Monday, December 17, 2018

Tongues - The Purest Thanksgiving, The Greatest Victory

Hello everyone,

Have you ever wished you could be ‘like a fly on the wall’ to secretly witness something pricelessly spectacular, without actually intruding in on the moment?  One of my favourite portions of scripture where I feel like we can do this, is found in John 17:21-24.  This is where a very personal, heart to heart conversation between Jesus and His Father is revealed. It takes place in the moments leading up to Jesus being betrayed and going to the cross to fulfil His purpose.  It’s one of the most beautiful illustrations of their hearts concerning us, I like to call it a moment where the core of their intentions are revealed or unveiled. 

Now, before we go to that particular place in the Bible, I want to explain that in the preceding verses, Jesus is praying for those who walked closely with Him while He was on earth, as well as for us, who have subsequently come to personally receive and know Him as our Lord and Saviour today.  That means you can take this for yourself!  

He prayed...That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, ...
I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one:
I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me.”

Wow....just take a moment to let that sink in.  “I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and recognise that...You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me.”

This oneness and inseparable unity Jesus is talking about between Him and us and His Father, through the Holy Spirit, is the very same ‘partnership’ we find Paul speaking about in Ephesians 2:5-6, where he says, He (the Holy Spirit) made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favour and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation). And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” AMPC

So, again, another glorious piece of scripture highlighting the inseparable connection every believer has with the Lord.  According to this scripture in Ephesians 2, we have been made partakers of the full extent of God’s salvation and victorious, resurrection life - through the Holy Spirit.  In other words - we have been made to be completely, and to the fullest measure - one with Him, loved by Him, made righteous through Him, and alive with His resurrection life - seated with Him in Heavenly places!

Now, let’s take this one step deeper.  In 2 Corinthians 13:14 it says, “The grace (favour and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it).”AMPC

The phrase ‘fellowship in the Holy Spirit’ means communion, and participation in Him.  The English dictionary defines the word ‘communion’  as the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially on a spiritual level.  The Greek word for ‘communion’ is koinonia, it is the idea of taking responsibility for someone.  

So, when Paul says “... the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  He was saying, in our partnership with the Holy Spirit, He will share and exchange intimate thoughts and feelings with you and in doing so becomes the One that takes the responsibility of your life for you. 

That doesn’t mean we just throw our hands up and live as we please - expecting the Holy Spirit to run our lives for us.  No, it means becoming so intertwined with His thoughts and emotions and will, that as we follow after what He has influenced our hearts and minds with - we will see Him move supernaturally on our behalf, in every area of our lives.  He even moves behind the scenes bringing all things into line with His perfect will for us.  This is our partnership with Him!

So as we pray in the Holy Spirit, it stirs up, fine tunes, enhances and amplifies this communion we have with Him.    

Now it’s easy to see how the spirit of heaviness and fear, and any evil influence can’t hang around a believer who is constantly stirring themselves up, praying in the Holy Ghost.  This is where Romans 8:13 comes into play: “For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever.”

When this truth settles inside us spontaneous thanksgiving and praise begins to well up!  When we sing and praise the Lord from the depth of our spirits, singing and praying in the Holy Ghost because our own human language simply can’t express the gratitude and elation we feel in our hearts - we offer up thanksgiving of the purest and highest level!  Do you know why?  As we begin to praise and thank and worship the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, His presence and power is intensified in us and the situation we are praying about.  

Psalm 22:3 says the Lord dwells in the praises of His people.  He actually makes Himself at home in our praise.  The New King James Version says He is enthroned in our praises.  That means no matter what has raised itself up against His perfect will for our lives - He has dominated and ruled over it through our praise.  You see, that intimate communion we spoke about earlier, where His thoughts and feelings have so filled and influenced our own, making us one with elevates Him to a place in our lives where He truly is king.  Where He dominates and rules and takes responsibility for our lives as we are completely and wholeheartedly yielded to His will.  Our spontaneous thanksgiving through the Holy Spirit while praying in tongues seals and amplifies His active presence in our lives; at the same time, empowering us with whatever is necessary to overcome!

Our purest thanksgiving brings us our greatest victory!

As you spend time meditating on this truth, I pray the Holy Spirit will fill you up and flood your soul with His overwhelming goodness and power, and as you begin to thank and praise Him from your spirit - you will experience what it is to truly know the precious communion we have in Him.

All my love,

Jenny


Sunday, December 9, 2018

When God Prays

Hello Everyone,

Prayer is a very powerful tool that directly connects us to the heart of God.  It’s the way we communicate with Him and it transports us right into His throne room where we can hear and receive from Him in our time of need.  Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].”  

The idea of us approaching God and speaking to Him is not uncommon at all, but you may be as shocked, as I was, to hear how many people struggle with the concept of God speaking to us.  Now, anyone who reads the Bible knows and understands that from the very beginning, God has always wanted to have a meaningful relationship with man.  He created us for fellowship and to be inseparably connected to Him in a partnership where we are completely loved and filled with His Spirit and carry out His  purpose for our lives.  This purpose is one He predestined for us to walk in before the foundation of the earth - one that we were created to flourish in.

Hearing God’s voice is exactly what He expects us to do.  Look at what John 10:27, says, "The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me."  Jesus said when we belong to Him, we are listening to His voice.  That phrase is written in the continuous tense - conveying the idea that this is what is an expected, on-going practice for a child of God - to constantly be listening for and to the voice of our Good Shepherd. We do this so that we can follow Him and walk in His ways - which are always perfect!  In fact, His Word ensures us that He will always lead us into safety, provision and victory - as we listen to and follow His voice.

Now let’s take this communication and connection we have with Him one step deeper.  Acts 17:28 says, “For in Him we live and move and have our being;... For we are also His offspring.”  It’s pretty obvious that the relationship we have in the Lord Jesus is far more than a religious, one sided dialogue, where we offer up religious prayers to a far-off being who is relatively uninterested or unconcerned with our day to day lives.  No, we are completely know by Him, we are cherished by Him and He calls us His very own treasured possessions.  We were created by Him to live and move and exist vitally connected to Him - through His indwelling Holy Spirit!

Now take a look at what 1 John 1:3 says, “What we have seen and [ourselves] heard, we are also telling you, so that you too may realise and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And [this] fellowship that we have [which is a distinguishing mark of Christians] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah).”   Being vitally connected to God is a distinguishing mark of Christians!

In saying all this, I’m trying to explain and emphasis how when our lives are yielded to the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy such a oneness or unity in Him, where even our desires are directly in sink with His, and our agendas become aligned with His kingdom agenda. And this is extremely important when we pray!  Why? Because when we pray in tune and in harmony with the Holy Spirit, our prayers are in perfect line with His will.  Now mix faith in with that and God’s creative power is released - calling those things that are not seen in the natural, but are in line with His Word - as though they already exist in our natural lives!

The problem comes when we are overwhelmed, or distracted by the circumstances around us.  Or when our own human nature gets in the way of us clearly hearing and speaking God’s perfect will in our prayers.  That’s when we can apply the powerful gift of praying in tongues where God’s Spirit prays His perfect will, into and through our own spirits.  As we open our mouths and pray in the Holy Spirit - our words (inspired by Him) become the conveyer belt of His truth and power.  He prays through us.  As this happens, it immediately cuts off the influence of our natural, fleshly thoughts; and like a switch - fine tunes us into focusing in on, sensing and receiving God’s heart and perfect will - while He prays through us. 

If you remember, in previous letters we drew reference from Romans 8:26 with regards  to having God Himself pray on our behalf when we are at first unable to do so.  

Romans 8:26 says, “So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.”

When God prays through us, the supernatural presence and power of God dominates the natural world around us - and the impossible becomes possible.  Our own faith is stimulated and energised; and just like an athlete is warmed up and has stretched out his muscles, preparing them for a race - our spirits as well as our faith are being stirred up and made ready for supernatural action.  We are ready to hear and receive God’s perfect will for us to speak into any situation we are praying over.

Next week I’d like to spend some more time speaking about the special partnership we have with the Holy Spirit and how praying in tongues is our special, supernatural prayer language known only to God - that can become our highest level of thanksgiving - bringing astounding results!

Until then, treasure your relationship with the Holy Spirit and practice having Him pray through you!

All my love,

Jenny


Monday, December 3, 2018

Refresh Your Soul - Part 2

Hello everyone,

There is nothing more powerful on this earth than a Christian who is full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit.  He has spent time in the Presence of God and has received revelation knowledge from His Word. His spirit has been built up and is literally bursting with power packed faith, and he is energised and fired up to declare God’s Word over his circumstances and operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He remains acutely in tune to the Spirit’s voice and is not moved by what he sees in the natural.  

Sound too good to be true?  Well, it’s really not.  Every born again, child of God - who has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit is well able to remain in a place of abundant, spiritual overflow by choosing to power himself up by praying in the Holy Ghost and meditating on the truth of God’s Word!

Even when circumstances get rough, and the enemy of our souls attacks our minds with negative thoughts, or our bodies complain with symptoms of sickness and pain, we can be refreshed in our souls as our supercharged spirits minister life and peace and healing to us.

And when we are weak in the natural and faced with challenges that are seemingly impossible to overcome, and we don’t know how to pray as we ought - that’s when we pray in the Holy Spirit and stand our ground in God’s Word.

Romans 8:26 says, “So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.”

As we begin to pray in the Holy Spirit and submit our minds to Him, He prays the perfect will of God into our situation. From our spirits, He begins to energise us with His power and gives us a word, that springs up like a spontaneous thought inside us.  Whatever that word is, whether it’s an instruction, or word of comfort, a word of knowledge, or wisdom, even a vision or dream - it will always come with a surge of life and peace that floods our souls and the refreshing process has begun!

Psalms 119:107 says, “I am sorely afflicted; renew and quicken me [give me life], O Lord, according to Your word!”

We are to take what has come up from our spirits, from the Spirit of God, and do whatever He says to do.  It may be to turn to a particular passage of scripture He has reminded us of, or directed us to. It may be a specific detail we need to attend to in our lives - some kind of adjustment to our attitude or lifestyle.  It could even be a message He has impressed on your hearts to give to someone.  Whatever it is, we must move swiftly in obedience because it has our soul’s salvation attached to it!  I don’t mean our entrance to heaven, I mean getting out of a state of worry, fretting and defeat, into a place of peace, joy and victory!

One vitally important key we cannot ignore during this process, where we have prayed earnestly in the Holy Ghost and received that spontaneous word from the Lord, is to harbour an attitude of praise and thanksgiving that rises up inside us!

Acts 2:28 says, “You have made known to me the ways of life; You will enrapture me [diffusing my soul with joy] with and in Your presence.”

As the Spirit of the Lord prays God’s will over your life and into your situation, you can literally feel His power go to work in and through the words you speak, because your spirit becomes supercharged and your soul (mind, will and emotions) is washed over by the presence of God and His Words of truth and... refreshing comes!

Praying in tongues and meditating on the Word of God most certainly refreshes your soul, bringing it peace and infusing it with supernatural life as the Holy Spirit washes His perfect Word over the recesses of your mind. Because this process is supernatural, it is able to correct any thought patterns that are contrary to His will and set you on a path of victory. You will receive the direction and comfort you need, and confidence to move forward in His ways as the Holy Spirit fills your thoughts with the truth you have paid attention to. 

To end this letter, I’ve chosen the words of Paul in Philippians 1:19, where he says, “For I am well assured and indeed know that through your prayers and a bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) this will turn out for my preservation (for the spiritual health and welfare of my own soul) and avail toward the saving work of the Gospel.”  

May a bountiful supply of the Holy Spirit be what preserves the spiritual health and welfare of your soul as you spend time praying in the Holy Ghost and filling yourself with the truth of His Word this week.

Much love,


Jenny