The Personhood of The Holy Spirit

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Today we talk about the PERSONHOOD OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! I've been studying for what feels like months on this special topic and this is my first installment on a series of the Holy Spirit.

I had to repent myself for being ignorant of the Holy Spirit. I could potentially blame all the churches I attended for their lack of teaching, but the reality is that I myself am 100% responsible for searching the scriptures myself. I am 100% responsible for what I ultimately learn or not. So, who is at fault? Me, myself and I. We are the ones who should know better. But like millions of Christians out there, I leave my learning to the guy or gal behind the pulpit.

I do not subscribe to any particular denomination. So, I do see why there are in many churches a huge disconnect between scripture and Bible. No one wants to take the time to read. I myself, I refuse to be one of those “average” Christians. Yes, I am separating myself from the average people. I want more and to get more, I will invest as much time as I can in the Bible.

The thing about kingdom thinking is it is not world or church thinking. And honestly, I am fed up to the gills with the motivational preachers. I’m sorry, but take your love and fluff and stuff a teddy bear. I want MEAT! And by all the cats of this world, I am going to get me some!

I have attended church for the better part of 40 years. Maybe longer. But for the first little while, I was a literal child, and had no interest in learning anything. Now, 40 years on, I am getting restless in the pews and getting very tired of the same boring lectures of nothing that is valuable to getting souls saved.

I’m sorry, but the reason the church is dying is because the preachers have no foundations. Their roots are drying up and they are blowing away.

Like I said in my first paragraph, if I want to know something, I am going to have to search the scriptures for what I need to know.

Now, what I need to know and so do millions of others is the PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Most people have no use for Him and have zero understanding of who He is, what He does, and His connection to the Godhead.

It is my hope that I can accurately explain what I have learned. I have been trying my hardest to understand and as you can tell, I am not some biblically educated person, I am a humble disciple of Jesus. No title necessary for me. Just a person who wants all that God is willing to give, and from what I have read, it’s a lot!

Lets dig deep now into what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me on my journey to finding out who HE IS!

THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

I first heard about the Holy Spirit when I was a kid. I learned to speak in tongues when I was a barely a teen and I pray in tongues often. Tongues is one of the many giftings of the Holy Spirit. But what good is speaking in tongues if one does not understand the gift, let alone the giver?

The Holy Spirit is NOT:

• Abstract

• Impersonal Force

• Fluffy

• Quality

• Divine Essence

The Holy Spirit IS:

• GOD

• 3rd Person of the God Head

• Power of God

• Comforter

• Present

• Powerful

This is by no means the definitive list of WHO He is, but it is a very good start.

WHY ARE PEOPLE SO AFRAID OF HIM?

This is a good question. I know of many denominations that have little to no use for Him. The refuse to recognize Him as a person. They relegate Him to some abstract thought. As some secondary thought. I have heard people say that “it” is just a feeling, like the love of a mother. The warm fuzzy feeling you get. They speak of Him as an “it”. When we call something an it, we lessen the value of the object we are describing. We don’t call people “it” they have personage. When I think as something as abstract, I think of the modern art, just masses of colour thrown against a canvas in the hopes that something will come out of the mess that we are causing. The Holy Spirit is NOT Chaos. He is NOT confusion. He is NOT abstract.

Scott McKnight says:

“In the Church there is a broad ignorance, a lack of knowledge about what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit or the importance of the Holy Spirit," McKnight said when asked to comment on the joke some make when they refer to their church as being a "Father, Son, and Holy Bible" kind of place. Unfortunately, the frame of reference for many Christians regarding the Holy Spirit is informed by strange individuals they might have encountered in their life who have claimed odd things about the Holy Ghost or goofy phenomena they have observed on Christian television, he explained. Such experiences make people extra cautious, but that heavy cautiousness often results in a "let's not talk about it" kind of approach and the Holy Spirit winds up almost forgotten entirely, he said.”

There seems to be a general consensus that among these certain denominations that the time of the Holy Spirit ended when the bible was finished being written.

I grew up in a charismatic church, I have seen the power of the Holy Spirit first hand and yet my husband who grew up in a Baptist church state that he never heard of it. He was never exposed to the gifts; he was never encouraged to even seek the Holy Spirit.

Yes, In my opinion, Scott McKnight is correct in his assertation that people have seen “goofy” things that some folks claim to be the Holy Spirit, but that’s because people have not truly experienced the Power of the Holy Spirit. So, when they see something goofy, they are afraid of it. Now I’m not dismissing healings and moving’s of the Holy Spirit, but there is order in God and some of the things we witness are not from the Holy Spirit, but unless you know Him, you will not understand Him or how He does things.

The Holy Spirit is an Individual in the Trinity. He has His own personality, ways, expressions. He is very much God and He has a mandate here on earth that was given to Him by Jesus.

He is for EVERY believer, EVERYWHERE, not just the charismatics. He goes where He is wanted and is absent where He is not wanted, but is always with us. By “Absent” I mean, He doesn’t move like He would if allowed. If you ever been to a service that was on the brink of a Holy Spirit breakthrough and you know you can feel Him moving then all of sudden some dummy gets on the Mic and kills the movement – that’s what I’m talking about. A quenching, and the Holy Spirit withdrawals. He isn’t going to force Himself where He is not wanted.

The Holy Spirit is like Jesus, He loves the whole world and wants to be with us all. Dwelling within us and with us. Even Jesus submitted to Him here on earth.

Jesus never moved without Him. The Holy Spirit directed every earthly step Jesus took and if the Holy Spirit could guide Jesus’s, then He is more than able to lead me and you.

I get why people are afraid of Him, they don’t want to submit themselves to Him. They want to remain in total control of their lives and destinies. I’m sorry, but have you looked at your track record, if it’s as poor as mine, literally, Jesus, take the wheel! We can not do anything of our own self. We need the Holy Spirit to lead us and if you let Him, He will lead you into all truth.

John 14: 15-17 – If you live me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you

13 times in John, Jesus refers to the person of the Holy Spirit. He is a gift that we can not live without.

I get it, we are scared of anything we don’t understand. But trust me, if you get into your bible, you will know Him. He is nothing to be scared of but someone we should desperately chase after.

ASPECTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Let’s discuss some of the aspects of the Holy Spirit.

• He is the Spirit of Truth – Real, Eternal, Spiritual

John 2: 24 – God is Spirit and those who worship must worship in Spirit and Truth.

John 16:12 – I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth…

• He is not a “stretched truth”, He only speaks what He hears from Jesus.

John 16:13-15 – For He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears he will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me (Jesus), for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine, therefore I said that He will take what is mine and declare it to you.

• He is our Comforter sent to us from Jesus:

John 16:7 – Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

• He has a purpose here, a mandate:

John 16: 8 - …And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me, concerning righteousness, because I go to the father and you will see me no longer. Concerning judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged.

• He bears witness of Jesus – that Jesus came by water and blood

1 John 5:6 - This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

• He bears witness of the Trinity

1 John 5:7-9 -For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.

• He, The Holy Spirit is our comforter, you can feel Him. He is our teacher; you can learn from Him. He is our guide and we can most assuredly trust Him to lead us! The Holy Spirit is more than we have imagine Him to be. He is literally POWER and ENERGY.

Romans 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

• He will glorify Jesus; He will testify of Jesus.

John 16: 13 -14 - But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

• He is LIFE (Breath of life is the Spirit)

Rev 11:11- But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them.

• HE LOVES! Anything that Loves has personality! He teaches us, no human can teach Him. He speaks what comes directly from Jesus and it is revealed to us. The Holy Spirit is a deep teacher, He doesn’t waste time on trivial, He gets to the meat of a subject. He teaches us unique revelations that are in line with the Bible and you can not remove the Word from Him! Everything He has to say is right there in your bible!

Rom 15:30 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

1 Cor 2:10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. When we pray, He makes intercession for us! He is the middle man! He makes our case to Jesus so Jesus stands before the Father.

Rom 8: 26-28 -In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

• He has a will and mind

1Cor 12:11 – All these worketh that are one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing every man several as He will…

• He has emotions – grieved, vexed – You can resist Him. He isn’t going to force Himself on you, God never does. Everything He wants to do for you and with you is by your choice, He is a giver. You don’t have to accept Him and He will graciously wait. He is a gentleman. Humble and genuine.

Is 63:10 – But they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit: therefore He was turned to be their enemy and He fought against them.

1 Cor 12: 7-10 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

• He is a Searcher

1 Cor 2:10 - these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

What is He searching for? The deep things of God. The Holy Spirit is an intelligent being. He is God. We can not forget that. He is GOD. God that dwells in us and with us. That tells you the deep dedication of the Christian God! No other gods want anything to do with mortal man except Jesus! He came from heaven to earth, shed His god-hood and put on flesh so He could be one of us, experience life like us, die for us so that we could become like Him!

• The Holy Spirit does the talking in the body of Christ. He encourages the believer, the overcomer to push onwards, not to quit, not to give up.

Rev 2: 7 - Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

• He won’t allow the 2nd death to harm us

Rev 2: 11 -Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

• He will allow us to eat the hidden mana and give us the white stone with our new name on it

Rev 2:17 - Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

• He is the one that bears witness to mans salvation. He is a Sanctifier.

2 Thess 2:13 - But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits [a] to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

Dr. Lester Sumrall asks “How do we understand Personality”? He answers by our senses of feeling, sight and walk. So then we need to understand the personality of the Holy Spirit by our spiritual senses. We can not see Him, but we can see what He does. We can’t feel Him, but we bear witness to actions and miracles, we know Him because of the spiritual senses we have and we have a unique ability to know the Holy Spirit intimately if we want to. The bible is a spiritual book and therefore should be understood through the spirit not the natural. The natural mind tends to block what we can not understand. The spirit expounds on what we don’t understand.

1 John 4:2 – Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh is of God

We should desire a deeper relationship as I mention before. The fear that is holding you back is not good, it is from the devil. He wants to hinder your walk and wants to stifle your growth. The more you grow and learn of the Holy Spirit and in the Holy Spirit, freaks the devil out. The Holy Spirit gives you power gifts that will destroy the kingdom of hell! More on that shortly.

• The Holy Spirit is a witness

Heb 10:15 – whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us

1Joh 5:10 – He that believeth on the son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his son.

• The Holy Spirit is a mighty warrior! He has the face of a leader, He stands before us, our trusted guide we can follow Him into all truth as He is an instrument of the Most High!

John 16:13 – 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 show you things to come.

If you don’t know the way the Holy Spirit does! He is a faithful guide, He will not lead you anywhere you would be hurt, He will guide your steps if you allow Him too. He knows the path, follow Him.

• He is a Judge, upright and just. He is going to bring a stronger judgement! Don’t test Him, don’t think you can pull one over on Him. He is just!

John 16:8 - When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:

Acts 5:9 - Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

• He is our teacher! He will teach you in everything you need if you allow Him. He gives wisdom and knowledge!

• He blessed Jesus to teach

• He blessed the disciples to teach

Luke 12:12 – The Holy Ghost will teach you in that hour what you ought to say.

The more we delve into the Holy Spirit, the more we begin to see Him as a person. This is by far the biggest hurdled that I had to jump. In my younger years, I didn’t understand this. I don’t think I could understand that He was a person. In my child mind, I doubt I understood very much. I guess this is why being in my late 40’s I’m learning to study more on the things that I never really could understand.

I have read the bible cover to cover numerous times and have been devoted to studying for years. I never set foot in a seminary, mind you that would be epic if I could, but everything I have learned is because I have asked the Holy Spirit to teach me. Even know, going over my hand written notes and putting them here, I am getting more understanding! It’s really cool how the Holy Spirit works. I mean, think about it, all we have to do is ask, so simple right! I don’t need anyone to tell me what is what because He is right here showing me scripture after scripture to prove to me the points that I wonder on.

Nothing is hidden when we diligently seek to know the Word of God. That’s why Jesus said, Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, then all these things will be added to you. Whatever those “Things” may be to you, for me, as I am seeking, I am wanting to understand so that I will be able to share with others what I am learning.

I don’t ever want to stop learning. I want to go as deep as I can. And yes I do realize that it will cause friction in many areas of my life, but honestly, at this stage in life, there is really nothing more that I want than a deeper relationship with the Lord. I don’t have aspirations of being some big name preacher, I just want to be someone who if you ask a question, I might have a suitable answer for you. I know for myself, it’s something I would like.

Understanding someone as vast and as deep as the Holy Spirit is going to take a life time that this paper will only be a fraction of what I can describe. He has to be experienced. He is more than mere words on a page, He is the Holy God living inside of you and me! Mind blown fact. We need to know this! God isn’t going to bless our ignorance! We must dig for the truth! Seek ye first!

Comforter

The Holy Spirit was given to us our comforter. So, what exactly does that mean?

Easton's Bible Dictionary - Comforter

Comforter [N] [S] (Nave’s and Smith)

the designation of the Holy Ghost ( John 14:16 John 14:26 ; 15:26 ; 16:7 ; RSV marg., "or Advocate, or Helper; Gr. paracletos"). The same Greek word thus rendered is translated "Advocate" in 1 John 2:1 as applicable to Christ. It means properly "one who is summoned to the side of another" to help him in a court of justice by defending him, "one who is summoned to plead a cause." "Advocate" is the proper rendering of the word in every case where it occurs.

It is worthy of notice that although Paul nowhere uses the word paracletos, he yet presents the idea it embodies when he speaks of the "intercession" both of Christ and the Spirit (Romans 8:27 Romans 8:34 ).

Smith's Bible Dictionary - Comforter

Comforter. [N] [E] (Nave’s and Easton)

( John 14:16 ) The name given by Christ to the Holy Spirit. The original word is Paraclete , and means first Advocate, a defender, helper, strengthener, as well as comforter

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Comforter

COMFORTER

kum'-fer-ter:

This is translation of the word patakletos, in the Johannine writings. In the Gospel it occurs in John 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7, and refers to the Holy Spirit. The word means literally, "called to one's side" for help. The translation "Comforter" covers only a small part of the meaning as shown in the context. The word "Helper" would be a more adequate translation. The Spirit does a great deal for disciples besides comforting them, although to comfort was a part of His work for them. The Spirit guides into truth; indeed, He is called the Spirit of truth. He teaches and quickens the memory of disciples and glorifies Christ in them. He also has a work to do in the hearts of unbelievers, convicting the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 14-16). The Comforter remains permanently with disciples after He comes in response to the prayers of Christ. The word parakletos does not occur elsewhere in the Scriptures except in 1 John 2:1. In Job 16:2 the active form of the word (parakletos is passive) is found in the plural, where Job calls his friends "miserable comforters." The word "Comforter" being an inadequate, and the word "Helper" a too indefinite, translation of the word in the Gospel of John, it would probably be best to transfer the Greek word into English in so far as it relates to the Holy Spirit (see PARACLETE).

In 1John 2:1 the word parakletos refers to Christ:

"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Here the translation Advocate is quite correct. As the next verse shows the writer has in mind the intercession of Christ for Christians on the basis of His mediatorial work: "And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:2).

See ADVOCATE; HOLY SPIRIT; PARACLETE.

E. Y. Mullins

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From these references we gain the very clear distinction that the Holy Spirit is a fighter on our behalf! Comforter means more than warm and snuggly; it means that the Holy Spirit has got our back! He will fight for us, He will defend us, He will take care of us and provide for us! This is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me! He is calming, soothing, compassionate, caring. He is our Counselor, He is our Strength, Power and Boldness! He is justice and generosity! We also need to recognize that in all of this, the Holy Spirit is the leader in this and every Generation.

Lester Sumrall knew Smith Wigglesworth, and both were very well acquainted with the Holy Spirit throughout their ministries, they saw things, experience things that we today can’t even fathom! Smith Wigglesworth had a vision of the end times, he told Lester Sumrall that there will be such a moving of the Holy Spirit that many will be saved, hospitals will be emptied and revival will over take the land!

“What a wonderful, divine position God intends us all to have, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is something so remarkable, so divine; it is, as it were, a great open door into all the treasury of the Most High. As the Spirit comes like “rain upon the mown grass” (Ps. 72:6 kjv), He turns the barrenness into greenness and freshness and life. Oh, hallelujah! God wants you to know that

there is a place you may come to, in which you are dispensed with and God comes to be your assurance and sustaining power spiritually—until your dryness is turned into springs, until your barrenness becomes floods, until your whole life becomes vitalized by heaven, until heaven sweeps through you and dwells within you and turns everything inside out, until you are so

absolutely filled with divine possibilities that you begin to live as a new creation. The Spirit of the living God sweeps through all weaknesses.”

Smith Wigglesworth on the Holy Spirit page 11

POWER

There is Power and Energy in the Holy Spirit! And this is life changing power too! He gives us a boldness unlike anything ever, and it’s a boldness that isn’t arrogant and like the world, it’s one of power and assurance. The kind where you can stand in the day of trouble and have no fear because you know that the Holy Spirit is standing right with you, on you, in you!

Acts 1:8 – But ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the world! (THAT INCLUDES CANADA!)

• The Holy Spirit is achievement, He is the creative force in creation, He makes things happen. He is the breath of life that enters the believer when they receive Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. He is the life changer, the one who is with you in those dark moments, when you feel that there is nothing left, He is with you. He is holding you and comforting you. Wooing you to Himself. He loves us so very much and wants for us to accept Him and cleave to Him.

• The Holy Spirit is revealed in His Names:

Romans 8:9 - You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

1. Spirit of God

2. Spirit of Jesus

3. Spirit of Wisdom & Knowledge

4. Spirit of Truth

These names define Him and His purpose here on the earth. 160 times, the Holy Spirit was moving throughout the Old Testament. He proceeds from the Father and Son.

In creation, He proceeded from Elohim! Being a Plural name – Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

You saw Him in almost every book starting in Genesis. His imprint is left all throughout history. He was there hovering over the face of the deep in Genesis. He was there inside the burning bush, He was there when Samson gave his life for freedom, He was there with Daniel in the lions den and with the 3 children of Israel when they were in fire! He has always been present; we just did not recognize Him. Sinners can’t recognize Him; He is only revealed to the believer and can not be separated from us. For in Adam, our spirit died, we were only soul and body but in Jesus Christ! We are alive again through the Spirit who quickens our Spirits and our souls and bodies! We are made alive again!

DIRECTOR OF OUR STEPS

When Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us, it wasn’t just for one day. I’m sure a lot of people were scared when He first appeared at Pentecost, with the tongues of fire resting on the heads of the 120 people there, but can you imagine if such a example would happen here? I speak only for my own country, Canada, the year is 2023, and the times are nothing short of evil and vile. Women murdering their babies, men lying with men, men pretending to be women, women chopping off their breasts to become me. I’m pretty sure we are worse than Noah’s day! Thankfully, we do not have to navigate these times alone. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us every step of the way!

The Holy Spirit is Absolute Truth. He is not of this world and therefore is not ruled by the powers of this earth, Babylon. No, our Father, who sent His only Son knew that during these difficult times, we would need all the help we could get as we wait upon the Lord. Luke 19:11-27 we are told to Occupy till Jesus returns.

Occupy means to inhabit, settle, do business, live… That means we must still be in this world, but we most assuredly do not need to be apart of it allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you to where you need to be!

Acts 8:26-27 - Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,…

During this time, we should be eagerly devouring the Word of the Lord as much as we can. We need to be asking for the Holy Spirit to lead us, teach us and we can ask for Wisdom and Knowledge. We need to begin to rely on the Holy Spirit like we do Jesus and our Heavenly Father! They, all 3 operate in concert in our lives when we give them permission to move.

Even know as you are reading this, ask the Holy Spirit to move in you, ask Him for insight and revelation knowledge of who He is.

He is a giver and if and when you ask, He will give generously! Especially when you are asking for the right things. Don’t waste your time asking for mountains of money, that’s not useful. Instead, ask for Wisdom as to where to work, where to put your time in, how to serve, how to be a witness for Jesus in your mission field. Seek ye first the kingdom! Kingdom thinking is much higher and much greater than what you can think of or imagine, and when you decide to allow the Holy Spirit to come in and lead you, He will give you desires in your heart that you didn’t even know you wanted! My desires are so vast and in my natural mind unobtainable, but I know with the Holy Spirit directing me, I can have them!

The Holy Spirit guarantees spiritual gifts to all who believe and WANT them. We call them the gifts and fruits of the Spirit. I will talk more on those shortly. But for now I’m still not 100% certain that I have brought enough light to WHO the Holy Spirit is. Without knowing Him, having His gifts are hard to understand.

HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD

• Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father

• Is part of the Godhead

• All 3 are 1 – in action, thought, purpose, blessing and anointing

• All 3-bear witness to each other

1 John 5: 7-8 - For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

--Spirit = Salvation

--Water = Baptism

--Blood = Redemption (sins are washed away!)

• Holy Spirit is called God

Acts 11:9-12 - The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.

John 4:24 - God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

The Father wants us to know Him, He wants us to know the mind of the Spirit. He wants us to learn from the Spirit and be taught. The Apostle Paul had 3 years private tutoring from the Holy Spirit! Imagine how amazing that would have been! You and I have this very same opportunity! We have every right to go to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to teach us! He’s better than any seminary, hands down!

• Christ was indwelled with the Holy Spirit here on earth and had Him without measure! Everything Jesus did, as I mention earlier, was under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Right from Jesus’s birth to His Victory on the Cross! All was directed and moved piece by piece by the Holy Spirit.

• Holy Spirit lead Him through the wilderness and into the beginnings of His earthly ministry

• The Holy Spirit was with Him while Jesus was on the cross

• The Holy Spirit brought Jesus back to Life

John 3:34 - For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

Luke 4: 1 - And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Luke 4: 14 - And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

John 16:7- But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

John 6:63 - It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

We get to partake in this gift! We get to have a portion of the Holy Spirit for ourselves too!

• He Testifies of Jesus

John 15:26 - When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.

He is the divine agent of the Godhead – omnipotence is His control over all things. His omniscience is His authority to declare what is true. And His omnipresence is His real existence in every time and place. So, when we talk about the Holy Spirit (as God) omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, we are talking about His lordship as well. He is co-equal with the Father and Son, He is not lesser. He is uncreated and eternal!

The Holy Spirit thinks and acts, He is powerful! He can shake buildings! He is more than just an influence.

He has been identified in every dispensation!

This is why we ought to desire relationship with Him as well. We need to know Him as God, know Him as truth and in turn we will know our errors. Pride misdirects us but the Holy Spirit redirects us!

I read online a few days ago, which spurred me to write this paper – and I am very sorry it isn’t written in a professional way, I am new to writing like this. I write blogs, I don’t normally sit down and hammer out large documents!

Anyways, I was reading online and a question popped up about the gender of the Holy Spirit and frankly, in my opinion the replies were grossly inadequate! The feeling was like people thought of the Holy Spirit like He was a pet of some sort. Like God sent some animal down to guard us. It’s very disturbing really. I read one comment that got my hair up, the comment was to the effect, it doesn’t matter because IT doesn’t really matter. I’m telling you! I could have screamed at the person for an hour and then some! How irreverent! Ignorant! You have that person to thank for this endeavor!

• We are to teach the world and baptize them

• We are to ask for Wisdom and Knowledge

• We are to have communion with Him

Matthew 28:19 - 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Ephesians 1:17 - 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

2 Corinthians 13:14 - 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

You are contrary to the Holy Spirit by nature. The flesh and the Spirit do not get along, and the flesh is always trying to get away from the things of God. We cannot function in the natural if we are trying to walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:17 - So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Romans 7:15 - I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do.

Romans 7:18 - I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

Romans 7:23 - But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.

Romans 8:5 - Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Only you can take you to the wrong place! God won’t and the devil can’t! It’s all on you to make up your own direction. Often times, it’s under our own steam that we end up getting in deep trouble.

Look at Jacob from the Old Testament. Every decision he ever made was done in the flesh. Had he ever stopped to listen to the Spirit, he probably wouldn’t have ended up working over and above! But he was stubborn, did it his way and suffered all the way through. Yes, God blessed him, but he didn’t have to do it the hard way! Why settle for good when you can have God’s very best? All you have to do is submit to the Holy Spirit!

ENEMIES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

It is no surprise that the Holy Spirit has enemies. Father and Son do, so it’s a logical conclusion that He too has to put up with the powers of hell also, and of course people too. Humans being the worst offenders most of the time. We provoke the Holy Spirit all the time, speaking stupidly, then we insult Him and defame Him and blaspheme.

But not to be out done by mere humans, we must then see how the devil and his demons attack the Holy Spirit. They mock Him and His gifts by counterfeiting them. You can see this manifested in many “church” services where there is chaos and disorder. Even witches speak in tongues! The demons are liars and deceive as many as they can as they masquerade as giftings of the Holy Spirit. This is why we must know and understand Him completely. We cannot allow for this to continue! Is it any wonder why so many people are scared! All they have ever seen is the counterfeit spirits in action, because the church has been weak and laxed in their teachings! The Word says that we are perishing from a lack of knowledge!

Psalm 106:33 - 33 Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.

Matthew 12:32 - 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

1 John 4:3 - 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

1 John 4:1-2 - 4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

Matthew 12:43 - 43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

See, the devil wants to destroy us, but God!!! God wants to clean us up and fill us up with His Holy Spirit! What the devil has meant for destruction, God wants to turn around for His glory! Don’t get empty! Fill up with the Holy Spirit and His power, Jesus, doing good and loving this hate-filled world! We have a mandate, Christian! We are to go and tell the world of Jesus and His love!

Be ready for opposition! The spirit of the anti-christ is very strong in this generation and anyone who is going to stand up for Jesus is going to be attacked from all sides. Time is short and the devil knows this! He knows his days are numbered and he wants to take as many people with him as he can.

He will use anyone to get to you, to hurt you, to deter you from your assignments. But be of good cheer, Jesus has over come the world! We have nothing to fear. If they kill the body, instant glory!

The world opposes all that is good, they don’t want to see the truth because the lie is more comfortable and convenient. The flesh desires all that Babylon can offer! They want the wine, the jewels, the wealth the world. They think these “things” can bring them happiness and fulfillment, but in reality, they are just emptying themselves out. Hollow and hopeless. But Jesus came that we might have life and have that life abundantly! Stuff isn’t going to make anyone happy, it’s just stuff…but the Holy Spirit, He brings all the fruits of the good life with Him.

The good life is available only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Without Him we have nothing to go too. It was His blood that cleaned us and put us into right standing with the Holy Father.

Heb 9:14 – Jesus, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself to God without spot…

We now through the Holy Spirit have the honour to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices. We can offer our bodies to Him to work for Him and the Holy Spirit gives us new birth and seals us in salvation.

Eph 1:13 - In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,…

• The Holy Spirit provides access to God for us

Eph 2:18 - For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

• The Leading of the Holy Spirit keeps us out from under the Law

Gal 5: 18 - 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law

• He gives us Hope

Romans 15

• He dwells IN us! In the Old Testament He worked ON us. It’s personal baby!!!

• He makes every believer a temple

• He births ever true believer

• He has always worked with man but our time is running out!

We have no clue how hard the Holy Spirit works on someone to draw them close to God! In my own personal experience, I can see all the choices that I made that lead me down the path of destruction and where I could have made a choice to follow God! This is why we must never stop praying for our family and friends to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ! It may not happen today or even this year, but the Holy Spirit is working on the hearts and minds of the people we love AND DISLIKE!

THAT NONE SHOULD PERISH BUT ALL COME TO REPENTANCE!

In these end times, we must be ready for a working of the Holy Spirit! He is going to move and when He does, it’s will be more than we have ever experience before! The out pouring is going to be so great that His power will empty hospitals! I tell you what! I am excited! He has done millions of works through out the centuries so come expecting!

Ignorance of the Holy Spirit brings weakness to the body. This is why it is imperative that we as the church learn all we can about Him and then get out there and utilize the power gifts that He has given to us. When we operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will see the greatest movement of God this world will ever know!

Look at your own life and see what the Holy Spirit has done for you personally.

Before you were saved to the day of your salvation, are night and day! The Holy Spirit transformed you. He leads you into all truth. He reproved you, He brought you before the Holy Father spotless and blameless, and every day He is teaching you how to live a Holy life that is acceptable! What a transformation! Now imagine if that call to Holiness went out to all of Canada and thousands answered! MIND BLOWING! Even bigger than the 3000 converts on the day of Pentecost!! It’s going to be wild!

The Holy Spirit will convince the world of Jesus! That is what He does! He glorifies the Son! He bares Him witness. No one can stand against the Holy Spirit, He will convict the hearts of all men!

I’m sure however, lots will want to do it the hard way. But again, as we press in to the Holy Spirit, things will begin to change. We must develop the way that He wills. Our minds need to be given over to the Spirit and be renewed. (Philp 2:5) We need to live and walk in the Spirit. (Gal 5:25) and it will not be easy.

Holy Cats! Women Preachers!

Picture of Apostle Junia

My blog, my opinion. I figured you would be used to that by now! You wanna fight, go to FB.

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I wonder if I reiterate myself again, if it will make any sense to any one else, might as well give it shot,  see if you have been reading along. 

LADIES!!! DO YOU REALIZE YOU ARE IN A WAR?!

Seriously girls! I don't know how to make this any more plain than the obvious but if I must take you back to the very beginning then I shall.

GEN 3:15 -And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed...

Enmity: the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.

Right from the start, the devil had it in for us! I don't know why he would decide to pick on us, you would think that he would know that women never forget a wrong done to them,  and we are very catty. Did he think we wouldn't turn our claws on him? Maybe, he never saw a woman before then! So he didn't know that we fight back!

I know I haven't forgotten what he did to our mother, Eve. And yes I'm holding a gruge.

Simple reason really,  he knew that women would bring about his end, and our blessed sister Mary did just that when she obediently and willingly stepped up to the plate to bring our Adonai, Jesus into this world! 

But don't worry, our troubles are only at the beginning.

Today's blog is about HOLY CATS! Women Preaching!

I see this question pop up so many times,  you would think by now that other people would catch on..."Should women be pastors?"

Short answer YES.

Trust me,  my mom was an ordained Reverend (before it was cool), and she and her female co-workers in Christ face numerous challenges to their authority as ministers of the gospel! 

We are from the Full Gospel denomination. It seems to me that a lot of the other denominations cherry pick the Bible and try to take things out of context or squeeze in wrong meanings.  Ladies,  please leave your denomination and just focus on the Bible.  The Bible will confirm itself,  it doesn't need a anyone to screw it up.  Read your Bible for yourself!

Now, the Long answer...... 

Scripture contrary to female pastors first: 

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

1 Timothy 2:11‭-‬13 KJV

Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

1 Corinthians 14:34 KJV

CONTEXT and HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 

ALRIGHT LADIES! Let's get down to the meat of these 2 scriptures. Sorry no potatoes- I'm keto lol!

Where we begin, we first have to know more about the author Paul!

The Conversion of Saul

One of my favourite people of the Church is Saul - here after called Paul. 

Paul was someone very inspiring to me. He knew his stuff, he knew Torah, he knew Mishnah (oral Torah - law). He studied with great fervor and was very zealous. In fact,  he openly killed people who disagreed with what he thought was God's way. Now that is dedication, right?!  Ya, a bit over zealous, but my point is, he wanted to be in total obedience to God's law because he thought he was doing what was right in his world view... until the Holy Spirit knocked him clean off his donkey, and struck him blind - because he was absolutely WRONG. Who knew! Right? (Sarcasm)

"Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me!" Jesus said to him in a bright eye burning light. 

Funny how Saul had to be struck blind to have his eyes open to the truth! And for 3 days no less. A lot can happen in 3 days... like a whole life changing event! 

Jesus had to get super drastic with Paul.  He got him where it hurt and humbled him.  

Imagine being Paul next; being lead by hand, vulnerable, scared and then, having someone you hated and were hunting and wanting to kill, praying for your eye sight to come back!

I know for fact if I were Ananias, I would have the biggest eat crow grin on my face so that would be the first thing Paul got to see when his sight was restored... more along the lines of not so big now, hot shot! 

Then Jesus sent Paul away to Arabia for 3 years before allowing him to preach the Good news and my thinking is, Paul had to unlearn a lot of man's nonsense and be taught the Truth of Jesus Christ. It's amazing what the Holy Spirit can teach you if you are receptive to his teachings. There is a lot of unlearning we all have to do when we start to develop the mind of Christ. 

The thing about Jesus's teachings, they were and are almost completely contrary to what the priest of his day were teaching and what Paul thought he knew. Even today, what Jesus taught goes against the world's standards.

If you ever paid attention to Jesus's actions,  you would see very clearly that He did not abide by all the man-made laws of the Jewish people.

Jesus "worked" and healed on the Sabbath, did not ritually clean his hands etc. 

Jesus/God, did not give 600 laws to the Jewish people, He gave 10, and it wasn't too bind the Jews, it was to show them that without Him,  they had no possibility of ever being holy.

These moral laws were proof positive that we all need a Savior. So the Jews not happy with 10 laws added 590 more! I'm sorry,  but I can't keep 10!!!  600 is a good old fashion, OH! helleth no! For me. 

Jewish Religion 

The thing about Paul, he came from a very misogynistic religion. 

Did you know that in the 2nd Temple that there was a "Court of Women" and a "Court of Gentiles"? Neither were present at the first Temple!

God, not even once, segregated women and foreigners from Himself. But the Priest went off their rockers a bit and implemented these new courts and the notion that they were superior. God wanted all men and women to come to Him and worship Him as one nation! 

Women in Jewish society at this time, were considered property, they had no rights, and were often disposed of quickly. A man could divorce his wife for any reason. 

I mean if she had burnt his toast she could be kicked out & put away (divorced) with nothing.  Some times, if she were lucky she could go back to her father's house if he allowed,  but such was the stigma of being divorced that most times she was destitute. A woman had to survive by any means necessary and that often meant prostitution because she had been disgraced and had nothing.  Hence the lady at the well with 5 husband's but wasn't married to the guy she was living.  Desperate times. 

If a woman was lucky and had any skill,  she could flee to the world of the Greeks and was able to have her own business,  and possibly thrive! But that was a rarity.

I am telling you ladies all this for context.  I want you to understand very clearly that God never intended for women to be treated so horribly.  But as a result of sin,  things got worse for women.  

See,  the devil hates us as I told you from the start and what he wants is our total destruction, and sadly,  there are far too many men willing to oblige this STUPID line of thought. 

When Paul came into the Christian faith he brought with him a Jewish mindset and you can see through his letters that he grew and changed a lot. At the beginning, he tried to marry the two ways because he still cared about the opinions of the Jewish people he encounter.  

For example, the circumcision of Timothy! Paul was afraid that people would judge them both because Timothy was not circumcised so he did it himself! Timothy was about 24yrs old! Imagine how mad Timothy was when Paul realized that outward circumcision was meaningless, and Titus didn't have to go through the ordeal!!! (Acts 16:1-3 and Gal 2:1-5)

Some scholars say that Titus was not circumcised because he was Greek and Timothy because he was half Jewish. 

I reject that and stand by my previous conclusion that Paul was learning and growing as he went. You can not stay the same when Jesus has a hold of you. Old things pass away...

He wasn't inconsistent,  he was growing.  And as God worked on Paul he had to let go of his religiosity and his Jewish mindset to be able to understand the freedom of Grace without works. 

There is ABSOLUTE Freedom in Jesus! When you decide to make Him Adonai of your life, you will see that your way makes way for Jesus to change you! His thoughts become your thoughts,  His way becomes your way,  you become one with Jesus and your whole world change from the inside out! 

He is the Vine, we are the branches. We grow together!

How many people do you know went "woke" and then realized how wrong they were in their thinking and did a complete about face? That's the work of the Holy Spirit! He is bringing the enlightenment of the Cross of Salvation to many people! Paul experienced the same growth that we all do. 

Points

1) Now, 1 Tim states that women need to learn in silence because Paul said First Adam was formed and then Eve. Then the fall...

So what does that mean?  True and yes correct, Adam was created first, however, why was woman taken from man's side? His rib? And when did she become subordinate to her husband?

Because God made her his equal. She had different abilities, but they worked with what Adam had. Complimentary, opposite sides of the same coin. 

Do you realize that they were literally the same person.  Eve was formed right from Adams own DNA! They were literally two people of one flesh! 💥BOOM BABY!💥

I also want to point out something I just learned recently, God called both of them Adam! It wasn't till after the fall that Adam called her Eve. God saw no distinction between the two of them. Because again, they were the same person in the eyes of God. 

Maybe that is how the Trinity works! All the same "DNA" so to speak but unique individuals.

Remember back in the old days how women were titled? I would have been called Mrs. Ryan Hood, because I took on the identity of my husband.  Because we are ONE flesh in marriage.  And equally valuable, but completely unique. That is how God designed it.  One man,  one woman,  one flesh.  

Gal.3:28

[28] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

1 Samuel 16:7  But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Now again, when did Eve become subordinate to Adam? When God cursed her. Up until then, she was his equal.

GENDERLESS, ONENESS IN CHRIST

We are all one in the body of Christ.  There is no head but Jesus.  No one is top dog, except Jesus.  No one is greater, except Jesus. We are all one body,  we all work together for the common good of the gospel.  We are not independent, we are ONE. 

John.15

[1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

[2] Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

[3] Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

[4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

[5] I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

[6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

[7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

1 Cor 12:12-14

¹² There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. ¹³ We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.

Next verse same as the first? 

2) Corinthians states that women can't teach a man so saith the law...

Question 

A. Is a female Christian saved by Jesus still under the law?

B. What law?

Answers

A.a. When did woman become subjected to man? 

-When we were cursed.  

A.b. What did Jesus's death on the Cross do? 

-Break the curse!

Women are no more under the law than a man. When Jesus died on the cross He died for women too. He broke the curse over us,  the same way He did for men.  We women are NOT UNDER THE LAW, we are under Grace. By the way ladies, pain in child birth is under the curse. 

N.B. - I had my only daughter with out an epidural, in under 2hrs with less than 20mins of actual pushing. I'm not under the curse and neither are you! You don't have to have pain in child birth!!

Jesus restored us back to our equal position with man. Divine order was restored for women! It wasn't until the fall and the curse that we were made Subject to mens authority! God did not design women to be subservient, He didn't even distinguish us by a separate name! We have a legitimate right to total equality with men. 

Now, I have my own theory on this scripture, Paul's letters are always answers to specific situations that the churches were dealing with. Paul was dealing with a very disorderly congregation and I believe that he was responding to suggestions that were being made, in vs 36 Paul says: 

What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?

1 Corinthians 14:36 KJV

To me, because the following verse speak about order, he is admonishing them for their disorderly behaviour as well as telling them their idea of silencing people (women) was incorrect. 

Looking at the wording of the scripture, the scripture says "Speak", The word for “speak” (laleō) does not necessarily mean a formal role in the pulpit—it is a general word that can also be translated “talk.” Paul used a general word to say that women should not talk, and we have to make an interpretive choice: Was he prohibiting formal speaking roles, or talk in the audience, or something else? (Heckler, know-it-all, chatty-cathy etc.)

Paul says that instead of speaking, women should be in submission. This implies that the Corinthian women were speaking in an insubordinate way. The fact that Paul said in chapter 11 that women could pray and prophesy, and in chapter 14 that two or three people could prophesy in a worship service, shows that women are allowed to have a slot in the speaking schedule. It is not insubordinate for them to speak prophecies; it is therefore likely that Paul is prohibiting some less-formal speaking, such as chatter or comments from the audience. 

Paul has already indicated that women can pray and prophesy in church (chapter 11), and a worship service includes two or three people prophesying in turn (14:29-32). This means that it is permissible for women to have formal speaking roles in the church. Paul was apparently forbidding some other type of speech. Just as he did not allow tongue-speakers or prophets to speak out of turn, he did not want women to speak out of turn, saying things in such a way that they were breaking social customs about what is appropriate.

God is Orderly. Everything He does is orderly and church services must follow order.

Paul did not make  blanket statement, he commanded order. 

Question

B.b. What law was Paul referring to? 

Answer

-The oral law, the Mishnah. 

Sorry folks,  that right there disqualifies itself. I and every other Christian out there are not bound by the Oral Laws of the Jewish people. We follow the Moral law of God, given by God Himself.  Even Jesus Himself, never followed the man made Jewish laws! 

There is no where in the Bible (OT), that expressly or implied, forbids a woman from teaching men, or speaking in the congregation.  In fact,  God appointed women to positions of Leadership over men! Our Adonai, Our Jesus, LOVES Women! We are His bride, His daughters,  His precious flowers.  Pluck a single petal from us and Jesus will have words for you. 

Ladies,  in Psalms 68:11-12 11The Lord gives the command; a great company of women proclaim it: 12“Kings and their armies flee in haste; she who waits at home divides the plunder...

Not all of us are called to be preachers or evangelist, but we are all called to proclaim the gospel!

There are those who are called to stay home,  some of us have to take care of the home front,  but a GREAT company of Woman are going to have to get out into the battle and fight for souls and the women at home are going to get the same rewards for taking care of things here. 

I'm sorry to burst the religious bull snot bubble, but we ladies have a divine calling on us and there are many great women who have gone before us to proclaim the Gospel! 

Don't let the religious bull snot stop you from your divine calling! You have a right to preach and to teach the Gospel and not just to kids! 

You have been called up to the front lines! Lace up your combat boots, apply your lip gloss, and get ready to stomp a few devils back down to where they belong! 

It is your God given right and your duty! You're woman enough and it's time for all hands on deck! There are souls that need saving and you my sister are just the woman for the job!

Pliny the younger, while persecuting Christians during the years of the early church martyred numerous women who were leaders in the home churches! You my sister are in good company! 

Check out this Wikipedia page for a list of females martyred for Jesus:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_women_of_the_patristic_age

Be that voice in your friend group,  be that voice at your work or gym! Yes you will lose friends and family but you are preaching the Cross of Jesus! The cross is offensive! Jesus is offensive! His truth is offensive! BE OFFENSIVE! 

BETTER THEM GO TO HEAVEN HATING YOU, THEN HELL LOVING YOU!

In our sin fallen world, the devil's influence over men is very eager to destroy women.  Look at today's society where men are dressing like women and trying to usurp our role! 

This is not an accident ladies,  this is an all out assault from the devil to take us out again! We can't stop fighting back now! 

Our western society has broken the foundation of our morals with allowing for same sex marriage which in turn has open the door to the total depravity of a sinful world.  It's only going to get worse and we got to fight back! 

The devil, that defeated foe will not have our children or our men! 

Take a stand for Jesus Sister Christian. Time is short.  

     _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Notable 20th Century Generals

Emilia Baeyertz

Margaret E. Barber

Susan Hammond Barney

Vonette Bright

Emeline S. Burlingame

Shirley Caesar

Ann Carr (evangelist)

Elisabeth Cassutto

Dorinda Clark-Cole

Beverly Crawford

Jan Crouch

Rosina Davies

Lynn Davis (singer)

Millie Dienert

Manie Payne Ferguson

Nona Freeman

Mae Eleanor Frey

Gayle Haggard

Lydia Elizabeth Hall

Marilyn Hickey

Alveda King

Bernice King

Anne Graham Lotz

Henrietta Mears

Joyce Meyers

Aimee Semple McPherson

Selina Mills

Beth Moore

Gertrude Morgan

Hannah T. Pratt

Susannah Jane Rankin

Della Reese

Dorothy Ripley

Esther Kerr Rustho

Ruth Carter Stapleton

Helen Thompson Sunday

Mary Magdalena Lewis Tate

Uldine Utley

M. E. Willson

Notable NT ladies: 

Brothers and sisters:
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus,
who risked their necks for my life,
to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles;
greet also the Church at their house.
Greet my beloved Epaenetus,
who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.
Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.
Greet Andronicus and Junia,
my relatives and my fellow prisoners;
they are prominent among the Apostles
and they were in Christ before me.
Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ,
and my beloved Stachys.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the churches of Christ greet you.

Romans 16:3-9

Mary Magdalene (Matt 27:57, 61; Matt 28:1-10; Mark 15: 40-41,47; 16: 1-8, 9-11; Luke 8:2-3; 24: 1-11, 22-24; John 19:25; 20: 1-3, 11-18)

Tabitha/Dorcus (Acts 9:36-42)

Mary, the Mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12; Col 4:10)

Lydia (Acts 16: 11-15, 40)

Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3, 18-20, 24-26; Rom. 16: 3-5; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19)

Phebe (Romans 16:1-2)

Mary of Rome (Rom. 16:6)

 

Junia (Rom. 16: 7)

 

Tryphena (Roman 16:12)

 

Tryphosa (Rom 16:12)

 

Persis (Rom. 16:12)

 

Mother of Rufus (Rom. 16: 13)

Julia (Rom. 16:15)

Chloe (1 Corinthians 1:11)

 

Euodias (Phillip 4: 2-3) 

 

Syntyche (Phillip 4:2-3)

Apphia (Philemon 1:2)

It's Unbelief that takes you to Hell

My blog my opinion- you don't have to agree. 

Christ's Sacrifice for the Ungodly

Romans 5:5-9

5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. 6For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. …7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!…

News flash - Unbelievers go to hell, not sinners. 

Jesus's death on the Cross was for EVERYONE and it covers ALL sins, not just for Christians, but for everyone. 

When Jesus said "It is finished" he meant it! He defeated sin right then and there.  He laid down his life to pay the sin debt of the entire world. We were redeemed at the cross.

Eph 2:8-9

8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.…

That is why we are told that our good works are as filthy rags, because the good work was already done in advance through Jesus.  There is nothing left for us to do but believe! You can't add to the Mona Lisa, you would ruin it! You can't add to the Sistine Chaple, it's done.  You can not add to the finished work of Jesus either because IT IS FINISHED.

You have been forgiven,  you have been redeemed,  you have been accepted.  All you have to do is Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.  That's its.  It's simplicity! It's so perfect that you need not mess with it. Just believe Jesus.

Not once did Jesus say "prove you love me". No He said, my death is proof that I love you! My resurrection is the evidence that I kept my word! 

Romans 8: 9-10

8But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.…

Friends, you aren't going to hell because you are LGBT, ADULTERERS, FORNICATORS - You are choosing to go to hell because you refuse to accept the FINISHED work of Jesus on the Cross. Your sins are forgiven the moment you believe.  It's unbelief that's dragging you to hell. 

Ps 86:5

5For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You. 6Hear my prayer, O LORD, and attend to my plea for mercy. 7In the day of my distress I call on You, because You answer me.…

Only believe.

Come out from among them!

My blog, my opinions. Write your own if you have something to say. 

I feel like preaching!

Rev 12:10

And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven, “Now have come salvation and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night.

WHO IS THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN? 

Satan! That arrogant serpent of old! That liar! The king of guilt trips!

Christian! You have a past, BUT GOD has forgiven you for the choices you made! The moment you came to the cross and laid your sins at the foot, the blood of Jesus washed you whiter than snow!

Your past is unchangeable, you can not make it better, only thing you can do is move forward in repentance. 

Psalm 103:12

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 

Philippians 3:14

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!

Don't let your past be your death knell! Don't let the devil guilt you because you messed up! God knew you would, He knew you would fall but He also knew that through Jesus you would be raised up!

Your past does not define you, nor do those who live there. The blood of Jesus defines you! 

God is calling His people to holiness! He is drawing the line in the sand even now. He wants you to pull yourself out of this world. He wants you to separate yourself. He wants all of you! Not the lukewarm version. Not the fence sitter. Not the double minded! It's time for ALL or nothing!

The devil will bring up your past every chance he can, But God! He uses the broken, the weak, the willing. 

Time is running short! We haven't much time before Jesus returns and this world is going nuts!

Christians- you will lose your job, your friends, your family, even your life. This is not a walk for the weak, this is a walk for those who will be as bold as lions! 

Come out from among them! These people are needing you to spread the truth of the gospel! Their souls depend on it. 

If you are calling yourself a Christian but living in the world's way, come out! Start small, be mindful of what you allow to influence your mind or jump in with both feet and catch the fire! Up to you, but "Choose this day whom you will serve ... but as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

2023

So let's begin with a Happy New Year to everyone! For those in Christ, may this be the year of the Lords favor on you. For those who are not of the fold, may you come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as soon as possible. 

This message is for the lost among us. Those who need Jesus. 

Friends, once upon a time, we were all sinners, but there were events that lined up in our lives that removed the veil from our eyes and allowed us to see the glory of Jesus Christ. Was it simple? No. Has life been full of sun shine and roses, no. So why do it?

There comes a time in your life when you come to an impasse, where hard decisions must be made and that line drawn clearly in the sand. 

For me, were I to continue on my path to destruction, (I admit my sins are plenty, too numerous to list,) or to finally humble myself at the awesome feet of a mighty, just God. If I continued, I can say with 100% certainty that I would be in my grave. The wages of sin lead to death and I was running straight for it. 

BUT GOD. 

God saw it all. He saw every second of that life and still looked on my ugliest sin filled self and saw Jesus beautiful redemptive grace for my life and loved me so completely. No human love can compare. 

God saw that this lowly human had a purpose. That preserving my life from my numerous attempts on it, I was worthy of His saving Grace and His love. All I needed was one more opportunity to turn around and face Him.

I came face to face with my God. I stood in His presence the unclean, evil, vile, sin filled wretch that I was and with one act of Jesus, He covered me in the redemptive blood of His Holy self and made me clean! Clean before my Lord! As the beautiful Petra lyrics state:

 "Like a spotless lamb, I'm blameless in His sight

With no trace of wrong left to right

I'm clean, clean, clean!"

There I, the lowliest of the low, could stand boldly before the throne of Grace! My true repentance and total turn around gave me the Grace to be united with the Father through Jesus's gift of the cross. Who am I, who is anyone that would not take such a gift?

But the gift, it comes with conditions -Honor the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might!

Turn away from the way of the world and cleave to Him. God's way must be your be all and end all! 

This world is sick and backwards, It hates all that was created by God, it twists and tears the very fabric of society, truth and right and for a time makes all evil feel right. But soon, sooner than you realize, the falsehood falls away and reveals the trap and often times, it's too late, you are trapped. You have been told a lie and you believed that lie and made it your life!

But God...

There is a way out! But it will take all you have to escape. You will have to kill that old life, the old ways, the lies. Repentance is never easy. Admitting to God that you have sinned even when you feel that you haven't because the world says so... God's way is higher. His word is absolute Truth. He is not a man that He should lie! No, He is just and righteous, there is no evil in Him. His word stands!

Not one of us is blameless! We all have twisted His holy scripture to suit our wants and desires. How many times have you spat in the face of Almighty God? This should terrify you! 

Friends, Now is the time, now it's the hour, the very second that you have an opportunity to turn from the life you now lead to a life that gives Glory to God. By reading these words, you have made yourself aware and accountable to the truth. You can not claim ignorance to Him. Hell is full of Good people with good intentions.  

Salvation is only through Jesus, no one and nothing else. Your Good deeds mean nothing! They are filthy rags before a Holy God.

But you in your infinite wisdom do not believe in God because "love is love" or children die, or good people die, or you have a disease that isn't healed or your dad died of cancer believing for a miracle. 

None of that is God's fault. It's because we have turned our backs on Him that sin has entered the world. And death and disease is a byproduct of sin!

But trusting God can make life worth living! Even if you are Never healed, you are still making an impact for Jesus! Being an ambassador for Him in the vessel you are in possession of, use it for the glory of a God! You don't have to be physically perfect to tell a broken heart Jesus loves you. 

You will lose "friends", you will lose family and perhaps jobs and social status but what does any of that compare to when you gain Christ? 

The time is coming when The Western church will be persecuted and ridiculed for what we stand for, but rest assured friends, we fight the Good fight of Faith! Our Faith is our seal and when they kill these earthen vessels we will be seated with Christ! Not even death can keep us from His side!

Christianity is not for the weak, oh no, it is for those who love the truth, who will stand for what is right and protect those who are weaker. We stand for Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our Faith! The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God! This time friends, when the book will close, will your name be written down? Do you have the fortitude to stand against the devil in these evil days? To turn your back on the world and live for Christ alone? 

Sin wants to seperate you for God, from His love. 

All you need do is throw yourself on the mercy seat, the foot of the cross, repent and turn from your wicked ways, run to God, let Him set you free and then...

Stand!

Jan 3 2023

The Fabulous gifts of Reconciliation and Forgiveness through Christ Jesus our God and Saviour

I have been avoiding social media now for months.  I deactivated Facebook a year or more ago, don't use Twitter,  have no clue how to work Instagram or tiktok.  I have no interest in reading things from covid to Biden to Trudeau et al. I am here to tell you,  I DO NOT MISS IT,  NOT EVEN A WEE BIT! 

Now,  just because I have chosen a quiet life,  does not mean the hubby and kids have followed suit.  So occasionally I get the latest news and gossip from lala land.

What I heard recently has prompted much study for myself. So let's get to it! 

Disclaimer: my blog, my opinion, you don't have to agree.  Move along lil' doggy if you don't like what your reading. 

Okay here we go!

So it has been said that Jesus doesn't address many of today's social issues.  No where in the New Testament does Jesus condemn things like homosexual behavior, or even pedophilia for that matter. Guess that means because Jesus didn't address it,  we have a pass to continue on. 

WRONG. So wrong.

Okay let's get to my first point. 

POINT ONE 

What the church has failed to teach could fill a few books.  They make distinctions for everything to suit the current social and political climate they find themselves in so they can be relevant to the times we are in. 

One thing the church has pretty much failed to drill home is the most simple basic fact: JESUS IS GOD.

Jesus is not just a flesh and blood man,  the Bible states in Col 2:9 that in Him (Jesus) the whole fullness of diety dwells bodily. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man at the same time. 

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God and the Word WAS God. He was with God in the beginning... skip down to 14, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among men.  

There are numerous scriptures you can search that talk about the triality of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

While our human brains can not completely comprehend the true nature of the God head, rest assured, Jesus is one with God.  He is God, PERIOD.

POINT TWO

Since we have now nailed that FACT down,  let's move along to the next thing the church is failing to teach. 

Since Jesus is God, everything that God has spoken has also come out of the mind and mouth of Jesus!

There is no discourse or confusion or separation within the God head. 

God Speaks, Jesus acts, the Holy Spirit works it all out.  They are in perfect unity and agreement 100% of the time.  

Jesus, trying to drill home this simple point as He stated in John 8:58, "Before Abraham, I am." And then in John 10:30, Jesus nearly got stoned for stating this "I and my Father are one". Don't think I need to make that any more simple.  

They all speak, they all agree AS ONE.

POINT THREE

Since they all speak and all agree as one, then the most logical conclusion is that anything God spoke in the Old Testament is in fact from Jesus as well.  Jesus has been since Before time and therefore as part of the God head has spoken the entirety of the Bible from the first words ever spoken "LET THERE BE LIGHT" to the last words of Revelations.

THEREFORE! Jesus from the start of the foundations of the World has laid out for all of mankind the rules in which He wants for us to live. 

POINT FOUR

The Bible has clearly stated from the first book to the last book the plan that God/Jesus has designed for the lives of the believers.  He has laid out very simple instructions for us to follow. 

Now,  some people like to call out things like what is written in the book of Leviticus as "cherry picking" and "hypocritical" because Christians today do not follow these specific commands from God. 

There are alot of people today who by choice commit infanticide through abortion, homosexuality, adultery, idolatry etc.

They say how come we aren't stoning your mother for wearing mix fibers or selling your daughters into slavery?

You guys remember when we had to put a warning label on coffee because it was hot? 

First let's make this super clear,  if you want to justify being a homosexual,  pedophile, zoophile (insert deviant behaviour) by using the Bible as your key argument, then you got a huge set of kahoonies. 

See,  Leviticus was not written for just anyone,  it was specific to a group of people who were CHOSEN by GOD and called to a HOLY life, separating themselves from the rest of us. They were given guidelines to live their lives by the Rule of God. Gentiles not so much. Sadly,  it's on the other side of the river we were not called to such a Holy Standard of living. We could continue to live our debasing, self absorbed lives as we saw fit. Leviticus DOES NOT APPLY TO GENTILES. (But hold on...more on this in a second)

It wasn't until Jesus came to earth that the message of SALVATION came to the gentiles. Remember the lady who came begging like a dog for scraps? Well Roll over puppy, it's our turn now!

POINT FIVE

The gift of reconciliation and forgiveness of sin

Time for the meat! 

Jesus said in John 14:6,  "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me. "

In John 9:5 Jesus said "as long as I am in the world,  I am the light of the world."

Light and Life are very significant in the life of a believer.

Jesus has clearly spoken here as God in His use of "I am". Research for yourself the many "I am" statements of Jesus and allow for the Holy Spirit to bring you the total Revelation of the oneness of JESUS AS GOD.

See from the very beginning,  God the Father knew that man was going to fall,  He new the entirety of History from start to now and knew that we were in desperate need of saving.  Jesus the son at the very beginning of time laid His life down for our sins so that we could have a future with Him in the presence of our Father. 

There was no greater gift than the gift of salvation through the shedding of the blood of the Lamb from the foundation of the world.  

Jesus came at a time in History when everything was perfect for the plan of salvation to be put into action. Justifying us all once and for all through his death on the cross and bringing is into right standing. His victory over death, hell and the grave has given all of us the "free pass" we need to avoid eternal damnation. Reconciliation was the game plan from the start. 

In the beginning God/Jesus spoke these words "LET THERE BE LIGHT". Now,  this is my opinion to which I am adding to this statement, take it or not.  

Light is not only about the physical light that we have because at this point the sun wasn't created,  this light was more then just a physical illumination, it was also the releasing of wisdom and knowledge in my opinion.  

People who are not believers are referenced in the Bible as being in the dark,  and there eyes are closed to scripture because they are in the dark,  when we become saved,  we are illuminate with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  The light that is in this world.  That light is a beacon that points us towards the Holy lives we are urged - not forced to live. 

We are asked by God to give up the things of this earth to come and follow Him.  The call to Holiness is like the call of the chosen people.  God is not commanding us that we must,  He is imploring is to come off our own free will. 

Jesus did not come to abolish the laws, but to fulfill them.  We have laws because we are to eager to sin. Ever hear that lock doors keep honest people honest? Same thing.  The law is still there,  but you don't have to go out of your way to break them.  In fact, unless you are breaking the law, you don't have to worry about them now do you? 

Jesus also brought us another awesome gift,  GRACE. GOD'S UNMERRITED FAVOUR. This is the best gift a Christian has because instead of having to continually sacrifice animals to cover our sins,  Jesus's death on the cross covered ever confessed sin once and for all. We can come boldly before the throne of grace and leave our sins as He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.

POINT SIX

CHOICES! Oh what a tangle web we weave when at first we practice to device. 

I'm going to cherry pick a couple of sins here,  I'm going to pick adultery and homosexuality.

So everyone who knows me knows that I am by far the most sinful human to ever live.  I have pretty much crossed off every commandment. Now one by technicality- I have never actually committed murder but to be honest I have wished that a couple of people would fall off the face of the earth so as the Bible Said hate in one's heart is essentially murder,  I have that sin against me. 

I have already confessed my sins before God/Jesus and I firmly believe that God/Jesus through the precious blood of God/Jesus has reconciled me back the Father. 

Sin is sin. There is no difference in what that sin is,  it all separates us from God.

Now specifically homosexuality, this seems to be the biggest beef between the world and the Bible at this present moment.  I have a couple of questions about this. 

1. If you're lgbt and not a Christian what does it matter to you what I believe or what the Bible has to say? Go on and do what you want,  your life. 

2. If you are a Christian and are lgbt and or support the LGBT, how do you reconcile supporting sin? Because if this is the case, your are saying that God/Jesus is wrong and you know better and what God designed from the beginning is wrong. 

If God in the Old Testament stated that a man sleeping with a man as a woman is an ABOMINATION, trust me when I say,  Jesus says the same thing. So if both agree we know the Holy Spirit is on board and that's the unity of the God head. 

God does not Condone sin of ANY kind. Hence why Jesus had to die!

Now again, if you are lgbt and you are trying to use the Bible as your key fighting point,  you are what we call an oxymoron.  You are trying to fight a battle against God using His own words.  It doesn't matter what you feel is right,  it only matters what God has decreed.  For a Christian,  it is to be our final authority on everything.  Your world view should only be through the lens of the Word of God. 

If you want to use your free will to live a lgbt lifestyle that is up to you but it does not absolved you from the consequences of your actions anymore then drinking and driving.  You may go accident free for a time but sooner or later it will catch up to you. 

God's Word is for God's people. If you don't want to be separated and set apart for Him,  by all means carry on  my wayward son, but you get your comeuppance when the time is done. 

Lukewarm Christian, you do not have the right to have your cake and eat it too. Sorry for your luck.  It is literally God's way or the highway (to hell). You do not have the right to tell God how His Word is to be.  He called these things SIN, that is why He provided us the escape,  Jesus.  

Jesus is the only way.  

You have a choice to make, choose you this day whom you will serve! It's 100% or nothing, your opinion is not needed when God clearly states He hates something. 

There is a way out, there is always a way out of sin,  that is coming to the cross of Christ and repenting, turning completely away from your sin no matter what it may be! Face the music, take the consequence but rest assured,  Jesus will be with you till the end of days.