Sunday, September 18, 2016

KINGDOM LIVING - HONORING THE HOLY SPIRIT

Dear One,
     Jesus called twelve men to be His disciples, to assist Him in doing His work.  In addition to their ministries of healing the sick, casting out demons and cleansing the lepers, He told them to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, in the near future.   Many people believed; many did not.  John the Baptist had baptized people in water but he had proclaimed that their true Savior would come and baptize them with My Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:11)     
    Jesus was always appreciative of the ministry of John the Baptist.  When John was in prison he sent two of his followers to Jesus to ask if Jesus was truly to whom they had looked forward as the Messiah or should they wait for another.  Jesus told them to tell John that the blind received their sight, the lame walk, the lepers were cleansed, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, and the poor had the good news preached to them. (Matthew 11:2-6)  Jesus told His own followers that, even in John's strange habits, that he was a prophet which prepared the way for Jesus' ministry.
    The next statement from the mouth of Jesus was that until that time there had never been a greater man born than John the Baptist. (Matthew 11:7-11) Yet, He said, a person who is least in My kingdom of heaven is greater than John.  Jesus was prophesying about the coming of My Holy Spirit to live in My children, to be their guide, their strength, their power to overcome evil, their ever constant tutor who would reveal to them the truths in His teachings.  He said that they would be greater than John the Baptist because of My power that would be inside of them. 
    As Jesus continued in His earthly ministry of freeing people from the demons which afflicted them, the Pharisees were threatened at the thought of losing their control over people so they said that Jesus was not casting out demons by His own power but they said that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of the devil Beelzebub.  Jesus gave the people a lecture on a house divided against itself will fall, using as an example the accusations of Him by the Pharisees that He cast out demons from people by the power of the devil.
    Jesus made a more confusing statement to the Pharisees, but His followers believed Him because they had seen His power and believed. (Matthew 12:28)   Jesus proclaimed the power of My Holy Spirit when he said that if He cast out demons by My finger, that being My Holy Spirit, then My kingdom comes upon that person.  He was saying that it is the presence of the devil in the life of a person that keeps My kingdom from becoming present in the life of that person. 
    Then Jesus proclaimed the devil's continued ostracism from My kingdom.  He said that if a person blasphemes Jesus that the person can be forgiven but if My Holy Spirit is blasphemed, then the origin of that blaspheme will never be forgiven, neither in the world nor in heaven.  He was speaking of the devil who is the being who discredits My Holy Spirit at every opportunity.  The devil will never be forgiven for his words which defame My Holy Spirit.  The devil constantly tempts My children to speak negatively against My Spirit but that is not blasphemy.  Blasphemy is attributing the works of My Spirit to the power of the devil.  The devil will never be forgiven for that lie. (Matthew 12;30-32)
     Jesus called the words coming from the mouths of the Pharisees as coming from a generation of vipers.  He asked them how could they be doing anything good, such as healing the sick, since they were evil to the core. (Matthew 12:34)
      Identifying all evil as coming from the devil and all good as coming from Me was the mission of Jesus in this teaching about My kingdom versus the kingdom of satan.  He said to His followers that they must either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt because a tree is known by its fruit. (Matthew 12:33)
      Then Jesus told a truth that must be understood by My children.  He said that a good person brings good things out of his heart, meaning edifying words, and that an evil person brings evil words out of his heart.   He went further to say that you are judged by every word that comes out of your own mouth, and that by your own words you are either blessed or you are cursed. (Matthew 12:35-37) 
      Cleansing your mouth is just as important as when Jesus cleansed the lepers.
     Jesus defended My Holy Spirit and His power that was at work in Jesus.  Some of My children still refuse to accept My powerful good works as coming from My Holy Spirit.  Yet, they attribute storms, wars, destruction, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and other disasters as coming from Me.  They don't know Me.  They also do not know that those destructive actions come from the collective evil words of My own unenlightened children through whom the devil is able to gain permission to do those evil acts in the world.  (James 3:16-18)
      My kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in My Holy Spirit.  Anything that brings conflict, strife, fear and destruction is not from Me.  If something is not loving, peaceful and patient, it is not from Me.  (Romans 14:17-19)
      My Holy Spirit deserves your honor and attention.  He is My spiritual umbilical cord to you.  He is My life in you.  He is the Spirit of the new and final covenant that I have with humans, which is Christ in you, the hope of a glorious life. (Colossians 1:27)
     Your Loving Father of Blessings  

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