"Five questions--Five answers--one Gospel"

The Best News is the Gospel News.

Written on May 16, 2011--posted for you today.

The Unanswered Questions: These questions below, which come from others, stream into my life on many occasions. I decided to lay out a few written words to encourage you through your week, and through unanswered questions in life. I write from my desk. 

Questions: (answers below)

1. How do I know that what I possess in the Holy Spirit is ‘real’ POWER?
2. What does it mean when you hear; “the last days?”
3. Why do you say I can prophecy?
4. Will God allow me to feel anything like Peter when speaking to the crowd in the book of Acts?
5. Do you want to feel and know and see the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit?

Take notice of this verse, which I have given you time and time again, only this time God revealed to me greater while on my two mile walk this morning. I was praying and singing, as usual, and began to pray even greater in the power of  Holy Spirit, through the gift of the Spiritual tongue, and I felt the Lord say to me; “To be TRANSFORMED is to NOT CONFORM.”

Can I explain? Please indulge yourselves with me for a short time of revelation.

I was reading Acts 2 verse 4 and it says that ‘everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in an unknown tongue, as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance.’

Some may argue that this was a tongue of "other" languages, but I truly know and believe it was an awesome presence of the Holy Spirit which caused them to speak without human logic because it was such a privilege to be in the 'upper' room and to be EXPECTANT to hear from HIM! Do you want to hear from Him? Then ask God to fill you in the Holy Spirit's power and then just begin to receive. (muscles exercised, are muscles that gain a greater strength--exercise your ability!) Open your mouth and ask. That is what the crowd did when they were anxiously waiting to hear from the Jesus. (people want answers without participation) This is why they went to the upper room in the first place, which was to hear from Jesus. Jesus remains to this day, speaking to you through the Holy Spirit. You receive by accepting that He is still here! He gives you His power. Read John 14:12 for yourselves. “You will do greater works!” Greater works? Yes, Jesus said it.

Answers to the first question: (read again the question above)

1. When I personally begin to allow the Holy Spirit to ‘consume’ me, first being present, just like the crowd was present, (which means to have conscience effort to be in attendance) I begin to understand the power of participation in the things of God. Just seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, BELIEVERS met to seek HIM. Because they came together, ‘believing’, the Holy Spirit came in! All you have to do is believe that He is near, and He comes in. Do you have to go to, or be in a crowd for Him to show you his presence, NO? All you need to do is RECEIVE—believe, open your mouth and begin to declare who He is and the fuel of that knowledge will begin to rise up on the inside of you and you will then be in accord (agreement) with what He is doing in your midst. Lay down logic and put away conformity of this world, and you will experience real power from Heaven!
2. Jesus lived a short time on this earth, yet His life, His ministry, His fulfillment of Gods plan has surpassed the 33 short years he spent walking this planet earth. So then, the publicity and PURPOSE of His coming the first time was to solidify HIS MIRACULOUS RETURN. (The last days are any day spent after Jesus died and rose again. He is coming again, just like He came the first time. ARE you ready to receive all that He has for you?) He rose again after three days, but the miracle is He is still here by the essence of the HOLY SPIRIT’s power, in YOU. The Gospel being spread for 2000 years and then some are the object of God’s affection, but the reality is, Gods affection is ON US, through the work of Jesus Christ and HIS powerful Holy Spirit that you now possess! Do you? Are you conformed to the World or TRANSFORMED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT? Acts 1:8 clearly says that we receive if we believe. Receive His power. How? By believing you possess it, through Jesus' righteous act of living, dying, believing He rose again and left for you this gift of the Holy Spirit.
3. It is not ONLY because Joel the Prophet said we would prophecy in the ‘last days’ it is because Jesus the Messiah said many years after Joel spoke it as well as Joel's prophecy, Jesus confirmed it. Prophecy is not only a foretelling of the future, though very relevant, it is also a place of insight toward the affections of our God. Jesus said; “If you are thirsty, come to me! If you believe in me, come and DRINK! For the Scriptures DECLARE (announce the insight) that rivers of living water will flow out from within.” (When he said; ‘Living water’ He was speaking about the Holy Spirit, who is given to all believers.) When you speak, does is TRANSFORM, OR CAUSE YOU TO REMAIN CONFORMED TO AN OLD WAY OF THINKING? Receive the Holy Spirit.
4. Peter stepped out to speak to the ‘crowd’—the crowd were believers and non-believers as well. But I would estimate that the majority of the crowd was there to hear how they could further believe that Jesus’ resurrection was more than enough for them to continue on in the ‘last days’……just like them, we must be anticipating MORE of his presence. I believe, I have received, and I walk in the Spirit and I talk through the Spirit and I pray in the Spirit and I rejoice because the Spirit of the Living God has and is doing a greater work because OF JESUS CHRIST! This is why He came and this is why Peter stepped out to SHOUT (according to Acts 2:14) to the crowd and say; “LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY TO WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY!” “THE PROPHET JOEL SPOKE IT CENTURIES AGO”…….Then there they all are (Peter and the other eager believers) in the midst of Joel's prophecy which had come to pass. Those present then and I/we, you and me, now possess that same power! THE BOOK OF ACTS IS AN ACTION BOOK. It is the book that propels the gospels into action! It is the book which describes how powerful the gift of the Spirit is, when 'exercised' to do what Jesus came to do. He came to bring us salvation through His life, and He also came to give us power to walk it out! Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, (the gospels) tell of His wonders and the book of….ACTS teaches us that what we have in Jesus is REAL!! Take action~! Take notice to the written word~!
5. Then lay down your inhibitions and receive just like they did in the book of Acts. People all over the World are receiving Power from the Holy Spirit--it was not for a certain group, it is for any group or person who determines to live like the Word of God says we can live. When we lay down our CONFORMITY—our traditional values—our orthodoxy—our compliance and our DOUBT, we will then be TRANSFORMED into a greater possession of POWER. You can change your thinking about who you are in Christ, by seeing your life IDENTIFIED by what Jesus said in John 14. “YOU WILL DO GREATER WORKS!”

AMEN AND AMEN AND AMEN HALLELUJAH!! He is coming again. Allow Him to come now within your life which you now possess on this earth, prior to your kingdom/heavenly body! Get your earthly body READY FOR HIS RETURN, by receiving all that He has for your right here and right now! Jesus shows us the way.

I want to close with this great story from one of my Spiritual daughters I adopted long ago, when she came into my home for Bible Study:

Last week in an email I wrote to my Tribal Bible Study group, I mentioned that Kristin was sitting on a ‘bear stand’ alone in Canada waiting to shoot a bear with a ‘bow and arrow’. I mentioned to you, to take notice of what she was doing and you would see much. So, I took my own advice and began to take notice, particularly after her story grew.

Alone, sitting on a Bear stand, waiting for a dangerous bear to come within the range of your shot, takes faith!

May 13, at 8:51 am. I received a text, and though Bryan her husband was with her this particular time, she accomplished what she set out to do. The text read; “Killed my bear last night. Heart shot at 20 yards. He went 30 yards and died.”

I thought to myself, just like I wrote last week, “she’s got something I don’t.”

Well, we are all facing some big bear in our lives. We sit and wait for the powerful possession we know, or hope we have to finally come into action at the GOD GIVEN moment and then we aim and pull the arrow (Kristin’s bow is about 70 to 80 lbs, I presume?) though difficult and scary and possibly a little doubtful at the very moment, the target of that feat is conquered!

How many times do we find ourselves in a ‘prepared’ situation or an ‘unprepared’ circumstance and determine to ‘SHOOT THE ARROW’ by faith?

Kristin’s feat is much like I have illustrated in my book—Isaiah the prophet said; “YOU have made my words of judgment as sharp as an arrow, He has hidden me in the shadow of His hand. I AM LIKE A SHARP ARROW IN HIS QUIVER!”

When you pull your weapon of faith out of the quiver, it is then, and only then that it will do and accomplish its purpose—if you trust in what you believe you can do, by faith and confidence in the Holy Spirits power!

Though Kristin enjoys the feat of conquering the sport of ‘bear hunting’, I believe the message will ring louder in the accomplishment with the years to come. The message is; “Prepare-- Wait—SIT STILL—stand guard—go prepared—rely on your training—trust that God is with you—and take aim and TRUST!”

Preparation is the key to adventure! Preparing our hearts toward the things of God is an adventure, which is why we study the Bible—and the message RINGS LOUDER in the hunt to know him more and more! Once you begin to know him, you can’t help to want MORE! Receive the More!

“Have a wonderfully blessed and Prosperous day!” Holly