The Spirit of POWER, LOVE and of A SOUND MIND!

The Power of the Holy Spirit

President Franklin Roosevelt said in his first inaugural address, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” He spoke to a generation of people who genuinely feared for their immediate future. They feared they would lose their property, jobs and the ability to actually feed their families. Things haven’t changed much. We find ourselves TODAY with this impending threat of a NUCLEAR World War and many other WOES that will be taking place upon HUMANITY SOON.

What are your fears?

God wants to help you live a productive life—free from crippling fear. If fear is a daily part of your life, the truth about God’s Holy Spirit is exactly what you need to hear.

God’s Holy Spirit now available

Fearful, uncertain, doubtful—words that describe Jesus’ disciples following His crucifixion. Their Master and Teacher was murdered in brutal and bewildering fashion. Their mission was seemingly at an end.

But these negative emotions were mingled with a new excitement. Jesus, whom they saw crucified, appeared to them and delivered new instructions: “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are embued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). A short time later they assembled for the Feast of Pentecost. As they remembered Jesus’ words, the anticipation must have been palpable. Then, as they were gathered there in Jerusalem: “Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and each one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2-4).

The wait was over. Jesus’ promise was now being fulfilled. They had indeed been given great power from God. His Holy Spirit began to change their lives in highly incredible and tangible ways. This same power is available today for those God is calling to obey Him—it’s available to you right now.

“Perhaps you feel the failure of not being able to overcome your own personal weaknesses. The good news is that you can make the choice to resist sin with God’s help through the Holy Spirit.”

A Spirit of change

God’s Spirit is a spirit of change—of conversion. It’s what enables Christians to begin to develop the character of Jesus Christ in their own lives. We should also choose to develop the spiritual side of life—the character side—first. Then, with sound character, we can handle all of the physical things of life that sometimes challenge us.

What is the Holy Spirit? It’s not a third person in a trinity, as many believe as we have seen in a previous presentation already.

Instead, the Holy Spirit is the essence of God. It’s the essence that both God the Father and Jesus Christ share though they are distinct beings. You see, God is a Spirit (John 4:24)—two Beings consisting of Spirit.

The Bible shows us that the Holy Spirit is also the power of God that can also be projected outwardly from them. It’s what they use to create. This Spirit was the method of creation: “The earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering (working) over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Here we see that the Holy Spirit of God is described as something far more than what you’ve perhaps been led to understand. It’s the power with which God through Christ works His will, not only on the topography of our planet, but in the lives of those who put their faith in Him and ask for His help each day. The Holy Spirit of God is the missing dimension in human lives that will transform people beyond anything you can imagine!

Kindling the Holy Spirit

Do you need help to overcome sin? Do you need faith to conquer fear and to be courageous in life’s trials? The honest answer is yes—we all do. Overcoming sin in particular is something we are incapable of doing of our own will and effort.

What we need is the power of God’s Spirit in our lives.

Have you ever sat by a fire and watched it die down to glowing embers? In time those embers will fade. To rekindle the fire, you have to "stir up" the coals well so oxygen can breathe life back into the fire. Then you can add more wood to it and watch the fire grow into a nice warm blaze again.

God’s Spirit is a very potent power, much like fire. It burns inside of us when we "stir it". The power of the Holy Spirit works in much the same way.

Again, God’s Spirit is a very potent power, much like fire. It has to be nurtured and has to be well “stirred up” to be an effective tool that God uses in order to impart the qualities we need for a successful life.

The apostle Paul mentored a young minister named Timothy in how to nurture the gift of the Holy Spirit: “I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands [a reference to the way that the Holy Spirit is bestowed—see Acts 8:17-19]. For God has not given us a spirit of FEAR, but of POWER and of LOVE and of a SOUND MIND!” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

Notice these elements of the Holy Spirit—power, love, a sound mind. They are all the opposite of fear. Fear is what President Roosevelt was trying to combat when he encouraged the nation that "there was nothing to fear but fear itself." Yet all these years later the same fears remain for many of us.

But God doesn’t want us to live this way. He offers a better way of life. We need to align ourselves with our Creator and His way of life for the real solution to the problem.

A Spirit of power

Think about what God is offering us. First, He offers us POWER. To comprehend and really understand this, we have to understand power differently than what people might think. This power that Paul speaks of in the Bible gives a person confidence about life. And when you do begin to understand that your life has purpose, it brings a contentment that it is a very real power. Knowing why you were born is really the starting point for the power and mastery over yourself. We then need inner strength to maintain focus and act accordingly. This is the kind and type of power that Paul is talking about here in this verse—power over yourself and over your thoughts and actions.

Changing your life in this sort of profound way is challenging to say the least. It would probably be more accurate to say it’s impossible to do it alone!

When God tells us we can have a Spirit of power, this is what He means—power to actually change our lives. God will help us experience this powerful change, but we must take a step in His direction.

The Power of MEDITATION!

A while back now I gave a SERMON on my Radio Show regarding the POWER of the SPOKEN WORD! And I want you to UNDERSTAND and put to good use the power of “VISUALIZATION” thru MEDITATION!

In the book of Jeremiah Chapter 33:3 we read a very WONDERFUL promise from God: “Call unto Me (in prayer) and I will answer you (in Bible Study), and show you GREAT and MIGHTY things, which you know NOT (in your meditation!)” And in Hebrews 11 the so called: “FAITH CHAPTER” we read in verse ONE that: “Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things NOT YET SEEN” So What Does That Mean? Well it SIMPLY and PLAINLY means that in order to meditate and bring things into EXISTENCE we got to have FAITH FIRST! Notice what Jesus Says about this in Mathew 17: verses 14-21: “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to Him a certain man, kneeling down to Him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is a lunatic, and (greatly) sore vexed: for often (there are) times he falleth into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus (in great astonishment) answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I (have to) suffer you? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said (this) unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, that if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and NOTHING shall be IMPOSSIBLE unto YOU! Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”

Now notice Mathew the 21st Chapter verses 18 thru 22: “Now in the morning as He returned into the city, He hungered. And when He saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon that the fig tree is withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And ALL things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

In the book of James Chapter 4 verses 1-10 we read: “From whence come wars and fighting (quarrels) among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust (desire), and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (and carnal, fleshly desires). Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity (hostile) with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the (HOLY word) and scripture saith in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteh to envy? But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteh the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands (from sin), ye sinners; and purify your hearts (your minds), ye "double minded". Be afflicted (with fasting) and mourn, and weep (with a very sorry, repentant sorrowful heart and mind): let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of God the Lord, and He shall lift you up.”

So How Do We Humble Ourselves before God? Well, we do this when we pray, when we study His Word, fast and MEDITATE! And when we meditate we must deeply and profoundly think and contemplate on the things and on the words that we have read in God's Word: THE BIBLE. And we begin to open our minds to the HOLY SPIRIT of God in our minds as it connects with our HUMAN SPIRIT and we are at "ONEMENT" with God! Then this way we can truly let our loving heavenly FATHER walk inside our minds along with the SON His SPOKESMAN the logos, and we enter into that “ZERO POINT” in our brain (which mystics and occultists refer to as the "Perineal Gland" where we begin to become ONE with the SUPREME CREATOR and we begin to step into the very “SHEKINAH” GLORY OF GOD! This is the point in time where ANYTHING is POSSIBLE!

In John 14: verses 12-14 we read: “Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (Remember) If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” So ONLY when we pray by FAITH do we MANIFEST and CREATE A NEW REALITY!

Jesus said: “Behold I make ALL things NEW” (Rev, 21:5). And it is precisely when we are at “ONEMENT” with God in the DEEPEST part of our mind in this GREAT contemplation a very PROFOUND meditation of His Word that we can create our very own “REALITY” as ONE with GOD!

Notice what is written in Psalms, 37 verses 4-5: “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart (mind) Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.”

You see when you DELIGHT yourself in the very presence of God in MEDITATION you feel GREAT PEACE, JOY, LOVE and the POWER to CREATE ANYTHING YOU SO DESIRE!

You see Jesus said in Mathew 19:26 that “With men things are IMPOSSIBLE but with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!”

So we need to realize that the minute we enter into a state of MEDITATION and CONTEMPLATION with GOD We will CREATE INTO EXISTENCE a “NEW” REALITY! And will MANIFEST and bring about ANYTHING we so DESIRE! Because we are at ONE with the “FATHER” and THE WORD!

So what kind of things are we ought to meditate upon when we are in that “ZERO POINT” of God’s presence? Well the Bible gives us the ANSWER to this question in Philippians 4:8-9:

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are TRUE, whatsoever things are HONEST, whatsoever things are JUST, whatsoever things are PURE, whatsoever things are LOVELY, whatsoever things are of GOOD REPORT (like the GOOD NEWS of the Kingdom of God); if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think (just contemplate and meditate) on these things.”

THE “SUPERPOWERS” OF THE “TRUE” CHILDREN OF GOD:

We live in a society that has been for aeons and millennia EXTREMELY fascinated with “SUPERHEROES” and individuals which possess some very extraordinary and unusual SPECIAL “SUPERPOWERS” and SUPERNATURAL abilities.

Hollywood continues to feed and to bombard us with this particular fascination with all sorts of movies based on comic book strip figures like: FLASH, GREEN LANTERN, IRON MAN, SUPERMAN, BATMAN, X-MEN, SPIDERMAN, INCREDIBLE HULK, FANTASTIC FOUR, etc. I remember as a young kid how I would collect all these type of comic books and one of my favorite was “TARZAN: LORD OF THE APES” who was greatly immortalized in the 1930s by the legendary actor Johnny Weissmuller on the silver screen. And I loved the NEW remake they did on the BIG screen in the 80s based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

When it comes to the BIBLE who does not know the story of Samson? The great man of God with AMAZING supernatural strength given to him by God thru his HOLY SPIRIT because of his Nasserite vow which he had by letting his hair grow.

Let me clarify here that the power he had was not on his hair per say but rather on his obedience to God by keeping this kind of vow and having his hair long that the SPIRIT OF GOD CAME MIGHTILY UPON HIM the Bible says and gave him SUPERNATURAL STRENGTH!

One of my favorite movies of ALL TIME as I’ve mentioned many times is THE TEN COMMANDMENTS I found it rather fascinating and amazingly INCREDIBLE how an ordinary man like Moses with God's help would have the ability to do just about many AMAZING and ASTONISHING things by his rod and staff like THE OPENING OF THE RED SEA! WOW THAT WAS POWERFUL STUFF! And every time he would do some of those GREAT miracles and feats he would say: “BEHOLD, THE POWER OF THE LORD!”

So as TRUE Christians we need to realize and UNDERSTAND and be reminded of from time to time that we can truly “BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE LORD” in our own walk with God every day and that we have the same power and abilities the GREAT men of God did through HIS SPIRIT! THIS MY FRIENDS IS THE KEY!

And I want to show you that we are “potential God super beings with God and his son” we were made in His image and likeness to one day be born into His DIVINE FAMILY: “ELOHIM” and we shall possess then the very powers of God!

Having Jesus our elder brother as our pioneer and as "the FIRSTBORN of many brethren" as the Bible says and He was born of God and a human virgin which is pretty much like Hercules was born from Zeus and a human mother according to Satan’s counterfeit tale of this in Greek mythology and fables. The comic story of SUPERMAN is another type of euphemism which makes this comparison with the story of our Savior. As you recall KAL EL (SUPERMAN) was sent by his Father JOR EL to the Earth from a heavenly planet just like Jesus was sent from his Father in HEAVEN! And this off course is Satan’s way of creating a sort of SUPER HUMAN BEING like Christ! Unlike Christ this "SUPERHERO" does not walk on water but is able to fly, stop bullets with his teeth and also has thermal vision and amazing strength like Samson! But did you know that JESUS who is our TRUE and REAL SUPERHERO, left us a gift when he returned to HEAVEN? He left for us “THE COMFORTER” his HOLY SPIRIT! And with his SPIRIT in us we can be GREATER than all the fictional superheroes combined!

Let me just show you THE SUPERPOWERS OF THE TRUE CHILDREN OF GOD:

1. INVINCIBLE SHIELD AGAINST ALL FORMS OF WEAPONS! Psalm, 91:1-7 and Isaiah, 54:17

2. IMMUNITY AGAINST ALL KINDS OF DECEASES AND VIRUSES! Psalm, 91:6, 10.

3. POWER AND DOMINION OVER ALL ANIMALS! Genesis, 1:28, Psalm: 91:13.

4. IMMUNITY AGAINST POISONOUS ANIMALS AND DRINKS! Mark, 16:18.

5. POWER OVER DEMONS AND AUTHORITY TO CAST THEM OUT! Mark, 16:18.

6. THE POWER TO HEAL ALL KINDS OF ILLNESS AND INFIRMITIES! Mark 16:18.

7. THE POWER TO RESURRECT THE DEAD! John, 14:12

8. SUPERNATURAL STRENGTH! Judges,16, 2 Timothy 1:7

9. THE ABILITY TO MANIPULATE MATTER WITH OUR MINDS! Mathew, 21:21, Mark, 11:23.

10. POWER TO CONSUME PEOPLE WITH FIRE FROM OUR MOUTHS! Jeremiah, 5:14, Revelation, 11:5.

AND DON’T FORGET THE BEST POWER OF ALL THAT WE DO POSSES:

“THE POWER OF THE TONGUE” as we find in James 3 and I already spoke to you about THE POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD IN A PREVIOUS PODCAST so let’s go ahead and use these powers that God has given to us by FAITH!

FOR THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH THE BIBLE SAYS!

A Spirit of love

The apostle Paul next describes the Holy Spirit as a Spirit of love. Love is a very DEEP concept much misunderstood today. Love is too often understood only in a romantic context. While that can be part of the meaning, it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what love is all about. To understand love we must look to how God defines it.

On one occasion, the Pharisees gathered around Jesus. One of them, a lawyer, tested Him with a question, saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matthew 22:36). Christ’s reply went DEEP to the heart of what God requires. He said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 22:37-40).

Yet to love God and others to this depth, means remaining truly loyal, obedient and really faithful to God’s commandments (1 John 5:3), requires something we don’t naturally have. Rather, God’s love is “poured into our hearts (our minds) through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5, Newly Revised Standard Version). We need the power from the Holy Spirit to transform us into people capable of a deep, godly love.

The Bible’s Definition of Love

In 1 Corinthians, 13 (known as the “love” chapter) the Apostle Paul shows us the TRUE traits and REAL definition of LOVE:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I AM become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand ALL mysteries, and ALL knowledge; and though I have ALL faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have no love, I AM nothing.

And though I bestow ALL my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.

Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly (or rudely), seeketh not its own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth ALL things, believeth ALL things, hopeth ALL things, and endureth ALL things. LOVE NEVER FAILS!” 1 Corinthians, 13:1-8.

The Apostle John (the beloved apostle of love) tells us this in 1 John, 4:7-13, 16-19: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God towards us (Please see John 3:16), because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him (by His Spirit). Herein is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to also love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us (through His Holy Spirit), and His love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.

God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in Him.

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, because He first loved us.”

A Spirit of soundness of mind

Lastly, Paul writes that God’s Spirit enables us to have a sound mind. When we have a sound mind through the Spirit, we’re able to bring our thoughts under control and become subject to the life-giving direction of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote of this in another letter:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down all strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Do you have “arguments” against God? Maybe you think God isn’t fair, or that He doesn’t hear you when you call out to Him. Maybe you’re disappointed He hasn’t answered your heartfelt prayers.

Living according to God’s Spirit means jettisoning our own personal concepts of God. It means viewing Him as He really is and ourselves as we really are.

Paul challenged Christians of his time to tear down any contrary thought about God and His sovereignty over all life and bring every thought into captivity to Christ. This requires a self-disciplined mind molded by the Holy Spirit.

So as fearful, frightening, and as terrifying and as scary as this CRAZY world has become, please keep always in mind specially those of you who are Christ's that we should NOT FEAR ANYTHING!

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a SOUND MIND!" 2 Timothy 1:7

Transformed by the Spirit

After Paul’s miraculous encounter on the road to Damascus, he went through a very important process. Paul was baptized, and he received the gift of the Holy Spirit. From that moment forward, his life had a true, godly focus. He later wrote about the process of transformation he had gone through himself.

He wrote it so that we could understand the power that’s available to us.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).

Before Paul was baptized and received the Holy Spirit, he struggled with his own inherited view of God. When he began to walk by the Holy Spirit, he experienced a completely new approach to life. Paul’s experience can truly be summed up by paraphrasing what he wrote in Romans 8:5-8:

“I thought I was a good person, pleasing God. Then I realized I was just another man like everyone else, struggling with life by my own works. But my mind was not completely right with God. Something was lacking, and it wasn't until I took the necessary step toward God, that life was no longer futile. As long as I was trying to do it all alone I could not please God.”

Are you at this point? Do you feel something is missing? Perhaps you feel the failure of not being able to overcome your own personal shortcomings. The good news is that we can make the choice to resist sin, and with God’s divine help through the Holy Spirit we can actually overcome sin.

The difference between the old Paul and the new Paul was the Spirit of God.

Notice how he explains it: “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9, NIV, 1984).

Live a changed life through the Holy Spirit

To be a Christian, we must have more than just a profession of belief or faith. We must have the Holy Spirit. There is no shortcut to true Christianity. And to receive this gift, we must repent. This means turning from sinful actions to obeying God and His Word. The life of a committed Christian requires that we go above and beyond the exact literal wording of God’s law and strive to follow its underlying intent.

Christ said that lusting after someone is the same as adultery. Even more, hating someone is equivalent to murder (Matthew 5:21, Matthew 5:28). He described the deeper, spiritual dimension of the law.

Paul understood, through his own life, how to rise above himself and his past and how to change and grow into a different person. Is this what you want for your life?

Paul writes: “Therefore…we have an obligation—but it is not (an obligation) to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body (the flesh), you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of son-ship” (Romans 8:12-16, NIV, 1984).

The Holy Spirit frees us from fear and enables a transforming relationship with God. When we are led by that Spirit we can experience a true settled, confident, joyful and successful life.

We have the love and power of God leading us. We have a life framed by sound character that leads us to make wise choices with all the details of our life.

Have you repented of your sins? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior? Have you followed His example in being baptized? Have you had hands laid on you by one of His ministers with prayer that the Holy Spirit be bestowed on you?

Unless you have followed the biblical steps of repentance,baptism and the laying on of hands, you may not have God’s Spirit.

It doesn’t mean you’re not sincere. But God is clear that He expect us to carefully follow the example of Jesus and His apostles.

The fears that gripped society during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency still echo in our modern world. The fact is, times of trial and difficulty have been and always will come up. We can’t escape all of life’s negative circumstances. What we can escape is the fear that comes from not having a real sound confidence and the true love from our Creator that helps us truly live a transformed life of power, love and a sound mind!