Spirit Led Living

The word “power” appears in the New Testament 121 times in the NIV. I learned in Bible College that if a word is used that many times it is because it was important enough to use over and over again and we should pay attention to it. There are two root words in the Greek that are translated “power” in English. The first is exousia which means ability, force or delegated authority. This is the word that is used when the Bible talks of Satan’s power. It is a limited power. It is a power that God allows. It is the power of the kingdom of this earth. The second word is dunamis which means miraculous, supernatural power. This is the power that Jesus used while He was walking the earth to establish the beachhead of His heavenly kingdom. It is also that power which flows through the Holy Spirit and is available to the saints for the furthering of His kingdom. Acts 4:33 “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,” All of t...

Last Sunday in church a passage came up known as Paul’s doxology.  It reads like this: Eph 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. While this passage is not one that would be commonly used to explain the Trinity, nevertheless it alludes to the roles of all three persons of the Trinity. The Father is ever at the ready to do, not only what we ask, but far and beyond that because it gives Him pleasure and also because it brings Him glory. He is not a stingy God giving to His children through a dropper but as it is translated in the King James Version,  “exceeding abundantly”. The Son is the instrument through whom He made all of this possible for all the generations to come. It is His atoning grace that allows us sinners to be called sons and daughters of the Most ...

I can remember studying ethics in college and discovering the difference between ethical principles and cultural norms. Ethical principles are timeless. They apply to all humanity regardless of time and place. They are not situational. They reflect “veritas”. The Word of God is full of such principles. Cultural norms, however, are specific to time and place. They fall in and out of favor. They are situational in that their application depends on what popular perception. When principals clash with cultural norms they are attacked as outdated and hypocritical. Throughout history, the more in decline a civilization becomes, the more “liberal” their norms become. Our current cultural situation is one of “anything goes” between consenting adults. Wrong is right and right is a moving target. The media and special interest groups are the ones that are the arbiters of what is “politically correct”. The Word of God is timeless and it’s principles immutable. Those of us that beli...

We have all heard of things that happen in the blink of an eye. Tragic stories where people diverted their attention for just a moment and the results were catastrophic. Parents who were distracted in a public area while with their children and suddenly that child is nowhere to be found. Most of the time it only results in a few minutes of panic on both sides until they find each other again, but sometimes the momentary distraction ends up in child abduction. Other parents have gone through the agony of finding their child floating in their pool because the phone rang and they stepped away to answer for just a minute or so. In our modern age of mobile phones and texting, it is becoming more and more common where people take their eyes off the road only for an instant to look at a text or worse to answer a text and by the time they look back up their world has come to an end All it takes is the blink of an eye and our world has changed forever. We blink, we get distracte...

Diversity of Teaching on Spiritual Gifts A.    Cessationism (Dispensationalism): Teaches that the gifts ceased with the Apostles and the completion of the Biblical cannon.   Once the Church was firmly established and the writings of the N.T. complete, these signs and wonders were no longer needed.   They don’t believe that God can’t or won’t work through gifts, merely that He has withdrawn them since the purpose for them has passed. This is primarily a Southern Baptist view though not all Baptists adhere to this view. (Thus what have been come to be know as Bapticostals) B.    Possessionism: This view teaches that God gives us Spiritual Gifts and they become our possessions for life.   Every Christian has at least one Gift.   It becomes the responsibility of each Christian to discover their gift set and to grow in effectiveness in operating in those areas. This was common during the 50's and 50's with people like Oral Roberts and other f...

Roles, Gifts, Ministries, and Offices A.    Roles:   There are things that one does as part of being a member of the Body of Christ that operate completely within the realm of natural (God-given) abilities.   We give, we pray, we give time to the church, we tell others about Jesus.   These things require nothing more than obedience and at times risk taking. B.    Gifts:   At times while we perform our roles God gives us a gift to help us at a specific time, in a specific situation, and for a specific reason.   John Wimber called these times, when God shows up in power while we are exercising our roles within the Body, “Gracelets”.   A Gracelet is a manifestation of a Spiritual Gift. C.    Ministry:   A person will tend to operate more in some areas of gifting than others do.   For example, I may find that God works more often when I am in an evangelism situation, but less often when I pray for healing. ...

Gifts in Corinthians Fall into 3 natural divisions: A.    Gifts of Revelation (The mind gifts) a) Words of Wisdom : It is supernatural revelation, or insight into the divine will and purpose, showing how to solve any problem that may arise.   This is the special ability that the Holy Spirit gives to see beyond individual facts and understand how they fit together in the “big picture”, to “fathom all mysteries and all knowledge.” (1 Corinthians 13:2) James 3:17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. b) Words of Knowledge : This is a special ability to perceive knowledge revealed directly by the Holy Spirit.   It is knowledge that could not have been perceived by natural means.   This is supernatural revelation of divine knowledge, or insight into the mind, will or plans of God or of others that man could not know of himself. ...