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On the way home, driving in the evening sun, I flipped on
the radio to hear a pastor speaking… but what he was speaking made the Spirit
rise up inside of me.
He was
speaking that manifestations in the book of Acts don’t happen anymore.
I should have just turned the
radio off but I thought what if people who were listening didn’t know those
manifestations, that he openly denies, do still happen today.
God is not a god of religion and dry
bones but a GOD of faith, who makes those dry bones come ALIVE.
He is God who puts muscle and flesh over those bones and
gives us a new heart and Spirit. He
is one who feeds us, encourages us, establishes us and empowers us.
How could he, a pastor… a man of God, not experience the
manifestations of the Holy Spirit?
One might ask, “Does he really know God or has he just accepted an
aspect of God?
Knowing he doesn’t
believe in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, who then leads him in what to
preach to his congregation? Is it
by his mere thinking, wisdom and reasoning?
“But He (Jesus) answered
and said, “Every
plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind
guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into
a pit.” Matthew 15:13
Seminary taught or not… Who is to be our TEACHER? God is to be our teacher who knows what
HIS children need to hear and see.
“For the kingdom of God does not consist in
words but in power.”
1 Corinthians 4:20
For when we brought you the Good News, it was
not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full
assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from
the way we lived when we were with you. 1 Thessalonians 1:5
Is it not God who removes the veil? Is it not God is who
infinite?
I do wonder how a person can speak of God’s life changing
power and then flat out deny the gifts and manifestation of God’s
presence. Does that not seem
strange? Are we not a
manifestation of His transforming love?
I am sure everyone has an aspect of ignorance when it comes
to God but I am thankful God helps us overcome that ignorance as we allow Him
to reveal the wonderful things of Himself.
We must not deny something in the bible just because we have
never experienced it or told by mere men it doesn’t exist anymore?
5 If any of you lacks
wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault,
and it will be given to you.
6 But when you ask, you must believe
and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and
tossed by the wind. 7 That
person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable
in all they do. James 1:5-8
We know
the Old Testament is the New Testament revealed. And is God not the same God as in the Old
Testament? So why would God
change from what we see in the New Testament to now?
“Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8
God is same yesterday and today and forever… He is
infinite. He is unorthodox-
granted but this doesn’t mean He doesn’t bestow the gifts of the Spirit and
manifest Himself anymore…. God is
ALIVE not dead! And He does not
conform to the ideals of men, no matter what their title may have.
“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power, His
understanding is infinite.” Psalm 147:5
“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change
his mind. Has he ever spoken and
failed to act? Has He ever promised
and not carried it through?” Numbers 23:19
Can you think of what God knows? Here is just a tiny list.
He knows our hearts.
“But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine
secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their
actions deserve." Jeremiah
17:10
He knows every detail of our bodies.
Are not two sparrows sold for a
penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.
And even the very hairs of
your head are all numbered.
So
don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31
He knows how long we will live here on this
earth.
“You have decided the length of our lives. You
know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.” Job
14:5
He knows when we are tried, tested and tempted. He knows when we turn our back on Him.
“Simon, Simon, Satan
has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not
fail. So when you have repented
and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32
He knows when we will fail.
But Jesus said, "Peter, let me tell you
something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times
that you even know me." Luke 22:34
He knows where every resource is to help His people.
“However, we don't want to offend them, so go
down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you
catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both
of us." Matthew 17:27
He knows where we are and where we will be.
“Now there was a
disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I
am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street
called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named
Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a
man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his
sight.” Acts 9:10-12
UNDERSTANDING
And how often does God tell us and show us in various ways
to not depend on our own understanding?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6
“Don't copy the behavior and customs of this
world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you
think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and
pleasing and perfect.”
Romans 12:2
For the word of God
will never fail. Luke
1:37
"I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is
anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27
“These people come near
to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” Isaiah 29:13
Jesus looked at them intently and said,
"Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is
possible." Matthew 19:26
We are talking about our infinite God that is beyond the
understanding and complacencies of men taught and untaught.
God touch those who teach such falsies and believe in such
falsies. If I were to share with
these men right now, the miracles I have experienced they would call me a liar
and yet call God a liar.
I have seen Jesus. I have experienced the varied presences of God. I have experienced things as the
prophets of old. I have
experienced heaven. I have spoke
and sung in tongues. I have heard
and told people things that only God knew. Things I without a doubt spoke because God’s Spirit assured
them to me in my soul that they were true. Strongly directed by God, I have prayed over the sick and
they have been healed. This is not
to boost about me for I know one of reasons I have been shown these things is
due to of my lack of faith and ignorance. I have been doubting Thomas, questioning Philip, hypocrite
Peter, and religious prideful Saul who became the Apostle Paul. I speak my testimony. I speak of these wonders of God to only
speak the truth about GOD. I feel
if I don’t many will not know the wonders that are revealed through Christ
Jesus. They might feel God is
unreachable and unknowable. It is
God not me who has done and shown me these things and he has no favorites.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth. The earth was empty, a
formless mass cloaked in darkness, And the Spirit of God was hovering over its
surface. Then God said, “Let there
be light,” and there was light.” Genesis 1:1-3
God had only to speak and the universe and the earth came into
existence. God had only to
speak light over the earth and there was light.
And how we too were much like the earth. How we were clothed and blinded in
darkness until we surrendered to God and He breathed light into our life
changing us from the inside out.
And He awoke us to the reality of Himself. The same Holy Spirit that hovered over the earth testified mightily
to our soul that Jesus is LORD over our soul. How we need to remember that, how we need to remember our
first love everyday of our lives.
How we need to remember our need for Him and how far He has brought us.
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the
darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory
of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we
ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing great treasure. This makes it clear that our great
power is from God, not from ourselves.”
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send
to you from the Father--the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father--he
will testify about me.” John 15:26
This same infinite Spirit, this Great Teacher, that people
of this world aren’t even aware lives in us thanks to Christ Jesus.
“that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him
because He abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:17
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes,
He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own
initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you
what is to come.” John 16:13
When I think of God being infinite I think of this verse in
Ephesians,
“Although I am less
than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to
the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to
everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept
hidden in God, who created all things.” Ephesians 3:8-9
Think about it… the boundless riches of Christ.
“KNOW GOD is LOVE.
KNOW GOD is Infinite,” flashed on the screen of my mind a few days back
and now I am starting to understand why.
His infinite understanding is much higher then our ways and
thoughts.
“As the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9
Where we might think appearance, human power, strength and
some level of higher intelligence or education are necessary but God says, “No.
It’s the heart and my Spirit that are important.”
Then he said to me, "This is the word of
the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,'
says the LORD of hosts. Zachariah 4:6
“Do not consider his
appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at
the outward appearance, but the Lord
looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
“God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for
they will see God.” Matthew 5:8
“But God chose the
foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the
world to shame the strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27
Think of David, a young shepherd
boy who is anointed as king of Israel.
Do you remember what happened after he was anointed as king?
“So Samuel took the
horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day
on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully
upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.” 1 Samuel 16:13
For David to be king of Israel he
needed to be anointed by the Holy Spirit and David knew nothing else could
sustain him to go into the role and do that role without the Holy Spirit in his
life.
I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.” Psalm 18:1-2
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has
nothing I desire besides you.” Psalm 73:25
“Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who
sustains me.” Psalm 54:4
It is no different for us as Christians. The Holy Spirit needs to be active in
our lives to sustain us to walk out our faith.
“But you are not like that, for you are a
chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession.
As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of
the darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
No wonder why John reads,
“In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in
the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing
was made that has been made. In
him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
overcome it.” John 1:1-5
Note: John is
speaking of Jesus –the Word.
God is LIGHT. Light
that is never overcome by darkness.
Light that is infinite. Light
that wraps/clothes our eternal soul for eternity.
Why is it important to know God is infinite?
God wants us to rely and live in Him who infinite, so that
we might live beyond our sometimes often burdening, shortsighted, limited
understanding and circumstances. God
wants us to learn to continually abide in Him who gives us daily refreshment
for our soul. Through Him come the companions of peace, joy, love, mercy grace,
hope, and an empowering faith.
for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord so
as to instruct him?”
But we have the
mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16
Think to know Him and experience Him… is walk the road less
traveled (mentally/ physically and of course spiritually). It is to see life in a whole different
way/light. It is to have
manifesting presence active in our life by looking and submitting to God who is
INFINITE.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his
mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask
or think.” Ephesians 3:20
Know God is Infinite.
(Take your hands and lock your fingers together. One of your hands illustrates your soul
and the other illustrates God who is Life.) God created our soul to yoke “perfectly” with His Spirit
just like our hands fit together perfectly. Note: Matthew 11:30
