Train of the spirit
This morning I want to talk to you about a train… Ron Zimmerman called it the glory train… Toby Mac called it the J-Train and according to new world son it is going to salvation station… This train is the body of Christ… it’s the church… Have you ever looked at an old locomotive? It’s a big intimidating machine… but most of them today are just sitting in a museum somewhere with no power… no good for nothing but looking at… so What does it take to make one of these old freight trains go? All it takes is steam… and now it only takes a couple of different ingredients to create steam: you have to have fire, and water… but they have to be added in order and be continually added to have continued power.
Now the first thing you must have is fire… the fire in the church is the word of truth Jer 23:29 [Is] not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer [that] breaketh the rock in pieces? … it is the gospel… you have to know the truth and the truth will set you free and if you know the truth it can set others free also… the desire to know and share the truth… when you know the truth and it has set you free and the love of God begins to dwell in your soul it is hard to see others bound and not have a desire to see them set free also… so the fire not only desires to know the truth but to share it also…but fire must have air to burn… you can take a roaring inferno and put it in a vacuum and it will die instantly… fire must have air to burn…
The air is the spirit of God… the breath of God… that draws a man to the truth… it guides and leads a man into all truth… it prompts the man to share the truth… you have got to have the spirit to understand the word in any depth… I’m telling you absolutely must have the spirit… a fire must have air to live and a Christian must have the spirit to live… see it is the spirit that reveals the word because man is carnal, but the word is spiritual so only by the spirit can it be discerned… Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. If you don’t have the spirit begin to seek the filling of the Holy Spirit… pray and ask knock and seek God will give you the spirit… Luk 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Now back to making steam… in the physical world the more that air flows through and into the fire the greater the heat of that fire… that is how a blow torch works the acetylene will burn pretty hot by itself when it is lit but when you begin to force the oxygen to it and focus its direction it can cut through solid steel. Jer 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But [his word] was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not [stay].
I submit to you that when the spirit of the lord began to move on that word in Jeremiah it became too Hot to contain… it burn a hole right out his mouth…
and it is the same in the spirit for us… the more a man opens himself up to the spirit (the air and breath of God) and lets the air into that fire of desire to know and share the truth of Jesus Christ… the hotter that fire is going to burn in that man’s soul until it is so hot he can’t contain it and when it is concentrated and focused on it’s purpose It can break through any barrier any strong hold the enemy has set up … and burn through even the hardest of unbelieving hearts in this world… but now we must open our lives up to the Spirit and allow the spirit to in our lives by yielding to the will of God…to allow this fire to burn hotly enough that it can cut through all the strong holds in our lives and even the lives of those around us… but the fire alone in the train will not get the train moving…
the other ingredient in steam is water… water is faith water never stops moving it is flowing in rivers and moved by tides by rotational forces of the earth… by evaporation… water never stops… just like faith… write this down faith is moving on the truth… faith as a noun is dead and anything dead no longer holds title to anything in this world… but faith as verb is alive and it never stops moving… this is true faith… it is an action produced by being convinced of a truth… we have all the object lesson of the chair and faith… faith is not faith until acted on so faith is action… not a proclamation… when you have enough heat you can add water and you will produce steam… when you add faith to the word that has been revealed by the spirit… you can speak and pray the truth with boldness… knowing and believing what you speak and pray is the truth… and when you speak and pray this truth full of faith… they will know it is the truth when you speak the truth in love… and your prayers will have power to heal, set free and deliver … because the truth will bear witness of itself in your speech and in your prayers when you act motivated by love. Now I’m jumping the gun a little here but ill get back to that in a minute… here is Some scriptures pertaining to faith in prayer Mar 16:17-18… Mat 17:20
Jam 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. He does not say it may it may save the sick… or we hope it saves the sick but it will save the sick… or in other words that person will not go at a shortened time in life… can that happen? Can a life be shortened or lengthened? Yes sir look at Hezekiah… Isaiah 38:1 says, “In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.’” (NIV) The Bible tells us that Hezekiah “turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.” (Isaiah 38:2 NIV)Isaiah had already left Hezekiah but God suddenly spoke to him, telling him to return and tell Hezekiah the following, “This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the kings of Assyria. I will defend this city.” (Isaiah 38:4-6 NIV) another scripture in in the commandments… Exd 20:12 ¶ Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Which implies if we don’t honor our mothers and fathers that our days will be short… is there an appointed time for death as if it was set in stone?… no… but choices we make can add or take away from our days… that is as far as it pertains to us… but in the foreknowledge of God He knows the day you pass from this world… because he knows every choice you will ever make…
Now back to our train… steam is the power that moves the train… steam is the power of the Holy Ghost… this power was given to us by God to enable us to live in His will and do His will in the world around us… Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Now this power is the spirit of God living in and through a person… it manifests in healing… deliverance… salvation… communication and in any way that God desires it should move through the one who is yielded to God and is obedient to the gentle prompting of His voice… for the apostles it came in all those manifestations before mentioned…
So let me ask you is there a way in which we can be living or acting in which this power will not be active in our lives even after we have received it?
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 1Ti 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 2Ti 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 1Th 5:19 — Quench not the Spirit.
Paul is saying when we stop living in faith as if God was dead or not active in the world… we grieve the spirit… also neglect the spirit… we must be stirring it up in ourselves to access the power… the power can be quenched… so Now with all these warnings about not cutting our self-off from this power of the spirit… it is obvious that we can be endowed with the power and not be using it… now Peter after receiving the Holy Ghost and even watching the gentiles receive the Holy Ghost removed himself from the gentiles when James and other Jews showed up in Antioch… from Jerusalem… he was not acting in the boldness of the word of truth that he had prayed for in the spirit in the beginning of the church… Act 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, Act 4:30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. Act 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
So we can be producing steam and still have no power to move the train… and it is because the steam has to be contained in a chamber of sorts… it was called a steam dome on the loco motive the steam had to be produced in this compartment or it would escape wildly without fulfilling its purpose… and so it is in the spirit… all these things must be done in love… the word even revealed by the spirit and acted on in faith… if it is not done in love will only bring judgment and condemnation… without the knowledge of God’s love and grace through Jesus Christ this word only condemns… all things must be done in love…
Now I want you to look back at Peter’s prayer in acts 4:29-3… notice in this scripture the first thing Peter ask for… it is boldness to speak the word… that tells me that the word of salvation is more important than the healing of the body and signs and wonders… even one raised from the dead must die again and face judgment… so salvation is more important even life… the most powerful manifestation the church can have in the spirit is boldness to proclaim the word of salvation to the lost and unbelieving… speaking the truth without fear… knowing beyond any doubts they possess and speak the truth… speaking the word of God leading the lost to salvation… this is the power the church has lost in these last days… lusting for signs and wonders… when the signs and wonders will come when we do the will of God… seeking to save those which are lost… the power to boldly proclaim the truth of salvation… the church is fearful that they will be put to shame by the falsely educated words of so called science… God is truth the big bang is not true… evolution is not true… God’s word is true and it is correct to tell others about salvation… it is correct to pray publicly in Jesus name… it is correct to express your thanks to God in public… it is correct to worship and live the life of faith publicly… speak the word of salvation without fear… win unbelieving souls by the word of your testimony, the example of the true life of Christianity and the of Love God the lost burning in your soul… that was something the church had one time that it has lost… people who were willing to give themselves to the cause of others salvation… not for any gain in this lifetime but to store up their treasures in heaven.
If we are going to be a relevant church in today’s society… that is a church that matters… we must have that Holy Ghost power… God’s word revealed by the spirit… acted on in faith and motivated by love… the power of deliverance… the power of healing… the power of love… working in this church as God intends all churches to be… not programs or comfort gospel… but the truth in love that leads one to salvation and the unity of brotherhood… and now I see it beginning to come alive in this church… but my message this morning is more of a reminder to continue in this way that we have started in and not to grow complacent… we must continue to take hold of the power of the Holy Spirit in order to be a church that has this deliverance and healing at work through it…
Which brings us to the last thing this train needs it needs all these ingredients continually fed into the combustion chamber… fervency!... to sustain its power and continue its forward motion and complete its mission… we have this relentless fervency… we can’t stop putting the word in… we can’t stop praying … we can’t stop fasting… we can’t stop being faithful in our devotions to God and our house of worship… and we can’t stop searching for deeper understanding in the spirit … and we can’t ever forget to be motivated by love… let all things be done in love… because love never fails… its God’s love that upholds me… that’s why I can’t fail… I finally understand that about God’s promise to me now… when God promised me I would not fail… it was not because of me or some power He was going to give me… it was His love that was going to preserve me… Grace and love that could never fail… and because I gave my whole heart to Him I cannot fail because I abide in His love that cannot fail.
this power is the power of love… born out of true faith… and is carried out in our soul and in our life in a relentless fervency… it begins in a yielding to the will of God in self-denial… his will is revealed in the word by the Holy Ghost … living in the will of God loving God more than self and all else… after that we must stay in that yielded state… and being apprehended by the cause of Christ… the salvation, deliverance and healing of others… to seek and save that which was lost… that we would be of a truth… the servants of the most high God… Phl 3:12 ¶ Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. (See in yielding to will of God we allow ourselves to be captured just as Paul was and then we find ourselves driven by the desire to win souls by sharing the truth of Jesus… we enter into others suffering… and in compassion for their souls we pray for them out of love… love, which is a catalyst for the power of God… and in our passion for their souls and their healing… we actually touch the hem of His garment with their hand and the power of the Holy Ghost to heal, deliver and to save… is manifested in that touch… and they receive directly from God as we act as a conduit for the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says go in power and the beginning and the end of that power is love… God is love…
So then Motivated by love, we must be walking by FAITH… filled with FIRE and passion… doing the works of Christ with relentless FERVENCY… if we will not do all these… we will quench the spirit in our lives and in our church… and the their will be no power at work through us as individuals or as a church… and if not for love then its for vain glory… if not by faith then it won’t connect to God… if it has no fire or power then it is useless babbling… and if not with fervency then it will be Luke warm and refused… and there will be no power in our praise… no power in our prayer… and no power at all at work through us… because our heart will not be truly in line with what God looks to do through us into the world around us… then it becomes only lip service… as of people only going through the motions… but without any faith in what they are doing… we have got to have passion… believing the word of God toward ourselves… that His love will up hold us and we cannot fail… and believing the word toward others in this world He will heal deliver and save when we pray the prayer of faith over them… it’s time to get this train going up the ole glory tracks again… I pray that you would say today… let it start with me Lord… let it start with me.