...by My Spirit Pt. II

Sunday 06/19/16

Series: Living in the Kingdom Pt. 38

Message – …by My Spirit II

Living in the Kingdom…by My Spirit says the Lord

Focus Text – Zech. 4:6,

“So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.”

Mighty in and through God

The Spirit of God enables us to destroy the strongholds of sin and defeat the enemy has held us captive to in our lives.

“Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” ~ 2Cor. 10:1-6

All of this is done BY HIS SPIRIT!

Again, there is a HUGE disconnect…a veritable ocean of distance between the common Christian experience and the NORMAL Christian life! NORMAL for a Christian is a life of victory – NOT defeat!

This passage tells us that our warfare is effective because it’s weapons are IN GOD. These weapons NEVER FAIL to pull down strongholds. Though by repeated defeat and weakness in our flesh we might be intimidated by our proclivity towards sin – GOD IS NOT INTIMIDATE! Furthermore, because our warfare is spiritual and our weapons are IN GOD, we need not be intimidated either!!!

The last thing this passage mentions is that we are to stand at the ready to punish all disobedience, once we have secured personal obedience to God by His Spirit.

The Father tells us in another place, that if we’d just judge ourselves, we would not be judged. In other words, if by genuine Godly sorrow, we were to repent for sin with contrite hearts and by His Spirit, run in the opposite direction, we will have WELL satisfied the requirements of these verses.

Godly Sorrow

We are told to NOT sorrow as the world sorrows, for the sorrow of the world produces death (separation). Godly sorrow however, is the result of the responding to the inner voice and leading of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of God NEVER condemns the children of God and those who are NOT His children are condemned already (Jn. 3:18). The Holy Spirit is A WORK inside of us, causing us to will and do after His good pleasure. THIS is how one sorrows in a godly manner as opposed to a worldly manner.

Paul had written the Christians in Corinth concerning their sins and had made them sorrowful by his letter which was rather bold and somewhat harsh (you can read what he wrote in 1 Cor. 4:16-6:20).

“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” ~ 2Cor. 7:9-11

…by My Spirit you will know

Rom. 8:15,

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.””

1Cor. 2:12,

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, THAT WE MIGHT KNOW the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

What are some of these things?

Growth in Christian character –

a. Rom. 8:14, “For as many as are habitually led by the Spirit of God, these are mature sons of God.”

Dominance over sin –

a. Rom. 8:13, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists will inherit the kingdom of God!”

The passage goes on to say…

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” ~ 1Cor. 6:9-12

We will pick up here after a short review next week….Blessings!

VIDEO COMING SOON

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Attendance at our church will NOT even be mentioned nor will money.

If you have been spiritually fed by this ministry and wish to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but all outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!