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soever ye desire, when ye pray,
believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark
11:24 (KJV)
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Heaven's attitude toward your prayers
Equipped with the Holy Spirit
The Spirit of Truth
The Holy Spirit, Our Helper (Parakletos)
Emblems and Symbols for the Holy Spirit
Delivered from the Power of Darkness
The Need for Truth in the Church
The Resurrection of Jesus
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God the Giver
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Aware of & Responding to the Holy Spirit
Owen Walton
www.exceedingfaith.org
Developing an AWARENESS of the Holy Spirit - and RESPONSIVENESS to Him
John 14:16-17
Jesus speaks of SEEING Him AND KNOWING HIM
That's 2 things
It starts with seeing Him though - being aware of Him - recognising Him
The world does not RECIEVE
Him - BECAUSE ( the reason ) they don't see Him - or Know Him
Well - do you think that if a Christian doesn't see or Know Him - they will end up being just like the world and not RECEIVE His ministry in their lives either?
Well - do you think that if a Christian doesn't see or Know Him - they will end up being just like the world and not RECEIVE His ministry in their lives either?
'SEE' here speaks of awareness - recognising and being aware of Him
Many Christians are so 'in the natural' that they have no consciousness of the Holy Spirit
- no awareness of Him in their lives
As a result they have little experience of His Ministry
Most people associate the
Holy Spirit with a 'feeling'
- so when they have the
feeling (eg - in church) - then they feel like God is near etc)
In truth HE is ALWAYS with you and IN you
- whether you FEEL Him or not
You are just not aware of Him
- and therefore not fellowshipping with Him and therefore not experiencing Him in your life daily
In truth HE is ALWAYS with you and IN you
- whether you FEEL Him or not
You are just not aware of Him
- and therefore not fellowshipping with Him and therefore not experiencing Him in your life daily
If we would develop an awareness of His presence with us and IN us,
we would begin to tap more into His ministry in our lives
The Holy Spirit is completely unknown to the majority of Christians
- even 'Spirit filled Christians'- they don't know Him at all
Most people's 'knowing' of the Holy Spirit is limited to what they have OBSERVED in others
- particularly men of God
with 'great anointings'
Few Christians have come to a place of personally knowing Him themselves
If we would begin to understand He is with me TODAY - and IN me NOW - then we would start to learn to look to Him - and find out what HE can do for us daily!
Without that awareness of Him 'with me' and 'In me' - we won't ever move into FELLOWSHIPING with the Holy Spirit - and hearing from Him
John 14:17 - Jesus speaks of SEEING Him AND KNOWING HIM
That's 2 things
It starts with seeing Him though - being aware of Him
- recognising Him
The second one is - KNOWING HIM
The Holy Spirit is a KNOWABLE Person
You can talk to Him, fellowship with Him
Most people are not aware of that!
If you look at the book of
Acts
- you will find that the Christians KNEW the Holy Spirit
He was an active part of their Christian lives
- you will find that the Christians KNEW the Holy Spirit
He was an active part of their Christian lives
You CAN know Him as well as any natural person
He can be REAL to you
2 Corinthians 13:14
This verse is quoted in many churches EVERY WEEK!
Yet - they have no FELLOWSHIP with the Holy Spirit at all!
Communion = fellowship
Fellowship speaks of relationship
- KNOWING someone on an intimate level!
Fellowship speaks of relationship
- KNOWING someone on an intimate level!
This is possible - and we
should be walking in it - but VERY FEW are!
Christians OUGHT to be led by the Spirit of God
We ought to know the voice of God
We ought to be experiencing the move of the Holy Spirit in our lives
God has sent the Holy Spirit to the earth - to be an ACTIVE part of the church on the earth
Yet most people have no or little experience of Him in their lives
Don’t water down the Bible to fit
your experience,
rather believe God to elevate your experience to match
the Bible
We ought to look to the Word to see what it teaches the Spirit Filled Christian Life is
- then believe God to be
raised up to that level!
When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes to LIVE INSIDE you
You are not the only one inside there now!
He's there 24 / 7
He's not just there when you 'feel His presence in church'
That's just when YOU became aware of Him more!
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is when He comes UPON you
There are 2 separate experiences of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life - WITHIN & UPON
We need to understand both - and benefit from both
1 John
2:20
1 John 2:27
1 John 4:4 - He's the GREATER ONE - and HE is IN YOU!
1 John 2:27
1 John 4:4 - He's the GREATER ONE - and HE is IN YOU!
This is NOT just written to PREACHERS or people in ministry - this is for ALL Christians!
'He - the Holy Spirit is IN ME!'
Romans 8:9
According to this - if you do not have the Holy Spirit IN you - you are not even saved!
Now this may worry some people - because they say - I am not sure if I have the Holy Spirit In me - I don't feel Him in there etc....
If you have received Jesus - and been Born Again - then He IS in you - You just may not AWARE of Him being there!
(Remember - The Holy
Spirit comes IN you at New Birth
He comes UPON you at the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
These are 2 SEPARATE experiences - and are spoken of separately in scripture!)
He comes UPON you at the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
These are 2 SEPARATE experiences - and are spoken of separately in scripture!)
You can be Born Again -
and have Him IN YOU
But not yet Baptised in the Holy Spirit - & HE not yet be UPON you
We will teach the Baptism later - but for now - if you are saved, you have the Holy Spirit - IN you
But not yet Baptised in the Holy Spirit - & HE not yet be UPON you
We will teach the Baptism later - but for now - if you are saved, you have the Holy Spirit - IN you
What may be lacking is your own awareness of Him In you!
He is IN you right now
He is IN you when you go to bed and when you wake up
He is In you when you are aware of Him and when you are not
He is IN you when you drive, and In you when you are at work
He is in you when you are talking to friends etc
He is IN you when you go to bed and when you wake up
He is In you when you are aware of Him and when you are not
He is IN you when you drive, and In you when you are at work
He is in you when you are talking to friends etc
1 Corinthians 3:16 ( 6:19 )
'DO YOU NOT KNOW...?'
ie - are you not aware that He is IN YOU?
He's almost shocked or surprised... - DON'T YOU KNOW..?
You can have the Holy
Spirit and have absolutely no awareness of Him at all
That is actually sadly the condition of many Christians!
That is actually sadly the condition of many Christians!
Revelation 2:7
ALL Christians can and should know the Voice of God - and be able to hear and know what God is saying to them
But many don't!
Why should God have to tell Christians - to have ears to hear?
Because although the Holy Spirit IS speaking to us - so often we are completely unaware of Him - and are not listening!
Therefore we don't HEAR Him!
Have you ever tried to talk to someone who is completely ignoring you?
That's what the Holy Spirit faces EVERY DAY with Christians
Not because we are maliciously ignoring Him - but because we are completely ignorant of Him
RESPONDING to the Holy Spirit:
two vital keys to the Spirit filled life
1) Awareness
2) then learning to respond to Him
2) then learning to respond to Him
Most people are not even aware of Him
- so they certainly are not responding to Him!
When He leads - they are
not even aware of the leading - so they don't respond to it
When He prompts them - or wants to move through them in a service in Prophecy
- they are not aware - and don’t respond
When He prompts them - or wants to move through them in a service in Prophecy
- they are not aware - and don’t respond
Most Christians are completely 'unresponsive' - to the Holy Spirit - usually not through intentionally ignoring Him
but usually through being completely ignorant of Him and unaware!
Have you ever had a doctor
'knock' your knee with a rubber hammer to test your reflexes?
What is he looking for?
- a response!
What is he looking for?
- a response!
I met a person once who have completely lost feeling in part of the skin in their knee - you could prick them with a pin and they wouldn't feel it - you could put out a cigarette on their skin - and they wouldn't know it!
No feeling - there was no
awareness in that part of their skin
- and therefore no response to anything that happened there!
- and therefore no response to anything that happened there!
What if there was a completely blind and deaf person here - and I stood in front of them and waved my hands and yelled in their ear - HELLO THERE!!!
They would have no awareness that I was there - and would sit completely unresponsively to me - as if I were not there!
That is how many people are to the Holy Spirit - they are spiritually unaware
- like they were blind and deaf to spiritual things
- and they sit completely
unresponsively to the Holy Spirit - when He
tries to speak tothem - or move in their lives!
We need to grow out of this - and learn to be aware of Him - to SEE Him and HEAR Him - and recognise when HE is speaking and moving and then RESPOND - be responsive!
This is ALL essential if
we are to grow in the Spirit filled Life
Something that doesn't respond is either dead or unconscious!
Many people are completely
unconscious to their spirits - and to
spiritual things
It takes taking the time to DEVELOP your spirit - become aware that you are a spirit - and that there is a spiritual side to you - and that there is Someone else - the Holy Spirit living within your spirit to!
There are a couple of things we need to be deal with to help us be aware of Him:
1)
there is developing an awareness of Him - and getting to know Him -
acknowledge Him daily, think about the fact that He is In me
2) He is IN your spirit - HE speaks to your spirit - not your head.
Romans 8:16
Most people have no awareness of their spirits - they are dominated by their heads - not their hearts - because that is the way natural man lives - as do most Christians!
The Carnal Christian is one who is dominated by the mind, body and flesh. The Spiritual man is dominated by the spirit - this takes developing your spirit and being aware that you are a spirit!
2) He is IN your spirit - HE speaks to your spirit - not your head.
Romans 8:16
Most people have no awareness of their spirits - they are dominated by their heads - not their hearts - because that is the way natural man lives - as do most Christians!
The Carnal Christian is one who is dominated by the mind, body and flesh. The Spiritual man is dominated by the spirit - this takes developing your spirit and being aware that you are a spirit!
Doing more 'spiritual activity' can help you become more aware of your spirit
Worship is a spiritual
activity
- not a mental / physical activity
- many times people get focused on the natural side of it - the sound, the beat of the songs, the speed of the songs etc
what THEY - their head likes and doesn't, but TRUE worship is to be done in the spirit - it's a heart to heart connection with God.
People get focused on the outward demonstration.
these are good - and a part of worship - but you can have it all and not be in the spirit!
Tongues is your spirit praying (1 Cor 14:14) - not you mind. Doing a lot of praying in tongues will help you develop awareness of yoru spirit on a daily basis
Romans 8:14,16 - being LED by the Holy Spirit - being aware of what He is leading and responding to Him - each day and in services
From the Bible study notes of Owen Walton - exceedingfaith.org