How to be conscious of the Spirit's Power in your life (Part 2)

"God brought this man Jesus back to life. We are all witnesses to that." Acts 2:32 GWT

Throughout the book of Acts I continue to see these words:  We are witnesses. 

• "But God brought him back to life, and we are witnesses to that.  Acts 3:15b"
• "Peter and John answered them, 'Decide for yourselves whether God wants people to listen to you rather than to him.  We cannot stop talking about what we've seen and heard.'"               Acts 4:19-20

The apostles and early followers of Jesus, as you may know, spent 3 years with him.  They saw him preach, teach, heal, and cast out demons.  They themselves healed and cast out demons, and saw Jesus perform many other miracles.  They saw Jesus risen from the dead, and they saw him ascend into heaven.  All they were supposed to do is tell people what they had seen, heard, and experienced.  But Jesus specifically commanded them not to say anything until the Holy Spirit gave them power--supernatural boldness and effectiveness.  Why would they need this?  Because they were bearing witness to something supernatural--that Jesus rose from the dead. How, or why, would anyone believe that a man rose from the dead? 

The Spirit of Jesus was in them and with them, bearing witness that He is still alive.

When the early followers told people that Jesus is the son of God and that he died for their sins and rose from the dead, they spoke with supernatural power and did supernatural things.  We are supposed to be the same way.  The least we should experience is supernatural boldness and effectiveness as Jesus' witnesses.

How does that feel, and how do we experience it?
Click here for part 3.

How to be conscious of the Spirit's Power in your life (Part 1)

Jesus told (the apostles), "You don't need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes (upon ) you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me...to the ends of the earth." 
Acts 1:7- GWT, parentheses mine.

You can have power from the Spirit and know it; you should feel it and be aware of it.  In fact, you should be aware of the Spirit's power before you say or do anything. 

You need to be.  You have to be.  You're supposed to be. 

I know this because I see this in scripture, and I am experienced it right now as I write to you.

Power:  Ability to accomplish a specific goal you set out to accomplish. 

You can have that power as soon as you finish reading my blogs.  I'll show you how right now.

First, as I said, power assumes a purpose; it assumes a specific goal that you have the ability to accomplish.  What is our goal?  To be a witness of the Lord Jesus.  What does a witness do?  He or she simply tells what he or she has seen, heard, or directly experienced.  So what kind of power do you need to be a witness, any kind of witness? 

• You need to know something or someone by direct experience.
• You need to be able to communicate effectively what you have experienced. 

This means your words need to be convincing and convicting.  Compelling.  Those who listen to you may accept or reject what you say, but they won't be able to resist or refute you because of your powerful words. 

Jesus promised his first followers and us that we will be his witnesses throughout the world, and that he would give us power from the Spirit to do so.  The early followers experienced the Spirit's power, and it was manifest in two ways:

• Boldness
• Effectiveness

These two things encompass the power of a witness of Jesus.
These two things are the power of which you should be conscious.

Click here for part 2.

How to be conscious of the Spirit's Power in your life (Part 3)

"Lord, pay attention to their threats now, and allow us to speak your word boldly.  Show your power by healing, performing miracles, and doing amazing things through the power and the name of your holy servant Jesus."  When the apostles had finished praying, their meeting place shook. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God boldly. 
Acts 4:29-31 GWT, emphasis mine.

How does it feel to be conscious of the Spirit's power in your life?

It feels like two things:

1. Boldness
2. Effectiveness.

SPIRIT POWER CONSCIOUSNESS IS BOLDNESS
When the Spirit fills you, when the power of God comes upon you, you will feel bold, fearless, and confident in your relationship with Jesus.  You know that Jesus is the son of God as you read my words.  Are you afraid to tell people this?  You know that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead.  You know His Spirit lives inside of you, as it is written, "The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God."  You know that you feel like a child of God, and that you feel God's Spirit in you.  Are you afraid to tell anyone this?  When you are filled with the Spirit, you won't be afraid to tell people about Jesus in you, and you will do it effectively.

SPIRIT POWER CONSCIOUSNESS IS EFFECTIVENESS
I learned that effective communication is when the message you send is the message the listener receives.  For example, my name is Olatunde.  What is my name?  Yes, it's Olatunde.  That was effective communication.  (It was also bold communication.  I know my name, and I'm not afraid to tell you what it is.)  In the same way, you know how you came to follow Jesus.  You can tell that story boldly and effectively, and the Spirit's power will be in your words as you tell your story.  You know how God has answered your prayers before.  You can boldly and effectively tell people how God has answered your prayers.

Now that you know what Spirit power consciousness is, how do you get it?
You get it the same way the early church got it: you pray for it.

Ask God to give you power to speak his word boldly.  Ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit so you can be a bold and effective witness of the Lord Jesus.  And He will do it. And you will feel it when you do it. 

You will feel God's power when you speak and act based upon God's purpose.

"But what if I'm not in a position to talk directly about Jesus?" you may ask.

Listen to Jesus' own words that he spoke to Pilate before he was crucified:
"For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” John 18:37, emphasis mine.

The Apostle Paul said we were "predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus."  Jesus was born and came into the world for this purpose--to bear witness to the truth.  Therefore, you were born again, and came into the world again, to bear witness to the truth.  Jesus called the Holy Spirit "The Spirit of Truth."  So even in situations where you can't talk directly about Jesus, you can bear witness to the truth.  There is never a time or place where you can't tell the truth.  And when you tell the truth, the Spirit of Truth will give you power to boldly and effectively do it.

If you want to be conscious of the Spirit's power as a witness, pray this with me:

God, I come to in the name of Jesus as a witness of the Lord Jesus.  Please fill me with the Spirit that I may be a witness of the Lord Jesus with supernatural  boldness and effectiveness, bearing witness to His resurrection and ascension, and bearing witness to the truth.  Thank you for filling me with the Spirit.

Now leave the computer and go tell someone about Jesus, or go tell someone the truth.  Let me know in the comments sections how it felt to experience the Spirit's power. 

 

The truth about what you are (Part 2)

Do you remember what happened with Mary, the mother of Jesus?

The angel Gabriel came to her and gave her this message, "You will give birth to the son of God."

Mary asked, "How can this happen?  It is physically impossible because I have never had sex with a man?"

Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, and by His power the son of God would be placed in her womb.

What could Mary do at this point?
She couldn't bring it about by her own efforts. 
She could either accept what Gabriel said, or reject it.

Mary accepted the word of God.  She yielded her body to the will of God, and Jesus was born, in her and from her.

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.  Luke 1:38

The same is true for you and me as Christians.
God promises us that if we accept Jesus, we will be reborn, and the Spirit of Jesus will be in us, filling us just as Jesus filled Mary. 

We can't bring this about by our efforts any more than Mary could.
But we can accept Jesus and His Spirit, yielding our bodies to God just as Mary did.

When we do this, we are reborn by the word, will, and Spirit of God.

After this, we thank God, and we do what children naturally do when they are born. 

If you are born again, a child of God, you naturally want to cling to God just as you naturally wanted to cling to your mother and father when you were a child. 

What is making you read my words?  Where does your interest in the knowledge and likeness of God come from?  If you were not born again, you wouldn't want to read my words or think these thoughts.  Keep doing what you're doing right now.  Keep seeking God.  Keep being who you are and what you are:  a child of God.  Know that when people see you, they are in fact seeing Jesus.

Say to God what Mary said to Him:

"Lord, I am your servant.  May your word to me be fulfilled"

The truth about what you are (Part 1)

"You see, the Lord Jesus is not only the truth about God, he is the truth about man.  He was the truth about God because he was the truth about man--because...man was (supposed) to be the truth about God."  Major Ian W. Thomas

To see Jesus is to see God.  But to see Adam before he sinned would also have been to see God.  In fact, before Adam sinned, every man and woman would have been a picture of God, a portrait of what God is like.  He wanted each man and woman to be the earth creatures that look and act like him.  Because of this, the very definition of sin is for the creature to not be like the creator.  But Jesus came so we could all be reborn, so we all could look and act like God.  In the same way that Jesus could say, "If you have seen me, you have seen the father," we should be able to confidently say, "If you have seen us, you have seen the Lord Jesus."  The Lord said, "As the Father sent me, so I send you."  We are now in this world as Jesus was when He was here. 

How do we experience this?
The same way Jesus did.

Click here for part 2.

I am writing to the ones who seek to connect with God's Spirit. 

Hear me.

When you listen to the Spirit of God for the sake of knowing Christ, you will tell others what you have seen in heaven.

Where is heaven?

God's presence.

In you.
By Faith.
In Christ.

What does this mean?
It means that God gave you the ability to manifest his glory. 
He is where you are. 
In your body. 
Amen.

A conversation between The Trinity

The Father and the Spirit watch the Son as John baptizes Him.

"What are you feeling?"
"I am a Love Dove, Winged Peace, wanting to light upon the shoulder of Your Son."
"I feel You feeling Me."
"Father God, what are You feeling?"
"The creature baptizes his Creator.  I am in awe.  I love my Son.  I am pleased with Him."
"You want to tell Him."
"Very much."
"I will go with You as You do."
"And I will speak to Jesus with You."

As Jesus comes out of the water, He sees the Spirit of His Father in the form of a radiant transparent Dove, and hears His Father's voice:

"You are my Beloved Son.  I am very pleased with You."
"Thank you Father.  This is all I want in life; this is My life."
"Hello Immanuel.  From now on, as I gave You life, I will guide and empower Your Life."
"Hello My Dearest Friend and Companion.  Permeate Me, empower Me, lead me, control Me.  I give Myself to You freely."
"And We give ourselves to You completely."