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Holy Ghost Revelation 1Co 3:1-12 “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ. (2) I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able. (3) For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (4) For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal? (5) Who then is Paul, and who [is] Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? (6) I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (7) So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. (8) Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. (9) For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, [ye are] God's building. (10) According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. (11) For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (12) Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;” The entire book of First Corinthians was written to instruct Christians who feed only on the milk, not the meat of the Word. Paul says they are carnal. Here is what it means: a mind not yet capable of really receiving, discerning, and understanding spiritual matters. Verse 3 tells us what constitutes carnality. You don’t have to be a super Christian to understand that if envying, strife and divisions exist among a group, they are walking as carnal men. The more kindly we treat people, the more we let God love others through us and the more real His presence becomes to us. Notice that in verses 4-5 Paul also tells us about being carnal. Paul is telling us not to compare the ministry results of this one or that one, because every man has a ministry and only God knows how it has impacted another’s life. (vrs.6) “But God gave the increase.” Paul was trying to get the church to look past the ministry of men and to focus on the ministry of the Holy Spirit within – He is the only ministry that can truly transform a life and cause a person to walk in Biblical truth. Another way of saying what Paul has said is this: “Although I have sown and Apollos has watered, it is God who must come and work inside of you to give you the increase.” Paul deals with important issues throughout the book: brothers in Christ suing one another; marriage problems; the offices and anointings of the church; walking in the love of God; the resurrection of the dead, and communion. And Paul says these are all under the category of “the milk of the Word.” BUT, they still have to be spiritually discerned. All preaching can do is lay out the plan of God. If you don’t allow the Holy Spirit’s ministry in you to transform you according to what is said, then the principles you hear won’t bring forth a change. Where does that leave you (vrs.7-11)? Scripture says, you are lively stones in a vast spiritual structure called the building of God. As a lively stone, you are called to fulfill a unique ministry as a co-laborer in the Body of Christ, always building on the foundation that Paul laid as a wise master builder - the revelation of “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1 Cor.2:2) So how does what I do every day measure up to the ministry that God has given me? Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to take over what I do on a regular basis? You see, I can give you words of wisdom, I can tell you what I think the Lord is saying, I can teach you about God and love and the giftings. BUT, I cannot give you the anointing and the equipping for your individual life as a lively stone in the building of God. You are going to have to go to God for what NO MAN CAN GIVE YOU. It is the Holy Ghost and His personal involvement on the inside of you that brings the increase. My ministry ends with giving you knowledge. I sow into the Kingdom and water you with instruction, but I cannot give you the increase. Only God can do that. There is no other foundation than the one I have laid. When your life begins to take shape through ministry and you are contributing to the Body of Christ, you become placed as another layer to God’s building. But you must take heed how you build upon the foundation that I have already preached to you. Don’t minister that which produces only wood, hay, and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12). Go to the source of life – Jesus the revelator. {I believe we are primed for ministry with all that is happening in this country.} Paul wanted the church to grow up and learn how to tap into the same source of revelation knowledge he had found. He wanted to encourage the church to take their Christianity beyond a carnal walk of the senses into a personal knowing relationship with God. IF YOU CAN RECEIVE THIS TRUTH, YOU DON’T HAVE TO REMAIN CARNAL. No one can give you an anointing. No one can give you a calling. You can be taught about the ministry and about joy, and peace and righteousness in the Holy Ghost; but you cannot be given spiritual treasures except through the power of the Holy Spirit. A mystery is not a novel with a surprise ending. A mystery is not telling you something you have never heard before. A mystery is that which is made real in your spirit, producing life. This is now what God is doing in His church. It is not about head knowledge, but about revelation knowledge that sets you on fire – a fire burning in your belly that can’t be put out. You have to share it. You have to minister it. You have to give it away to someone in need. There are mysteries being released upon the body of Christ like nothing the church world has ever known. But it is only received by those who will YIELD to the Holy Spirit in obedience to Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:7-8) The Holy Spirit is commissioned to take the wisdom of God – the same wisdom that was hidden in God in a mystery since the foundation of the world – and reveal it to us. The Old Testament saints were only given a glimpse of this hidden wisdom. There is a mystery? It is what the Holy Ghost does! Heb.8:11 tells us we are to be taught directly by the Holy Spirit concerning spiritual life: “And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.” Every one of us, from the least to greatest, can know God because the Holy Spirit who dwells within us is continually searching the deep things of God with the intention of revealing them to us. NOW, how do we get these deep things to come out and change us? The answer is found from Paul’s life. What did he do that was so different from anyone else who was filled with the Holy Spirit in his day? (1 Corinthians 14:18) Paul had more revelation knowledge than anyone else of His day – because for personal edification and more than anyone else, he prayed in tongues. There is a spiritual link between tongues and revelation knowledge. The spiritual link between praying in tongues and revelation knowledge is in understanding the word “mysteries.” Both in 1 Corinthians 2:7 and 1 Corinthians 4:1 we see the answer: A steward is an administrator. In order to be a good steward of the mysteries of God, he had to protect those mysteries against infiltration of false doctrine and legalism. He did this by praying in the Holy Ghost with a heavenly language. I Corinthians 14:2 - mysteries again - The moment you start praying in tongues, you put yourself in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit bypasses your flesh, soul, mind and goes right to your spirit. He starts by speaking a new language that is a mystery. Mystery = divine secret. These are not secrets that cannot be told; they are secrets that have been hidden from your being – not something heard but experienced Other definitions: “…that which can only be made known by those who are illuminated by His Spirit.” (Vines) These mysteries are not for God’s benefit. Therefore, they must be for ours. (John 16:13) The Holy Spirit speaks only that which He hears. His commission is to glorify Jesus by receiving truth from Him and then transferring those mysteries of Christ from His understanding to ours through a supernatural language. Heb.7:25 tells us Jesus as our high priest “ever lives to make intercession” for us. So the Spirit hears the intercession Jesus is making for us and then pours it through our spirit as we pray in other tongues. That is why your faith is increased every time you pray in tongues. The reason you are edified is that you are speaking the same mysteries Paul wrote about: the mysteries of healing, righteousness, and redemption. You are praying what Jesus has already said and God answers them as He does all of Jesus’ prayers. And as long as you allow your spirit man to express these mysteries, eventually they will manifest themselves in your understanding. This frees the Holy Spirit to move on your mind with revelation knowledge, insight, wisdom and understanding of spiritual matters so you can live the fullest life possible here and now. That is why the devil has removed tongues from most of the church. It is easier to deceive believers than to change them. And if we don’t learn how to walk by the leading of the Spirit, then the devil will continue to mess with our minds and lead us in the wrong direction. The development to discern what is true consists primarily by praying in tongues. And it protects us from deception. The Holy Spirit has come to guide us into ALL truth! (Jn.16:13)
-Pr. Steve
January Newsletter 2007 | Holy Ghost Revelation | Pastor's Journal January 2006 |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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