Chapter Eighty: "Sons of God are led by the Spirit"

Living and walking according to the Holy Spirit is no simple task. It takes practice. As Jack has experienced, often one is not sure whether he is walking by the Spirit or not. This applies especially to those who are very proud of their own mind and the work of their mind. For example, he is trained in using his mind to collect data, organize and analyse them. He uses such skill over a lot of things, including his social and religous life. There are advantages to use such skill efficiently and effectively. On the other hand, such skill is not applicable in God's matters.

Living by the Spirit requires learning entirely new living principles and skill, centered on God's word, faith and the Holy Spirit.
Some of the practical spiritual living examples are: Believe in divine healing and divine health. Proclaim God's word by faith on all aspects of life. Take up your legal authority as a son of God and use the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth by faith. Cast out your unbelief (worldliness). Align your desire with the will of God. Fast and pray to subject your body and soul (mind and emotion) to the control of your spirit (which is to be led by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ Himself)!

There is no way one can suddenly acquire the principles and living skill of the Spirit at End-Time. You just have to prepare now. For family (with or without children) it will be essential to start learning as a family unit. You will need each other to sustain the new living which is entirely different from the living you use to know and live. Father (or mother, in the case of single mother) needs to be responsible for your whole household's spiritual life.

1. You need to practice living by faith. For example, you need to practice praying the word of God by faith now, believing in the power of the name of Jesus Christ and take authority over the headache instead of reaching for the painkillers. You need to build up the faith practice until you can take authority over more serious chronic diseases. You will find that you save a lot of money and worries that way (even if end time does not come during your lifetime)!

2. You need to become a word person and household. Everyone reads the Bible and memorize God's word. Jack has done this through systematically using Scripture Memory Cards in (various topics) his younger days. Now he just uses the Bible. Both works. You can store a lot of word for future use. Do not underestimate your children. They are led by the Spirit too. Follow the instruction given to Joshua (Joshua 1:8).

3. You need to become a worshipful person and household. Lead your children to worship and praise God. Take Holy Communion as a family unit (and also a body of Christ). This is a must! As you praise and worship God, the war is won as the battle belongs to the Lord. Sometimes Jack is travelling alone in hostile places and he continues to worship God on his own. This is the best weapon against the enemy. He has seen visions of many angels following a worship leader as the leader led the worship singing spiritual songs. On another worship occasion he saw vision of a senior intercessor wearing the coat of a general-commander! (She is an elderly grandma who sings off-key).

4.  You need to become a prayerful person and household. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Listen to your own prayer and ask yourself whether that is the prayer of a Spirit led person. Lead your household to pray in the Spirit. Practice interceding for other Christians (as required in activating the full armor of God).

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." (Romans 8:14)

Remember: Faith + the Word of God + the Holy Spirit + Practice living by faith in the Spirit = keys to your survival.

Chapter Seventy-Seven: A watchman cries, "Your face, Lord, I will Seek!"

Jack is led by the Spirit to share a series of his action steps for END TIME SURVIVAL WITH JESUS OUTSIDE THE CAMP complete with Scripture verses to help to cast out unbelief and let mustard seed faith come forth and produce tangible result.
Survival Step One: How to live by the Spirit?
Action One: Seek God diligently daily. Why? By end time, Christians would have realized that they just have to depend on God to get them out of the horror. There is no one but God Who can save them. All who choose to follow and identify with Jesus will need to know how to seek God and hear His voice.
SEEK GOD NOW. This is the Number One preparation action for end time survival. You need to TRAIN NOW in worship, prayers and reading of His word.
God wants us to seek Him. In Psalm 27:8 David declared to God: "When You said, seek My face, my heart said to You, Your face, Lord, I will seek." (Psalm 27:8)
Indeed, God looks down from heaven to see if anyone who understands, who seeks Him. (Psaalm14:2; 53:2)
God even says He rewards those who diligently seek Him! (Heb.11:6)
God is our refuge, fortress, and strength in the day of affliction (Psalm 46; Jeremiah. 16:19).
He is our protector against evil, destruction and pestilence. (Psalm 91)
God delivered His people from evil for the purpose of meeting with them and dwelling among them as their God! (Exodus 20:24; 29:42-46)
Jesus said He needs to know you first before He will allow you to enter into heaven. (Matt. 7:21-23) Get used to seeking and meeting God (The Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) now daily so you would not be caught in end time without knowing Him.

Jack has over many years, with intensity building up in the last 12 months, been seeking God consistently. The result is indeed amazing and rewarding. What God has promised in His word have come true! What happened?
1. He started by reading the Bible as a young Christian. A lot of Christians do this as a routine. Over many years, the word of God has been stored in his heart (spirit).
2. He meditated on God's word. He memorized them. But he was not satisfied when he could not receive any illumination from the word. So he persisted in seeking. He listened to sermons with his whole heart. He thirsted and hungered for the word of God to feed his inner man.
3. After many years, he realized that the problem was with his mind and not his heart. The mind is well trained, to analyze, rationalize and organize. All these actions have no input from faith and/or from the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth.
God says, without faith it is impossible to please Him. (Heb.11:6)
Jesus says, the Holy Spirit comes to guide us into all truth. (John 16:13)
4. A breakthrough came last year. Jack was asked to sign up to pray for the churches and the city he lived in. So he did. That was  the beginning of a journey in the Holy Spirit. He found that the prayers were empty and lifeless and came from mechanical recitation of written guides from his church or a copy from somewhere in his mind archives. His heart was sincere but his flesh (body and mind) blocked him from really reaching the level that God has intended for him.
5.  He recalled how he was filled with the Holy Spirit many years ago, the joy and love he felt flowing from God's presence to him then. He read the Bible day and night then with zeal and passion, believing that the word of God was real and they spoke to him. However when he started going back to church he was soon caught in the snare of man's tradition. He built up considerable Bible knowledge. He clocked in numerous hours of ministering to others. But he soon became malnourished spiritually.
6. So Jack started to practice worshiping God and waiting upon the Lord. That was the breakthrough. God's presence becomes real to him. He read the word of God afresh and listened to the still small voice within if any. God started to get through to him. He saw visions. he dreamed dreams. He saw Bible verses in his heart. He receives Biblical confirmations for the visions and dreams.
7. When he prays, he no longer utters familiar routine words that sound good to hear but empty (which the Lord Jesus described as babbling like pagans), knowing that he is in front of the great, awesome and holy God. How can he simply say things? When he hears his own previous prayers he feels ashamed.

END-TIME SURVIVAL is all about knowing how to hear God and follow His voice. The Holy Spirit will lead you in your spirit to listen and follow. The word of God that you have stored in your heart will rise to the occasion and become alive, bring forth life as you pray it and meditate on it and proclaim it by faith.

How else do you think Jesus has expected you to overcome? Just practice now. You will hear God. You will see what God wants you to see in your spirit. You will become real. A son of God. A kingdom of God citizen. A royal priest. A special national. An elect. A victorious remnant. A faith person. Jesus becomes your real life.

It is a marvelous and wonderful life in Christ Jesus. A divine lifestyle on earth as it is in heaven. No fear for end-time.

Chapter Seventy-Two: A watchman on the wall cries out, “Enter through the narrow gate!”

The more Jack seeks God the more he knows that time is short and there is a sense of increasing urgency for God's people to know God. Jesus defined "eternal life" as "know God the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom God has sent". (John 17:3) So there is no other more important matter than this, making sure that one knows God and Jesus.
Has God made it difficult? No. As God has so loved the world that He has given His only Son Jesus to die for and has thus redeemed the lost world (including the whole human race). It is only logical that he would similarly make it easy for those who believe to get to heaven. There is only one problem for Christians. The problem of unbelief.
What Jack has been learning lately has cried out to him loudly, "What makes you think you know God? If you know God can you still harbor unbelief in your heart? Unbelief is not believing in all the word of the Lord and still preferring to do things the usual worldly way!"
His greatest unbelief is not living fully by the Holy Spirit. The teaching from his previous Churches do not believe in the absolute requirement by God that Christians live in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit. The churches teach that Christians are considered as having complied in their mind. They teach that it is risky to try to really follow the Holy Spirit and live in the Spirit. They do not believe that God (the power of the Holy Spirit) can protect His children who have come to Him by faith and trusting and obeying His word by faith, and exercising the spiritual authority that Jesus has given to all His followers.
Yet, it is so clear in the whole Bible that there are no other way to obey God and His word except through the Holy Spirit. Jack has discovered that Jesus Himself and the Apostles (inspired by the Holy Spirit) have given Christians clear instructions (on how to enter the kingdom of God through the narrow gate) in this respect.
The First Clue: You can only enter heaven like the wind.
Jesus told Nicodemus (a high positioned political official and authority on Jewish religion) that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:5-6)
This clue clearly says that one can only enter the kingdom of God in spirit (born of the Holy Spirit).
Jesus in fact illustrated how this will happen. "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8) This means when one is born of the Spirit one can enter the kingdom of God as free as the wind blows and as unencumbered by flesh (a body and/or a mind that is against God). (Romans 8:7)
Conclusion: If you do not want to become involved in the matter of the Holy Spirit, you cannot get there.
The Second Clue: You can only enter heaven living the spiritual, supernatural life.
The Apostle Paul further explained clearly in Romans 8:1-16 how there is no alternative for a Christian but to be led by the Spirit and walk according to the Spirit.
How to know you are one of them? Those who are in Christ Jesus have the Spirit of Christ dwell in them, walk according to the Holy Spirit, set their minds on the things of the Spirit, are spiritually minded, and are led by the Spirit of God. These are Christians (sons of God) who can live the supernatural life of Christ (living divine and empowered by the Holy Spirit).
How to know you are not one of the above? These are people who do not have the Spirit of Christ, walk according to the flesh (following the world and its system/way, loving the world and the things of the world, only seeing and caring for the things that can be seen), setting their minds on things of the flesh, knowing only how to do deeds of the body (not of the Spirit).
If you think that you can be led by the Spirit in your mind, you are wrong. The mind is carnal and is against God. (Romans 8:7)
Conclusion: You just have to practice living in the spirit on earth as it is in heaven.
The Third Clue: Christians are elected to worship God. God is seeking true worshipers. There is a place for you in heaven if you are one!
Jesus told the Samaritan woman by the well this truth. "But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24)
It therefore makes sense to practice worshiping in spirit and in truth when on earth. A pastor thus challenged, "What makes you think you can suddenly become a true worshiper on that Day when you do not practice now on earth? What makes you think you will like worshiping day and night there when you never like it here?" Indeed, there is no way you can fit into the elect group when you heart does not desire to worship God. How many minutes can you bear worshiping God? Are you worshiping God even when you are alone, at any moments? Be honest as it is a life and death matter!
Conclusion: You can only enter heaven if you are a true worshiper. If you cannot worship in spirit (not in mind/mere emotion, but in the Holy Spirit) and in truth (based on the word of God and in Jesus who is the Truth), then you do not qualify.
The Fourth Clue: You can only enter heaven with Jesus.
Jesus told His disciples that He would come again and receive them to Himself. He also told them clearly that He is the way, the truth and the life and that no one goes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6). He then gave an important key : "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." (John 14:7) He promised them that He would pray the Father to send the Spirit of truth (the Holy Spirit) to guide them into all truth, and tell them things to come.  The Holy Spirit will dwell with them and will be with them.
There is a further crucial clue. Jesus told them, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." (John 14:23) Here, a Christian is promised of the presence of God Himself, with the condition that the Christian keeps God's word.
Conclusion: You need the Holy Spirit and the word of God to enter heaven.
Summary: in all four clues, you need the Holy Spirit to take you to heaven!
Christ is our real life. How to live the real life? Jack has been learning to practice this in his journey in the Holy Spirit. He prays that you too may find the desire in your heart to do so. You do not have any alternative, really.

CHAPTER SIXTY: OUT OF HIS HEART WILL FLOW RIVERS OF LIVING WATER

26 years ago Jack first encountered God in a big way and the amazing experience imprinted in his heart had never faded all these years when he continued to seek God’s presence through God’s words. However, he sometimes thought with sadness that he would never encounter God again in that way. Last Sunday he attended the first Sunday morning worship service in the Prayer House. God met him in exactly the same way and more powerful and touching. Jack was totally overwhelmed!

It was like any other Prayer House worship except that it was in the morning for the first time. They started the first Sunday morning worship with the leader singing in the spirit followed by the first hymn, which was a short chorus with the full Gospel message in the song. As Jack knelt down and sang, he was totally surrounded by the words (lyrics) which became alive and real. The Holy Spirit worked deeply in him and he was filled with such great peace and joy and gratitude as the Gospel of Christ was sung.

Tears streamed down like a river and washed him through out the worship. The love of God came to him and worked into his heart. He was led (in the spirit) to focus on the cross and Jesus’ painful yet powerful humiliation, suffering and even death, just for the sake of all mankind. He felt the heart of God saying to him: “How much I have loved you, and many others, indeed, the whole world!” All the hymns (and choruses) were Jesus-focus. The whole Gospel of Christ was narrated in the lyrics.

The Word of God became real: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

As they took Holy Communion, he was reminded of the body of Christ, broken for him and many, and by which (Jesus’ stripes) he was healed, and the blood of Christ, shed for him and many for the forgiveness of their sins. He was redeemed, and set free, all because of God’s love.

He was reminded that God is love and God’s perfect love cast out all fears. God is light and darkness must flee in the presence of God. God is life and Jesus has conquered death! As Paul has declared victoriously: “O death, where is your sting?” He took the bread and cup in grateful tears.

What a morning! Jack was completely soaked in tears but he was not alone. He shared this experience with a leader in the evening and was surprised that two leaders of the church had the same encounter that morning with God (the Holy Spirit) and were equally soaked in tears too!!

The sermon (based on the Acts of the Apostles) was another blessing. The preacher preached the first incidence of the Holy Spirit pouring onto the disciples of Jesus Christ on the Pentecost Day at the third hour (around 9am, the time of the morning sacrifice) of that day followed with their speaking and praising God in many tongues (other languages) and preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, converting three thousands to Christ, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. The church was thus born empowered mightily by the Holy Spirit.

At the ninth hour (around 3pm, the time of the evening sacrifice) of a day, Peter and John went up to the temple and Peter healed a man who was lame from his mother’s womb. This was the first miracle specifically recorded after the out pouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples.

Indeed, God has answered Jack’s prayer on looking for a church (read chapter forty-three: “I am looking for a church”). He was grateful and filled with great joy.

On the last day, that great day of the feast (of Tabernacles), Jesus stood and cried out, saying: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water (Holy Spirit).” (John 7:37-39)

January 6, 2010

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: FASTING TO SHARPEN THE ULTIMATE SPIRITUAL WEAPON

There is no easy path to spiritual wellness. There is no option either. In his current quest to live Biblically and in the spirit, Jack has embarked on the fasting and praying journey seriously.

He has been on two meals or less for more than six months on and off, not really on a fixed schedule. He usually took breakfast (one slice of thick wholemeal toast/bread with cheese and a cup of warm milk/chocolate), and lunch (a small portion of carbohydrate, protein and a larger portion of vegetables). He took tea in the late afternoon (a cup of warm drink and a biscuit). He skipped dinner but took a drink (a glass of fruit and vegetable juice with milk). He skipped supper too, unless he went to the Prayer House and had a warn drink (or dessert) after the service.

Yesterday he started to fast after a light lunch and took nothing except water and one cup of cocoa and one biscuit for about 13 hours. He felt alright and was able to carry on his usual physical activities. He took part in a late evening worship and prayer meeting for three hours (11pm to 2am). After that he took a tiny bowl of grain dessert. The only discomfort he felt was he felt cold for the first time. He slept about 5-6 hours and woke up feeling fresh and well.

Today he started the first of his three days of fasting and prayer with nothing but water/liquid only. He had no breakfast, only one cup of hot drink and had a small portion of plain yogurt in the morning. Around noon he took another cup of warm cocoa. He took water when thirsty.

In the morning he did about one hour of light physical activities. Then he spent sometime praying and reading. The day seemed not as long as he had earlier expected. During lunch time he thought of food and went to the kitchen to look at the fridge but he took nothing. He felt fit and well up to this point.

The guide book advised him not to do too much physical activity. He was advised to pray and read the Bible too.

The Morning Prayer session went well as clearly the Holy Spirit was leading. His mind became focused and clear. He was able to pray for a number of issues for distant people who had never crossed his mind before. He could sense the need to repent and renounce a number of his own sins and areas which needed correction and renewal. The words flowed smoothly without efforts. He was led in the spirit to sing three hymns too. This had not happened for a long time and he was pleasantly surprised what the fasting could do to his spirit!

In the afternoon, he was tired and sleepy. His mind was on food. So he decided to read the Bible and pray. He started reading 2 Corinthians for no particular reason. He struggled for awhile and soon gave up. He dozed off for about 30 minutes.

When he woke he felt that he was fresher. So he went back to reading the Bible. This time he was led to read about the Levites in the Old Testament, how they were chosen by God to minister to Him. He read how they were assigned the responsibilities to take charge of the things pertaining to worshipping God. a group was assigned to sing day and night to God and had no other duties!

Suddenly he decided to sing in the spirit and he sang. As he sang, his spirit lifted and he felt energy surging up within him. He went on for sometime until he was led to pray and intercede. He interceded as led by the Holy Spirit. He realized that there was a breakthrough in his prayer and spiritual songs. He walked around and sang without effort. This went on for a long time. After that he asked the Holy Spirit to show him how to sing as the Levites did. Immediately he started singing new tunes as tunes sung by the Israelites!

It was indeed a wonderful experience for Jack.
2009-09-19

day 123: one man’s journey in the Holy Spirit

Three months have passed with a lot of drastic changes in my life. Looking back, the journey was all about God the Holy Spirit. When I first started I never expected the shift moving of events and transforming power of the Holy Spirit. I was full of my own ideas of doing some religious services on my own. However, as I went through them, day after day, I realized that they were not as simple as I initially thought. For example, the momentum would have slowed down and died off if I had to carry on depending on my own effort to live Biblically and interceding as a church member performing his religious duty.
Thank God it was not like that. The Holy Spirit began to emerge and take charge as I continued to seek Him. The Holy Spirit took charge of the time, the length of time, the contents, the forms (methods), and the outcome. The Holy Spirit was the teacher, the motivating factor, the initiator, the power supplier, the master. It was indeed an exciting journey.

Most of the events happened in the inside. Some manifested in the outside of my being. Signs and wonders. For example, prior to the transformation, I dreaded singing. During church worship most times I maintained my silence. Occasionally I sang when the songs were familiar and meaningful to me. In the past three months I developed a liking for singing and even sing songs in the Spirit and some are really nice to my ears.

Another area of dread was prayer (when I had nothing to pray for). I stopped joining a group of business men who met during lunch time to pray, many years ago, not because I could not spare the time, but because I did not quite believe that those prayers worked. Many years ago one brother in Christ made it a point to come to my office during lunch time to pray and we were enthusiastic for awhile. After sometime we reduced the frequency and finally we stopped the prayer session entirely. I had led cell groups for years and prayed the routine prayers week after week, month after month, until none of us felt them really helping much. Singing and prayers became part of the rituals we did as part of the religion.

When the Holy Spirit took over, I was revamped inside out. Songs and prayers could stretch from one hour to two and half hours! All by myself! Sleeping four hours and not feeling tired the next day was not rare. How did the Holy Spirit take over?

I believe it started when I started to take God seriously. My early morning worship time helped me to be focused on God and the more focused I was the more I could sense the reality of His presence. At first I used faith to believe whether I sensed anything or not. Then I learned to appreciate the songs I sang. Then I became bold enough to ask the Holy Spirit to choose songs for me and subsequently prayers for me. Lately I asked Him to show me verses to read. God helped me a lot in this progress. He let me see some pictures, some words, and hear some tunes in my mind/heart. As I received messages through all these mediums (words, pictures, dreams, songs) I grew bolder and more confident of receiving the guidance of the Holy Spirit and answers from God.

Yes, it takes time and effort to seek God. However, it is worthwhile to give all to this quest. I never thought I could hear God’s voice before. But now I can even persuade others that they too can hear God’s voice. Believe me, it is wonderful.

Jesus has promised very clearly the following:

1. He will show Himself to those who love Him.

2. He will come and stay with those who love Him (those who keep Jesus’ commandments).

3. God will send the Holy Spirit to teach us all things and about what Jesus has said.

John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

AAA Jack

day 110-116: going forward in songs and in the Holy Spirit

Today I received a timely message, from the Book of Exodus. God told Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” (Exodus 14:15)

For nearly three months now, I have been pondering on the words of Jesus and asking the Holy Spirit to guide me what to read and give me understanding of the truth. Jesus said His words are life and spirit. The word of God is also the sword of the Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit it is impossible to read the Bible not to mention to live the Bible.

When I heard a message I also asked the Holy Spirit to show me the truth I need to pay attention to and take action in my Biblical living. I recently heard a teaching on the passage from Exodus 14. The speaker told us that like the Israelites we have the assurance of God that He will fight for us and we shall hold our peace. (Exodus 14:14) Therefore all we need to do is not to continue crying out to God for help. Instead, we should just step forward by faith and win the battle. Whatever the battle is in your life, be it study or employment, financial, relationship, moral, behavioral, attitude, your mind, your emotion, your diseases, unhealthy or addictive habits, binges, obsessions, oppressions and depressions, suppressions, bondages, cravings of the flesh, the pride and arrogance of life etc. They can be overcome.

All the Israelites had to do was to step into the pathway God had opened for them by faith and cross over to the other side. God really took good care of His people as in the case of the Israelites. He miraculously delivered them out of Egypt, miraculously brought them across the Red Sea, miraculously through the wilderness, and miraculously into the promised land of milk and honey.

Reading this passage, I noted that after the children of Israel crossed over the Red Sea safely, all Moses asked them to do was to sing a song to God. God likes us singing songs and hymns to Him!

During the three months of learning to get close to God and learning to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, I have transformed from a stiff, rational, and skeptical Christian to a Spirit-led, songs and hymns singing Christian; from one who normally would doubt anything to do with the spiritual, to one who pays serious attention to visions and dreams. I still make a lot of mistakes in hearing the voice of God and seeing visions. When I prayed for someone close I tended to use my knowledge of him or her to pray. But the Holy Spirit told me things that I did not know about but was in the plan of God. So when I saw the Spirit-led vision, I thought it was from my own thought despite the fact that I could not recall having thought of such matters previously. Only after I have received confirmation from another intercessor who saw the same vision or received the same message then I was convinced. Why am I still so doubtful? I believe it is because I am still young in the Spirit.

I have come to realize that living Biblically is to live spiritually by faith. I am still learning. But I do enjoy my new life and daily look forward to daily meeting with God. One morning I heard the wind in my garden and I thought to myself how nice it would be if I could hear God walking in my garden. After the intercession I prayed to God to reveal Himself by walking in the garden so I could hear Him. After my request, my heart was immediately urged to sing “Holy, holy, holy”. After I finished singing that hymn, before I could get up from the kneeling position, I was urged to sing “Jesus we enthrone You”. After that I was further urged to sing “Holy Spirit, thou art welcomed in this place”.

Only after I finished singing all three songs to the trinity God, I was allowed to stand up. God indeed responded instantly. What an awesome experience! (I did not hear the sound in my garden as I was too busy singing).

My advice to you, my brethren in Christ, is that be always ready to sing and expect the demand to sing songs and hymns (as led by the Holy Spirit) by memory as you may not have the song book with you. I did not have the song book on the occasion but I managed to memorize them (short choruses and one stanza of the hymn) even though I had to work hard to memorize anything. The preparedness is worth it. Otherwise, be careful what you pray for.

AAA Jack

DAY 101: SONGS, SIGNS AND WONDERS

We (four generations of us, one of each) continue to have family worship twice a day on most week days, and also attend the twice weekly prayer house worship. The youngest of us is six years and ten months old. She has acquired the habit of worship and has become the self-appointed organizer of worship. Every morning she will get the sitting room ready complete with a cushion for each person to kneel, exercise mats in two rolls, hymn books, Bibles, notebook (for us to write down spirit songs, if any), and ball pens.
The four of us love to sing. We each sing in our own ways. The master of the house used to be the worst singer. The mistress of the house can sing reasonably well. The guest is a spirit-filled intercessor who sings very high pitch songs (mostly spirit songs). The little one sings softly in her own childish way. All cannot read music notes.
Our meeting has four parts: songs, prayer in the Spirit, Bible reading, and more songs.
Initially only the Spirit-filled intercessor visitor could sing spirit song or see visions. The two other grown-ups and the young child had not displayed such gifts. After seeking God for sometime, the master of the house had developed the gift of seeing a bit of visions (in words and in pictures). Lately he developed the gift of singing (followed by interpreting and writing songs) in the spirit.
When the little one joined us for holiday she soon learned to hum songs in the spirit and pray in the spirit. She loves the worship sessions and has participated in and stayed throughout every meeting without fail. Of course she fell asleep (like any normal little child) while prostrating on the floor during late night prayer house meetings. Yesterday morning she participated in the whole Bible reading session in the prayer house. Three of us grown-ups were given the book of Isaiah to read (all sixty-six chapters). The little one helped us to read two chapters. Then she read five chapters in the Gospel of Mark. We finished reading aloud the book of Isaiah in two hours.
The little one is so used to such meetings that yesterday afternoon she voluntarily joined a group of adult ladies’ fellowship and knelt and bowed down with them and prayed in tongue when they were interceding in a home fellowship in this house. The prayer meeting was the first ever since its inception so Spirit-filled and charged up. The usually quiet and subdued ladies were loudly praying in the Spirit and extended the meeting by one hour!
The mistress of the house has been a committed Christian for over twenty years, actively serving God for a long time, recently seeking God in the spirit after attending a course on waiting upon God. She felt disappointed as she saw others heard from God, saw visions, and could sing spirit songs, whereas she could not. She felt she wanted to know God more and was hindered by the lack. She told God her feeling. During the last few days she progressed to seeing visions and yesterday she began to sing in tune as in spirit songs.
All we can say is that we cannot limit God. All we can do is to seek Him with thirst and hunger in our spirits and wait upon Him regardless of our feelings or experiences.
This morning I prayed for my own career and ministry, if any. As I worshipped and prayed in the spirit, I saw myself in two consecutive scenes. First I was playing a guitar to the audience of trees, as in a forest. There seemed to be flowing streams as well. The second scene was I playing a violin, to the open field with green grass, flowers and butterflies. The land could be hilly but I am not sure. In my mind I had words like spread, disburse, and grow.
I do not play both musical instruments. I do not consider myself having any talent to learn either. So far I only managed to sing and write in crude numerical symbols of the music I had created. Rationally I cannot imagine myself pursuing a musical direction in my career or in ministry. This vision is not a result of my wish fulfillment.
The spiritual development has led me and others to know God as a limitless God. Yes, He performs songs, signs and wonders in our lives.
AAA Jack
June 13 2009

DAY 90: YOU HAVE ONLY ONE CHOICE: CHOOSE GOD

During the last few days I was bothered with one thought. I kept thinking of what Jesus had warned in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
These are very strong words. Jesus rarely used harsh words except when He was confronting the Pharisees gang, the descendents of the devil (brood of vipers, serpents). This is a serious matter.
Jesus contrasted the two objects of worship. On one side is God. On the other side is mammon. One may argue that no one worships money. People just want money for meeting needs and wants (buying things, security, comfort, pleasure, health and may be long life). But Jesus speaks clearly that people who do not worship God worship money.
Not only those who do not worship God are worshipping money, they hate and despise God. They love money and are loyal to money.
Are all Christians worshipping God the way that God has commanded? If not, then they are worshipping money and hating and despising God too. How do we know whether churches are worshipping God or money?
Simple. Just look at the priority on the church agenda.
If they put activities that meet the goals of making the church membership and hence finances (and all fixed assets) grow, then they are not worshipping God.
On the other hand, if they put activities that meet the goals of drawing members to meet God closely and live Biblically in the presence of God, (living in the Spirit and walking by the Spirit), with the purpose of knowing God and His kingdom, then they are worshipping God.
You can actually see obvious worldliness in the church that worships money (and all man-made things). There is no difference between them and any worldly organizations, except some Christian lingo used (in vain).
In the godly church you can sense the obvious difference. When you enter you sense the presence of the holy and glorious God. You cannot help but kneel down, bow low and prostrate yourself, seeing how lowly you are and how majestic God is. You spend hours in stillness. You are awed and grateful at the same time. You feel honored and privileged to be in God’s presence. The whole focus of worship is God, not man. By the time you come out of the worship, you are soaked with God’s presence.
Unlike what popular worldly culture thinks, God is not in the big noise made by impressive bands and singers. God is not in the impressive buildings of concrete and glass. God is not in the impressive and charming speakers’ voice (preaching or praying). God is not in any man-made activities. My advice to all God seeking churches is that do not spend any more on things (or buildings). You would not find God there.
Where is God? God is in the stillness of your heart. He is just there, obliterating all. You can hear Him. You can sense Him in your spirit. His Spirit reveals Him to your spirit. You look with your spirit and you know His presence is real.
A church that worships God seeks God and concentrates all its efforts and resources to build the members’ inner life, and not external sensational pleasure and cheap superficial high generated by special effects and popular culture. More likely than not, those attracted by such entertainments and sensual pleasure and come to church for them are not souls that are saved. What is the point of starving the real children of God and fattening the vipers and serpents?
Be warned: churches that are bent on gaining the whole world are in danger of losing their own souls. (Jesus warned of this danger in Matthew 16:26)
Someone may ask, “Is there no alternative? Can one not keep both as priorities, God and money, soul and world?” The answer has already been given by Jesus. Read your Bible with honesty. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, my friend.
Here is a clue, in 1 John 1:15, the Apostle John (inspired by the Holy Spirit) thus warned Christians, “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (Strong words, but true.) I would be careful if I were a worship leader leading songs about how much we love God. Safer to be honest than lying before God.
AAA Jack
June 2, 2009

DAY 89B: BORN OF THE SPIRIT IS SPIRIT

No doubt many Christians are familiar with the Bible passage I just wrote about. What is the new thing you have received? They would ask. What I have received freshly is in the heading. Born of the Holy Spirit is spirit. What does this mean? I shall explain using terms and illustrations familiar to me.
Note the clues Jesus gave in John 3:6 and John 6:63.
Clue One: He said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)
In God’s eyes, there are two categories of people on earth, those who have life (the life of God) and those who are considered dead (without the life of God). When a person believes in Jesus and comes to Him, Jesus gives him a new birth, in the Holy Spirit. The believer then has a spirit that is from God and this is his identity for entering the kingdom of God.
No one can go to God as flesh. Only as a spirit one can have access to God. Not a dead spirit, but a live spirit. A person may be alive but is considered dead if he has not gone through a re-birth by the Holy Spirit. When he is born again, he has a live spirit (man). This spirit man can align with the Holy Spirit and knows the will of God. This spirit man can access to God through the Holy Spirit (in Jesus’ name).
This spirit man can live the more abundant life that Jesus has come and given to His believers.
Many will ask, “How?” I too used to puzzle over this question. During the past three months of practical Biblical living quest, I have learned the reality of the Holy Spirit beyond my head knowledge.
Clue Two: In John 6:63, Jesus elaborated, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
The words of God are spirit. They are life. Believers can actually find the reality of the Holy Spirit by reading the words of God. As I read, I learn to discern the meaning and message the Holy Spirit conveys to me. I learn to read in the spirit, not in my head alone.
When this happens, there is something else which tells you the wonder of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 3:8, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Fantastic! This means we can actually go where we wish in the spirit, as spirit man, like the wind. There will be no barrier or obstruction a flesh man normally encounters. A spirit man can access places of wonders. A spirit man can see the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is inside us. As spirit man we can look inside and see it there. We can live it too.
How do we know? We know by the zeal and joy we have in seeking God's presence. We seek His presence in His words, in worship, in prayers, in being still before God, in the quiet little room of our own, in our hearts. No, not by loud music or in the midst of a crowd. Usually it is in your tiny space, just you and God.
That is what happens to those who seek God earnestly and persistently. I pray that you too may seek and find the reality of the kingdom of God by being a living spirit man.
AAA Jack
1 June 2009

day 88c: Our Father Who is in heaven

I continue what I have started in my previous record. Pray as if you want it to happen. Pray as if you believe whole-heartedly in what you pray. Otherwise I am just wasting my time. The prayer alone cannot please God. The prayer action cannot achieve anything for me. This is my experience. Even when I pray and hear those Biblically words they are of no use because they are not mixed with faith. The words of God need to be received with faith in the receiver’s heart.

I have read the Lord’s Prayer again and summarize below what I have discovered about the kingdom of heaven on earth (as it is in heaven).

1. Our Father in heaven is the only One (God) we are to worship: As this prayer is a daily prayer, it means the kingdom citizens are to worship God every day.

2. Attitude of worship: our hearts must be filled with reverence, giving honor and glory to God. Kingdom citizens must seek to know Him as we worship Him, see the glory and holiness of His presence, and be awed.

3. Our heart desire is for God: we must be thirsting for the kingdom of God. We want the kingdom to come and we desire the righteousness that comes with the kingdom. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, as Jesus urged the kingdom citizens to do.

4. Take our daily heavenly bread: This means we are to read the words of God daily, (like taking food for our body). We are to take the words seriously as they are divine life and divine health in the words of God for the kingdom citizens.

5. Be watchful for spiritual war:

1. The kingdom citizens do not put themselves in ways of temptations. We are urged to run away when temptation comes. We have been freed from being enslaved by the worldly temptations (including all entertainments, multi-media, popular culture, junk food that abuse the body and bad habits that open door to the devil to come in to steal, kill and destroy) as Jesus has died for us and redeemed us by His blood. We are to remain in Him and not be tempted. We are to take daily action to protect our children too and not to expose them or worse, introduce them to temptations!

2. The kingdom citizens are watchful and are aware that there are evil spiritual beings (principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12)

6. Be reconciled with the Father in heaven and with men on earth. Be ready to be a part of the body of Christ. Forgive.

7. Our goal is to give glory to God. The kingdom citizens have only one goal-giving glory to God (our Father in heaven).

All these can only be practiced in our daily living through the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, these would be impossible.

Be filled by the Holy Spirit, my brethren.

AAA Jack

2009-5-29