The zeal of the Lord

Oftentimes, Christians make the mistake of assuming that because Christ is gentle that He is passive.  He is quite the opposite.  He is zealous and passionate beyond explanation.  Isaiah 59:17 even adds to the "armor of God" that we find in Ephesians 6 by stating

"He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak."

Zeal is defined as "eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something".  The Lord is slow to anger, not absent of it.  1 John 3:2 reads

"... But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

 If we are going to "see him as he is" we must acknowledge that the same zeal that leads Him to pursue us relentlessly will be applied to His wrath against those who are His enemies.  God is perfectly patient, but there are those who will resist Him regardless of His mercies and grace (otherwise there would be no end-time army of the devil).  We must see Him as He is conquering King in Revelations 19 just as we must see Him as the suffering servant in Isaiah 52.

 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 
-Revelations 19:11-15

The more I have meditated upon this lately, the more the fear of the Lord has come.  It delights my soul to have that fear, since it both deters me from sinfulness and guides me in wisdom.  Mike Bickle addresses this in His study on the Book of Revelation NKJV.  I do not pretend to be an expert in eschatology, but I do continually pursue understanding from Revelations; especially since it is a Revelation of Christ not a revelation of the antichrist.  Be blessed dear readers!

The Perfect Gift

Did you know that the Same Spirit that Raised Jesus from the dead, Lives in you!

 “And if the spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, is living in you, He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give lie to your mortal bodies through His spirit who lives in you.” (Rom. 8:11)

 The SAME Spirit that enabled Jesus to drive out demons while HE was here on Earth lives in you!

“Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matt. 12:26 & 28) 

The SAME spirit that enabled Paul to preach with Miracles, signs and wonders through demonstrations of God’s power, Lives in You!

“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.”(1 Cor. 2:4-5)

Question: If the SAME spirit that did all of these things lives in you- why are you not walking in more power (Miracles, Signs and Wonders), more Healing and more Liberty? Let me venture to say that it could be because you have not truly embraced the person and power of Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is more than just a nice deposit, a mystical force or spiritual after thought that God has gifted us with. He IS the Spirit Man of God.  HE is the POWER SOURCE of God and He is an individual “being” within the Trinity. He heals, delivers, guides, creates, instructs, teaches, gives life, testifies, anoints, reveals, wars, does miracles and this is only the beginning of His truly impressive resume!

You will never be able to truly grow close to God or in your spiritual giftings and anointing, without embracing and growing in intimacy with the “person” of the Holy Spirit All Christians need to get to know the Holy Spirit on a personal level. He is the one who releases the current word of Jesus to us for our lives and is the great communicator between God and us. 

“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth” - John 16:12

The problem is that not every Christian personally knows Holy Spirit on the level that they should. I was recently reminded of this truth at one of my last ministry events. Upon arriving at this event to speak for the weekend, I was informed by the ministry staff that they had decided to take me up to the top of witch mountain where they would blow the shofar and then let me decree words out against the enemy in their region.  There was just one problem with their plan-the Holy Spirit had not told ME to do this.  I explained to my hosts that the Holy Spirit had not specifically told me to do this on their behalf and that I only did what the Holy Spirit told me to do, especially in regards to spiritual warfare issues. They were confused and disappointed by my response but they kindly relented and gave me the benefit of the doubt.  As it turned out, God had a much better plan he wanted to implement to deal with the enemy in their region. By the end of the weekend, the Holy Spirit had not only revealed a plan, he had also implemented it so that an immediate shift took place over their church and in their region.

Blindly taking on warlocks and demonic principalities over a region can be a dangerous and deadly activity. I shudder to think of what would have happened if I had not checked in with the Holy Spirit to get his word on the subject first. I have learned that Holy Spirit ALWAYS knows what is best and that He always has the fastest, easiest and best plan for the situation at hand.

The Holy Spirit desires to be our closest friend. He longs to share Jesus Christ in his fullness with us. As Christians, we need to develop a close and intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. This relationship starts by PERSONALLY, inviting him into our daily lives. It grows by being mindful of his presence and including him in every decision and aspect of our lives. We must see and treat him like a trusted family member who loves us and is loved by us in return. 

Jesus promised us that through the Spirit we would never be alone and that we would always remain connected to Him. In short, he left us with the perfect gift as our deposit - a greater part of himself. 

“But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.”  John 14:26 amp

Mignon Murrell

Glory Reign Ministries

www.gloryreign.org

The best way to grow in relationship with Holy Spirit is to spend time with Him.  However, if you want more resources on the person of the Holy Spirit, I highly recommend Benny Hinn's  Good Morning, Holy Spirit.

 

The Joy of Knowing God

In the churches I was raised in, God didn't seem very fun. In fact, He seemed down right boring. That isn't to say I didn't love the Lord, but my picture of God was the Church... and those were shattered images of the reflection of Christ that churches are called to be. Just for reference purposes: hymnals being sung in a monotone voice were our "worship", the sermon rarely applied to anyone, and the part I looked forward to the most was coloring in the program.. It wasn't until I started encountering the person of God, Himself that I started to realize the absolute joy of knowing God. In his book The Ecstasy of Loving God, John Crowder states:

The problem is not that our feelings are invalid in the Christian walk.  The problem is they are too limited to fully experience God.  The love of God is so huge and intense that when He begins to pour over us, it is like plugging a million-volt charge into a five-vole fuse. 

Try to deny it if you will, but laughter is absolutely of the Lord.  His will does not prescribe a life of devotion void of experiencing His joy.  Psalms 2:2-4 pictures God as laughing in mockery at the enemy.  The foolishness of the devil and man to suggest that anything contrary to God's will be performed is simply humorous.  I have actually been told that someone thought I was a pimp, selling prostitutes, and that the person wanted to kill me... and I laughed like crazy.  The notion was so ludicrous that I couldn't possibly take it seriously (the individual was under serious demonic oppression and hallucinating as the result of a drug addiction).  I knew at that moment, that the enemy had intended to cause fear in me and that is contrary to the Spirit of God (2 Tim 1:7).  Laughter is actually a spiritual weapon!

I'm going to go ahead and confess that I have experienced the controversial Charismatic event called "holy laughter".  Several times at conferences (and now on my own... at home... at will) I have been caught into these joyful fits of laughter that uplifts my spirit and releases joy into situations and places.  I can't exactly explain it other than "once you start you can't stop", but really... who would want to?  There is not a Biblical example of this sort of laughter, but the necessity of joy (which the laughter demonstrates) is essential for us to respond to trials.  James 1:2 states, " Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds".  I've found that as my confidence in God has grown, the size of many trials have diminished in my eyes as I've grown in witnessing God's deliverance.  No matter the trial I know God's deliverance is coming (Ps 37:13).  Remember, the enemy has no authority anymore... he requires our agreement to be empowered.  Instead of agreeing with his intentions, next time the enemy tries to distract you with a lie, a trick, a trial or temptation... try laughing... you'll be amazed at the results.

Fasting - Escort into His arms

The concept of fasting was foreign in my traditional Methodist/Baptist upbringing, but after only 1 day I saw results!  I had read about fasting and prayer in the Bible, but never actually partnered the idea with reality (this was before I had received the baptism of the wonderful Holy Spirit).  My wife, 2 year old son, and myself were all living at my parents house at the time.  The move from our apartment to my parents was instigated by my wife undergoing several hospitalizations and it had put a large dent in our finances.  My prayer life had recently come alive with passion as I was zealously praying to the Lord in the morning to deliver us from certain circumstances (specifically, we needed a place to live permanently).  For several days I felt the urge to fast, without explanation.  After considering the possibility that the "urge" could be the Lord, I took a day off from eating.  Within a month of that single one-day fast, my wife and I received a check for $14,000! 


So, why fast?  Because God will give you $14,000! But seriously, God responds to a heart that is willing to lay down the desires of the flesh to seek Him.  Some of the Biblical purposes of fasts are:

• Mourning
• To inquire of the Lord
• Repentence
• Deliverance
• Power
• Humility

If you need set free of an oppression, a response from God, or more of the power of God in your life... fasting should be partnered with your prayers.  Fasting is never done outside of prayer but coupled with it.  While many pastors are afraid to suggest fasting from food, there really is no other Biblical example of fasting.  Fasting from television and video games are certainly worthwhile pursuits, but if you expect to raise the dead after spending a week away from Call of Duty you may be disappointed.

In his book titled, The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting, Mahesh Chavda reminds the reader that,

Jesus didn't say, "If you should someday decide to try to fast, although I know it's almost impossible for you..." in Matthew 6:16-17.  No, He said, "When you fast..." He didn't give us the option not to fast.

Fasting is intended to be a part of your everyday Christian life!  Christ expects it of us.  We need to fast to continually die to the flesh and sustain a life of victory.  I've actually found that it's quite a joy to fast (once you get past the first couple days), because God's voice is so much clearer.  As the junk seems to filter out of my system, my ears open more... His presence is more tangible... it's almost as though my spirit becomes softened to respond to Holy Spirit and it's wonderful! So if you haven't experienced the joys of prayer and fasting, I encourage you to try it out.  Please share you testimonies and encounters you've had while fasting as comments as well.

Lord I pray for impartation for every reader that looks upon these words.  I ask that you would grant them the grace to fast as long as You have called them to Lord.  Grant them a willingness to respond to Your voice, which is calling Your people to the position of humility through prayer and fasting in Jesus mighty name.