Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

THE BOOK OF ACTS – THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER

Bible Study, ,

THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER 

“As they met and ate meals together, He told them that they were on no account to leave Jerusalem but ‘must wait for what the Father promised: the promise you heard from me. John baptised you in water; you will be baptised in the Holy Spirit. And soon.’” Acts 1:4-5 (The Message)

Finally, at last, here it comes! The promise of the Father is on the brink of fulfilment. With these words, Jesus linked Himself and His ministry to the ministry of His forerunner, John the Baptist. “John answered them all.’ I baptise you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.'” Luke 3:16 (NIV).

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was crucial to the existence of the church because He is the key to the completion of Jesus’ ministry on earth. Everything Jesus accomplished in His life, death and resurrection would end right there had the Holy Spirit not been given to apply what He did in the hearts of believers.

Some branches of the church claim the baptism of the Holy Spirit as special to their persuasion and others react by shying away from Him and relegating Him to a doctrine. The truth is that He was given, not for an experience or for a doctrine, but for the very life of Jesus in us without which we are mere empty shells.

It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin and draws us to the Saviour. “‘Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go I will send Him to you. When He comes He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin…'” John 16:6b-8a (NIV).

It is the Holy Spirit who brings our dead spirits back to life in response to our faith in Jesus. “‘Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit…'” John 3:5 (NIV).

It is the Holy Spirit who reproduces the life of Jesus in us, “So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the deeds of the sinful nature…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:16, 22 (NIV).

It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the gifts that are necessary for the life of the Body. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good…All these is the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.”  1 Corinthians 12:7, 11 (NIV).

It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to bear witness to the life-changing power of Jesus at work in and through us. “‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses…'”  Acts 1:8a (NIV).

The coming of the Holy Spirit would complete the reversal of the disaster that came on the human race and on the earth when Adam decided to go it alone. Jesus made it possible for God’s rebellious sons to return to the Father’s house, to be reconciled to the Father and to be reinstated as His beloved sons. The Holy Spirit makes it all happen by His working within the spirit of man.

No wonder then that Jesus ordered them to wait in Jerusalem for His coming which had to take place on a specific day to fulfil the Feast of Pentecost and without which any effort on their part to carry out the mandate of Jesus would only be futile and disastrous.

THE SPIRIT OF CONVICTION

Christian Life, , , ,

THE HOLY SPIRIT – THE SPIRIT OF CONVICTION

The disciples had a powerful role to play in the spread of God’s kingdom on earth, but so did the Holy Spirit, and they were to be sure that they did not get their roles confused. The disciples’ role was to make disciples by identifying them with and initiating them, through mikvah – ceremonial washing – Into the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them everything Jesus had taught them. Nothing less, nothing more (Matt. 28: 18-20). This was what Jesus had authorised them to do.

The role of the Holy Spirit was the inward part. It was His work to convince three categories of beings who they were and how they were to respond.

When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment; in regard to sin because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16: 8-11)

This statement of Jesus will confuse us if we do not separate the three categories from one another and apply the appropriate truth to each. Who was He talking about?

  • The world

These are the ones who do not believe in Him. What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the world? No disciple can convince an unbeliever that he is a sinner. One can use logical arguments and even get him to admit that he is a sinner but that will not convince him to the extent that he will turn to the Lord and receive forgiveness of sins and new life. All he does is give intellectual assent to the truth, but that will not save him.

Only the Holy Spirit, working within the heart and conscience of the sinner, can bring life to a dead spirit by awakening him to the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done. The role of the Holy Spirit in the unbeliever is twofold; He convinces him of sin and points him to the Saviour.

  • The believer

It is not the Holy Spirit’s primary role to convict believers of sin. We may think it is because we feel bad when we have sinned. We are tormented by guilt and keep on begging for forgiveness as though we need to be saved all over again. But the Holy Spirit is not the accuser – that’s the devil’s role in the world.

Then of what does the Spirit convince the believer? Jesus said that He convinces believers of righteousness. Why do we need to be convinced of righteousness? Satan plays a pivotal role in the life of a believer. He is called “the accuser of the brethren”. He works very hard to get us to believe that the work of Jesus on the cross was not enough. Every time we wander off the path, he comes at us with all his guns blazing. “You see! You can’t be saved. Look what you’ve done? How can you call yourself a Christian when you did that?” Condemnation heaped upon condemnation! That’s who he is and that’s what he does.

The Holy Spirit comes to convince us that we have been made righteous by the gift of righteousness that comes through Jesus. It’s not what we have done for God. It’s what Jesus has done for us. His sacrifice took care of all our sin for all time. In order to lose our salvation, we would have to make a conscious choice to renounce and walk away from what He has done for us.

God expects us to fail from time to time because we still have the pull of the old nature in us. He does not stand over us with a whip to beat us when we fail. He calls us to live up to the righteousness He has already given us through Jesus. We are His sons and daughters. We are in the process of becoming replicas of Jesus, our rabbi and His Son. We are both righteous in our standing with God and becoming righteous through the purifying work of the Holy Spirit in us.

Righteousness, not condemnation, is our motivation for living in obedience to Him.

  • The devil

The devil hears only one word from the Holy Spirit – judgment! He hears no word of comfort – only condemnation 24/7. What he hears, he speaks. How can he hear anything else but judgment when he has sealed his own fate? How can he speak anything else but condemnation when that’s all he hears? He wants to take God’s people down with him, to unsettle them and drag them into doubt with his lies. He is a liar. Lies are the only language he knows.

Jesus had this to say to the religious leaders who claimed that God was their Father in spite of the fact that they were planning to kill Him:

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8: 44)

How important that we learn to identify the voices we are constantly hearing! The voice of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer is always positive – pointing to Jesus and speaking the truth.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Do you like this post? Then buy your own copy of my book, Learning to be a Disciple, which is also available from www.amazon.com or www.takealot.com in South Africa. You can also order a copy directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com

Watch this space!

My latest book, The Heartbeat of Holiness, will also soon be available.

Imitators Of Jesus

Christian Life, , , ,

IMITATORS OF JESUS

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5: 1)

The third step in being a disciple of Jesus is imitating Him in everything He was and did. Disciples were taught to walk behind their master, one behind the other so that they could watch the person in front of them. The one who walked behind the rabbi was to copy everything he did.  Each one was to copy the one in front so that they would all end up copying their rabbi.

It was the privilege of the disciple who walked directly behind his rabbi to be covered with the dust which the rabbi’s sandals kicked up as he walked. This was a sign of his privileged position. It was considered a blessing to wear the rabbi’s dust.

On one occasion Jesus sent His disciples out to the villages round about to preach the good news of the kingdom and the do the works of the kingdom in preparation for His arrival in that region. If a village or a household refused to receive them, they were to shake the dust off their feet and move on without protest. What was He saying?

We interpret His instruction from our purely human mindset. Shake the dust – i.e., thumb your nose at them as a sign of contempt. Does that sound like the way Jesus would react, Jesus – the one who always looked for an opportunity to show mercy? If the rabbi’s dust which they wore was a sign of His blessing, wouldn’t it be true to say that He instructed them to leave His blessing on those who rejected Him by shaking off the dust of their feet even if they refused His message?

Jesus used the rabbi/disciple model to train His disciples to be like Him. Mark recorded His strategy like this:

He appointed twelve that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have the authority to drive out demons (Mark 3:14).

“That they might be with Him” was the first part of their training – following and learning. They were to watch and listen, absorbing everything they could about their rabbi, not only just learning to teach what He taught but actually becoming what He was – a true son of the Father in every sense of the word.

Jesus took every opportunity to teach them about the Father and to model a true son. They were not just to be wooden puppets, moving when He pulled the strings. They were to absorb everything about Him including His attitude and disposition. When James and John wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans for refusing them hospitality, Jesus sharply rebuked them.

…James and John…asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them. But Jesus turned and rebuked them.  And He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” (Luke 9.54-55)

He told them more than once:

If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world (John 12: 47).

Jesus both taught and showed His disciples that His disposition towards His people was compassion and mercy. He wept over the city of Jerusalem for not recognising Him and for rejecting their opportunity to respond to His invitation to return to the Father and to be a part of His eternal kingdom.

Imitation Jesus is not just a mechanical copying of what He said and did. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God promised that He would send His Spirit who would change their hearts (Ez. 36:26-27). He fulfilled His promise on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on all the waiting believers. Peter responded to the confusion in Jerusalem by reminding the people of the same promise in the prophecy of Joel.

And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days (Joel 2:28-29).

The same Spirit who empowered Jesus would indwell them. Unlike all the other rabbis who could teach and train their disciples but could not impart their heart and disposition to them, Jesus promised that the very same Spirit that fell on Him would fall on them. He would live within them as Jesus’ other self, and mould them into His image as they followed and learned from Him.

It was His intention to produce replicas of Himself, empowered by the same Spirit, carrying the same authority to do the same works and even more (John 14:12) through Him, so that they would extend the kingdom of God wherever they went.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?

Learning To Be A Son – Chapter Twelve – Complete In Christ

Book Reviews, , , ,

LEARNING TO BE A SON

CHAPTER TWELVE

COMPLETE IN CHRIST

If we are truly the sons and daughters of God, how can we ever attain the high standard Jesus set for us? Take heart! God views us from His perspective as already complete in Christ. God guarantees that what He began, He will finish.

What has He done?

  • He guaranteed the success of the venture because of the power of the cross. It is His will that we be made holy.
  • He cannot fail because of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that He would not only be with us – He would be in us to apply all the effects of the cross in our lives.

Both Paul and Peter confirmed this in their letters. They knew what they were talking about because both of them had started badly but, because of the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, they experienced the transformation that the Holy Spirit brought about in them.

From God’s point of view, the work is complete but we must respond or nothing will change. Our response is to believe Jesus’ words and obey His teaching. This is the way to increasing freedom from the power of sin in our lives and increasing likeness to Jesus, our elder brother.

It is our responsibility to maintain the link, the spiritual “umbilical cord” with God through faith, submission and obedience to Him. As we trust Him, so He works in us to recreate us into the image of our Creator.

Now we must become what we are, sons and daughters of God.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?

 

 

Learning To Be A Son – Chapter Five – Slaves or Sons?

Book Reviews, , , ,

CHAPTER FIVE

Slaves or Sons?

Since we have already established that the whole of humankind was intended to be the family of God and that every person is potentially a son or daughter of God, how do we move from potential to actual? The operative word is “faith”. New Testament writers like John and Paul understood what Jesus came to do. He came to reveal the true nature of the Father and to remove the barrier of sin that separated us from Him so that we can be restored to our rightful place as sons and daughters of God.

Jesus calls us to become His disciples, followers of our rabbi so that, in close and intimate association with Him, we can learn to be sons by watching, listening and imitating Him. When we respond to His call, we begin our journey with Him which will take us to the Father if we follow His way, obey His instructions and keep our eyes on our destination.

Sin, the great barrier between man and God, was the outcome of Adam’s disobedience to God’s instruction in the Garden of Eden. Sin destroyed the fellowship Adam and Eve had with God and left them dirty, diseased, deformed and dead – unable to connect with God because their nature had become corrupted. It was because of His great love that He had already formulated His plan to rescue us from the ravages of sin and adopt us once again into His family through the death of His Son.

Through the Holy Spirit, whom He sent on the Day of Pentecost, God confirmed the forgiveness Jesus bought by His death, and restored everyone who believes in Jesus to His family as His sons and daughters. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption. He witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God and, through Him, we can address God as Abba, Father – a term of intimacy and endearment.

Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God, not those who claim allegiance because they have signed a decision card or answered an altar call. It is because of our status as sons and daughters that we enjoy all the benefits of life in the family of God. This is our “password” to eternal life – not when we die but now, in fellowship with the Father and with the Son in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

We are still fallible human beings, with an old sinful nature that is vulnerable to temptation. Satan has been defeated but he is still active to deceive us when we listen to his lies. There still lurks in us the thought that we are his slaves under his power and that we are subject to punishment when we sin. We try to gain acceptance with the Father through keeping rules instead of living in the truth that Jesus fully paid our debt and that His cry on the cross, “It is finished!” meant exactly that.

Since we have not fully understood the implications of His death, we feel uncomfortable with God. Like the returning prodigal, we want to be treated as slaves and not fully accepted as sons.  But God has not given us the spirit of slavery which makes us afraid of Him. He has given us the Spirit of adoption. We are truly the sons and daughters of God, forgiven and fully accepted. Our response is to come out from the world and be separated to God. He has promised that He will be a Father to us in the truest sense of the word.

When we respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him, we leave our old life behind and begin our journey with Him which will take us to the Father, learning from Him what a true son is like and being transformed into His image as we continue to abandon our old ways of thinking and return to His way.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

To order your 0wn copy of either book, contact

Toll free – 0800 990 914 (South Africa)

orders.africa@partridgepublishing.com

www.partridgepublishing.com/africa  or

+44 20 314 3997 (outside South Africa)

ISBN: Hardcover – 978-1-4828-0891-9                                                                                     Softcover 978-1-4828-0890-2                                                                                                              eBook 978-1-4828-0889-6

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