Beware of Yesterday's Anointing

I have given them the glory that you gave me. —John 17:22

I was brought up in the Church of the Nazarene, a denomination that was born in revival. There was an unusual anointing of convicting power on that church in its early days. They had what its founder, Phineas Bresee, called "the glory."

What was that? It was the anointing—an anointing that transcended their lack of education, money, refinement, and prestige. The presence of God was at times so powerful it seemed almost impossible for lost people to enter their services without getting converted. People who came to laugh and scoff ended up smitten and on their knees in tears before God. The services were frequently characterized by shouts of joy and people waving their handkerchiefs with inexpressible happiness.

In his last days old Dr. Bresee would preach from church to church one message: "Keep the glory down." Why? He knew that if they ever lost it they were finished.

If God had His way in our churches today, what would happen? I don't know. I know how He has worked in the past. The trouble is, our education, culture, and refinement stand in the way of the Spirit having His own way.

When the anointing lifts and the glory fades away, there are always those who sadly won't admit to the withdrawal of the Spirit. They continue trying to "work it up"—creating the shouting and manifestations that become pale imitations.

Once this happens, the glory becomes yesterday's anointing in two ways. First, God may not necessarily want His glory to be manifested in precisely the same way as it had been unveiled in a previous era. Yesterday's anointing was real enough, but it was for yesterday. Second, those who "work it up" are trying to keep yesterday's anointing alive, and the flesh becomes all too obvious. They are trying to relive what God was doing yesterday but may not have chosen to do today.

Excerpted from The Anointing: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (Charisma House, 2003).

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/spiritual-growth/17903-beware-of-yesterdays-anointing

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A Great Race to Run.

God wants to use you my friend, but how can He if you're exhausted?

The other day when I was getting ready for my run, the sun was out, but the wind was chilly.  Jacket or sweatshirt?  The Boy Scout within me prevailed and  I wore both.  Got my cell phone, my water bottle. So no one would steal my car, I pocketed my keys.  I looked more like a pack mule than a runner!  Within half a mile, I was pealing off the jacket.

That kind of weight will slow you down. What's true in jogging is true in faith.  God has a great race for you to run.  But you have to drop some stuff.  How can you lift someone else's load if your arms are full with your own?

For the sake of those you love, travel light. For the sake of the God you serve, travel light. For the sake of your own joy, travel light

Max Lucado

Who Is This Holy Spirit?

Knowing the Trinity's third Person starts with recognizing Him as just that—a Person who wants to be intimately known

As a relatively young Christian, I began to wonder why so many other Christians seemed to know more of the indwelling love of Jesus than I did. Why did their lives display the fruits of His grace and demonstrate His power at work within them in ways that seemed sorely lacking in my life?

I became deeply troubled at the poverty of my spiritual walk with God. So much of what I knew was mere information about God without much of a direct relationship with Him. My heart longed to have an experience like that described by Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle, who spoke of what it meant to know God "other than by hearsay."

It was also hard for me to fathom how some Christians could be so different from others. Some overflowed with love and compassion for their neighbors, while others cloistered themselves away from the world, apparently fearful of contamination. Some seemed to exude a deep sense of inner joy, but others looked as if they had just received a death sentence rather than the blessing of eternal life. Some were on fire with expectancy that God would do great things in their lives; others seemed content to make survival their primary objective.

In all of this, the biggest struggle I faced as a young Christian was determining what I believed about the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. I began to encounter Christians for whom this Person was a vibrant reality in their lives—a Person to know and to love, not some vague, generic "force."

I eventually came to see that all my concerns about my faith and the faith of others had to do with answering this central question about the Person of the Holy Spirit.

Discovering the Spirit

If we want to discover who the Holy Spirit really is, then individual human experience is not the right place to start. When God intended to reveal His nature, will and identity to humankind, He determined to do so supremely in His Son. When He wanted to record His activities with the inhabitants of this planet, He chose to do so in a divinely inspired Book. And so, if we want to know what the Spirit of God is like and how He operates within the lives of the people of God, then it is to the pages of the Bible that we must first turn.

Throughout the pages of the Bible, it is assumed that the Holy Spirit is no more and no less than God Himself. He is called "the Spirit of the Lord" (1 Kin. 18:12, NIV) and "the Spirit of Jesus" (Acts 16:7). In Luke 11:13, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the gift of the Father. Paul announced that "the Lord is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:17). When Peter rebuked Ananias for attempted deception, he boldly announced, "You have lied to the Holy Spirit ... You have not lied just to human beings but to God" (Acts 5:3-4). On the occasion that Jesus spoke about the unforgivable sin, He described it as blaspheming, which means speaking against or rejecting not the Father or even Jesus Himself but rather the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31-32).

It is because the Holy Spirit is God that Scripture describes Him as possessing all the essential characteristics that are the sole privilege of God Himself. He is:

• Holy. God cannot deny His own character; therefore, in the same way that God is completely pure and totally unblemished, so must be the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19).
• Eternal. If God were limited by time and space, He could not, by definition, be God. The Creator can neither be limited by His creation, nor can He die or face extinction. To be God, He must always have been God and must inhabit eternity. When Scripture says that the Holy Spirit is eternal (always was and always will be), then it is affirming that He is God (Heb. 9:14).
• Omnipotent. The Holy Spirit is all-powerful, an attribute that is the sole province of God Himself (Luke 1:35-37).
• Omnipresent. The Holy Spirit exists everywhere simultaneously. There is no place in heaven, on earth or anywhere else in the universe that is not inhabited by the Holy Spirit (Ps. 139:7).
• Omniscient. The Holy Spirit knows everything there is to know (1 Cor. 2:10-11).

These supreme qualities of the Holy Spirit are neatly summarized in Isaiah's prophecy of the anticipated Messiah: "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord" (Is. 11:2).

God is personal. He neither rules nor communicates by remote control, and He possesses personality. So it is with the Holy Spirit. It would be wrong to view this third Person of the Trinity as an indefinably nebulous force. He is not an "it"! To reinforce this point, the apostle John referred to the Holy Spirit by using a masculine pronoun (ekeinos, "He") with a neutral noun (pneuma, "Spirit"). This may seem like bad grammar to us, but it is superb theology. He does this to show that the Holy Spirit is a "He," not an "it." (See John 14:26; 15:26; 16:8-14.)

The Holy Spirit is the "breath" or "wind" of God (Is. 40:7). In this sense, it might be easy to picture the Holy Spirit as something broad and vague. Yet this phrase in Scripture often brings into grammatical play a definite article; instead of "a breath" or "a wind," He is called "the Spirit" or "the Holy Spirit."

The Holy Spirit's personhood is also affirmed in that He can be grieved, He comes upon individuals at particular times, He is the means by which God fills His people, and He can even be withdrawn from people under exceptional circumstances (Eph. 4:30; Judg. 14:6; 2 Kin. 2:9; Ex. 35:31; Mic. 3:8; Ps. 51:11).

The Holy Spirit is no mere arm or leg of God. He is a Person in His own right and exists as part of the Godhead. He is not remote but actually dwells in God's people and is therefore personal to each one of us.

The Personality of the Holy Spirit

Let us take this one step further. The vivid imagination of George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, conceived of a vast "force" that could empower us and be used for either good or evil. This force was personal, in that it was available for use by the human personality, but it lacked personhood in itself.

That is precisely how the Holy Spirit differs. He is not here for us to use, but we are here for Him to use to bring glory to Jesus through our lives. Furthermore, He possesses a unique personality. The three basic characteristics of personality are the capacities for feeling, knowing and doing—and you may be surprised to learn that the Holy Spirit is actively engaged in all three! Scripture affirms that:

• He feels (Eph. 4:30).
• He knows (John 14:26).
• He does things (John 16:8-11).

While the Holy Spirit is like us in that He has a personality, He is also unlike us in that He is holy. The Greek word used to describe this reality is hagios, the root meaning of which is "different." In this sense, the Holy Spirit can never be as we are, and yet by the grace and mercy of God, the Holy Spirit dwells in unclean human beings. The very title Holy Spirit indicates this Spirit is different from us because He is, in fact, divine.

In the book of Revelation, the apostle John begins his letter to the seven churches in an unusual way, with a greeting that places God the Father first, God the Spirit second and God the Son third (Rev. 1:4-5). While this order might seem unusual to us, the phraseology gives the standard implication that these three are inextricably intertwined and always co-equal.

Furthermore, Jesus revealed this supreme mystery of the Christian faith when He declared the name in which His followers should be baptized. The word used by Jesus for name is singular, indicating there is only one God, but this name is also tri-personal because each one of us is baptized in "the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19).

God in Action

Because most Christians find it difficult to visualize and personalize the Holy Spirit, they often overlook the amount of work in which the Holy Spirit is engaged. He is very busy indeed! The Holy Spirit definitely understands the concept of multitasking, for while He is the corporate Holy Spirit of the universal church, He is also the One who dwells in the life of every individual believer (1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9-11).

The Holy Spirit is always busy. He works within us to bring about the conviction of sin, the recognition of the need for righteousness and an awareness of impending judgment long before we come to the point of conversion and surrender our life to Jesus Christ (John 16:8). We may not have realized it, but quietly and invisibly the Holy Spirit was already at work in our lives, preparing us to be confronted with the reality of Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament accounts of the conversions of Zacchaeus, Cornelius and the Ethiopian eunuch to whom Philip witnessed of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit was actively at work preparing the ground for their moments of truth. In the case of the Ethiopian eunuch, the Holy Spirit even called Philip away from a revival and into the desert to explain the Scriptures to the eunuch at just the right time.

When we come to Christ, the Holy Spirit makes His home in our lives. He is the giver of new life, and He becomes the seal and evidence of our salvation (John 3:5; 2 Cor. 1:22; Titus 3:5; Rom. 8:9-11). It is the Holy Spirit who then takes on the raw material of a new convert's heart and begins the often lengthy process of transforming it into the image of the Lord Jesus.

This whole idea of an indwelling Holy Spirit who inhabits the life of every believer introduced to the world a concept unknown in other major religions. For the first time, God was not just "out there somewhere," but He could be intimately known, loved and served. Christianity offers not a religionabout God but rather a relationshipwith Him. This is what creates that vibrant, loving, compassionate and fruit-bearing existence in the life of all believers.

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Clive Calver is senior pastor of Walnut Hill Community Church, a network of five charismatic evangelical churches serving more than 3,500 people in western Connecticut. He previously served as president of World Relief, general director of the Evangelical Alliance of the United Kingdom, program director of Billy Graham's Mission England and national director of Youth for Christ in Britain.

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Watch Reinhard Bonnke use Acts 2 to refute bad teachings about the Holy Spirit at spiritbaptism.charismamag.com

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/supernatural/17418-who-is-this-holy-spirit

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Diabolical Crimes Mark a Troubling Sign of the Times

Recently a 15-year-old boy shot both of his parents when they insisted he do his chores. The reason for his anger? He was anxious to look up a Bible verse for a friend who wanted to know how to get saved. Two injured people hardly compare to some of the horrific mass murders we have witnessed in the past few years, but this incident does reveal an increasing number of people who have lost the ability to control themselves.

Of course, murder has been in our midst from the founding of this nation, but senseless killing has never been seen on the scale we are experiencing in our day. There have been some 25 incidents in the United States since 9/11 where at least five people have been murdered in wanton killing sprees. What is going on with people?

I believe Scripture holds the key to understanding the "helter skelter" happening in our culture. The spiritual deterioration of individuals (1 Cor. 1:18) and even an entire nation (Amos 8:1-2) are both documented in the Bible. However, I think what we are seeing today reflects something of much grander proportions than either of these historical phenomena.

It seems we are witnessing one of the final stages of the spiritual downfall of mankind. In Matthew 13, Jesus described false believers as "tares" the angels would reap "at the end of the age" (vv. 39-40, NASB). The book of Revelation describes the unbelievers alive in the last days as rotten grapes ready for "the great wine press of the wrath of God" (Rev. 14:19). The apostle Paul skipped the metaphor of maturing plants and simply said that in the end times, "evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse" (2 Tim. 3:13).

Just as it takes time for plants to ripen to the point of harvest, so too the sinful condition of mankind has taken several thousand years to arrive at its final state of evil. While this reasoning may sound good in a seminary course, does it really hold water in the real world? For instance, how do a couple hundred killings in America compare to the numerous occasions down through history when entire people groups have been exterminated?

It is true that there have been certain periods when Satan was able to possess a man and direct his followers to the point of massacring large numbers of people (e.g., Adolph Hitler, Idi Amin, etc.), but the number of victimizers in these cases were typically limited. What we are seeing in the U.S. and throughout the world now is an escalation of wickedness amongst the masses—not the few.

I can see two predominant contributing factors for this phenomenon.

First, the technological advances of our time have made it possible for people to indulge sin at a level and intensity never before imaginable. The book of Daniel predicted the last days would be a time of a great increase in knowledge (Dan. 12:4). What other generation has experienced the increase of knowledge that we have seen? Perhaps you are aware of the fact that it took nearly 18 centuries from the time of Christ for man's knowledge level to double. From 1750-1900, it doubled again, and once again from 1900-1950. By 1997, it was doubling every two years, and today it probably doubles within months. No generation in the history of mankind has experienced anything remotely comparable to what is occurring in our time.

"Yes, but many of those scientific advances have been for the betterment of mankind," some would contend. It is true that they have made temporal earth-life more comfortable and safe, but how much of it has contributed to man's eternal well-being?

Consider some of the ways these technological advances have contributed to the wickedness of our day. For instance, what American living in the 1900s could have imagined being able to view sexual deviancy of all kinds on a screen sitting in their homes? What early pioneer could have comprehended a day when 50 million unborn babies would be slaughtered in our country? How could those simple folks have envisioned an entire city of people being vaporized with the push of a button?

Perhaps even more close to home for most of us is what today's technology has meant to our personal lives. We now live in such a fast-paced society that we can have nearly anything we desire on the spot. Not only does such a lifestyle of instant gratification keep a person's carnal nature inflamed, but it also quickly hollows out people of the normal contentment that comes with a decent life. The prosperity and technology of our day has enabled people to quickly immerse themselves and burn themselves out in their sin of choice. These zombie-like burnouts who commit bizarre crimes are only going to increase.

The other major contributing factor in the escalation of evil we are witnessing is the increasing latitude God is allowing the enemy as the end approaches: "Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time" (Rev. 12:12). This ripening of evil is preparing the masses of humanity to come to the point that they will accept the mark of the beast.

You know that nice neighbor lady who always gives you a bright smile and a friendly greeting? One day she will be openly worshiping Satan (Rev. 13:8). Those close family members you pray for? They will be the very ones who turn you into the authorities (Luke 21:16). Those conservative pundits you admire? One day they will be calling for your execution (Rev. 6:9-11). That is where humanity is heading.

Considering the rapidity of the changes we are witnessing and the shocking way people are reacting to them, one must conclude that the final, terrible period of mankind's history is nearly upon us. The closer we come to that frightful time, the more we are sure to see people like Ted Bundy, James Holmes, Jared Lee Loughner and the Tsarnaev brothers emerge from the shadows to commit their diabolical crimes. What is even more disconcerting, however, is the change that is coming over "decent" citizens. It all points to the eventual demonic takeover of unredeemed mankind.

How do believers handle such foreboding predictions? First, we must live in God's reality. We cannot afford to seek escape in the world's entertainment system. Not only does it deaden the spiritual discernment so crucial for such a time, but it also puts us in the same spirit that is at the bottom of these atrocities.

Second, we must move forward in faith. Each of us has a rich history of God's love and faithfulness. When indiscriminate killings and human tragedies are occurring all around us, we must remember that the same God who has proven His trustworthiness to us in the past is on His heavenly throne, ruling sovereignly over all earth's activities. He will take us through victoriously whatever mayhem the dark lord of this world instigates.

Third, we must remind ourselves that we are citizens of heaven not earth. Whatever we face on earth is meant to better prepare us for our eternal home. Perhaps the best advice we can receive is from the One whose coming we all anticipate: "When these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:28).

Steve Gallagher holds an Associates of Arts degree from Sacramento City College and a Master's Degree in Pastoral Ministry from Master's International School of Divinity. He is also a certified Biblical Counselor through the International Association of Biblical Counselors (IABC) in Denver, CO.

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/prophetic-insight/17857-diabolical-crimes-mark-a-troubling-sign-of-the-times

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Why Are So Many Christians Sick and Oppressed?

Sickness and disease touch almost every family on the earth. Many sick people are spending all their substance on remedies, diets, medications and doctors but are becoming worse each day. I believe the reason why more Christians do not receive their healing is because of lack of knowledge and obedience. 

They just don't understand or know what the Word of God says about what Jesus' sacrifice on the cross of Calvary purchased for them. Other Christians simply do not know how to pray and worship God. Others have a hard time obeying God's principles for divine healing. It is estimated that at least 80 percent of people in America are Christians. Yet the percentage of sick people is about the same as non-Christians who don't believe in Jesus, our healer. 

I frequently hear sick people say, "I'm not sure if it is God's will to heal me. If only I knew. Maybe I'm supposed to be sick to keep me humble or build up my faith." When God's Word promises healing in the new covenant, we should not be asking or saying, "If it be Your will." This implies a lack of faith.

Doubt and unbelief are deadly—they kill your faith, and without faith you will never obtain the promises that are legally yours. Be watchful over your heart, and diligently guard what you allow to come into your life. Each person you allow into your life will plant seeds, just as the Pharisees did in the lives of the disciples. If Satan can cause a seed of doubt and unbelief to be planted in your life, he is on his way to stealing your faith. If the enemy can steal your faith, he can steal everything in your life and everything God has predestined for you. A lifestyle of doubt says to God that He is a liar and cannot be trusted.

Doubt and unbelief will prevent you from obtaining the prosperity that God declares is yours. Choose not to fall into the trap of the enemy, and choose to believe God, no matter what. He is your healer and deliverer (Matt. 21:21; 13:58).

Your Healing Is Guaranteed!

Jesus Christ gave His life as a sacrifice. Isaiah 53 assures us that Christ took upon Himself all our grief, sorrows, pain, affliction, transgressions, iniquities and all our sins. By His scourging, by His wounds and by His death and resurrection, we are healed. Everything in God's kingdom you receive by faith. Without faith, you can't receive. You receive healing the same way you receive salvation. You confess it and believe it in your heart. It's our divine, born-again birthright (inheritance, entitlement, legacy and privilege). Don't settle for less than God's best for you.

What is the thing you've been battling for so long? You have a choice to make—to either stay in the same situation or decide to turn your situation over to God and dare to believe Him for a miraculous healing and transformation. It's your faith in action that will start moving out the evil squatters. It's your move.

Regardless of your circumstances, Abba Father is ready to meet you exactly where you are right now. All God needs is your faith to believe that He is willing to heal you. Faith is trust. When you trust someone, you love and respect the person. Father God is the same way with us.

He loves us unconditionally. When we surrender to His love and obey His Word, He produces. His gifts are extremely valuable and priceless. You don't have to make sacrifices and quote Scriptures day and night.

Scriptures and declarations will build up your faith and teach you how to stay in contact and relationship with your healer and Savior. There is something unique about declaring God's Word. It puts angels on the alert and causes evil spirits to flee. Evil spirits cannot trespass when our spiritual borders are reinforced with prayers and the Word of God.

Really think about this. It is life transforming. When you deposit God's Word into your heart and mind, it becomes a lifeline and health to all your body. I quote and take literally Proverbs 4:20–22 every day because I believe God is the Word and He is life!

Your prayers and declarations of God's Word are not to move the hand of God on your behalf but to strengthen your inner man and build up your faith. God is moved by compassion and love. All we have to do is surrender to His will, obey His Word and love one another.

Iris Delgado is founder and president of Crowned With Purpose Ministries. She has a doctorate in theology and counseling and travels worldwide ministering with her husband, John. She is the author of Satan, You Can't Have My Miracle, from which this article was excerpted.

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/supernatural/17856-why-are-so-many-christians-sick-and-oppressed

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