FAITHFULWORD.ORG | TEACHINGS

Proverbs 30:8, 9; I Peter 2:21; Luke 3:21, 22; 4:1-4; [Mark 16:17, 18]; Luke 4:17-20; Acts 10:34-38; John 5:19, 20; 15:5; Philippians 4:13; Colossians 1:27; Romans 8:9, 10; John 14:12; I Peter 4:11; Luke 11:11-13

God wants us to have everything we need as His servants to live more abundantly in this life, in order to carry out what He asks us to do for Him. What is needed is different for each individual. God will bless us with what we need. We should expect God’s blessings to rain down upon us!

I Peter exhorts us to follow in the steps of Jesus Christ. We can see parallels between the life of Christ and our lives when we have the spirit of God. He was the Son of God by seed. We are also. God loved Jesus as a Son. He also loves us as sons. Jesus loved the Father. We love the Father. Jesus was given spirit. We were given holy spirit. He had the Word. We do also. He had purpose. We have purpose. He had the power of God with which to operate. We have the power of God with which to operate.

The Son of God received spirit, enabling him to communicate with his heavenly Father. As important as spirit is, however, we must never forget the importance of the Word. For the most part, those endeavoring to use the spirit without the Word find themselves in difficulties because the Word declares the spirit and its proper utilization. When Jesus Christ received the spirit, he was immediately led into the wilderness where he had to withstand the temptations of the Devil. He did so by speaking the Word of God. We must be masters of the Word, the truth, so we can more readily recognize the counterfeit.

I Corinthians 12-14 teach us how the things of the spirit of God are to be operated. They are to be decent and in order; there is profit; God is not the author of confusion and God gets the glory. These are truths we must know from the Word so when others take the Word out of context, we will not be confused. A good example is speaking with tongues. The Word tells us this is God’s will, yet people are talked out of it because they do not know the Word.

Jesus declared his ministry as recorded in Luke 4. We have the same ministry. In Acts 10, when Peter was speaking to the household of Cornelius, he realized that God is no respector of persons. God appointed Jesus with a purpose and with His approval. As we go forth, God will work and be with us, enabling us to do His work. The Devil would have us to think we are unworthy but we must bring every thought captive so as not to fall prey to his evil suggestions. We cannot afford to be intimidated but to claim the power of God within us. Without God, we can do nothing.

In Luke 11, Jesus teaches his disciples truths regarding the spirit. God will never give something that will embarrass, harm, or leave us powerless in times when we need the power. We can trust Him completely, relying upon Him as Jesus Christ did.