The Spirit

God asks us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. How well do we allow the Spirit to teach us how to do this? Do we hold to doctrine mindlessly because we think that is what pleases God or are compelled to do so by the Spirit? What is the spirit that drives what we say we do for God, be it studying the bible, teaching people about God, or even praying? are we inspired by our own desires to please God or look good before man or the Holy Spirit?

FaraiThat is sadly too, true. Sometimes we come with our “wonderful” ideas to the Lord and it seems that on some level we are saying, “now Lord, all I need is your signature here and this will be the most amazing thing I… I mean, you ever did for the kingdom. If the rest of my response appears sharp, take heart, it is directed largely towards me. What is the spirit that drives what we say we do for God, be it studying the bible, teaching people about God, or even praying? are we inspired by our own desires to please God or look good before man or the Holy Spirit?This is an all-important question. Lately I have been compelled to stop during my readings reading because I feel that I have touched death. There is an inexplicable feeling of “not being edified” every time I read in the wrong attitude, that is, without seeking after God and our Lord then it is an exercise in futility. It is nothing more than the desire to develop my ego (the self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves) in disguise. This is of course not an all-encompassing theology on “what is lacking in worship” but, I would have to say that self is a big hindrance. An overdeveloped ego is nothing more than pride, which is a holiness repellent in that it repels God in whom is all Holiness. If we cannot approach God in Holiness, His holiness which for us is in His Son, we cannot touch the kind of glory that produces genuine worship; where you are genuinely thinking, “WOW GOD IS REAL!”. This (genuine worship) lies in sharp contrast to our use of memory to string a line of attributes of God, which we have learnt intellectually in our studies but when you have touched something real and living, praise is spontaneous and real. I am just zeroing in on one point here, but, knowledge in itself is not bad, but an over-reliance in what we know in our heads, by deduction, and what we have come to learn from a host of other saints. This is so artificial, that it becomes “vain repetitions”, a “written code”, a formula by which we manipulate a God whom by our very actions (even if we do not consciously say so) we believe is reluctant to manifest Himself. It is a lack of faith in God, but faith in knowledge that has been disguised with outward prudence (1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?) and dedication reminiscent of the attitude of the Pharisees. We must constantly examine ourselves to see if the words which we speak carry any weight at all, for the church continues to abound in “terminologies”, commentaries and translations but for all this we have seen no power (1 Corinthians 4:20For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.)Amassing all this knowledge is work which requires time, your time; will this work abide the fire? If not, what in God’s name are we doing, other than entertaining our minds? Knowledge is so seductive and subtle. One man said, “knowledge is power”. I fear that we are enticed by a demonstration of knowledge not only in ourselves but also in others. It is powerful and impressive but, a powerful intellect is a function of the unregenerate man. D.L. Mood preached the same sermons he preached before his anointing but how it that it was powerful only after the anointing. Words (in themselves) are nothing. God does not abide in the alphabet nor in our understanding of linguistics. He abides in Spirit and in truth. How then can we now take sermons and study them as if they are the source of enlightenment and not God (not that we consciously say this but let us be honest with ourselves dear people). We look upon them (sermons and scriptures) as something we can analyze as if the order of the words is the source of power and not God.Ravenhill said this, “God pity us that after years of writing, using mountains of paper and rivers of ink, exhausting flashy terminology about the biggest revival meetings in history, we are still faced with gross corruption in every nation, as well as with the most prayerless church age since Pentecost.”The compilations section has a sermon, “Young Donald Prays”. I was so impressed by this that I read up on the revival in question. The name of this young 16 year old boy came up again and, on another occasion he was called to pray with a congregation and all he said was, “Father” and everybody would break out and start crying under conviction of sin. One word- Father. I do not believe all the word studies in the world will reproduce this same effect in me, nor all the experience in the world. This kind of effect spoke some thing about the quality of relationship this young boy had with God. He was uncontaminated with bias silly ideas and words. Mr Campbell said, “As I was preaching I looked down and saw his (Donald’s) tears wet the floor, and I knew that he was closer to God than I was…and I said to Him, Donald, I find it extremely difficult to preach hear, I want you to pray.” Could we stand to condescend to those younger and less experienced and less knowledgeable than us? The wisdom of this world puts emphasis, on stature and knowledge, both of which are a hindrance to the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 1:29 hat no flesh should glory in his presence.)James

That is sadly too, true. Sometimes we come with our “wonderful” ideas to the Lord and it seems that on some level we are saying, “now Lord, all I need is your signature here and this will be the most amazing thing I… I mean, you ever did for the kingdom. If the rest of my response appears sharp, take heart, it is directed largely towards me.This is all because we don't do one thing, either in ignorance or just neglect. We don't seek the counsel of the spirit of God. On some levels we want to work for God but we want to do things on our own terms and therein is the problem. The work is not ours lest we mess it all up, the work belongs to God and it must be done through Him. anything else is futile and wastes time and resources that could be better spent. Through His spirit He gives life to His work, anything short of that means dead works.This is a thing which God is impressing on me to share with anyone who would listen.It is nothing more than the desire to develop my ego (the self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves) in disguise. This is of course not an all-encompassing theology on “what is lacking in worship” but, I would have to say that self is a big hindrance.Oh how we love to prove others wrong and make ourselves appear smarter or feel better about our own shorcomings than by putting someone down. We must always examine the spirit behind what we say and do: is it God compelling me to glorify Him, or am I trying to glorify myself?and dedication reminiscent of the attitude of the Pharisees. We must constantly examine ourselves to see if the words which we speak carry any weight at all, for the church continues to abound in “terminologies”, commentaries and translations but for all this we have seen no power (1 Corinthians 4:20For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.)Now while this may hurt some feelings God will not allow me to be silent on that note. We have so disected the bible based on OUR own perception of what the inspired authors were trying to say that many are lost. God will judge us for that. The bible is not a thing to be looked upon as we would look upon a science book. It is a book that was inspired by the spirit of God and hence it requires that the same spirit gives us the proper interpretation. If i had a nickel for every time I came up with some foolish definition or read or heard one from someone else...There are many things I have told people and told myself about GOd and the bible that were not born of the Spirit but born out of my own desire to glorify myself. If there was any kind of power in all the commentaries, opinions, published studies of the bible we would be kicking Satan's butt all over this earth and beyond. This just goes to show that there is no power in that at all, it's just a bunch of hot air. There is no power in knowing the bible backwards and forwards( I'm not advocating cessation of bible studies, just screaming out we should do so according to the Spirit of God!!!) The pharisees knew their scriptures better than anyone and when Christ came they were the main ones against Him when they should have been the first to recognize Him. Now how could this be? The spirit in which they interpreted scripture was one which sought to glorify them rather than God. Many of us are guilty of that. We must admit it and seek the Holy spirit to remedy this. God does not abide in the alphabet nor in our understanding of linguistics. He abides in Spirit and in truth. How then can we now take sermons and study them as if they are the source of enlightenment and not God (not that we consciously say this but let us be honest with ourselves dear people). We look upon them (sermons and scriptures) as something we can analyze as if the order of the words is the source of power and not God.This is it, this is what is causing an anger in my spirit now, and has been for some time. The lack of desire to seek God in spirit. Part of that is because for so long we have not sought the spirit that we are so divided on what the spirit will do, we're overly restrictive on how the sPirit works. The spirit works in more ways than we care to imagine and we need to come to grips with that, we just don't know ALL the ways in which the spirit works and it is not necessary because the spirit will bear witness to itself as it moves. A terrible judgement is upon us, it will come soon and when it does there will be no doubt what it is, but there will be much denial. Hold fast to the Lord and seek Him in spirit and in truth while He may be found lest you be swept away by the coming grievious whirlwind of judgement.

He was uncontaminated with bias silly ideas and words. Mr Campbell said, “As I was preaching I looked down and saw his (Donald’s) tears wet the floor, and I knew that he was closer to God than I was…and I said to Him, Donald, I find it extremely difficult to preach hear, I want you to pray.” Could we stand to condescend to those younger and less experienced and less knowledgeable than us? The wisdom of this world puts emphasis, on stature and knowledge, both of which are a hindrance to the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 1:29 hat no flesh should glory in his presence.)Yes indeed, it would be good to lend an ear to such but to truly listen and learn is a thing which comes only by grace.

Now while this may hurt some feelings God will not allow me to be silent on that note. We have so disected the bible based on OUR own perception of what the inspired authors were trying to say that many are lost. God will judge us for that. The bible is not a thing to be looked upon as we would look upon a science book. It is a book that was inspired by the spirit of God and hence it requires that the same spirit gives us the proper interpretation. If i had a nickel for every time I came up with some foolish definition or read or heard one from someone else...There are many things I have told people and told myself about GOd and the bible that were not born of the Spirit but born out of my own desire to glorify myself. If there was any kind of power in all the commentaries, opinions, published studies of the bible we would be kicking Satan's butt all over this earth and beyond. This just goes to show that there is no power in that at all, it's just a bunch of hot air. There is no power in knowing the bible backwards and forwards( I'm not advocating cessation of bible studies, just screaming out we should do so according to the Spirit of God!!!) The pharisees knew their scriptures better than anyone and when Christ came they were the main ones against Him when they should have been the first to recognize Him. Now how could this be? The spirit in which they interpreted scripture was one which sought to glorify them rather than God. Many of us are guilty of that. We must admit it and seek the Holy spirit to remedy this.We have heard the term “bookworms”, but what of the term “bible worms”? E.M Bounds coined the term (bible worms) in his book, “Power through Prayer”. Listen to this bro: THERE are two extreme tendencies in the ministry. The one is to shut itself out from intercourse with the people. The monk, the hermit were illustrations of this; they shut themselves out from men to be more with God. They failed, of course. Our being with God is of use only as we expend its priceless benefits on men. This age, neither with preacher nor with people, is much intent on God. Our hankering is not that way. We shut ourselves to our study, we become students, bookworms, Bible worms, sermon makers, noted for literature, thought, and sermons; but the people and God, where are they? Out of heart, out of mind. Preachers who are great thinkers, great students must be the greatest of prayers, or else they will be the greatest of backsliders, heartless professionals, rationalistic, less than the least of preachers in God's estimate. The other tendency is to thoroughly popularize the ministry. He is no longer God's man, but a man of affairs, of the people. He prays not, because his mission is to the people. If he can move the people, create an interest, a sensation in favor of religion, an interest in Church work -- he is satisfied. His personal relation to God is no factor in his work. Prayer has little or no place in his plans. The disaster and ruin of such a ministry cannot be computed by earthly arithmetic. What the preacher is in prayer to God, for himself, for his people, so is his power for real good to men, so is his true fruitfulness, his true fidelity to God, to man, for time, for eternity. This book (Power through Prayer) is directed towards preachers but it can and, in my judgment, does apply to any ministry; as many as are members of the body of Christ have a ministry of some sort. He refers to preachers in this next bit but look at it from your ministry dear friends: The praying which makes a prayerful ministry is not a little praying put in as we put flavor to give it a pleasant smack, but the praying must be in the body, and form the blood and bones. Prayer is no petty duty, put into a corner; no piecemeal performance made out of the fragments of time which have been snatched from business and other engagements of life; but it means that the best of our time, the heart of our time and strength must be given. It does not mean the closet absorbed in the study or swallowed up in the activities of ministerial duties; but it means the closet first, the study and activities second, both study and activities freshened and made efficient by the closet. Prayer that affects one's ministry must give tone to one's life. The praying which gives color and bent to character is no pleasant, hurried pastime. It must enter as strongly into the heart and life as Christ's "strong crying and tears" did; must draw out the soul into an agony of desire as Paul's did; must be an inwrought fire and force like the "effectual, fervent prayer" of James; must be of that quality which, when put into the golden censer and incensed before God, works mighty spiritual throes and revolutions. Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still. He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned well how to talk to God for men. More than this, prayerless words in the pulpit and out of it are deadening words.Prayer, particularly prayer “in the Spirit” is simply immeasurable to us. What are the implications of the Spirit to us? To me the greatest work of the Spirit is that it is an expression of Christ in us as believers. As we are different parts of the body of Christ, the Spirit expresses itself differently in all of us. Christ and the Spirit are inseparable for it is on this basis that we as believers have any relationship at all with the Godhead. We do not bring our on “worthiness” or rather, “unworthiness” to communion with God or with other believers. Being “In Christ” and “In the Spirit” are synonymous and are the basis for everything that is of the kingdom. It is these works that will abide the fire at the judgment seat of Christ. We must be in the business of examining ourselves, not by our own eyes and deceitful bias hearts, but in the light of the Lord, in which no darkness may abide. Howbeit we do not come to such light, especially the light that is in prayer, lest “our deeds be made manifest, that they are wrought in darkness.” Christ is our worthiness for being in the light and unless we lay hold of this worthiness we will not have the boldness and faith to make revolutions that produce abiding works for the kingdom. Listens to what Watchman Nee says of Christ in his book, “The Normal Christian Faith” (different to, “the Normal Christian life”): But our faith is entirely different. From its outset, Christianity is built on the man Christ. It is not built on the doctrines and teachings of Christ. It is amazing that when you open the Bible, you will not find too many chapters of doctrines. Passages where pure doctrinal issues are expounded are rare and of less concern to people. What concerns one the most is the man Himself and what kind of person He is. All who have read the Bible know that the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth are not outstandingly voluminous. His person draws our attention. He alone is the foundation of our faith.The word Christ came from Greek, meaning the Anointed One. According to the Chinese, when a man takes up a task, he is given a letter of employment. The Jewish equivalent of this is anointing. When God summons a person for a work, He pours oil on the person as a seal of commission. Christ is the very God who was set apart to come to earth to be a man for the manifestation of God, in order that man may know God. Christ is the Anointed One. He is commissioned to such a task.Due to this basic distinction, Christ is different from the founders of other religions. Once He asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Over and over again He demanded that His disciples believe in Him. He said that he who believes in the Son has eternal life. Again He said, "He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:37). Unless a man loves in this way, he is not worthy to be His disciple. Words such as these have been uttered only by Him. No other religious leader ever said anything like that. Confucius never said to Yen-weh or Tze-lu, "Believe in me," nor did he ever say, "Love me." Neither did any of the other leaders, such as Sakya Muni or Mohammed, demand of their disciples faith in them. All it takes to be their disciples is to believe in their doctrines.Hence, the true Christian faith is based on a person. It is built on Christ and not on some doctrines. The crux of the true Christian faith is a question of who Jesus is! Is He merely a Jew? Is He only a prophet? Or is Jesus the Son of the living God? The whole matter hinges upon who Jesus of Nazareth is. The difference between a genuine Christian and a false one lies not in the knowledge of the doctrines of Christ. Rather, it lies in the knowledge of who Jesus is!James

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.The thing I would like to bring to surface is the casing of the word spirit. The Holy Spirit of has, as you know, a capital S and our spirits have the lower casing of the s. Pay close attention to the casing throughout this discussion. To discern the things of the Holy Spirit we must have a quickened spirit. This is the whole meaning and purpose of being “born again”:John 3: 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.He who is “born again” is born of Spirit and that which is born of Spirit is spirit. We must be clear that the immediate purpose of being born again is that we may have the means to have communion with the His Spirit. Spiritual things cannot be discerned until we are born again. To be born of the Spirit in this way is a definite event, and it is not something vague or theoretical, our Lord himself defined this for us; that which is born of Spirit is spirit. As believers we must be aware of the health and progress of our own spirit. I am not referring to spiritual gifts here but an increased apprehension, relationship and awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit via our own spirit. The doctrine in this respect is not quite as important as the practice. People who pray often “in the Spirit” have a mature spirit and are able to discern the leadings of the Holy Spirit. A strong spiritual life is one with which a strong spirit is in active communion with the Lord’s Spirit and with the spirits of other believers. This is not spiritual gift but a function of the normal spirit of any believer who is mature in spirit. Spiritual gifts (which I am by no means denying) are totally separate from maturity in spirit. Only quality fellowship with the Lord and, secondarily, with other believers brings about such maturity. This is not “high level” Christianity even if the doctrines sounds new the practice is much more important.In conclusion to discern whether or not we are spiritual, we must first be aware of whether or not we have been born again and if after our birth we have matured in this spirit. Not maturity in gifts(prophesying, ministering, exhorting, faith, healing, tongues, wisdom, knowlege etc) for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. An increase in any of these (gifts) areas in not necessarily spiritual maturity. A muture spirit is evident in the life, temperment, mind, peace and chracter of the believerJames

We have heard the term “bookworms”, but what of the term “bible worms”? E.M Bounds coined the term (bible worms) in his book, “Power through Prayer”. Listen to this bro:bible worms...mmm...it has a ring to it...It seems to me that the system in the world centers around self and the glorification thereof, and when we take that mentality into scriptures, it causes big problems. While the intent may be to learn more of God and glorify God but we end up glorifying self. Even if one doesn't go into scripture with that mentality it is possible for it to creep in so we must be weary of this always. Prayer, particularly prayer “in the Spirit” is simply immeasurable to us. What are the implications of the Spirit to us? To me the greatest work of the Spirit is that it is an expression of Christ in us as believers. As we are different parts of the body of Christ, the Spirit expresses itself differently in all of us. Christ and the Spirit are inseparable for it is on this basis that we as believers have any relationship at all with the Godhead. We do not bring our on “worthiness” or rather, “unworthiness” to communion with God or with other believers. Being “In Christ” and “In the Spirit” are synonymous and are the basis for everything that is of the kingdom. It is these works that will abide the fire at the judgment seat of Christ. We must be in the business of examining ourselves, not by our own eyes and deceitful bias hearts, but in the light of the Lord, in which no darkness may abide. Howbeit we do not come to such light, especially the light that is in prayer, lest “our deeds be made manifest, that they are wrought in darkness.” Christ is our worthiness for being in the light and unless we lay hold of this worthiness we will not have the boldness and faith to make revolutions that produce abiding works for the kingdom. Listens to what Watchman Nee says of Christ in his book, “The Normal Christian Faith” (different to, “the Normal Christian life”):We see God working in the flesh, providing, protecting etc but we often are content with just that. God's work in the spirit is so much more amazing. God has brought me to a point where I know for sure He will make provisions for me in my life on earth so that sorta becomes an afterthought to what I can feel and see Him doing in the spirit. That seems to have taken center stage for me now. Seeing myself as God sees me, wretched and full of sin is such a breaking experience, but then becoming aware of the trouble God has gone to to to nurture this relationship is even more overwhelming. One sees his unworthiness and in that becomes wintness to the grace of God, God's perogative God bringing me into His presence by His own power.

The bible says that we are born again of the spirit, should we not then live and walk and breathe in the spirit? should it not become a thing we do each day untill it requires no thought? to walk in anything outside of the spirit is to walk in the flesh.

Can you define what it is you mean by worship him in spirit and in truth? What is your definition of being lead by the Holy Spirit? And how do you know when your desires are acceptable in God's sight?

Worshipping in spirit and in truth is loving God wholly, with all of one's being and when we show that love by various acts, those acts are inspired by His spirit. Truth reflects the genuineness (if there is such a word) of that spirit. As for how one knows whether one's desires are acceptable in God's sight, I can no more define that for you than I can how it should feel when you are in love. God will minister to me differently than He will to you because our needs are different and are characters are also different. The best I can say is this, God told me not to rely on how I felt coz I would not always get that same feeling if I was in line with His will for me. He said to trust in Him for that. He also said I should exercise the spirit and move as it directs.This strengthens the spirit and one matures in the spirit such that one is more and more in tune with God inthe spirit.The feeling I'd get ( af fuzzy sort of feeling I guess) was like a crutch now I have to toss it and walk. It's more of a sense of being pleasing to God than feeling like you are pleasing Him. That will be a thing that God will define for you and will not be the same for the next man.

Now than if worship is love then what is your definition of love?

love is not just a feeling but a response to that feeling, what you do in response to what you feel. God so loved the world He sent His only begotten son to die in our stead. worship is born out of love, and it is love.

Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments, John said the commandments of the Lord aren't burdensome. So could worship be doing Jesus' commands and a proof of our love toward God ?

Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments, John said the commandments of the Lord aren't burdensome. So could worship be doing Jesus' commands and a proof of our love toward God ?oh yes indeed bro dohzman but it doesn't just end there there are also tasks that God has for each of us which we are to fulfil, we shouldn't neglect those. The commandments of the lord aren't burdensome to one who walks inthe spirit, they become second nature, when we walkint he flesh however...

The mind of the believer is essentially the most active part (outside of the spirit) of his walk. We realize that the mind will manifest what is in the heart and if therefore our heat is wrong, the mind will manifest this fairly readily. In a word, “to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”(Romans 8:6). This statement alone shows us the gravity our minds have on our walk in the Spirit of Christ. A carnal mind empowers the flesh, “because the carnal mind is enmity against God…so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8). On the other hand a spiritual mind empowers the Spirit: “they that are after the Spirit [mind] the things of the Spirit… to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6). Added to this our Lord tells us that we are to, “….love The Lord thy God… with all thy mind.” (Mathew 22:37). We must have an awareness of the our own minds and what the sate of a healthy mind should be. A “saved person” (one born of the Spirit) should have a firm grip on his faculties. The mind should be subject to the person and he should be able to utilize it as a tool for serving the Lord. A weak mind is manifest most readily in prayer. Many people have the experience of not being able to maintain their concentration in prayer and meditation. A wondering mind is big hindrance to spiritual progress. If you cannot maintain concentration in prayer and meditation it is likely that this has been your condition all day, it only becomes evident when you are trying to pray because it is only then that you are finally trying to be “serious” and “focused”, to your horror, you find that you cannot. This is the tragic story of many of us. Let us be aware first of all that the mind is just a faculty which in service to us (the person). It is not “normal” to have random thoughts or images appear constantly into you head without your consent. A healthy mind should be able to stop and change its subject matter naturally. Remember, your mind is in fact “yours”, that is how the Lord is able to command us to Love God with all thy mind. Let us be very clear on this one, if you are saved, you should have full authority over your mind. As Dr Tozer once said, “Jesus doesn’t save people in pieces, if a man is out at see drowning we don’t take him out in chunks, we take the whole man in one whole piece. And so Jesus saves the whole personality, the whole character, all the man.”. Your mind is part of that which was saved and purchased by the blood of Jesus. Accept thus divine truth and receive it in the name of Jesus and your spiritual life will see a ray of light from the Lord.Having said this, we must now come to the practical matter of our experience. We have accepted the Lord truly and fully but how is that there is still some disharmony in the mind? We have established that a healthy mind can stop and change directions naturally and freely. If this is not our experience, the our authority is being usurped somewhere by someone. This “someone” is none other than the principalities, powers; rulers of darkness and “spiritual wickedness in high places” described in Ephesians 6. We are under constant attack and unless we realize our authority in Christ, we shall not find full victory. Paul tells us to “take the helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17). A helmet protects the head, and likewise we must realize that the salvation in Jesus Christ protects us from attack. We must call to mind this authority and use it in faith, and take back the ground that is rightfully ours. It is a battle and you must seize total and full control, in the name of Jesus, of your mind to serve God effectively. The quickest way to short-circuit a Christian is through the mind. Be fiercely aware of this and with Godly anger abhor that that which is evil and cast it out in the name of Jesus. For, as Paul says, “…the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Your mind should be for you a secure stronghold, a mighty fortress in service to God. Lay hold of it and grow in spirit!Having said that (the mind is a battlefield), we must not become preoccupied with the battle, as if our Lord set us free only to fight, that comes with the territory but it is not the focus of a healthy mind. The mind of Christ for me is decribed well in this passage of scripture:Philippians 2:1-11 1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.James

The unity of believers is one of the ministries of which, the Spirit of Christ is particularly concerned. In perhaps the greatest Chapter in the whole Bible, our Lord prays that the Fathers will may be manifest in the unity of believers as He says:And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are… That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (John17:11;21-23) The glory has been given to us believers that we may be one even as the Father and the Son are one. This is just as important as our personal relationship with Christ and should be treated as such. As Christians, the easy way out is to be in isolation. Dealing with others is time consuming, difficult, frustrating and often disappointing. The love of Christ is required for a close spiritual union, which can be referred to as glorious in the sight of the world and of God. We not only have the same Spirit as believers but collectively we have a glory that cannot be manifest in any one individual. I am not referring to the mere gathering of many people who have different agendas, but a collection of Spirit filled believers endeavoring towards the mind of Christ and actively pursuing the Father’s will. Such talk is very high and loft, and to the carnal mind this is far too idealistic but we realize also that to be carnally minded is death. We therefore seek to be spiritually minded and aim for the highest Kingdom ideal as set forth by our Lord and His Spirit through His Apostles. The words spoken by Christ are real and eternal…heaven and earth may pass away but His word endures forever. The Lord here is His High priestly prayer has literally spoken into existence a body for Himself, one full of His own glory and ones with the Father. We require our faith to collectively substantiate this eternal reality. We must admit that our own faith is lacking in this respect. We all have a measure of faith but this is not sufficient for the kind of unity that is synonymous with the unity of the Father and the Son. As much as we aspire to this our own faith and aspiration alone is lacking to complete. We need the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself to manifest itself through His Spirit. Faith in the authority of the name of Jesus Christ will manifest the perfect faith of the lord, as was the case when the lame man lying at the gate called “Beautiful” was healed. (Acts 3:16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.). The faith “which is by Him” is potent binding and supernatural. We require supernatural faith to manifest supernatural unity. No amount of organization and good intentions are going to create oneness in a group of people.This “ideal” must be taken with a pinch of salt. We are for the most part private people and unity means an invasion of privacy and of rights. In close fellowship the rights and privacy of believers must be non-existent. This is much more than being polite, and “putting up” with each other, but a genuine belief and attitude that others are better than me. (Philippians 2:3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.). Brothers and Sisters this is true suffering worthy of the fire and of our Lord. Esteeming others is a pain to the soul, and it is against everything that this world teaches us. We are taught to be “go getters”, and phrases like, “don’t let people push you around” seem balanced and sound enough even for us to teach our Children. The mental and spiritual tenacity required for this is simply beyond us. Paul tells us that it is in these situations that the Spirit will manifest himself. (Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26). We must be aware if we press towards the goal of the unity and glory described by our Lord, then our infirmities will be made manifest but our suffering is not in vain. (And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Romans 8:17) The end of Christian suffering is glory in our Lord. The Spirit helps those who suffer with the Lord for the glory of His Church. When we lay hold of supernatural expectations and promises the conditions are ripe for supernatural manifestations of God, but if we become complacent in the status-quo and the mold set by the world we will not touch the glory of God.James

The unregenerate spirit of man has no fellowship with God. In essence, death is separation from God, when Adam ate of the tree; his Spirit became a fallen spirit, one that was separated from God, that is the condition of everyone born of man. When we as believers are born again, our spirits are quickened (brought to life) and the union with God is once again possible. Life is in God and separation from God is death. One of the ideals that the Lord sets forth for us is worship “in spirit and in truth”. May the Lord lead us to understand what He meant by this:John 4:21 Jesus told her, "Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."Previously the Lord had His first discourse concerning the Spirit with Nicodemus. Our Lord is the master physician and we note immediately that He does not dispense the same cure to different patience with different illnesses. The message was specifically tailor made, for the woman at the well. He did not tell her about the need to be “born again” although that was needed, but he told her about, “a well of water springing up within him for eternal life” (verse 14). The Lord discerned both the woman and Nicodemus by His spirit. We know that the Lord was able to perceive with His spirit (Mark 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit…) and this was an accurate means for Him to assess the spiritual condition of a person. His spirit being pure was immediately able to discern a person’s spirit and their deficiency.Today we as “born again” (born of Spirit) believers are equipped with a live spirit which, which is in communion with God though His own Spirit dwelling in us. We must also realize that our spirits grow with continual fellowship with the Lord (And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Luke 2:40). Again notice the lower case s in the phrase spirit and truth, this referes to our own spirit, not the Holy spirit. Here the Lord tells us that we are to worship God in our spirit (for the time is at hand when we have received the means to do this). The Lord seeks a race of people to commune with Him in the same form that He exists, in Spirit. The doctrine of our spirit is not so important as the experience. People who have a strong fellowship with the Lord have a strong spirit whether they know it or notIt is a blessed thing to be able to serve God with our spirit. As Paul says, “For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit…" (Rom. 1:9). Christian experience becomes vitally real when we can serve God with our spirit. Our spirit is the means by which His spirit communicates with us. It is necessarily a physical voice that we hear leading us but admittedly, the Spirit does speak to us. The reason prayer is so potent and transfiguring is that is one of the few conditions when we are “in the spirit”, whether we realize it or not. You will notice also that prayer becomes more and more intense with duration. We become more aware of the subtle leadings of the spirit and we grow by this. After we pray our intuition is sharper, our conscience is more sensitive; this indicates growth in the spirit.True worship and praise are like prayer, “in the spirit”. Let us at this point be clear that the most significant thing about our spirit is that this is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. If our body is the temple of God (Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16) the our spirit is the holy of holies. It is a blessed thing to be able to enter into the holy of holies and to be lead and instructed by the Lord. True worship begins obedience (And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22)The leading of the Holy Spirit is very personal and hard to describe, but to obey this leading is the essence of worship. To follow the leading of the Spirit requires faith, not in yourself, but in God. There is no documented instruction on “how to worship” but as our spirits become more and more keen we will spontaneously worship the Lord as we obey Him. At first, it is hard to discern whether what we are following in our intuition is the Lord, but this becomes easier as our faith grows. In this respect, without faith it is impossible to even talk of true worship. In the endeavors of prayer and worship we immediately see how much faith we have in the Lord. May the Lord in His grace open our eyes and increase our faith.James

I'll speak on your posts afetr I get back Late Sunday Nite. They were good posts and topics.

The presence of God is the essence of deep worship. We will now consider two texts in this respect which have to do with the presence of God. May the Lord lead us into focus upon Him as we meditate on these two familiar texts.Isaiah 6:1-4 1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.Revelation 4:8-11 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.We notice here that those angles which are closest to God are doing one thing and one thing alone, worshiping Him. There are many differences between us and angles and between our relationship with the Lord and theirs. The focus here must never be on the angles themselves but on their attitude. The Holiness sovereignty and nature of God is worthy to receive undivided attention and a time in our fellowship that is wholly devoted to that ministry to Him. We do not come to receive anything from Him nor do we come to give him anything apart from our undivided attention. We come to acknowledge the source of all things and we forget about everything else and focus our entire being on Him alone. The only direct benefit of those worshiping the Lord that can be seen is that they are close to God and they are in His presence; this is our reward as the worshipers of God in spirit and in truth. The Lord as equipped us with a spirit and, as we have said before, this is for us to have fellowship with Him. God lives in us by His Spirit and it is His Spirit that substantiates our faith. The Spirit of God manifests for us that which we require of God’s nature be it his love, authority or presence. He (God) represents the life of the Father through the Son by His Spirit in us. We do not want to take away from the experiences of others which are valid but we must say at this stage that, these manifestations are not necessarily felt, seen or heard physically, in fact more often than not, they are not physically experienced. The presence of the Lord is discerned by our spirit (note the small s in spirit). It is when we have discerned the presence of the Lord that our worship becomes true to us. The presence of the Lord is real, substantial and glorious. It is a glorious presence and one which is transfiguring. It is nothing vague or for special occasions but it is available to anyone who is a child of God (John1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.). To those born of the Spirit, it is the will of God that you have the authority that comes with your sonship in the name of His Son. You cannot come to the throne of God willy-nilly, but God has given you the authority of a son so that in the spirit you can approach God in His presence by your spirit, through faith in the name of His son.A consideration of our frailty and weakness and sins will cause us to be hesitant to approach God even if our faith allows us to see our right and privilege in Him. Let us be very clear, we do not approach God on the basis of our own deeds or holiness, this is impossible. We approach God in the blood of Jesus Christ and in His name. The blood of Jesus cleanses every sin and unrighteousness and allows us to approach the throne with boldness, not in ourselves mind you, but in Christ. We have boldness that the blood of Jesus Christ is so Holy and potent that it will cleanse even the most wicked sinner of all his guilt and unrighteousness. The blood is the sacrifice we bring with us worship but as we know, the blood is not ours but it has been given to us freely by His grace.Some believers have grown to know the potency and authority of the name of Jesus but it is a wonderful thing to discover the potency of His blood. We approach God with the blood and all His righteous requirements are met immediately. His Holiness cannot be contaminated by our unrighteousness but, in the blood we are clean before Him and worthy of true worship. We cannot approximate the value of the blood but, our Lord tells us that, it is sufficient for Him…take Him on His word! Boldness does not mean familiarity or contempt but this boldness is a reference to our faith. Fear of unworthiness saps the faith and joy out of fellowship, but boldness increases our faith.Let us therefore approach the Lord boldly that we may worship Him for, as the author of Hebrews tells us, “ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written n heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh.”James

That was a good post bro.! When it comes to the mind , though it would seem that so much of our daily battle is getting enough of our mind renewed to actually believe the things Jesus' has done for us in salvation. I once heard salvation described this way , it can be like coffee that's instant coffee, a right now thing. Or it can be like the old fashioned kind thats brewed very slowly and that after it has been grindded up. God privy to his own purposes choses to take each of through what he sees we need in our salvation experience. The mind is the key thing though, excellent post ! Your quote here is on target!!!! The quickest way to short-circuit a Christian is through the mind.