We must have certainty in what we believe to be true. There is a spectrum of evidence that leads us to true certainty.
The conclusion might be possible: There is some amount of evidence for the conclusion
Probable: the majority of evidence brings us to the conclusion
Certainty: All of the gathered evidence leads to the conclusion and there is no evidence against it.
So, if we are honest with ourselves, we see our lives are not much different than the non-believers around us. Yeah, we go to church, pay tithes, we may not drink, don’t do drugs, or whatever, but we go through our day, work, the gym, eating, traveling, talking on the phone, playing on Facebook, and such while giving very little thought of God. The average Christian spends only 10 minutes a day in Bible reading. That’s really crazy!! I mean, I’m not trying to beat anyone up but how can we say we love someone that we only spend 10 minutes a day with? How can we say we follow something that we spend only 10 minutes a day studying the instruction book for? Would you be willing to let a doctor operate on you whose total time of medical study equals to 10 minutes a day?
Because of this lack of interest in the Bible, there’s a lot of error that has been introduced in the church. Because of this error, there’s been lots of confusion, in peoples minds, when things don’t happen as they were taught by religion. One such confusion revolves around the moving of the Spirit of God. This video is not concentrating on the gifts of the Spirit but rather the CHARACTERISTICS of and MOVING of the Spirit.
I’ve been going to the same church for, roughly, three years. The pastor of the church wants a REAL move of the Spirit so bad. I remember sitting in his office, about two years ago, and telling him that I don’t understand why I don’t feel the Spirit moving in my life. We went down to Mobile, Alabama to one of those big “revival” movements, and I witnessed one of the most blasphemous displays of signs and wonders that I’d ever seen.
While at this “revival”, the Spirit opened my eyes to crowd control techniques being used. I was truly sickened when the “minister” started throwing the “spirit” around like a baseball - he even had some trick throws of the spirit.
As we continue on this subject I want you to be very aware, the move of the Spirit is absolutely real. If it’s in the Bible, it can be now. I believe the Bible is a detailed guide so, I also believe that if it is NOT in the Bible, that’s NOT how God will act now. From the Old Testament to the New, we’ve seen the Spirit of God move over His faithful followers. That means He’ll do it now in the same manner we see in Scripture.
God bless his heart, this pastor of ours has been trying so hard for a REAL move. He’s tried different music, bands, events, and revivals - always with the same outcome - something happened but it didn’t stay.
Let’s review Scripture, review the moving of the Spirit in Scripture, and see how that compares to what happens today. In this, I pray we can see our error and correct it; then watch as the Spirit moves in our lives.
We humans have little bitty brains. No, not compared to most animals, our brains are pretty big; but compared to God, our brains are puny. Because of our puny brains, we keep trying to put God, and His character, in a box. We can think only in the material world we have around us, and we constantly try to associate the things of God by the things we can understand in this world. In my studies of God, based on Scripture, I’ve come to a conclusion that we will never be able to comprehend God. Yeah, I know we say it, but there’s a difference in knowing something and really understanding that knowledge.
To look at some of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit, we must look at the Hebrew and Greek words to which the word “Spirit” was derived from.
In the Old Testament, the word “Spirit” comes from the Hebrew word rûaḥ; which means “air, breath, blast” Figuratively it means, “life and anger” By extension it means, “a region of the sky” By resemblance it means a “spirit, but only of a rational being”; which means it’s rational. It can also mean the “mind and courage” ( STRONG)
In the New Testament, the word “Spirit” comes from the Greek word “pneuma”; which means “a current of air, i. e. breath (blast) or a breeze” By analogy or figuratively it means “a spirit, i. e. (human) the rational soul” By implication it means a “mental disposition, an angel, demon, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit: for example - “ghost, life, spirit, mind”
( STRONG)
Ok, so let’s put this in easier terms. The word ruah and pneuma both mean air, or breath of air. They mean a rationality or even the mind of God. Figuratively, they mean the spirit of man; which is a whole different study. Ruah means a level of the atmosphere - which is really interesting - and pneuma can mean a mental disposition; like to say, “I’m with you in spirit”. So, there are a lot of different characteristics of this word “Spirit”; even when referring to the Spirit of God. Even though there are a lot of Scriptures referring to the Spirit of God, we are going to focus on a few. Let’s see if we can find some of these characteristics in Scripture, as defined in the Hebrew and Greek words.
If we start from the first mention of the Spirit of God in Scripture, we look at Genesis chapter one:
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters
(Genesis 1:2)
This is one of my favorite mentions of the Spirit of God. Looking at the Hebrew word ruah, we see air, breath, and a level of the sky. This is one of my favorite because it pushes towards an understanding that the atmosphere of this Earth could be the very breath of God. In Job 27:3, Job makes a comment about the Spirit of God being in his nostrils. I think we may be underestimating the atmosphere that we are polluting.
There are many references to the Spirit, that lead to the rational thought and mind of God; but we are going to start with Ezekiel 36:26:
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them
(Ezekiel 36:27)
So we see God’s Spirit associated with a teaching and giving of knowledge of His Will. In Isaiah 11:2 we read:
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding
(Isaiah 11:2)
Besides these Old Testament passages, there are several references, in the New Testament, that refer to this characteristic of the Spirit of God. The book of John talks about the Spirit being truth in John 14:17 and John 16:13; and how it teaches us in John 14:26.
In Ephesians 6:17, Paul explains to take up the sword of the Spirit. We know the double edge sword to be that of Holy Scripture; which is the knowledge, rational, mind of God.
Paul also tells the Corinthians, in chapter 2, that wisdom is revealed to us by the Spirit of God. Then again, he tells the Romans that we are led by the Spirit of God, in Romans 8:14.
So we see the defined characteristics of the Spirit of God in that of air, atmosphere, and the rational or mind of God. But, what about a move of the Spirit?
Many of the modern churches believe in one of two beliefs, the Spirit of God no longer moves or one cannot be saved unless you speak in tongues. There are a few that understand the truth that lies in the middle, but to most, they are deceived by the false choice that Satan has to offer.
When I was in my high school years, my family went to a Pentecostal Holiness church. While the name “Pentecostal” should explain a lot, for those who don’t know, these are the ones that think you're not saved unless you speak in tongues.
I had a friend whose father was the pastor of a Methodist Church. For those who may not know, these are the ones who don’t really believe in the move of the Spirit like we see in Scripture.
One Sunday, my friend comes to our church. lol. At one portion of the service, the whole church broke out babbling, jumping, screaming, and any other thing you could think of. My friend kept looking at the door. We didn’t have drivers licenses, but I believe he was seriously thinking about running the 20 miles home.
We read about the move of, or filling of, the Spirit far more times than we read about the accompanying Gifts. Understanding that, we do also understand that one cannot be saved without the Spirit of God. The gift of the Spirit, not gifts of but rather the Spirit which is a gift, comes when we repent of sin; as we read in Acts 2:38. Paul tells the Galatians, in chapter 4 verse 6; and the Philippians, in chapter 1 verse 19, that when we become sons of God, turning to Salvation, we receive the Spirit of God in our hearts. Y’shua makes it very clear in John 3:5, that unless we are born of the water AND Spirit, we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
It only makes sense that we need to have the Spirit of God in us when we repent and start a walk with God. We understand that the Spirit of God is the rational, or mind of, God. He gives us the Spirit to teach us and give us His rational thought on His desires; then His desires becomes ours. We see references to this teaching in John 14:26 and John 16:13.
Understanding that we must be repentant, turning from sin to receive the Spirit of God, and we must have the Spirit of God to be saved, we then have that clarification of Y’shua when He said:
If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth
(John 14:15-17)
So the “Helper” or Spirit of Truth, which is the Spirit of God, will come to those who love Y’shua. And!!! if we love Y’shua we keep the commandments of God. The Commandments of God is what defines sin. It’s sin we are to repent of therefore we must keep the Commandments of God to repent. What a circle that we could continue to show here.
One of the reason’s I ran from the church was because I saw all these people professing a filling of the Spirit, with the manifestation of gifts and a life that was not producing the fruit. I did not know these truths in Scripture at the time, I just knew it was not right and I didn’t want anything of it. I’m sure it was the Spirit trying to lead me away and closer to Him but I ended up running altogether. According to Scripture, and especially, according to the Words of Messiah Yeshua, you must be obedient to His Commands to receive the Spirit of God. Understanding the magnitude of the Grace only teachings and the magnitude of the “gifts” practiced in those same churches, how can this be the Spirit of God when it’s against Scripture?
It’s unfortunate, but while intentions may be good, we are very selfish in our relationship with God. What I mean is, we want the gifts from Him, but we don’t want to do the service He asks.
In 1 Kings chapter 18, we read about Elijah facing four hundred prophets of the god of Baal. He challenged them to a showdown between their god and the God of Israel. He tells them to pick one of two bulls and sacrifice it; calling down fire from their god. The prophets of Baal were jumping up and down, yelling, even cutting themselves, but nothing happened. Elijah went a step further and poured water on God’s alter and he prayed to YHWH; and the God of Israel sent fire down that consumed the altar.
So, we see the Spirit of God moves for us in defense or in a battle for us; we see this even in Old Testament times. We see it here with Elijah in 1 Kings and we see it in Judges chapters three and six.
Many of today's churches are trying to conjure up the Spirit of God by a type of Baalim worship: jumping up and down, yelling, and the likes. Is the God of Israel like the gods of the pagans that He must be conjured up? Is He like the pagan gods that proper planning must be made for Him to arrive? Is He not willing and eager to pour out His Spirit?
All over this country, there are pastors who are trying to work up the move of the Spirit within their services. They are trying to plan just the right music combination, give just the right sermon, say perfect thing, make the perfect alter call. In the upper room, they were not planning, “Ok, John, you learn Chinese, and Peter, you learn Spanish. We changed your name once, now we will call you Pedro”. There was a reason the Spirit moved and it did not involve planning.
The majority of what is happening in churches today is NOT a move of the Spirit. The Spirit does want to move, and is very capable; but the emotion seen in the majority of services today, is caused by a planning based on a type of music sung or words spoken - it’s NOT a move of the Spirit. If what we see in churches today was a move of the Spirit, this is what it would look like in the book of Acts:
The disciples waited in the upper room. They sang songs and told touching stories of the life of Christ; one even gave ten percent. Suddenly, they started babbling to each other, crying, and falling out; while remaining within the walls of the upper room. They stopped preaching, went home and posted, on Tunicbook, how good the service was. They sat down to a fat meal, went shopping, then came home to watch TV.
Now, isn’t that just silly? Yet, this is what we’ve reduced the move of the Spirit too. If what we see in churches today was a move of the Spirit of God, we could not contain ourselves. We would bust out of the doors of the church wanting to tell the world, everyone we have seen, about the Gospel of Christ. We would not say, “good message” or “wow, very convicting message” then do nothing about it. We would say, “What shall we do?”.
There are many examples of the move of the Spirit in Scripture. There are three reasons the Spirit moves; we already saw that He moves for our protection. The other two reasons the Spirit of God moves is to profit the church (1 Corinthians 12:7) and for the very purpose of building into the Kingdom of God. In Acts we see several hundred people repenting and being baptized. Isaiah specifically says, in chapter 61:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound
(Isaiah 61:1)
In Acts 1:8 we read:
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth
(Acts 1:8)
The very reason Y’shua had them waiting in the upper room was to wait for the Spirit of God. Y’shua says, with that Holy Spirit, we will be a witness of Him unto the ends of the earth.
In John 20:21, Y’shua gave His disciples the Holy Spirit to send out them out just as the Father sent Him. Christ did not come and sit in a temple and stay to Himself looking for a good feeling and goosebumps and we are not to do the same.
Even Peter said,
“It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.”
(1 Peter 1:12)
The desire of God is for the message of Him to be given to all the Earth. The Spirit of God is given to us when we are ready and willing to spread the Word of God. The Spirit gives us boldness, teaches us the truth, and gives us the knowledge and rational thought of God.
The reason we are not seeing the move of the Spirit today is not that God does not want His Spirit to move. When we are unwilling to repent of the sin we know of, making excuses on why we can continue in it, sitting safely in the confines of a church building, ready and willing to warm the pews, selfish of the things we have, not stepping out of our own control of our comfortable lives, while selfishly looking for our own good feeling through a move of the Spirit, too scared or unwilling to go out and witness the wonders of God (trying to leave it up to the pastor or church), for what reason does the Spirit of God need to move?
God can’t be planned and He can’t be manipulated. He will move when the people are ready. But the people are not ready until they are ready to do His will and keep His Commands.
If you're wondering why you can’t receive the same “spirit” as many of these churches, it’s because you're unwilling to fake it or fall for goosebumps as a defining moment in the move. Don’t fret, if your desiring to spread the Gospel of Christ to the world, the Spirit of God will come upon you and give you boldness. The most important gift of the Spirit is that of preaching the Gospel to others because it profits the whole Church. If you're serious in your relationship with God, you’ll treat that relationship better than most of the relationships today, in which we keep our heads buried in electronics and pleasures of things instead of the one we love: you’ll study Him and His Spirit will come upon you and teach you truths. With those truths, and that boldness, you will sow the seeds of the Gospel to the poor. As your faith grows, your obedience and love towards God grow, the Spirit of God will do some mighty wonders paralleled in Holy Scripture.
God Bless.
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