Living by the Spirit: solid Bible teaching in the Spirit of God

This blogger is led in his spirit to recommend all readers of this blog visit the following links for online Bible teaching or download online audio teachings. The Bible teaching (listened to many times over and over for a number of years) has helped tremendously to provide the necessary tools to sail the Holy Spirit Bible living life of this blogger! Highly recommended navigator in this journey in the Holy Spirit. A lot of Bible (Holy Spirit led application) resources in multimedia. 
http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio http://www.awmi.net/tv/this_week http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/harnessing_emotions
________________________________A sample of an article. Listen to the whole series in audio. They are good and practical. For those who are not used to listen to US English, listen many times with your Bible open. You can overcome your language barrier by the Holy Spirit.  _________________________________
Harnessing Your Emotions
By Andrew Wommack

Related Materials   •  Free MP3 download   •  Online TV broadcast   •  CD album   •  Book

The Bible teaches us that our thoughts are the determining factor which controls our actions. Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Romans 8:6 says, "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Notice that carnal mindedness doesn't just tend toward death — it is death!

No one can consistently perform differently than the way they think; therefore, we cannot change our actions without changing our thinking. It's not just what we think about that needs changing, but we must change our thinking process. Our emotions are linked directly to how we think.

All people have a perception, or image, on the inside of them of what they are like. This image is not necessarily based on facts but on feelings. One negative experience can distort a person's perception of themself for a lifetime.

For instance, some people who are beautiful may think of themselves as ugly or undesirable because of unkind words spoken to them as a child. Some who achieve great success still see themselves as failures, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

To a degree, psychology has correctly diagnosed this problem. Psychologists use terminology such as "self-esteem" or "identity" in relating these truths; however, today's secular wisdom is totally inadequate to help a person change the inner self image.

First, most people shift the blame for bad self-esteem, or self-image, to someone else. It has become popular to blame others for every negative thing in our lives. People often say, "I came from a dysfunctional family," "My problems came because I'm part of a minority group," "It's that woman you gave me" (Gen. 3:12). Other people are not our problem!

All of us have had negative experiences. The choice is ours whether we become bitter or better as a result of them. For every person who can claim some dysfunctional behavior because of a traumatic experience in their life, there are others who have had similar or worse things happen to them, yet they overcame their circumstances. Why? Because problems do not dictate failure; we have a choice.

Deuteronomy 30:19 says, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." God Almighty gave us a choice. God doesn't make the choice for us, and Satan can't make it for us. We have the privilege and responsibility to choose blessing or cursing.

Placing the blame on others is denying the real problem, and it will prevent finding a solution. If other people are my problem, I'm in trouble because God did not give me the ability to control other people. The devil will always send someone across my path who knows how to hit my hot button.

If the problem is within me, then there is hope because through Christ, I can change. This is freedom. Regardless of what others do, I can prosper through Christ.

After psychology tries to place the blame for your problems on someone else, they try to bolster your self-esteem by having you focus on the positive things in your self and minimize the negative attributes. That's not what the Bible teaches. Jesus said, "For without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).

"Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Mark 8:34). Paul said, "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are" (1 Cor. 1:27-28).

The Bible teaches that there must be an end to self-esteem before true service can begin. Christians should not try and store up the feeble positive attributes of their personalities. That is like trying to stop the bleeding from an amputated arm with a Band-Aid; it won't work for long.

Regardless of how successful or talented we are in ourselves, we will eventually fail. If nothing else, we will get older someday and will not be as productive as before. If our self-esteem is rooted in our accomplishments, then it will ultimately fail. All the security we have found in ourselves will then come crashing down around us.

The Christian should have Christ-esteem. Just like the Apostle Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

The secret to victorious Christian living is not found in self-improvement but in self-denial so that Christ can live through us.

This does not mean that God wants us to have a bad self-image. It just depends upon which self we are talking about. You see, every born-again believer has become a new person in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). (Eph. 4:22-24).

The old man is corrupt and, at his best, is incapable of living the Christian life. This is the self that most people try to patch up and feel good about. Give it up! We have to die to this old self life with all its good and bad, and find a new identity in Christ.

The new man is exactly as Jesus is (1 Cor. 6:17)! That's right. We are a totally brand-new person in Christ. We have everything that Jesus has, in our spirits (1 John 4:17). We have a totally new identity in Christ. Why then would we want to fix up our old selves instead of just living in our new selves?

If we let the new man dominate us, we'll walk in power and victory in every area of our lives.

How can you tell if your thoughts and emotions are coming from the new, born-again self or the old carnal self? God's Word is the key. Jesus says in John 6:63, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Any thought or emotion that agrees with what God's Word says about you is from your new man. Any thought or emotion that violates God's Word is from your old man or the devil.

If you are angry at someone, you're in the flesh (old man). Just repent and get back in the spirit (new man) where you have love, joy, and peace (Gal. 5:22). If you are afraid, you're in the flesh, "for God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7). Instead of going to God and asking Him to remove the fear, just step out of the flesh and into the spirit where there is no fear (1 John 4:18).

This is so simple you have to have someone help you misunderstand it. The problem is that we have had a lot of help misunderstanding these simple, biblical truths, but we have a solution.

FLEE! CUT LOSSES! GET OUT OF THE CAMP!

A REAL LIFE CASE

Yesterday the mindman saw a very expensive huge foreign Benz car drove up to his yard. It belonged to a close one’s insurance agent. The close one had just surrendered her life endowment insurance after deciding that she no longer needed to insure her life. She however discovered to her shock that by surrendering she lost $100000 (about one-third of what she had paid the insurance system!). 

If she had kept the money in her bank account she would have received all her saving principals plus interests! It was a daylight robbery by a middle man who added no economic value to the woman and the society at large. 

She paid her half yearly premiums faithfully not knowing that it was not a saving plan for her retirement. Now that she has retired early she has lost one-third of that savings to the insurance system! She was worse off instead of being better off. 

She was told that she would receive $36000 yearly after 14 years, but it turned out that out of the $36000 she has to continue paying yearly premium of about $33000 for the rest of her life! That leaves her a NET earning of a meager $3000 yearly, that is, a mere $250 to live on per month. How can she live on with $250 a month? But the insurance system is not concerned with such an unjust (RATHER CRUEL AND DECEPTIVE) scheme.  

HERE IS THE CALCULATION: She started paying the yearly premium of $35000 since she was 41 years old. By 55 years old she would retire and would have paid them a total of $490000 in premium. The insurance company will thereafter pay her $3000 a year ($250 per month). What she has paid them can afford them to pay her 163 years if she lives that long (55 +163 = 218 years old). According to their scheme now revealed, she needs to live divine on $250 a month if she has no other income. 

Where has her $100000 premium gone? Surely the insurance system did not need to spend one hundred thousand dollars to print a certificate of insurance. The insured has paid for heavy and unjust expenses incurred by the insurance system, such as, a Mercedes-Benz for someone who shuffles some papers, talks some words, and helps the insured fill up stacks of forms with very small prints.

It is indeed better to be an insurance agent or anyone who works with papers and letters than to be a hard working professional who has to study hard and work hard all her working life saving others’ lives while believing that she could retire with a secured sum of savings (all earned through honest means), which had turned out to be a fantasy!

(Note: in the above case, the ex-insured does not depend solely on this particular ‘saving’ plan. She could live on. )

See behind the systems

The insurance system cannot give people long life or good health. It cannot even assure you that your own savings will be safe. Whatever you can afford to pay as premium is subject to the risk called, TRUST -PUTTING YOUR TRUST IN A HUMAN SYSTEM.

All they ‘promise’ is if you die your beneficiary will receive a sum of money. But what is the good for the insured person? Someone else gets a limited sum of money in exchange for your life! There is no benefit for you in the insurance.

The insurance system promises paying a certain amount of hospital fees if you get terminally ill. Again what is the good to the insured if the person is terminally ill. Again there is no benefit for you in the insurance. 

(Who wants to die or get terminally ill in order to receive a benefit?)  
Who in their sound mind would want to exchange their lives for some ‘benefits’ which go to others (either your beneficiary or the hospital for cancer treatment)?
Yet many do not practice sound mind because they put their trust and hope in the SYSTEMS -MERE HUMAN WORD SYSTEMS.

An ex-medical specialist lamented that patients came and asked for whatever treatment they could get in order to have hope for an extended life. After being told that there was nothing more to do for their cases they still begged and asked the medical system to try. People were desperate and willing to pay any price just to have life. But the medical system cannot give life.

The insurance system cannot give life and security. Neither can the medical system give life and security. But people do not know this.

Human minds are good at creating vain hopes. Human fall for lies about hope. The utmost hope is having eternal life. 

The truth is, human cannot give or create lives.Human systems cannot even give you physical life, not to mention eternal life in your spirit.

WHERE IS HOPE WHEN DECEIVERS RULE?

The mindman feels indignant that lies can camouflage themselves as truth and prevail so well and so long in the human system.

Why do people allow themselves to remain poor and be enslaved by having to pay homage (in hard earned money) to flawed systems? The answer is that people live in fear all their lives.

There is a Bible verse for this: in Hebrews 2:15 Jesus came and destroyed the devil, who had the power of death, “and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” 

The GOOD NEWS is that Jesus has come and destroyed the power of death! You do not need to fear anymore. Just get out of the system.

FLEE! CUT LOSSES! GET OUT OF THE CAMP!

MANY HAVE GOT OUT AND NOW LIVE DIVINE HAVING BEEN SET FREE FROM BONDAGE.

Isaiah 52:11
Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean, You who bear the vessels of the LORD.
Isaiah 52:10-12 (in Context) Isaiah 52 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

What holy vessels are you carrying today? Your body and your soul. Your body is not your own. it is Christ’s. He paid for it with His precious blood. (1 Cor.6:17-20) Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you.

Your soul (mind and emotion) is precious and a target for captive by the enemy -the devil.

Jesus has pointed out the common folly of man.Matthew 16:26 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

The devil had offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory(Matt4:8-10) which are currently owned by the devil.

The world has to be earned by the exchange of your soul. can you afford it? 

______________GOD HAS WARNED THE SYSTEMS PERPETRATORS WHO DO NOT REPENT:

Revelation 22:15 (NKJV) ¹⁵ But^[a] outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. Footnotes: Revelation 22:15 NU-Text and M-Text omit But.

End Times Witnessing: Today it is all about Life

TODAY’S food for thought for watchman: Why ponder over LIFE?

What makes the watchman ponder about life today?
In the past four weeks four persons with whom the watchman had acquainted passed away, all of whom (three men and one woman) died a sudden death, in their 30s, 40s and 50s. All were married with family. The three men came from one church.

The news had been saddening and even shattering for the unprepared.

The oldest man had had remissions from his previous stroke and his family was not prepared as he had recovered his functioning well for a number of years. He left behind his wife, adult children and young grand children.

The youngest man had good report from his yearly medical check-up until the sudden discovery of end stage liver cancer. He decided to join his wife and became a Christian after receiving his medical diagnosis. He left behind his young wife and two young boys.
The middle-aged man had rarely complained of medical illness until he suddenly developed liver ailments. He became a Christian earlier than the other two men did. He and his wife became estranged after years of unresolved family strife. At his death, the wife and daughter had already left him for over a year. His only son came home from another town to handle the funeral on his own.

The woman had heard the Gospel a number of times but had not pursued further. She befriended a devout Buddhist and lately opted to listen to the chanting of Buddhist monk daily until her sudden death (aneurysm in her brain). She left behind husband and two daughters.

Yes, the spirit of death came stealthily in the darkest hour of the night and took their lives unexpectedly.

Seeing death coming in like a flood, taking one life per week within a tiny community of familiar people, makes one notice how fragile the physical part of life can be. Even though he had not seen them for many years, he attended two men’s wake night services. Listening to the usual wake night sermons made him think of the words of Jesus about the meaning of life according to God. Where does life come from? Who can give life? Where does one’s spirit go when life on earth is extinguished?

It is time to read the word of Jesus again, this time, with belief in our hearts. Take heed what we hear today!

Watchman’s advice: You need to believe in the supernatural and spiritual reality to understand this. There is one crucial condition for entry to heaven, as stated below by Jesus, the Son of God Himself:

John 3:3, 5 New King James Version (NKJV)
3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Matthew 7:14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 10:39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Luke 10:25 [ The Parable of the Good Samaritan ] And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 12:15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Luke 12:22 [ Do Not Worry ] Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Luke 12:23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Luke 21:34 [ The Importance of Watching ] “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.

John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 3:15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.John 5:24 [ Life and Judgment Are Through the Son ] “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. John 5:40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

John 6:27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:11

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. John 10:28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus prayed this to the Father (God): John 17:2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

John 20:31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

_____________________________Word of warning:
Romans 8:5-8 New Living Translation (NLT)

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
____________________________________

Watchman’s comment: Often people do not know what they are worshiping. Letting one’s mind controlled by something (giving inroad to other spirits) that is not God leads to death. Very sad indeed. If you do not know God, seek to know Him. Meanwhile stay away from all forms of spirits (including spiritual philosophy).

Spiritual realm is real. God is real. Do not ignore this truth. Your family needs you. God loves you and wants you to have eternal life through His Son, who gave His life for you. Seek the true God who gives life now!

Days after Quakes and Tsunami: Bring my soul out of prison!

The watchman heard, “Never Let Me Go!”



“We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all.” Kazuo Ishiguro (Never Let Me Go)



The troubed and unsatisfied souls


Isaiah 29:8

It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams, And look—he eats; But he awakes, and his soul is still empty; Or as when a thirsty man dreams, And look—he drinks; But he awakes, and indeed he is faint, And his soul still craves: So the multitude of all the nations shall be, Who fight against Mount Zion.

Psalm 42:11

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.

Psalm 124:4

Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul;

Psalm 124:5

Then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul.”

Psalm 142:7

Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me.”

Psalm 143:3

For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in darkness, Like those who have long been dead.


God can set free our afflicted souls


Psalm 23:3

He (God) restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Psalm 33:20

Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.

Psalm 41:4

I said, “LORD, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

Psalm 55:18

He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me.

Psalm 56:13

For You (God) have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?

Psalm 72:13

He will spare the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy.

Psalm 107:9

For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.


Isaiah 55 An Invitation to Abundant Life

1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts,

Come to the waters;

And you who have no money,

Come, buy and eat.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without price.

2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.

Hear, and your soul shall live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—

The sure mercies of David.


Isaiah 58:10-11

10 If you extend your soul to the hungry

And satisfy the afflicted soul,

Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,

And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

11 The LORD will guide you continually,

And satisfy your soul in drought,

And strengthen your bones;

You shall be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Jeremiah 31:25

For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

Ezekiel 18:4

“ Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.


What Jesus said about your souls

Matthew 10:28

And do not fear those (the devils) who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him (God) who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 11:29

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me (Jesus), for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 16:26

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Luke 12:20

But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

Luke 10:27

So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

What the Apostles said about your souls

1 Thessalonians 5:23

[ Blessing and Admonition ] Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 6:19

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,

James 1:21

[ Doers—Not Hearers Only ] Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

1 Peter 1:9

for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 2:25

For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

_______________________________

This is the watchman’s prayer for you, my friends:
"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. "
(3 John 2)

Watchman’s adventure: diagnosis and prescription Old Way

For the recent massive tragic sudden death everywhere, there is a remedy in the Holy Spirit’s Way. To break off and cast out the deadly soul ties in the spiritual realm with the dead, put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (despair).

Isaiah 61:1-3

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,

because the LORD has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]

2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy


instead of mourning,


and a garment of praise


instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the LORD

for the display of his splendor.

Here is a very “old” yet Spirit inspired song to sing and ponder upon.
Lyrics

Chorus 1

Put on the garment of praise

For the spirit of heaviness

Lift up your voice to God

Praise with the Spirit

And with understanding

Oh magnify the Lord

Verse 1

All you that mourn in Zion

I have authority

To appoint unto you in Zion

Oil of joy that will set you free

Verse 2

Lift up the hands that hang down

Lift up the voice now still

Give unto God continuous praise

Sing forth from Zion’s hill

Verse 3

Sing to Yahweh alleluia

Worship and praise our God

Praise and adore Him

Bow down before Him

Oh magnify the Lord

© 1976 David Ingles Music

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY HEALED

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman and He will only guide Jack as Jack sought Him out. The Holy Spirit never forced Himself on anyone. This is Jack’s discovery in his quest of living Biblically and in the Spirit. The exciting thing about being a Spirit-filled Christian is that he is no longer two-dimensional (living in his body and his mind). He is now a multi-dimensional being, with his life in the spiritual realm becoming real to him.
He now knows he is secure in God, and does not fear anymore of the unknown. He can deal with physical and mental problems more confidently and indeed take the spiritual authority that Jesus has already given to every believer through the Holy Spirit without hesitation. He now understands what Jesus means about the more abundant life.
There are so much more to live now. He takes stock and lists out a summary of what had happened to him so far in living in the Spirit:
1. Body: he has overcome the addictive and compulsive spirits: long term sickness of allergic rhinitis, irregular and extremely high heart rate, hypertension, bone and muscle weakness, joint pains, injured lower back ache that kept recurring, gluttony for sweet food and addiction to caffeine.
2. Soul (mind and emotion): he has overcome problems with a host of mind related issues, pessimistic outlook, spirit of fear (fear of rejection, fear of authority, worry, sensitiveness, insecurity, nervousness, persecution, indecision).
3. Spirit: he has overcome the spirit of heaviness (despair and hopelessness).
He knew it was not him who overcame. The Holy Spirit in him manifested and overcame for him as he became more and more aware of, sensitive and obedient to the Holy Spirit.
It is now a joy to live each day with the Holy Spirit being a real companion for Jack.
______________________________________________________
JACK’S JOURNAL DAY 89: THAT WHICH IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT IS SPIRIT
Today I woke reluctantly after the alarm had sounded its second round. I felt tired and sleepy despite the fact that I had gone to bed early. Why? Have I lost the burst of enthusiasm to seek God? Am I not led by the Holy Spirit?
I continued to read the Gospel recorded by John inspired by the Holy Spirit. I went through the section about Nicodemus. (John 3:1-21) Every Christian knows this story. What is there to read? What is there to know? I was still sleepy and disinterested. I prayed and told God that I could not see anything there that had not been known by practically every Christian since young, and I needed the Holy Spirit to guide me.
Then I was led to read again the red letters words spoken by Jesus. This time I was led by the Spirit. The words came real and I saw what I had never seen before! I record below what I discovered.
1. Nicodemus (a highly respected, important senior official and religious teacher) had recognized that God is with Jesus because he has seen all the supernatural signs that Jesus has done. Nicodemus wanted God to be with him too. He wanted to see and enter the kingdom of God too. But Nicodemus did not know anything about the Holy Spirit. He did not know that what Jesus did was a display of the power of the Holy Spirit. He did not know that God is a trinity God (the Father, the Son-Jesus, and the Holy Spirit).
2. Jesus explained to him that we need the Holy Spirit to see and enter the kingdom of God, in the following way:
Be born of the Holy Spirit. Become a spirit.
(We can then come and go as the wind blows where it wishes.)
3. Jesus speaks what He knows, testify what He has seen (with His Father and the Holy Spirit together as God).
4. Jesus speaks of heavenly things.
5. Jesus who is in heaven has come down from heaven to the world for a purpose.
a. God loved the world.
b. God’s plan is to give everyone eternal life.
c. The world can be saved through Jesus.
d. Jesus is the light.
e. All who come to the light will be saved.
f. He who does the truth comes to the light. His deeds have been done in God.
g. He who believes in Jesus will not be condemned.
Who will be condemned?
1. He who does not believe in Jesus is condemned already.
2. Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.
3. Everyone practicing evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
Jesus told us that God loved us. He loved us to the extent that He gave His only Son to die for us so that we might live and not perish eternally. There are only two endings assigned when one dies. Either one goes to God’s place, which is heaven, or one goes to hell (the only alternative) which is the devil’s place. There are many descriptions of the devil’s place in the Bible and other records.
Is it difficult for one to enter heaven? No. There is one condition: one has to be born of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because you can only enter heaven as a spirit (of God).
How to be born of the Holy Spirit? By coming to Jesus and believe in Jesus.
As human flesh or as a spirit not of God, un-believer cannot enter heaven.
As a “Christian”, how do we know whether we can enter heaven? How does one know whether one is truly of God? Examine whether you are under the above category of “who will be condemned”.
If you are, repent NOW! (1 John 1:9)
AAA Jack
1 June 2009