The Holy Spirit in your life.

  BY Argie Simonis 

The day of Pentecost (=fiftieth) is 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus.

It was the day the people of Israel celebrated receiving the 10 commandments at Mount Sinai. And this was 50 days after the Passover, when they had painted their doors with the blood of a lamb, were protected from the angel of death, and freed from the bonds of slavery (Leviticus 23:15).

Then they celebrated that God gave them the Law, now we celebrate that God gave us the Holy Spirit. Let's look at an analogy:

Then God gave the Law on stone tablets and 3000 people died. This was when Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the commandments. Because the people saw that he was taking a long time to return, he forced Aaron to make a golden calf for them to worship. When Moses returned and saw this descent, he ordered an exemplary punishment for the sin they had committed:

"And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men." (Ex. 32:28)

But when the Lord wrote His law not on stone tablets but on hearts, 3000 people were saved:

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." (Acts 2:41)

The Law brings death, the Spirit brings life.

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---- WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST?

On this day the Lord's promise is fulfilled. See what Jesus spoke to His disciples shortly before His ascension:

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Let's see how that day is described:

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." (Acts 2:1)

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." (Acts 2:2)

"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." (Acts 2:3)

"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:4)

Peter stood up and explained to them what happened:

"For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day." (Acts 2:15)

"But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;" (Acts 2:16)

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:" (Acts 2:17)

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---- WHO IS THE HELPER? THE DIVINITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit, the Helper, was different from Himself. The Father would send the Parakletos, the Spirit of truth, after Christ's departure. The Spirit would speak through them about Jesus (John 14: 25–26, 15: 26–27, 16: 7–15).

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." (John 16:13)

"He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:14)

The Holy Spirit is a person, he was present in Creation, just like the Son (the Word) (Gen. 1:1-3), He has feelings and a will and we must honor Him in the same way as the Father and the Son:

"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Eph. 4:30)

"But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" (Acts 5:3)

"... thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." (Acts 5:4)

"Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot." (Acts 8:29)

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Rom. 8:2)

"But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." (1Cor. 12:11)

"But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." (1Cor. 2:10)

"For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." (1Cor. 2:11)

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 9:14)

The Holy Spirit has life (Romans 8: 2), has feelings (Eph. 4:30) has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11), is omniscient (1 Corinthians 2: 10-11), is eternal (Hebrews 9:14 ) and is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7). A force or a power could not possess all these characteristics, but the Holy Spirit possesses them.

~~ And the personality of the Holy Spirit is confirmed by His role as the third person of the Godhead. Only a being who is equal to God (Matthew 28:19) and has the attributes of omniscience, omnipresence and eternity could be defined as God.~~

---- THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

The Holy Spirit, as we have said before, is not simply the active power of God. It is the person of Godhead, the Paraclete, who gave us the word of God:

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" (2Tim. 3:16)

"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2Pet. 1:21)

He is the Helper that was sent to our aid:

"He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:14)

"All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:15)

"A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." (John 16:16)

"Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?" (John 16:17)

Jesus had already warned His disciples that He would leave and go to the Father, and where He was going they would not be able to follow Him. Thats when they understood that He was speaking about His death, and because they were under the impression that when the Messiah came He would establish a physical kingdom on earth, they were confused:

"But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart." (John 16:6)

The disciples really loved Jesus because no one had ever spoken like Him, nor done all that He had done. But then He tells them something awesome:

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." (John 16:7)

~~ Think about what the Lord says to them here:

"It is better not to have Me in my physical body with you, but to have the Comforter with you." ~~

I believe this was one of the most difficult statements not only for His disciples, but for many believers today. This is exactly why Jesus began this statement:

"But I tell you the truth..."

~~ In other words, it is much better for us to have the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit to minister to us, than to have Jesus Himself physically with us! ~~

And I will explain it.

Jesus in the physical, could only be in one place and that limited Him. He also had to eat, sleep and rest. The Holy Spirit is constantly with us 24/7. In fact, He is not just by our side, but lives within us:

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1Cor. 3:16)

-- THE HOLY SPIRIT INSPIRES US AND ENCOURAGES US:

"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:" (John 16:8)

"Of sin, because they believe not on me;" (John 16:9)

What we have just read dispels the traditional belief that the Holy Spirit comes to tell you off and make you feel guilt for every sin you commit. The ministry of the Spirit is not a ministry of condemnation. This is actualy the devil's work,

"...for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." (Rev. 12:10)

Only one sin will send someone to hell, and it is for this sin alone that the Holy Spirit comes to reprove:

That is, if you believed in Jesus, the One who took upon Himself every sin you have committed and will commit. If we look at it deeply, the real root of every sin we commit has to do with where we are in our relationship with the Lord. This is exactly the reproof mentioned here and it does not have a negative meaning at all. When we sin, the Holy Spirit comes and says to us:

"Why are you trying to fill the void in your life with things of the world (lust, sexual immorality, gambling, alcohol, drugs, etc.) and not with God? I love you so much and want to heal you. Why don't you trust Me and let Me fill that void in your life?"

The Holy Spirit is our COMFORTER and not our ACCUSER. He brings the testimony into our hearts.

That is, He has a HEALING ministry. Yes, He comes to reveal us a sin, but not with rejection and condemnation, but with love:

"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Rom. 2:4)

If you feel guilt and condemnation for a sin you have committed, know that it is not God who is condemning you. This comes either from the devil, or from your own conscience.

Watch the next verse:

"Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;" (John 16:10)

So after the Holy Spirit has checked you for sin in the way I have explained, He will remind you that

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8)

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1John 1:9)

The Spirit also reminds us that the Lord has done the overturning, for all the condemnation that the devil tries to bring upon us, the Lord has already brought upon him:

"Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." (John  16:11)

We are the ones who really have victory, because the Lord on the cross triumphed over sin.

Do you see how important the ministry of the Holy Spirit is? A little further down in John we read:

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." (John 16:13)

He is our GUIDE, and in terms of the future think of this not only as a revelation of future world events, but as a discernment over time of the consequences that the wrong actions and decisions we make may have. Knowing something like this, how much could your life change?

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Closing this message, I would like to remind you the following: The Christian life is not just difficult. It's impossible! It is humanly impossible to love our enemies and forgive those who harm us, except by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is humanly impossible to turn the other cheek when we are struck, except by the power of God. If Jesus Himself needed the power of the Holy Spirit to begin His ministry, how much more do we!

Amen!

God's most difficult commandment.

 BY Argie Simonis 

When the Lord rose from the dead, He stayed for a time with His disciples before He ascended:

"Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:" (Acts 1:2)

"To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them FORTY DAYS, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:" (Acts 1:3)

We all like the fast food mentality, meaning I want it here and now, but life teaches us that for some people or some things in our life we ​​have to wait.

How many of us have learned to wait on God or the timing of the Lord until certain things are done?

God doesn't have an alarm clock to remind Him when to do something. And yet, God is NEVER late.

The day of Pentecost came 50 days after the Resurrection. For 40 days we saw that the Lord continued to be with His disciples, which means that after the Lord was taken up, they had to wait for 10 more days before they received the promise, that is, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Today, I will talk about these 10 days. We will see what happened and what lessons we learn from the Scriptures.

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After the Resurrection, the Lord stayed for another 40 days on earth. What were Jesus' last words, what did He tell His disciples to do just before He ascended?

I'm sure many of you will be thinking the words we read in Mark and Matthew:

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." (Mark 16:16)

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" (Matt. 28:19)

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matt. 28:20)

So the word you are thinking of is the word "go". But is it so? In the last chapter of Luke, chapter 24, and in the first chapter of Acts (of which Luke is again the author), we see clearly what were the last words spoken by the Lord shortly before He was taken up. His last words were not "go", but "SIT", and "WAIT". The Lord said this because if they tried to go before they got strength, they would accomplish nothing:

"And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)

"And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them." (Luke 24:50)

"And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven." (Luke 24:51)

"And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:" (Luke 24:52)

"And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me." (Acts 1:4)

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight." (Acts 1:9)

Nobody likes to wait. How many times have you made a reservation at a restaurant and are in a rush to get there on time, but once you arrive you sit on hot coals while you wait to be given your reserved table? You ask and complain, is the reservation made? Why are they late coming? Did something go wrong? Did someone else take our table? Where is the person in charge to talk to?

Is this happening only to me?

I will explain this in the message. Why does God make us wait? Why did Jesus not stay all 50 days with His disciples who were to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit? Why did he only stay 40 days and make them wait for the next 10?

We will also see where they had to wait and how they had to wait. In other words, if you expect a promise from God,

- where should you wait,

- how should you wait and

- why should you wait?

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1. WHERE DID THEY WAIT?

In this question, most people believe that the disciples were waiting in the upper room for the fulfillment of the promise. This is not wrong, but it is partially correct. And I will explain it.

The disciples waiting in that upper room were 120 in number. They were Jesus' first twelve disciples, the 70 whom the Lord sent (Luke 10:1), as well as the women who followed Him:

"Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey." (Acts 1:12)

"And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James." (Acts 1:13)

"These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." (Acts 1:14)

"And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)" (Acts 1:15)

Of course, this does not mean that they waited there in the upper room for all those 10 days without going anywhere else. Look at what Luke describes to us:

"And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:" (Luke 24:52)

"And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen." (Luke 24:53)

This means that they were neither in the upper room, nor in the temple 24 hours a day, but simply that they were constantly visiting the temple "glorifying and blessing God". That was their priority.

~~ This is how the first Church was born. In the Temple and in the upper room. And this is how it still works. In the home and in the temple. If you only have church on Sunday in the temple, but you don't have church in your home the rest of the days of the week, know that you are definitely missing something. We need both. And our personal time with the Lord in our home, but also communion with our brothers and sisters in the temple. ~~

There are disagreements that often lead to disputes about when we should worship the Lord. Some say that the worship to the Lord should be done on Saturday and others on Sunday. We get the answer from the practice applied by the first Church:

"And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart," (Acts 2:46)

"Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." (Acts 2:47)

"And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." (Acts 5:42)

"Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:" (Rom. 16:3)

"Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ." (Rom. 16:5)

But beyond the fact that they were in the temple and in the houses, there is a deeper truth. When they asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was, He told them:

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." (Μatt. 22:37)

"This is the first and great commandment." (Μatt. 22:38)

"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Μatt. 22:39)

~~ In other words, what the Lord told them was to have a relationship with God and with godly people. ~~

I answer the original question: Where should I wait for God's promise? And I'm sure ALL of us are waiting for some promise of the Lord to be fulfilled in our lives, for our health, our marriage, our children, our finances, our work, our future. So where should we wait?

~~ We saw this a little above in the verses we read. We wait by staying in relationship with God and with godly people. This is very important, and if you don't do it you risk giving up and missing out on the promise. ~~

ILLUSTRATION:

When you open your mobile phone, it usually shows some dots and a search signal at the top of the screen. And what does it say; "Searching For Connection".

~~ Every human from the moment they are born comes into the world with this need for connection. God has created us with an innate need to seek Him and other people. ~~

The Lord said:

"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Μatt. 22:40)

Do you want to see the whole Bible summarized in one sentence?

"Have a relationship with God and His people."

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2. HOW DO I WAIT?

How did the early believers wait?

"These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, ..." (Acts 1:14)

Prayer means to ask, and supplication means to ask fervently.

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)

Prayer is a big part of the Church. We do not pray out of obligation, but when we pray we communicate with God, we present our request to Him and as we speak to Him we give Him every burden and problem that weighs on us. When we do not pray, burdens remain upon us and continue to put us down.

So that's what prayer does. It carries our burdens to the Lord:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28)

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matt. 11:29)

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt. 11:30)

Now look at some characteristic examples of how prayer continues in the book of Acts:

-- Acts 7:55-60: Stephen prays before being stoned.

-- Acts 8:14-17: Peter prays for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit.

-- Acts 9:11: Saul (Paul) prays after his conversion.

-- Acts 9:36-43: Peter prays before raising Tabitha (Dorkas) from the dead.

-- Acts 10:1-4: Cornelius prays to God.

-- Acts 10:9: Peter prays and the Lord shows him to go to Cornelius to answer his own prayer.

-- Acts 12:1-11: believers pray for Peter who was in prison.

-- Acts 13:1-3: They pray and fast before sending Paul and Barnabas away.

-- Acts 16:13-14: They pray and the Lord opens Lydia's heart.

-- Act. 16:16-18: While Paul is praying, he cast out of a woman the python spirit.

-- Act. 16:25: As Paul and Silas pray, God opens their prison cell.

-- Act. 20:36 and 21:5: Paul prays for his friends before leaving.

-- Act. 27:35: Paul in the midst of the storm prays for God's blessing.

-- Act. 28:8: Paul prays and lays hands on someone and he is healed.

~~ Do you see how prayer was a very important part of the life of the early Church? The more we persevere in prayer, the more we will see God's promises come true in our lives. ~~

~~ You know, apart from the one and only time we accept Jesus Christ as Savior in our life, we continue to accept the Lord everyday in our life, not for salvation, but as the answer to our problems! ~~

There is the initial baptism in the Holy Spirit, but also our daily filling of the Spirit to deal with whatever problem comes into our lives. This is what Paul meant when he wrote:

"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;" (Εph. 5:18)

How do we do this? Watch the very next verse:

"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;" (Εph. 5:19)

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;" (Εph. 5:20)

Watch how the Holy Spirit comes upon us:

"Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened," (Luke 3:21)

"And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." (Luke 3:22)

"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31)

God's Spirit comes when we pray! If you are wondering,

"But as a believer I have the Spirit of God".

Yes, you have it and you receive it at the moment you got born again:

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (Rom. 8:9)

~~ But when there is a need, we need the Holy Spirit from within us to manifest outside us so that we can face what comes before us. This is what I mean by the Spirit of God coming when we pray.

In other words, the Spirit of God, the Advocate, is waiting for us to pray so that He manifests in the physical as well! The whole heavenly army is waiting for a believer to pray and agree with Heaven so that Heaven will come down to earth!~~

The Lord is waiting for us.

"Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months." (James 5:17)

When we receive a promise from the Lord we do not sit passively and wait for it to manifest. We trust the Lord, but we also pray fervently putting active faith in this promise.

"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." (Prov. 23:7)

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So in summary:

-- Where did they wait? In the Temple AND from house to house.

-- How did they wait? With prayer AND supplication.

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3. WHY DID THEY WAIT?

Why did Jesus only stay 40 days? Why did He let them wait the other 10 until the promise was fulfilled?

And don't forget that we know it today because we read it, but the disciples then didn't know it would be 10 days.

The Lord did not tell them how many days they had to wait until the day of Pentecost. So why did he tell them to wait? And by extension, why does God ask us to wait?

Many times we come to the Lord with all these questions:

Why, one, why the other,

-- why did my wife get sick?

-- why did my husband die?

-- Why Lord did this happen? Where were you when this happened? Why did you allow this to happen?

These are questions that all of us may wrestle within ourselves.

So why does God make us wait? It's a difficult question, but the answer is simple. You may not like the answer, but you'll understand once I explain it:

~~ The Lord makes us wait because He is God. He is God and knows more than we do. ~~

But apart from the fact that the Lord knows everything, He is also a God of love. That's why he makes us wait because he loves us. He does it for our good, to help us grow in our faith.

I will explain this better because we need to understand some basic things about faith.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1)

In other words, faith is hope that you CANNOT see.

"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" (Rom. 8:24)

"But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Rom. 8:25)

Here is the key word: WE WAIT

"It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD." (Lam. 3:26)

~~ If you get EVERYTHING you want, there will be nothing left to hope for. Those who have everything, or think they have everything, have nothing to hope for ~~.

That is why the most unhappy people in the world are those who have a lot, and in fact they are the ones who commit the most suicides, because they no longer have hope for anything.

That is why the Lord makes us wait, so that we can have hope and grow in faith. But the key here is to understand that in order for the Lord to increase our faith, He first increases our relationship with Him.

~~ This is very important. It is the heart of the whole message.

God gives you a promise, but you are not yet able to handle that promise. That is why the Lord first builds your relationship with Him, so that when the promise comes you can handle it. ~~

Do not forget that the promise fulfilled on the day of Pentecost was the power and person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the Helper, came with power that day.

The reason God is not giving you power yet is because that power will destroy you if you are not ready to handle it.

The reason the Lord made His disciples wait 10 days was because He wanted to push them into a deeper relationship with Him through prayer, so that when the power of the Holy Spirit came, they would be ready to handle it.

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---- ABRAHAM AND SARAH: ----

God made them wait 25 years until they saw the promise.

-- First, because they were not ready to manage the promise unless they waited 25 years. And we know this because in the 11th year Sarah gave her handmaid to Abraham to sleep with her in order to "help" God fulfill His promise. Neither Abraham nor Sarah were ready for the promise.

So every time you think that the Lord is increasing your faith, know that what the Lord is actually doing is building your relationship with Him. He prepares you to trust Him to such an extent that when the time of the promise comes you can handle it properly.

~~ If you pray to the Lord for a financial blessing or a promotion in your job and the Lord gave it to you immediately without preparing and maturing you in your relationship with Him, that blessing will destroy you because you will not know how to you manage it. Wealth and promotions without proper maturity destroy a person. And the Lord knows this very well. ~~

That's why He keeps you waiting.

Here is another question:

If the Lord knew it would take 25 years for the promise He made to Abraham and Sarah to be fulfilled, why did He give it to them 25 years earlier? Was he evil for doing this? Why didn't He tell them 1 year ago?

He did it precisely because he knew that they needed 25 years of waiting and hoping until they were mature enough and ready to handle this blessing.

This is one reason God is waiting.

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---- THE SECOND REASON GOD IS WAITING ----

Although the Lord does not keep a watch, the times He acts are always at the right time. Their son's name was Isaac. One day Abraham sends his servant to find a wife from among his relatives. On the very same day, this servant goes to the well, and Rebecca, on the same day, also comes to the well to get water. If Isaac had been born 25 years earlier, Rebecca might not have even been born.

Do you see this? God knows much better than we do, He has plans and He also has a way of bringing His plans to fulfillment. He already has a plan for your life:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jer. 29:11)

So, Isaac was born at the right time to meet his wife Rebekah, so was Jacob to meet Rachel, and Rachel's womb opened at the right time to have Joseph, and this continues until a virgin girl , Mary, the mother of Jesus.

And you know what the good news is? This continues to this day!

With your children and grandchildren! God already has a plan for their lives! The Lord is the One who does it, and be assured that this plan is perfect!

So for Mary, at the right moment the angel of the Lord came to her, many scholars and theologians believe when she was very young, around 13 to 16 years old, and so Jesus was born on a certain day, to begin His ministry In His 30s,

and at the age of 33 to die on the day of Easter, so that 50 days later the Holy Spirit would come exactly on the day of Pentecost.

And it all starts with Abraham and Sarah having to wait 25 years for the promise to be fulfilled!

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In summary:

I am sure that all of you are waiting for the fulfillment of some promise that you got from the Lord. The place to expect this promise to be fulfilled is in your relationship with the Lord and in your relationship with His people.

How you will wait is by prayer and supplication.

The reason you should wait is because everything the Lord does is for your good!

All of us are waiting for God to move His Spirit in some area of ​​our lives.

Be sure that the Lord loves you and never stops working in your life. And rest assured that He has a good plan for you. Stay close to Him, and keep your relationship with Him strong, and with His people. In the Temple, but also from house to house. Stay in prayer and supplication. Trust Him.

"And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform." (Rom. 4:21)

Amen!

The healing power of God.

 BY Argie Simonis 

The Lord has graciously provided us with many benefits. One of them is our healing. How do we receive these benefits and how can we walk in the healing that God offers us?

Look at what David writes in his psalm:

" Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name." (Ps. 103:1)

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:" (Ps. 103:2)

"Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;" (Ps. 103:3)

Here's a big reveal:

"Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases"

It is easier for someone to believe the first part of the verse, that God forgives all our sins, but many find it difficult to believe the second part that says God heals ALL our diseases.

And this happens because we all face health problems, we have friends or relatives with health problems, but we know that by grace the Lord has forgiven all our sins.

This certainly raises questions. Let's examine this more. Is it true that God still forgives and heals TODAY? Was there a time when God healed all diseases but He no longer does? Is there some limitation that God continues to forgive today, but has ceased to heal as He healed then?

And yet, forgiveness of our sins and healing are found together in the same verse! So with what logic should we seperate one from the other? Both statements are true. The Lord BOTH forgives AND heals.

The reason this question exists is because more or less all of us have someone in mind who came Christ and continues to be sick.

I will deal with this question today. I will explain to you why what David writes to us in the psalm we read is true and why we as believers sometimes get sick.

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I will answer three difficult questions:

QUESTION 1. - WHY?

For example:

- "Why am I not healed?". If God heals all diseases, why haven't I been healed?

- "Why wasn't my friend healed?"

- Why was my relative not healed?"

And an even more difficult question:

- "Why did my friend die?"

- "Why did my father, my mother, my brother die?"

These are very difficult questions, and for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one, the pain is great.

Let's go back to the psalm again. Do not forget that the fact that the Lord forgives and heals are in the same verse:

"Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;" (Ps. 103:3)

I will show you that this is a pattern repeated in the Scriptures. The Lord puts the forgiveness of our sins and healing in the same sentence. That's awesome!

"And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." (Isaiah 33:24)

Isaiah here speaks prophetically of the Church of Christ. People will not say I was sick, because they received forgiveness and healing. Do you see it? Forgiveness of sins and healing in the same sentence.

Again we see forgiveness of sins and healing in the same sentence! Christ took upon Himself the punishment intended for us, and by His wounds we were healed.

This Messianic prophecy that we just read from Isaiah is also verified in the New Testament:

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." (1Pet. 2:24)

Here we see it again: Forgiveness and healing in the same sentence. And in fact the word healing includes the healing of body, soul AND spirit. Through the wounds of Christ we are healed and complete.

So I pose the question to all of you:

- Do you believe that Christ bore your sins?

- Do you believe that Christ also bore your illnesses?

Before answering, you need to understand some basic things.

Let's go to Isaiah again:

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." (Is. 53:4)

The Hebrew word used for "sorrows" that we read here is mostly translated in the Old Testament as "sicknesses" or "diseases".

The same statement is found in the New Testament:

"When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:" (Matt. 8:16)

"That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (Matt. 8:17)

The Scriptures clearly show us that Christ bore both our sins AND our sicknesses.

Then why do we keep getting sick? To answer this question, we must first understand how Christ bore our sins and sicknesses.

Christ bore: 

- the penalty of sin.

- the power of sin, and

- the presence of sin (and sickness).

Let's start with the punishment first. There is no doubt that Christ bore upon Himself the full punishment that was ment for us.

Remember that when Jesus reveals himself to John in the book of Revelation He tells him:

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Rev. 1:8)

Jesus, God, is in all times, past, present and future. He is eternal. Therefore, 

- we have been saved, 

- are being saved, and 

- will be saved.

- We have been saved by Grace,

- we being saved, that is, we are in the process of being complete as we grow in our faith in the Lord while we live here on earth,

- and we will be saved one day.

Let me explain it better:

-- We are already saved from the penalty of sin:

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 6:23)

If you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you have been forgiven and saved from the punishment of sin.

-- There will come a day when we will ALSO be saved from the presence of sin. In Heaven there is no sin, no sickness, no pain, no sorrow.

-- While we are in this life, we have been saved from the power of sin. As believers, we have the power to resist sin, because Jesus bore this power of sin upon Himself. 

But because the presence of sin continues to exist in the fallen world we live in, sometimes even we believers fall under the power of sin. We all know that even when we come to Jesus, we continue to sin:

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1John 1:8)

Do you know why this happens? Because sin continues to exist in the world.

~~ In exactly the same way, Jesus bore our sickness upon Himself. We just read it. But because the presence of sickness continues to exist in the fallen world we live in, sometimes even believers fall under the influence of sickness. ~~

This is exactly the answer to the question:

"If Jesus heals all sickness, why so-and-so died of cancer?"

Because we continue to live in the presence of evil and sin in this world. But this does not mean that the Lord did not pay the price of sin.

~~ For you, who have accepted Jesus, God will never punish you for the sins you have committed, because He has already punished  Jesus for it! ~~

Do you know what this actualy means? If you are sick now, it is NOT because God is punishing you. God does NOT use sickness to punish His children. And this is because Jesus bore this punishment upon Himself for our sake.

Watch a prophecy about Divine Grace:

"And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee." (Ex. 15:26)

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QUESTION 2 - HOW?

In other words, how do I receive healing? How can someone receive healing? Just as we receive forgiveness. Don't forget the passages where we read that forgiveness of sins and healing are in the same verse:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Eph. 2:8)

"Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:9)

And according to James, we are saved not passively, but by our active faith that we put in Jesus Christ the Savior.

~~ Please note: We are not saved by faith, but by Grace, through faith. What does this mean; If God had not offered us His Grace and you believe that your faith alone is enough to be saved, then that is pride! Without the grace of God where can you put your faith? To yourself?

But precisely because you have put your faith in Jesus the Savior who offers salvation, you have been saved! It is His Grace that leads you to Heaven, and your faith is the way you receive this gift of salvation that was given to you by Grace! ~~

Salvation is the part of God that has ALREADY made available to us by His Grace, and faith is our response to that Grace.

There are two completely oposite extremes:

- Salvation requires works, and on the other completely opposite side,

- you must believe to receive your salvation, and every time you sin you are lost, repent and be saved again, sin and be lost again... This theology is completely unbiblical.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Εph. 2:8)

So I ask again: How are you saved? BY GRACE, THROUGH FAITH.

How are you healing? BY GRACE, THROUGH  FAITH.

I'm sure you've heard these extreme theories before:

"God does not heal today as He did then."

In other words, God has been healing for thousands of years, both in the Old and New Testament when Jesus walked on earth, but for some unknown reason God suddenly changes and heals only under conditions.

These views are totaly unbiblical .

This is actualy the works mentality that Jesus condemned.

Let me give you a practical illustration: When you eat healthy, exercise and take care of yourself you will be healthy. But health is a gift from God. In the same way, salvation is a gift from God and we are called to stewart the salvation that has been given to us:

"... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil. 2:12)

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13)

In other words, what Paul is telling us here is that when we turn back to sin, then we have received God's grace in vain.

Likewise, I have to take care of my body, but there are people who eat healthy and exercise and yet die of some kind of disease, cancer, heart attack, stroke and so much more.

So it is not by works that I am healthy, but by the grace of God. That's why I thank Him for every breath I take. The life and health I enjoy is a gift from Him.

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Watch the other extreme now:

If you have enough faith you will be healed. You just need more faith. We have heard testimonies from people who were sick and went to a ministry that focuses on healing, and instead of healing they received criticism and guilt because they thought the reason they weren't healed was either because they didn't have enough faith, or because there was some sin in their life . In fact, what happened was that in this ministry they felt shame because there was no healing.

~~ I will give you a tip and please be careful:

Never put contemnation and guilt on someone who is suffering. We live in an evil and wicked world and we as Christians should be the first to show love to people.

You don't get sick because you don't have enough faith and you don't get healed because you always do the right thing. None of us are perfect and none of us have perfect faith. But we can be healed BY GRACE, THROUGH FAITH.

Remember the 4 men who brought their paralyzed friend down from the roof of the house in front of Jesus? Do you remember what Jesus said?

"And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?" (Μatt. 9:4)

"For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?" (Μatt. 9:5)

"But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house." (Μatt. 9:6)

We come many times and ask the Lord all these questions:

Why this, why the other, how this, how the other...

The Lord asks you personally the following:

"Which is easier for me? To forgive your sins or to heal you?"

The answer obviously is that both are equally easy for God. In the same way that we receive salvation, we also receive healing. BY GRACE, THROUGH FAITH.

Don't allow any cONDEMNATION or guilt inside OF YOU if you continue to struggle with a sickness.

Don't neglect to pray for your health and that of your family and to thank the Lord for the grace He gives to youe and to your family.

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3. The last question I will answer is the following:

"What if I don't get healed?"

"if my child, my relative, my friend is not healed?"

Here is the answer:

I'll trust God anyway! See how the apostle Paul answers this question:

"According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death." (Phil. 1:20)

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Phil. 1:21)

"But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not." (Phil. 1:22)

"For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:" (Phil. 1:23)

"Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you." (Phil. 1:24)

No matter what I face, I know that God forgives ALL sins and heals ALL diseases. We still live in a wicked and fallen world, but God remains faithful and we can trust Him in every situation.

Amen!