June 30 | The Anointing

Series | The Spirit Filled Life

Scripture | Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”

Lesson 30 | The Anointing

In the Old Testament Moses was commanded by God to anoint the priests for service in the Tabernacle by pouring oil over their heads and letting it run down their beards and their robes, Exodus 28:41 & 29:7.  The word “anoint” simply means to “cover or to smear.”

Moses was commanded to cover the priests with oil as a sign to the people that the priests were set apart for the work of the ministry.  God’s reason behind covering the priests with oil was because He was giving them a physical sign of how His Spirit was going to be upon them and give them the ability to minister in the Tabernacle.

When Jesus came He was called both the Christ and the Messiah. “Christ” is Greek and “Messiah” is Hebrew, but both words mean “The Anointed One.” Therefore, Jesus was the Anointed One sent by God to do great works.  The Jewish people had been waiting a long time for the Anointed One to come and display God’s power upon the earth.  In the above passage Jesus is quoting the prophecy of Isaiah 61 concerning the Messiah and boldly declaring that He is the One!

The passage states that the Messiah will be anointed to, (1) Preach the Gospel to the poor, (2) Heal the broken hearted, (3) Bring freedom to the captives, (4) Release the prisoners, & (5) Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  And that is exactly what Jesus did for His three years of ministry upon the earth.

How?  Because of the Holy Spirit residing in Jesus He was given an anointing to serve God.  Plus, Jesus was not only anointed, but He was the Anointed One, meaning He could give God’s power to His followers. Therefore, after Jesus’ resurrection He gave the disciples the Holy Spirit so they could be anointed like Him, Acts 1:8.

Therefore, it was Jesus’ desire that all of His disciples would have the same power and authority that He had.  In other words, Jesus gave the same anointing/covering of the Holy Spirit to His disciples that He had, John 14:16-17.  Now you are commanded to go out and do the same things Jesus did, John 14:12-14!

Reflection | Do you believe that the same anointing (ability) that was upon Jesus by the Holy Spirit is upon you too?   

Action | (1) Ask the Holy Spirit to anoint and cover you with His power for service. (2) Walk, talk, and be filled like Jesus.  (3) Lastly, wherever you go in life believe you are anointed by God to do great things in Jesus’ name!

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 2 Kings 17:1-18:12, Acts 20:1-38, Psalm 148:1-14, & Proverbs 18:6-7. Click here to read online. 

June 29 | Never Grieve the Spirit

Series | The Spirit Filled Life

Scripture | Ephesians 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

Lesson 29 | Never Grieve the Spirit

Some people in the church forget that the Holy Spirit is just as much of a person as the Father and Son are.  Unfortunately, Christians can sometimes treat the Holy Spirit like He is an “it” or just a “force” rather then a fully divine person of the God nature.  However, the Bible is very clear that the Holy Spirit is not just a “force” but He is a fully divine person that possesses a mind, will, and emotions.

The Bible teaches us that God is three divine person in one being- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19.  This doesn’t mean the Father is one-third God and the Son is one-third, and so on.  But rather, that each person of the God nature is 100% divine and that together they are the one being in the Bible known as “Yahweh,” Isaiah 48:16.

Therefore, the Holy Spirit is worthy of worship, total obedience, and ultimate honor.  Paul in the above passage warns the disciples to not “grieve the Holy Spirit of God,” which means to not “cause sorrow by breaking His commands.”  We can grieve the Holy Spirit when don’t follow His guidance.  We can also make Him angry by lying to Him (Acts 5:9) and we can actually blaspheme Him (attribute His works to Satan) and not even be able to be forgiven, Mark 3:29.

It is very important to honor and love the Holy Spirit just like we honor and love the Father and Son.  Therefore, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, comfort you, and even convict you of your sins- but always try to avoid grieving him and making Him angry.  For those who are really led by the Spirit are truly the sons and daughters of God, Romans 8:14. 

Reflection | Do you honor the Holy Spirit like you do the Father and Son?   

Action | (1) Repent if you have ever grieved or angered the Holy Spirit. (2) Develop a close relationship with the Holy Spirit and ask Him to lead you in life. (3) Lastly, remind other Christians that the Holy Spirit is a fully divine person.

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 2 Kings 15:1-16:20, Acts 19:13-41, Psalm 147:1-20, & Proverbs 18:4-5. Click here to read online. 

June 28 | The Spiritual Gifts in Church History

Series | The Spirit Filled Life

Scripture | Acts 2:39, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off —for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Lesson 28 | The Spiritual Gifts in Church History

Peter preached the above words in boldness and in full confidence that God was going to keep baptizing and empowering His disciples with the Holy Spirit until Jesus’ return.  We can clearly see this pattern of endowing with power all throughout the book of Acts and in almost every Epistle. 

At the same time, even with all this biblical evidence some people still may ask, “What has been the role of spiritual gifts in the church over the last 2,000 years?”  I personally love to answer this question because it brings to light the beauty of discipleship and how in every generation since Jesus there has been Christians filled with the Holy Spirit!

Here is just a brief outline of the church’s interaction with the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the last 2,000 years, (1) 33-100 A.D., The Apostolic Church (the church of the first disciples) operated in the gifts of the Spirit as a norm as seen in the book of Acts, (2) 100-325, The Ante-Nicene Church (the church before the Council of Nicaea) reported seeing “women and men who possess the gifts of the Holy Spirit,” by Justin Martyr.

(3) 325-1517, The Roman Catholic Church (the church that unified most churches for 1,000 years) reported amazing miracles by its missionaries, monks, and leaders. (4) 1517-1900’s, The Reformed Church (the protestants that broke away from the Church of Rome) had many groups such as the Huguenots, Quakers, and the Moravians who operated in the gifts of the Spirit.

(5) 1900s-Present, The Spirit Filled Church (the largest group of protestant Christians) today numbers over 500 million and has the largest churches in the world.  Plus, we are continually receiving reports of signs and wonders from such places as Africa, India, China, Latin America, and all throughout the US.       

Therefore, not only is it clear that in “Bible Times” the gifts were active, but also it is just as obvious in “Present Times” that the Holy Spirit is still giving His gifts to whomever the Lord our God will call! 

Reflection | Do you believe God is still doing miracles today?   

Action | (1) Take some time to research all that God is doing on the earth today through His Spirit filled church. (2) Ask the Lord to use you just like how He used the first disciples and all the Spirit filled disciples throughout history! (3) Lastly, for further study read, “2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity,” by Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt.

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 2 Kings 13:1-14:29, Acts 18:23-19:12, Psalm 146:1-10, & Proverbs 18:2-3. Click here to read online. 

June 27 | Have the Gifts of the Spirit Ceased?

Series | The Spirit Filled Life

Scripture | 1 Corinthians 13:8, “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”

Lesson 27 | Have the Gifts of the Spirit Ceased?

Some Christians who reject the present day manifestations of the Holy Spirit try to use Paul’s own words against him.  They take the following verses to mean that when the “completeness” comes (i.e., “the Bible”), the gifts will no more be needed.  However, please read carefully these important words from Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:8-9, “8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.”

Accordingly, the “completeness” Paul refers to is not the Bible, otherwise when the disciples were finished writing the Bible “knowledge” would have passed away too!  Likewise, most scholars today believe “completeness or perfection” is referring to the resurrection body.  At the resurrection of the Christ the Christian’s body will be perfect and complete.  Everyone will be in the presence of the Lord face-to-face, thus spiritual gifts and human knowledge will no longer be needed for every believer will know God clearly. 

Plus, Paul makes his point even stronger in the following verses when he writes, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known,” 1 Cor. 13:12.  As a result, as Paul continues to write in the next chapter to “eagerly desire the spiritual gifts” and “do not forbid speaking in tongues” it is obvious Paul never believed the gifts were going to cease until everyone is face to face with Jesus!    

Reflection | Do you believe the gifts of the Spirit will never cease until Jesus comes back?   

Action | (1) Has anyone ever tried to discourage you from using the gifts of the Spirit? (2) Remind anyone who thinks the gifts have passed away, that the gifts will be around as long as there is knowledge.  (3) Lastly, never stop operating in the gifts of the Spirit until Jesus comes back!

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 2 Kings 10:32-12:21, Acts 18:1-22, Psalm 145:1-21, & Proverbs 18:1. Click here to read online. 

June 26 | Demonstration of the Spirit

Series | The Spirit Filled Life

Scripture | 1 Corinthians 2:4, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.”

Lesson 26 | Demonstration of the Spirit

Paul in the above passage summarizes his mode of operation when preaching the Gospel.  He 100% relied upon the “demonstration of the Spirit’s power.”  This can be clearly seen all throughout his missionary journeys in the book of Acts.

Take for example the following three passages: (1) Acts 14:3 records that while Paul and Barnabas were preaching the Lord, “confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders,” (2) Acts 14:10 mentions Paul saying to a lame man, “Stand up on your feet! At that, the man jumped up and began to walk,” and lastly, (3) Acts 19:11-12 states, “11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.” 

As a result, its obvious that Paul operated in total dependence on the Holy Spirit’s power.  Thus, if Paul was eager to lean on the demonstration of the Holy Spirit to assist him in preaching the Gospel, shouldn’t today’s disciples do the same thing?

Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 taught the clearest doctrines on the operation of the spiritual gifts and believed they were for everyone.  He plainly wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:1, “eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit,” and in 1 Cor. 11:49, “be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.”

Therefore, all disciples today should be like Paul the apostle and not just preach the Word of God with mere words, but with the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit! 

Reflection | How do you preach the Gospel- just with words or with demonstration of the Spirit’s power?   

Action | (1) Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit for the sake of the Gospel. (2) Be an open and willing vessel for God to use. (3) Lastly, next time you’re preaching the Gospel to someone ask yourself, “Am I just using words or am I depending upon the demonstration of the Spirit’s power?” 

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 2 Kings 9:14-10:31, Acts 17:1-34, Psalm 144:1-15, & Proverbs 17:27-28. Click here to read online.