June 2, 2012
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED
INTRO:
We, as Christians who have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, have come to recognize the authority God has given us in this world. Additionally, we have come to recognize our rights as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Further, we are recognizing that along with this authority and these rights we have also been given a measure of power to be able to begin doing those works which our Father has called us to do. This is good!
But, as we have faced various situations and experienced differing results from our efforts, we have also come to realize that there is yet more needed, and still more to come. In short, we want more “power”! More power to do the things we wish to do, and more power to reveal to others the truth of our Father and His Kingdom.
So then, recognizing this need for more, how do we get it? I’ll outline how to prepare, how to avoid getting misled, and how we will actually receive more power. We must continue moving forward until we come into our full standing as sons and daughters of God.
A. HOW TO PREPARE
1. BE YE PERFECT
“Be ye perfect; even as your Father is perfect!”; Mt 5:48.
I assert to you: Just as the Jews of the first century did not recognize the coming of Jesus as the promised Messiah, so too are the Christians of the twenty-first century failing to recognize the coming of the Holy Spirit as the promised Latter Rain!
As we look back at what happened during Jesus’ first advent, we easily note the mistakes the people of God back then made. We even laugh at their blindness and say, “If only I had been there, I would have been able to see that Jesus is ‘God among us’.”
We see that the Jews failed to recognize Jesus because He didn’t come in the manner they were expecting. Yes, they knew that there were prophecies of a Messiah to come. Yes, they knew that they were living in the appointed time. However, while waiting for the prophecy to be fulfilled, they had created their own expectations of how the Messiah should appear and what He should do. They wanted someone like another King David who would lead an army to free Israel from their Roman oppressors and who would restore Israel to its former glory. Their expectations had to do with gaining a more comfortable life in this world and regaining their former prestige among the other nations. Thus when the people felt that Jesus didn’t fit the image they had created and their religious leaders declared Him to be false, they then crucified Him. They rejected the very one who had been promised to them.
Yet despite our recognition and even ridicule of the shortsightedness of the people of God back then, most Christians today are blind to the fact that they are repeating the same mistakes. Yes, we know there are prophecies of a coming Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we know that we are living in the appointed time. We even know the prophecy from Re 3:14-18 that the Christian Church of the last days will be spiritually blind. But most people smugly think that this Laodicea prophecy refers to everyone else but not themselves, because they are so learned and enlightened. WRONG!!
The verse even states that most will consider themselves so smart they won’t wish to be taught anything more. In their hybris, their great pride and spiritual self-sufficiency, most Christians are failing to see that the Holy Spirit is already among us in this world, at this very time. They are failing to see their need of God. They are failing to see their error.
The Holy Spirit is already blessing those who know their need of Him and who are doing all they can to receive Him. Those who are humbling themselves and renouncing pride; those who are putting aside their own ideas of what the Holy Spirit should be and who are letting Him teach them how He will manifest Himself; those who are giving up all claims to “self” and are pursuing a relationship with God: these are the ones who are receiving the Holy Spirit, even now!
Many Christians today are of the opinion that when the Latter Rain comes it will magically and instantly change them from their presently sinful self into a new and perfect being who is then ready for a life in Heaven. In the meantime, they feel they can just carry on as usual so long as they hold to a small vague hope that because they call themselves Christians they will surely receive the Latter Rain when it comes. They also think that “Christianity” as a religion will be restored to the glory it once had and that the people of the world will again hold it in respect and desire to be a part of it. Further, they feel this new “reformation” of the substance and image of Christianity will be led by their own particular denomination; because of course, “My church is the right one, the one with the light, the one that will correct all the other denominations.” Oh, what a silly and deluded people we are! The description of Laodicea truly fits.
The truth is that being made perfect is not some future event that will be done for you while you’re en route to Heaven; it is something that should be happening to you right now! Yes, NOW! You may think this is impossible, but it’s not. It has been made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus, and demonstrated as a model for us in His life among us.
Further, not only has Jesus made it a possibility, He also tells us through Scripture that it is our duty as sons and daughters. Mt 5:48 reads, “Be ye perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” This boggles the mind and leaves us asking, “HOW?!” But don’t despair. Whatever God asks you to do, He also gives you the power to do. And it is as you come to realize your need of great power, God’s power, to be able to overcome temptation and be perfect, that you then turn to Him and beg for the Holy Spirit to fill you and empower you.
Please don’t misunderstand what I’m trying to suggest. This message is not meant to discourage. Don’t go away thinking, “Oh, great! Now they say I have to be perfect to be saved.” That is not what I’m saying. Perfection is not a requirement for salvation. You only need to believe in the forgiveness of Jesus in order to be saved. After that, if you wish to continue with that stage of relationship; you’re very welcome to do so. The point of this message is to encourage. It is to make you aware that a life of perfection is open to us if we want it. But this is a difficult pursuit. So it’s only for those who choose to follow a higher calling.
To live sinless lives and to have power are interrelated, and they both come with the Holy Spirit dwelling within; but they happen in stages.
First, we must desire to have the Baptism of the Holy Spirit more than anything else. Making this your foremost desire is crucial. You can’t spend just an hour a week trying to develop a relationship with God. That’s nowhere near enough. Even an hour a day won’t do it. You can’t take care of all your other business, then once everything else is done try to spare a few thoughts for God, and expect this will work. You have to become obsessed with gaining and building that relationship. From the time you wake up until the time you fall asleep you must be thinking about being filled with the Holy Spirit. And the time you spend on your employment and other obligations are just distractions you do as quickly as possible so you can get back to pursuing God. You can’t hope to be given the power of God by just pursuing it half-heartedly. When desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit is your highest priority, then it will come.
Second, once you have the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, you begin a process of transformation. I’m sorry; but this will take a bit of time. The more stubborn you are and the more you resist the promptings to change, the longer the process will take. The duration of this process is entirely a matter of how long it takes you to comply. During this period the worldly things you used to enjoy will become less appealing, and the spiritual things you used to dislike will become more pleasant. You’ll find yourself automatically becoming less sinful, little by little. Don’t be discouraged when you see yourself still succumbing to temptation occasionally; instead focus on the progress you’re making. Little weaknesses are disappearing completely, and bigger ones are becoming less frequent. By the end of a few months you will recognize that 90% of your old habits are gone. The remaining 10% will take a lot longer because these are the things most deeply established. But these too will be conquered over time. Just recognize that God is giving you power over all your sinfulness and you are growing spiritually stronger every day. Yes, there will be ups and downs, but the overall trend is upwards.
Third, as for performing healings and miracles, you will find you have gained a small degree of power once you’ve received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, you’ll eventually realize that this initial amount has limitations. The amount of power you have will grow stronger as you become less sinful. These are inversely proportional: the less you sin, the more power you have. So as your desire to be a more effective “child of God” grows, it becomes ever more needed to become perfect. Again, the ability to do this comes from the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ perfect life in this world and His total sacrifice of His own self-interest wasn’t just so that God the Father could see that one human had been able to live up to His standards, then He could be satisfied with that. It’s not the case that if just one is perfect that’s enough. Jesus’ life was to be an example for us to follow. All Christians are to do the same as He did.
It was God’s plan that humans live in this world as rulers. But once Adam and Eve sinned and rulership of Earth passed to Satan, God implemented a plan to regain what we lost. Jesus’ life here conquered Satan and gave all of us the possibility to be free from sin; thus He restored to us what was lost in Eden. We once again had given to us the possibility to be rulers in this world. After Jesus returned to Heaven, He sent us the Holy Spirit to empower us to do as He did and use the dominion He gave us. Unfortunately, we as Christians have failed to reach our full potential. Every generation since the time of Jesus has had it within their grasp to live victorious lives in this world; just as our Lord showed us how to do. But instead of being conquerors over our enemy and growing daily in the knowledge of God, Christians have grown successively more ignorant of the power available to us until now we can’t even accept this as a possibility.
When we hear of the need to be perfect we think, “Well that’s a nice theory, a nice goal; but it isn’t really possible.” We then think of all sorts of excuses and justifications for not achieving it. But the underlying problem is that we don’t truly believe it to be possible. Even all the Bible verses that tell us that God will give us the ability don’t convince us. It’s easier for us to think that God’s Word is wrong than to accept that He would work a miracle on our behalf.
Herein is the explanation for our weakness and our continued subjection to our Enemy — we refuse to believe the word of our God. He tells us clearly that we can be perfect, just as He is perfect, and He tells us how to achieve the power to be perfect. Our part is to believe Him and to follow His plan.
Yes! God really is willing; and more than that He strongly desires, to see us become perfect sons and daughters in this world. For then the purpose of the life Jesus lived and the sacrifice He made in order to make it possible for us to be restored shall be fully realized. Did Jesus suffer to show us the way, only to then see no one follow His example? He lived a perfect life in this world in order to demonstrate to us how to live a perfect life in this world. If He only wanted to tell us that we will someday be able to live perfectly in Heaven, then much of what He suffered here would have been unnecessary.
If the only purpose of God was to let Jesus shed His blood to pay our “death penalty”, then Jesus only needed to die as a human. That could have been accomplished by letting Jesus be killed as an infant. As you read the story of the Nativity in the Gospels, you see King Herod tried to do just that. Herod tried to kill the baby Jesus. But God the Father didn’t allow the blood of Jesus to be spilled at that time because merely dying as a human in this world wasn’t enough: Jesus also had to live as a human in this world. Why? To show us that God’s requirements are not impossible. God’s children can meet His expectations because He gives us the ability to do so. He gives us perfect and sinless lives.
After you have invited the Holy Spirit into your life and after you see that most of your old weaknesses have fallen away, you then must spend a lot of time in prayer asking Him to make you aware of the things remaining in your life which are displeasing to Him. As He then brings before you something to renounce, you must quickly confess it and ask that it be removed from you. Then believe — believe that God wants that sin gone from you even more than you do. Once you have expressed your willingness for Him to take it away, He will do so.
You will also find, as stated earlier, that as you become more sinless and more filled with the Holy Spirit, your spiritual power increases. You become better able to bless others, to heal diseases, and to cast out demons. We then begin fulfilling the commission that Jesus gave us in Mt 10:8, “Go; heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.” Jesus wouldn’t have asked us to do this if it wasn’t possible for us to attain the power needed to obey Him.
Perhaps when you hear of Jesus living a sinless life you may be tempted to say, “Yeah; but that’s because He was God.” Such a statement reveals an inaccurate understanding of the situation.
It is true that before His incarnation on Earth 2,000 years ago Jesus was God. He was fully and completely God, eternal and self-existent. He was just like the Father in His nature and being. Yet, in an act that defies our full comprehension, He condescended to put aside all His God powers in order to come to our world and live exactly as we must live. During His time here He never once resorted to using any of His God power to help Himself with a problem. His entire life here was lived in the exact condition that we must live our lives. Yes, it is true that in order to gain mastery over temptation, to live a sinless life, and to work miracles, one needs access to supernatural strength. But this is given by the Holy Spirit.
When Adam and Eve sinned they lost their ability to resist temptation and thus became slaves to sin. Their weaknesses then passed down to all humans so that none of us has sufficient strength in ourselves to ever get free of this state. Seeing us in this condition, God implemented a plan to help us. He directed the Holy Spirit to give to anyone who requested it power to resist temptation. The Holy Spirit was also to return mastery of this world, such as Adam had once held, to all who succeeded where Adam had failed. But access to this power to resist Satan and to command nature can come only through a complete surrender of “self” to God.
When trying to teach someone how to do something which they have no familiarity with doing, it’s one thing to tell them what to do, but it’s another thing to actually show them how to do it. The more difficult the task, the more needed it is to show rather than tell.
For example, when Moses wanted to free the Israelites from slavery to the Egyptians he could have just said to them, “Go out the front gate, cross over the Red Sea, go past Mt Sinai, make a left turn, then it’s a straight shot to the Promised Land”; and after giving these directions just send them out to make the trip on their own. However, knowing the difficulty of the journey and the weakness of the people’s character, Moses chose instead to actually lead them the entire way.
Likewise, God saw that mankind was so entrapped in sin and so blind to spiritual guidance, that it was needed to carefully show us exactly what we would need to do to get free of the Enemy.
Thus the need for Jesus to come to us. He had to come all the way; He couldn’t just stop part way then call us to go to Him.
Jesus had to meet us where we were: in His incarnation He had to take on our fallen nature. It wouldn’t be enough for Jesus to only be like Adam before the Fall and prove the theory that Adam “could have” resisted temptation if only he had obeyed God’s command. No; Jesus had to take Adam’s post-Fall nature in order to demonstrate to us that even in our weakened condition it is still possible to get free of our slavery to sin and for us to find the way back to Adam’s pre-Fall state. Jesus showed us the way so that, yes, we can be restored to the position which Adam lost. That is, we can be free of sin, we can resist temptation, we can control nature, we can order the Enemy to get out of our world, and we can have dominion over the Earth, just as God designed.
God’s plan now is to restore to us all that was lost and to finally see a generation of mankind succeed in living in this world according to His first purpose. As you cooperate with God, He will give you all the help you need, because He strongly desires to see His original plan for this world and for mankind finally realized.
Once we begin to live up to our perfect standard, the Latter Rain will fall. Then as Pentecost is poured out, every promise in the Bible and every word of God will come to their ultimate fulfilment.
B. HOW TO AVOID DECEPTION
1. RESIST FEAR
Next let’s look at how to avoid being deceived as we prepare for power. First, we have to resist “Fear”.
WE MUST NOT LIVE IN FEAR!
We have dominion, we have authority, and we have rights. (pause) But, our Enemy is a cheater who is good at bluffing us. We must recognize the truth of both these statements; then choose to not live in fear.
As humans we have been given this planet to be our home. Our God created it for us, and gave us dominion over it. A short time after that our Enemy came and tricked our First Parents out of it. So our God came back and regained our home from the Enemy and gave it to us once more. In doing so He also gave us authority to keep our Enemy from coming back to deceive us again. Unfortunately, in our shortsightedness we often overlook these actions of our God, and so we don’t use our full rights.
Our Enemy is a liar, a thief, and a murderer (Jn 10:10). He uses every trick he knows to cheat us out of what is ours. He is not as strong and powerful as we fear. But through years of lies he has deluded people into believing that he is bigger than they are. He is not! We can overcome him; if we only try. He is stubborn, and will seek to resist us; but we must be even more determined than he, and insist he go. Ja 4:7, “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.”
The Enemy is also very tricky and subtle. Although some people can be reached with a direct confrontation, he knows others can be reached only through subterfuge. Those he can’t get from the front, he attacks from behind. A favorite strategy is to implant in people a lot of wrong ideas. By doing this he separates us from our God, he depletes our strength, and he lowers our willingness to oppose him. One of these false beliefs is that he is very powerful; as I mentioned above. Another common deception is to try to fill us with fear. Once he’s done this, he can reach us. It doesn’t really matter what the fear is that we accept, so long as he gets us to fear something. Allow me to illustrate.
HOSPITAL FEAR
I was driving down the Interstate the other day when I noticed a billboard advertisement for a local hospital. It read, “I have bloating, weight gain, headaches, and irritability. Could I have Lymes Disease?” The punch line was, “Go see your doctor!” These ‘so called’ symptoms are part of a typical monthly cycle; nearly everyone experiences them at one time or another. But now days hospitals are trying to get people fearing that even the smallest problems could be serious, and they should rush to see their doctors.
This ad followed ones appearing earlier which read, “If it’s just a cold, your mother can take care of it; but if it’s the flu, you’d better go see a doctor!”; and another, “Cancer can hide anywhere! Go get a complete exam, NOW!” It seems they want people to rush to the hospital every time they sneeze. The medical industries — hospitals, doctors, and pharmacies — are trying to turn every person in the country into a patient that needs permanent care.
Look at all the television and print advertisements that promote pills for whatever problem you may have. “Can’t sleep? Take a pill. Can’t eat; or can’t stop eating? Take a pill. High blood pressure; low blood pressure? Take a pill. High blood sugar? Take a pill. Worried, depressed, or just unhappy? Take a pill. Want some sex? Take a pill.” They present this as the answer for any problem. What’s worse, they readily admit that these medicines won’t “cure” you; they can only “manage” your symptoms. In other words, once you start, count on staying on medication for the rest of your life. But it doesn’t end there; that is just the beginning. For you see, whatever pill you might take will have a side-effect; and this will then require that you take a second pill. That’s when you learn that the second pill also creates a side-effect; but don’t worry, there’s a third pill for that. Before long you’re taking a dozen different medications; and each one will be needed for the rest of your life!
It once used to be that your doctor’s goal was to heal you. He or she would put you on a short course of treatment to get you mostly well; then send you home to finish your recovery. The expectation was that you’d be healed quickly and not need to be seen again until the next emergency. They also let you know that they were very busy; so try not to come bother them if all you had was something small or trivial. That attitude has changed. Now, they don’t want a quick recovery; they want a “long-term managed care patient”.
Let me make myself clear: Do you understand what I’ve said? And what I haven’t said? Did you hear me say, “Don’t take medicine?” No! That’s not the point. If you have been prescribed a legitimate medication for a real need, take it. What I’m saying is to be wise, and to be cautious. Follow four steps.
First, don’t succumb to fear! If you feel you are getting a headache, then ask yourself if you’re getting enough sleep. Don’t fall into the trap of paranoia. “Oh, no! I saw a pharmaceutical ad on TV last week that talked about headaches. Maybe I’m getting ‘Frankenstein’s Syndrome’! I’d better get to my doctor right away.” Don’t succumb to fear!
Second, don’t easily consent to be put on medication. When the doctor says, “They’ve just come out with a new pill that will take care of this.” Don’t agree instantly. Ask him if there is another way. He may say, “Yes, there is. Less salt and more exercise. But that will take effort.” For your own sake, resist the “easy” path; don’t readily consent to medication.
Third, bless your medicines against negative effects. If it turns out there is no alternative to taking a chemical formulation, then at least do what you can to keep the harm to a minimum. There’s always more than one medicine available. Ask if there is one that you take for just two weeks, instead of one that is needed for a “lifetime”. Then, once you’re at home ready to eat it, pray over it before putting it in your mouth. “Lord, I bless this in Your name so it will have no negative effects, and that it will complete its desired purpose quickly. Amen.” Bless what you have to take.
Fourth, go to God first! For too many people God is thought of last, if at all. As soon as they sneeze, they think of the doctor, the hospital, or a pill. Only after they’ve been seen and are already on a long course of treatment, might they remember they have a God. At that point their prayer is just to ask that He bless the doctor. It would be far better to go to God before doing anything else. Ask for wisdom, then trust His guidance. Go to God first!
This new attitude is not limited to just the medical industries. You can see the same trend toward overstatement and fear-mongering even in the local weather forecasts. They say, “A terrible storm is coming. It will bring 2-4 inches of rain in a single hour; and there may be flash flooding. There will be winds up to 50 mph and a chance of tornadoes; there will also be severe lightning and possible hail. Prepare for the worst!” Then once the storm arrives all that happens is a short downpour, such as is common for the season. Yet with their melodramatic statements, they have introduced into people a sense of fear that stays with them all day as they wait for the coming disaster. … And don’t even look at the evening News! They want you to be afraid to even go out to the grocery store. “Lock yourself in your house; and hope you don’t have a ‘home-invasion’.” We cannot live in fear! Reject all attempts to instill it in you.
Big businesses and the medical industries are using all available means to get you thinking you need their immediate help. Then, once you’re dependent, you become for them an “income stream”. In this country we stamp our coins and currency, “In God We Trust.” We have reached the point where products and pills also should be stamped, “In Mammon We Trust!”
It is not my desire to rant about current medical and business practices. But I mention these things because this problem entails more than just big business. This is an issue which involves the spiritual domain as well. By shaping people’s thoughts and instilling them with fear, these companies are opening doors through which demons and serious diseases can enter. They are turning small problems into big ones; and they are reaching people who had no problems before. For these corporations this is just about building up business. But for the Enemy of Man this is a means of reaching people who previously weren’t accessible; and for gaining a tighter grip on those who were tenuous. The Enemy’s goal is to place a personal demon within every single person in the country; and he is now finding new access points through current medical beliefs, modern business practices, and mass-media hype.
Shortly I’ll explain a bit more about the spiritual implications of this fear-mongering. But first I need to lay a foundation and give some background information .
2. RESIST DEMONIC INTRUSION
The next step in avoiding being deceived or led off track is to resist demonic attempts to influence us. These attacks come indirectly and slyly; but they can have profound consequences.
SEVEN CHURCHES
In Chapters 2 & 3 of the book of Revelation there is a description given of “Seven Churches”, and God’s messages to them. For each there is a brief description of what they’re doing right, what they’re doing wrong, and a recommendation of what they should do next.
A careful reading of the description of the Seven Churches reveals that the messages to the first five of them follow the same pattern. To begin they are commended for what they’re doing right. Next they are admonished for what they are doing wrong. Finally they are counseled how to get on the right track again. The messages to the final two churches departs a bit from this pattern. For the sixth church there is no admonition that they are doing anything wrong; and for the seventh church there is no commendation that they are doing anything right.
There have been many interpretations of this passage. A common and popular interpretation is to apply the messages to seven successive periods in the development of the Christian church at large, covering the ages from the time of Christ’s Ascension to the time of Christ’s Second Coming. This interpretation has a legitimate application and is able to give us important understandings. However, there is an interesting aspect of prophetic messages which is often overlooked; this is that most God-given prophecies have more than one application. In other words, one message can have two meanings, depending on the group to which it’s applied.
To illustrate, the messages to the Seven Churches had a first application to seven specific, individual congregations. If you had been present at the time the message was written you could have gone to those cities and found in each a local church whose members had the characteristics described. And you would have been able to discern what spiritual condition the respective messages were addressing. Nevertheless, a second application is seen when taking an overview of the progress of Christianity as a religion. One can trace the spiritual development of the church as a world body, irrespective of denominational divides, and separate its history into seven periods. Doing so yields a picture of successive ages of the corporate body which bears a distinct similarity to the descriptions of the churches in the prophetic message of Revelation.
I now posit that there is yet a third application of the message to the Seven Churches. I believe that this prophecy will prove to have another meaning. I submit that within the entire body of Christianity that exists at the close of time there will be discernable within various areas, various groups, and various denominations, the characteristics of each of the Seven Churches. That is, this particular group of believers will resemble one of the described churches, while that particular group of believers will resemble a different one. Thus by looking at all parts of the world body, one will be able to find representative groups for each of the seven stages of spiritual development. Just as in the First Century, so also in the Final Century, all seven types of churches will be present concurrently. And each will have a part to play in closing events.
Someone with an extensive knowledge of all the major denominations and an understanding of the spiritual development of the various regions of the world, may even be able to make specific application of each individual prophetic church to particular religious groups. In fact, there are some present day denominations willing to self-identify with a certain description. They readily call themselves “the church of ‘Laodecia’”. They even seem proud to identify as such; thinking that they are thus fulfilling prophecy. Likewise, if you were to ask me for my personal opinion about Abiding in Christ, I would say we fit the description of the church of Philadelphia. (That’s the good one.) But it is not my purpose to apply these labels so specifically at this time. I merely wish to open to your consideration the possibility of applying the descriptions of all of the Seven Churches to Christianity today.
IDOL FOOD
While reading the messages to the Seven Churches, found in Revelation 2 & 3, I noticed that the Third and Fourth churches are both admonished for not “abstaining from food offered to idols and from sexual immorality” (Rv 2:14 & Rv 2:20). This phrase was familiar, and I recalled that this was the same instruction given to the Gentiles at the time of the Jerusalem Council of the First Century, as recorded in Acts 15:20.
To see a certain practice condemned in two different forums, at two different times, and in two different contexts is significant. It confirms that God was inspiring the declaration in both circumstances; and it shows that His feelings about the subject hadn’t changed.
This condemnation also raises the question, “Why is food offered to idols so bad?” If you don’t actually believe in idolatry yourself, then isn’t it just a meaningless practice? No! First and foremost, if God tells us that something is bad for us, then we should believe Him without question. Look what happened when Adam & Eve didn’t believe the prohibition regarding their fruit tree. Beyond that, if we truly wish to understand the reason (after accepting it by faith), then we can ask God to give us insight on it. He wants us to obey Him with intelligent understanding and in agreement with His principles.
I believe this prohibition is because when food (or anything else) is offered to Satan, it becomes inhabited by a demon. Then, when that food is eaten, the demon enters the person consuming that food. Some of them go back out again; but some remain within. So with demons entering and exiting your body on a daily basis, eventually you may experience negative effects.
Recognizing this source of exposure to the Enemy now gives new meaning and new importance to the practice of blessing our food before we eat it. Bless it so that nothing of the Enemy remains in it! Bless it so it brings only good, not bad.
There are two Bible passages which seem to support this idea. First, Paul makes reference to “food offered to idols” in 1 Corinthians 8. And although he said that this food can be harmless to someone who is filled with the Spirit (v.4), he also recognized that this food was potentially harmful to those not filled with the truth. So he suggested not causing a weaker person to be lost through your indulgence (v.9).
Second, look at the experience of the Israelites who made the Great Exodus from Egypt. God led them out of slavery in Egypt, with the purpose of making them a free nation in their own land. The only thing asked of them was to be faithful to God and to follow His leading. Yet they found this simple request to be too difficult. Why? Why would this be so hard? They identified the reason themselves during one of their rebellions against Moses. They said, in effect, “We miss the foods of Egypt” (see Nu 11:4-6).
What was so special about this food that it made them willing to return to slavery just to eat it? I submit that the unrecognized appeal of that food was that it had been offered to idols. Egypt’s practice was to offer everything to idols — foods, possessions, and even newborn infants. So every aspect of the Israelites’ lives in Egypt was infused with demons. Even though they had been taken out of that environment, they were still suffering the effects of having been born and reared in it. Demonic presences still held sway in their bodies. These demons were even able to convince the Israelites that going back into slavery was desirable just to regain the feelings brought by that environment. (It sort of sounds like the reasoning of a drug addict; doesn’t it?) Thus, when called on to be faithful to the one true God, they couldn’t maintain it, and quickly reverted to their desire for the gods of Egypt. As a result, the promise for a new land had to be transferred to their children.
The generation that had been born in Egypt and infused with demons was not able to follow God faithfully. It was the generation of children born during the desert wanderings, the children who had not been dedicated to idols and who had not grown up eating food offered to idols, that was able to then follow God closely enough to enter the Promised Land.
We today should take a lesson from this. We should take care to bless everything we consume so that we never unwittingly give a demon access to us. We don’t need for anything more to have a negative influence over us, making it hard or impossible to be faithful to our God and to enter our Promised Land. If being infused with demonic presences every day has the potential to affect us negatively, then we would be wise to do whatever we can to prevent it.
I believe there is a modern application of “foods offered to idols”. Although we don’t see idolatry and paganism practiced today, at least not widely; there is a “great Evil” present in our country. Thus, even though something may not have been placed before some form of graven image, if it was made or dedicated for an evil purpose, it has thereby been “offered” before the Enemy of Man. This evil presence that is dominant in America today is “Mammon”! The god of money and greed. How much of what we put in our mouths was created for the sole purpose of making some corporation rich? Their concern isn’t our good health; but instead is their bank account. These large food corporations package things made as cheaply as possible, with little thought for safety or health, full of chemicals, and devoid of benefit. Whether or not you think of these food products as having been “offered to Satan”, they have certainly been created with an underlying intent of greed. Consequently, they are contaminated with evil spirits.
This brings us back to the subject mentioned earlier. Food manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies are motivated by profit; not health. This isn’t just my assertion; it is widely acknowledged by the general public. As a result, their products are spiritually tainted.
So, what can we do about this situation? Fortunately, we are not helpless, or hopeless. We have been given power over evil spirits and authority to cast them out. We just need to have the presence of mind to do so. Before each meal, bless your food. Bless it to remove any evil spirits. Before taking any medications, bless them. Bless them to get rid of any side effects and so they will only be needed a short time. If you wish to protect yourself to the fullest, bless everything you plan to put in your mouth.
We must not live in fear. But the answer isn’t to pretend that nothing is wrong. Rather, the solution requires recognizing and acknowledging the problem; then addressing it decisively. You must actively reject all negative influences, rather than passively accepting them. This is your means of closing one of the doors that the Enemy uses to get to you. By daily blessing your food and drink, and any other products you consume; and by forbidding any agent or device of darkness from entering your body; you will find your physical health improving and your spiritual understanding increasing. You will find that attempts by the Enemy to scare you or trick you into accepting him no longer have any influence over you. And you will find it growing ever easier to have a closer relationship with your God.
C. HOW TO RECEIVE POWER
Finally, let’s look at what to do to actually gain power. We’ve prepared ourselves to receive it. We’ve guarded against getting off track. So now what is the next step? Be brave enough to ask for it. Know what to ask for. And know what to expect.
1. BE BRAVE TO ASK
PETER DARED TO ASK!
Peter dared to ask Jesus for power to do what he was seeing Jesus do; he did this even when the other disciples were too timid to make this request. For example, when all the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, it was only Peter who asked Jesus to let him do the same; the others cowered in the boat. By daring to ask, he was granted what none of the others received. We can take a lesson from Peter and be bold in our requests of power from God.
Peter was also the only one of the Disciples courageous enough to express his feelings of faithfulness saying, “I won’t deny You; even if everyone else does!” He wasn’t able to keep his pledge; but he was willing to express it as his desire, and to try to fulfill it. Peter was also bold enough to argue with Jesus when he felt strongly that Jesus might be making a mistake. “No, Jesus; don’t degrade Yourself by washing my feet!” And another time, “No, Jesus; I don’t want You to sacrifice Yourself!” Peter was passionate in his feelings and was willing to express them.
Likewise, after Pentecost, Peter continued to do what the others couldn’t or wouldn’t do. Peter was the only one whose shadow healed people as he passed them (Ac 5:15). Also, Peter was the only one of the disciples who cursed people and they immediately fell dead (Ac 5:1-10). He received more because he dared to ask for more, and dared to try to do more.
There is an important point to keep in mind when asking God for more power: we must take care that the requests remain within the human realm. To illustrate let’s look at an example. At one time James & John came to Jesus and asked to be given positions at His right hand and left hand, (Mt 20:21). Their request was denied and they were rebuked for making such an appeal. This was done for two reasons: first, they were seeking to be above others and reign over them; and second, the requested positions fell outside the earthly realm. These types of petitions can’t be granted. We aren’t given power in order to rule over others; rather, it is given so that we can better serve them. Peter’s requests to perform miracles, on the other hand, involved being better equipped to help those within his domain and involved managing earthly affairs. Therefore his requests were appropriate, and he was given what he asked for.
When Jesus lived on Earth, His purpose was to show us what we could and should do. But now that Jesus is ruling in Heaven, there is not the same invitation to share in His responsibilities there. At least, not at this time. So keep your requests suitable to your work here.
2. WHAT TO ASK FOR
“Lord, increase our faith!”, Lk 17:5.
Once we grow brave enough to seek power from God, we then need to know how to ask for it. We read an account in Lk 17:5-10 where Jesus’ Disciples were recognizing that they didn’t have enough power to do what they wished to do, so they asked for more. But their request wasn’t for more power directly; instead they asked Jesus, “increase our faith”. Although they didn’t yet have all the power they desired, they had already learned the means through which it comes. So they knew that to increase their power, they needed to increase their faith.
They recognized that increased faith brings increased power. But this then raises the question, How do we increase our faith? The Disciples knew they needed more faith, but they didn’t know how to get it; so they asked Jesus for it. Jesus then didn’t give it to them directly; instead He went into a hard-to-follow explanation; the point of which seemed to be that at that time they were no more than worthless servants who were doing no more than their minimum duty. Although the answer didn’t seem related to the request, it served to make them question themselves about what they were asking for and why they wanted it.
Do you want power to then be “master” over others? Or do you recognize that along with power comes a responsibility to use it in service to others? With power comes obligation. Jesus had power greater than anyone else; and so He was called to be a servant to all mankind, with a duty to die in their stead. Is this what you seek? Truly?!
In order to receive power without measure, you need to receive the Holy Spirit without measure. Jn 3:34 says, “Jesus was given the Holy Spirit without measure.” It was thus through the Holy Spirit’s power that He could do anything. That was given to be an example to us. It is only through the Holy Spirit’s power flowing through us that we too will be able to do anything. How then do we receive the Holy Spirit without measure?
Just as there is a parallel between faith and power, I believe there is also a relationship between the Holy Spirit and faith. That is, to increase your faith you must increase your Holy Spirit. This is why Jesus was given the Holy Spirit without limit; so He would have faith without limit.
To demonstrate the connection between having faith and the Holy Spirit, I would like to show you several Bible verses. In each of them I wish to bring to your attention the word “faith”. And with this word I ask you to try a little experiment. In these texts, every place where you find the word “faith”, replace it with the word “Holy Spirit”.
But first, a bit of explanation. I realize there are people who will be hesitant to change any words in Scripture for fear of doing something wrong and bringing a curse down on themselves. The point of this exercise isn’t to make the Bible say something it doesn’t mean. Rather, it’s to try to better understand the fullest meaning of what it does say. So please don’t fear.
First,
look at Mt
17:20,
“If
you have [Holy Spirit] as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to
the mountain, ‘Move to yonder place’, and it shall move. Nothing
shall be impossible to you.”
Next, Ga 3:5, “ He that ministers the Holy Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the Law, or by hearing [the Holy Spirit]?”
Also, He 11:1, “Now
[the Holy Spirit]
is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.”
And, Ja 5:14-15, “The prayer offered in [the Holy Spirit] will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.”
Do you find looking at these old verses in a new way helps your understanding? Is it giving you a clearer picture of the connection between having the Holy Spirit and having more faith?
Let’s look together at one more text; Ro 12:3, “To each one a measure of [Holy Spirit] is given.” Since you have been given a measure, you already have what it takes to ask for more. Use the measure you have to receive the Holy Spirit without measure. Use what you have to build your desire for more! Then once it comes, you will do all you desire; in Jesus’ name!
3. WHAT YOU’LL GET
THREE BAPTISMS
Just what is it you’ll get? How will it come? I believe there are three baptisms we must receive — Baptism with Water, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and Baptism by Fire. John the Baptist spoke of these in Mt 3:11 & Lk 3:16, “I baptize you with water unto repentance, … but He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with Fire!” Who better to explain baptisms than John the Baptist?
The first, Baptism with Water, the baptism of John, is for repentance. Mt 3:1-2, “John the Baptist came, preaching, Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” This is when we choose to follow Jesus and His way.
The second, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, is for learning; for being taught by God what He wishes us to do and to be. Jn 14:26, “The HS will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all I have said.” 1Jn 2:27, “You need not that any man teach you, the anointing of the HS will teach you all things.” This is when we are given a “measure” of HS, or an “anointing” if you prefer, which then teaches us how to be a “son or daughter of Heaven”.
The third, Baptism by Fire, is receiving the HS “without measure”, just like Jesus. Jn 3:34, For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives not the Spirit by measure unto him. We are thus covered with His “glory”, His fire. Ac 2:3, Suddenly there came from Heaven a mighty wind which filled the house, and there appeared fire which rested on each of them. This is when we receive our “full adoption” (Ro 8:23) and are “revealed to the world” as the sons and daughters of God (Ro 8:19). This is the revelation of God’s glory to the world.
The effect of the first baptism is described in Ez 36:25-27, “I will sprinkle you with water and you will be clean; … I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.” The effect of the second baptism is described in 1Cr 2:15-16, “A person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, … and not merely human judgments, … for we have the mind of Christ.” The effect of the third baptism is described in Ph 2:5-7, “Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus; who had the nature of God.” So, these three baptisms give us a new heart, the mind of Christ, and a new nature. Praise God! For the old ones didn’t do us much good.
The First Apostles went through these three baptisms — First they received Baptism with Water from John the Baptist. Then they received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit from Jesus when He said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit”, (Jn 20:22). Finally they received the baptism of Fire on the Day of Pentecost. This is when fire appeared on each of them (Ac 2:3), signifying their filling by the Holy Spirit.
Or, if you rather, there is another way of viewing this; that is as the three stages of spiritual growth — Justification, Sanctification, & Glorification.
Justification occurs at the time of our Baptism with Water, and comes from Jesus. This is a cleansing by water and the blood of Jesus which gives us repentance and forgiveness. We’re told in He 9:22, ‘There is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood.” We’re also told in Jn 19:43, that at the Crucifixion when Jesus’ side was pierced with a spear, both blood and water came out. The cleansing by blood and water comes from Jesus.
Sanctification comes with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and is brought by the Holy Spirit. This is the process of transformation that occurs as we surrender our will to God and let go of our bad habits and sinful nature. It is the renewing of our hearts and minds so that we will be perfect reflections of Jesus. Ro 12:2, “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”
Glorification is the event of Baptism with Fire, and is given by the Father. It is acknowledgment of our adoption as sons of God and our authority to represent the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the “manifestation of the sons of God”, mentioned in Ro 8:19. This is our crowning, our empowering, and our revelation. This is the Second Pentecost, the Latter Rain!
We have already received water baptism and the BHS, and have been waiting and praying to receive the final baptism — Pentecost — our Baptism of Fire. We have already started anticipating that we will then be so filled with HS that we will “glow” like Moses when he came from the presence of God on Mt Sinai; and like Jesus when He revealed His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration; and like the Disciples when they had the tongues of flame around their heads.
But now a word of caution: along with this honor will also come trouble. We can expect that we too will be treated the same as the First Disciples. Once the power of God was revealed in His disciples, the religious leaders of that day united with the political leaders to put to death every one of them. We may find we face similar treatment once our dominion and power are revealed.
Even so, we must endure until we are fully manifest, because this event will be the final realization of God’s original purpose for Man — sons and daughters who are perfect and free of sin, and who have full dominion over nature and this world. What Adam lost and Jesus regained, we must bring to fulfillment. Then there will finally be a people ready to meet their God when He comes again.
CLOSE:
Hopefully you now have a better idea of what to expect, and what you can do to get ready for it. We want to rid ourselves of sin, through allowing the Holy Spirit to transform our desires and our nature. We want to reject every attempt by our Enemy to deceive us, to weaken us, and to bring us back under his control. We want to be bold in asking our Father to empower us, to give us the Holy Spirit without measure, and to acknowledge us as His sons and daughters. To be representatives of His Kingdom who have full authority over this world; to reveal to all the dominion we were created to have; and to reach our full potential as perfect beings, who have succeeded where Adam failed. Then God’s original plan for this world will have finally been fulfilled. Let it be so!
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