Holy Spirit

Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

“Do not be drunk with wine, which will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,” Ephesians 5:18

Today we are going to see the Work of the Holy Spirit in a different angle.

I hope this will help you understand how our Lord Holy Spirit works in us to sustain the grace given to us to live a holy life.

There are 3 Key Laws mentioned in the Bible

1.    The Law of God (10 Commandments in principle / 2 Royal Law of Love basis of all 613 Laws)
2.    The Law of Sin
3.    The Law of Spirit and Life

The Law of God

•     “So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good”

Romans 7:12

•     The Character of God or the Very heart of God

(Man can only envision God through his Laws)

•     Be holy as I am Holy – why?

•         Qadosh in Hebrew

•         Hagios in Greek

•         Nothing related to clean or pure

•         “To be set apart” or “Consecrated for”

The Law of Sin

•     “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.”              

 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Romans 7:22-24

•     “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.” Romans 7:15-17

•     Law of God reveals the character of God.

•     Law of sin resists the Law of God.

•     “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” James 1:14

•     Temptation is only Temptation until it is yielded as sin

•     A man or woman committing any sin including envy, Pride, Jealousy, Favouritism is because they want to…

•     ... So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:25

The Law of Spirit and Life

•       “because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2

•       The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6

•       Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.               2 Corinthians 3:17

Illustration of Laws

Consider an Aeroplane – It has to go from Point A to Point B the destiny and built to carry 500 people. It has a Metallic / Composite Body. It is filled with Fuel the Spirit. It has a Pilot

Gravitational Pull acts on the Flight continuously because of the Fuel and Pilot the Passenger does not feel or think He will fall down. The steering of the Flight and all controls designed to work to take the passenger from A->B.

Qualification for receiving the Holy Spirit

•         ““Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”” Luke11:11-13

  Jesus Lives through You

•       “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” Romans 8:9

•       “But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” Romans 8:10-11

•       “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Galatians5:17-18

Paul says in Ephesians 3:16,17,

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

How to live in accordance with the Spirit?

•         “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” Romans 8:5

                                               
                                                             ThanksGiving Psalms


Since this is season of ThanksGiving, we are going to meditate on this psalm 136. It tells us clearly what do we need to be thankful for.  We can divide it to 4 sections.

1) Who He is - Give thanks because of our Lord's power, his mighty works, his magnificent and awesomeness. Verses 1-3 He is the Lord, God of Gods and Lord of Lords. In the Old testament times, people sing this psalms in Solomon's time.
As read in II Chronicles 5:13 The house was filled with cloud when they offer these praises to the Lord.

2) Creation - In verses 4-9, we see how the Lord created this world. He alone do great wonders, by wisdom made the Heavens. When you see the Heaven, earth, lights, Sun, moon and stars, we have to proclaim his mercy endureth forever. When we look at these things everyday, we should not take it for granted, need to change our attitude to be thankful.

3) Redemption - In verses 10-22, we see how Lord redeemed Israel. He redeemed them with outstretched arm and strong hand. It shows the picture of Cross how he redeemed us from darkness and overthrew our enemies(old nature) in the Red sea. He led his people through the wilderness, there is no lack even in desert. He gave the land as an inheritage to Israel his servant. We are joint hiers with Christ being Abraham's seed. He slew famous and great kings, there is no match for our God.

4) Personal application - In verses 23-26, we see personal application of Lord's mercy in our life. He remembered us in our lowly estate, he came to us to set our feet on the rock. He redeemed us from our enemies and gives food to all flesh. He gives food to the entire world. He is good, his mercy endureth forever. He is the Lord of Heaven - fountain of all blessing we see in this world. His mercy endureth forever.

Infamous Women in Christ Birth

In the genealogy of Jesus, five women are mentioned in Matthew 1. We usually discuss only about Mary. But let us take a look at the other four women:

1. Tamar: Matt 1: 3  Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. She is the daughter in law of Judah but bore a son through Judah. Widows in those days are not like today - she can’t marry anyone. She kept herself pure - did not defile herself. Judah himself testified about Tamar saying “She is more righteous than I am”. You can read more about her story in Genesis 38.

2. Rahab:  Matt 1:5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. She was a prostitute from Jericho who saved the spies. You can read more about her story in Joshua 2. She gave up her profession, she was still a foreigner, but she humbled herself and learnt the laws of the Israelites. The scarlet cord that she tied saved her, her family and made her a part of Jesus’ birth. That scarlet cord (the blood of Jesus) is still available for you and me.

3. Ruth: Matt 1:5 Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. She was a widow, a Moabite woman. Moabites are descendants of Lot – they were a curse. You can read about that in Deut 23. She gleaned in the field of Boaz.  Gleaning was done by the lowliest of the lowly. She did that but God exalted her.

4. Uriah’s wife (Bathsheba): Matt 1:6 David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife. Even her name is not mentioned in Matthew. She lost her husband, lost her first child through David, still she pressed in. You can find her story in 2 Samuel 11 and 12.

All of the four women were imperfect – but they all had a part in bringing the Messiah to the world. They did not let their past define their future. When the enemy shows your past, show him his future which is a bottomless pit.

The only one who can prevent you from your calling is you. All these women had so many setbacks. But still they were used by God. Their job was not perfect. Their family background was not perfect. The world despised them. Nevertheless these women had a part in the Savior's birth. 

You may not have a job let alone a perfect one. You may be despised and rejected by others. But you are cherished by your father in heaven. You are his beloved daughter. You are the daughter of the king. You are a holy nation, a royal priesthood. Your identity in Christ, is your anchor.

Jesus Christ became a curse for you, to set you free from all curses. He became poor for you, to make you rich in every way. His love for you is more than you can fathom. His plans are to prosper you. His plans for you are much higher than your plans for yourself.

When we humble ourselves, God will use us to birth many children into his kingdom.

"THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS"


In Eph 6 11-12 says

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

This verse is talking about battles that we fight daily – they may be: financial battles, spiritual battles, relationship battles – all kinds of battles in our daily lives.

I took Jehoshaphat story for the illustrations.

In the Old Testament we find that Jehoshaphat, king of Israel, got word from a friend that three enemy nations were coming against him to fight him. The odds weren’t too good because it was three nations against the one nation of Israel. The Bible tells us that these three nations were the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Meunites. Let’s look into the story – it is found in Second Chronicles chapter twenty:

In 2 chron 20 verse 1- 2 says

“Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea…”

Lets see some priniciples or ways from this story for hoow to win the battle of our life.

priniciple no1:

1. Identify Your ENEMY

Verse 1 shows us the first principle in overcoming the battles of life: Identify your enemy.

Many people simply do not know who their enemy is. They start mistrusting everyone. Often we think the enemy is some other person – even our own family members. But they may not be the ones who are standing against us – but for us. Many times the enemy is our own attitude – the way we handle the situation. Before we can start winning our battles – we have to know who are enemy is.

Notice how Jehoshaphat reacted when he heard that these three nations were coming against him:

if u read verse 3

Jehoshaphat was afraid……..”

That brings us to point two.

2. Don’t Be Driven By EMOTION

when we face some trouble we will cry or

we will get mad – we will get angry – we will be furious

But look at what the Bible says:

“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20


The Bible also says:

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim. 1:7 (KJV)

All of us are emotional beings – that’s the way God has created us. But don’t let your emotions get the better of you.

What you should do next is:

3. Take Your Problems To The LORD

Let’s look at verse three again:


Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” 2 Chron. 20:3

When Jehoshaphat learned that three nations were coming against him he was afraid – but instantly he “set himself to seek the LORD”.

The third principle in winning the battles of life is to take your problems to the Lord. Prayer will be the first weapon we use whenever we face the battles of life, not the last. Usually the last thing we try is prayer – maybe because we want things to work out on our own.

If u see in verse 6 -12 it says

Jehoshaphat prayed and do you know what he said? In effect he said, “God, I know You’ve helped me in the past. I know You can help me in the future. So please help me now. Please take care of our enemies, for we have no power to face the vast army that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do –

That brings us to point four:

4. Admit You Need HELP

The fourth principle in winning the battles of life is to admit you need help. Jehoshaphat did when he said:

"We are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You." 2 Chron. 20:12

When we say, “Lord, I’ve got a problem; I need help, I admit my inadequacy,” then he can work on it.

God is willing to help but if we are too proud to ask for it – He will not help us. The Bible says:

"GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." James 4:6

Lets see point 5

5. Rely On God’s POWER


If you see in verse 12
 after Jehoshaphat admitted, “Lord, I don’t know what to do,” he added, “but our eyes are on You” (2 Chron. 20:12).

The fifth principle in overcoming life’s battles is to rely on God’s power. We need to get our eyes on the Lord. Too often we’ve got our eyes on everything else – on everything except the One who can solve our problems.

Circumstances are like a mattress: If we’re on top – we rest easy. But if we’re underneath – we might suffocate.

If we keep our eyes on the Lord we’ll stay on top of our circumstances.



point no 6 is

6. Relax In FAITH

Notice how God responded to Jehoshaphat’s prayer:

"Thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's.’ 2 Chron. 20:15

The sixth principle in overcoming life’s battles is to relax in faith.

So many Christians today are totally worn out because they’re trying to fight God’s battles in our own power.

when we try to do something for God's Kingdom without faith, we are so disappointed and we think like we disappointed god and we felt like we really let him down.

God says, “No, you didn’t let Me down, because you weren’t holding Me up.”

the truth is : We don’t hold up God – He holds us up.

Here I’m not saying we should not try – that we should not do our best – because we should try – we should give it our best effort. But we should also realize that without God’s power we have no power at all.

Jesus said it this way:

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
eg. Peter

God wants us to relax in faith and let Him work through us.

so The Christian life is a walk of faith.

If God says He’ll take care of it – He will do it

God never broken His promise? So relax and allow Him to be in charge.

But lot of times we running around trying to win the battle

but here what God says to Jehoshaphat – He says:

'You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.’ 2 Chron. 20:17

What does it mean to stand firm when you’ve got a problem – when you’re facing a battle – when you’re in a crisis of life? It’s a mental attitude of quiet confidence that says, “I’m going to trust God.” If He has promised you that He will take care of it.

Here is the seventh point:

7. Thank God In ADVANCE

The seventh principle in conquering life’s battles is to thank God in advance for giving you the victory.

In this story

After he consulted the people, he appointed men to sing to the Lord – to praise God for His loving-kindness.

There are these two mountains and a valley in-between. The battle is going to take place in the valley. On one mountain are the three enemy armies just waiting to devastate the Jews. On the other mountain are the Jews led by Jehoshaphat. He tells his people, “Here’s God’s battle plan. All of those who can sing in the choir – I want you out front. I want them to lead the battle line.”

So they go marching to battle with the choir in the front of the army – singing praises to God.

The Bible tells us that the three enemy armies got confused and ended up killing each other! They defeated themselves

from this verse he teach us to praise Him in faith even before the victory – even before the battle was won – even before the battle was fought – we need to praise God. When God gives us a promise we need to praise Him – because a promise from God is a sure thing!



verse 25 says,

“When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found much among them, including goods, garments and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were three days taking the spoil because there was so much.”

When God wins the battle – there is always a bountiful blessing.

so the Battle is not ours its Gods.

Amen.

































 it

Enlarge Your Heart

Our God is a God of Increase. When God is in it, there will be increase. Enlarge begins in our heart first, manifestation will come later. God has great vision for each one of us, but we have to enlarge your heart to receive that vision. He won't be able to put that vision in narrowed heart.

How do we enlarge our heart?
* Through our new birth
* Meditating on his word regularly
* Seeking Holy Spirit guidance in our decisions
* Bringing up every matter to him (not hiding any secrets)

Father, help me to overcome this area - enlarge my heart to see things clearly.

Why we have to enlarge?
* Clear understanding of problems
* Trap of the enemy
* Bring compassion in our hearts towards other people
* Fulfill his plan and will in our life

What's our Father heart like? He gives food and send rain to the good and evil.
We know this enlarging heart is a process, he will lead us step by step. This is not going to happen overnight.

Psalms 119:32 I shall run the way of your commandments, For you have enlarged my heart.

We are going to see how David has enlarged his heart.

I Samuel 24:16-21 When Saul came to the cave where David was hiding, all people around him said that Lord has delivered your enemy in your hand. But David said ' I will not touch him since he is anointed of the Lord.' He said to Saul 'May the Lord judge between you and me'.

When our hearts get enlarged, people around us will be forced to change.

Saul indeed blessed David at the end of that passage. 'You are more righteous than I, Lord will reward thee. Surely you will be the king.'

Lord made his enemy to be at peace with him since David's ways pleased the Lord.
Acts 13:22 David is called "Man after God's own heart' . Let's our heart be enlarged everyday as we are getting transformed from glory to glory to represent Jesus Christ in this world.

Is the Bride Ready?

2 Timothy 2:20-21 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

The phrase 'cleanses himself' got my attention. We are saved by His grace (Eph 2:8) and live, move and stand on that same amazing grace alone. It is His Holy Spirit that does the conviction and cleansing. Then why does Paul say 'cleanse himself'? It means you and I must do the yielding, we must do the surrender as the Spirit does the work in us. 

Rev 19:7 Top of Form

For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

We are his bride. Out of the rib of first Adam in the garden came Eve. But out of the rib of second Adam, Jesus Christ on mount Calvary came the bride of Christ (John 19:34).

None of us can forget our wedding day – next to the day we accepted Jesus as our savior, the second important day in a girl’s life is her wedding day. We do so much preparation – shopping, make up etc. All such preparation is for a marriage that will last maybe for 20, 30, 40 or 50 years in this earth. But we are talking about an eternal marriage that is going to last for eternity – how much more we must prepare ourselves. We read that the bride has made herself ready. No one else is going to make you ready. It is your responsibility. Are you like the five wise virgins ready to meet the King (Matt 25:10)?

Yield to the work of the Holy Spirit. Don’t be stubborn. Everyday crucify the flesh. Every day seek to please him more. To be transformed into His image (2 Cor 2:18) is our goal.

Our life is a mist/vapor according to James 4:13. We sometimes live this life as though we have all the time in front of us. Today is the day to serve the Lord. Don’t postpone saying I am just in my 20s, 30s etc. Let us come out of our spiritual complacency, our lethargy, our comfort zone and make this life of mist count.

Well done my good and faithful servant (Matt 25:21) – that is the biggest title anyone can have. He is not saying successful servant. He just wants you to be faithful with the talents he has entrusted to you. Don’t hide them like that wicked servant.

Is the bride ready to meet her bridegroom?

Relationship Goals

Relationship

1.     Before the Person

·      “Relationship goals” How many of us have relationship goals? We have all ideal for how we want how relationship to look like with others, whether is our marriage, or relationship with parents or parents with sibling. We know what is relationship, we understand but what is goal? The definition of Goal is: the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim: end.

·      Many of us when it comes to relationship, we take whatever comes and do whatever is comfortable but we don’t want aim. If you don’t have aim, then you cannot have a goal. You cannot have relationship goals, if you are not aimed at the direction God has for you.

·      A target needs to be standing still. If we use popular culture as our barometer of what relationship should look like, that’s a moving target. Relationship/marriage looked different in each decade and dating/marriage looks so much different now. People have sex before marriage.

·      What God wants for every single one of us is to have relationship but we have to have a goal that is aimed at something that is stable. The only thing that is unchangeable or unweaving is the word of God. (Isaiah 40:8 says, the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”) The word of God should be our standard for all our relationships, whether its our marriage, friendships or any other relationships in our life.

·      Let’s go to the beginning, Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, let us make human beings in our image, to be like us” (In NLT, it says ‘us’ other translations says “our”). In the beginning, before there was ever a person, there was relationship and there was conversation between the father, the son, the holy spirit. 

·      I was reading Genesis this week and I found something interesting. It will be a good trivia. When is the first time God said, “It is not good”. The very first time God said ‘it is not good’? Genesis 3 says, “God said let there be light and God saw that the light was good..” This goes on but in Genesis 2:18 says, “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Why would God say it is NOT good? Its like he already knew something about us that we didn’t.

·      God wants RELATIONSHIP for you. God did not intend for you to be alone, God created you to be in relationship with others. He does not want us to be isolated and alone because that’s where the enemy comes and attack. When you are isolated, the enemy becomes your best friend and lie to about all God’s plan for you. We believe the enemy’s lie and let it take root in us, which stops us from reaching purpose.

·      What God is saying is, if you have someone around you, they can point and say, “you are not fat.. you are just husky” Don’t believe the lie of the enemy.

·      God wants relationship for me! Can we all say that? God wants relationship for me. God knows the last one used you and left you but God wants relationship for you. He wants you to be in a marriage that works, that is surrounded by love, honesty and fun. Our God is a redeemer! whatever is broken or missed up, God said I will take all of that if you allow me to, I will work it for your good. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

·      You can tell if your relationship is from God, just by the qualification: does this relationship help you?  

·      God wants us to win and HE wants us to succeeded in relationship so he laid out a plan for us to succeed. The plan can be found in Genesis 2:8, “Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made.” The key word here is “placed” and “made”. Verse 9: “The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit.” The key word here is “produce fruit”. Verse 15-18, “The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die. Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

·      Before the person, there are five things God wanted to give us before the person. He outlines it in Genesis 2:8-9 and Genesis 2:15-18. There are some things he wants to deposit into our life before anyone partners with us. Many times we expect people to take the place of what only God can give us.

·      What God desires to give you before the person: PLACE. God desire to place you in a place where he knows purpose can happen in your life but we desire to place ourselves. God created Eden and he placed Adam there. He placed you in that family, he placed you in that city, he placed you in that job or at home because there is something God wants to teach you and develop in you for your calling. But We fight the place so hard, we fight the job, people or church God placed us in.

·      The second thing What God desires to give you before the person: PLACE, PURPOSE. He placed Adam in Eden to tend the garden. If we ignore the place, then we don’t understand the purpose. We may say, “I hate being a stay-at-home mom” but God is saying, “I am trying to reveal the purpose. There is something I need you to learn.” When you start embracing the PLACE, then you will start embracing the PURPOSE. This was all before God gave Adam Eve (the person). Adam was PLACED there for his PURPOSE before he ever gave him Adam.

·      What God desires to give you before the person: Provision. Genesis 2:9 say, “The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground” Who made them grow up? The Lord. He supplies, where he calls us.

·      Our identify is found in Christ , not people.

·      “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” God gives PARAMETER.  Example : child

·      Place, purpose, provision, identify, parameter.

·      2 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

·      When you receive all this by coming to know him. We have to know the creator.

·      All you have to move things, spend more time with God: read Bible, by prayer, small group. When you are filled up with God but when the enemy comes to lie to you

·      Allow God to put you in a place, give you purpose, allow him to find your identity, allow him to be your provision, allow him to set the parameter. Allow him to fill you up.

·      If God isn’t enough, no person ever will be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7h5BHax06c

There is a series on Youtube called “Relationship Goals,” I shared part 1 of the series. You can watch all these following topics on Youtube:

2.     Single, Not Alone

3.     The Myth of Dating

4.     Major Keys to Marriage

5.     Panel Discussion

6.     Sex container

7.     Does Sex own you?

8.     Does “it” need to end?