SEALED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

SEALED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

John 14:6   ⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

So how can we know the only way to God? Only through Jesus, Jesus is the way because he is both God and man. By uniting our lives with his we are united with God.

Jesus says he is the only way to God the father. Some people may argue that this way is too narrow. In reality it is wide enough for the whole world.

If the world chooses to accept it, instead of worrying about how limited it sounds to have only one way. We should be saying thank you God for providing a sure way to be with you.

As the way, Jesus is our path to the Father, as the truth he is the reality of all Gods promises, as the life Jesus joins his divine life to ours, both now and in eternity.

2 Timothy 2:19   ¹⁹ Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

No matter how many people follow false teachers the solid foundation of Gods truth never changes, it is never shaken and will never fade, when we follow Gods truth. He will never forsake us.

We can not shape the doctrines of scripture to match our opinions. If we do we are putting ourselves and our thoughts above God. Our beliefs should be consistent with what Gods word says.

Ephesians 1:3-7   ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

⁴ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

⁵ Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

⁶ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

⁷ In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

This means that in Christ Jesus we have all the benefits of knowing God, being chosen for salvation, being adopted as his children, receiving forgiveness, insight, the gifts of the spirit, power to do Gods will and the hope of living forever with Jesus. Because we have an intimate relationship with Jesus we can enjoy all these blessings now.

The mystery of salvation originated in the timeless mind of God long before we existed. God chose us and when we belong to him through Jesus God looks at us as if we had never sinned.

2 Corinthians 1: 20-22   ²⁰ For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

²¹ Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;

²² Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

All of Gods promises are fulfilled in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit guarantees that we belong to God and will receive all his benefits. The holy spirit guarantees that salvation is ours now. And that we will receive so much more when Jesus returns.

The great comfort and power the Holy Spirit gives in this life is a foretaste of the benefits of our eternal life in Gods presence, along with the privilege of belonging to God comes the responsibility of identifying ourselves as His faithful servants.

John 3:16-18   ¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Here God sets the pattern of true love. The basis for all love relationships. When you love someone dearly you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice.

God paid dearly with the life of his son. It was the highest price he could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, then offered us the new life that he bought and paid for with his shed blood.

Eternal life is not a extension of a persons mortal life, eternal life is Gods life embodied in Christ, given to all believers as a guarantee that they will live forever. They will have an eternal life, there is no sickness, death, enemies, evil, or sin.

When we don’t know Jesus, we make choices as though this life is all we have. In reality this life is just the introduction to eternity.by receiving this new life by faith we begin to evaluate all that happens from an eternal perspective.

When Jesus talks about unbelievers, he means those who reject or ignore him completely, not those who have doubt about the word being truth.

Ephesians 1:12-13   ¹² That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

¹³ In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

God’s purpose is to offer salvation to the world. Just as he had planned to do long ago. God is sovereign, he is in charge, when your life seems chaotic, rest in His truth. Gods purpose is to save you.

The Holy Spirit is Gods guarantee that we belong to Him and he will do what he has promised. The Holy Spirit in us to demonstrate that our faith is genuine.

It proves that we are Gods children and secures eternal life for us. His power works in us to transform us now by sealing our spirit by his Holy Spirit at the moment we accept His son Jesus as Lord and Savior.

When you do this you will experience a taste of the total change in eternity. If for some reason you decide to ignore Christ as Lord and savior you will be judged at the white throne judgement, here is what Jesus will say to you.

Matthew 7:21-23   ²¹ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

²³ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

He will say to you depart from me for I never knew you.

Jesus really will not know you, think about it!!!

Stay in the word,

Brother Andy

THE SPIRIT AND THE RAINS

THE SPIRIT AND THE RAINS

Everyone knows people on earth couldn’t live without rain. In the desert, life is in the rain. There is another outpouring the scriptures speak of. An outpouring is not only of water but the Spirit of God. The rain of the Spirit.

So, what is the connection between the two; The Spirit and the rain? The rain pours down from the sky and gives life to the land. The Spirit of God pours down from Heaven and gives spiritual life to those who will receive it.

The outpouring of the rain causes barren land to revive and become fruitful. The outpouring of the Spirit causes lives to revive and become spiritually fruitful. What we call the former rain or the outpouring has happened.

Joel 2:23   ²³ Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

Rejoice for the rains He sends are an expression of His grace. The rains of autumn will come as well as the spring. This outpouring of rain was for the land. This rain is called the former rain.

The latter rain is the outpouring of Gods Spirit that will happen sometime later.

Acts 2: 16-17   ¹⁶ But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

¹⁷ And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

All of this was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel. At the day of Pentecost, the spirit of God was poured out on the whole world. This is the latter rain that causes barren lives to bear fruit.

It is the outpouring that produced the book of Acts and changed the history of the world. There has never been another outpouring like it.

There wasn’t just one rain in Israel, there were two different rains. Each with its own name. one was called “Moreh”, the former rain and the other was called the “Malkosh”, the latter rain. One in Autumn and one in spring. Two outpourings, two rains.

So, if there are the two outpourings of rains in the land of Israel, then would it not also follow that there would be two such outpourings of the Holy Spirit in the age.

God promises in the book of Joel to send both the former rains and the latter rains and to pour out His Spirit in the last days.

There must be another outpouring as it was in the former outpouring. So, as in the latter, that which was barren will bear its fruits and that which was dead will come alive again.

Seek the outpouring of His spirit on your life, prepare and receive your latter rains.

Stay in the word,

Brother Andy

The Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost

It is time for us to search our Hearts and see who we are following. Is it The Holy Spirit of our Lord?

            ZACH 4:6    NOT BY MIGHT, NOR BY POWER, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS

Nothing happens in heaven, and/or in earth, that the Holy Spirit is not involved in. He is the spirit of God, He is the one that makes things work in your Christian life.

The Holy Spirit is the one that gives you wisdom. Wisdom you need to use knowledge given to you by God in the correct way.

 He is the comforter that Jesus sent, when He left and went back to heaven.

 He is the light to your path way, and guide for your life.

 He is the one that directs you in the purpose that God has planned for your life.

 JOHN 3: 5-6  EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN OF WATER, AND OF THE SPIRIT, HE CAN NOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

Because which is born, or still in the flesh, will operate in the fleshly manner.

JOHN 4:23-24   ²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

 God is seeking people that will worship Him and seek his righteousness.

 God is a spirit, and when we worship him we must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

 It is the spirit that quickened us according to the word of God. The Holy Spirit gives you more life to your mortal bodies. In this way Jesus might be manifested in your mortal flesh

READ ROM 8: 1   8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

The power of the life-giving spirit who is the Holy Spirit of God, has freed you thru Christ Jesus.

He has freed us from the power of sin that leads to death.

The law of Moses could not save us, because of the sinful nature of mankind.

 God had a different plan, to save us he sent his only begotten son, Jesus the Christ.

 God destroyed sins control over us by giving his son as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

We are no longer caught in that pull to follow our sin nature, but instead to follow the spirit of God

 The ones who are controlled by the Holy Spirit, want to think about the things that please the Father.

The sinful nature of man is always hostile to God. It never obeyed God’s laws and never will. The pull of sins pleasure is to strong for mankind to resist on their own. They need the help of the Father thru Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

That is why people that are not lead by the spirit, will not be able to please God.

READ ROM 8: 16... 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and tells us that we are Gods children. Draws us closer to Him. Through the Holy Spirit we can feel the love of God and Jesus.

 By becoming his children, we will share his treasures, because we are joint heirs with Christ. Everything God gave Jesus is ours too.

1^ST CORR 2:9 SAYS.. BUT AS IT IS WRITTEN, EYE HATH NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NEITHER HAVE ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN….

THE THINGS WHICH GOD HATH PREPARED FOR THEM THAT LOVE HIM

God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit.

 It is all about the leading of Gods Holy Spirit, you must seek out and be filled with the spirit and be led by the spirit of God.

Stay in the word,
Brother Andy

UNDERSTANDING GODS GRACE

UNDERSTANDING GODS GRACE

To understand the grace of God, first you must know why we need Gods grace. When Adam caused sin to come into the world by disobeying God, mankind was separated from the presence of God.

Genesis 3:14   ¹⁴ 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:

Genisis 3:16-19   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.

¹⁷ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

¹⁸ Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

¹⁹ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

God put a curse upon mankind, Adam and Eve’s disobedience had cause them to fall from Gods presence, effecting all creation, including the environment. Because the tree of life was in the garden and eating from it would cause them to live forever they were driven from the garden.

They had separated themselves from the fellowship of God with their disobedience.

God did not want us to eternally be separated from him, but because of his fore knowledge of the events that happened in the garden he already had a plan to re-establish his fellowship with mankind.

He first gave Moses the ten commandments, and the laws. This law said, you do good you get good, you will get blessed. Under the law you could be forgiven your sins but would not be justified.

Your sins under the law was covered by the blood of animals. God had a better plan than the law.

The law was only to teach the Hebrews and to let them know they needed the savior. Out of His awesome love and His loving kindness he sent a savior to regain our relationship with Him.

This Savior, Christ Jesus, came to fulfill Gods purpose for the Jew first, then for all mankind to receive the gift of salvation, redemption. To have all of our sins done away with. Jesus was the final blood sacrifice.

Out of Gods love, kindness and mercy he loved the people so much that he sent his beloved son Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins.

John 3:16-17   ¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

God gave us his Son that if we will believe in Him and accept Him as our Lord and Savior we can have everlasting life thorough Him. Jesus did not come to condemn the people, but that the people might accept Him and be saved.

John 14:6     ⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

This is one and only way to get eternal life and fellowship with God.

After Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, he became grace. He manifested grace for the believer. Grace is a blood covenant that Jesus made possible for believers by his sacrifice. It is a promise of everything heaven has to offer to the believers.

Ephesians 2:4-8   ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

His grace is sufficient for believers and his strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Romans 3:23-24   ²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

²⁴ Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 

Through this covenant of grace, we are justified by Gods grace, justified means freed from sin through Christ Jesus, just as though sin in our lives had never happened.

Thank God for his loving kindness and for having mercy on us, also for manifesting a plan of salvation through his son Christ Jesus.

Grace will set you free, even in these hard times in our world. There is victory through grace thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice. Remember it is by grace we are saved, not by any works that we do.  

Stay in the word,
Brother Andy

IS YOUR MIND WORKING FOR YOU OR AGAINST YOU?

IS YOUR MIND WORKING FOR YOU OR AGAINST YOU?

2 Timothy 1:7   For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

We are spirit, we live in a body, and we have a soul.

Our soul is made up of three parts, our mind, our will and our emotion.

Your mind is what you think with

Your will is what you want

Your emotions are what you act on.

Matthew 22: 37   Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is what the mind does; it is supposed to make the right choices to love the Lord with all your heart.

However, your mind can only do what it is trained or renewed to do.

 We still have a will and emotions to deal with.

Your will is doing what you want it to do, is called the desires of the mind. If we give into the world with our mind we are abandoning the call God has put on our life.

Then comes the emotions, your emotions can really make your day or cause disaster in your day. They are a state of feeling. Feeling happy or feeling anger, but the one that is most dangerous is fear. Fear can lead us to desperation. A lot of bad things can happen to us when we act out of desperation.

Romans 8:15    For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Fear will put you under bondage while anger causes toxins, or poisons to be released into your body.

Ephesians 4:31   ³¹ Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:   

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20   ¹⁹ What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

²⁰ For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Let us talk about our mind: our mind is what we think. Did you ever hear the expression “I gave her or him a piece of my mind?”

Or, I think I am losing my mind:

Or, my mind isn’t what it used to be

It is just mind over matter. I don’t mind and it don’t matter.

That is bad lingo in any language. We need to protect ourselves from the words of our mouth. There is power in the words we speak.  From those words our life is formed.

Eph. 4:23   And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

We need to renew our minds daily, so the enemy can not deceive us. The enemy is very cunning and very smart. Take heed to your selves, that your heart be not deceived.

Eph 2:5   ⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Open your mind and receive the inspired word of God.

Receive this anointing and power from reading and discerning of His word.

Let the word quicken your mind with the life force that makes our spirit alive beyond natural thinking.

If you will let Gods presence in your life, the Holy Spirit will give you insight to put Gods word into action. Gods word will not return void. You must believe you receive.

Romans 12: 2    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.

It is not about your will. It is about the will of God and the renewing of your mind.

Continue daily in Gods word. Fill your mind with the thoughts that God has for you. Turn away from carnal things and accept the word of God as your way of life. The rewards are many, the peace and joy of the word are awesome.

Stay in the word
Brother Andy

LET’S TAKE THE ROAR OUT OF SATAN

LET’S TAKE THE ROAR OUT OF SATAN

1^st John 4:4   Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

There will be no moving into the next dimension that God has for his church, until the saints of God know that they have dominion over Satan.

And take back what the devil has taken from their lives.

All those possessions that Satan has taken from you can be restored.

God is revealing to the body of Christ who they are in him and

What their rights are, and what their power is, in the name of Jesus

Before this take back process can begin, you must first understand how the devil works.

Satan uses deception as his main weapon to steal, rob and destroy.

It is important that you grasp here, that Satan is not the powerful prince of darkness that we have been taught to believe.

He does have deceptive powers, but even they are limited.

 His primary work is… the tool of deception,

An ounce of fear gives Satan just the edge he needs

But Satan is powerless against a word conditioned Christian.

The statement I am about to make is one of the most powerful keys I know toward changing your life. If you begin to absorb this principle, Satan will remain powerless against you.

The only absolute power left on earth is all the power of God that now dwells in you. It is waiting to burst forth and move in this world and change it for Jesus.

Eph 1: 17-19   That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

¹⁸ The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

¹⁹ And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

God wants our eyes opened to this greatness of powers that he has given to us.

Today’s Christians don’t have to put up with the things of past generations.

1^st Peter 5:8   Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

First of all, Satan is not a roaring lion.

Notice the word does not say he is a roaring lion, the word says he performs as a roaring lion.

The only power the devil has is to manifest himself in your mind, with deceptive images.

We say, then how did he get so strong; we gave him this power by bragging on how strong he is.

Remember… the saints shall have whatsoever they say.

Mark 11: 23   For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

There has been too much power breathed into the devil by miss-informed children of God.

We must let people know that the devil is not the roaring lion they think he is.

It is time for Satan to be defused, defanged, and defeated.  Remember all he can do is deceive.

As we speak of him having destructive power, the devil receives destructive power over the Christians that truly believe he has the power of John 10:10

John 10:10   The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The same is true of the stealing power as we speak it we give it to him

The killing power is given to him to take not only our lives as we speak it, but our loved ones lives too. Why?? Because as we speak those words, those words take root in the things of evil.

It is because the power over life and death is in your mouth.

Proverbs 18: 21   Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

We have been giving power and strength to the devil, by the teaching of his power, instead of teaching the ability of Gods power

Roman 13: 1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

It is saying there is no power but God

1^st corr 1:24   But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

There is only one power, Gods power by Christ Jesus… and in His name. Free for us to use, remember Jesus left the power and authority with us.

Stay in the word,

Brother Andy