29 Dec by Reverend Dr Jai Kumar –
WE ARE APPROACHING A CRITICAL HOUR OF A SUPERNATURAL MOVE – THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (PART 2)
The church has seen almost 2000 years of sowing, growing and the softening of the ground. I believe the time of harvest is at hand now. The Lord has been waiting patiently for His final harvest.
WE are going to be absolutely dependent on this power to understand the move of God in this hour. Therefore we got to make room to accommodate this power so that we may understand the tangible move and be part of it and not miss out on God.
Romans 8:9:
“Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (emphasis added).
Needless to say, the Holy Spirit, then, is an essential aspect of the Biblical definition of a Christian who seeks to ultimately end up in Heaven.
The born-again spirit that is birthed out of God’s Spirit that enables one to see and enter the kingdom of God which is exactly what Jesus preached to Nicodemus in John 3. Jesus told Nicodemus it’s not your academic knowledge or your human wisdom! It’s not your position! It’s not your background! But it’s whether you are born again with the Spirit of God which makes all the difference that will empower you to understand the mystery of the Kingdom of God! In other words, Jesus is saying you need a change from the inside and that can only be effected with a born-again Spirit of God.
Paul says in verse 11,
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit [which] dwells in you.”
It becomes abundantly clear then that the Holy Spirit plays a vital role in the lives of Christians. In verse 14 Paul defines the Christians very clearly: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” The Holy Spirit identifies us with Christ (verse 9), it makes immortality possible to human, mortal beings (verse 11), it makes possible: an obedient, overcoming Christian life (verse 13), and it truly leads (guides, empowers and motivates) the sons of God. In conclusion, God’s Spirit which is also called the Spirit of Christ—is what makes one a Christian, a Spirit-led, a Spirit filled, follower of Jesus Christ.
If therefore, the Holy Spirit is the qualification of a Christian and produces one as a child of God, it is of utmost importance that we have to learn and understand more about that Spirit and its role.
IT’S AN ENLIGHTENING POWER
The Holy Spirit is described in the Bible as a dynamic power which works supernaturally in the lives of people by convicting and transforming them. It has the power to bring about the revelation and the fullness of God and His will to mankind. It’s a power that can regenerate and renovate us into a completely different person by renewing our mind in line with God’s word.
In Galatians 5:22-23, it talks about the result of the ‘fruit’ the Holy Spirit produces in a person’s life—”love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” The Holy Spirit is associated with God’s divine character.
It serves in the capacity of a “Comforter” and Helper” to a Christian (John 16:7)— not only residing in us and indwelling alongside us, but also empowering and helping us to walk in the righteousness of God.
In Romans 5:5 it says “Now hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit [which] was given to us.” Here the Spirit is described as God’s gift to us, God’s love flowing to us and through us toward others. The overwhelming and majestic truth is that God promises this to us, and we can have access to this matchless and priceless gift. It’s not something that you can earn or work out by your own self-effort. It’s a free gift of God. We must understand that that every gift we have is received from God is not achieved.
HOW DO YOU RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Acts 2 records the miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost after Christ’s death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit was given with mighty power to inspire and motivate the 120 disciples assembled in Jerusalem—and later that day thousands more were impacted with the same spirit that became contagious.
John 7:37-38 Living Water
37Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38″He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’
If you are hungry and thirsty for more of God in your life God will give this gift to you.
WHAT WILL THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT DO IN YOUR LIFE?
Peter was a timid and frightened disciple of CHRIST. In fact he was hiding behind closed doors after Jesus was crucified wondering when the authorities were coming for him. But when he was endued with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, a complete transformation took place in his life. In fact he became a new man so to speak. The fear left him, the timidity disappeared. He became so inspired, bold and fired up for God.
CONVICTION
When Peter’s first inspired sermon came to a close on that day, the people hearing him were “cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?'” (verse 37). They wanted to be forgiven of their sins and to receive the Holy Spirit, which they witnessed at work in the lives of Christ’s followers!
The same condition applies to us today. All we need is the empowering spirit of God to bring about conviction! To bring about forgiveness! To bring about restitution! Peter’s answer to the people’s question was: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (verses 38-39).
Christ showed three distinct workings of the Holy Spirit. “And when [it] has come, [it] will convict the world of sin . . .” (verse 8). When some were “cut to the heart” on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37), how had they come to be in that condition, recognizing their true spiritual state and knowing they needed help? It was through the convicting power of God’s Spirit.
This same Spirit prompted the Ethiopian eunuch to understand what Phillip was teaching him about CHRIST crucified. “What hinders me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36).
It brought Paul to his knees, crying out “Lord, what do You want me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
It caused the Philippian jailer, who had earlier beaten and chained Paul and Silas, to fall down trembling before them, pleading, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30).
Paul tells us that “the goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:4).
Through His Spirit, God helps us to see our true spiritual condition and recognize our need for repentance—to change and begin living God’s way. Then we must act on that conviction: repent, be baptized and receive God’s Spirit through the laying on of hands of God’s ministry, as discussed earlier.
Leaving a life of sin and beginning a new life of humble obedience to God’s laws marks the life of those led by God’s Spirit (Psalm 119:172; 1 John 3:7-10; 1 John 5:17).
REVELATION OF GOD IS PRODUCED THROUGH THE SPIRIT
I am telling you that you need to be connected to the divine flow of the revelation of God in this present time frame and this could only be done with the manifestation of the Holy Spirit power in you.
How many of you are aware that we who are born-again, Spirit filled, tongue-talking believers, carry a powerful anointing in us? There is a supernatural dynamic gift of the Spirit that is deposited in us.
You may not be a prophet. You may not be an Apostle. You may not be a Pastor. But you are a believer. You are child of God! 1 Peter 4:10: God has invested a gift in every one of you. You have a capacity to hear the voice of God, you have the ability to discern the deeper understanding of God’s word because of the indwelling spirit in you, irrespective of who you are in the kingdom of God.
Deuteronomy 29:29
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children…..that we may do all the words of the law”
Jeremiah 33:3
“Call on Me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know”
In the Old Testament God spoke through His prophets but now He speaks through His son Jesus Christ, our chief prophet and He has put His Spirit in every one of us which is the Spirit of Prophesy. We have a God who communicates with us. God will give you a word in season and out of season.
Without this power you are as good as dead in this present dispensation. In this critical time you need this power to function and be in the centre of what God is doing in this present time frame. If you don’t have this power in you, you can call it a day. You are just wasting your time. Listen; ministry is not business as usual. It’s not just like some people using the pulpit to say what you like. It’s not coming up to the pulpit and making some funny jokes and telling some funny stories and making everybody comfortable. If you keep doing this I am afraid you are not going to last long. That’s the reason why Paul says in 1 Cor. 4:20: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but it’s in the power of God: that has to do with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. When you flow in the anointing of the Holy Spirit you won’t talk like a child any more but you will talk with the power of the Holy Spirit. Signs and wonders and miracles can only manifest with the move of the Holy Spirit in any environment or situation. The WORD can only be released with the anointing of the Holy Spirit power. There can only be conviction and repentance of souls when the Holy Spirit moves. A church without the Holy Spirit is, I am afraid, will turn out to be a dead church.
Note: Rev Dr Jai Kumar is an ordained & licensed minister of Covenant Ministries International N.J. USA. He is also the representative of Faith International Bible School for Malaysia & Singapore. He is the founder and senior pastor of Full Gospel Outreach Ministry KL. A member of ECCM (Malaysia) Spiritual Adviser & overseer to various ministries and churches. An itinerant speaker with a passion for missions. He is also the author of a book entitled, ‘God’s Time Clock.’
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I’ve a question for the author of this article. Why is the Holy Spirit referred to as “it” and not “He”? Even the word “He” is replaced with “it” in the quoted John 16:8 in this article?
Doesn’t this somehow renders the Person of the Holy Spirit into a mere “power” or “force”?
Dear Vic, I’m not the author but just another servant of G.
The HS is also referred to as “wind”. See John 3:8.
Other probable descriptions that might also apply: dove, new wine, living water, tree of life, etc. Not “mere” force, but power of the Most High — see Luke 1:35.