It is no secret that the New Testament Church had great power from God that resulted in turning the wrong side up world upside down which made it right side up. Every church since that day was to do the same thing–preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, cast out devils and heal the sick in heart and body. There are many Old Testament prophecies that point to this lifestyle, but let’s look at the one in Isaiah, chapter sixty one.
The first verse here is a prophecy that we will see fullfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 4:18. This verse tells us why the Holy Spirit comes upon a person. Because He hath anointed him to do some things. I believe, as did Bro. Manley Beasley and Dr. Jack Hyles, that there is a difference between the Holy Spirit within and the Holy Spirit upon. As Bro. Beasley stated, the Holy Spirit within is for character and the Holy Spirit upon is for power or authority. The same Holy Spirit, but two different ministries. When we receive the Lord Jesus as our Saviour, the Holy Spirit comes into our Spirit, gives us a new birth, and seals us with Himself. When we begin to obey God, the Holy Spirit comes upon us to give us power to be witnesses unto our Lord Jesus Christ. Dr. Hyles has an excellent book Meet the Holy Spirit that can be ordered from First Baptist Church, Hammond, Indiana, that explains this very well. Dr. John R. Rice also has a very good booklet on how Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit that you can order from Sword of the Lord that speaks of the importance of baptism as the first step of obedience to the new Christian.
Here we see the anointing is given for the following reasons:
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First of all to preach good tidings or “good news” unto the meek. Prideful man will not receive good news that he might be saved, because he believes he can make it on his own. Only the poor in spirit can be delivered by the Deliverer
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Next, the anointing, or the Holy Spirit upon, is given to bind up the brokenhearted. What a wonderful ministry this is. The anointing is given to proclaim liberty to the captives and to open the prison to them that are bound.
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Finally, the prophecy that our Lord Jesus quoted in Luke 4:18 tells us that the anointing was given to preach the acceptable year of our Lord.
The second part of verse 2 begins a prophecy about the Israelites or Jews that takes them into the millennium under the same anointing of the Holy Spirit. There will be thousands of Jews saved during the tribulation period after the Church is raptured and taken to the Judgment Seat of Christ. This is preparation for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which weds the Church to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Although verses 2b through verse 11 are to the Jewish people, there are portions that fit the New Testament Church as well. (The blueprint for the Christian life is seen in Israel. Egypt is a type of the world. Pharaoh is a type of the devil.) The Israelites were delivered one way and that was through the Blood of the Lamb. That blood was put over the post and the lintel which symbolizes the Cross of our Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world. Remember that Jesus Christ was slain before the foundation or the world in the heart of God.
When delivered from Egypt they came to the Red Sea, which shows us baptism. Pharaoh and his army were on the Israelites trail to try to get them back in bondage. When Moses led them through the Red Sea (which typifies baptism), Pharaoh (the devil) and his army (demons) were all drowned in the Red Sea. The Israelites met the devil typed out in Amalek in the wilderness. This shows us the devil in war, but Pharaoh, the devil in bondage was left under the sea. This is one reason that New Testament baptism is very important and we’ll see this further when we get to the book of Acts. After the Red Sea, the Israelites went into the wilderness to come to the end of their self-sufficiency. When they came to the end of themselves, they went through Jordan which is death to self and went into Canaan, a land to possess.
Canaan is not Heaven. There are no giants in Heaven and no war in Heaven. God took them out in order to take them in. And so we see Egypt, Pharaoh, the Red Sea, the Wilderness, the Jordan River, and Canaan as the blueprint for the Christian life. The New Testament Church is to follow this pattern, end up in our Canaan, and possess the land in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is happening today in a few churches. Yes, there are churches today that really affect their area for God. I believe one reason there are not more doing this is because they haven’t seen that we are anointed by the Lord Jesus with the Holy Spirit.
Let me encourage you to read the rest of this chapter and you will see what else happens under this mighty anointing of the Holy “Spirit. The Jews in the millennium will have beauty for ashes, joy for mouning, and the garment of praise. They will be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, and He will be glorified. They will build up the old waste, raise former desolations, repair waste cities and in verse 5, they will prosper greatly. They will be named the priest of our Lord, the minister of our God and eat the riches of the Gentiles. (The New Testament saints are Kings and Priests and Ministers also.) The Church is described as a holy priesthood in 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Because the Church has this authority today, we can obey our Lord Jesus when He said, “…………. all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and , lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. A’men. ” This is what is happening here at North Love Baptist Church in Rockford, Il. with Pastor Dr. Paul Kingsbury and the people of God. With ministries like Reformers Unanimous, the Church is affecting the entire world as a local New Testament Church is supposed to do. Glory to God.
The Anointing in the New Testament
The Lord Jesus was baptized in Luke 3:21. This is when He was anointed for service. He already had the Holy Spirit within, but at His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily shape like a dove. I do not know how this bodily shape materialized, but I believe the term like a dove tells us it was very gentle like a dove. The manifestation was such that John saw the Holy Spirit coming on the Lord very gently. I believe this will be very important later on in this booklet.
The next step was to be led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil for 40 days. (Remember in the blueprint that the wilderness came after the Red Sea.)
In Luke 4:16, we find the Lord Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath day as was His custom. The book of Isaiah was given to Him as He stood up to read. In verse 18 and 19 He read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
The Bible is the progressive revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the Holy Ghost says here to preach the gospel to the poor instead of preach good tidings to the meek. The meaning is the same, but the revelation is clearer in the New Testament. In Isaiah He says to bind up the brokenhearted and here God says to heal the brokenhearted. The results of binding up is healing, but now He gives the finished product–those in captivity are delivered by the Lord Jesus. I believe this amplifies the Old Testament verse.
The Lord Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. God became a man to save us from sin, death and hell. He had a human body and He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for this reason” and quoted Isaiah 61:1. Where is the Lord Jesus now? Well He was crucified, dead, buried and raised from the dead; proved Himself alive by many infallible proofs; and is set down at the right hand (the power hand) of the Father. Today, His body on earth, which He inhabits, is the local New Testament Church. The Lord Jesus is in His human body in heaven, but He is in His spiritual body, the church, right here on this earth. Jesus Christ is the Head of His local New Testament Church and the born again baptized believers are the members of His Body. The Pastor is the overseer, and there is no one between the Pastor and the Lord Jesus, just like there is no one between the husband and father and the Lord Jesus. I personally believe that the Pastor is the feet of the body. This is the lowest member and the Lord Jesus says that in order to rule in His kingdom, you have to be the lowest and the servant. The Head, the Lord Jesus, tells His feet the overall direction of the Church and then we as the members kick in as we are gifted and grafted in the Body by the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ is literally living His resurrection life through His Body, the local New Testament Church. He is Lord over His Body the Church, unless it is a Laodacean church, which means peoples rights, people rule. In this body the Lord Jesus Christ is on the outside knocking to get in His own Body. This is a headless body and has absolutely no power to get the work of God done.
When the Lord Jesus was here on earth, He did everything. He did the preaching, the teaching, the delivering from demonic spirits, the healing; setting captives free and turning prisoners loose. He then sent out the twelve and gave them this power and then He sent out the seventy, which I believe represented the Church that was to be birthed at Pentecost, and gave them the Holy Spirit in power. This Holy Spirit power had to be transferred from His physical Body to His Spiritual Body, the local New Testament Church.
Pentecost
This is what happened at Pentecost. The Heavenly Father had told His Son that He would give Him the Holy Spirit after He, the Lord Jesus, was glorified. The Lord Jesus in turn gave the Church the Holy Spirit after He ascended into Heaven.
Look at His promise in Acts. 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Remember the Lord Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1 in Luke 4:18 in reference to Himself in His human body. Now He is giving the anointing to the Church, His spiritual body. He lives in His body, the church, today, and the Holy Spirit is upon Her “To preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
This is the reason for the Holy Ghost upon the church. When you see a church that this is happening through, you see a church that is living under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That is why Bro. Manley Beasley taught that there is a difference between the Holy spirit within and the Holy Spirit upon. “The Holy Spirit within,” he said, “is for character; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, faith, meekness and temperance. The Holy Spirit upon is for power or anointing which gives enablement to carry out Acts 1:8 in our day.” Every Christian has the Holy Spirit within and every Christian can have the Holy Spirit upon, as we shall see. Let’s recall that not all of the Old Testament saints had this anointing; just those who had a special task such as the prophets and the Kings. In the New Testament, this anointing is on every Church that walks in obedience as Acts 5:32 states,….”and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God has given to those who obey.”
Every church that I know anything about where the miraculous consistently takes place, knows about and lives under this anointing. The powerful Highland Park Baptist Church under Dr. Lee Roberson’s Pastorate was a good example. So was Temple Baptist in Detroit, Michigan with Dr. Beauchamp Vic as Pastor. Aggresive, knock down the gates of hell and set the captives free, local New Testament Churches to the Glory of God.
Another church of this nature is First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida. Their Pastor now and for the past several years is Jerry Vines, before and with him was Homer Lindsay, Jr. and before him Homer Lindsay, Sr. Perhaps you have attended the great Pastors Conference held yearly in this church and thus seen first hand this agressive, soul winning, disciple making, New Testament Church.
Another mighty New Testament Church was Thomas Road Baptist Church and Pastor Jerry Falwell. Thomas Road has baptized literally thousands of precious converts that our Lord Jesus has saved. The affect that the church had on Lynchburg and areas circling hundreds of miles out was really powerful for our Lord Jesus Christ and for the glory of God for 35 or 40 years. Dr. Falwell was a great influence on young soul winners as he personally knocked on every door in Lynchburg, Virginia during those years. The bus ministry of Thomas road reached out many miles bringing whole families to our Lord Jesus Christ.
An Explanation
We are living in a day of experimentation when Churches are believing the lie that you reach the lost world by becoming like them; by giving them what they want instead of what God wants them to have. Young preachers along with some older ones are falling for worldly, rock beat music to draw the crowds and by taking the cross out of discipleship. This philosophy impresses on preachers not to use the Bible, the very Word of God. Take the soft aproach and do not name sins or preach the Blood of Christ. In other words, do not offend the lost, hell bound sinner. Of course this aproach is easy because it brings the world into the Church which the Lord Jesus Christ never told us to do. He told the Church to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, not some watered down excuse for the very Word of God. This aproach is easy because it appeals to the flesh, whereas the Lord Jesus says in order to be His disciple you must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him daily. The word witness in Acts 1:8 means martyr. In other words, you have to die to fear of embarassment, rejection, failure, loss of material posessions and every other fear demons try to put on you. 11Timothy l:7 says ” For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” When we follow our Lord Jesus Christ and learn of Him, we find blood, sweat and tears on the outside but joy unspeakable and full of Glory on the inside. Churches that are Book of Acts New Testament Churches are still getting the work done that our Lord Jesus told us to do and gave us the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it.
A church that many Christians know nothing about is First Baptist in Hammond, Indiana. Dr. Jack Hyles was pastor for over 30 years, I believe. This church baptizes 8,000 to 10,000 souls every year. I recommend Dr. Hyle’s book, Meet the Holy Spirit. This is truly a New Testament church in my opinion and Dr. Hyles said that everything that has been accomplished is to be attributed to the Holy Spirit, His power and His exalting of our Lord Jesus. (By the way, the Holy Spirit will always honor and exalt the Lord Jesus Christ.) The Holy Spirit wrote the Word of God, the Bible, through holy men, and the Lord Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. First Baptist Church, Hammond, is a New Testament church that believes and lives the entire Word of God. Dr. Hyles relates that thirteen barren couples bore children after being anointed with oil according to James, chapter 5. Other times when Bro. Hyles was preaching, people who couldn’t speak English heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus in their language while the pastor preached in English. Sounds like Acts 2:8. “And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” There are two reasons that I see for the tongues or languages to accompany the Holy Spirit upon the Church and later upon others who were saved as in Acts 19. The first reason is for the Gospel to be understood clearly. The second reason is found in Isaiah 28:11-12 “For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people-to whom He said this is the rest wherewith you may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.”
In the Old Testament every believer had the Holy Spirit within, but every believer didn’t have the Holy Spirit upon them. The Bible, the Word of God is progressive revelation, which means that our Lord Jesus is progressively revealed from Genesis through the Revelation. For example: 1Corinthians 10:3,4 states that ” And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” In Acts 19:4 the Holy Spirit says,”Then said Paul, John verily baptizes with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” They were saved by looking to the Cross and we are saved by looking back to the Cross, but nobody is saved without the Cross. Hallelujah!
God says that New Testament Christians are the children of Abraham. Abraham and all Old Testament saints were saved just like us, by the Lord Jesus Christ, the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Again, They were saved by looking forward to the Cross and we were saved by looking back to the Cross. The Bible is progressive revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ and I believe that the gospel was preached to Adam and Eve in the seed of the woman. Then God put the animal to death by shedding the blood, which typified the blood of our Lord. He took the skins of the animals and clothed Adam and Eve which typified the Lord Jesus’ righteousness. There was no death upon this earth until they sinned, and then the wages of sin became death. The reason the devil wants folk to think this is an old earth has to do with the Blood atonement. Nothing died until man sinned 6000 years ago.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13 teaches us that they ate the same spiritual meat and drank of the spiritual rock and that rock was Christ. These were saved, born again believers. You may think well, the Bibile doesn’t say they were saved in the Old Testament, but the New Testament does. Verse 9 says, “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.” 1 Peter 1:11 says, “Searching what, or of what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when He testified of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” This is not an extensive study but I challenge you to do one on the Holy Spirit and the salvation of the Old Testament saints.
Why is this important? It has to do with the Holy Spirit upon all New Testament saints to give us power to get the Great Commission accomplished, to preach the gospel, to bind up the brokenhearted, to set captives free, to turn prisoners loose, to do the works of the Lord Jesus, now, today, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
What happened at Pentecost? The Holy spirit came upon the Church to give us power or anointing so that we could get done all that our Lord Jesus Christ commands us.
Our Sons and Daughters Are To Be Preaching
Acts 2:16-18 says, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, (I believe this means to preach the gospel of Christ to the lost, not the gift of preaching given to called out men in Ephesians 4:11) and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” (To declare truth through God’s Holy Spirit.) We have the complete revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, and one who is saved has the anointing of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the truth that Jesus Christ came to the earth to save sinners.
Why Aren’t Our Sons and Daughters Preaching the Gospel?
I believe it is primarily because they have not received the Holy Spirit in power upon them and realized that by the Word of God, we have this authority. He has been given, but they have not believed the promise of the Father because they do not know that it is to them. You can’t walk in what you do not know you have.
Again, the word witness in Acts 1:8 means martyr. Yes, we have to continually die to self (the natural) to witness unto our Lord Jesus. You can talk about God all you want today, but when you share the Lord Jesus Christ, you are crucified. Despite the opposition by the world system, the flesh, our sin nature, and the devil we have been commanded to witness unto the Lord Jesus and He has given us the authority to do this when He gave us the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit came upon the church at Pentecost. What about those of us who have been saved since Pentecost? Remember, when we are saved, the Holy Spirit comes within us and brings our Lord Jesus in with Him. He raises our spirits from the dead and seals us with Himself. This is the new birth. This is not the Holy Spirit upon us but rather the Holy Spirit within us. Our Body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit and He will never leave from within us. Our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ dwells within us through the Holy Spirit. Glory to God.
The Holy Spirit Upon
God says in Acts 5:32, “And we are His witnesses of these things, and so also is the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey.”
The Holy Spirit within has nothing to do with obedience. It has to do with salvation. If we have not the Spirit of Christ, we are none of His. The Holy Spirit upon, or the anointing, or the Power, has to do with obedience. The church received the Holy Spirit upon at Pentecost. How does the believer since Pentecost get the Holy Spirit upon us? Let’s look in Acts chapter 19. Here the Apostle Paul found disciples and he asked them, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? They said we’ve never heard of Him.” You see, you do not have to hear of the Holy Spirit in order to be saved. You have to hear of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Savior. You do not have to consciously receive the Holy Spirit into your heart in order to be saved. You receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior. The Holy Spirit comes in whether you’ve ever heard of Him or not. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” There is a time, however, that you hear of the Holy Spirit after you believe.
Notice what God said through Paul in verse 3. “Unto what then were you baptized?” And they replied to John’s baptism. Then Paul explained that John baptized with a baptism of repentance saying they should believe on Him which should come after Him, that is, on Christ. Christian baptism is a baptism of obedience, and if they had been properly baptized, they would have heard of the Holy Ghost in the baptismal formula: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
New Testament Baptism is Found in Acts 2:38
Here Peter was preaching “That same Jesus who ye have crucified is both Lord and Christ.” The message until that time was that the Lord Jesus was Messiah. Now the complete revelation is that He is Lord as well. This shook them up and sobered them up hearing that the Lord Jesus is God. They cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
Then Peter said, “Repent (Jesus is more than a carpenter’s son; He is Lord and Savior of men, women, boys and girls) and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (or showing that your sins are remitted) and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Not a gift, but the Holy Ghost Himself as a gift upon you.)
“For the promise is unto you (those standing there) and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” (That’s us, and everyone else who has been saved and baptized since that day)
Remember when the Lord Jesus was baptized, the Holy Ghost descended upon Him like a dove. This was when He was anointed for service. He already had the Holy Spirit within Him, but He needed the Holy Spirit upon Him. The Holy Ghost is a promise to be received and when received, we can then receive His power according to Acts 1:8. Let me hasten to say that I believe this happens whether we know it or not. We just do not know how to walk in power unless we see this and by faith receive the Holy Spirit. If I came home and started looking for something in my closet, and a huge box dropped down from the top shelf and hit me on the head, I would ask my wife Judy, where did this come from. Suppose she said that my good friend gave me that years ago, and so I tore into it to see what it was. It turned out to be something very valuable that I had wanted for years and now I see that I had it all the time and didn’t even know it. Since I didn’t know it, I couldn’t use it.
Many churches are powerless and impotent today even though the Holy Spirit in power has been given to us. All of the Old Testament saints weren’t anointed, only those who had a special task. In the New Testament, every single believer has and can continue to have the Holy Ghost upon him if he walks in obedience. Remember this anointing is given to those who obey, and baptism is the first step of obedience.
Dr. Hyles brings out that Luke 11:13 is continuous action. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father (continually) give the Holy Spirit to those who (continually) ask Him.” This beloved, is not for salvation which is a one time event; a real new birth into God’s family. This is for anointing, the Holy Spirit upon us, giving us power to be witnesses unto our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost says the same thing in many different ways, such as Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Put on the whole armor of God.
The First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana, with Pastor Hyles, who has since gone to Heaven, walked in this power for over 40 years and still to this day, without Bro. Hyles, walks in this power. These supernatural results were attributed by Dr. Hyles to none other than the Holy Spirit and His wonderful power.
Addendum
A final note. You do not receive the anointing and the power by feeling. The Holy Spirit came upon the Lord Jesus like a dove. A dove is very gentle. You receive the Holy Sprit (receive the Lord Jesus for salvation and receive the Holy Spirit for anointing or power) by faith in the Word of God. Acts 1:8 is enough. “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you…”
This anointing does not bring ease and comfort into the life of the believer. It brings head on war with the world, the flesh and the devil. With this power you are a great threat to the devil’s domain, but greater is He that is in you (the Lord Jesus) than he that is in the world (the devil). Hallelujah!! If you want to know how your life will be when you walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, read and study the Book of Acts. Multitudes were saved, but the Church was heavily persecuted. You will have great results for the Glory of God, but you will have great opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil. I believe this is the reason that many start out to follow our Lord Jesus, and even though they do not know it, they have the power of the Holy Spirit to get the job done that He has given this to do. Because of the opposition, many turn around and follow Him no more.
The Churches have moved to the suburbs and let the cities go to the devil. Now the devil has moved to the suburbs. When the churches left, the light went out, and violence, pornogrophy, drugs, stealing and every other sin took over when the pulpits went silent. First Baptist Dallas, First Baptist Hammond, First Baptist Jacksonville, Fla. and others stayed in and the light stayed on. Glory to God. The Anointing brings opposition, but Greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world.
This anointing is the promise of the Father in Acts 2:35 where the Holy Spirit says “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promis of the holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.” Again, this happened to the Church at Pentecost, but the promise was to them, to their children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:39 Beloved, that is us. Amen? Now the personal question. Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? He came within you when you received the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, but you need His power today, His authority, to be a witness unto our Lord Jesus Christ. Can you say thank you Heavenly Father for giving the Holy Spirit to our Lord Jesus and thank you Lord Jesus for giving the Holy Spirit to me? If so, you can know everyday that you are putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and that you are dressed up in God. Your body is His tent and He is your tent. You are fully equipped to be affective as you obey God in the plan that He has for your life. Yes, the Lord Jesus has all authority, and He has given it to His Church and now to you as a member of His local New Testament Church.
You can not lose the Holy Spirit from within, but just as Samson did, you can lose the Holy Spirit from upon you; or lose the Holy Spirit in power. King David prayed, God, do anything but take the Holy Spirit from me. Now dear folk, God can’t take the Holy Spirit from within us, but He can and will take the Holy Spirit from upon us. If we walk in continued disobedience, we can lose the anointing, but if we will repent as Samson did, through the cross and the Blood of Jesus, we can ask for Him back and as we are being filled with the Holy Spirit and walking in obedience, once again know that we have the authority to obey God.
May the local New Testament Church realize that we have the power of the Holy Spirit and may we as active members of a local New Testament Church know this by the Word of God. The hour is late and the time is short. The Lord Jesus will return at any moment. Let’s get out in the field and get the harvest in before it is everlasting too late. For further material on fulfilling the Great Commission, visit my web site at joemurray. org. I’ll see you here, there, or in the air. Hallelujah!
