The Comforter Has Come - Holy Spirit, The Down Payment of Our Redemption

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Eph. 1: 1-23 AMP

1 Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed), by the will of God [that is, by His purpose and choice], To the saints (God’s people) who are at Ephesus and are faithful and loyal and steadfast in Christ Jesus: ² Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed and worthy of praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ, ⁴ just as [in His love] He chose us in Christ [actually selected us for Himself as His own] before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy [that is consecrated, set apart for Him, purpose-driven] and blameless in His sight. In love ⁵ He predestined and lovingly planned for us to be adopted to Himself as [His own] children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the kind intention and good pleasure of His will— ⁶ to the praise of His glorious grace and favour, which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved [His Son, Jesus Christ]. ⁷ In Him we have redemption [that is, our deliverance and salvation] through His blood, [which paid the penalty for our sin and resulted in] the forgiveness and complete pardon of our sin, in accordance with the riches of His grace ⁸ which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and understanding [with practical insight] ⁹ He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ with regard to the fulfilment of the times [that is, the end of history, the climax of the ages]—to bring all things together in Christ, [both] things in the heavens and things on the earth. ¹¹ In Him also we have received an inheritance [a destiny—we were claimed by God as His own], having been predestined (chosen, appointed beforehand) according to the purpose of Him who works everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His will, ¹² so that we who were the first to hope in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him as our Lord and Saviour] would exist to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God]. ¹⁴ The Spirit is the guarantee [the first instalment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance until the redemption of God’s own [purchased] possession [His believers], to the praise of His glory. ¹⁵ For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers; ¹⁷ [I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son]. ¹⁸ And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very centre and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God’s people), ¹⁹ and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength ²⁰ which He produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above] every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and world but also in the one to come. ²² And He put all things [in every realm] in subjection under Christ’s feet, and appointed Him as [supreme and authoritative] head over all things in the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills and completes all things in all [believers].

PRAYERS:

• Lord, thank You for stamping me with the sure seal of Your HOLY SPIRIT, as a guaranteed down payment of my inheritance in You.

• Thank You, Lord, He is your proof of ownership of my life so I am able to say with confidence like Paul: Let no one (nothing) trouble me for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Gal 6:17)

• Thank You, dear Father, for the assurance of Your protection over me as Your prized, purchased possession.

• Lord, please let me start to know the immeasurable, unlimited and surpassing greatness of the Holy Spirit in me.

• Give me capacity to accommodate HIM in all His fullness as we see in the lives of Peter, John and the other brethren in the Acts of the Apostles.

• Like Mary, Lord please let the Holy Spirit overshadow me so He can have unlimited expression to accomplish Your purpose in me and through me. – Luke 1:35.

• I ask for a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit today Lord, please fill this vessel afresh

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The Comforter Has Come - Holy Spirit, The Power of the Complete Gospel to Make Disciples (1)

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Luke 24: 44-53

44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,  47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.

• Thank You Lord for opening our understanding to comprehend the Scriptures. This has been and is being made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• Thank You for Your blessings upon us and in our lives – Salvation, physical, etc.
• Thank You Lord for the grace to worship You with great joy continually.
• Thank You for the verse 46, 45 and verse 50 of my life. I praise You for Your faithfulness in bringing me unto You through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!!

However, Lord, the core/heart of my walk with You is in vs 47, 48 and 49.

• Lord, I am asking, “At what point of verse 52-53 did John 21 happen to Peter and six other disciples?”
• Is it possible that they were so excited about all the expositions and understanding of the Scriptures; and the joy they felt after He had blessed them, that they felt a few days of praise and worship in the temple was an indication of the presence of the Holy Spirit and they could go back to their jobs?
• Thank You Lord for coming back (even after You had been taken to Heaven) for these brethren. We would not have had the book of Acts if You had not stepped in to remind Peter of his call and assignment – all the souls that brought us the complete gospel would not have been won, the purpose of Christ coming to our world would have been defeated simply because of failure to wait to receive the baptism of HOLY SPIRIT.

PRAYER:

• Search me, O Lord, and see if and where my soul has departed from Your purpose for my life in Kingdom labour at this daybreak and like You helped Peter, please help me. Do whatever is needful to bring me back fully into my call in You. (Luke 14:26-35)
• Please fill any/all lapses in my decluttering from dead works so I can move in the power of the Holy Spirit at my post in this revival.
• Please Lord, go after Your Peters out there who should be feeding the sheep but are chasing shadows and majoring in minors. Bring them back, Lord, to the place of tarrying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit so they can be sent to their post.
• Pray for the Peters in your home/circle of influence; mention them by name.
• Lord, we pray for Your Church that You purchased with Your precious blood poured out for her at Calvary. We are sorry that we deviated from the pattern we saw/read in the first Century Church, making Your people ‘weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherds’ (Matt. 9:36)
• Holy Spirit, please come and brood over Your Church to expose and do away with all the darkness, formlessness and powerlessness that has characterised her for so long.
• Bring form, order and the Life Light back to us, precious Holy Spirit.

Let this barrenness rejoice to own Your fertilizing power. Amen.

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The Comforter Has Come - The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Pray along with message (MP3)

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2 Corinthians 3:7-18
"Now if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones [the covenant of the Law which led to death because of sin], came with such glory and splendor that the Israelites were not able to look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, [a brilliance] that was fading,⁸ how will the ministry of the Spirit [the new covenant which allows us to be Spirit-filled] fail to be even more glorious and splendid? ⁹ For if the ministry that brings condemnation [the old covenant, the Law] has glory, how much more does glory overflow in the ministry that brings righteousness [the new covenant which declares believers free of guilt and sets them apart for God’s special purpose]! ¹⁰ Indeed, what had glory [the Law], in this case no longer has glory because of the glory that surpasses it [the gospel]. ¹¹ For if that [Law] which fades away came with glory, how much more must that [gospel] which remains and is permanent abide in glory and splendor! ¹² Since we have such a [glorious] hope and confident expectation, we speak with great courage, ¹³ and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not gaze at the end of the glory which was fading away. ¹⁴ But [in fact] their minds were hardened [for they had lost the ability to understand]; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed [only] in Christ. ¹⁵ But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil [of blindness] lies over their heart; ¹⁶ but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. ¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit." 

The Ministry of Death                                   vs        The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Old Covenant	New Covenant
Engraved in letters on stone – the Law	Engraved on human hearts – the Complete Gospel
Leads to death because of sin	Leads to life because of righteousness
Brings condemnation	Brings righteousness
Veiled, shrouded, making people afraid to approach	Open, making people confident and bold to approach
Has glory	Overflowing in exceeding glory
Faded and departing glory	Splendor and abiding glory
Powerless to deliver, bringing people under bondage of sin and guilt	Powerful to deliver, bringing liberty from sin and guilt
Hardens the mind because of lack of understanding.	Softens the mind because of the power of understanding
Administered by human agents	Administered by the HOLY SPIRIT
Unable to transform people to God’s image	Able to transform us into the image of Christ!

PRAYERS: Thank You O Father, for the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

There is a redeemer, Jesus, God's own Son,
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One.
Jesus my redeemer name above all names,
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah oh, for sinners slain.
Thank You O my Father, for giving us Your Son,

And leaving Your Spirit 'til the work on earth is done.

When I stand in glory, I will see His face,
And there I'll serve my King forever, in that holy place,
Thank You O my Father, for giving us Your Son,

And leaving Your Spirit 'til the work on earth is done.

• Lord, nothing can be accomplished, we are nothing without Your Holy Spirit. Please bring us into His fullness, leading us from one degree of glory into another.
• Please help us to continue to turn to you continually so the veil (of religion, tradition, etc) can be taken away.
• Lord, in this dispensation of Your daybreak on us, I present my life personally to You. Scrutinise me and please expose and dispose of every dint of veil/scales in whatever form.
• Holy Spirit, please baptise me afresh now!

Come Holy Spirit, come as the rushing of wind, come to us as of Pentecost, come Holy Spirit abide! Amen.

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