LIFTING MY VOICE: THEY SPEAK WITH OTHER TONGUES
In the early 60's, a...: THEY SPEAK WITH OTHER TONGUES In the early 60's, a young reporter for the "Guideposts" magazine, by the name of John She...
Thursday 26 September 2019
Monday 23 September 2019
LIFTING MY VOICE: THE HOLY SPIRIT(continued)Luke 4:18,19 "The Spirit...
LIFTING MY VOICE: THE HOLY SPIRIT(continued)Luke 4:18,19 "The Spirit...: THE HOLY SPIRIT (continued) Luke 4:18,19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anoint...
THE HOLY SPIRIT
(continued)
Luke 4:18,19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
These words were spoken by Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth after returning from His forty days of temptation in the wilderness, during which time He had been fasting from all food.
Prior to His wilderness temptation, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.
In Luke's account, he says in Chapter 3:21,22
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened,
And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
in effect, following His baptism by immersion in the Jordan River, Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirit in order to be able to accomplish His earthly ministry.
Although Jesus was, and is the Christ, the Anointed Son of God, or God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity - when He came to earth, He confined Himself to an earthly body just like ours with flesh and blood. Although He was still God, He was also fully man, having divested Himself of His Godly attributes of omniscience (all-knowing), omnipotence (all-powerful) and omnipresence (able to be everywhere at one time). Philippians 2:5-7 puts it this way:
Let this mind be in you all, which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, being in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped.
But He emptied Himself,
taking upon Himself the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men.
It is therefore easy to see that Jesus would have to fully rely on the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit in order to carry out His earthly ministry effectively.
But He emptied Himself,
taking upon Himself the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men.
It is therefore easy to see that Jesus would have to fully rely on the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit in order to carry out His earthly ministry effectively.
It was the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus which enabled Him to see the dead raised, the blind receive their sight, the lame to walk, the deaf and mute to hear and speak, the demonized to be set free of all Satanic oppression and bondage, all multitude of diseases and mental torments to be healed. He brought hope to those who had no hope, He spoke directly to situaltions in people's lives through words of knowledge, He prophesied concerning the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem in particular. He prophesied His own death and resurrection.
When He needed God's wisdom in addressing "traps" of the enemy laid by the scribes and Pharisees, the Holy Spirit enabled Him to respond always in a manner which showed insight which defeated His opponents' schemes to trap and trip Him.
For those who sat in great darkness, He came as a light. He was and still is the Light of the World. As He said in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
His message brought conviction of sin to the broken and humble, who in turn saw their lives transformed by the revelation of God's grace, mercy and love.
In all four Gospels, John the Baptist who was sent by God to "prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah",Jesus, is recorded as saying concerning Jesus that it was He who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Matthew and Luke's accounts record John the Baptist saying Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a provision of the Lord for all believers subsequent to being born again or being saved (both Biblical terms). Our salvation does not depend on it, but our effectiveness in serving the Lord, and our fruitfulness in ministry may well depend on this provision. I once heard a quote from Rev. Dennis Bennett, an Episcopal minister in the USA who was at the forefront of the Charismatic Movement in the early 60's, where he stated words to the effect: "For a Christian to be born again but not baptized in the Holy Spirit is like sending a soldier to Vietnam without a rifle." (The Vietnam War was, of course raging at the time).
I was baptized in the Spirit in 1969 following water baptism - not immediately following, but later in the afternoon as a result of prayer specifically for the Lord Jesus Christ to fill me with His Spirit. I will forever be grateful to Bob and Jan MacPherson, a couple in the Church of England in Surfers Paradise, where I was attending church - who led a Wednesday night Charismatic home fellowship group. Teaching input from many, if not most of the leading figures God was using in the Charismatic Renewal at that time - people such as Derek Prince, Bob Mumford, Charles Simpson, Ern Baxter, David du Plessis, Dennis Bennett, Harold Bredesen, Howard Carter, Paul and Bunty Collins from New Zealand, Michael Harper and many others - was provided through an extensive lending library of cassette tapes in Bob and Jan's home.
When I was baptized with the Holy Spirit, i spoke in tongues. I was overwhelmed with a physical sense of God's presence in my life - like electricity going through my body, but not at all unpleasant. I could not stand up for some time, and my experience caused me to understand why the apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost had to say to those observing what had happened to the 120 on whom the Holy Spirit had been outpoured: "These are not drunk, as you suppose..." I literally felt like I was drunk in the Spirit. Having said that, though, I know that not everyone's experience will be the same.
Let me finish by stating again that I firmly believe that, on the basis of the Word of God, the Lord is wanting every believer in Jesus who has committed his or her life to Him, to avail themselves of "the Promise of the Father" - to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, to be empowered from on high, to be fully equipped for Christian life and ministry in these challenging times in which we live.
If you reading this and you are not a Christian,this all might sound a little strange to you. That should not at all be surprising, because the Bible says: The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ! Corinthians 2:14
The starting point to understanding the things of God is to be, as the Bible says - born again!
For help in taking that step into a new life as a follower of Jesus Christ, as a Christian, may I suggest the following resource:
www.vision.org.au Click on the "Grow your faith" tab at the top of the page, then from the drop-down menu, click on "Looking for God?"
God Bless!
When He needed God's wisdom in addressing "traps" of the enemy laid by the scribes and Pharisees, the Holy Spirit enabled Him to respond always in a manner which showed insight which defeated His opponents' schemes to trap and trip Him.
For those who sat in great darkness, He came as a light. He was and still is the Light of the World. As He said in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
His message brought conviction of sin to the broken and humble, who in turn saw their lives transformed by the revelation of God's grace, mercy and love.
In all four Gospels, John the Baptist who was sent by God to "prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah",Jesus, is recorded as saying concerning Jesus that it was He who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Matthew and Luke's accounts record John the Baptist saying Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a provision of the Lord for all believers subsequent to being born again or being saved (both Biblical terms). Our salvation does not depend on it, but our effectiveness in serving the Lord, and our fruitfulness in ministry may well depend on this provision. I once heard a quote from Rev. Dennis Bennett, an Episcopal minister in the USA who was at the forefront of the Charismatic Movement in the early 60's, where he stated words to the effect: "For a Christian to be born again but not baptized in the Holy Spirit is like sending a soldier to Vietnam without a rifle." (The Vietnam War was, of course raging at the time).
I was baptized in the Spirit in 1969 following water baptism - not immediately following, but later in the afternoon as a result of prayer specifically for the Lord Jesus Christ to fill me with His Spirit. I will forever be grateful to Bob and Jan MacPherson, a couple in the Church of England in Surfers Paradise, where I was attending church - who led a Wednesday night Charismatic home fellowship group. Teaching input from many, if not most of the leading figures God was using in the Charismatic Renewal at that time - people such as Derek Prince, Bob Mumford, Charles Simpson, Ern Baxter, David du Plessis, Dennis Bennett, Harold Bredesen, Howard Carter, Paul and Bunty Collins from New Zealand, Michael Harper and many others - was provided through an extensive lending library of cassette tapes in Bob and Jan's home.
When I was baptized with the Holy Spirit, i spoke in tongues. I was overwhelmed with a physical sense of God's presence in my life - like electricity going through my body, but not at all unpleasant. I could not stand up for some time, and my experience caused me to understand why the apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost had to say to those observing what had happened to the 120 on whom the Holy Spirit had been outpoured: "These are not drunk, as you suppose..." I literally felt like I was drunk in the Spirit. Having said that, though, I know that not everyone's experience will be the same.
Let me finish by stating again that I firmly believe that, on the basis of the Word of God, the Lord is wanting every believer in Jesus who has committed his or her life to Him, to avail themselves of "the Promise of the Father" - to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, to be empowered from on high, to be fully equipped for Christian life and ministry in these challenging times in which we live.
If you reading this and you are not a Christian,this all might sound a little strange to you. That should not at all be surprising, because the Bible says: The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ! Corinthians 2:14
The starting point to understanding the things of God is to be, as the Bible says - born again!
For help in taking that step into a new life as a follower of Jesus Christ, as a Christian, may I suggest the following resource:
www.vision.org.au Click on the "Grow your faith" tab at the top of the page, then from the drop-down menu, click on "Looking for God?"
God Bless!
Sunday 15 September 2019
THE HOLY SPIRIT
(continued)
There is so much to be said about the Person and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers and in the Church of Jesus Christ. That being said, this current blog is not meant to be an exhaustive teaching.
Much much more about the Person, Work, Nature, Fruit, Gifts, Nature, Bible Emblems, Characteristics and Ministry of the Holy Spirit - can be readily researched on the internet through various ministry sources.
That being said, let me briefly address another related topic concerning the Holy Spirit, which over the years has been fraught with divided and divisive opinion, each camp claiming to be able to to support their personal stance with strong Biblical backing. I refer to the subject of the Baptism in or with the Holy Spirit, and the present day operation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, as outlined in 1 Corinthians Chapters 12-14.
Six years ago, in 2013, I remember experiencing a mixture of emotions - disappointment, anger, a sense of grieving in my spirit - because of the bold presentation of high profile US pastor, John Macarthur in his book and conference bearing the name "Strange Fire". The conference was hosted by John Macarthur, a cessationist Calvinist pastor and theologian, who, for many years has denounced the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements as aberrations of Christianity, and whose Pentecostal distinctives are not valid for today's church.
As a cessationist, he is of the firm belief that with the passing of the original twelve apostles and the completion of the canon of Scripture, that not only the ministry of apostles and prophets ceased, but also the gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit, as outlined in ! Corinthians 12-14. Macarthur even boldly asserts that the gift of "speaking in tongues", one of the hallmark features of the Pentecostal and Charismatic experience, is demonic in origin. He also states that those who practise speaking in tongues and display other characteristic Pentecostal and Charismatic manifestations are actually guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. As a Christian who has been firmly in the Pentecostal sector of the Church of Jesus Christ for almost all of the fifty three years I have been a committed follower of Christ, I can only respond to such claims with astonishment.
My reading of Jesus' words in Matthew 12 concerning blasphemy against the Holy Spirit seems to signify that attributing the work or ministy of the Holy Spirit to Satan or demons is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. To that end, I feel that people such as John Macarthur, Phil Johnson (one of John Macarthur's associates, who edits all his books) and Todd Friel - all involved in the "Strange Fire" conference - are on very, very dangerous ground.
Having said the above, though, I must admit I have not followed John Macarthur's ministry, but I understand he is generally a respected Bible teacher, author and pastor, as well as hosting a popular syndicated radio program "Grace To You."
I have heard respected Pentecostal / Charismatic leaders such as Dr Michael Brown and Christian social commentator, Bill Muehlenberg who writes his regular "Culture Watch" blogs - express some admiration for Macarthur's othewise integrity in ministry and his exposition of the Word of God.
Dr Michael Brown, who has several ministry degrees, including a PhD - a Pentecostal Biblical scholar, wrote his own rebuttal of "Strange Fire" in his book, "Authentic Fire", which I must admit I have not as yet read, but intend to obtain a copy in the near future.
Concerning the experience of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, in all four Gospel accounts, John the Baptist whom God sent as a messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is recorded as saying of Jesus that it is He who would "baptize believers in the Holy Spirit" (and with fire, as stated in Matthew and Luke's accounts).This was obviously going to be a key element of His ministry to believers from the commencement of the Church age.
In John 20, after the Resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week, He appears to ten of His disciples (Judas Iscariot had betrayed Him and committed suicide, and Thomas was not there). In verse 21, Jesus encourages them with these words: " Peace be unto you; as my Father has sent Me, even so send I you".
Then verse 22 says: And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said unto them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." It could well be argued that this was the point in time when the Holy Spirit came to indwell the lives of the disciples in the same way that He does when any person commits his or her life to Christ, being, as the Word of God says, born again by the Spirit of God.
Were these disciples of Jesus "baptized in the Spirit" at this time? No, they weren't. In the Gospel of Luke, in chapter 24, again, after the resurrection of Jesus, just before His ascension to the Father, Jesus gives this encouragement and direction to His disciples: " And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but wait in the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from on high."
In the first chapter of the Book of Acts, Luke records these words, adding more detail to the direction given in Luke 24.
In Acts 1:4, it reads: And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,"which", He said, "you have heard from Me;
for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
Jesus further said in verse 8: "But you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
True to the words of Jesus, the embodiment of Truth, ten days later on the Jewish feast Day of Pentecost, which was also fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, as 120 disciples and followers of Jesus (men and women) were gathered in the Upper Room, being in one accord in one place,
Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4 NKJV
The 120 in the Upper Room were the first New Testament believers to be "baptized in the Holy Spirit" by Jesus, the one who as foretold by John the Baptist, would "baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire."
As you read on in this chapter, it is stated that there were many devout Jews living in Jerusalem "from every nation under heaven" and they were all amazed as they each heard the 120 speaking the wonderful praises of God in their own languages. Peter the apostle explained that this was fulfillment of Joel's prophecy in Joel 2:28-32 "In the last days I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh....." If it was the last days then, 2,000 years ago, then we are certainly living in the last of the last days now, and therefore the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our day with attending gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit must certainly be valid for the Church today!I, for one, am glad to be alive in this exciting Church era, and connected to a church family with a vision to see the Holy Spirit moving powerfully to lift up the name of Jesus with mighty life-changing and transforming demonstrations of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, bringing glory and honour to the Living God in our times!
If you have read this blog, and desire to know more about how you can become a Christian, one resource I can recommend is:www.vision.org.au This is the online home of Vision Christian Media in Australia. Click on the Grow your faith tab at the top of the page, then from the drop-down menu, click on Looking for God?
As a cessationist, he is of the firm belief that with the passing of the original twelve apostles and the completion of the canon of Scripture, that not only the ministry of apostles and prophets ceased, but also the gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit, as outlined in ! Corinthians 12-14. Macarthur even boldly asserts that the gift of "speaking in tongues", one of the hallmark features of the Pentecostal and Charismatic experience, is demonic in origin. He also states that those who practise speaking in tongues and display other characteristic Pentecostal and Charismatic manifestations are actually guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. As a Christian who has been firmly in the Pentecostal sector of the Church of Jesus Christ for almost all of the fifty three years I have been a committed follower of Christ, I can only respond to such claims with astonishment.
My reading of Jesus' words in Matthew 12 concerning blasphemy against the Holy Spirit seems to signify that attributing the work or ministy of the Holy Spirit to Satan or demons is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. To that end, I feel that people such as John Macarthur, Phil Johnson (one of John Macarthur's associates, who edits all his books) and Todd Friel - all involved in the "Strange Fire" conference - are on very, very dangerous ground.
Having said the above, though, I must admit I have not followed John Macarthur's ministry, but I understand he is generally a respected Bible teacher, author and pastor, as well as hosting a popular syndicated radio program "Grace To You."
I have heard respected Pentecostal / Charismatic leaders such as Dr Michael Brown and Christian social commentator, Bill Muehlenberg who writes his regular "Culture Watch" blogs - express some admiration for Macarthur's othewise integrity in ministry and his exposition of the Word of God.
Dr Michael Brown, who has several ministry degrees, including a PhD - a Pentecostal Biblical scholar, wrote his own rebuttal of "Strange Fire" in his book, "Authentic Fire", which I must admit I have not as yet read, but intend to obtain a copy in the near future.
Concerning the experience of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, in all four Gospel accounts, John the Baptist whom God sent as a messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is recorded as saying of Jesus that it is He who would "baptize believers in the Holy Spirit" (and with fire, as stated in Matthew and Luke's accounts).This was obviously going to be a key element of His ministry to believers from the commencement of the Church age.
In John 20, after the Resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week, He appears to ten of His disciples (Judas Iscariot had betrayed Him and committed suicide, and Thomas was not there). In verse 21, Jesus encourages them with these words: " Peace be unto you; as my Father has sent Me, even so send I you".
Then verse 22 says: And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said unto them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." It could well be argued that this was the point in time when the Holy Spirit came to indwell the lives of the disciples in the same way that He does when any person commits his or her life to Christ, being, as the Word of God says, born again by the Spirit of God.
Were these disciples of Jesus "baptized in the Spirit" at this time? No, they weren't. In the Gospel of Luke, in chapter 24, again, after the resurrection of Jesus, just before His ascension to the Father, Jesus gives this encouragement and direction to His disciples: " And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but wait in the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from on high."
In the first chapter of the Book of Acts, Luke records these words, adding more detail to the direction given in Luke 24.
In Acts 1:4, it reads: And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,"which", He said, "you have heard from Me;
for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
Jesus further said in verse 8: "But you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
True to the words of Jesus, the embodiment of Truth, ten days later on the Jewish feast Day of Pentecost, which was also fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, as 120 disciples and followers of Jesus (men and women) were gathered in the Upper Room, being in one accord in one place,
Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4 NKJV
The 120 in the Upper Room were the first New Testament believers to be "baptized in the Holy Spirit" by Jesus, the one who as foretold by John the Baptist, would "baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire."
As you read on in this chapter, it is stated that there were many devout Jews living in Jerusalem "from every nation under heaven" and they were all amazed as they each heard the 120 speaking the wonderful praises of God in their own languages. Peter the apostle explained that this was fulfillment of Joel's prophecy in Joel 2:28-32 "In the last days I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh....." If it was the last days then, 2,000 years ago, then we are certainly living in the last of the last days now, and therefore the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our day with attending gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit must certainly be valid for the Church today!I, for one, am glad to be alive in this exciting Church era, and connected to a church family with a vision to see the Holy Spirit moving powerfully to lift up the name of Jesus with mighty life-changing and transforming demonstrations of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, bringing glory and honour to the Living God in our times!
If you have read this blog, and desire to know more about how you can become a Christian, one resource I can recommend is:www.vision.org.au This is the online home of Vision Christian Media in Australia. Click on the Grow your faith tab at the top of the page, then from the drop-down menu, click on Looking for God?
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