Tune and Prepare!

The Holy Spirit and the words of the Lord Jesus The Holy Spirit is closely identified with the words of the Lord Jesus. “It is the Spirit who gives life; (quickens); the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” John 6:63 The Gospel proclamation can not be divorced from the Holy Spirit. Unless He attend the word in power, vain will be the attempt in preaching it. Human eloquence or persua­siveness of speech are the mere trappings of the dead, if the living Spirit be absent; the prophet may preach to the bones in the valley, (Ezekiel 37:1-6) but it must be the Breath from Heaven which will cause the slain to live. In the third chapter of the First Epistle of Peter, it reads, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive (quickened) in/by the spirit.” 1Peter 3:18 Here we see that Christ was raised up from the grave by ...

Secret of Efficiency I can not help but believe there are many Christians who want to be more efficient in the Lord’s service, and the object of this book is to take up this subject of the Holy Spirit, that they may see from whom to expect this power. In the teaching of Christ, we find the last words recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, the 28th chapter and 19th verse, “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.” Matthew 28:19 Here we find that the Holy Spirit and the Son are equal with the Father—are one with Him, “teaching them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Christ was now handing His commission over to His Apostles. He was going to leave them. His work on earth was finished, and He was now just about ready to take His seat at the right hand of God, and He spoke unto them and said: “All authority/power in heaven and on earth has been given to me” Mat...

Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain. In vain you get up early and stay up late, working hard to have enough food — yes, He gives sleep to the one He loves. Psalm 127:1-2 …we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. 1Cor 2:12

{Rebuilding the respect and authority of the Holy Spirit in your life} (a rude, shaking calling, because sometimes we need that) Dear Reader! Honoring the Holy Spirit does not necessarily mean that we missed the focus of Christ! We do not praise or worship anyone but the Father and Christ. We don't rejoice or worship anyone else or anything else in our blessed new status in Christ! But He, the Lord himself gave the Mighty Spirit for us. Has our relationship with God changed throughout history? Yes. We, humans had tribes, we had nation builder heroes, we had covenants. Then He the Mighty visited Abraham. Then He has built a chosen nation. Then He sent the Promised Son. Has our relationship in Christ changed throughout history? Not. He didn’t withdraw his mercy and gift. He didn't change our intimate relationship in the family. He did not renounce his power as Lord of the universe, nor the supreme authority above us and the visible authori...

by Emeka Maddy I want to talk to you about something important, it’s something that you receive at least once a year, Some people get more than others; it can only be given and never taken away. Do you know what it is yet? It’s a Gift. We give gifts.. We as people tend to give gifts on special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, dinner parties, but WHY? Some would say because it’s customary. (Because you’re supposed to do it or it nice). Underlying this custom, we find the true purpose for gift giving and that’s to evoke feelings of appreciation, respect and love. We give people gifts to show them that we are grateful for them and value the role they play in our lives. ..and God gives gifts This is precisely how God treats us; he showers us with gifts, not for what we do but who we are in relation to Him. Our relationship with God and gifts mirrors what you’ll find between a healthy mother feeding her newborn. The helpless baby knows it will ge...

The * natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are a folly to him, and b he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The c spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. d “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But e we have the mind of Christ. 1Cor 2:14-16 ESV Notes: * psychicos person: It's not simply a "natural" person or "unbeliver" person. When speaking of the inner person, Paul uses the word: psychikos (soulish, 'visible-things-driven', 'emo-driven' or 'fleshly' minds and hearts) for the old character. Meanwhile he uses the word: pneumatikos (spiritual, spirit - driven) for the rescued. This helps us to see what Paul is writing here, in 1Cor 2:14-16 and in 1Cor 15:44. Other correspondent verses: a 1Cor 1:18 b Rom. 8:7 c 1Cor 3:1; 14:37; Gal. 6:1; see: Prov. 28:5 d Cited fro...

There was a time in my life when I rejected, both externally and internally, everything as "useless", such as spiritual gifts, etc. Such (testimony) writings will only impart profound blessings to us if we read them in a spirit of repentance and confess our own sloth and poverty. Then we cannot put them down without asking and pleading with all our hearts, Lord, fill me also with the Holy Spirit and fire! Yes, then it will be great and important, even holy, what is written on the banner of the Salvation Army: 'Blood and Fire'. We need the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit if we do not want our lives to be poor, to be empty and fruitless. Without the blood of Jesus, there is no forgiveness, no healing (Isa.53:5) Without the Holy Spirit, there is no power, no empowerment (Acts.1:7-8) Emil Nigg

rethink ...that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.. Gal. 3:14 The promise of the Spirit is equated with the blessing of Abraham, even though the Old Testament passage does not mention the Spirit. Since the “blessing of Abraham” came in the form of a “promise,” this word is the one Paul uses throughout the argument of Galatians 3:13-14 to refer to the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant. In a statement crucial to this argument, Paul says the fulfillment of this promised blessing for the Gentiles is in their having experienced the Spirit as a living and dynamic reality. The blessing of Abraham, therefore, is not simply “justification by faith.” Rather, it refers to the life of the future now available to Jew and Gentile alike, achieved through the death of Christ but applied through the dynamic ministry of the Spirit—and all of this by faith.’ The full article is here

This article is part of the "Vitalize" pack Reuben A. Torrey: "How to Obtain Fulness of Power For Christian life?" Chapter 3 — The Power of the Holy Spirit sample, part I "Power belongeth unto God." Ps 62 Intro The Holy Spirit is the person who imparts to the individual believer the power that belongs to God. This is the Holy Spirit's work in the believer, to take what belongs to God and make it ours. All the manifold power of God belongs to the children of God as their birthright in Christ, "All things are yours." (1 Cor. 3:21) But all that belongs to us as our birthright in Christ becomes ours in actual and experimental possession through the Holy Spirit's work in us as individuals. To the extent that we understand and claim for ourselves the Holy Spirit's work, to that extent do we obtain for ourselves the fulness of power in Christian life and service that God has provided for us in Christ. A very la...

This article is part of the "Vitalize" pack Reuben A. Torrey: "How to Obtain Fulness of Power For Christian life?" Chapter 3 — The Power of the Holy Spirit sample, part II "Power belongeth unto God." Ps 62 8. Further down in the chapter there is a new thought. Rom. 8:16: "The Spirit [himself] beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God." The Holy Spirit bears witness with the spirit of the believer that he is a child of God. Note that Paul does not say that the Spirit bears witness to our spirit, but with it— "together with our spirit," is the exact force of the words used. That is, there are two who bear witness to our sonship: First, our spirit bears witness that we are children of God; second, the Holy Spirit bears witness together with our spirit that we are children of God. How does the Holy Spirit bear His testimony to this fact? Gal. 4:6 answers this question: "Because ...

... I went for a short walk one afternoon. As I wanted to praise and pray on the way, I made my way towards the nearby forest and thought I'd take the narrow road to Interlaken. When I reached the fork in the road, I felt something strange. It was as if the trap had closed after a while. So I turned back and continued in the opposite direction, towards the village. After a few minutes, the road continued past a garden where an old woman was working. I had to call her. After a few words over the fence, the old woman asked me to come in. Inside, I was quite moved when she told me that she had asked the Lord in her morning prayer: Send me your delegate today! And He did! After discussion and prayer with her, I continued my journey with a joyful heart, thankful that I had heeded that gentle warning in the forest. When I first told this experience somewhere, I had to add: "The Savior does not open with a squeak, does not close with a clang!" It takes a subtl...

... Valamelyik délután kisebb sétát tettem. Mivel útközben dicsőíteni és imádkozni akartam, a közeli erdő felé vettem utamat és úgy gondoltam rátérek az Interlaken felé vezető keskeny útra. Midőn az elágazáshoz értem, valami különöset éreztem. Olyan volt, mintha a csapás egy idő után bezáródott volna. Így hát visszafordultam, és az ellenkező irányban meneteltem tovább, a falu felé. Percek múlva az út egy kert mellett vezetett tovább, melyben egy öregasszony dolgozott. Meg kellett szólítanom. Néhány a kerítésen át váltott szó után az öregasszony megkért, hogy jöjjek be. Bent egészen meghatottan mondta, hogy a reggeli imájában így kérte az Urat: Küldd el nekem még ma az egyik küldöttedet! És Ő megtette! Beszélgetés és imádkozás után örvendező szívvel folytattam utamat, hálásan azért, hogy eleget tettem annak a halk figyelmeztetésnek az erdőben. Midőn ezt az élmény először valahol elmeséltem, hozzá kellett tegyem: "Az Üdvözítő nem úgy nyit, hogy recsegjen, nem zár ú...

"Authority", Fennhatóság Martyn Lloyd-Jones Egyedül a Szent Szellem az, aki végül is megingathatatlan bizonyosságot adhat nekünk az üdvösségről. Az üdvösség bizonyosságának témája nagyon fontos és úgy tűnik nekem, hogy nagyon gyakran félreértik. Három fő módja van annak, ahogyan a bizonyosság eljut hozzánk, de napjainkban sajnos gyakran csak az elsőt hangsúlyozzák. Az első az, amit úgy kapunk, hogy hisszük és magunkra alkalmazzuk a Szentírás puszta szavát, mint Isten hiteles szavát. Azt mondja nekünk, hogy "aki hisz benne, nem kárhozik el" , Ott van Isten szava, hisszük és támaszkodunk rá. Ez azonban csak az első út, amelyen a bizonyosság eljuthat hozzánk. Sőt, ez önmagában néha veszélyes lehet. Ez lehet egyfajta "hitélet" {believism: "hit elvűség"}. Az ember a saját lelki békéje és céljai érdekében mondhatja ezt. Ezt elfogadjuk, de önmagában ez nem elég. Szükségünk van még valamire, ami a bizonyosság második alapja. János els...

(From the testimonies of Emil Nigg's life.)    - "Colonel, I have the impression that your love for Jesus Christ was much deeper than ours." Was this the case at the beginning of your career?  - I have nothing to add to this. I may have needed the Savior more than others. At the beginning of my Salvation Army officer career, I had a foreman who became my role model. Even now, I see him, praying very seriously, leaning on his knees. His prayers and his love for Jesus had a great impact on me, the beginner. On our simple meals, a third chair was also set up, as a symbol, for Him Who We Worshiped: "Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest!" The flowers on the table were also in His honor.  -"Has your faith been so humble, so childlike, and perfect from the beginning?"  - No, because I also tried to achieve things on my own, even the closeness of God and His special blessing. A small example. As an officer student, I spent a night outside in the garden on an ...

 In Jesus' name  (from the testimonies of Emil Nigg's life) ...  "What did the doctors say about these amazing twists?" "I remember a woman who came to me in great pain." She had a big tumor in her breast and was waiting for help from Jesus, the Great Doctor. I prayed and placed my hands on Jesus’Name. The Lord's response was not missed. The pain was gone, the tumor was back. She waited until only a small lump appeared to testify to his doctor of the healing power of Jesus. As soon as she showed herself to the doctor, he could barely understand what had happened, that only a small lump was visible, and that his patient was in no pain. The woman told him that it was all done through prayer. The doctor's face shone and he acknowledged, that it was his great joy, that he had experienced such a thing that "a woman had found a cure through her prayer."  - Doctor, was it cancer? she asked. "Yes, it was, at an advanced stage." The...