation, amidst terrible persecution, and in a large city, there can be 120 churches claiming they have the exact same infilling and the people there not know or even care that they are there?"

David Wilkerson said this. The evidence of a man filled with an evil spirit is that he or she does evil things. And conversely, a man filled with the Holy Spirit becomes more and more pure and holy. That is why we are to be known by our fruits, not our doctrines or what church we attend.

Please do not misunderstand. I am not picking on the Pentecostals and Charismatics. Truth is, I have been a Charismatic for over four decades. But let's face it, there is plenty of blame to go around. We all have been playing church in our own way, content that WE have the real truth. All that is about to change.

What is about to happen? It is called the latter rain. Most know that in the past 100 years, many have stated that their movement IS the latter rain. They are wrong. The real latter rain will not be denominational specific. It will not be doctrinal specific. It will not be city specific. It will be "Do you love Jesus and want Him more than anything?" specific. And all who do will be swept up from lives of dallying with sin, of worliness and compromise, of trying and failing, of three steps forward and two steps back, and find themselves extricated off the highway TO holiness and planted on the highway OF holiness. We are about to be amazed.

It is this that is referred to in the parable of the 10 virgins. In the last days, ALL will be awakened to the truth of FREE INDEED. But be warned, not all will respond and joyfully light their lamps. God has, since the early rain ended shortly after Paul's death, let the wheat and tares grow together. Welcome to today's church. Our lives are so shallow, so compromised, so.... shall I say it?... lukewarm, that the world sees our hypocrisy and wants nothing to do with us except make us the butt of their jokes and the reason they want nothing to do with God. Can we really blame them? Let's be honest, more often than not, by outer observation, you cannot tell wheat and tares apart.

But listen, weary saints. Change is coming. Listen, people who claim they are 'Spirit filled". You are about to have your minds 'enlightened', and joyfully. Listen, cessationists, you are about to eat crow, and enjoy the meal. God is fixing to awaken His bride and breath on her. And our lives will never be te same.

We are told in Ezekiel 36 that this latter outpouring will change everything. Are we impressed with the saints in the book of Acts and how God used them mightily? The latter rain fixing to be outpoured over us will cause us not only match the deeds of the eacly church, we will SURPASS them, glory to God. And the world will witness our transformation and they will exclaim:

"Look! That which bore only briars and thorns has become again like the garden of Eden!"

Impossible, you say? Oh ye of little faith. The world is about to witness the REAL church, and hear the FULL gospel, not a half gospel that gets us forgiven but has no power to change us, free us, and instead keeps us earth bound by sin so thst we cannot mount up with wings of eagles as overcomers.

Buckle your spiritual seatbelts, you who secretly hunger for more, you who intuitivly KNOW that our walk with God was meant to be far more than weekly church attendance, 500 denomination at varience with one another, and struggling to keep our heads above water the other six days of the week.

Truth be told, there will be many who hear words like these and roll their eyes and scoff, and STILL, despite sin-hardened hearts, despite their contentment with things just as they are, our faithful God will nevertheles awaken all who are called, lift us up, center us on His glorious potter's wheel and begin truly changing us into His image.

For these, their brokenness, their full repentance, their fully surrendering will come AFTER their awakening, and God says thst it is then thst try will finally be ashamed for the compromised lives they lived, for the lack of hunger they possessed, for refusing to believe that our God can indeed CAUSE US to walk as obedient children, to will AND to do of His good pleasure.

We are told that the joy of the Lord is our strength. We are about to discover how true that really is. How desperately the world needs to see real authentic JOYFUL Christianity in action. How desperately do we need to hear again men lost in the world observe us as His body and exclaim "Behold how they love one another!".

Well guess what? The raindrops are beginning to fall. The clouds are gathering. We are about to become the blessed generation that ushers in the return of our Jesus. It doesn't get any better than that, amen?

Blessings, Gids

 

[Solomons Porch]

Let it rain down from heaven
Let His mercies fall from heaven

Looking forward to His rain

 

[Biblicist]

Hi Gids, as the Latter Rain began on the Day of Pentecost how do you equate what you have said with this?

 

[Gideons300]

Hi Gids, as the Latter Rain began on the Day of Pentecost how do you equate what you have said with this?

Hey Bibs, good to see you again.

James talks of the early and the latter rain. They were the beneficiaries of the early rain, but as foretold to Paul, after his death, grievous wolves came in wearings sheeps clothing, and as a result, the church slowly became a man run institution rather than the spiritual dynamo called the church.

For almost two thousand years, the church has survived, but never thrived. Oh, we recieved an occasional mercy drop from Heaven to keep it from dying out altogether, but we have never regained what the church once had.

We think as Charismatics or Pentecostals we have exactly what the early disciples possessed, but we are wrong. The difference is that in the early church, the Holy Spirit possessed them as well.

The parable of the ten virgins is significant here. After a long sleep, a sleep where ALL the virgins slept, a re-awakening would occur, and the wheat and tares that have grown together so intertwined that they could not be seperated without hurting the wheat, thry will indeed be separated.

And what will separate them? What will happen that will clearly mark who truly is called and who is not? The true sheep will hear His voice, truly comprehend the truth of who they are.... new creatures freed from the power of sin, and light their lamps.

Do we not see? We have so concentrated our minds on the great falling away that we have missed it. To fall away, at one time they must have NOT have fallen. This falling away in the last days is not talking of those in the world, where evil men are most definitely waxing worse and worse.

No, Bibs, this is referring to what is going to happen IN the church, when we all are awakened, five of the ten virgins would not light their lamps. Instead, they choose to hold onto their religion called Christianity. They will continue to draw near Him with their lips, but their hearts will remain far from Him. They will continue to have a form of godliness, but deny the power of it.

When told that God has liberated them from their old nature, they will simply refuse to believe it. They will be standing first in line for forgiveness for the sins they continue to commit, but when told that they have been delivered from their old nature and owe their flesh NOTHING, that they have been liberated from not only the guilt of sin but the very power of it, they will choose to NOT lose their lives.

When presented with the truth that will set them free from self rule, free from the power of the world, the flesh and the devil, free from the power of sin still ruling over them, they will choose to NOT believe what the scriptures plainly tell them. And it is that point that will define them as tares and not wheat at all. That is the great falling away, and it soon will be upon us.

Conversely, the wheat.... the five virgins truly called to inherit all things.... they will respond once the blinders of sleep will have been removed. They will, in their newly awakened states, receive with joy what God offers them, a life of overcoming victory with the devil and his lies under their feet. And with that, the latter rain will begin.

No, dear brother, right now we are on the cusp of the great revival, one that will totally redefine what the word revival really means. We will, as Joel prophesied in the last days, see men and women in the true church awake from the dead and clothe themselves with Christ. We are about to learn how to walk as new natured men. We are about to learn the secret of WALKING in the Spirit. We arecabout to understand the difference between walking towards holiness and never arriving, and walking ON the highway of holiness.

And what is the immediate benefit of this to us, besides overwhelming joy? Exactly as God has promised us.

"Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh."

Praise God, sin is about to become exceeding sinful to us. No more will we think grace assures us that God is just winking at our sins, while He is preparing slaughter for those who do the same things but have not uttered their one time prayer.

Finally, since the time of the early church, we will be possessed by the grace of God that actually teaches us the HOW of denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and cause us, just as He promised to to, to CAUSE US to walk as obedient, victorious children. It is called the latter rain, and glory to God, it will not only match the former rain, it will EXCEED it!

Blessings to you dear friend.

Gideon

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Bruce!!!

GR888888 to see you around my friend!

And I say a healthy amen to you sir! I have asked many times, often with much hostility returned to me, how is it that people can say they are Spirit Filled and destroy other believers, or be greedy for gain, etc. how is it that we can say the Spirit of the Eternal God lives within us when we have no holiness to speak of? When our excuse for sin is "that we are just human after all"?

God says be ye Holy for I AM Holy! His Spirit is within us to lead us to that end!

For by one sacrifice he has FOREVER PERFECTED those who are being sanctified... ARE BEING sanctified.

We must walk with the Spirit to see that process reach its conclusion which only happens at the resurrection, but there are progressing levels of it here and now.

John wrote, I write to you that you may not sin. Not that you sin less or that your sins are less evil, but that you sin NOT! This is a hard message but it is the message!

God has called me out of darkness! Why do I insist on staying there? Why do I act like God is strong enough to save a poor wretch like me and yet is not strong enough to keep me from the very thing he saved me from?

Oh God open our eyes! Open our hearts! May we hate sin with the passion with which you hate sin! May we walk in your precious Spirit in the grace you provide!

God is coming! We will all experience his presence in a way that has never before been seen! But with that anointing will come persecution such as the church has never seen. I pray we are ready for it!

Lord bring the rain!

 

[Alithis]

Latter rain: the term used today seems to have a very different meaning to how I heard it as a kid.

But still..the call for the slumbering to awaken has been there all my life.
But it Simply ..,as it has been in every generation , requires death to self and obedience with /to the holy spirit.
This has never changed .

While I have observed some waiting for a magical happening that will suddenly make them a super Christian doing mighty exploits. (and waited myself for 30 off years)
I also discovered the Lord Jesus Already gave us the great commission and the foundation's and the exceedingly great power to follow his instructions.(it is a spiritual unbelief of this fact that results in inaction. Causing hearers of the word to not actually Go and Do the word.and Jesus said such a stance is a stance of self deception)

And in each generation there are a number that rise up and do so .

While those that sit and wait for autopilot to kickin ..remain sitting and sleeping.(they are the foolish virgins and no they do not get saved ..they perish)

Faith is the action you take when you truly believe.

.......
In the 2nd version of the latter rain teachings..that's a whole other story !and I don't adhere to it at all..there is not going to be Some heaven on earth type kingdom set up for our Lord Jesus to return to but rather a time of unprecedented upheaval with multitudes in the valley of decision ..the final harvest.it has already begun and workers are needed in it.

“Lord Jesus I pray send out workers into the harvest for it is Great and the workers are few.”
Drive them out to the fields Lord . Amen .


I read some where that a literal translation can be worded as “pray the Lord of the harvest forcefully Thrust workers OUT into the fields. ”

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Faith is the action you take when you truly believe.

I don't buy this. Faith is action I agree in that. But the action of faith is obedience. Demons believe in God and tremble, but they don't have faith and they certainly don't obey.

Case in point is this. Paul was converted around the year 35 AD. Give or take a year either direction. His first missionary journey did not occur until almost 12 years later in 47 AD. Paul believed that whole time and he had the commission from Jesus to go since the day he laid on the road to Damascus but he waited. Because that was what Christ wanted for him. He was obedient in all things.

I plan on doing a separate thread about this later and certainly don't want to distract from gids thread here so I will comment no further on this topic here.

 

[Alithis]

I don't buy this. Faith is action I agree in that. But the action of faith is obedience. Demons believe in God and tremble, but they don't have faith and they certainly don't obey.

Case in point is this. Paul was converted around the year 35 AD. Give or take a year either direction. His first missionary journey did not occur until almost 12 years later in 47 AD. Paul believed that whole time and he had the commission from Jesus to go since the day he laid on the road to Damascus but he waited. Because that was what Christ wanted for him. He was obedient in all things.

I plan on doing a separate thread about this later and certainly don't want to distract from gids thread here so I will comment no further on this topic here.

One problem .
If what you say of Paul were correct.(and it's not Fully correct because we see he immediately begins to obey what he knows to do )
Your still doing that one thing we must be very cautious of doing..your taking one person's instance ,a singular exception (though there is no great exception) and building a doctrine on it. And that is never a good way to approach it.
Did the thousands being added to the congregations do as Paul did ?no..that is why the Gospel was spreading so quickly.all were testifying of the Lord Jesus as soon as they experienced the reality of him .
And Paul was called to a specific mission after preaching the gospel with signs and wonders right where he was.
As should we.
Of all the many doing so the holy spirit said separate into me Paul and soles for the work I have for them to do..

And that work was no different than what all the believers were already engaged in . healing the sick preaching the gospel driving out devil's baptizing people in Jesus name and making more disciples. The only difference was WHERE he was calling Paul to do so.

 

[Alithis]

Being filled with the Spirit.... is our infilling the same as the early church?

Of course it is. If it is not then We are not saved.
But just as the early church ,we can become like any of the churches of revelations..through self excusing inaction .
If we observe some of the error they slipped into then it's easy to see that it's not the holy spirit in us which causes us to lack .but always Our lack of obedient response to him.

 

[Gideons300]

Bruce!!!

GR888888 to see you around my friend!

And I say a healthy amen to you sir! I have asked many times, often with much hostility returned to me, how is it that people can say they are Spirit Filled and destroy other believers, or be greedy for gain, etc. how is it that we can say the Spirit of the Eternal God lives within us when we have no holiness to speak of? When our excuse for sin is "that we are just human after all"?

God says be ye Holy for I AM Holy! His Spirit is within us to lead us to that end!

For by one sacrifice he has FOREVER PERFECTED those who are being sanctified... ARE BEING sanctified.

We must walk with the Spirit to see that process reach its conclusion which only happens at the resurrection, but there are progressing levels of it here and now.

John wrote, I write to you that you may not sin. Not that you sin less or that your sins are less evil, but that you sin NOT! This is a hard message but it is the message!

God has called me out of darkness! Why do I insist on staying there? Why do I act like God is strong enough to save a poor wretch like me and yet is not strong enough to keep me from the very thing he saved me from?

Oh God open our eyes! Open our hearts! May we hate sin with the passion with which you hate sin! May we walk in your precious Spirit in the grace you provide!

God is coming! We will all experience his presence in a way that has never before been seen! But with that anointing will come persecution such as the church has never seen. I pray we are ready for it!

Lord bring the rain!

Hello my dear friend. We have not had many opportunities to talk lately, so this is a real pleasure.

Jesus told us that we would be known by our fruits..... the things that miraculously sprout out of us as we walk by faith in our new nature. We would not be known by what we say we believe, or what experience we have had, or whether or not we raise our hands in praise. We would not be known by speaking in tongues. We would be known to have been filled with His Spirit when love replaced selfishness, when God caused self-control allowed us to possess our vessels in sanctification and honor, with sin reigning over us any longer.

When the Spirit was outpored in the book of Acts, their lives were forever changed, and the world sat up and took notice. Their entire mindset went from self and nice religious actions in THIS life to that of heavenly minded men on a mission.

Sadly, today, we have convinced ourselves we have the exact same thing but our zeal, our joy, our victory our single mindedness.... these all pale in comparison. In the early church, Christians were accused of turning the whole world upside down. And yet today? Any honest heart would have to admit that we may talk a good game but the truth is that we are far from world changers. In the book of acts, men would exclaim in disbelief... "Behold how they love one another!". Hmmmm. Are we finally beginning to see the disconnect?

Today, with 500+ denominations, each convinced they have the REAL truth, and with the ecumenical movement failing miserably, if we are honest, we have to admit that the world looks on us as simply hypocrites. Yet when confronted with our lack of fruitfulness, or our double mindedness, our lukewarmness or with the sins we still occasionally yield to when we feel "led", we claim we have a higher revelation of grace and that God forgives us even if we don't repent, so why sweat it? Guys, we are about to be awakened, but for many it will be a rude one.

People in church talk much of the coming great falling away. They see nothing in scripture that foretells of a true latter day rain where the word "revival" will be re-defined. What they miss is that the falling away is simply the natural separation of the religious tares from the wheat that has finally truly been filled with the Spirit.

The fence we have all been trying to balance on, with one foot in the world and the other waitng for the bus to heaven, is about to be shaken. The true called children of God are even now beginning to be awakened and shown how to light their lamps. And the result? To their delight and amazement, they will see themselves being planted on the highway OF holiness, after wearily failing for decades trudging on the highway TO it. The promise of an obedient heart is about to be re-discovered.

Free indeed is coming. Like REAL free indeed. Not play-like victory. Real overcoming of all the things that previously had overcome us, saints rising up with wings as eagles. Ready to fly?

And as the cobwebs of unbelief begin to be cleared from our lukewarm hearts, we, of all people will be most amazed to see ourselves actually "walk in the Spirit" with the old man having been, by faith, put off and reckoned dead. And what has our wonderful Father promised us when we walk in the Spirit? Is it notsurely that we will NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh? Praise God, indeed it is. Praise God, praise God, praise God!

There is a fork in the road upcoming. Status quo "Sunday-go-to-church" christianity is about to meet the real deal, and our lives, and yes, our churches, will soon not even resemble what we have accepted as God's best all these years.

God is about to introduce us to the second half of the gospel, the part where He actually causes us.... yes, causes us..... to walk in true obedience. Our minds can scarce take it in. Thank God, it is our hearts, and not our minds, that will be opened up to this latter day awakening.

Buckle your spiritual seatbelts, brothers and sisters. God has something far beyond what we have even imagined. All He wants is for us to believe it. And who are those among us who will believe such a thing? Those who realize that without new obedient natures, pleasing God is not only difficult, it is flat out impossible.

Brother, you have been a blessing to me for years here now. Thank you for your postings. May God bless you and your family.

Gideon

 

[Gideons300]

Latter rain: the term used today seems to have a very different meaning to how I heard it as a kid.

But still..the call for the slumbering to awaken has been there all my life.
But it Simply ..,as it has been in every generation , requires death to self and obedience with /to the holy spirit.
This has never changed .

While I have observed some waiting for a magical happening that will suddenly make them a super Christian doing mighty exploits. (and waited myself for 30 off years)
I also discovered the Lord Jesus Already gave us the great commission and the foundation's and the exceedingly great power to follow his instructions.(it is a spiritual unbelief of this fact that results in inaction. Causing hearers of the word to not actually Go and Do the word.and Jesus said such a stance is a stance of self deception)

And in each generation there are a number that rise up and do so .

While those that sit and wait for autopilot to kickin ..remain sitting and sleeping.(they are the foolish virgins and no they do not get saved ..they perish)

Faith is the action you take when you truly believe.

.......
In the 2nd version of the latter rain teachings..that's a whole other story !and I don't adhere to it at all..there is not going to be Some heaven on earth type kingdom set up for our Lord Jesus to return to but rather a time of unprecedented upheaval with multitudes in the valley of decision ..the final harvest.it has already begun and workers are needed in it.

“Lord Jesus I pray send out workers into the harvest for it is Great and the workers are few.”
Drive them out to the fields Lord . Amen .


I read some where that a literal translation can be worded as “pray the Lord of the harvest forcefully Thrust workers OUT into the fields. ”

Michael, what most of the modern day church has overlooked or been ignorant of is that the death to self that you mention is far more than a requirement. It is a promise. It is a yoke, but it is an easy joyful one. Obedience was the cornerstone of the old covenant, was it not? But the law is a hard task master, and its real purpose was never to get us to obey. It was to open our eyes to the fact that our old nature could never fully obey.

Sadly, most of the Christian world still has their understanding darkened about the full blessing of our new covenant. Yes, there is forgiveness IF (not when) we slip into sin, but we have missed the truth that by God indwelling us as the new man, with the old us reckoned dead, obedience is to us is now not just 'a requirement, it is a clear promise, glory to God. That is why in Ezekiel 36, God tells us that when He fully indwells us, Hwill actually cause us to will AND to do of His good pleasure.

Positionally, all true Christians qre new creatures. However, with a veil still over our understanding, most are still walking as men in the flesh, and thus, because this great truth is not coupled with faith on our parts, we are left in Romans 7' wanting to do God"s will, but finding to our dismay that true obedience in all things is simply impossible.

With these facts firmly in mind, to tell someone who is trying to serve God in their fleshly old nature that unless they go witness and heal, they are not saved, one is in essence putting an even heavier burden on rheir already weary shoulders.... condemnation.

Do we think such a one will be an effective witness, when he goes out into the world doing his "duty"? God is not a hard task master. He does not seek to reap if He has first not sown. He does not ask us to make bricks, and yet deprive us of straw, one of the essential ingredients, asPharoah did to the Israelites in captivity.

The day is coming that the church will indeed stand up and BE witnesses. Once men and women are by faith established in the truth that we truly are new creatures, and that if Christ dwells in us, then we are no longer in the flesh and owe it NOTHING, we will see the saints joyfully share the hope that now resides in them, causing them to obey in all things.

But we must be careful to remember that the first step is getting our shields of faith up, not trying to obey a revised list of rules to prove that we are real Christians.

The ultimate obedienceis this. Believe our God even when what He tells is seems impossible. The rest will take care of itself, once we are truly rooted and grounded in the truth that it is no longer us that live, but Christ who now lives in us.

Blessings,

Gideon

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Hello my dear friend. We have not had many opportunities to talk lately, so this is a real pleasure.

Jesus told us that we would be known by our fruits..... the things that miraculously sprout out of us as we walk by faith in our new nature. We would not be known by what we say we believe, or what experience we have had, or whether or not we raise our hands in praise. We would not be known by speaking in tongues. We would be known to have been filled with His Spirit when love replaced selfishness, when God caused self-control allowed us to possess our vessels in sanctification and honor, with sin reigning over us any longer.

When the Spirit was outpored in the book of Acts, their lives were forever changed, and the world sat up and took notice. Their entire mindset went from self and nice religious actions in THIS life to that of heavenly minded men on a mission.

Sadly, today, we have convinced ourselves we have the exact same thing but our zeal, our joy, our victory our single mindedness.... these all pale in comparison. In the early church, Christians were accused of turning the whole world upside down. And yet today? Any honest heart would have to admit that we talk a good game but are far from world changers.

In the book of acts, men would exclaim in disbelief... "Behold how they love one another!"

Today, with 500+ denominations, each convinced they have the REAL truth, and with the ecumenical movement failing miserably, if we are honest, we have to admit that the world looks on us as simply hypocrites, and when confronted with our lack of fruitfulness, or our double mindedness, or with the sins we still occasionally yield to, we claim we have a higher revelation of grace and that God forgives us even if we don't repent, so why sweat it?

People talk much of the coming great falling away. They see nothing in scripture that foretells of a true latter day rain where te word "revival" will be re-defined. What they miss is that the falling away is simply the separation of the tares.

The fence we have all been trying to balance on, one foot in the world and the other waitng for the bus to heaven, is about to be shaken. The true called children of God are being awakened and shown how to light their lamps, and in doing so, to their delght and amazement, they will see themselves being planted on the highway OF holiness, after wearily failing for decades trudging on the highway TO it.

Free indeed is coming. Like REAL free indeed. Not play like victory. Real overcoming of all the things that previously had overcome us, saints rising up with wings as eagles. Ready to fly?

And as the cobwebs of unbelief begin to be cleared from our lukewarm hearts, of all people, we will be most amazed to see ourselves actually "walk in the Spirit" with the old man having been, by faith, put off and reckoned dead. And what has our wonderful Father promised us when we walk in the Spirit? We will NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Praise God, praise God, praise God!

There is a fork in the road upcoming. Status quo "Sunday-go-to-church" christianity is about to meet the real deal, and our lives, and yes, our churches, will soon not even resemble what we have accepted as God's best all these years.

God is about to introduce us to the second half of the gospel, the part where He actually causes us.... yes, causes us..... to walk in true obedience. Our minds can scarce take it in. Thank God, it is our hearts, and not our minds, that will be opened up to this latter day awakening.

Buckle your spiritual seatbelts, brothers and sisters. God has something far beyond what we have even imagined. All He wants is for us to believe it.

Brother, you have been a blessing to me for years here now. Thank you for your postings. May God bless you and your family.

Gideon

Oh how I pray for this!!!

 

[Alithis]

Michael, what most of the modern day church has overlooked or been ignorant of is that the death to self that you mention is far more than a requirement. It is a promise. It is a yoke, but it is an easy joyful one. Obedience was the cornerstone of the old covenant, was it not? But the law is a hard task master, and its real purpose was never to get us to obey. It was to open our eyes to the fact that our old nature could never fully obey.

Sadly, most of the Christian world still has their understanding darkened about the full blessing of our new covenant. Yes, there is forgiveness IF (not when) we slip into sin, but we have missed the truth that by God indwelling us as the new man, with the old us reckoned dead, obedience is to us is now not just 'a requirement, it is a clear promise, glory to God. That is why in Ezekiel 36, God tells us that when He fully indwells us, Hwill actually cause us to will AND to do of His good pleasure.

Positionally, all true Christians qre new creatures. However, with a veil still over our understanding, most are still walking as men in the flesh, and thus, because this great truth is not coupled with faith on our parts, we are left in Romans 7' wanting to do God"s will, but finding to our dismay that true obedience in all things is simply impossible.

With these facts firmly in mind, to tell someone who is trying to serve God in their fleshly old nature that unless they go witness and heal, they are not saved, one is in essence putting an even heavier burden on rheir already weary shoulders.... condemnation.

Do we think such a one will be an effective witness, when he goes out into the world doing his "duty"? God is not a hard task master. He does not seek to reap if He has first not sown. He does not ask us to make bricks, and yet deprive us of straw, one of the essential ingredients, asPharoah did to the Israelites in captivity.

The day is coming that the church will indeed stand up and BE witnesses. Once men and women are by faith established in the truth that we truly are new creatures, and that if Christ dwells in us, then we are no longer in the flesh and owe it NOTHING, we will see the saints joyfully share the hope that now resides in them, causing them to obey in all things.

But we must be careful to remember that the first step is getting our shields of faith up, not trying to obey a revised list of rules to prove that we are real Christians.

The ultimate obedienceis this. Believe our God even when what He tells is seems impossible. The rest will take care of itself, once we are truly rooted and grounded in the truth that it is no longer us that live, but Christ who now lives in us.

Blessings,

Gideon

Reckon “yourselves“ to be dead into sin...
Yes..because of what the Lord Jesus has already done..the responsibility of the obedience of faith is on us .
The proverbial ball lays at our feet not God's.

 

[hislegacy]

Acts 11:15

The Latter rain fell in the upper room and continues to fall.

We are not waiting on God, He is waiting on us.

 

[Alithis]

Acts 11:15

The Latter rain fell in the upper room and continues to fall.

We are not waiting on God, He is waiting on us.

Generally speaking .I agree

 

[ByTheSpirit]

I can do nothing on my own initiative! ~ Jesus (John 5:30)

 

[hislegacy]

Let me see if I can explain it this way. In my house my youngest son is commission to cut the grass I don't weekly basis. He has access to the lawnmower gas and I have supplied him with everything he needs to complete that commission.

I have quite plainly stated that my will is for him to go and cut the lawn. If he sits around and waits for me to ask him again I'm not blessed by that in fact I get a little aggravated that I have to ask him to do what I've already commission him to do.

It's the same with the great commission. God has already spoken his will and giving us the tools and everything that we need to go and complete the great commission yet how many people are sitting around waiting to hear God and when they should go.

Have you ever just acted on what's already been spoken and commanded if they receive you even one person if they don't kick the dust off your feet and keep moving

 

[hislegacy]

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

 

[ByTheSpirit]

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Yes, but look at this:

“Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭6:3-4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

A few things stand out immediately

1. That people had the Holy Spirit and were not "in ministry" as ministry is being presented here by some.
2. That they were WAITING on the Holy Spirit to send them even after being filled by him
3. That their ministry would not be the "ministry of the word", that was left to the Apostles, but rather "waiting on tables".

So just because you have the Holy Spirit doesn't mean you have authorization to just run out and do. God still wants you to wait!

Think in terms of an army at war. Everyone knows the command is to attack but where? You cannot just go attacking aimlessly. You need to wait for specific orders. If you go before orders have come you may go without needed supplies. Sure you have been trained and equipped for battle, but there may still be supplies that are needed to sustain and magnify your advantage over the enemy. You must wait until the commander gives you your orders.

 

[hislegacy]

They were choosing deacons.

Did you miss that?