Anointing for Daily Living

Our Lord Jesus Christ was anointed to get involved in the lives of all the people of the world - people who are walking in darkness and under the bondage of sin.

Jesus proclaimed through Isaiah. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified" (Isaiah 61:1 - 3, NKJV).

The anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus was more than empowering Him to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom - but also to heal the brokenhearted, to set captives free, to comfort those who mourn, so that God's Name might be glorified.

Similarly, we are anointed to get involved in God's work. The anointing of the Holy Spirit enables us to be created people of God to thouch lives on the streets of this hurting world, in businesses, in the marketplaces and homes and in the hearts of men and women who are sitting, walking and doing things in darkness. God needs men and women who do not wait until they have finished Bible School or until they get a degree or until they get an ordination or a pat on the back; He needs everyday people of God who know the anointing of God to do God's work. Today is "the acceptable year of the Lord"; today is the hour to which men and women of all background, be they ordained ministers, be they lay people who are ministering to the Lord, to come out to touch lives. We have been commissioned by Him because we are all priests and kings and servants to the world through the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

God's Creative Anointing and the Holy Anointing Oil

When we think of the anointing we must see what God has in mind concerning the anointing. We need to go back to the Old Testament to the intent and purpose of God when He anointed three groups of people - prophets, priests and kings. He anointed prophets to reveal God to men; He anointed priests to redeem men to God; He anointed kings to reign over the visible and the invisible in the Name of the Lord.

God spoke to Moses concerning the Holy Anointing Oil:

"And take for yourself quality spices - five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests" (Exodus 30:23 - 25, 30, emphasis added).

There were five ingredients (spices) that went in to make up this holy anointing oil. These were myrrh, cinnamon, cand, cassia and olive oil. All thse five ingredients were touchable, taste-able, smell-able, usable and practical in their contents.

In the same way the anointing of the Holy Spirit is not mystical, it is not fanatical, it is not foolishness, but it is practical. Unless our anointing is practical it has no reality in today's world. The anointing of the Holy Spirit has practical reality for any believer in Christ today. The five ingredients of the Old Testament 's holy anointing with their separate uses and benefits speak to us of the different types of anointing we need to receive for daily living.

The Anointing of Myrrh

Myrrh is an anesthetic, a pain killer to deaden pain. In Christ's birth the "wise men" brought myrrth, gold and frankincense as a gilf to Him (Matt. 2:11). At the end of the life of Christ they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to deaden the pain of the cross although He refused to take it (Mark 15:23).

In this sense, God, through the Holy Spirit, is saying to us that from the new birth of our life in Christ and to the crosses (sufferings) of our life, from cradle to the crosses, we need the anointing of the Holy Spirit because Myrrh is symbolic of our power to take it - power to withstand pressure of life, to cope up in difficult times. In the midst of tribulation we still have peace (John 16:33) and still be a beautiful patient loving person serving the Lord. If we are to "walk worthy of our calling" (Eph. 4:1) we cannot do it in the flesh, we need the anointing of myrrh to accomplish it. We need the Holy Spirit to search out what we need.

Paul said, "But it is written: 'Eye has not see, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of mean the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).

The deep things of God

I love the deep things of God and most of messages talk about the deep things of God. This message itself is the revelation of the deep things of God althought the things I talk about are not the deep things of God. But the fact is, whether you are a preacher, ordained minister or a Pastor, most of your time you spent are dealing with people and communicating with people. Most of the time you invlove yourself with family members, with problems and pressure at work and in these areas there is no place for you to tell people about the deep things of God. Instead, the deep things of God must be in your heart so that the Holy Spirit of God in your heart (Your spirit) can touch the lives of those around you.

Many of us failed to read what is written in 1 Cor. 2:10 where it says "For the Sprit searches all things". We conveniently jumped over the "all things" into the deep things of God. My most difficult things in life is not the deep things of God. It is simple things like misplacing my car keys, spectacles and my cell phone, especially when I am late for an appointment. The Holy Spirit seems to say, "I know where your keys are because I search all things". All I need to do is to be still in His presence (Ps. 46:10) and let Him take over in a moment of praise, prayer and thanks giving.

I am reminded that the anointing of myrrh is practicla, touchable and usable. It is not for a Church Service and not for preaching a sermon only. This anointing helps you to get along and relate with your wife, with your childred, with you fellow Church members and with you colleagues at work on a daily basis. We need the creative anointing of myrrh to take the presure of life and still be the people of God in the midst of this pressurized world.

The anointing of Sweet-smelling Cinnamon

The next ingredient for the Holy Anointing Oil is the sweet cinnamon. It is a fiery condiment similar to pepper, being used to add spice and flavor to the food that we eat. Notice that cinnamon is exactly half as much as myrrh as ingredients for the Holy Anointing Oil. Cinnamon speaks to us as the enthusiasm in our testimony to the character and attributes of God. According to my message last week, the character and attributes of God in our life is the presence of God or the fruit of the Spirit in our life. As we have seen, the anointing of myrrh in our life speaks of the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit in our life. And this anointing give us the power to take it or to cope up with the pressure of life. But with the anointing of cinnamon, our entusiasm is only half as much as our power to take it. In other words, it is more important to take it as for us to speak it.

If you only have fiery enthusiasm but you don't have the power to take it, whenever the pressure is on you will go back to your old fleshly way again. Your testimony must be balanced by your power to take it. Enthusiasm will be long lasting if it is balanced with the character of God which only the anointing of cinnamon could give. So many people have enthusiasm and because they have good personality they have many friends, but their witnessing lacks power. But they still fail to lead people to the Lord without the anointing of cinnamon.

We need enthusiasm that is based on the character of God.


The anointing of Sweet-smelling Cane


Sweet-smelling cane or calamus is an appetite creator. It is to make our tastes buds come alive. The anointing of cane or calamus creates an appetite in us to do all the things in the Spirit instead of in the flesh. It is far better to do things by the power of the Holy Spirit rather than trying to do it through psychology, through socialogy, through anthropology or through other works of the flesh. The work of the flesh comes in many forms - healing seminar, Church development seminar and Church growth seminar and the like. Once you have an appetite with the things of the Spirit you will never want to go back to the flesh again; you will never go back to manipulating people or lying to them or deceiving them. You will put your flesh and self effort under the subjection of the Holy Spirit.


When the Holy Spirit moves, people are blessed and set free from the lust of the flesh and then you have an appetite to see them keep on moving, keep on blessing and keep on walking in the Spirit.


Paul said, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16).


I want to stay in the Spirit so that I can bring self under control and let Jesus be glorified in my life.


So, the anointing of the sweet calamus is symbolic of our appetite to keep on working, keep on living and keep on moving in the Holy Spirit.


The anointing of Cassia


Cassia is quite similar to Cinnamon, but it is a purgative, a laxative or a cleansing agent. It is used as an ingredient to cleanse out the body the same way the Holy Spirit is a great agent for cleansing. He will not abide in anything that is unholy in the presence of God.


God said to Moses, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground" (Ex. 3:5; Acts 7:33).


Whenever the Holy Spirit began to work in our lives He wants to keep on working until Jesus is seen in us (Gal. 4:19), in all His beauty and perfection.


With the anointing of Cassia the Holy Spirit will purge us and cleanse us so that we can receive the truth of God's Word. Jesus Himself said He will reveal all truth to us (John 16:13). He helps us to see ourselves as we look at the truth and compare it with the untruth in our lives until we find confession, repentance and restoration.


The anointing of Olive Oil


Olive oil comes from the pit of the Olive fruit. Olive oil mixed with wine bring healing balm to the one who is wounded (Luke 10:34). Spiritually it speaks of restoration; it speaks of our yielded-ness to do the will of God.


Olive oil is symbolic of people's willingness to do the work of God according to the plan and purpose of God. It is that which takes the darken areas of our lives and causes us to say, "That is God's will, that is what I want to do, that is what I want to live and walk in".


Jesus yielded to the will of the Father at a place called Gethsemane - in Aramaic means "Oil Press". Gethsemane was situated at the Mount of Olive, a short distance east of Jerusalem. It was the place where Jesus was broken and said, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done" (Matt. 26:42).


The battle of the cross was first fought and won by Jesus in Gethsemane. Someone said, the soul anguish which Christ suffered in Gethsemane was equal to that which He suffered on the cross of Calvary! In reality, Christ "died" in Gethsemane before He ever died on the cross. He, no doubt, was "nailed" to Gethsemane's ground by prayer burden before the nails of the Roman soldiers hanged Him to the cross!


In my opinion, if the Church wants to do the will of God, she needs to seek the Gethsemane experience. She needs the anointing of the olive oil. If you want to be broken and say, "Lord your will be done" in all circumstances in life, you need the anointing of olive oil; you need to go under God's press at "Gethesemane"!

The Presence and the Anointing of God

The Presence of God and the Anointing of God are two great gifts that the Lord wants every servant of His to have. These two gifts are not the same and this will become real to you as you read on. You will realize that you will not receive the Anointing of the Holy Spirit unless you have experienced the presence of God first. In other words, the presence must precede the anointing. Notice that we are not talking about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit here although it is extremely important. Briefly, the presence of God is the presence of His glory; the anointing of God is the power of God.

The Presence of God

Every Christian needs to have the assurance that he is constantly surrounded by the presence of God and that the Almighty's presence abides with him through thick and thin.

God said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5, NKJV).

The psalmist said, "He keeps his eye upon you as you come and go, and always guards you" (Ps. 121:8, TLB).

We are compelled by honestly to admit, however, that although the Scripture assures us that we are constantly guarded and surrounded by the presence of the Lord, we do not always feel it. There could be many reasons for this, of course, but the fault is always in us and never in Him. But before we talk about how we can cultivate the presence of God we must first find out from the Scripture what exactly the presence of God is.

The glory of His presence

Let us consider the experience of Mose as found in Exodus 33. He received the promise of God's presence.

Moses asked God to show him His Glory, believing that it could be experienced and known:

Moses said, "Please, show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18).

God replied, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you, I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion" (Exodus 33:19, emphasis added).

God promised to show Moses His goodness, mercy and compassion in a concrete, visible way.

Look at what happened a few verses later on:

"Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed: 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy of thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and children's children to the third and fourth generation'" (Exodus 34:5 - 7, NKJV, emphasis added).

Notice the Glory of God or the Presence of God came with the attributes of God: grace, mercy, longsuffering, forgiveness, compassion and goodness. Moses was totally changed by God's presence.

The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

So we see the presence and glory of God brings the fruit of the Spirit, as described in Galatians 5:22, 23. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the qualities or characteristics or attributes of God. I hope you see the revelation of this truth. The fruit of the Spirit, so missing in the Church today, is connected to the presence of God. Believers in Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches are all talking about the gifts of Holy Spirit but seldom the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

The major difference between the fruit and the gifts is - the fruit comes to you and leaves you as God's presence comes to you and leaves you. If you lose His presence you lose His glory which is His fruit. But the gift which comes with the power of God is given to you to fulfill God's purpose in the Church. The power of God comes upon you as a gift. It stays with you simply because it is a gift. If God withdraws it, He cannot call it a gift - but a loan instead!

Paul said, "The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29).

It is possible for the presence to withdraw and the gifts to remain, at least for a while. But that will ultimately lead to disaster. Since the manifestations of the gifts are for the benefits of the Church you can abuse it but its effects on other people will remain the same. But ultimatly, it will be a disaster to you when the presence of the Lord is removed and the Holy Spirit has left.

The fruit of the Spirit which comes with the presence and glory of God are not progressive - it comes in an instant. There is nothing in the Scripture to suggest that the fruit enters your life and then "grow". Remember, it is not your fruit but God's. If a preacher in your Church have ever told you that the fruit of the Spirit takes time to grow, it will be better for you to unlearn it!

If you think what I say is not true, look at Paul the apostle, previously called Saul, a man felled by the glory and presence of God on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3, 4). He fell and came up a new man. He had been a persecutor, a murderer, and immediately after his experience with the presence of God, he was no longer a killer. Prior to that, he had no genuine knowledge of God. Suddenly, however, he knew God and lived for Him. He was even willing to die for Him. It did not take him years to "grow" and change!

The Anointing (the Power) of God

The power or the anointing of God is a must if you want to be used by God effectively, no matter what ministry you hold, or even without holding a specific ministry in the Church. In witnessing and sharing the Gospel to unbelievers; in just performing your duty in fulfilling the Great Commission you need the power of God.

Jesus said, "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" (Acts 1:8, NKJV, emphasis added).

After the power came, three thousand were saved, then another five thousand, and then all Jerusalem was shaken. That is the power you must have with any service to God. In tandem with the presence, you can touch any life - believers or unbelievers.

You can have the wonderful presence of God and you can stand behind the pulpit to minister. But if there is no power you will be the only one having a good time. The people listening to you can feel His presence but there will be no conviction of sins, no healings and no binding of the Devil. No matter what your ministerial calling is, you need the power of the anointing of God to fulfill it. You will never accomplish what God wants you to do without it.

The three anointings

The Scripture reveals three anointings of the Holy Spirit in our service to God.

1. The Leper's Anointing

Leprosy is a type of sin. Leviticus 14:1 - 32 describe the ceremonial cleansing of lepers by applying the blood of animals followed by the application of oil - speaks of the anointing oil. This was the shadow of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God. Jesus is the substance that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Every born-again believer has experienced the leper's anointing which deals with salvation.

David was a good example of a person, under the Old Covenant, who received the leper's anointing (1 Samuel 16:12) which was the first anointing. After this, he still served King saul. Similarly, the apostles experienced the leper's anointing when Jesus breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). They were still not ready to serve God. That is the reason why Christians who are saved are still not spiritually ready to serve God until they have received the Priestly anointing.

2. The Priestly Anointing

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the priestly anointing of the Holy Spirit upon us. This is the anointing for ministry unto the Lord, including our duty to lead souls to the Kingdom of God. All Christians are priests of God (1 Peter 2:5, 9).

It is important to note that this priestly anointing is meant for the entire Local Church because it brings unity and harmony (Ps. 133). There is no such thing as a private priestly anointing; it comes in oneness, in unity, as the Church functions as one body. On the day of Pentecost 120 people, including the apostles, were praying and waiting upon the Lord, in one accord, in the Upper Room (Acts 1:15). The Holy Spirit came upon all of them with fire and power.

Another important point to note is that this priestly anointing is not a one-time anointing, which the leper's anointing is. Under the Old Covenant, the priests were anointed with oil every day. The same with you under the New Covenant, for you need a daily anointing in order to be an effective servant of God.

In the case of David his anointing came to him during his conflict with Saul and his household - over a period of time.

3. The Kingly Anointing

This is the hightest level of anointing that the Lord wants you to receive. Whereas the leper's anointing comes by accepting Jesus and the priestly anointing comes by fellowshipping with Jesus, the kingly anointing comes by obeying Jesus.

With this anointing comes with the voice of the Lord. You become sensitive to the rhema Word of the Lord which enables you to prophesy. You become a mouthpiece of God; you are able to say, "Thus saith the Lord". You will see miracles of healings and signs and wonders following your ministry - like those described in Mark 16:17, 18.

David was 30 years old (Biblical age of maturity) when he received the kingly anointing.

"Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King david made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel" (2 Samuel 5:3).

Before that, David reigned over only Judah from his headquarters at Hebron. After he received the kingly anointing he reigned over all Israel and Judah from Zion which was called the City of David (2 Samuel 5:7).

The apostles received the kingly anointing even before they were arrested by the high priest. They boldly said, "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). They stood their ground, and God sent a heavier anointing that produced a supernatural manifestation with the power to reach the World. As for Peter, the anointing was so strong that people were healed when he passed by and his shadow fell on them (Acts 5:15).

Two Basic Keys

Let us summarize the truth we have so far discovered. So many people want the power of God, but they fail to understant that it will not come until they first experienced His presence. And when the presence comes, the first evidence will be the manifestation of the Glory of God which is the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit will be evident in your everyday contacts with those around you. And when the fruit is genuinely there, the Lord will anointing you with His Spirit, which is power. Power follows the presence, not the other way round.

Two basic profound doctrines

The two basic doctrines, which form the foundation of the Christian faith, are the doctrine of repentance and the doctrine of the blood of Christ. It is beyond the scope of this message to study these doctrines in details. The fact is that our sins keep us from the presence of the Lord and only the blood of Christ can clease us from our sins:

Peter said in his first sermon after Pentecost, "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19, NKJV, emphasis added).

John said, "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7, emphasis added).

Note the present tense of the action: cleanses. It is a now experience. Forgiveness deals with what you did; cleansing deals with what you are doing. Also note that when we fail to walk in the light we will not live in His presence and in His power (anointing).

The true meaning of repentance

Repentance is a daily experience. And it is a supernatural experienc, not something you can humanly accomplish by yourself. It is a gift of God and it needs to be granted by God (1 Tim. 2:25).

Solomon said, "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy" (Prov. 28:13, emphasis added).

Repentance involves two actions - confessing and forsaking our sins.

Repentance must occur in every sinful action of your life, even in some simple things like - repenting if you haven't prayed, repenting if you haven't read the Word, and repenting if you failed to walk in wisdom toward those who are outside (unbelievers) (Col. 4:5).

Like the apostle Paul, we need to die daily (1 Cor. 15:31). We need to be crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20):

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; ..." (Emphasis added).

If Christ is truly living in you, you will surely experience His presence and His power (anointing)!

The Ministry of God's Word

Many Christians fail to understand that only God's Word that comes out of God's mouth cannot fail. The tremendous effectiveness of the Word of God can be seen from the following passage of Scripture.

God spoke through Isaiah, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11, NKJV, emphasis added).

There is a very important point of qualification in the above verse which a lot of preachers have not noticed. God did not just say His Word will not fail or will not return to Him void, but He said God's Word out of God's mouth that cannot fail. In other words, you cannot separate the Word from the mouth that comes out of.

When God's mouth speaks it God's breath goes with it. And God's breath is the Spirit; it is the Word with the Spirit in it, which will never return void. The Word without the Spirit the Scripture says is dead:

Paul said. "... for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor. 3:6).

The psalmist said, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Ps. 33:6).

The above is an example of Hebrew poetry. One of the principles of the Hebrew poetry is that you get two parallel statements which tell us two aspects of the same thing - not two different things.

We can put it this way, "By the Word of the Lord and the breath of His mouth, were the heavens and their entire host made." Not the Word alone but the Word when it breathes with the breath of God. The Word "breath" is actually translated as "Spirit" in Hebrew. In other words, when God's Word goes out by God's Spirit then it is creative, it is authoritative, it is effective and it will never return void. But the Word without the Spirit is just dead.

You cannot speak without breath. Essentially speech is breath being squeezed out of your lung through your oracle apparatus being modified by the position of your tongue and your lips until it produces the appropriate sound. But the basic force in all speech is breath - no breath, no speech. This is true also for the Word of God. The motivating power that brings forth the Word of God is the breath of God.

What it means to be a mouthpiece of God

God does not speak only out of His own mouth but He speaks through the mouth of human beings and He desires that every minister or servant of His shall offer Him a mouth that He can use. Every believer can be a mouthpiece of God so that when God's Word goes forth through that believer it is as authoritative and as effective as if God has spoke it Himself. But it can only be if it is God's Spirit that goes through that mouth with the Word.

Illustration of a mouthpiece of God

The prophet Jeremiah is a fascinating example of the authority of God's Word through the human lips. The Lord spoke to Jeremiah:

"Do not say, 'I am a youth,' for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you" says the Lord.

(V. 9): "Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: 'Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.'" (Jeremiah 1:7 - 10, NKJV, emphasis added).

What a dramatic transformation in one person in a short space of time. When God first spoke to Jeremiah, he said, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth" (Jer. 1:6).

Notice the tremendous authority given to Jeremiah after the Lord had touched his mouth - "I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant" (V. 10). And the Word of God in the mouth of Jeremiah was just as authoritative as would have been in the mouth of God Himself! The authority is in the Word when God ordains you to be His mouthpiece.

What does it take to be a mouthpiece of God?

Here is the price you have to pay in order to be an effective mouthpiece of God.

You have to sit alone

It cost Jeremiah something to be a mouthpiece of God.

Jeremiah said, "Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts, I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, for You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, as waters that fail" (Jer. 15:16 - 18, emphasis added)?

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Jeremiah was called by God's Name. As a Christian you are in the same category. The call of God upon a person's life makes him a Christian.

2. The qualification for delivering the Word of God is feeding upon the Word of God - "Your words were found, and I ate them". Spiritually you are not fit to teach the Word unless you have digested it yourself - the Word is totally absorbed in your spirit. Failing which you can only give forth the Word from your mind and it will be totally ineffective. There is a lot of preaching and teaching you hear today is nothing but the product of intellectual study of the Word. It accomplishes nothing because that preacher has not first eaten the Word that he preaches. You have to eat the Word and then only you can give forth; you have to digest it and then only you can minister.

3. Jeremiah said that as a result of feeding upon God's Word it became "The joy and rejoicing of his heart". This is a mark of being a child of God - who loves the Word so much that it is a joy and rejoicing of his heart! You should have no confidence in the preaching of anyone who does not love the Word of God. Anyone who does not love the Word cannot be an effective believer.

4. Jeremiah "sat alone". This is true for every committed child of God. There will come a time when you are called to the ministry you have to sit alone. You cannot go with the crowd, you cannot enjoy the things the crowd enjoys, you cannot laugh at their foolish jokes - because the Word of God is something sacred and solemn and you have eaten it.

Every true Christian goes through a period of testing of loneliness. you might be the only believer in your family and no one else will understand you. God requires you to sit alone; He requires you to swim against the stream and come out victorious.

You have to stand before God

The Lord said to Jeremiah, "If you return, then I will bring you back; you shall stand before Me; if you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, but you must not return to them" (Jer. 15:19, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. The word "return" means "repent". God wants every child of His to stand before Him - not before man or human counsel, or human institution or denomination. This is the only way you can be His mouthpiece. You cannot fill your mouth with cheap foolish conversation, gossip or empty talk.

In preaching, if you don't mean what you say in daily life as much as you say behind the pulpit, your words have no effect. If you only put on a religious act behind the pulpit, all you have is religion and you are misrepresenting God. You can be popular and get people laugh and smile at you, get the crowd with you, but you will never do them any spiritually good.

Paul said in his ministry in Ephesus, "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears" (Acts 20:29 - 31, NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul did not go around making people happy with laughter. He did not seek to be popular or to be crowd puller - he warned them with tears. The early Church aimed to do one thing - get men rightly related to God.

The ministry of the Word is not an attempt to make people feel good. He who ministers that way will never be a mouthpiece of God.

2. "Let them return to you, but you must not return to them" (V. 19). In other words, Jeremiah, being a mouthpiece of God must not be influenced by them, but he must influence and convince them. He must cue the line and stand on it. A mouthpiece of the Lord must never change his stand - because God has not changed all through generations. What God said centuries ago He says the same today.

The apostle Peter spoke about being a mouthpiece of God:

"If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (1 Peter 4:11).

In ministry we have to provide a mouth through which God can speak so that He may be glorified through Jesus Christ. The is the standard that is set for us in the Word of God.

Adding to and taking away from the Word of God

The Scripture absolutely prohibits the adding to and taking away from the Word of God. When you do that you blunt the edge of the Sword of the Spirit and make it ineffective.

Moses, a mouthpiece of God to his generation said:

"You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you" (Deut. 4:2).

"Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deut. 12:32).

Agur said, "Every word of God is pure; he is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar" (Pro. 30:5, 6).

We are not required to preach more than what God says in His Word. But at the same time we must not diminish His Word:

The Lord said to Jeremiah, "Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word" (Jer. 26:2).

God detests mixed seeds

It is interesting to look at the pattern in the Old Testament regarding mixed seeds.

God spoke through Moses, "You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you" (Lev. 19:19).

Although the above is stated in the natural it has application in the spiritual. Mixed breeding of livestock is a type of a believer marrying an unbeliever (2 Cor. 6:14). In the New Testament we have very clear application of "mixed seed". Examples are the parable of the tares (Matt. 13:38 - 43) and the parable of the sower (Luke 8:11 - 15).

Preaching of other doctrines

Paul said to Timothy, "As i urged you when I went into Macedonia - remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, ..." (1 Tim. 1:3).

A preacher or a teacher has no authority from God to preach anything but the Word of God - we are not to sow the field (the world - Matt. 13:38) with "mixed seeds". Why do we have such a mixed Christianity today? The reason being we have sow the field with a lot of mixed seeds - partly Baptist seed, partly Methodist seed, partly Presbyterian seed and partly Assemblies of God seed. We have such a horrible mixture that we don't know when truth ends and error begins!

Giving ourselves to prayer and ministry of the Word

The psalmist David said, "The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those who proclaimed it" (Ps. 68:11, NKJV).

It is the Lord's business to give the Word and not ours. All we have to do is to publish and proclaim what the Lord gives.

The 12 apostles said, "We will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4).

The apostles gave themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. This was their primary ministry and everything else was secondary. The tragedy is, today in the Church, you can probably count with the fingers of one hand the number of men who are totally given to prayer and ministry of the Word. We have allowed so many material consideration to crowed in; we are busy with things that are important but it is not our job to do it!

The Word is the Master and we are the servants. The Word has the authority and not we - our business is just to make the Word available after praying through in the Holy Spirit. We are not to lord over the Word of God; we are not to cut it up -we are the servants of the Word!

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

The importance of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Church and the place of the Holy Spirit in the growth and fruitfulness of the individual believer cannot be overemphasized. The following is a list of important Biblical truth concerning the Holy Spirit.

Christ is revealed by the Holy Spirit

Paul said, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14, NKJV).

The natural man means the soulish man, man of mind and intellect - connot understand nor receive the things of the Spirit. We know God through our spirit quicken by the Holy Spirit. Someone said: "God gave us our spirit to apprehend Himself, and intellect to apprehend theology". In other words, by intellect and theology alone we will never get to know God; we may know about God but we never get to know Him intimately.

Jesus said, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speaks; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:12 - 14).

It is perfectly plain that the One who reveals God to us, who reveals Christ to us, is the Spirit of God. The Church cannot know Christ except as the Spirit reveals Him.

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit is the Ministry of Jesus

We must understand that the Holy Spirit has come as a Person and that He is willing and waiting to do for us all that Jesus would do if He were here on earth. But some of us don't recognize Him, don't praise and worship Him, and don't fear Him.

It is possible to run a Local Church and all of its activity without the Holy Spirit. You can organize it, get a board of leaders together, employ a Pastor, form a group of musicians and form a choir, launch a Sunday School and a ladies' group and all that. If you could increase the attendance of your Church until you need a much bigger building, if you could provide everything that men want and love and value, and yet you didn't have the Holy Spirit, you might as well have nothing at all.

"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts" (Zech. 4:6).

You cannot minister by eloquence of a man, not by good music, not by high-tech equipment, not by 'good' preaching, but it is by the Holy Spirit that God works His mighty work. The Holy Spirit is not enthusiasm. Some people can get all worked up over a song imagining that this is the Holy Spirit, but this does not necessaritly follow. Some of these same people go out and live just like the sinful world that hates God. I believe that is the reason most people don't want to be filled with the Holy Spirit - they want to live the way they want to live and to merely have the Holy Spirit as a bit of something extra.

We need to bring the Holy Spirit of God back into the Church. We bring Him back by prayer, by repentance, by obedience, by confession - until He takes over in our midst! Then there will be light, life, power, victory, joy and blessed fruit that will come to us. The Holy Spirit being a Person can communicate with you and He can love you. He can be grieved (Eph. 4:30) when you resist and ignore Him. He can be quenched (1 Thess. 5:19) as any friend can be shut up if you turn on him when he is in your home as a guest - he will be hushed into hurtful silence if you wound him, and we can also wound the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is exactly the same as Jesus, just as Jesus is exactly the same as the Father.

Jesus said to Thomas, "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him" (John 14:7).

Jesus said, "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father" (John 6:46).

He added, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears he will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:13, 14).

Jesus was saying, in essence, "The Spirit will demonstrate me to you".

Life in the Holy Spirit

It is the will of God that all members of the redeemed Church be filled with the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul, Peter, John and James wrote their epistles to spirit filled, though somewhat troubled, Churches. The truth is that God never fathered His Church apart from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, then, is the medium, the divine solution, in which God holds His Church.

Here are some promises of God concerning the coming of the holy Spirit:

1. "Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest. Then Justice will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever" (Isaiah 32:15 - 17, NKJV, emphasis added).

2. "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants and my blessing on your offspring" (Isaiah 44:3, emphasis added).

3. "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, you old men shall dream dreams, you young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days" (Joel 2:28, 29, emphasis added).

4. Jesus Himself said, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him" (Luke 11:13, emphasis added).

5. Jesus' last words to His disciples were, "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you;but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. The benefits of the filling of the Holy Spirit include fruitfulness, peace, quietness with assurance (confidence) and general blessings.

2. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit causes believers to prophesy, see visions and dream dreams.

3. The Holy Spirit will not force Himself on you. You have to desire Him, thirst for Him and ask Him to fill you.

4. The Holy Spirit will empower you to work the work of God.

The Holy Spirit and His work in the Church

From the Gospels, the book of Acts and the Epistles we can trace three periods with respect to the Holy Spirit and His work in the Church.

1. The period of promise

This period stretched from the time of John the Baptist to the resurrection of Christ. In this three-year period, the disciples were called, commissioned and taught in the best Bible School in the world - Jesus being their only Teacher. They didn't get a degree which they could frame and put in the wall but they had a degree inside of them! Jesus promised them a new life in the Spirit.

2. The period of preparation

In some measure, they were being prepared while Jesus was with them, but after He was gone, they actually began to prepare themselves. They stopped all their activities to organize a 10 days prayer meeting in an upper room in Jerusalem where 120 believers were involved. They prayed and waited on Him until the Day of Pentecost had fully come (Acts 2:1 -3). Suddenly they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4).

Shouldn't our Church stop all activities, once in a while, and organize a prayer meeting with multitudes of believers and wait upon the Lord - no "shopping list" prayer but just worship Him, praise Him and thank Him?

3. The period realization

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit came suddenly like a rushing mighty wind (Acts 2:2). The period of realization came suddenly, and the Father fulfilled His promise. The expections were fully met and more!

We are living in the period of the "last days" which began with Pentecost and continues until Christ returns. We are now living in the latter days when God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28).

Peter's first sermon, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the first Pentecost, came with these words:

"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:38, 39, emphasis added).

Notice that the promise of the Holy Spirit also to future generations of believers.

You will notice that thoughout the four Gospels the disciples were asking questions - while in the book of Acts and after Pentecost they were answering questions. That is the major difference between the man who is Spirit-filled and the man who is not!

Fellowship of the Holy Spirit

The fact that the Holy Spirit is a living Person, we can get to know Him and have fellowship with Him. When we talk about communion with God and the fellowship with the Holy Spirit, we are talking about that which begins the moment we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, but will grow and increase and mature while life lasts. As we go on to have fellowship with Him we go on to have increasing knowledge of Him.

But no one is able to have fellowship with the Holy Spirit unless he walks in perfect agreement with Him. Contrary to what most professing Christians like to think, many of God's people are not willing to walk in perfect agreement with Him. This explains why so many believers do not have the gift of the Spirit, the power of the Spirit, the peace of the Spirit and many of the other qualities and benefits which the Spirit of God brings. This also explains why so many spirit filled, tongues speaking Charismatic/Pentecostal Christians lack power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

God spoke through Amos, "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed" (Amos 3:3).

Two persons, in order to walk together, must agree that they want to walk together, and they must agree that it is to their advantage to have the companionship and fellowship together.

In my opinion we can cultivate the fellowhip of the Holy Spirit and here are few suggestions:

1. Be engrossed with Jesus Christ

Contrary to what most people of God unintentionally assumed, the important thing here was not that the Spirit had come - the important thing was that Jesus had been exalted. Where Jesus is glorified and exalted, the Holy Spirit comes. He does not have to be invited nor even begged. Whenever Christ is truly honored in a Christian fellowship the Sprit comes (Acts 2). We honor Him by our worship, by our obedience, by our witness and by our fellowship.

2. Walk in righteousness

The Holy Spirit will not have fellowhip with those who will not live right and walk right.

Jude said, "For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 4).

Christians need to understand that it isn't their righteousness that saves, but the salvation they have received brings righteousness. We must walk in righteousness if we are going on to know the Lord. The man who is not ready to live right is not saved, and he will not be saved.

Paul said, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodiness and worldy lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hop and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ..." (Titus 2:11 - 13, emphasis added).

3. Make your thought a clean sanctuary

Our thought life is part of us - controlled by our mind which is part of the human soul. Christians are new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Therefore the mind of a Christian has been renewed by our spirit man which is controlled by God's Spirit (Romans 12:1, 2). But God give us freewill to control our thought life, to keep it clean or to keep it unclean.

Can you imagine a believer with malicious and evil thought in his heart having companionship with the Holy Spirit? Can you imagine a believer bloated with egotism having an intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit? Never!

We can make our thought a clean sanctuary by seeking to know God in His Word! We are sanctified through His Word (John 17:17; 2 Thess. 2:13).

A Return to Biblical Christianity

Many of us have probably heard someone said, "Christians are in the world but not of the world". This was quite true many years ago. But at the present end-time hour the Church is so much in the world it is no longer true to say that. In my opinion, it is more correct to say, "True Christians are in the Church but not of the Church"! If you are of a Local Church of any Christian denomination, chances are, you have inherited some of the New Age theology without actually knowing it. You have jumped in the bandwagon of unbiblical Christianity influenced by the prevailing New Age movemnet. The present New Age movement is at work in every area of our life - both in the secular world and in the religious world.

Contending for the Christian Faith

Jude wrote to Christians, "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3, NKJV).

With respect to what Jude said, there are two desperate needs for the Church to fulfill if Christians are to contend earnestly for the faith:

1. The need to return to Biblical Christianity

There is a desperate need for the Church to return to Biblical Christianity. True Biblical Christianity is not a set of rules or a list of moral requirement that one must live up to in order to get to heaven. Unbiblical Christianity may be seen in the way we share the gospel to unbelievers. Many of us act like policemen when we "arrest" the attention of unbelievers to listen us in our evangelical effort. To attempt to force sinners under threat of hell to act like saints, when they really have neither the heart nor the power to do so, can only produce hypocrites. And that is the reason why there are many hypocrites in the Church. Only God can give a sinner a new heart; only the Holy Spirit can convict the world of of sin, and of righteiousness, and of judgment (John 16:8).

Biblical Christianity was never intended to be a follow-the-leader-blindly cult. It is the personal responsibility and privilege of each individual Christian to be immersed in the Word of God, to study it diligently, to meditate upon it, and to live by it. It was never God's intent that professional Pastors, professional Evangelists, professional theologians or professional Bible teachers would be the sole proprietors of Biblical truth. Professionalism was unheard of in the early Church. But that each Chrisitan would know for himself what he believes and why he believes it on the basis of his personal study of the Word of God.

There are many people who call Jesus their Savior but do not yet understand that He saves them not only from hell but also from self. Unfortunately, this biblical salvation seems to appeal to very few people who call themselves Christians, becaus of the New Age teaching of selfism - self-acceptance, self-esteem, self-image, self-talk, self-love and self-confidence.

Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23, NKJV, emphasis added).

The phrase "deny himself" simply means say no to self. The cross is an instrument of death similar to an electric chair and therefore the phrase "take up his cross daily" means "go and die daily". In other words, we come to Jesus to die daily - with Him. That was why Paul said, "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him" (Romans 6:8).

Paul also said, "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" (Gal 2:20).

2. The need to allow Biblical Correction

Correction is one of the most conspicuously absent yet essential ingredients needed in the Church today. Pastors and leaders usually seek to avoid correction by hiding behind a misapplication of Christ's words, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matt. 7:1). This "do not judge" mentality is inherited from the deceptive New Age philosophy (Please refer to my earlier Posting "The Foundation of Biblical Christianty"). The fact is, we are to judge a person's fruit and doctrine (Matt. 7:15, 16; 1 Cor. 14:29; Rev. 2:2).

It seems there is an understanding between professional ministers to uphold unity at all cost. But they preach "unity" based not upon the truth of God's Word but upon the agreement not to disagree with one another. There is much talk of love, as though it somehow rules out correction. Yet the Bible teaches that love speaks the truth (Eph. 4:15). Real love corrects those who are loved:

"Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty" (Job 5:17).

"For whom the Lord loves He chastens" (Heb. 12:6).

Solomon said, "Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die" (Prov. 9:8; 15:10).

Jesus Himself declared, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten" (Rev. 3:19).

From Genesis to Revelation, a major theme of the Bible is correction. This is because God loves us and desires to lead us from death and judgment into the eternal and abundant life available in Christ Jesus. Referring to the Old Testament narrative accounts of the history of Israel, Paul said, "They were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Cor. 10:11).

John the Baptist preached repentance and correction, and so did Christ. Much of what Jesus said was in the nature of reproof aimed directly at the religious leaders. He did not hesitate to call them "hypocrites" (Matt. 23). "whitewashed tombs" (Matt 23:27) and "blind leaders" (matt. 15:14). Jesus even called His own disciples "foolish ones and slow of heart" (Luke 24:25).

Much of the New Testament was written to correct error that had already crept into the Church in the first century. The epistles of Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude embody the major corrective doctrines of the Church, which of course are still valid today. Leaders in the early Church were expected to be involved in an ongoing corrective ministry. Unfortunately, many of today's most popular professional ministers seem astonishingly unwilling either to judge the teachings of other professional mininsters or to accpt any correction themselves.

Major deceptions in the Church of Jesus Christ

Let us consider some major deceptions in the Church of Jesus Christ:

1. Delusion of Positive approach

One of the most seductive and popular fads from the secular world ever to be dressed in Christian terminology and to be widely accepted in the Church as Bible truth is the belief that positive is necessaritly good and negative is conversely bad.

Paul's teaching has been used by many Christians to equate positive with true and to equate negative with untrue:

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things" (Phil. 4:8, emphasis added).

Somehow, "positive" is not only erroneously equated with true, but it is also seen as the equivalent of noble, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtue and praiseworthey. It is not difficulty to realize that rather that being noble it would in some cases be very un-noble or dishonest to be "positive". Moreover, we could hardly call a judge just who failed to convict and sentence a criminal because he desired to be "positive". Some people take a very "positive" view of free sex, but that can hardly be called pure. Nor could we say that anything else mentioned in the above verse is equivalent of "positive"!

To many deceived Christians what is meant by "positive" is simply favorable or pleasing, and whatever is unpleasant is called "negative". This relativistic and self-oriented attitude reflects today's secular mentality and is destructive of morals and spiritual values. What actually matter is not whether something is "positive" but whether something is true or false, biblical or not biblical. Applying such terms to biblical truth is an insult to God whose Word is filled with "negative" corrections and warnings of judgment.

In actual fact, Paul was encouraging the Christians in Philippi to occupy their thoughts with that which has value and virtue which will strengthen their moral character.

2. On a pedestal of infallibility

Some professional ministers have placed themselves on a pedestal of infallibility by confusing gullible Christians with their wrong interpretation of what the psalmist said:

"He (God) permitted no one to do them wrong; yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying, 'Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm'"(Psalm 105:14, 15, NKJV).

To question anything these professional ministers say or do is considered to be "touching" the "anointed of the Lord" which was forbidden in the Old Testament.

In Old Testament Israel, the prophets priest, and kings were "anointed" to these offices by having poured upon them the special anointing oil, after which they were known as "the anointed of the Lord". All three of these functions and offices (prophet, priest and king) were to find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ - meaning "the Anointed One" in Greek.

In the New Testament, Christ's followers are identified with Him so closely that they, as members of His body, the Church, carry on in His name these three offices of prophet, priest, and king. Every Christian is an "anointed one" because Christ, the Anointed One, has come to live in us and we are one in Him, If these professional ministers are the anointed ones so are all Christians; if they are infallible so are all of us! Therefore it is not correct to say that we should not question the teaching of any professional teacher or pastor. Notice also that the word "touch" means "to slay or kill" the Lord's anointed king (1 Samuel 24:6; 1 Samuel 26:9).

3. The question of Biblical faith

The word "faith" by itself has little meaning becauce we have to appropriate our faith in something or someone. The Bible teaches that as Christians we must have "faith in God" and not in anything else. The Bible assures that we are "saved through faith (in God)" (Eph. 2:8) and that the just shall "live by faith (in God)" (Romans 1:17).

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that "without faith (in God) it is impossible to please Him (God)" (Hebrews 11:6).

Jesus said, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (V. 24) Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them" (Mark 11:22 - 24, NKJV, emphasis added).

Notice that Jesus prefaced His statement with: "Have faith in God". It is very important because if you leave it out, your faith can move mountains just by believing what you are praying for will happen. In other words, faith becomes a power or a force which enables those who possess it to gain what they desire simply through a prayer of positive confession as in verse 24. If what we pray for comes to pass because we believe it would, then God in actual fact has played no real part in the answer to our prayer, but we have produced the result by the power of our own belief! The object of faith becomes faith istself and attention is devoted to getting faith in faith instead of having faith in God. The is the most common presumptuous error which is the very opposite of having faith in God.

Rather than being a power that we direct, faith is confidence in God and in what He will do. The key element of faith is, knowing the will of God.

4. The question of Power

Many Christians, including renowned Bible teachers, are confused regarding where power comes from - from God (Jesus) Himself or from His word?

The writer of Hebrews said, "... who (Jesus) being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ..." (Hebrews 1:3, NKJV, emphasis added).

Notice that God is holding all things "by the word of His power" and not "by the power of His word" as many Christians assumed. Many say there is power in speaking the words and they say that was how God spoke the words in each act of creation. For example, when God said, "Let there be light" and there was light (Gen. 1:3).

But many failed to understand that light was created not because words were spoken, but because it was God who spoke the words. Anyone, other than God, could repeat the same words any number of times and nothing would be created. The power is in God, not in words. By putting the emphasis upon words, it follows that man would be able to emulate God's mighty acts.

As long as we seek faith as a power that we can use to secure blessings for ourselves or other, we are denying the true faith that is in God.

Rightly dividing the Word of Truth

Paul wrote two epistles to Timothy, a young Pastor who was facing a heavy burden of responsibility in the Church of Ephesus. The greatest challenge to Timothy was the eradication of false doctrine. In the Second Epistle to Timothy Paul reminded Timothy of his spiritual heritage and responsibilities.

Paul said, "Be diligent to present yourself approve to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Timothy should give diligence to discharge the duties of the Pastoral office to meet the divine approbation. The object of the ministry is not to please men but to please God. Such Biblical doctrine should be preached, and such plan formed, and such manner of life pursued, as God will approve.

2. Timothy should faithfully perform his duty as a Pastor, so that when he looks over what he has done, he may not be ashamed.

3. Timothy should cultivate the boldness and ability to teach the Word of truth rightfully and skillfully.

4. Paul gave the same admonition to the Corinthian Church regarding the duty of a minister:

"But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God" (2 Cor. 4:2).

The truth shall make you free

The Word of God was given to fulfill the needs in our life. When God's people start to have certain preconceived ideas regarding some Scriptures they unknowingly put themselves under bondage and subsequently this bondage becomes a curse. Below is a passage of Scripture often being quoted wrongly.

Jesus said, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31, 32).

Notice that Jesus gave us four stages to spiritual freedom - Firstly keep and obey His Word. Then if you are doing that you become His disciple. If you are His disciple you shall know and understand the truth. You shall then be set free by the truth of His Word.

Anyone, a Pastor or a leader or a churchgoer, who does not keep and obey His Word, or who compromises His Word, in the eyes of Jesus, he is not His disciple. Then he does not know the truth because the truth is hidden from him. And because he does not know the truth, he is in spiritual bondage, even in the bondage of sin!

The Holy Spirit makes the difference

Solomon gave us a good picture of human life under the Old Covenant:

"Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, but they have no comforter - On the side of their oppressors there is power, but they have no comforter. Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, more than the living who are still alive. Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun" (Eccles. 4:1 -3, NKJV).

Solomon was saying under the Old Covenant the people did not have the Holy Spirit who is their comforter and guide. They did not have the One called alongside to help and to teach them all things.

The oppressor (the Devil) had power, but those who were oppressed did not have any power or the ability to resist him, because they did not have a comforter. Solomon's final assessment of life under the Old Covenant was: "You would really be better off if you had never been born than to have been born and died"!

The New Covenant was established on better promises

The writer of Hebrews said, "But now He (Jesus) has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises" (Heb. 8:6).

One of the better promises was the coming of the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended to be with the Father.

Jesus said, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:13, 14).

Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit came only upon the prophets, the priests and the kings. There were a few exceptions, such as with Mary. Also not forgetting Bezaleel, who was the chief craftsman for artistic works for the Tabernacle of Moses (Ex. 31:1 - 6). But those were exceptions, rather than the rule. The average layman did not have access to the Holy Spirit. Then you can understand why the people under the Old Covenant has such a hard time.

The final discourse of Jesus

John 12 to John 16 records Jesus' final discourse with His 12 disciples. He had been with them and teaching them them for nearly 3 and a half years. He showed them miracles of healings and raising the dead; He had the Last Supper with them; He gave them the new commandment of loving one another; He washed their feet and taught them how to humble themselves by washing one another's feet; He promised them the Holy Spirit and promised to be with them always, by the Holy Spirit, even to the end of the age.

Many Bible teachers and Bible interpreters have been at a loss in what way to understand a few verses in John 14:

Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:12 - 14, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. "The works that I do he will do also" - These promises had doubtless special reference to the apostles themselves - and not to us, Gentile believers. The apostles were full of grief at His departure, and Jesus, in order to console them, gave them the assurance that God would not leave them, but would attend them in their ministry with the demonstrations of His mighty power. The miracles (works) that Jesus talked about were: Raising the dead and healing the sick and other signs and wonders. This was done by the apostles in many instances - Mark 16:17, 18; Acts 5:15; 13:11; 19:12; 5:1 - 10.

Personally I don't think any believer could have similar power as the first apostles to perform all those miracles, let alone having equal power as Jesus Himself.

2. "Greater works than these he will do" - The word "greater" cannot refer to the miracles themselves, for the works of the apostles did not actually exceed those of Jesus in power and quality. But the apostles' works were greater in their extent and greater in their effects. The reason being the works of Jesus were confined to Judea and the miracles were seen by few. On the other hand, the works of the apostles were witnessed by many nations, and the effect of their miracles and preaching was that thousands from among the Jews and Gentiles were converted to the Christian faith. In other words, the works of the apostles made a deeper impression on mankind. They were attended with more extensive results.

3. "Because I go to the Father" - This gives the reason why the apostle and Christians who believed could do "greater works". The Holy Spirit would only be given after Jesus had been glorified (John 7:39).

4. "Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do it" - This promise referred particularly to the apostles in their work of spreading the gospel. This is also true of all Chrsitians, if what they ask is in faith and according to the will of God (James 1:6; 1 John 5:14).

5. "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it" - The word "anything" or "whatever" speaks of the scope of prayer; "Ask" speaks of the condition of prayer; "In My name" speaks of praying in His authority and praying in union with Him. In other words, we cannot pray outside His will if we pray "In His Name. "I will do it" speaks of the certainty of prayer.

Wrongly dividing John 14:12 - 14

Unfortunately John 14:12 - 14 has been used with the wrong emphasis by many professional evangelists simply because they take this passage of Scripture out of context. According to most of these presumptuous evangelists whatever Jesus had done the apostles could do equally well and whatever the apostles could do, "ordinary" believers could do as well and even better. Very often their emphasis is on healings and the working of miracles.

There are several reasons why the power in "ordinary" believers to work miracles is for below that of the apostles, let alone equal that of Jesus. Here are two of them:

1. The power to work miracles as well as the power to fulfill the Great commission depends on the measure of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believers. In other words, it all depends on the anointing of the Holy Spirit and without the anointing of the Holy Spirit we can do nothing.

That is the reason why Jesus, before He ascended into heaven, He commanded His disciples to tarry in the city of Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high (Luke 24:49).

Jesus' last words to His disciples: "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" (Acts 1:8).

Jesus was telling His disciples that they lack power to preach and to spread the gospel of the Kingdom until they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts tells us the effects and impact of the Pentecost on the lives of the apostles and on the early Church.

2. Jesus Himself was anointed with the Holy Spirit before He witnessed the good news of the Kingdom:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; ..."(Isaiah 61:1).

Jesus received the Holy Spirit without measure:

"For He (Jesus) whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure" (John 3:34).

The psalmist talked about Jesus: "You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil gladness more than Your companions" (Ps. 45:7, emphasis added).

"Companions" are the disciples of Jesus. Therefore Jesus were much more anointed than any of His disciples.

Believer are given a small measure of the Holy Spirit

Paul said, "In whom (Jesus) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnes of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory" (Eph. 1:14, KJV, emphasis added).

Paul was writing to believers in Ephesus who were all baptized in the Holy Spirit

Therefore "ordinary" Christians who are not even baptized in the Holy Spirit lack power both to work miracles and to share the gospel of the Kingdom to unbelievers. Furthermore the contemporary Church and individual Christians have already quenched and grieved the Holy Spirit in various degrees - by being influenced by world system.

Wrongly dividing the purpose and ministry of Elijah

Elijah was sent by God to Israel with a single mission - to defeat king Ahab of Israel and his idolatrous wife Jezebel and her false prophets who brought in the worship of pagan gods such as Baal and Asherah. The moment Elijah came before Ahab he proclaimed a drought in Israel for three years (1 Kings 17:1). This was an act of God to warn and to punish Ahab.

James said, "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produce its fruit" (James 5:17, 18, emphasis added).

God answered Elijah's prayer because he prayed according to the will of God and he was obedient to God and His Word. Therefore, even thought "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours", it doesn't follow that anyone of us can pray the same prayer earnestly and get the same result!

At Mount Carmel where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal and Asherah he was ordained by God to do that. This was the prayer that brought victory to God and Elijah:

"Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again" (1 Kings 18:36, 37).

When God told Elijah to flee from Jezebel (1 Kings 18:46) God miraculously preserved him by getting an angel to feed him. Earlier, during the drought Elijah was miraculously provided food and water through a widow (1 Kings 17). Any miracles performed by Elijah, like the bringing back to life the widow's son, was just incidental - to show the widow the Elijah was a true man of God. Elijah was not primarily sent by God to work the miracles of healing the sick, raising the dead and other signs and wonders.

The real purpose and ministry of Elijah clearly shows that it is not appropriate to take Elijah's works as an end-time Evangelism model for the Church. But some contemporary professional evangelists are doing just that and going round the world to teach gullible Christians to follow them!

The Foundation of Biblical Christianity

God is saying to His people today: "My Church is in spiritual adultery; My Church is becoming a spiritual harlot". We are seeing the fulfillment of the apostles' writing and the Book of Revelation that talk about apostasy. It is true that most believers believe in Biblical foundation through faith but many of them unknowingly add on to this foundation with unscriptural materials which are based on the teaching of Eastern religions, occult and New Age philosophy. Every true believer has a mandate from God to take away all those unscriptural materials and replace them with genuine materials in God's Word. The Bible says we must test all things and hold fast what is good (1 Thess. 5:21). We must rebuild the Church of Jesus Christ with the truth of God's Word.

Paul said to Timothy, "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity'" (2 Tim. 2:19, NKJV).

Paul said to the Christians in Ephesus, "... having been built on the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief cornerstone, ..." (Eph. 2:20).

How many Churches are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets? How many Churches are upholding the apostles' doctrine without compromise (Acts 2:42)? But bear in mind that the Lord knows who belongs to Him (2 Tim. 2:19) - A believing Christian who departs from iniquity.

Deception, delusion and apostasy in the Church

Paul said, "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteous" (2 Thess. 2:9 - 12, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Paul was writing to Christian believers. These believers refused to believe and refused to love the truth that would save them.

2. As a result of their refusing to believe and love the truth, God Himself would send them strong delusion so that they would believe Satan's lie instead.

There are two theologies rising up in the Church now. One is Biblical interpretation of theology and the other is New Age mentality. If you refuse to hold fast the truth of God's Word, God will send you a strong delusion to deceive you with the New Age mentality.

Hidden danger of New Age philosophy

The very philosophy of the New Age movement is ushering in the religion of antichrist (counterfeit Christ). It is the exact mentality and philosophy of many deceived Christians who are telling you that you should not get caught up with negative messages of repentance, death and hell, of the second coming of Christ and of the eternal judgment. The antichrist spirit is telling you that your are wonderful, you are great, you are people of virtue and we are going to win the world for Christ. That sounds very good to the flesh but if we do not know God's Word we will get sucked right into it!

That, I believe is New Ageism at the core. That is undermining Biblical Christianity and we need to stand and oppose that with God's Word. What the New Age movement proclaims is what Paul called the doctrine of demons (1 Tim. 4:1, 2).

Jesus Himself warned us: "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great sighns and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand" (Matt. 24:24, 25, emphasis added).

Notice that false christs and false prophets can perform great signs and wonders. The word "elect" means Christians, God's people and the Church.

Paul told Timothy, "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desire; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths" (2 Tim. 4:2 - 4, NAS, emphasis added).

The two words "reprove" and "rebuke" are not in the vocabulary of the New Age philosophy. To them, these are negative words that cause division. When you use these words you are divisive and judgmental and you are evil. But to you and I these are the Words of God.

The New Age Christian always takes Scripture out of context to support their view that Christians who reprove or rebuke them are causing division. Study the example below:

Paul said, "Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offences, ..." (Romans 16:17, NKJV).

The above verse is not complete. It sounds pretty good and clear. Therefore anyone like myself who speaks any correction or any rebuke is causing division. Now let us open to that Scripture and complete the verse and see what it says:

"... contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them" (V. 17).

It is now obvious who are causing division. Not those who are standing up correcting and rebuking the things that is going on, but those who allow the New Age occultic spirit to infiltrate the Church. They conveniently taking Scripture out of context, twist it and leave parts out!

Jude said, "I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3).

In other words, true Chrsitian should make an earnest effort to hold fast on Biblical Christianity.

Now, for what reason the Church has been infiltrated outrightly by the antichrist New Age spirit? There are many reasons for this. Let us consider just three of them: Firstly, because of the philosophy of love and unity at all costs. Secondly, the philosophy of do not judge and finally, the philosophy of confessing God's Word but taking it out of context.

Satanic philosophy of "love and unity at all costs"

I believe in love and unity and I believe we need more love and unity in the true Body of Christ. But when the Church begins to involve, to endorse and to encourage New Age tactics and occultism that is where my love and unity come to an end. I will not unite with the spirit of antichrist. I must always stand for God's Word and stand for His truth.

If God is not against love and unity at all costs why did He stop the building of the Tower of Babel by creating confusion among the people with different languages? Why did He tell Israel to maintain their separateness with idolatry and paganism around them? Think about that!

These people are preaching to you another Jesus (2 Cor. 11:4) and a different gospel (Gal. 1:6). They are giving you New Age Christianity. Multitudes of the elect of God who do not know God's Word are getting caught up into it.

Satanic philosophy of "do not judge"

Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matt 7:1).

Yes, I believe that. I cannot judge your heart. You stand before the Lord and not before me. But I have an obligation to judge your fruit and your doctrine by the standard of God's Word.

The same Chapter further down Jesus said, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (V. 15).

Please tell me how to identify false prophets in sheep's clothing unless I make a value judgment, unless I examine their fruit and unless I examine their doctrine. There is a Biblical balance we need to keep in mind. We must not forget to look at any Scripture in its context. We must have truth and love at the same time. Sometimes we must show love in the form of discipline and accountability. As Paul said, we must always speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). This is the Biblical balance all true Christians must uphold.

The New Age Christians think you are doing God a great favor for not putting their fruit and doctrine to the test. They say you can't put them to the test; you can't evaluate their teaching because the Holy Spirit has revealed to their apostles and prophets the things they have been speaking about. And to question them is to question God. My reply to them is - garbage!

The angel of the Lord spoke to John, "I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who cll themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love" (Rev. 2:2 - 4, NAS, emphasis added).

Jesus was commending the Church of Ephesus. True Christians who desire to obey and please God must put to the test those who called themselves ministers of God. We must also have the balance of standing for the truth and at the same time never to leave our first love - with our whole hearted allegiance to the Jesus of the Bible.

Satanic philosophy of "confessing God's Word"

The New Age movement is deceiving true Christians by appplying or confessing the Scripture out of context.


Jesus said, "... all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23).

I believe the concept of that, but I also believe that there are criterion, qualification and certain condition to be met and fulfilled before we are able to receive what God says. Let us go further:

Jesus also said, "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:14). And we stopped right there.

What if you go out and confess your neighbor's wife? Is God obligated to honor it because you confessed it?

Most New Age Christians will say yes, because he has quoted the right verse and he has used the right formula!

But the very next verse qualifies what Jesus said: "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (V. 15).

John said, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1 John 5:14).

James said, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasure" (James 4:3).

David the psalmist said, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4).

If you desire to have a ministry you need to delight yourself in the Lord - which means to humble youself, obey Him, fear Him, pray earnestly and seek His face and His will, until you get a Word from Him. I believe your ministry is not there because of the right confession but because of obedience!

Satanic blessing

Togething with the emergence of the New Age movement there is a thing called satanic blessing. I believe many professional full-time ministers in mega-churches are experiencing a satanic blessing. They are allowing this New Age occultic technique to infiltrate their Churches and ministries. They are seeing blessing; they are seeing prosperity; they are seeing miracles of signs and wonders; they are seeing tremendous Church growth and they are seeing heights and excitement among members of the congregation. And there is so much love and unity and things are really going so well. To them this must be the blessing of God. Jesus addressed this problem and gave His warning at the close of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:21 - 23).

There is an urgent need of the Spirit of discernment among God's people in this end time hour. It seems to me the outpouring of Satan's spirit of deception surpasses the outpouring of God's grace and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Why? Simply because the Church has grieved the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30).

A different kind of famine

The Word of the Lord spoken through Amos: "I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it" (Amos 8:11, 12, NKJV, emphasis added).


Amos' prophecy is being fulfilled now. Amos was talking about a different kind of famine, not a famine of physical food like some countries are facing right now, but a famine of Spiritual food - the Word of God. Because of this fact, undiscening Christians are being deceived by words of the satanice New Age philosophy!

Challenges ahead

Here are some challenges ahead for all true believers in Christ:

1. Total commitment to Jesus Christ, the savior and the Lord. Do not be a lukewarm Christian. God will vomit you out of His mouth if you are neither cold nor hot (Rev. 3:16). The Kingdom of God has no place for any lukewarm Christian.

2. Cultivate a discerning and a sensitive spirit. Feed on God's Word and become a matured Christian.

The writer of Hebrews said, "For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Heb. 5:13, 14, NKJV, emphasis added).

3. Becoming an expert on God's Word. Anything that is not in accord with God's Word do not sqallow it but reject it. Be a Berean Christian - "... they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11).

Examine what you read (including this message) and what you hear in the light of God's Word.

The Three Stages of the Christian Life

The word "three" in Scripture is very important. There are three Persons in the Godhead - Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. We are created as a tri-part being - Spirit, soul and body. There are 3 archangels. There are 3 feasts of the Lord - Passover, which speaks of the born-again experience; Pentecost, which speaks of our charismatic or pentecostal experience; and the third feast is the Feast of the Tabernacle which is the last day feast on earth. This speaks of the great harvest and in-gathering of souls. We think of the journey of Israel coming out of, firstly, Egypt where they celebrated the Pass-over. Secondly they came into the wilderness where they celebrated Pentecost. The third stage is Canaan, the Promised Land.

The three stages of the Christian life according to John

John said, "I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His Name's sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one" (1 John 1:12 - 14, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. First stage little children; second stage young men; third stage fathers.

2. John said two things to the little children - one, your sins are forgiven you; two, you have know the Father.

When you are born of the Spirit of God even when you are 65 years of age you are just a little child. The first thing that you are becoming to be aware of is that your sins are forgiven. Secondly, you are into a relationship with the Almighty as your own Father.

3. John also said two things to the young men. As you begin to grow and develop and become what the Bible here refers to as young man, you become strong because the Word of God is abiding within you and you are able to overcome the wicked one in your life.

4. When John spoke to a group called the fathers he did not say two things. He instead, said only one thing, but said it twice. So, it must be important.

He said, "Because you have known Him who is from the beginning".

The fathers not only know God in an intimate way but they know His plan and His purpose even from the beginning. Only matured men and women of God come to know God in that way. In my opinion all believers are at least in one of those three stages.

Three stages of development

It is truly amazing to discover that the three stages of development of both the life of Jesus in His humanity and the Christian life follow closely to the three development stages of the butterfly.

The first stage is the caterpillar stage. The caterpillar comes out of a little egg that takes only between 2 to 4 days to hatch. They say all that the caterpillar does is eat and eat and therefore gets fatter and fatter. As it grows it sheds off 3 or 4 coats of skin. At stage two the caterpillar begins to emit a gummy substance out of one of two glands. Another gland begins to emit some very thin silken threads up to 3000 ft long. This mixes with the gummy substance to form a chrysalis or cocoon. And so the caterpillar is being sealed off in total darkness. The caterpillar develops into a beautiful butterfly in the chrysalis. When the butterfly is ready to come out it emits some acid to burn a hole in the outer shell of the cocoon. This is stage three, the final stage.

A butterfly is known for 3 things:

1. The butterfly is beautiful. The caterpillar is ugly. The priestly holy garment of Aaron was made for glory and for beauty (Ex. 28:2). As believers we are clothed with the Spirit of God which reveals the beauty of the Lord Jesus (Psalms 90:17).

2. The butterfly can fly. God wants us to be believers who are heaven bound and not earth bound. He wants us to mount up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31). He wants our eyes to focus on things that are eternal and not temporal (2 Cor. 4:18).

3. The butterfly can reproduce and multiply. God wants our ministry to reproduce and to multiply as we lead others to Christ.

The three stages of development in the life of Jesus

Let us trace the three stages of development in the life of Jesus in comparison with that of the butterfly.

First stage we see Jesus' birth until the age of 12. He was at the caterpillar stage. Second stage we see Jesus between the age of 12 and the age of 30. That was when He was in the chrysalis or cocoon (spiritually speaking) hidden out of veiw by the Father. At the age of 30 He came forth as a beautiful butterfly flying into great heights for 3 and a half years doing the will of the Father.

From the New Testament writers we read about Jesus' birth, His dedication in the temple at the age of 8 days. And then at the age of 12 years he confounded the religious leaders with His knowledge of the Word of God. he had been eating and eating and eating the Word of God but the Father considered Him not yet ready for His Ministry.

When we get into the Old Testament writing we learn about what happened to Jesus when He was hidden by the Father for 18 years in His spiritual cocoon. The prophet Isaiah, with unique revelation, tells us so much of what was happening in the life of Jesus between the age of 12 to the age of 30!

Up to the age of 12 (Fisrt stage)

Isaiah said, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: behold, a vigin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good" (Isaiah 7:14, 15, KJV, emphasis added).

Notice that butter, in Scripture, speaks of the Word of God. Butter is made from milk curd.

Peter said, "... as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:2, NKJV).

Notice that in His humanity, just like us, He had to learn.

Honey, in Scripture, speaks of life and the life is in the Spirit. Canaan, the Promised Land was called a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8). There was life in the Promised Land.

Jesus was growing up as a young boy in Jerusalem. He was exposing His life to the Word of God and the Spirit of God. And because of this He came to know how to choose that which was right and how to refuse that which was wrong.

From the age of 12 to the age of 30 (Second stage)

Isaiah said, "And He was made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me" (Isaiah 49:2, NKJV, emphasis added).

Jesus was kept hidden in the shadow of His Father's hands for 18 years. During that time His Father got Him ready for His Ministry by doing two things - one, made His mouth a sharp sword and two, made Him a polished shaft. Notice that "sharp sword" speaks of the Word of God and "polished shaft" which is a sharp arrow, speaks of His Power. Notice also the word "made" indicates that Jesus although divine was also human because the Word of God and the Power of God did not come to Him automatically.

From the age of 30 until He completed His Ministry (Third stage)

Jesus, at the age of 30 came up out of the River Jordan, heaven was opened unto Him (Luke 3:21). For 3 and a half years Jesus moved under an opened heaven on earth and ministered in a miraculous supernatural way. His polished shaft hit the bulls eye at all times! He was like a beautiful butterfly soaring unto great heights!

The three stages of development of the Christian life

1. First stage - caterpillar stage

When a person is quickened by the Spirit of God he becomes born again by the Spirit of God. He comes out of the "egg" and enters the "caterpillar" stage. With his sins forgiven he begins to shed things off his life that have been hanging on him for years. It is God's plan for the new believer in Christ that he gets into the Word of God. God puts a hunger in his heart and he begins to eat and eat and consumes the Word and he begins to grow fat spiritually.

The psalmist said, "He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you" (Ps. 81:16).

When you have a hunger in your heart and you get into the Word of God, God is going to feed you with the finest of wheat - the pure Word of God.

2. Second stage - chrysalis or cocoon stage

At the end of the caterpillar stage it is time for change for the new believer because he has grown fat. The Holy Spirit tells us it is time for change if we really want to shine for God at this end time hour. Change is painful but also very necessary.

The psalmist said, "Because they do not change, therefore they do not fear God" (Ps. 55:19).

If we do not change and just remain as caterpillars all of our Christian life, we are found not fearing God and not putting Him His rightful place in our hearts. If we do not change how are we going to be changed into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ? Change will hurt us but will not harm us.

God wants us to go through the same changing process as Jesus went through as He was hidden in the shadow of His Father's hand. For us we have to come into a time of darkness, a time of pressure and a time of difficulty.

The following four passages of Scripture are very interesting:

1. God said, "I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, ..." (Isaiah 45:3).

There are treasures for us to discover in darkness which we will never learn to discover when everything is going well for us.

2. Job said, "He (God) uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings the shadow of death to light" (Job 12:22).

You will discover the deep things of God in darkness - and not in the light when everything is going great for you; you have got plenty of money in the bank and you can buy whatever you want to buy.

3. "Who among you fears the Lord? Wo obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has not light? let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God. Look, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with sparks: Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled - This you shall have from My hand: You shall lie down in torment" (Isaiah 50:10, 11).

In your darkness you need to trust the Lord and lean on Him. So many people light their own fire to get out of darkness when they find themselves in it. But God said, if you light your own fire you will have to walk in the sparks of it and you will end up in sorrow - because God's period of time to change you in darkness is not up yet. We need to stay in the darkness for a little longer until God, in His perfect timing, brings us out of darkness.

If someone pricks a hold in the cocoon to let the yet-to-be-formed butterfly to come out before its time he will probably kill it, or he will have a deformed futterfly!

4. Jesus said, "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops" (Matt. 10:27).

During our times of darkness and difficulty the Lord speaks into our lives to comfort us. Later on when He brings us out of that situation, out from that cocoon and we are in the light again we will be able to share those things with others and encourae those who are in time of darkness themselves.

3. Third stage - a beautiful butterfly

I believe in a sense, the Church of Jesus Christ is in the cocoon stage now. But God is about to bring His people out, changed and be transformed into beautiful butterflies. They will come out in the dawning of a new day; come out like solders ready for battle and possess our canaan. God will give us period of time on earth just like He gave His Son Jesus Christ - three and a half years or may not be that long or even longer. But we can be certain of one thing. He has reserved a particular time period for His Church, to reveal on earth, the glory and beauty of God - As He is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17)!