Immanuel

On December 19, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 73: 23 – 24

Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory.

When Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah, he said the savior would be called Immanuel. Immanuel means God is with us. That is one of the most important pieces of prophecy in the entire Bible. It is a key piece of theology. God is with us.

Jesus’ coming to earth, his sacrifice and subsequent resurrection change the entire dynamic between God and people. The temple moved. Instead of being an edifice made of stone and mortar, the new temple is you. God has come to live in us and to be with us continually. He is now intertwined with us and us with Him. There is no separation other than that which we create. Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him,” (John 14: 23). Jesus and the Father intend to make their abode with us. Jesus also promised that the Father would send the Holy Spirit who would come and be with us forever (John 14: 16). So there you have it, all three persons of the Trinity coming to earth to live in and with you always.

This is the dream and hope of the psalmist. He recognized God with him. He also hints at an important aspect. As long as we are with God, He is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us, but it is important that we are “continually” with Him also, as the psalmist wrote. He made a decision to be continually with God and then acknowledged that God had taken hold of his right hand to lead and counsel him all the days of his earthly life. Then, at the end of his days, he knew and expected that God would receive him into glory. In other words, their partnership will never end. God was with him all the days of his earthly existence and then the Lord received him into the heavenly abode of God. That is the promise we have, God with us. Grab hold of His right hand and enjoy life with Immanuel.

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Resident

On September 17, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 1: 33

He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit would come “on” someone and that person would perform anointed works. Gideon blew his horn; many prophesied. But the Holy Spirit would lift off them after their task was accomplished. He did not come upon them and remain. The time of the Holy Spirit was not yet.

John the Baptist baptized in water but announced that one was coming after him who would baptize in the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3: 11, Mark 1: 8, Luke 3: 16, John 1: 33). He spoke, of course, of Jesus. When Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us, to live with us forever as we saw in John 14: 16. No longer was the Holy Spirit to come “on” us and then vacate. Instead Jesus said that He was going to send the Holy Spirit to be with us forever to be our constant helper, teacher and guide. So now the Holy Spirit has come and made His abode with us. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3: 16). Then in Romans 8, the eleventh verse Paul wrote, “He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.” Now we have the Holy Spirit with us, dwelling in us all of the time rather than coming upon us in a time of need. He is here to be your constant standby and He couldn’t do that very well if He had to come and go. So, Jesus sent Him into the world to be with us and to stay with us until Jesus comes back to establish His Kingdom in the earth. We are never abandoned because God has made provision for us to have a divine helper with us at all times.

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Desert Dweller

On September 16, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 68: 6

God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

It is easy for us to get “religious” and when we do, we create a whole bunch of sayings, expressions, doctrine and habits that are not Biblical. Today’s verse points out one of those religious ideas that is completely foreign to God.

It has become rather common for Christians to talk about being in a desert period. This is a religious idea, meaning more about man-made conception that Spirit led reality. There was the time our Lord was led out into the desert. That may be where we got the idea that people should have desert experiences. God, however, said that only the rebellious live in the parched land. So what are we doing out in the desert?

I have had my desert experiences too. As a matter of fact, there was a two-year period when I was parched and thirsty. Then I discovered something. My Father didn’t intend me to be out in the desert alone. For that is what the desert experience is – a time of being alone when it seems as though the presence of God has withdrawn. God did not name His son Immanuel (God is with us) so that we could go dwell in the desert by ourselves. He didn’t send the Holy Spirit to “be with you forever,” (John 14: 16) just so we could go live in the desert alone.

Jesus went into the desert for a short period of time. He was led there by the Spirit and he most definitely was not without God or the Spirit one moment of that time. His “desert” experience was vastly different from ours. It was a time with God; a time of reflection, introspection and conviction. It was not a time apart from God. His soul was not deserted. In fact, Father sent angels to minister to Jesus’ needs and Jesus emerged from the wilderness victorious.

Most Christians put on sackcloth and weary faces as they talk about their desert experience. They don’t describe a time of revelation or of communion with God. They describe a time of dwelling in a parched land. They act like God has abandoned them to the desert and that, my friends, is a grand deception. Jesus promised that he would never leave us, the Spirit is our constant “go along”, and God promised He would never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13: 5).

Therefore, we can now recognize that the “desert experience” is a misconception. It is not God inspired. He is not and never will leave you stranded in the desert. He is with you day and night to support and protect you. If you’ve got a tent pitched out in the desert, jerk up its stakes and go pitch it by the stream. That is where the Father leads us (Psalm 23). Anything else is a lie.

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The Role of the Holy Spirit

On September 10, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 14: 16               (Amplified Version)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever.

I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s psalm, indeed that you are enjoying Psalm Mondays. It is a good way to start the week. Today I want to continue the series I began last week on the Holy Spirit. It is my hope that these several days we are spending on the Holy Spirit give you an inside look at who the Spirit is and what role he plays in our lives. You may want to copy these “Spirit” Words of the Day and paste them into a document of your own. Also, if you visit my website, www.iveyministries.org, you can search Spirit or Holy Spirit in the Daily Devotion tab and discover an entire treatise, practically, on the Holy Spirit.

The central role of the Holy Spirit and God’s main reason for sending Him to us is for the Holy Spirit to accompany us continually and aid us in whatever capacity necessary. That is why He is often referred to as the Helper. Jesus frequently called the Holy Spirit our “Helper.” If the kind of help we need is prayer, then the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. If we need strength, then He strengthens us. He was sent to us to be our constant companion, to standby us every minute of every day to help us in every situation. That is the role of God’s Holy Spirit. I think that is exhilarating. Just think, God’s own Spirit has been assigned the job of being with you constantly so that He can help you every second of every day. He is to stand by you and await any opportunity to aid you.

Now, some people may say, “Well, He doesn’t seem to be at my side helping me daily.” That could be true because one thing you can bet on is that the Holy Spirit of God is a gentleman. He must first be invited. He will not horn in on your life; He will not push his weight around on you. The Spirit of God is gentle. Remember that gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22). He is powerful but He absolutely will not force Himself on you. So just invite Him into your life. Give Him permission to take up permanent residence with you. You are going to experience a whole new life with God through His own Spirit when you do.

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Immersed

On January 26, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Acts 1: 4 – 5

Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

John the Baptist was the voice crying out in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord,” (Matthew 3: 3). He announced the coming of the Messiah and prepared the way of his coming. “As for me,” he said, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire,” (Matthew 3: 11).

I don’t know if there is any more misunderstood spiritual directive in the whole Bible as this. I think it may be so challenging, in part at least, because there is nothing physical in this baptism. The practice of water baptism is easy to recognize and follow because there is a physical element involved. Whether a person is sprinkled, dunked or has a pail of water poured over them, we understand the principle involved.

This idea was baffling for the early church believers as well. Even John the Baptist said, “And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit,” (John 1: 33). John didn’t know exactly what to expect either, but he knew God had spoken about this new baptism and how to recognize he who would author it. As we see from this scripture, the first phase of this new paradigm was for Jesus to receive the Holy Spirit. God identified the Holy Spirit baptizer to John the Baptist as the one upon whom the Spirit remains.

Fast forward – Jesus has come, gone to the cross, was buried and arose. After his resurrection he appeared to his followers. After greeting them, “He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” (John 20: 22). Are some of the circles beginning to close for you? Jesus has taken us right back to breath. After this he appeared to them again and told them not to leave Jerusalem but rather to await for that which the Father promised. Then he spoke today’s verse. The Apostles were commanded to remain and receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

This baptism is recorded in Acts 2, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance,” (Acts 2: 1 – 4). Don’t you find this exciting? It makes me want to shout. Can you picture how elated the Apostles were that day?

This became the new normal for the Apostles. They now had a revelation of what was spoken in the earliest days of Jesus’ ministry. No longer was it theology for them. This baptism in the fire of the Holy Spirit became their reality. Later when Peter was called to minister to the Gentiles he saw the same outpouring of the Spirit on them whereupon he remarked, “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 11: 16).

I would fail you if I didn’t include the Apostle Paul. Paul came to understand this new baptism as well or better than anyone. In fact, if you run your search on the Spirit in the New Testament you will get a feel for how well acquainted with the Holy Spirit Paul was. Related to the Holy Spirit baptism, “He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said to him, ‘No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ And they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying,” (Acts 19: 2 – 6).

Paul divulges that there is a new baptism, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a free gift from the Father. None the less, there appears to be something required of us. Otherwise, all of these faithful believers would have automatically received the gift when first they believed. When they heard from Paul about the baptism of Jesus in the Holy Spirit, they must have asked to receive the baptism right then because the next thing that happened is that Paul laid his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came on them.

This baptism is for all of us too. Our Father promised thousands of years ago that He would pour out His Spirit to every person. No one is left out of the promise. John the Baptist came and prepared the way for Jesus proclaiming that Jesus would baptize us in the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus ushered in the Spirit saying, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth,” (John 14: 16). We know that Jesus does not lie and we have the evidence of Acts 2 that He and the Father have fulfilled their obligation. There is nothing left but for us to bathe ourselves in this anointing from God and be showered with the Holy Spirit of God.

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Fill ‘er Up!

On January 23, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 5: 18

Be filled with the Spirit.

If you thought yesterday’s scriptures and the miraculous acts of ordinary people was something, just wait until the New Testament revelation of the Holy Spirit unfolds for you. We saw from the Old Testament scriptures how the Spirit would settle “upon” individuals. When the Spirit came upon people, they were emboldened and empowered. People who were moments before afraid became great leaders, prophets and miracle workers under the power that came upon them with the Holy Spirit.

The story of the New Testament is quite different though. In the New Testament, a different word appears in the context of the Holy Spirit working with and through people. Whereas the Old Testament regales us with stories of the Holy Spirit being “on” people, the New Testament transitions us to the Holy Spirit “infilling” us. He is now in us rather than upon us. There are only three Old Testament scriptures about someone being filled with the Spirit while there are twelve New Testament scriptures about being filled. Likewise, there are very few New Testament scriptures about the Spirit being upon a person. One notable exception is Jesus.

In Matthew 3: 16 is the account of Jesus’ baptism. When he came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended and alit upon him. Shortly thereafter, Jesus was led, by the Spirit, into the wilderness where he was tempted by Satan. Luke’s description of this event says Jesus was “filled” with the Spirit (Luke 4: 1). So, which is it? Did the Spirit alight upon him, as in the Old Testament or did he fill Jesus? I believe the answer is that Jesus, again, is the exception to the rule. Jesus was an Old Testament Jew, but he ushered in the New Testament. In this sense, he was the bridge between how the Holy Spirit interacted with people in the Old Testament and how we are supposed to interact with him now.

At Jesus’ baptism the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon him. That language is clear and consistent. A short time later Jesus is described as being filled with the Spirit. In the intervening time Jesus bridged the gap between the Old and the New. He was the conduit through which the Old and New Testaments were reconciled. In him, the Father found the unity of paradigms which orchestrated the fulfillment of His promise to Israel, namely, the pouring out of the Spirit.

We have the greatest of all situations in Christ. He told his disciples that it was to their advantage that he depart because in his leaving he would send us another helper who would be with us and in us forever, the Holy Spirit (John 16: 7, John 14: 16). In this new dispensation the Spirit does not rest upon us for a time and then leave. He is with us and in us all of the time. He is as close as your next breath. In fact, you and he can be so intertwined that he is part of your DNA and that is where we want to go.

The Holy Spirit is who made Jesus the miracle worker he was. It was the Holy Spirit which made Jesus so attractive that he could simply say, “Follow me” and people would leave their occupations and follow him. The Holy Spirit was the power of articulation that gave Jesus perfect teachings and wisdom in his speech. How do I know? “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner“ (John 5: 19). Now, the one who empowered Jesus to do all that he did, is available to us. We can be as intimately intertwined with the Holy Spirit as Jesus was which means that we can be led as Jesus was led and we can do everything he did (John 14: 12).

(See Also: Exodus 31: 3, Exodus 35: 31, Micah 4: 8, Matthew 4: 1, Luke 1: 15, Luke 1: 41, Acts 2: 4, Acts 4: 8, Acts 4: 31, Acts 6: 3, Acts 6: 5, Acts 7: 55, Acts 11: 24)

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