Baptism Of The Holy Spirit
At what point have I received the Holy Spirit. Is it when I first received Jesus or is there another time? I have been asked this question a few times and it’s a very relevant question. The Holy Spirit is involved in our salvation. We are born again by the Spirit of God. Jesus speaks about this in John chapter 3 that we must be born of the Spirit. In fact, there were three times in John chapter 3 where Jesus said you have to be born of the Spirit. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” So, if the Holy Spirit had not come, you could not be born again. When we make Jesus our Lord and receive salvation, we are born of the Holy Spirit. There couldn’t be being born again until the Holy Spirit came. Jesus said this a number of times. In John chapter 7, He says, 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. He is talking about what the Holy Spirit would produce in us when we believe in Him, and that will be like rivers of water flowing out of us. But it couldn’t happen until after the resurrection. So again, the Holy Spirit is involved in our salvation. The Bible says in first Corinthians 12:12 that the Holy Spirit baptises us into the body of Christ. You couldn’t be a part of the body of Christ without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is involved in us being born again and putting us into the body of Christ. Therefore, being born again, we receive the Spirit of God in the sense of being activated or reborn a new creation by the Spirit of God. That rebirth is to reproduce the nature of Christ in us. We then have the fruit of the Spirit because we have been born of the Spirit. The Bible says in Romans 8:9 that but you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. So, this is very clear that we must be born again by the Spirit. And if we are born again, we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. The Spirit of God dwelling in us is reproducing His nature, character, and fruit in us. We find the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter 5. But there’s another subsequent experience. It can be simultaneous but many times it’s after this born-again experience. We are then baptised in the Spirit. There are other phrases used. For example, we are baptised with the Spirit or in the Spirit, or we are endued with power from on high. There are many different types of descriptive words used. The power from on high comes upon us to reproduce the ministry of Jesus. The Spirit who is inside of us when we are born again is producing His nature, character and fruit. One of the reason the Spirit comes upon us is for the purpose of ministry and we find that in Luke 24:49. It says; behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” See what Jesus is saying: Tarry until you are endued with power. We may well ask, why were the disciples asked to tarry? What was it that these men lacked? What could the Holy Spirit supply that they were missing? They were asked to tarry because they needed power. They wanted the kingdom to be advanced, but they lacked divine power. Christ has risen from the dead. This is the greatest news that the world has to know. The resurrection of Jesus is the most powerful thing the world must know. What a great example of the power of God to raise Jesus from the dead. Jesus had passion for the world. He wanted the unsaved to be saved else He wouldn’t have come from heaven to die for the world. He wanted the disciples to go and tell the world this important story. “The sheep are scattered. I want you to go; it is important, but before you go to preach, tarry to be endued with power. Before you go to talk about the risen Christ, tarry until you are baptised with the Holy Spirit. Before you go to win others, tarry until you receive power from on high.” The disciples had a tremendous task to accomplish. They had a message for the world. There were only a handful of Christians to give this great message. The harvest is great, but the labourers are few. They saw the risen Jesus and yet Jesus said don’t tell anybody. Don’t let anybody know about this until you receive power from on high. Imagine you saw Jesus raised from the dead after three days, and you had this news to tell everyone, but He said don’t tell anybody. Don’t go anywhere, don’t do anything until you receive power from on high. That experience of the power many times is subsequent to the initial rebirth. And so, depending on how you’ve been taught or who’s been teaching you, you have to understand that you can have both of those experiences simultaneously or the second one could follow
Don’t Compare Yourself With Others
People think as they get older, they get sick, and things fall apart. There are a lot of people who don’t have any confidence because they see so many people fail, and they say all these happen when you are old. Or all these people started well but they never finished. So, because of that, they are comparing themselves with others. However, God’s plan is to give you an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11). God has prophesied things over you that no sickness or plague will come near your dwelling. You will not fail. Even in the Old Testament, we read about Moses that at the age of 120 years, his eyesight wasn’t dim, and his natural force didn’t evade. “And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated” (Deuteronomy 34:7 ASV). At 120 years, he was still climbing mountains. This is in the Word of God, and God is no respecter of a person. What we have today is even superior to what people had in the Old Testament time. My friend, you are destined to live a successful life, so just believe what God is saying. What we have is superior to what Moses had. I can say that this is God’s plan for my life, and I need to cooperate with Him, and that’s the right attitude for us to have. If we will cooperate with Him and believe in Him, then obviously we can have an expected end that God has set for us. Before we were born, He set before us an expected end. I don’t have to be fearful about things going on around the world. People are however comparing themselves with others. If we compare ourselves with others, we will not go for God’s best. 12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 13 We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us – a sphere which especially includes you” (2 Cor. 10:12-13) This is what the apostle Paul is saying to the Corinthian church. He said; we don’t compare ourselves to others. I see even ministers who started out good and then got caught up in embezzling money. There are some of them who abuse their power, get into sexual sin, and misappropriate money. We see so many people fail so that makes you think how am I going to make it? But you can make it because God has a plan for an expected end and if I’m willing to cooperate with Him, and have that attitude to cooperate with Him, then I can get there. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV). This was Jerimiah writing to people who were taken captive and put into exile in Babylon. And he said God has good plans towards you, peace not evil to lead you to an expected end. The letter wasn’t for people who were prospering at that time. Maybe your situation is not good, and you look at yourself and hear a message like this, and you are saying, how can it be, I can’t see where I’m going. But Jeremiah wrote this to people who were taken captive. Jeremiah 29: 1 says, “Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon”. So, Jerimiah 29:11 was not for people who were in a situation where everything was going on well. It was for people who were held captive. Jeremiah 29:1 is the letter. We read verse 1, and we turn to verse 11 and he is saying, don’t lose hope. These people were in a bad situation. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and took all the Israelites captive and brought them to Babylon. He devastated Jerusalem and it was terrible. These were the people that Jeremiah was writing to. It’s important to get this in context because we turn over and read Jeremiah 29:11 and we think this is for the people who are ministers or people who are prosperous and have everything going well. But He was writing this to people who were carried captive. They were being treated as second-class citizens. They were in a captive land, and everything in their lives was bad. However, the Bible says, God said, I know the thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of hope and not evil, thoughts that will lead you to an expected end. And if you are reading this, I will encourage you that all is not lost. In God’s kingdom, there is nothing wasted. You can rise again and move forward and go for God’s best. You can rise again and do what God has asked you to do. And the success that he created you for, you can accomplish it. You may think you have problems, and maybe things are just bad, but the Bible says that God knows the thoughts that He has towards you. Be encouraged and go for God’s best. It’s not God’s will for us to suffer and go through evil things. It’s not God’s will for you to be sick, it’s not His will for you to be poor, it’s not God’s will for you to be oppressed. And yet people find themselves in such situations. Make sure that you are going for what God has destined for you because a life of success has been written down in heaven and you have to work for it. Just cooperate with God and everything is going to be well with you now, and even forevermore, Amen!
A Mindset Of Success
God designed you for success. He made you a winner, and this is true for every person regardless of what has happened in the past. God has never destined anybody to live a mediocre life. The Bible tells us pointedly that God wants us to prosper in all things and be in health. He wants you to experience success even in the seemingly insignificant things of life. Today, perhaps you see roadblocks to driving in certain areas of your life. Instead of growth or increase, you see lack. Or perhaps you’ve lost something, it could be your job, an important relationship or your health. My friend, remember that the Lord cares about every matter that troubles you and He wants you to experience wholeness and success in those areas. This newsletter Biblically redefines what success really means and shows you the simple but powerful Bible secrets of having good success. There are attitudes you need for success. First, you must believe that success is possible. God not only heals, delivers, and prospers, but He also created us to succeed. God wants us to succeed my friend. He purposefully created us for success. God has never made a failure; nothing is wasted in God’s kingdom and so God has never destined anybody to a mediocre life ever. He made you to be a winner, so trust His word. There are a lot of voices out there telling you that the structures of society are aligned against you. There are voices telling you that the government hasn’t done enough to provide the opportunities you need to succeed. There are voices telling you that someone has hurt you so badly, you can never make it in life. These are all lies. You may even think that your past is holding you back. I can however assure you that for every person that God created, it doesn’t matter what has happened in the past, it doesn’t matter how you may evaluate yourself or even how people have evaluated you, God made you for success. Dear friend, it’s important to believe in yourself and your ability to succeed. Don’t let external factors like society, family, or past experiences hold you back from achieving your goals. Keep striving for success and have faith in yourself. While there may be obstacles and challenges in our path, it’s important to maintain a mindset of resilience and determination. Remember that you have the potential to overcome any adversity and achieve success. So, you’ve got to have a success mindset or success attitude. You have to believe that success is possible. God made you and me for great things. He created every one of us to be something special and we need to be motivated to press towards that goal and seek direction from God. The apostle Paul said that ‘I press towards the goal’. We need to press forward. Nothing can prevent you from achieving success. We live in a culture today that has totally misrepresented what success is. How do we know that you have to succeed in life? How do you know that you were created to succeed? The Bible tells us so. After creating Adam and Eve, God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28). How can such people be failures? It’s the same way God has given us the power to do so. We are to dominate the earth and subdue it. You cannot be a failure. You will need to go for the word of God. Take Him at His word: His word is so powerful. Don’t doubt because of the situation that you are in, or circumstances that you find yourself in. God’s word says exactly what He means. God always says exactly what He means. He never lies, and He never says, “I’ve changed My mind.” He said, “I give you authority and dominion,” He gave absolute dominion to Adam and Eve. He has given us the power to rule, control and subdue the earth. See how victorious and successful we are supposed to live. We are to take dominion. Whatever He says is like a contract that cannot be broken. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 20 Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it” (Numbers 23:19-20). So, when God says anything, He means what He is saying. Hebrews 1:3 says, “Upholding all things by the word of his power.” And Psalm 89:34 says, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” So, you have to believe what God is saying and don’t let circumstances dictate to you. This entire universe is being held together by the power of God’s word. His word is powerful and will accomplish whatever He sends it to do. So, if God says you are successful, believe that you are successful. Believe and have that attitude. You see, it’s the mindset that we have. Let’s turn to Jeremiah 29:11. This is a familiar text of scripture most people know. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”. ‘An expected end’. That’s very powerful. Most translations will say ‘hope and a future.’ However, the old KJV says, He will give you an expected end. So, the end that you expect, God has already set it up. So, how can you fail? You are to succeed in life. Expected end: meaning, instead of going through life and hoping that you finish your course well, you can look back and be encouraged like the apostle Paul who said, ‘I have run the race, I have
What are the benefits of salvation?
It’s so important to understand the benefits of salvation because sometimes I run across Christians who don’t seem to have experienced any change in their lives. But we should be experiencing change from the moment we were saved. There should be something going on, so let’s refresh ourselves in this and see what it’s about. For you to experience the benefits of salvation, you must understand the gospel because the gospel and the power that it carries releases the benefits of salvation in our lives. The gospel itself is God’s power. The understanding of the birth, death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ, and of being born again to become a new creation are all part of the gospel. So, there are benefits of salvation that we should notice as we accept the Lord as our saviour. As we believe in the Lord and begin our Christian Walk, we should be noticing something different in our lives and the way we conduct our lives. The term “salvation” has become so familiar to Christians that the true meaning and understanding have been lost. Salvation is much more than just being born again. This refers to every benefit that the believer is entitled to, through Jesus. Salvation means much more than just forgiveness of sins; it includes healing, prosperity, and deliverance in every area of our lives. Therefore, if we are not experiencing the abundance that Jesus provided for us in any area of our lives, then we are having a problem understanding what salvation truly entails. The truths of the gospel are not commonly preached or understood in many churches. This is the reason so many Christians are not walking in all the benefits of their salvation. They don’t have the power of the gospel working in them. The word ‘salvation’ needs to be explained because today salvation has been cheapened from what it originally meant to be. The word salvation as used in the bible is not limited to forgiveness of sins. It includes forgiveness of sins, but it’s much more than that. Most churches today use the word salvation and forgiveness of sins interchangeably. Yes, salvation includes forgiveness of sins, but as I said earlier, it also includes prosperity, healing, and deliverance. Everything that was purchased for us by Jesus is a part of what salvation produces, Only in Christ can we find true happiness and peace in this life. Salvation is not just an insurance policy; it is the way to experience the supernatural life and goodness of God in our daily lives here and now. Salvation is something that was done and completed in the past yet continues to have present results. God’s grace has already provided all spiritual blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), and our faith reaches out to God and receives the benefits (Romans 5:2). Putting faith in what God has already provided by grace is the key to victorious Christian living. Jesus paid it all. It’s not based on my performance; it’s based on my faith in what he did. Salvation is the gift of God unto the forgiveness of sins, the healing of your body, your prosperity, joy, peace, deliverance, emotional stability, and many more. But for some Christians, this seems a radical thought to them that healing has been purchased through Jesus for them just as much as forgiveness of sins. Prosperity has been purchased for them just as much as forgiveness of sins. Deliverance from oppression, depression, fear, anxiety, anger, have been purchased for you through what Jesus did. You don’t have to do something else to earn them. They aren’t addition to salvation, They’re integral part of salvation. Jesus wants you healed, delivered, set free, prospered, just as much as he wants you forgiven of sins. And it’s the gospel that releases that power of salvation for healing, deliverance, joy, peace, and forgiveness of sins. Mix what God has done with faith (Hebrews 4:2). And faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).
How do you get saved?
God wants everyone to be saved.“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). And how do you receive salvation? By confessing with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you shall be saved. The Philippian Jailer came to Paul and Silas and said what must I do to be saved? The jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16: 30-31). Paul didn’t say well, confess your sins, ask God to forgive you, and that’s what a lot of people tell you to do. What would happen if you forgot a sin? Does that mean it’s not under the blood? And that it wasn’t forgiven? No, you don’t confess your sins, you must admit that you are a sinner and that you need salvation. You have to come to that realization that if you don’t turn from trying to save yourself then you can’t truly make Jesus your saviour. So, there is an acknowledgment that you are a sinner, but you don’t confess your sins, you don’t have to mention every single sin. Paul told the Philippian Jailer that believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved and your house. Jesus has done everything, but you must put faith in him and him alone. It can’t be faith in him plus faith in yourself. You must trust Jesus alone. So, if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved (Romans 10:9). It would be a shame for you to stand before God and say well, Iwent to church, and I did all these things but that’s not what salvation is. If you can imagine somehow or another you and meand other people standing before God and God says what makes you worthy to enter Heaven. If you start saying, I went to church, I paid my tithe, I lived a good life. If you give any of those answers you would go straight to hell. The only answer that will get you into heaven is, when he says what makes you worthy? You would have to say nothing that I’ve done but what Jesus has done. Jesus Is my saviour I put faith in a saviour and he’s the one I am trusting. If you trust in any of these other things, I’m not saying that you don’t go to church and that you don’t live a good life, but if that’s where your trust is, instead of in a saviour, you’re going to hell. You need to put faith in a saviour and there’re many people reading this today who agree with what I’ve said, and you have done it and you are born again but you don’t clearly understand this and you can’t explain it to other people. You need to meditate on these things so that you can clearly present this to other people. You are a witness for the Lord, you are the only Bible some people are ever going to read and so you need to be able to know these truths and understand them and explain them. You really need to not only experience salvation, but you need to get to where you can give an answer and explain salvation. First Peter chapter 3 verse 15 says sanctify [e]the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; We need to have our lives seasoned with salt and be ready to give an answer of the hope of the calling that lies within us. You need to understand it yourself and you need to be able to explain it.
Are there many ways to Heaven?
There’s so much confusion about this and there’re people who think that there’re many ways to Heaven. Jesus said specifically of himself in John CH 14: 6. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. There aren’t multiple paths to God. There aren’t many ways to heaven. Some people say well, all paths lead to God. That’s a total lie, it’s a deception, it’s not the truth. Jesus is the only way to the father. If there was any other way to have salvation, God would not have gone to the expense, or to the effort to hurt, and the pain that he suffered to become a man and live among us and then suffer our sin and our punishment in his own body. “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1Peter 2:24). The only reason he did that is because there was no other way. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation]” (Acts 4:12 AMP). It doesn’t matter how good you think you are; you aren’t good enough to earn salvation and go to Heaven. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord”. There’s a payment that comes for our ungodliness. There’re people who don’t hear these things and there’re so many people who are comparing themselves with other people and thinking that comparative to other people, I’m a relatively good person. You must understand that other people are not your standard. Jesus is your standard and if you aren’t as perfect as Jesus is, then you need a saviour. You need to recognise that it’s not about you being good and doing good. You just need to come to the end of yourself and say, ‘oh God have mercy on me a sinner’. You need to call out and put faith in what Jesus did. You even need to go beyond just asking God to save you and asking for mercy. You need to believe that he’s already paid for your sins and done everything that’s necessary. All you must do is just sign your name to this deal. Jesus has already come and signed his name to it and paid for your sins. All that is needed is your cooperation by putting faith in Jesus and when you do that you become a brand-new creature. Jesus even said that therewill be many people who will come and say ‘Lord, Lord, haven’t we lived a good life, haven’t we done this, haven’t we done that’, and he’s going to say depart from me you workers of iniquity I never knew you. Here’s what Jesus said in Mathew 7: 21-23; 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your nameperform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ The Bible says in Romans chapter 10:9 that “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. That’s more than just saying those words, but if it’s from your heart,and with your mouth you say Jesus I make you my Lord, Iturn my life over, I trust you and you look to Jesus and you believe that he paid for your sins, you will be saved.. Jesus has already paid for your sins; He is the only way to heaven. So, if you will confess that with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved and have right standing with the Lord. That’s the promise of Romans chapter 10 verse 9 and it’s really that simple.