Category: Revival Forthwith

Kingdom Thought, Revival Forthwith, Sanctification

Biblical, Right?

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What is right?  

Here is the way that one dictionary defines “right”:  

morally good, justified, or acceptable.  

synonyms:  

just, fair, equitable, good, upright, righteous, virtuous, proper, moral, morally justified, ethical, honorable, honest, principled; lawful, legal   

But, from a Biblical perspective, what is right? I.e., what is the right way to treat my neighbors, should I not regard those around me who deviate from traditional moral norms? Are some people superior to others? Are some sins justifiable in favor of a greater good? Who is really in ownership of one’s body? The merchant undercharged me — I get to keep the difference, right? It is okay for immoral and dishonest individuals to represent me before others and before God, right? I am a good person — I help the needy and contribute to the poor — I will go to heaven if there is one, right?  

I once heard a man say, “you don’t know what you know”. Sounds silly, right? Well, it is not so silly. You have heard me speak about the inner man, you know, our spirit man or human spirit.  

One of the three primary attributes of our inner man is conscience. The other two are communion and intuition. These on-board attributes of the spirit man all have additional attributes within themselves that represent things that we know but do not know that we know. For example, if we go into a country and kill off 43 million of the inhabitants and destroy their food source, we may not know that it is wrong, but we know that it is wrong because our conscience tells us that it is wrong.  

The same above reference but unnamed dictionary defines conscience as:  

an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.  

Watchman Nee says this about the conscience in his book The Spiritual Man:   

“The conscience is the discerning organ which distinguishes right and wrong; not, however, through the influence of knowledge stored in the mind but rather by a spontaneous direct judgment. Often reasoning will justify things which our conscience judges. The work of the conscience is independent and direct; it does not bend to outside opinions.”  

This scriptural passage makes my point:  

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His (God’s) seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.  

In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.  

For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (1 John 3:9-11 King James Version)  

 The Book of proverbs cites the word right or righteous ninety-one times in the KJV. Check them out here.  

  

 

 

Kingdom Business, Praying In Tongues, Revival Forthwith, Revival is At Hand, Spiritual Growth, The End Time Church, Uncategorized

FIRE IN THE HOLY

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Strong’s Concordance defines FIRE as “supernatural fire (accompanying theophany)”. Theophany is defined on Dictionary.com as “manifestation or appearance of God or a god to a person”. 

Last night’s dream went like this. A group returning from an outing included a young boy who was about eight years old. The report about the child was that he had been unruly during the trip. 

When a senior lady of the organization pulled the young man aside to discuss his behavior with him, he pulled out a cigarette lighter and began to flick it to light it. Somehow this action dramatically scared the lady, and she ran off hysterically. 

A second counselor of the organization had no success in getting the kid under control. Upon seeing this and as the boy continued to try and ignite the lighter, one of the male counselors of the organization shouted, “call the cops”. The counselor reconsidered though. The dream was over. 

This dream comes on the heels of a revival meeting that I attended last night at a local church. The denomination was not apparent but there was a Baptist flavor present. As I believe it to be custom at revival meetings, the speaker was a visiting one. His scriptural reference was 2 Corinthians 12 — Paul’s thorn in the flesh. 

Ministers of Churches such as this one is prone to flow into a method of preaching that is referred to as “hooping”. This service was no exception. Preaching of this type is soulical arousing the emotions of the folks. The “feel good” is short lived. Lots of flicking takes place but no Fire happens. 

Given the title of this post, let me just say that I have come to know that there are two ways to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These are expository or expositional and Spiritual. Expository preaching in done in the strength of man and his knowledge of the Bible. The logos word (letter) is present but the Rhema Word (Spirit) is not. Lots of flicking but no fire. 

Spiritual preaching in done in the Strength of or by the Anointing of Jesus Christ through and co-laboring with the believer. Essentially It is God speaking, being tempered by an earthen vessel. 

The Eternal Fire Himself is manifest empowering them that hear. 

 

AWAKENING, Kingdom Business, Kingdom Thought, Praying In Tongues, Revival Forthwith, Revival is At Hand, Spiritual Growth, The End Time Church, UTTERANCE

THE LIGHT MAN

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There once was (and still is) a man. An ordinary man. This man had a glimmer of light in his heart – in the center of his being. Faint it was, hardly noticed by anyone except his parents. It stayed that way for years and years but was obtaining a solid position in there – kind of like a tree as it stretches out its root system to be able to stand even to reach the clouds.

One day this nice gentleman was made aware of an outside source of light. One that was exterior to him but that is very much like the light which he had. This Light is the greatest of all light. It is the Light of the world. It is the Source of all life in the universe.

He somehow knew that that light was beckoning him to let It come into him. It wanted to join him and grow in him. This most powerful Light would be largely subservient to the light of our friend whom we mentioned first in this little story. It would be a Helper. The Great Light is a source of Eternal information and Jethro; let’s call our friend Jethro, can access this information and increasingly so as he builds his relationship with the Light.

Once electing to cohabitate with the Light – join his light with that Light – change was swift and exponential. The light that was in him was no longer just a flicker. It had grown, filling his abdominal cavity to an explosive ability. His cranial cavity became alive and radiant with activity because of the Light. He began to know things, to see and hear more clearly. His sense of right and wrong became keener. Key components of the two referenced systems are now more aware of each other and working together. Compassion and love are intrinsic in his personality.

His thoracic cavity is also infiltrated by the Light giving him increased ability to spew out words of encouragement here and there and upon those whom he chooses or when he is petitioned to do so. His message is one of love. That Light shown throughout his whole body. His movement is more graceful and displays positive intent.

The Light is no longer contained inside his body. It emanates from his body and becomes somewhat like a force field of love and all that is positive. Those meeting him senses this Power (that’s what it is, power) not fully, if at all, understanding what it is.

But, that’s not all. Remember that I said that that Light is external to that of Jethro. Well the Great Light while it works within Jethro, It (He) also has a life and agenda all His own. That Light is always everywhere Jethro goes; even if the atmosphere appears to be dark. In fact, there are times when the Light will choose, for example, to intervene in the ordinary course of nature to bring about some change. An example of this might be to open blind eyes or to cause a cripple person to walk.

The Light (you probably noticed the upper-case L) now that He has opened a line of communication (communion even) with Jethro is able to conduct such work in the natural realm using a natural person.

AWAKENING, Kingdom Business, Kingdom Thought, Praying In Tongues, Revival Forthwith, Revival is At Hand, Spiritual Growth, The End Time Church, Uncategorized, UTTERANCE

What Are You Waiting For?

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“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

When Ananias communicated to Paul his commission from Jesus it was clear that time was of the essence. Let the Church agree that the same Spirit of urgency should apply to us now.

See Acts chapter 22.

AWAKENING, Kingdom Thought, Praying In Tongues, Revival Forthwith, Revival is At Hand, Spiritual Growth, The End Time Church, UTTERANCE

A Higher Plane

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A few days ago I heard a preacher proclaim his hope and belief that believers are approaching a time of a higher level of Spiritual existence. While many believers are anticipating another (final perhaps) revival or awakening before the rapture; the speaker called it a higher plane. The essence of what I am currently writing about, Utterance and Spiritual Gifts, concern the path to Spiritual growth. I capitalize the S in the word Spiritual to distinguish the Divine Spirit from the human spirit.

I greatly pondered the idea of a “higher plane” to an extent that was somewhat grandiose. My thinking was that somehow the Lord would graduate us to a level of independence where we could operate with great, great power from Heaven without having to wait for the “Spirit upon”, that supernatural Power of the Holy Spirit that comes upon the believer as God determines.

This morning though, I am back down to earth as I read “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).

The key to Spiritual growth is the sanctification that results from dying to self and being resurrected with Christ. “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11 KJV).

Kingdom Business, Kingdom Thought, Praying In Tongues, Revival Forthwith, Revival is At Hand, Spiritual Growth, UTTERANCE

I BEG YOU BROTHERS

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Praying in Tongues Renews Your Mind. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

“If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:21-24).

For as he thinketh in his heart (or mind), so is he (Proverbs 23:7).

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

Simply stated, renewing you mind is changing your “Mindset” from the natural disposition of that of the fallen man to that of the Supernaturally, Holy Spirit-taught individual. It could be said that Paul is pleading with believers to yield to the Holy Spirit, turn away from the world and be renewed in the spirit of the mind in the similitude of God.

The spirit of man just like the Spirit of God does not work on its own accord but processes instructions or information that it is charged with from the soul, be it worldly or Godly. Serving up the Word of God to the human spirit produces the “mind which is also in Christ Jesus.” Praying in Tongues (as it is the language of the spirit) additionally aids in the renewal of the mind. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13).

Kingdom Business, Praying In Tongues, Revival Forthwith, Revival is At Hand, Spiritual Growth, The End Time Church, UTTERANCE

THE INNER MAN

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The inner man is the spirit of man. It is said that “man is a spirit, he has a soul and he lives in a body.” “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man;” (Ephesians 3:16).
Man is a tripartite creation. Man is spirit, soul and body. “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The two above scriptural passages show that spirit and soul are distinct one from the other.

The foundation of our relationship with God, the spirit is called the element (member) of God-consciousness. God dwells in the spirit, self dwells in the soul and senses dwell in the body.

Hierarchically, “the order which God presents to us is unmistakable: “your spirit and soul and body” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). It is not “soul and spirit and body,” nor is it “body and soul and spirit. The spirit is the pre-eminent part (member), hence it is mentioned first; the body is the lowest and therefore is last mentioned; the soul stands between, so is mentioned between” (Nee).

Spirit, Soul and Body are presented in reverse order here since our topic is Speaking in Tongues (UTTERANCE) which is a function of the spirit and the Holy Spirit (so we deal with the spirit last).

1. The body is sometimes referred to as the Outermost Man. It is the sheath of the soul. It is the corporeal aspect of man. It is through the corporal body that man contacts the material world. It is that part of us that gives us world-consciousness.

2. The soul; “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).

• The soul of man consists of his mind, will, intellect, emotions and self-consciousness. The soul is sometimes referred to as the outer man. It is the sheath of the spirit. It is the organ of our personality.
• The soul is the meeting-point of spirit and body. The soul makes it possible for the spirit and the body to communicate and to cooperate.
• Man’s prime factor is the soul.
• We are told to present our bodies unto God and to renew our minds. This renewal of the mind comes through our spirit from the Holy Spirit as we read the Bible, hear the Word and Pray. Instructions, guidelines, Light and Revelation are deposited into our spirits whereby we are transformed as our minds (souls) are renewed by the perfect will of God. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

3. Spirit, Soul and Body; “Of these three elements the spirit is the noblest for it joins with God. The body is the lowest for it contacts with matter. The soul lying between them joins the two together and also takes their character to be its own. The soul makes it possible for the spirit and the body to communicate and to cooperate. The work of the soul is to keep these two in their proper order so that they may not lose their right relationship—namely, that the lowest, the body, may be subjected to the spirit, and that the highest, the spirit, may govern the body through the soul. Man’s prime factor is definitely the soul. It looks to the spirit to give what the latter has received from the Holy Spirit in order that the soul, after it has been perfected, may transmit what it has obtained to the body; then the body too may share in the perfection of the Holy Spirit and so become a spiritual body” (The Spiritual Man).

The three primary attributes of the human spirit are:

• Conscience; the conscience is the discerning organ which distinguishes right and wrong. “And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst” (John 8:9).
• Intuition; is the sensing organ of the human spirit. The intuition of the spirit differs from that of the soul and body. Believers must heed the voice of conscience and the teaching of intuition. “And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives” (Acts 27:10).
• Communion; worshiping God. “The organs of the soul are incompetent to worship God. God is not apprehended by our thoughts, feelings or intentions, for He can only be known directly in our spirits. Our worship of God and God’s communications with us are directly in the spirit. They take place in “the inner man,” not in the soul or outward man.”
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
The human spirit is said to be regenerated when one receives salvation. The Holy Spirit resides within this regenerated human spirit. “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man;” (Ephesians 3:16).

The spirit is subject to many conditions i.e. fervent, contrite, joyful, poor, afflicted, broken, quiet and broken are a few examples. Beyond being aware that we have a spirit, being conscious of our spirit and its condition is essential for spiritual growth. Tempering our spirits (renewing our minds) are can be intentionally accomplished.

The inner man (human spirit) is often referred to in the secular world as the subconscious mind as it is not understood secularly. The supposed functions of the same are those of the inner man.

The spirit of man is akin to the Spirit of God in that he does not speak of himself but that which he hears, he speaks (John 16:13). He conducts that which he (the inner man) discerns to be his instructions from the soul. It is extremely important that what the spirit receives from the mind (soul) is tempered by the Word of God as indicated in Romans chapter 12 verse 2 (renewing the mind). Hearing and reading the word (Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God; Romans 10:17) are also pertinent to edifying the human spirit.

UTTERANCE flows through our spirit.

Kingdom Business, Praying In Tongues, Revival Forthwith, Spiritual Growth, The End Time Church, UTTERANCE

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

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Spiritual Gifts ride the heels of UTTERANCE (Speaking in Tongues) when it comes to controversial Church Doctrine. Speaking in Tongues and operating in the Spiritual Gifts are Supernatural actions. Just as being Born Again at the time of Salvation is a Miracle, so too are Speaking in Tongues and the Spiritual Gifts.

Chapter 12 of First Corinthians is where Paul presents us information regarding The Spiritual Gifts. Calling these Spiritual Manifestations gifts is a little ambiguous as they can’t for example, be put into a box or one’s pocket and taken home. The Lord maintains control of them as He works together with the believer. The manifestation of Speaking in Tongues and of the Spiritual Gifts is administered by God co-laboring with the believer.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

The operation of the Holy Spirit is two-fold. Salvation, referred to as the Baptism of Christ happens first. His dwelling in men is for sanctification. In dwelling in us, the Holy Spirit supplies Christ to us to be our life and to enable us to bear the Fruit of Holiness. Baptism with the Spirit or being filled with the Spirit is a secondary working. Speaking in Tongues as the Spirit gives the UTTERANCE is the initial evidence of being Filled with the Holy Spirit. This is synonymous with having The Spirit Upon. It is the gateway to Supernatural Miracle Prayer and for co-laboring with God in the Spiritual Gifts. His coming upon (being poured out upon) men is for power, for doing miracles and for witnessing.

Speaking in Tongues is frowned upon in most pulpits and a demonstration of the operation of The Spiritual Gifts is not commonly found in local Churches.

There are nine Spiritual Gifts; nine ways in which the Holy Spirit manifests Himself Supernaturally when co-laboring with Believers. The Gifts are placed within three categories. Three of them are classified as Revelation Gifts (they reveal something), Three are the Power Gifts (they do something) and three are the Inspiration Gifts (they say something).

The Word of Wisdom is the 1st of the Revelation Gifts. One should distinguish The Word of Wisdom from natural wisdom. They are two different things and one has nothing to do with the other. The Word of Wisdom is a Supernatural Manifestation of the Holy Spirit. It is a Wisdom that comes down from Heaven. It is a Divine Wisdom. Limited purposes, directives and plans of God are revealed as Words of Wisdom. Old Testament Prophets Uttered Prophetically Words of Wisdom When the Holy Ghost would Come Upon them. God revealed fragments of his plan for mankind and the earth to the likes of Enoch, Noah, Joseph, Moses and Jesus Christ as well as the Minor and Major Prophets. The Word of Wisdom reveals a short-term or long-term plan of God.

“And the Lord God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” (Genesis 3:13-16). This is an excerpt from an early reprimand by God in the Garden of Eden. This prophetic
UTTERANCE is a word of wisdom.

“Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). This prophecy of the coming Savior is an example of The Word of Wisdom.

(2) The Word of Knowledge is the second of the Revelation Gifts. The Word of Knowledge has nothing to do with human knowledge or intellect. It is the Supernatural communication of the Holy Spirit of a fact in existence where there is no natural way for it to be known to the believer. It occurs directly from the Omniscience of God.

In 2nd Kings Chapter 5 we find an example of this gift. The prophet Elisha had the occasion to cure Naaman, an army commander from Syria, of leprosy. Naaman was very grateful and offered Elisha gifts which Elisha refused. Elisha’s servant Gehazi who was standing buy at the time, ran after Naaman to retrieve the gifts privily. He later denied receiving them. The prophet, however, knew by the Word of Knowledge of this evil deed and so the servant was cursed with that leprosy, he and his seed forever.

The (3rd) Revelation Gift is Discerning of Spirits. This operation of the Holy Spirit is to open a window to the invisible world for the believer to look through. Supernaturally and miraculously the believer is availed of transactions of another dimension. A revelation regarding Discerning of Spirits could appear as a vision, a trance or in a dream. The Lord could communicate the presence or devices of a spirit (or spirits) in other ways. Here is one example in 2nd Kings:

“And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (2 Kings 15-17).

Yet another example of the Gift of Discerning of Spirits is found in the book of Acts as thus: “And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, these men are the servants of the Most High God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour” (Acts 16: 16-18). Clearly, Paul discerned the invisible person behind the damsel.

The Gifts of The Word of Knowledge and or Faith are likely present with the gift of The Discerning of Spirits.

The 1st of the Power Gifts of the Spirit is the gift of Faith. The Gift of Faith is to be distinguished from “The Measure of Faith” (Romans 12:3) and Saving Faith of Romans 10:17 (So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God).

The Gift of Faith transcends the Mark 11:22-26 faith to remove mountains. The Gift of Faith is sometimes referred to as Special Faith. Like all the Gifts of the Spirit, the Gift of Faith is a Supernatural Manifestation of the Holy Spirit. It is an operation of the Holy Spirit. It is administered by The Holy Spirit. The believer need only co-labor with God to the extent of being yielded and willing.

The fulfillment of UTTERANCES, of blessing and curses, alterations, creations, destructions, removals, and even the raising of the dead are manifested by this Gift. There is no limitation where the Gift of Faith is present.

The 2nd of the Power Gifts of The Spirit is The Working of Miracles. The Supernatural manifestation of the power of God that intervenes in the ordinary course of nature is the Working of a Miracle. The manifestation of any of the Spiritual gifts is a miracle in a general though not specific sense.

There are many examples of miracles cited in the Bible. In the Old Testament, in the book of Exodus; in Egypt, there was the waters being made into blood, frogs produced, locusts and there was darkness so thick that it could be felt. There was the dividing of the Red Sea by Moses’s rod and water given from the rock at Rephidim. There was the Mana from Heaven. Additionally, in the Old Testament there was Balaam’s ass speaking, the Sun and The Moon standing still, the widow’s son being raised, the iron swimming and many other exciting exhibits of God’s wonders.

Our Lord also work many miracles during his brief sojourn on the earth. He healed the sick, the blind, the deaf and dumb and those many infirmities and diseased conditions. He raised Lazarus from the dead. He cast out devils, stilled storms, fed four thousand folks with two loaves and five fishes. He walked on water.

In the Book of Acts, we see Ananias and Sapphira struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. Peter raises Tabitha (Dorcas). Peter is also delivered out of prison by an angel. Paul’s conversion was truly a miracle; as when every time a person is saved. Paul restores Eutychus to life and shakes off a deadly viper from this hand with no ill effect in chapters 20 and 28 respectively. These are a few of the miracles that were documented in the book of Acts.

The 3rd Power Gift is The Gifts of Healings. It is thought by theologians that the fact that both words (Gifts and Healings) are plural indicates diversity in their application. As an example, one minister will have success when praying for deaf people and, yet another is likely to see the cripple walk.

While the healings that are brought about by the Doctors and hospitals are either directly or indirectly blessings from God, they are not the Supernatural Gifts being discussed here.

There were approximately twelve occurrences of individual healings recorded in the old testament. Notable from that list are Hanna receiving healing from barrenness in response to personal prayers and Eli the Priest’s declaration (1 Samuel 1:9-20) and Hezekiah’s 15-year life extension by the prophet Izaiah after Hezekiah prayed to God (2 Kings 20: 1-7).

There were numerous healings at the hand of Jesus Christ recorded in the Gospels.

In the Acts of the Apostles there was the healing by Peter of the lame man at the gate Beautiful (Acts 3: 1-11) and Eneas of a palsy, recorded in chapter 9 as well as other miracles in which he worked. Paul healed a cripple in Lystra (Acts 14: 8-10). “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19: 11-12).

The first of the Gifts of Inspiration is The Gift of Prophecy. Strong’s Concordance describes prophecy as “a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; esp. by foretelling future events.”

“But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14: 3) Prophecy is Inspired UTTERANCE and should be distinguished from Revelation. Revelation by The Word or Wisdom may sometimes function together with Prophecy.

Smith Wigglesworth said this: “We see also that he that prophesieth speaketh unto man to edification and exhortation and comfort. How important it is then that we should have this gift in manifestation in the church in order that the saints might be built up and made strong and filled with the comfort of God. But with this as all other gifts we should see that it is operated by the Spirit’s power and brought forth in the unction of the Spirit; so that everyone who shall hear prophecy, as it is brought forth by the Spirit of God, shall know that it is GOD who is bringing forth that which for the edification of those who hear. It is the Spirit of God who takes of the deep things of God and reveals them, and unctionizes the prophet to give forth, that which is a revelation of the the things of God.

Utterance in prophecy has a real lifting power and gives real light on the truth to those who hear. Prophecy is never a mind reflection; it is something far deeper than this. By means of prophecy we receive that which is the mind of the Lord; and as we receive these blessed, fresh utterances through the Spirit of the Lord the whole assembly is lifted into the realm of the spiritual. Our hearts and minds and whole bodies receive a quickening through the Spirit-given word. As the Spirit brings forth prophecy we find there is healing and salvation and power in every line. For this reason, it is one of the gifts that we ought to covet.”

The final two Inspiration Gifts are Divers Kinds of Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues. Here is an example of what they might look like when manifested in a Church near you:

A minister tells the story about how he was interrupted early during one of his sermons by a young lady who was obviously overpowered by the Holy Ghost. He says that she came up on the platform with him, which he yielded as he recognized that God was present.

He said that she chanted some language that he did not know and made gestures sometimes made by religious priest of another religion. He said that near the back of the Church he observed a young East Indian man, whom he knew, begin to walk down the aisle toward the platform. The young man looked at the girl with intense amazement. It turns out that she had spoken the young man’s language.

She tells him that salvation comes from God: that to save men, Jesus Christ, who was God, became a man; that one man cannot save another; one man has no power to same another from his sins. But Jesus was God and He had power to impart His Spirit to men.

Here, the young lady was obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and spoke with Divers Kinds of Tongues (other Tongues). The Elder in the pulpit was sensitive to the Holy Spirit and yielded to His Manifestation. The young gentleman, while somewhat dumbfounded, was able to give the Interpretation of Tongues. The Protocol for Speaking Tongues in the Church was known and had been well taught in this Church as should be the case in every Church.

The Inspiration Gifts are for Ministry. They are for the Exhortation, Edification and Comfort of the Church.

AWAKENING, Kingdom Business, Praying In Tongues, Revival Forthwith, Spiritual Growth, UTTERANCE

GOD’S WORK

| THOMAS HART CLEMENTS

“And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Genesis 1: 14-19). 

The above scriptural passage describes the solar system in which the earth that we live on is located and is fundamentally anchored by the sun. Everything else in the system revolves around the sun except the referenced stars. The sun is a star and there are no other stars in our solar system. 

“Our sun is one of at least 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, a spiral galaxy about 100,000 light years across. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group, a neighborhood of about 10 million light years across, consisting of more than 30 galaxies that are gravitationally bound to each other. Scientists calculate that there are at least 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe, each one brimming with stars. On a large scale, they form a bubbly structure, in which vast sheets and filaments of galaxies surround gargantuan voids” (NASA). 

“Edwin Hubble discovered that the Universe is expanding and that at one point in time (14 billion years ago) the Universe was all collected in just one point of space” (NASA). 

God resides in the Highest Heaven which is constantly expanding. Simultaneously He is managing all that He has previously created including our day to day lives. “Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!” (Job 22:12). 

He is working through His Body (The Church) to redeem that which is, “The Earth and the fullness there of” (Psalms 24:1). All unrighteousness and those party to it will be expelled from the surface of the earth. The earth will be made new (restored), and the righteous will reside hereon forever. “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). “But unto the Son he saith, Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8). 

“From the Old Testament time to the New, God always is found speaking. He spoke in the Old Testament days by the prophets; He spoke through the Lord Jesus; and He continues to speak through the New Testament church. We learn from the Bible that God has a prime work to perform on earth, which is, to utter His own Word. If the word of God is taken away, then almost nothing is left of God’s work. No Word, no work. When the Word is eliminated, the work is reduced to near zero. We must therefore recognize the place of God’s Word in His work. Once the word is removed the work of God ceases immediately. God operates through His word; He treats His Word as His work. 

This morning I heard a preacher say on the television that the “prayer language” (Tongues) is not for everyone (every believer). The bible does not say that. The Lord does say in Mark Chapter 16 that one of the signs that would follow them that believe is that they would “speak with New Tongues”. God gives the UTTERANCE when we speak in Tongues. 

There were two Ministers having a conversation on the radio yesterday and one of them commented on how he was so excited about a recent event in his life that he would Speak in Tongues if they did that in his church’s denomination. Here is what the Lord told me this morning as I Prayed in Tongues. He said that “Utterance is life to His Body the Church just as blood is to the natural human body.”  

There is no part of the human body that functions properly without blood and the Church (The Body of Christ) does not and will not function properly until UTTERANCE (Speaking in Tongues) becomes accepted doctrine. 

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God, and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Ephesians 4:4-6). That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another (1 Corinthians 12:25). Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). We are to be unified and co-laboring with Him as He works through us. 

UTTERANCE is Outpoured from the Throne of God continuously (Acts 2:33). We are to be a continuation or (conduits of) this same power that is maintaining the earth and expanding the Universe, not to mention the Giver of Salvation. 

We, (The Church) are God’s Mouthpiece on the Earth. UTTERANCE is the means. Obedience is the mandate. 

Kingdom Business, Kingdom Thought, Praying In Tongues, Revival Forthwith, Revival is At Hand, Spiritual Growth, The End Time Church

DIVERS KINDS OF TONGUES

| THOMAS HART CLEMENTS

“To another Divers Kinds of Tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues” is an excerpt from 1 Corinthians chapter 12. The original Greek text did not include the word “divers”. The translators added it. “Kinds of Tongues” is how it read with the distinct connotation of diversity (different nations). Diverse Kinds of Tongues is one of the Spiritual Gifts. It is a ministry gift and is prophecy when coupled with The Interpretation of Tongues.

Tongues the Spiritual Gift (Diverse Kinds of Tongues) is distinguished from Tongues the sign. Tongues the sign is for communing with God and not for presentation in public. Tongues the sign is also for the edifying or building up one’s self spiritually. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself  (1 Corinthians 14:4).  “For he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God: for no man understands him; howbeit in the spirit he speaks mysteries” (1 Corinthians: 14:2). Speaking in Unknown Tongues is the only manifestation of the Spirit that has the direct aspect of worship; said to be “not unto man, but unto God.”

“To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another Divers Kinds of Tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:” (1 Corinthians 12:28).

The tongues that were spoken at Pentecost were Divers Kinds of Tongues. The Pentecost outpouring of Tongues were dual purposed; they also were the initial indications that the Pentecost believers were filled with the Holy Spirit.

We know, too, that they were referred to as Other Tongues as well. A demonstration of believers speaking a language that they didn’t know that was understood by others that were standing by as occasioned in Acts chapter 2. “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?”

Divers Kinds of Tongues is a Supernatural Spiritual Gift manifested by God through a yielded believer. He (God) confirms as much by offering the accompanying gift of The Interpretation of Tongues.

Tongues with interpretation is prophecy and is given for the exhortation, edification and comfort of the Church.

Kingdom Thought, Revival Forthwith

3 Pointers As To Why Myles Munroe Died

| THOMAS HART CLEMENTS

It is my hope that some of you reading this are saying Myles WHO? Okay, I am glad you asked. Myles Munroe is an international renowned pastor and motivational speaker. I say this because a very large body of his work goes right on blessing and helping people 24/7 even though he is currently with the Lord. I in fact believe that God decided that bringing him on into Heaven would be a better use of His (God’s) resource that is Myles Munroe.

I can see it all now; Dr. Myles Munroe and eight other souls are on final approach to Grand Bahama International airport when in a heavenly kind of “sudden way“ angels appeared requesting that they all adorned the backpacks that they were being handed. As soon as they had attired themselves with the backpacks, they found themselves winged and moving swiftly toward heaven and the Father and the Lord. Upon glancing back to see what had happened to the perfectly good airplane that they were just riding in they saw that it had flown into a crane and that their natural bodies were still present in the earth to be retrieved at such a time as designated by the Lord. I suspect that the likelihood is that while they have loved ones left behind, they are adventuring in heaven checking out their mansions, visiting with loved ones who have gone on before them and saying hello to the likes of the Lord, Abraham, Joseph, David, Job, Paul, Peter, John and just all the other biblical greats.

My guess is that many of you wondered like I did, “what just happened”? Why would, how could God let such a man as Dr. Munroe die at such a young age? Why did he not protect him? Well like I said bringing attention to his earthly departure sheds light on his message, ministry and mission on the earth.

I believe that God through the life and death of Dr. Munroe intends to accomplish the following:

  1. To bring to the attention of the church what Jesus taught and instructed us to teach, namely, The Kingdom of God (interestingly The Kingdom of Heaven in the book of Matthew); “And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick” Luke 9:2. Somehow the church has been off point in teaching this message for 2000 years.
  2. To encourage folks like you and me to dig deeper into the real message and mandate of the Lord to understand and exercise the authority in the earth that the Lord has taken from the devil and delegated to us that which was stolen from Adam and Eve. We may now proceed to subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. “Thy kingdom com, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. I think that we should think of ourselves as existing on earth in a fashion that is parallel to the current situation that is in Heaven and as kings, priest and prophets binding and loosing to that end.
  3. And, thirdly, interestingly after studying out the kingdom message and pursuing  an answer as to why we the church are not currently routinely displaying the mandate of the Lord where He says “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall  speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”  I have discovered that we are likely praying all wrong. Jesus said If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. What I have discovered, though, is that the church typically closes prayers in the name of “Jesus” that is to say “Savior” but the New Testament example in the Book of Acts and in the Epistles for closing every prayer therein and where miracles were worked was to invoke his full name encompassing all the power of His Name, Christ, the Anointed one and Jesus the Savior; Jesus His authority on earth and Christ all the resources of Heaven. No prayers are offered or miracles done in just the name of Jesus. Think about this; if I give you a check and just sign my first name, isn’t there a good likelihood that you won’t be able to cash it? I think the same principle applies to just using part of Jesus’ name. Again now check out how it’s done in the Book of Acts and in the Epistles. I recommend the KJV when researching.

So understand that Jesus Christ is Lord and God and there in none other beside Him.

Go see this.