The Presence and the Power of the Holy Spirit
#theholyspiritseries
(This Weekly Prayer Summary was written by Irene Sentosa, from the CBC English Prayer Ministry Core Team, and edited by Brigitta Tedja)
Pastor Paul continued with the “Holy Spirit” series for the month of June with a sermon entitled, “The Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit.”
In our world today, there is a cultural Christianity that is being promoted in our generation that makes people believe that the person of the Holy Spirit and His active work among people is somehow optional. The truth is Holy Spirit is not an option; the Holy Spirit is God.
We live in an age where people worship the Bible more than the Author. In other words, we have learned to read words, yet we have just never learned to hear the voice of the Author! If you just take time to read the Bible, open your heart and listen, the Holy Spirit will speak to you because everything that is written in the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
There are 3 different kinds of Christians:
Those who do not read the Word of God at all
Those who read the Word of God, but they only take it as academic/education/knowledge and are not really experiencing what is written in the Bible
Those who do not only read the Word of God, but they also meditate, study, obey the words and experience the real substance of the Word of God
Which one are you?
There has never been a time when the Holy Spirit was not active in the earth. For the intentions of God to be accomplished, the power of the Spirit has to be present. The Holy Spirit has been present since creation:
Genesis 1:1 NKJV: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
How come the earth was formless, void, and dark? Every time God created something, His work is always perfect. So, something must have happened in between verses one and two.
The Bible mentioned that there was a rebellion in heaven. God had Satan cast to the earth and that was when all the chaos and confusion started. The earth became full of void, darkness, and emptiness.
“Then the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Another translation says, “And the Spirit of God was fluttering over the waters.” It is the term that was used to denote [indicate] how a bird would hover over its young or over its nest.
If you feel like your life is in chaos, in the darkness; you feel like you are in a tunnel and it is so dark, or you are confused – know that the Holy Spirit is hovering over you right now; He is going to touch you spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and renew you.
God will never leave you in a dark place, He will never leave you in an empty place, and He will never leave you without a form or without a purpose.
In Genesis 1:28, in order for the redemptive process to take place, God said to Adam and Eve, "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth…"
The word “re” is a prefix which means to plant it again.
God does not want us to get frustrated by the chaos, because His spirit is hovering over our chaos. Whatever situation or chaos you are facing will begin to come into order; what is empty, will become full; what is formless will begin to take shape; when there is no way God will make a way. Darkness shall flee with the light that comes.
The Old Testament is all pictures. It is a narrative. It is telling a story in pictures.
Genesis 8:6-12, NKJV: ”So, it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So, he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself. And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. So, he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore.”
Raven eats dead things, and not much of God's things. Flesh was still alive.
There was still the presence of iniquity in the midst of man, so the dove kept on flying and it could not find any place to rest until one day it came back with an olive leaf in her mouth.
This story was a revelation of what was happening later on in Matthew 26:36 when Jesus came with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane to pray:
Gethsemane means “oil press” in Hebrew and the Garden of Gethsemane was full of olive trees.
Anointing oil is made out of olives and in order to make the oil, the olives needed to be pressed and crushed.
When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He felt like He was being pressed, crushed, squeezed, yet He yielded to the will of God and then the Holy Spirit came.
John 1:32, NKJV: “And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.”
John baptized hundreds of people, so how did he know which one is the Messiah?
When the dove came down from heaven upon Jesus, he knew that Jesus is the Messiah. His kingdom was coming right there.
Isaiah 64:1, NKJV: “Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence.”
This prophecy was fulfilled about 740 years later when Jesus was crucified and died on the cross and the veil was torn apart. God opened heaven for all of us so that we, as the believers, can experience an open heaven.
Luke 1:35, NKJV: “And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 3:16, NKJV: “John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Only Jesus can baptize us with Holy Spirit and fire. The fire from heaven purifies and cleanses us. It is powerful. On the contrary the fire of hell will destroy us.
Acts 1:4-8, NKJV: “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
The disciples had been with Jesus for three and half years and saw lots of miracles, yet Jesus asked them to wait for the promises of the Father.
Therefore, it is so important for us to learn to wait when we spend time in the word of God and in prayer because we need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Do not rush.
We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and every one of us needs to walk together demonstrating the gift of the Holy Spirit at wherever place God puts us.
Pride Month
The whole month of June has been nationally dedicated as Pride Month. The following passages are the Word of God that is written for us to search ourselves so that with the understanding we will operate with the Holy Spirit and we will be able to operate with grace and love.
Leviticus 18:23, AMPC: “Neither shall you lie with any beast and defile yourself with it; neither shall any woman yield herself to a beast to lie with it; it is confusion, perversion, and degradedly carnal.”
Leviticus 20:12-13, AMPC: “And if a man lies carnally with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have wrought confusion, perversion, and defilement; their blood shall be upon their own heads. If a man lies with a male as if he were a woman, both men have committed an offense (something perverse, unnatural, abhorrent, and detestable); they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”
Many people, especially the younger generation nowadays, gets into confusion with their gender identity and we need to understand the following root-cause:
Deception – when people are being deceived, people will begin to get confused. The Bible mentioned on the last days many people will get deceived.
The Fall of Lucifer was due to his pride
Isaiah 14:12-14, NJKV: "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart:
I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most-High.'"
But Jesus died for all of us and all the sinners. He loves those who live in the sin of homosexuality and wants to save them.
Pastor Paul encouraged all of us to join the upcoming Life Talk: Faith & Gender Identity seminar on July 7, 2023 to equip church members from youth, college age and above, on how to navigate the complex issue of gender identity and sexuality in a way that is compassionate, respectful, and is biblically grounded.
When there is confusion all over the world, always remember that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of:
Truth
God, Spirit of the Lord, of the Holy God, the living God
Christ, Jesus, glory
Life
Wisdom
Intelligence
Righteousness
Justice
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Jesus (Isaiah 11:2)
Understanding
Counsel
Might
Knowledge
Fear of the Lord
Grace or unmerited favor
Holiness
Gentleness
Faith
Humility
Prophecy
Prayer Points:
Pray for the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance of any sin or compromises we have in our lives so that we can come to repentance, be cleansed, renewed, filled with Holy Spirit and be “covered by the Holy Spirit.”
If you feel like your life is in chaos, darkness; in a tunnel with no end or you are confused, yield to Holy Spirit and allow Him to touch you spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.
Pray for a renewal and transformation of our mind, healing of heart from past hurt/failures, or what happened to us in the past.
Pray for an increase of love for God’s Word, not just reading His Word, but also to meditate, study, obey, and experience the real substance of the Word of God. Pray that we learn to wait for the promises of the Father.
Pray for all of us to have a fresh new encounter with the Holy Spirit; for us to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and burn with the fire of the Holy Spirit so that we are able to demonstrate the gift of the Holy Spirit in any place or situation God puts us in.
Pray against the spirit of deception and lies from the enemy, that we will not be deceived or manipulated by the enemy. Pray for no more confusion but to gain understanding to know our identity—who God says you are.
Pray for the advancement and building progress of the Ministry Center; for the right strategy that aligns with God’s master plan and no more delays, obstacles, or interruptions.