I believe we are living in a dispensational age of God's grace, wherein we are receiving a tremendous pouring out of the Holy Spirit. We are alive and well, or are we in a time of many worldly changes in the environment, in ethics, in social standards, in laws, in religion, in government, in politics, in moral values, in how people do or do not believe in God? That is, our loving Christian God, Jehovah. There is daily turmoil and trouble, there is hunger and in some places, starvation and deadly diseases. There is unwanted strife, stress and pressure in almost every avenue of one's life, worldwide once again. These things lead me to believe that what Luke 21, Matthew 24 and Mark 13 say, are correct - these days are numbered and we are most likely living during End Times. I am not a prophet and I do not declare this to be the case, but I believe it to be a time where we are ushering in a period of terrible tribulation.
This why I feel assured that God is pouring out His Holy Spirit upon all flesh. This chapter further defines flesh as being people of all ages, genders, speaking different languages and having different cultures with different levels of education and standing. "In the last days, God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." Acts 2:17 (NIV)
Because of this pouring out, we will begin to experience a great infilling of the Spirit of God and therefore, His wonderful gifts of the Spirit should follow no matter what the time in your life might be like - one of joy and jubilation, or one of great hurt and sorrow, or a time of pain and suffering. One never knows God's plans for giving you His Spirit and gifts. We cannot fathom His love, nor can we measure His majesty and merciful ways. Because He is Spirit and Love, we receive these gifts in Spirit and in Love, as we worship Him.
If we are strong in our faith and belief, I think we will receive and be blessed with portions of His gifts which balance with our level of commitment to His Word and our walk in total obedience to His precepts and commandments. Scripture says, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all 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. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you." John16:13 (NIV). Hey, what a promise! Yes, this is a prophecy from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that the Holy Spirit will reveal to us what God has promised us in the verse.
So, I suppose that we can conclude from these words of God that the Holy Spirit will be or is our guide for disclosing all truth, and the revealer of future events. It can be stated without fear of error, that the Holy Spirit exists in His own dispensational time today. This dispensation is not the same as those of the past, where the Lord God dealt directly with men. The Holy Spirit is on His own here, now, today and in the days to come. Far from God's dispensations with men in past times, like the dispensation of innocence, the dispensation of conscience, the dispensation of manmade governments, the dispensation of promise, and the dispensation of law, we now live in the Holy Spirit's dispensation of grace. How wonderful this provision of God. Whatever happened in the past will be shadowed by what the Holy Spirit is doing today, throughout the world, and this movement and revealing is only beginning. Stay awake and watch the show, or better yet, be part of it.
It is time to start ministering our gifts to others, we must share what God has given us and not horde it or keep it unto ourselves. In 1 Peter 4:10 it says, "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." (NIV) We need to be mindful of the fact that we are ministers of the New Covenant and therefore, we must keep clearly focused on Paul's words to the Corinthians, "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." 2 Corinthians 3:6 (NIV) Strengthening our discipleship abilities and honing our skills to humbly yet dynamically minister God's truth, via the use of our gifts, must be of paramount importance to each and every Christian who has received these blessings.
Being part of today's charismatic movement, we must learn to minister with strength and power so people are captivated by our words and soak them into their minds like a sponge would water. The Apostle Peter preached as such on the day of Pentecost. What did Peter say to those listening to him, those men and women who were spellbound be Peter. He had received the anointing of the Holy Spirit and he told them, ". . .'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Act 2:38 (NIV)
Peter then emphasized and revealed just who this promise was for and who would be responsible for carrying out His wishes. Scripture then says, "The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:39 (NIV) That my friends, is you and me! As long as people are being led to Christ and being saved, so is the Lord filling folks with His Holy Spirit. This will not cease, for if it did, His promise would be broken and His world would not be truth.
So, being a charismatic disciple of Christ, we each should expect to experience various blessings and benefits that come with this turf. Therefore, I would like you to consider what we at CCHM believe about this Pentecostal position of being charismatic and under the power of the Holy Spirit.
(1) God's Word comes alive like never before and your love for its message will grow and become considerably more relevant than anything else you could read.
(2) Your level of stewardship will grow. Your giving to others and receiving from God will be remarkable. You'll not wonder at how you've become as such, but you will appreciate God's promise to fill you with His love, and people who love, are unconditional givers.
(3) You are able to immediately confess your sins. . .any sin, any place, and any time that you have committed and repent of. Then forgiveness is of course yours and you are totally cleansed. You don't want to keep making Christ's dead on the cross to be a personal washrag, something that can be used over and over. You need to realize that Christ suffered such once for you, and that such forgiveness is eternal and a repetitive and required cleansing.
(4) The power of healing becomes instrumental in your life. Being anointed and anointing others, you can reach out and request the healing that has already been accomplished for you and share that knowledge and process of how to make it real, with others.
(5) Your joy and happiness grow in your heart. You look at things differently, with a brighter outlook than ever before. You feel the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling and living inside of you and you know that as such, you are more blessed than ever before. Let me further state that your understand that any predicament or situation you get yourself into, can after a better ending and find a more acceptable solution than ever before when your assurance from God was mainly spoken about and not lived out with the Holy Spirit.
(6) You find that your desire to reach out to another and offer a kind hand is easier to do than ever before. Although you are careful not be used as a doormat, you do extend your willingness to talk with another about their problems and to sit with someone and listen to what they have to say. You are able to offer solutions and resolutions to their dilemmas that trouble and inhibit them. You've become a counselor of sorts and you mend with the power of the Holy Spirit working though you.
(7) You now may experience a desire for doing evangelistic ministry. You have thus received a blessing of evangelistic compassion and your need to preach to others must be fulfilled. Not all of us get this notion or realization, but those who really get it, go! Don't hold back if you have the need to minister. go for it! It's now inside of you and the Holy Spirit will be there cheering you on and helping you out.
The Living God's purpose to have us become people who enrich the lives of other people. We are to promote His message and deliver it into the laps of those who will receive it with joy and understanding. God has imparted His Holy S[Spirit to be with us and guide our lives in the correct direction even though we sometimes battle it trying to get our own way and do our own thing. The Holy Spirit is for us and He makes our life dynamic, not a life of static living without a godly purpose and no self-sense of ever being fulfilled elsewhere. His answer is within us, all we have to do is listen and belief, trust and have faith, put our life in God's hands and do His will.
We should all be on our knees thanking God for His precious Love and His awesome Spirit. Agreed?
This section is nothing more than a synoptic and general overview of the CCHM concept of the Holy Spirit, the third part of our triune God.
