The Necessity of Waiting on the Spirit by A. B. Simpson

"Tarry in the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from on high." Luke 24:49 "He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father." Acts 1:4

these waiting days were necessary to enable the disciples to realize their need, their nothingness, their failure and their dependence upon the Master. They had to get emptied first, before they could get filled. Oh, how often they must have thought, as those days went by, of the positions they were now to occupy, the responsibility that was resting upon them, the charge that the Master had committed to them, and their utter inability for it all! How they must have recalled their folly, their unbelief, their strife, their selfishness, their fears, their defeats, and shrunk back into nothingness, and even stood aghast at the prospect before them, until in the very dust they cried to Him for help and strength needed. And so God wants us to go apart and quietly wait upon Him, until He searches into the depths of our being, and shows us our folly, our failures, our need. There is no wiser nor better thing to do on the eve of a season of blessing than to make an inventory, not of our riches, but of our poverty; to count up all the voids and vacuums and places of insufficiency; to make the valley full of ditches, and then to bring to God the depths of our need for Him to fill. And it takes time to make this work thorough. It takes time to burn it into our consciousness. It takes time to make us feel it. It is one thing to know in a general way our need and failure; it is quite another thing to realize it, to mourn over it, to be distressed about it, and to be filled with sorrow and shame and that holy zeal and revenge upon ourselves which the apostle tells us is part of true repentance.

In the golden stairway of the Beatitudes, the first promise is to those that are poor in spirit; but there is another step still deeper down on the way to God, and that is "Blessed are they that mourn." It is needful that we shall mourn over our poverty, that we shall realize our need, that we shall be deeply troubled over our spiritual wretchedness, and that we shall come with such hunger that nothing less than all the fullness of Christ can ever satisfy us again. There are some spiritual conditions that cannot be accomplished in a moment. The breaking up of the fallow ground takes time; the frosts of winter are as necessary as the rains of spring to prepare the soil for fertility. God has to break our hearts to pieces by the slow process of His discipline, and grind every particle to powder, and then to mellow us and saturate us with His blessed Spirit, until we are open for the blessing He has to give us. Oh, let us wait upon the Lord with brokenness of heart, with openness of soul, with willingness of spirit, to hear what God the Lord will say! These days of waiting are important also that we may listen to God's voice. We are so busy that we cannot hear. We talk so much that we give Him no chance to talk to us. He wants us to hearken to what He has to say to us. He wants us on our faces before Him, that He may give us His thought, His prayer, His longing, and then lead us into His better will.

A call to prayer by Kenneth Hagin

If we can understand and use the power of prayer as Christians and especially as men of God, our lives will take on great meaning, and we will see our spiritual life soar like never before.

An outpouring of God’s Spirit is coming to the earth. But before the outpouring that many Christians have been looking for, there will be a revival that many aren’t looking for — a revival of prayer. God has called men to be the head of the family, and the revival of prayer must begin with us. If we take our place in society and in our family, if we call on God in prayer, God will show us great and mighty things, which we have not seen before (Jer. 33:3).

In Luke chapter 21, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what is to come in the end times, and He tells us why we don’t have to be afraid. Luke 21:25-28 (NKJV) 25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 “men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. 27 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” In verse 28, Jesus makes a statement that is most pertinent to us as Christians. He tells us to “lift up our heads, because our redemption draws near.” What is our redemption? It is the day when Jesus comes in clouds of glory and every eye shall see Him. Then we who are alive shall be caught up together in the clouds, and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:16-18).  I want to be ready for Jesus when He comes. I want to be found faithful, making my calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). I don’t want to let one day go by that I don’t put Jesus first in every area of my life. Before we were born, God already had a plan and purpose for our life. Prayer will help us discover and fulfill that plan. Yes, God intends for us to work and to provide for our family (1 Tim. 5:8). But sometimes we just go through the motions of life without getting anywhere. We go to work, come home at night, sit in the recliner, watch television, and get up the next morning to go to work — just like a hamster in a cage runs the wheel and gets nowhere. Life has more purpose than that! God has something far more exciting for us if we will walk in the realm of the Spirit. If we will spend time in prayer, tuning our heart every day to God’s Spirit, and if we will follow the Spirit’s leading, God will give us opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives.

Jesus came to give us abundant life (John 10:10). That abundant life is connected to our prayer life. Home people’s prayer life only consists of making it from crisis to crisis. 

Thank God, we can go to the Lord in crisis. But we ought to live in the place where we can take care of issues before they ever become crises! Men, God has plans for you. And if you will take your place in prayer, you will produce those plans not only for yourself, but also for your wife and children. And when it’s all said and done, you will see the coming of the Lord. If you are ready to dedicate yourself to a life of prayer, say, “Father God, I want to become a man of prayer. I don’t want to operate in the flesh but in the realm of the Spirit. I want to take my place as the leader in my family. I do not want to abdicate my position or give it to someone else. I want to fulfill your divine destiny for my life. I ask you to deposit in me a desire to pray like never before. May I take my position seriously and be ready for the coming of the Lord. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.”

HE THAT OVERCOMES

He that overcomes shall inherit all things. (Rev 21:7 )

This morning we realize our blessed hope as we continue to look for a city whose builder and maker is God. Just like Abraham, Moses and our forefathers before us, we too long for that city. As the old song says, "through many dangers toils and snares," we know God never created this beautiful planet with such chaos. We know it indeed is because of disobedience and sin that mankind has suffered so.

Now we rejoice that Jesus has suffered the consequences of man's disobedience and brought us into right standing with our beloved Heavenly Father. We indeed have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of his testimony. We indeed look some day to the inheritance of the saints and an eternity with God and our loved ones.

Today again we unite in prayer for our great land, for the Lord's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, especially with 40 plus days till the presidential elections. God knows we need our president to stand beside Israel. We must stand beside Israel now, today. Thank you for your tenacious spirit of faith and love dear friends, I'm thankful we can agree together for God's will to be done in America, in the earth today.

Our inheritance awaits us, while we look not on the things which are seen but upon the things which are more real, on things eternal!

BREAKING UNGODLY SOUL TIES

Father in Heaven, Our GOD of Infinite Forgiveness, we submit our fleshly fantasies and soulish desires, to the Fiery Purification of Your Blessed Holy Spirit. We confess as sin, all unholy relationships we have knowingly and unknowingly shared in our poisoned past. We confess as sin, all inordinate affections manifested by the lust of the eye.
We confess as sin, all unrighteous unions of Soul and Body, created during the dark days of our reckless youth. Father, we thank You for removing the scales from our eyes, and through divine revelation, You have openly exposed the destructive, distractive, and addictive nature of our sinful sensual connections.
Majestic Creator, our GOD of Eternal Love, we loose ourselves from our sinful soul ties, and declare spiritual divorces from all our immoral sexual exploits of the past. LORD, we uproot all the tentacles of sexual bondage, secret affairs, emotional longings, and enslaving thoughts, that may attempt to reinforce these treacherous ties. We secede and successfully separate ourselves, from any sinister sex spirit, or spirit of perversion, that have been re-activated with only one purpose, i.e. to create chaotic control over our minds, will and emotions, and we bind them to the dysfunctional dungeons in hell.
Exalted Father, our GOD of Absolute Freedom, we renounce every sensual stronghold in our lives, and claim deliverance from any negative affection towards anyone, and declare that we are now totally free from every ungodly sexual union. LORD, we declare that we shall maintain monogamy unto our spouses, or we shall remain chastened until we get a spouse.
Father, we thank You for remembering our sins no more, and casting them into the Sea of Forgetfulness. We receive Your Forgiveness, and thank You for cleansing us from all sins we committed against Your Temple.
We praise and thank You JESUS’ Holy name, AMEN!

‘I AM WHO I AM’

 Exodus 3:14 - And God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”…

 Whatever your challenge is today, whether it is physical, emotional, financial or marital, the great I Am declares to you: “I am to you what you need Me to be.”

Do you need healing? He says, “I am the Lord who heals you. (Exodus 15:26) And as you believe Me, you will see your healing manifest thirty-fold, sixty-fold and a hundredfold.”

Are you groping in the dark, not knowing what to do? He says, “I am the light of the world. (John 8:12) When you walk in Me, you will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Are you looking for a way out of a bad situation? He says, “I am your deliverer. I will reach down from on high, take hold of your hand and draw you out of the deep waters.” (Psalm 18:2, 16)

Are you wondering if there is more to life than merely existing from day to day? He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25) I came to give you life. And where there is life, there cannot be death. You will have life and life more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Are you fearful of what is ahead of you? He says, “I am the good shepherd (John 10:11), who leads you to pastures of tender, green grass and waters of rest. You will not suffer lack.” (Psalm 23:1–3)

Are you confused by the opinions and reports of man? He says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. (Revelation 1:11) I have the final word in your life. The doctors do not have the final word. The experts do not have the final word. I have the first word and the last word in your situation.”

My friend, do not be fearful of the problems you face. The great I Am declares to you, “Fear not! For I am to you what you need Me to be!”

The Anointing - by Kingsley Kwakye

The Anointing

Are you so desperate for the anointing? these are some few points which will help you.

 

1  1. The price of obedience.

There is power in the presence of the Holy Spirit and there is a price we each must pay for it. The presence of the Holy Spirit leads us to live in the power of the anointing if we are willing to pay the price of obedience.

·        What is the price? Acts 4:13: "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus."

·        That is the key—to be with Jesus—over and over and over, constantly, not just a few minutes a day, not just occasionally.

·        The presence and the anointing. Example, the glory of God came out waiting in the presence of God as it was seen on the face of Moses (ex 34:35).

2.     The Leadings of the Holy Spirit daily.

The Holy Spirit is the carrier of the presence and the power of God. It’s the Holy Spirit that releases the anointing of God. The Bible says that you shall have power when Holy Spirit shall come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me. (Acts 1:8)

Holy Spirit can lead you to experience the fullness and the power of the Godhead each and every day.

We must pray for the leadings of the Holy Spirit everyday blessed day. “We should tell God not to take his Holy Spirit from me”.

I would rather die than face a future without Your touch on my life.

·        The Holy Spirit also teaches us how we can have an intimate relationship with God. The made Paul to say that “I may know him and the power of his resurrection (Phil 3:10)”.  Our goal is to deepen the relationship with God and to grow to a greater dimension of the anointing.

·        If we are not lead by the Holy Spirit, we take a longer time in receiving the anointing. How did the Israelites go through three days journey in forty years? It was either they were walking in circles or they were not moving at all. They also complained throughout their journey. Complaining blinds us from see the directions of the Holy Spirit. (Ex 16:2).

3.     The desire to know God.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8). It's time to do that. It's time to say, "Here I am, Holy Spirit. Come. Walk with me. Help me receive what the Father has for me. Help me hear what the Lord is saying."

Be assured that your desire can be fulfilled. You cannot know the power of God's anointing until you experience the presence of God. The presence of God is more than a mere "Goosebumps". Because the "Goosebumps” experience is always short lived but the experience in presence of God is endless. There are different levels in the presence of God one in the level of “the blanket of love”. In this level you can literally experience the love of God which surpasses all understanding.

4.     Death to self.(Revelation 12:11)

The anointing comes with a responsibility. The anointing comes for service so if we receive and we do not give we become stagnant in the level we are we do not grow in God. The only way we can grow in the anointing is to serve with it. The anointing is not for our self-gain, we must have in mind ‘others first our self-last. In other serve well we must die to self, we must be willing to lay down our lives for the benefit of others. The anointing of the servant is a self-death anointing defending those God has entrusted in your hand by all means both spiritual and physical. This cannot be done without imitating Christ who showed us of how it can be done.    

5.     Anointing through intersection.

Praying for our spiritual fathers, mentors, church leaders and elders course the Lord to release a particular anointing upon your life. Love anointing is also into once life when he intercedes for a particular people or personalities and most of times it is the anointing of favor.        

6.     Casting down arguments (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

We argue with the Holy Spirit and question the direction he gives us. Our thoughts should be guided by the word of God.