In Sync w/ Holy Spirit

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Too often I hear people say, “God has abandoned me, I do not feel Him anymore.” The fact is, God did not abandon us, but rather we abandoned Him. It does not take a lot to quench the Holy Spirit. If you speak out against a prophecy or any spiritual encounter or act of the Holy Spirit, He will cease to walk with you until you repent and start treating Him with respect He deserves.

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the (Holy) Spirit. Do not despise prophecies.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:18-20 NKJV).

There are many reasons why we must earnestly seek to please the Holy Spirit. It is so important to have the Holy Spirit guiding you through this world. Show reverence to Him and you will prosper, ignore Him and you will find yourself walking alone. Just because you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit does not give you licenses to disrespect Him. The Holy Spirit is not required to put up with your rude ways or self-appointed righteousness. After all, He is the Spirit of Christ Jesus, our Lord.

“I say then: ‘Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law‘”
(Galatians 5:16-18).

You must understand, what you believe is what you will do, and what you do will affect your destiny. It is important to know truth. If your doctrine is not in line with the Spirit of Truth, you cannot walk in the fullness of the Spirit of God on earth.

Christ Jesus now sits at the right-hand of the All Mighty One. We now have His Holy Spirit living amongst us. “I, (Jesus) will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

Being born-again and being saved are not exactly synonymous. When you were born-again you were saved from eternal damnation; however, salvation does not stop there. We need to work on our salvation in this life in order to receive Christ Jesus’ promise; “I have come that they may have life, and that you may have it more abundant” (John 10:10b).

We all should be working to obtain the abundant life here and now, as it is written; “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12b-13). You must work out your salvation to be saved from potential heart disease, diabetes, and other deadly health problems. How do we do this; by practicing moderation in all things, even when we eat or drink.

The same evil spirit (demon) that drives a person to overeat is the same spirit that drives the body and soul to crave alcohol. Both will rob you of living a prosperous and abundant life.

A demon can take possession of a certain area of your soul (mind, will & emotions) causing you to do things you may or may not want to do. In this area, we have allowed a demonic foe to enter our soul deep enough we are unable to remove this evil with ease. If we feed upon the things that are evil long enough you are going to start acting like the devil by doing what you have allowed the devil to plant within your thoughts.

It starts by thinking evil thoughts. If you meditate on them long enough, your sinful thoughts will manifest through your actions. If no immediate punishment comes for committing this sin, you think it’s okay. Then you decide it’s okay being in agreement with the devil, thinking it must be alright with God. Practicing sin can be sweet to one’s flesh for a season, but, believe me, it will eventually catch up with you. When it does, you are locked into bondage until repentance and salvation are granted.

Learning the ‘Looney Tunes’

“Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God”
(1 John 3:11).

You may have seen the old cartoon where the dog has a cat by the neck dangling him over an open well. In the cartoon, an angel appears on the dog’s shoulder and begins to tell him that it would not be right to drop the cat. Then on the other shoulder, the devil appears and talks the dog into dropping the poor cat into the well. The cat’s owner appears and beats the dog unmercifully. This may seem like an elementary analogy for tempting the soul, but it does have a measure of truth. This scene, which is meant to be humorous, is worth cataloging for the next time the devil tempts you. “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

Learning to fear God is to understand His Spiritual Laws and how they are used to enforce His Will. If you compromise with the devil, there will be a payday eventually. Expect to be chastened (punished) by the Lord for your disobedient behavior. Knowing that when we disobey God, we are punished. This should be enough reason for us to walk in His Righteousness. Sometimes, our punishment for our disobedience comes much later, making it difficult to understand why we are being chastened. “Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later” (I Timothy 5:24).

When the chastening Hand of God comes, it can be difficult to understand how the punishment relates to the sin. Most of the time we forget what sin we have committed that brought on such strange tribulations. I have discovered the closer you walk with God, the quicker the punishment comes which makes it much easier to understand why you are being punished for what you have done wrong.

The devil cannot possess our spirit! He will test and tempt our souls and body, but if we belong to God, the evil one cannot steal our eternal spirit.

Demon possession for someone who is NOT born-again is a much different situation. The person who is possessed by a demon is obviously being used to serve the evil one.

“We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” (I John 5:18, 19)

Every new born-again Believer’s testimony I have heard includes a statement of being delivered of some sin, habit, or major struggle. Whether it is cussing, smoking, drugs, anger, promiscuity and this list can go on; Believer’s report being set free. Usually, they share they still have one or more sin problems they are having to battle. None of them report being delivered from every problem or sin when they became a born-again Believer. They may still have problems with wanting to get drunk, chase women, or run with old friends who do evil things. Whatever sin problems you still have, God expects you to overcome them; however, if you’re serious about being set free from sin He will help you.

He desires us to show our will to serve Him by resisting the remaining temptations. We must fight the good fight of faith, believing you will receive His Reward for overcoming sin in your life.

Show me a Spirit-filled Believer that is on fire for Jesus, and I will introduce you to the devil’s worst nightmare.

To be a born-again Believer without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, is to have eternal life with Christ but little power to defend yourself in this life against the world’s temptations. Therefore, I highly advise you to ask in prayer for our Heavenly Father to make a way for you to be baptized in Jesus’ Name, which is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

“And finding some disciples he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?‘” So, they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So, they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.” (Acts 19:1-6)

Begin to pray asking our Father in Heaven to deliver you from temptation. Give your promise that you will do everything your power to resist the voice of the devil, to the one who has led you into so much trouble in your life. “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). If you ask in prayer, these things God will deliver you; however, you must do your part and that is not to give an ear to the devil again.

Make your mind up today; you will only follow One voice, the voice of the Holy Spirit. Commit yourself to obey His Voice no matter what it may bring. Doing this will open Heaven’s window of blessings and the Holy Spirit will shower you each day of your life guiding you into all truth.

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13)

Walk in the Spirit with the fire of His Power burning deep within your spirit. Knowing that He will not lead you into ruin but rather give you more than your greatest expectations. To walk in the Spirit is to be led by the Holy Spirit fearing nothing on earth but the Spirit, for the Spirit is God. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

(prepared by, Kent Simpson)

Ministering in Spiritual Law

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As we go deeper into appreciating how God is working in our lives today, I think that it’s important to review a topic I covered this past year which I’ve gained a greater depth of insight. We’ve previously discussed how Apostolic Decrees and Prophetic Proclamations follow spiritual guidelines and restrictions. Likewise, all spiritual interactions follow a series of spiritual laws.

There are many spiritual laws that rule our lives just as natural laws affect our physical lives. Spiritual laws have many similarities to the laws of physics and when understood, the mechanics of the spiritual world can be treasured and used to benefit those who desire to expand their spiritual boundaries.

Physics can be manipulated by changing different inputs. Two of the most basic inputs are direction and magnitude. We experience direction negatively when we try to walk against a strong wind but that same strong wind can positively help a ship sail more quickly to its destination. Our thoughts, words, and actions in relation to God, will determine the direction of our spiritual lives, whether toward or away from Him. The difference between a gentle pat on the head and being crushed by a large boulder is an example of the effects of different magnitudes. Spiritual laws will be multiplied by a greater magnitude based on the power of your faith and relationship with God.

The Spiritual Rules we are covering in this article deal with how the intensity of your relationship with God and direction of how you live your life in relation to His Will are manifested in the spiritual realm.

A major difference between the laws of physics and spiritual laws is the aspect of time. In physics calculations, time is an extremely important factor and usually necessary to solve most problems. In spiritual matters, time is rarely a predictable element since God is eternal, so the effects of spiritual laws, whether positive or negative, can occur quickly or take years.

Nature’s laws, on the other hand, are more easily analyzed because their consequences can be replicated with predictable results within a restricted time frame. It is for this very reason why so many Christians find it difficult to understand why a heathen can seemingly go unpunished for their blatantly obvious crimes and feel as though God has ignored the suffering of His Children at the hands of the wicked for many years.

It may be satisfying to watch videos or hear stories of evil doers who got their just desserts immediately, but we need to first realize that God’s timeline and measurements for Justice will rarely match ours.

“Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.” (I Timothy 5:24, 25 NKJV).

We should be cautious about dwelling on the punishments we think our enemies are deserving of, lest we are corrected by the damaging aspects of the Law of Judgements.

Similar to Newton’s Third Law of Motion (For Every Action, there is an Opposite and Equal Reaction), the Law of Judgements stipulates that the positive or negative judgements we create will return similar types of blessings or curses, in equal measure, to our own lives.

The judgements we make of others, like a boomerang, are guaranteed to return to us in a 360-degree loop and send us in the direction we sent it. If our mouths and minds are filled with positive judgements of others, we will experience blessings of the same nature. Likewise, it’s important to always keep this spiritual law in your forethoughts before speaking evil about anyone, for we are accountable for every idle word we speak.

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”
(Matthew 12:36 NKJV)

This law can be difficult for some Christians because the blessings and curses don’t always come from those, we made judgments about. It’d be easy to see the consequences of our righteous or evil judgements of others if they were always the ones who repaid us in kind. We must remember that God is the ultimate Judge and will ensure that Justice is fulfilled.

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:1,2).

Before we make any public predictions about the consequences of someone’s actions, we must confirm with God that He intends to judge and punish them on Earth. Simply because the judgement does not always occur on Earth or on our timeline, it does not mean that the spiritual laws are not carried out.

Scripture promises Judgment Day to all; however, those who are not of God are not governed by the same measure as His Children. Which relates to our second measurement: intensity of our relationship to Him.

Christians need to remember that those who do evil to us may not see their punishments in this lifetime, but God will most certainly correct us during our time on Earth. While at first this may seem extremely unfair, we must remember that as His Children, He seeks to right our path before we experience even more negative consequences because He loves us and wants us to live rightly.

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one, He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as his son.”
“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined-and everyone undergoes discipline-then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.” (Hebrews 12:5b-8 NKJV)

The magnitude of your relationship with God can also be understood as a multiplier effect of sorts, intensifying the blessings, curses, and punishments we and those who interact with us experience.

If, as a believer, we do not change our ways after God gently attempts to redirect us, we will receive much harsher punishments for knowing His Ways but choosing to disobey.

“If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.”

“…. then I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I, even I, will punish you seven times for your sins.”
(Leviticus 26:18, 28)

This multiplier principle, by God’s Grace, applies to a greater degree to the blessings we receive when we follow His Will. In the same way that He disciplines with a greater intensity, He wishes to exalt His Children in a measure definitely unequal to what we deserve.

“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” (Mark 4:8)

“So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time-houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions-and in the age to come, eternal life. ” (Mark 10:29-30 NKJV)

“Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion.” (2 Corinthians 9:10-11)

When we begin to comprehend the nature of spiritual laws, we are able to understand how we can operate effectively in the spiritual realm. Our judgements, thoughts, actions, and relationship with God are all important factors we must recognize affect our experiences in the physical world and the divine world we will inherit.
 
 

Written by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet

 

Knowing Your Teacher

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We need to recognize we are far above worldly concerns and surpass the pagan and the heathen. We can tap into the realm where God sits upon His throne. His throne is where He rules, reigns, tells us of things to come, and brings us back to remembrance of those things He has taught us.

We need to recognize when it is God and when it is not God. We need to be aware when it is our emotions and when it is the Spirit of God. Too many of us are speaking out of our emotions, and not by what we are hearing through our spirit. Too many of us rationalize by what we have been taught, ‘what is of God’ and what is not. We must learn His Ways and know His Thoughts in order to truly understand the word of truth.

“But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” (1 John 2:27).

What is John saying here? Is John saying that we should not listen to the teachings of our pastors or Bible teachers? No, but we need to learn how to be sensitive to the anointing for it sifts out the truth of God from the presumptive words of man.

“It is written in the prophets, and they shall be taught by God” (John 6:45).

How are we taught by God? If we are not to be taught by man then how are we to receive His Teachings? Most people are taught from Bible lessons or sermons; these are the most commonly known ways. However, there is one way that stands above all others; it is embracing the Anointing of Christ.

But how does that happen?

We need to learn how to be taught by God and by His Spirit. He speaks to your spirit. Your spirit has ears, your spirit has feelings, your spirit is combined of all the senses, plus more senses than the physical body. You need to be very sensitive to touch, smell, feeling, hearing, all those things in your spirit. For the Spirit of God will bear witness with your spirit, then you will “know that you know in your knower”-beyond a shadow of doubt that it is God. We need to learn to walk by our ‘KNOWER’ i.e. the Anointing of Christ. Because He knows all, we need to learn how to listen to Him.

“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.” (1 John 2:20)

Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words defines intercession as: “Primarily denotes a lighting upon, a meeting with; it is a technical term for approaching a king, and so for approaching God in intercession; (seeking the presence and HEARING OF GOD ON BEHALF OF OTHERS).”

Intercession is the birthplace for learning how to hear the Voice of God. Many people expect something to just fall out of the heavens one day, and suddenly you begin to hear God. It’s not quite that easy. Surprisingly, God has been speaking into your life more than you might think. You just haven’t learned from Him how to train your ear to hear Him. For He said, “MY Ways and MY Thoughts are not your ways nor your thoughts.”

There is no greater thing that we can do for one another than to pray for one another. The Lord is pleased with those who pray for those in need. He would much rather hear our prayers about the needs of our brothers and sisters, the church, our country, and the need for the balance of things, rather than hear our whining about our troubles.

He knows our troubles. We need to find out what He wants us to do to correct our troubles. That is why it is so important to have an ear to hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying- because He can fix it all. You do not need to feel pressured to know everything about everything. You just need to know how to hear from the One who knows Everything about All Things!

Many Christians are in an impoverished state, having lost the ways of Christ’s teachings. Mainly, because they have desired to learn from a spiritually deaf pastor, and follow their own desires rather than God’s.

If you have an ear to hear, the Holy Spirit will tell you where to go, what to do, when to do it, and how to do it to obtain the means to ALL your needs. If you are obedient and stop trying to compromise with your flesh, you will prosper. You will find yourself at the right place at the right time. How many times have you heard that cliché “Oh, he was just at the right place at the right time?”

You and I can have that ability to be at the right place if we will have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying. Practice the Power of Intercession, it is the first step to developing an ear to hear the Spirit of God.

Your spiritual ears work like radio antennas. We receive all kinds of thoughts with our spiritual antennas. Sometimes they are up and sometimes they are down. Sometimes our dial is tuned to the Spirit of God and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes we get that dial turned all the way around and we are tuned into the pits of Hell, going totally the opposite direction leading you away from the Spirit of God.

We duel all the time, warring within our souls- i.e. mind, will and emotions. Thoughts come to your mind, and you wonder, “Why am I thinking this? This is hideous!”

Where did it come from? You ought to know by now!

Resist the Devil and he will flee. Don’t entertain thoughts from the realm where Satan exists. Do not begin to entertain those thoughts, because if you entertain them long enough you are going to fulfill them by desiring them.

The spirit of fear comes and starts telling you, “You are going to lose your job, you’re not going to be able to pay the bills.” or “Oh, my kids are at school and I heard there is a child molester running loose!” You start getting your mind all balled up with all these thoughts on how bad it’s going to be and the possibilities of harm are numerous.

Stop thinking that way or you will come into agreement with the devil’s lies. Stop thinking; “They may get my child.” Do you hear what you just said? You just came in agreement with the Devil!

When the Spirit of God speaks, we must come into agreement with Him and Him only. Then everything will begin to work out in your life.

To lay down our life for our brothers and sisters, as their personal intercessor is a great thing. When you begin looking into others’ needs more than your own, God begins to take care of your troubles; for it is written: “… your Fathers knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8).While you’re busy praying for everyone else’s problems, the Holy Spirit will be taking care of yours.

Pray, Hear and Obey; it’s the Christian way!

(prepared by, Kent Simpson & Wes Arnold)

Hearing God for Salvation

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Few issues contribute to more disunity in the body of Christ than an age old debate over eternal security. Some say “once saved, always saved”, while others make the case for Christians being able to lose their salvation.

Proponents of a permanent salvation point to verses like John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” The same would be said for the verses Hebrews 10:14, “For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified,” 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” and Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Those who advocate conditional salvation argue,”Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13 New King James Version (NKJV)

Nevertheless, how then can it be that we have to work out our salvation, when it is said in Ephesians 2:8, 9 that, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Is this an oxymoron or another issue that we need to re-learn in order to get it right. This is another matter of doctrine we need to see changed in order to understand why it’s important to hear God and know His ways.

Can We Fall from Grace?

Those who believe in what John Wesley called “backsliding” to the point of returning to a lost condition refer to verses like Hebrews 6:4-6, “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” 2 Peter 1:10 seems to indicate the possibility of a fall with the words, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.” This sounds like the writer is saying it takes diligence on the part of Christians to avoid a fall from grace much like is referred to in Galatians 5:4, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

Which Side Is Right?

Each side of the argument has ample scriptural evidence to support their view point and this begs the question about which group is right. I believe that both sides are correct about what they espouse, however, both sides are wrong for not understanding the belief of the other camp.

Is This a Strange Paradox?

The issue concerns confusion over what it means to be born-again as differentiated from being saved. Many if not most Christians do not know the difference if they are aware of one at all. In fact, the dissimilitude is substantial.

The reason for the confusion is lack of understanding as to where the experience of being born-again or saved take place. The Bible teaches that in much the same way God is three-in-one we are also tripartite. In a similar way to God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit we are also soul, body, and spirit. This is illustrated in Hebrews 4:12, “For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” We can see in this verse that we are soul, body, and spirit. This is reinforced in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of Peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The born-again experience takes place in the human spirit. Jesus explained this to Nicodemus in John 3:5 when he said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus tells Nicodemus that being born again is a spiritual event in verses 6-8, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 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 1:12-13 informs us that the second birth gives us the power to become a son of God. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” which is bolstered in Romans 8:14 with, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Rebirth takes place in the human spirit which allows us to communicate with the Holy Spirit, as well as the angelic host. Our quickened and eternal life filled human spirit gives us a direct line to Heaven and enjoys perfect communication with the Holy Spirit as opposed to our soul which is comprised of the mind, will and emotions.

Paul makes the distinction in 1 Corinthians 14:14, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.” We see from this that the human spirit and soul (i.e. soul meaning: mind, will and emotions) can operate independently as Paul says in verse 15, “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.”

God’s sovereignty is reflected in Man’s soul, which is the seat of the intellect, volition, and all feelings. Christians are free in the soul to agree with or reject what is coming from Heaven via their human spirit. Salvation takes place in the soul and effects the mental and physical condition.

Spiritual birth takes place in the human spirit and cannot be affected by the soul or body, nor any outside influence. This is evidenced in 1 Peter 1:23 “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”

We can look back at Philippians 2:12’s declaration to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;” and understand that spiritual rebirth is everlasting, separate, and different from salvation, which requires our deliberate attention and effort within our souls. Paul is in harmony with this train of thought when he says in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

The New Testament speaks of believing with the heart a great deal. The word heart means the seat of the desires, feelings, affections, passion, impulses, and thoughts. The heart operates in the area of the soul which governs the mind, will, and emotions. Romans 10:10 says, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Hebrews 4:12 tells us that thinking and exercising the will takes place in the heart, when the author writes that God “is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Our hearts are aligned with God’s when our spirit is quickened by His Spirit and our Soul– (mind, will and emotions) comes into agreement with His Spirit, this creates a covenant arrangement that will empower us to fulfill His Will on Earth as it has been proclaimed from Heaven above.

It is to be understood, therefore, that we are born again in our human spirits and saved in our soul. Our spirits have been made alive and are incorruptible, while our souls have the option to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, which is in communication with our human spirit. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling in our soul. Hebrews 2:3 implies that we can choose to neglect our salvation, albeit to our detriment.

Galatians 5:4 speaks to the problem of falling from grace and verse 1 of the same chapter admonishes believers to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” In our mind, will, and emotions we see many people that are entangled with the yoke of bondage in various forms, although they have had true conversion experiences.

An oft cited verse that specifically talks about “everlasting salvation” (not to be confused with eternal life), Isaiah 45:16-17, explains that “the makers of idols will go away together in disgrace, [they will all be put to shame and humiliated.] But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put on shame or humiliated.” God had already promised that He would never completely destroy Israel, and by extension the spirits of those born-again, but those who created and sought other gods, including our desires outside His Will would be subject to “disgrace, shame, or humiliation.”

Christians are always and forever in right standing before God in their human spirit according to Hebrews 12:23, “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.”

Our regenerated human spirit is holy and without blame, while in the soul, there is an ongoing struggle to align our mind, will, and emotions with it. This involves a learning process and discipline on the part of the Christian to achieve the status of a heart, i.e. the mind united with the spirit, in line with God. This is what is meant by renewing the mind. It is no wonder why the spiritual armor associated with salvation in Ephesians 6:17 is a helmet.

Instead of “once saved, always saved“, we should rather understand that once we are born-again, we are always born again. Indeed, we can neglect our salvation and fall from grace to the effect that even a born-again person can experience a hellish existence because of sin.

 
 

Written by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet

 

Why Can’t I Hear God?

Could it be because you have sinned?

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In our recent history, God may have been overlooking some theological errors for the sake of what He wanted us to learn. But He is Now saying we need to address the things that have been truly keeping us from moving forward. This is the point of Apostolic Reformation– “Get it right, and My power will come“.
 

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained“.
(Acts 17:30-31 KJV)

 
We hear a lot about sin from Sunday pulpits and while there is variance among preachers concerning where the gray area ends and the sin begins the consensus generally is that they are against it. The same can be said for God in scripture. Not surprisingly the Lord has a firmer grasp on the subject.
 
Paul tells us in Romans 14:23 “…for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Paul is teaching in this chapter that if God has not by way of revelation given you liberty in an area it is sin for you to do it. He makes the point about whether or not one should eat meat or only herbs saying, “and he that doubteth is dammed if he eat because he eateth not of faith.” But Paul says for himself that God has assured him that it is permissible to eat both telling us in verse 14 “I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”
 
In Romans 2:14-15 Paul talks about the law being written in our hearts “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)”
 
Paul says this is how even a gentile can do the will of God without actually knowing or practicing the law. God writes the law in the hearts of men. This takes us back to Paul’s premise “whatsoever is NOT of faith is sin” which gives rise to the question “How do we get faith?”
 
Paul addresses this question in Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.” Word in this verse is a translation of the Greek word “rhema” and means that which is spoken. Faith does not come from what is written like Jewish law or even the Bible. Rather faith comes from what Jesus speaks to us by way of the His Holy Spirit. This is an ongoing process until the day God takes us home to be with Him.
 
Romans 8:14 tells us “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The way it works is Jesus speaks, and His Holy Spirit shares His words with us by way of our born-again spirit and as a result we have to choose to obey. If we choose to disregard what Jesus says James tells us in 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
 
Romans chapter 1:17 says “…The just shall live by faith.” So quite literally we live by hearing God and obeying the law written in our hearts by Him. This gives understanding to Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him…” Paul indicates that this law written in the hearts of men is an individual process and that as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling we should not judge others that have not received the same faith yet.
 
Paul says for some it is alright to eat meat and for others their faith will not allow it. He calls neither wrong but only admonishes us not to let our liberty cause another to stumble. Let us all live according to the manner of Paul in Romans 14:22 “The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God, Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”
 
Paul is letting us know that we should not look to our brothers and sisters in the Lord to emulate their behavior necessarily. What God has approved for another may not be the case for you. Once again, we cannot escape the truth that the Christian way is to Pray, Hear and Obey.
 
 

Written by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet