Have the spiritual gifts ceased to be? Are they no longer in operation in the church today? This is a fiercely debated issue, and I’m not going to be able to address every point of contention in just one article. My goal, rather, is to just get you thinking in the right direction, the Biblical direction.
If you could see into the realm of the Spirit, if you could watch the Holy Spirit pray for you, you would see Him with tears streaming down His face. You would hear Him praying with such force that His booming voice, the very same which spoke the world into existence, would shake the room. I dare even say that you would see Him pounding His fist on the floor as He prayed.
As a person will try to make up with volume what lacks in connection during a spotty phone call, so some believers try to make up in emotion and hype what is lacking in connection during prayer. The connection is there, but they allow matters of the flesh to disrupt what would otherwise be a moment of powerful prayer.
Our pleading is too loud. Servants beg. Strangers beg. Sons come boldly with faith. Desperation is a great initiator but a terrible sustainer. Desperation initiates, but only faith sustains. Desperation is what brings me to the Lord, but once I have Him, why would I ever be desperate again? You don’t enter the glory through noisy desperation; you enter through faith-filled confidence. Confident faith, not desperation, is the way to know the presence of the Holy Spirit.
No believer doubts the deity of the Father. No true believer doubts the deity of the Son - otherwise, they would not be a genuine believer. If there is any doubt raised concerning divinity, that doubt seems to most often be aimed at the Holy Spirit. So I want to show you, as simply and concisely as possible, that the Bible most certainly reveals the Holy Spirit as God.
How do you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit? How do you strengthen your spiritual gifts? How do you start or grow in ministry? What does one have to do in order to have a more effective prayer life, become a bolder witness, or overcome sin? The answer to all of these questions really comes down to one thing: spiritual growth. When you grow spiritually, everything about you changes and improves.
Today’s social media mobs will cry aloud anytime you declare the truth. If you want to see demons manifest, just post something that’s Biblically undeniable yet unpopular in today’s culture. They’ll use guilt to try to make you feel bad for speaking truth. They’ll use intimidation to try to make you feel afraid to speak the truth. They’ll use confusion to make you second guess the truth. This is why boldness is needed now more than ever.
When a soul is saved, the heart and mind are transformed. When the heart and mind are transformed, character is transformed. When character is transformed, behavior is transformed. Change the individual, and you change the family. Change the family, and you change society. Change society, and you change the world.
Bitterness seeks revenge. Forgiveness seeks reconciliation. Bitterness lives in the past. Forgiveness frees you to dream about the future. Bitterness says, “Because they owe me.” Forgiveness says, Because I owe God.” Bitterness pushes guilt. Forgiveness lifts burdens. Bitterness seeks to prove a point. Forgiveness let’s it go. Bitterness accuses. Forgiveness covers.
Believer, please hear me - and preachers especially. If in this hour we take the focus off of Jesus, we will sink. Our futures will sink. Our ministries will sink. We will sink. Don’t allow the winds and waves of chaos to steal your focus. Jesus must remain your focus. When Jesus remains your focus, several things happen.
