First John 2:27 tells us that the anointing we have received from Him abides in us, teaches us all things, and teaches us how to abide in Christ. We have a resident Teacher on the inside of us. The Holy Spirit is there to teach us, show us, guide us, and lead us. The purpose and will of God come from the Father through the Son, and the Holy Spirit works within us to bring us into what God has for our lives.
Through the years, I have seen people from many different denominations and circumstances come into revival and have a life-changing encounter with God. I have seen marriages healed, people set free, drug addictions broken, bad habits overcome, and people in desperate emotional need touched by the power of God. The early church was a supernatural church. Wherever the disciples went, supernatural things happened, and people were touched in remarkable ways.
We see this when Paul was preaching and encountered a man who had been lame from birth. As the man listened to Paul preach, faith began to arise in his heart for healing. Paul looked intently at him and perceived that he had faith to be healed. Then Paul said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet,” and the man was immediately healed. Paul did not stop and intellectually calculate what spiritual gift he should use. He simply flowed with the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit prompted him, he spoke, and the power of God brought the miracle.
That is important because there is nothing I can do in my own human strength to work a miracle. The power is the power of the Holy Spirit operating upon me and through me to touch the lives of others. God knows who needs what in every meeting. I do not have to determine everything from what I can see or understand naturally. I minister with love and compassion, trust the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and give God room to do whatever He needs to do.
That is what happened in the early church. The disciples went out, and the Lord worked with them, confirming His Word with signs and wonders. Consider Philip ministering in Samaria. Mighty signs and wonders were happening, and great joy filled the city. Then, in the middle of that successful ministry, the Spirit of God directed Philip into the desert. Philip obeyed and encountered an Ethiopian eunuch who was reading from Isaiah. Philip shared Christ with him, explaining what Jesus had done, and the man asked to be baptized.
After Philip baptized him, Philip was supernaturally transported away to continue with what God had for him. What a mighty sign and wonder! Could God still do supernatural things today? Absolutely. God is supernatural. We should never limit what He can do simply because something goes beyond our natural understanding.
One of the problems I have witnessed, however, is that Christians can become far more focused on what the enemy is doing than on what God is doing. There is no commandment in the Word telling us to spend every day paying attention to the devil. Yes, we deal with him when necessary, but we do not make him the focus of our lives. The Bible says he goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He is not omnipresent. He is not God.
Our focus needs to be on what Jesus accomplished for us and on the Holy Spirit who lives within us. We need to recognize that the enemy has been defeated and put under our feet. When I walk somewhere, I do not spend all my time wondering what is underneath my feet. I simply walk confidently toward where I am going. That is how we need to live as believers.
Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. When our attention begins to center on the greater One living within us, we will begin to see things change around us. We will begin to recognize God moving supernaturally in us and through us.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” That is where our attention belongs. Seek the kingdom. Focus on Jesus. Focus on the anointing. Focus on the joy and peace that come from God.
When you feel sad, discouraged, or depressed, do not immediately decide that you are experiencing a demonic attack. Not everything that happens to us is demonic. Sometimes we are tired. Sometimes we have not slept enough. Sometimes we have eaten the wrong things or have not taken proper care of our physical bodies. There can be natural factors affecting how we feel. The enemy may try to take advantage of weakness, but we should not automatically label every human difficulty as a demonic attack.
The same is true in our relationships. Sometimes people say their family is under attack when what has actually happened is that emotions have gotten out of control and an argument has developed. Instead of escalating the situation, allow the peace of God to rule in your heart. We all have moments when our emotions get the better of us, but we need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and redirect us into His peace.
Many of the calamities people face are connected to their own decisions. Do not spend your life looking for demons under every bush. Sometimes your greatest enemy is what is happening in your own mind. The Bible tells us to cast down imaginations and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Do not allow wrong thoughts to capture your attention and establish themselves within you.
The moment a thought comes that contradicts the Word of God, cast it down. Reject it. If a thought of failure comes, do not sit there dwelling on failure. Find the promise of God that pertains to your problem. Find the promise that speaks directly to your situation and stand upon it. Renew your mind with that promise until the truth of God becomes the foundation upon which you stand.
Seeking God is not complicated. Some people think that seeking God means they must spend hours and hours struggling in prayer before God will respond. But He is already here. He lives within us. I do not have to pray hard enough to open heaven so God can finally come down and bless me when the Holy Spirit already lives on the inside of me.
Think of having money in the bank. You do not walk into the bank and beg the manager to please give you your money. It already belongs to you. You access what is yours. Through Jesus, God has accomplished tremendous blessings for us. Scripture speaks of being blessed in the city, blessed in the field, blessed coming in, and blessed going out. Jesus became the curse for us so that we could inherit the blessings promised to Abraham.
Believe God. Trust Him. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Seek the things that have been made available because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. He will give you joy unspeakable and full of glory and peace that passes understanding. This is not something human beings can manufacture. The peace of God is supernatural.
The early church was supernatural, and God wants the modern church to be supernatural. We need to walk in the power and demonstration of the Spirit of God every day and experience the hand of God moving on our behalf.
The next time you are confronted with a problem, do not allow your first reaction to be fear and despair. Go immediately to God. Go immediately to His Word. Take His promise and believe it for yourself. Worship God and praise Him in the middle of whatever you are facing. Do not allow gloom, despair, fear, or depression to dictate the direction of your life. Let the joy of the Lord be your strength. Let the peace of God rule in your heart so you can walk in the supernatural power of God.
Jesus asked in Luke 18:8, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” What is Jesus going to find when He comes? Will He find a body of believers living by faith and trusting Him every day? Will He find a church on fire and living an anointed life? Or will He find people focused on all the wrong things and arguing about doctrines that do not produce life-changing results?
Our attention needs to return to the life-giving and life-changing presence of God. We need His power that heals, changes, sets free, and delivers.
Isaiah speaks about the oil of joy instead of mourning. There is an anointing of joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. It is something we can experience every day. That does not mean we have to walk around laughing every moment, but there can be a joy living on the inside of us that eventually begins to bubble out. People can recognize when the joy of God is present in someone's life.
Scripture also speaks of a garment expressive of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit. When the presence and power of God touch us, praise begins to flow. It does not have to be forced.
That is one of the things I love about revival. When revival meetings first begin, people may arrive tired, burdened, weary, or simply not ready to respond. But as the Word is preached and the presence of God begins touching people, something changes. After the second or third meeting, people begin worshiping God freely. Nobody has to force it out of them. Worship simply begins to flow because they have been refreshed by the presence of God. The heavy burden has been lifted, and the garment of praise begins to manifest.
This is especially important for people in ministry. Ministry can be difficult. Pastors deal with the burdens and problems of other people while also dealing with challenges within their own families. Every family has issues that need the touch of heaven. Ministers need more than human ability to carry these responsibilities. We need the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
We need to return to our roots. We need to return to the church God established on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon and filled ordinary men and women. They were simple people, yet they were transformed by the power of God. They went out and did the greater works Jesus said they would do.
God wants that for His church today. He wants it for every individual believer. Whether you are in full-time ministry or simply attend a local church, God wants you anointed so that your life can make a difference in the lives of others.
If you have never asked Jesus to come into your life, you can receive Him today. Thank Him that He died for you and shed His blood for your sins. Receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Ask Him to come into your life and make you a new creation in Christ, where old things pass away and all things become new. Ask Him to change you by the power of the Holy Spirit as you serve Him and live for Him.
If you are born again but have never been filled with the Holy Spirit, invite Him to fill you. If you are already filled with the Spirit, then seek a fresh encounter with God. We need fresh oil from heaven.
Jesus said that if anyone is thirsty, let him come to Him and drink, and out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. He did not say merely to come and think about it. He said to come and drink. When you drink of the living water, something happens within you. Living water brings life. Living water brings peace. It brings the blessings Jesus accomplished for you at the cross.
Ask the Lord for that fresh oil. Drink of the living waters He promised. Thank Him for the river flowing out of you to bring change into your life, your family, your church, and everything you set your hand to do.
Get alone with the Lord. Find a quiet place where you will not be distracted. Put aside your phone, close your eyes, lift your hands to heaven, and receive the glory and presence of God. Allow the Holy Spirit to refresh you. God wants to bring change, freedom, healing, joy, and peace into your life.
Revival is not supposed to end with us simply enjoying revival. Revival produces something beyond itself: the harvest. When people are revived, refreshed, filled, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the gospel can go outward and touch the lives of others. That is what revival is meant to produce. We are revived so that the life and power of God flowing through us can reach people who desperately need Him.
Source: Episode 0150 Revival at Cape Henry with Host Pastor Larry Reece and Guest Gil Howard-Browne — Revival at Cape Henry
www.revivaltimes.com
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