Rev Donald McMurray. an American missionary to the Asia Pacific Region, was a 20 years old sailor when he first came to Asia. In 1952, he was on board of a ship delivering five fighter planes to the Thai Air force. This was after the Korean War. The ship embarked at Bangkok and Donald and his mates were in the city of Bangkok. They met two English speaking Thai businessmen. Being a young Christian, Donald was eager to share his new faith in Jesus Christ with these two Thai gentlemen. To his great surprise, they told him that they have never heard about Jesus Christ. They have absolutely zero knowledge about the Gospel, Jesus Christ and salvation. All they knew about religion was Buddha and Buddhism. Donald has since then found out that there are spots ( “blind-spots”) in many parts of the world which are o -zones i.e. places which the residents have never heard the name Jesus Christ , much less about salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These are zero – zones or o-zones.

Donald was greatly moved by this experience. The Holy Spirit impressed strongly upon his heart to return to Asia and share the Gospel to the people. He did. He spent the next 40 -50 years pastoring and ministering in many nations in the Asia-Pacific Region. His passion is for the o-zones. He is calling Christians, who have a desire to be used by God, to move into o-zones.

Where are the o-zones? Perhaps, they are the Unreached Peoples Groups or Unreached Communities or Unreached Social Groups. Whatever they are and wherever they are, the need for the Gospel to penetrate the darkness in the o-zones is real. Only the bearers and carriers of the Gospel light who can bring transformation to the o-zones.

Two weekends ago, we (my wife, my daughter and I) watched together the video “23 Minutes in Hell” which my daughter has download from Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv8pLUMDVRc). We were impressed with the sincerity which Bill Wiese showed in his sharing. I was equally impressed with his understanding of the scriptures, which he quoted in rapid fire to back up what he had seen. If you have not seen it, you must watch it.

The next day I mentioned this to my colleague who is a pastor’s wife and she said that many people including Christians misunderstand what hell is. They thought that hell is just like earth where life continues on as usually, except that only the bad people or sinners are there. Among non-Christians, it is common to hear they saying that they can continue partying in hell. Perhaps, even more fun partying in hell.

Others refused to accept the Gospel and God’s forgiveness because they are afraid that they may not meet their loved ones again when they die as their loved ones have already died and “gone to hell”. These non-believers of God think that they will be met by a welcoming party (departed loved ones and friends) from hell the moment they die and leave this sorrowful earth.

Bill Wiese said that when he “woke-up” in hell, he was in an isolated cell (prison). There was no welcoming party. Nor did he meet any of his dead loved ones. All he met were two 12 feet tall reptile-skinned demons with claws about one foot long. To his horror, he was tormented by the demons. One of the demons flanked him against the wall with a powerful force; breaking his bones and inflicting great pain in his body. The demon again pierced its claws into Bill’s chest and ripped open his chest! This is no partying fun in hell!

Bill related that he was next taken to see the flames in hell where the souls of men and women were tormented. No one soul is able to talk or meet another as each gasps for the limited supply of air and screams in agony. No partying. No drinking. No smoking. No having fun. No many concubines as promised in one religion.

Hell was very real to Bill Wiese and should be real to everyone; Christian or non-Christian. If we do not believe in hell but land up in hell in the future, then, we are taking a very great risk. Watch the video and tell me what you think.

I was listening to a pastor who was sharing his thoughts on what it means to “love one another”. He said that in his more than 30 years of ministry, he had preached countless sermons on this topic but the members in all the churches he had shepherd did not seem to be affected or changed by what they heard. He said that there are many Christians who know in their heads the commandment to love others but in their daily living, this was never practised. He pensively related that in his personal experiences, the only occasion when obedience to the commandment seemed to have bored fruit was when he personally showed love to some non-believing students living near the parsonage. These students were studying in a college located in a place far away from their residence. Each day, these students had to rely on the unreliable public bus service for transportation. He saw their plight and lent them bicycles and even his own motorbike. As a result, two of the students became Christians; one ultimately became a Church leader. He sighed and finally concluded that no amount of preaching, teaching and talking about loving others matter. It is only actual practical actions of showing love and kindness which we can leave an impactful legacy on others.

I recall an old Chinese missionary couple who were working among the villagers in Ampang, Malaysia They came from China to Malaysia just after the Second World War. There was great poverty and lack of food in the village then. Young children were undernourished and many suffered from poor health. The Church set up a Christian Service Centre which provided charity services as an outreach strategy. The couple went from house to house consoling the non-Christian villagers. They distributed milk powder, rice and other basic essential foodstuff to the needy. They would visit the sick and helpless. They even went to the Old Folks Home weekly to clean those inmates who were bed ridden. Every raining day, they would stand at the Bus Stand to distribute free umbrellas to descending passengers. As a result, they left such a strong Christian testimony and legacy of love among the villagers that they were held in high honour and respect by the unbelievers. Today, the Christian Centre has blossomed into a Church with a few hundred believers. Many, including my family, had benefited from their legacy of love.

He is now a full-time pastor in a church in Canada  and married a Canadian Chinese. He is on fire for Jesus. He shared that as an Iranian pastor who had been trained by the Hasbollah, he had to be extra careful whenever he mentioned about praying for the church to be on fire ! Some church members may run out off the church thinking of a terrorist attack.

Born into a Muslim family in Iran, he had been trained, since 5 years old to read the Quran and memorize the Quran. His father was a leader among the the Shi’ites. His father told him that when he grows up he must be a leader among the Shi’ites.   By the age of 14, he was able to memorize three-quarter of the Quran. He has always been zealous to serve Allah and he loved Allah. BY 15, he had participatedd in 6 public executions of the infidels.He always took pity on his poor Christian neighbors and tried to convert them to be Muslims. By so doing, he hoped to gain the favour of Allah and at Judgment Day to gain enough merit from Allah to enter Heaven.

At 17 years old, he decided to join the Hasbollah. He was in the army for three and a half years.  He would do anything for Allah; to kill for Allah and to be killed for Allah. After leaving the army he traveled to Pakistan. He acquired 30 passports under different names. In 1989, he made his way to Kuala Lumpur and after staying in China town for about three months he was arrested and put into the Pudu Jail.

He was well respected in prison as he was very knowledgeable about Islam and the Quran. But deep  within him , he felt a great desperation. He was trying to find himself and  God. He prayed 5 times a day and fasted frequently. He cried to Allah and asked Him to reveal Himself to him. He was disappointed when there was no answer from Allah. He was so angry.  He told Allah that he doesn’t believe in Him anymore. Soon after he regretted what he had said and felt guilty. He cried aloud to God and told God that he just wants to know the Truth. A ‘jinn’ (evil spirit)appeared to attack him. He tried quoting the Quran and all the secrets he had learnt to control jinns but it did not work. He was fearful and only the word “Jesus” came to his mind. He cried out “Jesus” and the jinn disappeared. He did not know why he cried out “Jesus”but he was glad the jinn went away.He tried to shut out the name Jesus from his mind but it kept coming back to him. It grew worst by the days.

He recalled prophet Mohammad said that Allah is holy and a muslim (one who serves Allah) must not place anyone or anything in equal with Allah. He felt he had placed himself beside Allah. He began to feel that he is a sinner. He crouched into the corner of his prison cell and kept crying aloud “God forgive me, God forgive me” but deep in his heart he knew that Allah would not forgive him. He pleaded for forgiveness from God for  hours . Suddenly, he felt someone touched him on his shoulders and an audible voice said. “ I have forgiven you. I am the Way, the Truth and the life.” He  fell onto the floor and said, “ but I don’t understand what you mean although they sounded profound. Who are you?” The Voice replied, “ I am Jesus Christ.”

From that day on, he has found the Truth. Where he once would give up all and do all to serve Allah , now he will now do the same for Jesus Christ. Where once he will die for Allah, he now will die for Jesus. However, where once he would kill for Allah, he will not kill for Jesus but bring Peace and Forgiveness to all who need them.

A Sri Lankan pastor recently related their experience in the Tsunami. 44,000 Sri Lankans perished in that Tsunami and 100,000 homes were destroyed. He pensively remarked that it is almost six years since the Tsunami hit Sri Lanka and what have they learnt?

The immediate reaction of the people in the aftermath of  the disaster was grief, despair and hopelessness. As a result, many came to Christ to gain hope and strength. The churches in Sri Lanka flourished. His church planted seven new daughter churches in the last six years. One of the most effective witness of the Christians caught in a natural disaster is to actively show love, care and help to those affected. Many opportunities will be opened for the Christians to share the Gospel.

He related how he led a group of young people from his church to a town which was in total destruction. Debris were everywhere and dead bodies could still be seen here and there. The amount of debris was so massive that they were totally lost on what to do and where to start. The youths came  and asked, “Pastor, what shall we do? There is so much debris and it looks impossible to clear them.” He replied, “ Start from one street and work until it is cleared. Then, move on to the next.”

At one of the streets was a Buddhist monastery. The Christian youths came to the monastery and started clearing the rubble. The abbot of the monastery was very surprise to see the youths clearing the rubble. He  approached the youths and asked who has sent them and why were they helping to clear the rubbles. The youths told him that they were from the church and were happy to clear the rubble for the monastery. The abbot was moved by such actions and remarked that he had never known that Christians could show such love and help. He asked for the pastor’s telephone number and immediately made a call to the pastor. He told the pastor his appreciation and said that in the future should the pastor need any help or a place for a meeting, he would be glad to make his monastery available for the pastor to use. The pastor has since then became a friend to the abbot and had used the monastery for some meetings.  Indeed actions speak louder than words.  “The light shines in the  darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

He said that 25% seems to be the standard among all the churches in the world. This is despite the fact that most Christians know the importance of God’s Word in their lives. This is despite that they agree the importance of  Joshua 1:8 “ This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous,and then you shall have good success” and is God’s formula  for the  believers to have success in their lives. This is also despite the Lord’s admonishment to us, as a defence against the devil, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”( Matt 4:1). This is also despite many of us knowing and proclaiming Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man … but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.” Why are we not reading and meditating on God’s Word daily?

There are a few startling reasons which might have caused Christians to neglect reading the Bible.

The first is that Christians are pursuing more secular knowledge than spiritual knowledge. This is due to the importance which the modern society has placed on education and knowledge as enabling a person to have an “upper hand” to his competitions. The easy access to information through the internet and the drive towards work excellence churn an unending pursuit to anyone who has a desire to succeed. It is really like a tiger chasing its tail. In being so caught up with such pursuit for secular knowledge, the Christian hardly have time to settle down his racing mind to read and mediate on what God has to say.

The second reason is that of “no time” mentality. The daily busyness in the secular job; the overtime, the bringing of work home, the unreleasing warp of thinking of ways to solve issues at work, the meetings and the reports plus the demands of caring for the home, give the Christian the impression that he or she just does not have the time to read the Bible.

Next, the rush to work and the time wasted in traveling to and fro for work ; whether driving, caught in traffic jams or traveling by light rail or bus, these are exhausting to the Christians.

Then there is the need to spend time with the family especially with the children. Commitments to extended family members, relatives and friends also eat up our limited hours like  a pac man.

Church meetings also eat up our time. We convince ourselves that serving God or attending Christian meetings are acceptable substitutes for our devotion time with God. Afterall,  we have gone to Church meetings to praise and worship God , pray and listen to His Word. Is this truthful?

Imagine spending one hour talking personally with one’s father versus coming to a family gathering and hardly spoke 5 words to one’s father. They are hardly the same thing. Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2 and many other verses talk about one spending time on a personal basis with God and His Word.

In Bible Engagement, Christians are encouraged to listen to God’s Word if they don’t have the time to be set aside to read God’s Word. Audio Bible, audio Devotional messages and audio Biblical lessons can be played in the car, ipod, handphone, ipad, laptops and many other electronic gadgets to enable a Christian to be exposed to God’s Word daily. It is like making “dead” time to “live” time in time management. Make use of your inactive time e.g. while traveling to actively listen to God’s Word.

We believe that God’s Word is alive and active and listening or reading God’s Word daily brings transformation to our lives. We have to make a choice. We need to choose between being in the 75% of non- Bible reading or 25% Bible reading Christians.

a. The spiritual warfare in heaven and on earth
b. The end time Biblical prophecies
c. The preparation of the Church by the Holy Spirit as a Bride for the returning Christ.

The ultimate function of the Holy Spirit is His preparation of the Church as the spotless bride for Christ. With the consummation of the bride with Christ, the millennium rule of Christ will commence. This will also make the end of the spiritual war between Satan and his host with God and His saints. This war had started a long time ago.

1. THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH

The Bible talks of a spiritual warfare being constantly fought in the heavens and on earth.

John the Apostle gave us a vivid picture of this war in his record in Revelation 12:7-12;

“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world –he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice I heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Rejoice then, O heaven, and you that dwell therein ! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short !”

Revelation 12:17

“Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.”

The devil and his angels have lost their war in heaven and have been cast down to earth. On earth, he makes his attacks on the children of the woman (the church). We are living in such a time where the battle between the devil and the sons of God (Christians) is still being fiercely fought. It is happening everyday. We will fight this spiritual war until the return of the Lord Jesus. But God did not left us to fight this alone. He has given us His Holy Spirit to help and empower us in this war.

Although Christ has already won the battle over the devil, yet the church on earth still need to enforce that victory until the final consummation . John mentioned four things in relation to this in Rev 12:10 “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come”.

We need to know and use the Salvation of God in Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, the invasion of the Kingdom of God on earth and the authority of Christ in our battle with the enemy.

In Rev 12:11, it said , “And they have conquered him(the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Christ came to destroy the works of the devil and so are we, the believers of Christ. We can only achieve this by the power which comes from the Holy Spirit (Acts1:8). We also conquer the enemy by the power in the blood of Christ and the spoken word of Christ (the Gospel). Many Christians may be martyred in this war.

To overcome the attacks from the devil and his host, we need also to have the shield of faith, the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) and be empowered always by the Holy Spirit.

Q. How real do you think this spiritual war is in your life?

2. THE END TIME BIBLICAL PROPHECIES

Paul prophesized in II Thess 2 :1-12, that before the return of the Lord Jesus, there will appear the “lawless One” who will deceive many with false signs and wonders.

Paul also prophesized about the coming of times of stress in II Tim 3:1-9. He spoke of the lost of human decency, humanity itself and the apostasy of false teachers.

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lover of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. For among them are those who make their way into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and swayed by various impulses, who will listen to anybody and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth. As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith; but they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”

The Spirit of Truth will lead us to all truths. He will expose all the false teachers. He has given Paul this prophecy to pre-warn the Church.

Peter also prophesized in II Pet 3:3-4 ;

“ First of all you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own passions and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation’”

In II Pet 3:10 “ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the work s that are upon it will be burned up.”

Peter spoke of doubters who will scoff at the Parousia ( the Return of Christ). The return of Christ will surprise many who are not prepared for it. The Holy Spirit has given this prophecy through Peter as a warning to the Christians during his time as well as for future Christians.

The ultimate battle will see the total defeat of Satan and his host. John related this in Rev 19:17 – Rev 20:1-3. They will be thrown in the lake of fire in Hell and Satan will be locked up for a thousand years.

The Holy Spirit will be there at the end time. In Rev 14:13, the Holy Spirit spoke about the martyrs. “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them.”

Q. How can we heed to the warning of the Holy Spirit concerning end time prophecies?

3. THE PREPARATION OF THE CHURCH BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A BRIDE FOR THE RETURNING CHRIST

In Rev 22:17, John the Apostle related a mystery i.e. the Holy Spirit and the Bride of Christ called out “Come” to Jesus. This indicates that the Holy Spirit is with the Church (the Bride of Christ) on earth waiting for the Coming of Christ. The Holy Spirit prepares the Church as a bride for Christ. This is His great work in the Church on earth; preparing the Christians for the ultimate consummation with Christ in His Millennium rule.

Q. In what ways do you think the Holy Spirit prepares the Church as a bride for Christ?

THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

a. The anointing of the Holy Spirit teachings.

b. Ministerial anointing by God

c. Transference of anointing

d. Corporate Anointing in a meeting

g. Peddling of prayer items and “anointed” cloth and handkerchiefs.

1. THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TEACHINGS

The teaching on the anointing of the Holy Spirit has been a very hot topic over the last 20 years in the churches. Some teachers claimed special personal revelations (teachings) by the Holy Spirit and even by the appearance of the Lord Jesus. Others claimed new understanding on special anointings. Apart from the standard teaching on the Kingly, Prophetic and Priestly anointings , some have moved on to declare odd anointings. Everything that seems to work has been tagged with a special “anointing” label. E.g. Moses anointing, Davidic anointing, Joshua anointing, Prayer anointing, etc, etc. Is this true and biblical? Are there really so many anointings ?

There are only two instances recorded in the New Testaments which relates to the anointing from God. The first was the Messianic Anointing declared by the Lord Jesus after He came out of his 40 days battle with the devil. In Luke 4:17=19, it was recorded ;

“and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it     was written,

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ “

The Lord declared that the prophecy has been fulfilled by Him ( Luke 4:21). In other words, the Lord Jesus was anointed to carry out some tasks. He was anointed to (a) preach the good news to the poor,(b) to proclaim the release to the captives , (c) to restore sight to the blind, (d) to set free those who are oppressed (by the devil) and (e) to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (the coming of the Kingdom of God). His anointing was given for the fulfillment of specific tasks in the salvation of men. He was the Anointed Messiah of Isaiah.

Jesus was anointed only once for His ministry. There was no further anointing mentioned for other types of His works. Similarly, in the Old Testament period, kings were anointed only once. So also were the prophets and the priests. There was no subsequent anointing. The anointing is not the same as the “coming upon” of the Holy Spirit or the healing power of the Holy Spirit which may come upon a person many times. The act of anointing by God is the installation of a person to a ministerial office and this is done only once. It is a definitive act and not a repeated act.

Today, we often hear of believers saying, “the anointing is strong” or “the anointing is here” or “God is giving us a special anointing”. Biblical speaking, this is not correct. We have equated the power of God or the presence of God with the anointing.

In the second instance, the Apostle John mentioned an anointing on the believers by God. In I John 2:20, he wrote “ But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all know.” Then in I John 2:27, he said” but the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you; as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

John mentioned this anointing on every believer in view of the coming of the antichrists. The function of this anointing is to lead the believers into all truths and expose the antichrists. It has nothing with do with the spirit of Moses or Joshua or David. We cannot refer the anointing of God to a human spirit because the Bible never teaches us of such things.

Q. How many types of anointing have you come across?

2. MINISTERIAL ANOINTING OF GOD

What then does the anointing of God do? There is a sole and primary function of the anointing of God i.e. for the installation of His servants in ministerial works.

In Ephesians 4:11-16, Paul teaches,

“And His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints, for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every word of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and up builds itself in love. “

In this passage, Paul seemed to use a different definition on spiritual gifts. These five gifts are believed to be the five ministerial functions in the Church. They have often been referred to as the “five fold ministries”. The first being the apostles. They were persons rather than manifestations. The second being the prophets, then the evangelists, then the pastors and finally the teachers. If these persons were gifts from God to the church, then they must be anointed gifts. Their ministries have been anointed by God and they had been put into such offices by the anointing of God . This is just like the Lord Jesus when He first started His ministry.

Paul also advised Timothy “ Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands” (I Tim 5:23).The act of laying of hands during Timothy’s time was often practiced for the purpose of impartation of spiritual gifts (Rom 1:11) or the installation of someone to a ministerial office (e.g. an elder or bishop).

Q. Are there recognizable anointed ministers (any of the five fold) in your church?

3. TRANSFERANCE OF ANOINTING

Some may ask, “What about the incidence of God taking the spirit of Moses and putting it on the seventy elders of Israel? Isn’t this the impartation of the spirit of Moses?”

This event was recorded in Num 11:16-17. It reads,

“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit which is upon you and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.’ “

It is quite clear from the passage that God had taken the spirit that was upon Moses (Hebrew “min-hārûḥa ’ăšer ‘āleyḵā” meaning - min (of) , ha (the), ruha (spirit) , aser (which is) ‘aleykha (upon you).) and not the human spirit of Moses. The human spirit of Moses represents his character and natural abilities but the spirit upon Moses represents the Holy Spirit’s impartation of an anointing into Moses. Hence, the human spirit cannot be imparted to others but the anointing from God can be imparted to other humans. The spirit upon Moses was a prophetic anointing and hence we read in Num 11:25, “ and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did so no more.” The anointing was definitive ; imparted only once and never repeated again.

Paul reminded Timothy to keep rekindled the gift of God which Paul had imparted to Timothy through the laying of hand. In II Tim 1: 6, Paul said, “ Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands.” Paul had imparted to Timothy part of the anointing ( apostle, teacher, evangelist and pastor) which he had received from God through the laying of his hands. Ministerial anointing can be imparted through the laying of hands. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit is sovereign over who can receive such impartation.

Can a wrong spirit be imparted by the laying on of hands? The Scriptures does not record any of such occurrence . False spirits often affect believers by deception. They do not manifest a power over a person’s body. Only demons invade non-believers’ bodies. A believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit has a strong spirit within and which no weak false spirits or demons cannot invade. Hence, false spirits cannot be imparted.

Q. Have you been prayed over by someone who laid hands on you?

4. CORPORATE ANOINTING IN A MEETING

Sometimes, the presence of the Holy Spirit comes strongly upon a meeting where an anointed minister of God is operating. For example, when an anointed prophet of God begins to operate in prophecies, the prophetic anointing flows strongly and many persons will receive prophecies. This represents a strong corporate prophetic anointing. It arises from the anointing upon the servant of God. It did not arise from the congregation.

It is also true in the case of the healing anointing. Those gifted in healings can bring forth great corporate anointing in healings in a meeting. An anointed teacher or an anointed evangelist also bears such an effect.

How about corporate anointing brought about by anointed worship leaders? Yes, those anointed worship leaders do bring such corporate anointing because it arises out of their personal anointing. It is their ministerial function to bring forth such corporate anointing.

Q. Do you have a personal anointing in any spiritual gift?

5. PEDDLING OF PRAYER ITEMS AND “ANOINTED” CLOTH AND  HANDKERCHIEFS.

Some ‘anointed’ ministers of God may fall into the temptation of peddling “anointed” items to raise finances. They tend to abuse the Scriptures and manipulate other believers by offering such services and items for sale. Everyone is accountable to God for what one does in the final Day. What motives drive them can be hidden from human eyes but not from God’s eyes. If their motive is pure and done in love, they should send out free anointed items ! Paul did not charge the believers, why should they?

Q. Have you purchased any “prayed over” or “anointed” items before?

THE OPERATION OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN THE CHURCH

a. Guidelines in the Operation of Spiritual gifts in Church

b. Purpose of the operation of spiritual gifts in the church

c. Level of grace

d. Level of faith

e. Ministries in the body of Christ

f. Correcting errors

1. GUIDELINES IN THE OPERATION OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN CHURCH

Order in the operation of spiritual gifts in Church.

I Cor 14:33 “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”

In I Corinthians 14, Paul gave clear guidelines on how spiritual gifts should be operated in a church meeting. First and foremost is the rule of order and peace. Since the manifestation of spiritual gifts represents the very presence of God, these manifestations were highly regarded by the early believers. In fact, they were so eager and excited to be used by God in manifesting the gifts that they tended to joist for the opportunity to speak or prophesy. As a result, few persons might be uttering prophecies and tongues at the same time. This created disorder and confusion and in the end no one benefited. Hence, in I Cor 14:33, Paul highlighted the fact that if God is around, there is only peace and not confusion. Order must be maintained and each must give opportunity for others to deliver their “messages” from God. The Greek word “akatastasias” “ακαταστασιας” means instability, state of disorder or confusion. Paul said that in the operation of spiritual gifts in church, there must not be instability (or cause instability) among the congregation, or create a state of disorder and confusion. Instead, there must be peaceful order because God is a God of peace (Greek “eirenes” “ειρηνης”). Paul did not use the word “armonia” “αρμονία” which means “harmony” because harmony is a work of men collaborating. The divine characteristic of God is peace and He brings peace to everyone in His presence. Thus, Paul stressed that the peace of God must be present at Corinth as it was present in all the other churches as well. Hence, a confirmation that God is present in a meeting is when a strong sense of the peace of God has come upon the people.

Secondly, Paul said that when a message in tongue is given, it must be interpreted. If there is no interpretation , the subsequent messages in tongues should not be given. If the message is through a prophecy, then there mustn’t be more than three messages and the hearers must “weigh” the prophecies given. If the general feeling is that the message is genuinely from the God, then thanks and praises are to be given to God. If the general feeling is that the message is doubtful, then, the message will be disregarded. Paul highlighted that a person bearing a message in tongues or prophecy can control the message (“ the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” I Cor 14:32) and hence must take turn to deliver the message.

Thirdly, Paul encouraged every believer to eagerly have something to contribute when they come together (I Cor 14: 26) He used the phrase “ekastos humon” “εκαστος υμων” “ each one of you” i.e. everyone, “ehi” “εχει” “has” either a psalm (song of praise or worship) or a teaching to share or a message in tongue or a revelation and an interpretation. So, in the early church meetings, everyone was eager to participate and contribute for the building up of each other. The meetings were exciting, active and encouraging and not passive and dull. Spiritual gifts were manifested freely.

It is a bit hard for us to visualize the meetings of the early disciples. They did not meet in beautiful church buildings like those that we have today. They gathered mainly in the larger room in a private home, which could probably accommodate up to about 50-100 persons. They were a close group, well bonded with each other within the group and it is like a large cell group. There were many of such groups throughout the Roman empire in the first century CE. When the Gospels were written, it was estimated that there were at least 500 such churches (“oral traditions”) in existence.

Q. In what ways do you think we have missed out the zeal of the early disciples when we gather together?

2. PURPOSE OF THE OPERATION OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN THE CHURCH.

Paul stated it clearly in I Cor 14: 3, 6, 17, 24-25, 26, that spiritual gifts are used for the purpose of building up of the believers and the church. They are not for self-glory nor indulgence in mysticism.

In I Cor 14:3, Paul said “But he prophesying to men speaks (for) building up and encouragement and comfort.” A message in prophecy will bring increased faith, encouragement and comfort to the listeners.

In I Cor 14:6, Paul continued to teach “But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you, except I speak to you either in revelation or in knowledge or in prophecy or in teaching?”

In I Cor 14:17, he further said about speaking in tongues without interpretation, “For you truly give thanks well, but the other is not built up.”

In I Cor 14:24-25, Paul explained the power of prophecy in the church for the benefit of convicting a non-believer. The description he made of the whole church prophesizing and exposing the secrets of the non-believers in their midst was a reflection of the team of prophets prophesizing under Samuel. The prophetic anointing became overpowering.

In I Cor 14:26 b , Paul made it very clear “ Let all things be done for building up.”

Q. Can you relate instances where the manifestation of spiritual gifts has help to build up believers?

3. LEVEL OF GRACE

In Rom 12: 6, Paul taught that spiritual gifts are given to believers in accordance to the grace given. “But having different gifts according to the grace given to us.” What does he mean?

John the Baptist once made a statement to his disciples in response to their complaint that Jesus was baptizing more people than John. In John 3:27. “John answered, ‘No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven.” All genuine spiritual gifts are given by God to the person. This is not based on the goodness or faithfulness or capability of the person but purely on the grace and pleasure of God. There should, therefore, be no doubt or envy by others of the person operating in what is considered a “higher’ gift or being so gifted in some particular ministries. He or she has what was given to him or her from heaven (God), for the purpose of building up of the brethren. Let us be thankful to God for His grace and gifts.

Q. Have you ever considered someone being given a particular spiritual gift because the person “deserve” it?

4. LEVEL OF FAITH

In Rom 12:3 Paul said that God has assigned to each believer a measure of faith. Then, in Rom 12:6, he said that a person should prophesize in accordance to proportion of faith the person has. In other words, God will give us a level or measure of faith sufficient for us to operate in a particular spiritual gift. Without a sufficient level of faith, the person will not be able to operate in the spiritual gift.

Q. What do you think it means when a person operates in a spiritual gift by faith?

5. MINISTRIES IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

The body concept is a very interesting illustration which Paul used to describe the church (Body of Christ). In Rom 12:4-6, Paul described it in this way, “For as in one body, we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them;”

In I Cor 12:12-26, Paul gave a lengthier description of the Body of Christ and the functions of each member.

The main thrust of the Body of Christ teaching is the concept of Diversity and Unity in the Church. There is no mono or stereotype Christian in a church. Nor is there a mono or stereotype gift in a church. There are many types of Christians with many types of gifting among the Christians in the church. There are the strong Christians, the not so strong Christians and the weak Christians. There are also the rich, the middle class and the poor. There are the charismatic and charming ones as well as the plain and not likeable ones. There are the intelligent, not so intelligent and the slow in understanding. In short, there is a diversity of members (Christians) in the church and all must be accepted by each other because God has accepted each one of us. Yet, rising from this diversity, is the unity in the Holy Spirit and in Christ. All the diverse personalities are melted down into the same Christ likeness and mind and faith by the grace of God so that everyone is equal in Christ. No one is above another. No gift is above another either. All gifts are used to build up the others ; especially the weak ( I Cor 14:24-26).

Q. How must we handle quarrels among members in the church in accordance to Paul’s teaching on the Body of Christ?

6. CORRECTING ERRORS

Often, there are members who thought that they are operating in a spiritual gift but was wrong e.g. prophecy. How do we correct such errors without hurting or discouraging the person?

The first rule should be; do it in a spirit of gentleness ( Gal 6:1). The second is to use the Scriptures ( II Tim 3:16), but not to point out the weakness or the mistakes of the person, but to show the correct teaching (positive aspects) of the gift from the Scriptures. Encourage the person to study more about the gift from the Bible and learn to listen better to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Q. Have you tried correcting someone who has operated a spiritual gift in error?

THE OPERATION OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN A PERSON

a. The Holy Spirit as our Teacher

b. Supported by the Word

c. Praying in the Spirit in intercession

d. Self prophecies

e. Revelations in the self study and meditation (musing) of God’s Word.

f. Personal ministry to others

1. THE HOLY SPIRIT AS OUR TEACHER

John 14:16-17 John 16:13 I John 2:20 I John 2:27

Bible scholars believed that the discourse of Jesus recorded in John 13-17, was spoken by the Lord during the Last Passover (Last Supper) which He kept with His disciples. The things spoken were important, personal and futuristic. In it, the Lord introduced the Holy Spirit and the important role the Holy Spirit would play in the disciples’ lives.

In John 14:16-17, the Lord Jesus spoke of the coming of the Holy Spirit as a Counselor (Greek “parakletos“ “παρακλητοs”). A parakletos’ role is to stand along side a person and plead his case to the judge; to aid the person. His role is to help the believer. Jesus also introduced the Holy Spirit as “το πνευμα της αληθειας”

“to pneuma tis aletheias” “the spirit of truth” who will dwell in the believer. What did Jesus mean by calling the Holy Spirit as “the spirit of truth”? Truthful Spirit? Or the Spirit who knows all the truths about the physical world, the spiritual world and God? The Holy Spirit will guide (teach) a believer to all truths (John 16:13).

There has been an assumption among Pentecostals and Charismatics that the anointing mentioned in I John 2 is the Holy Spirit. They claim that the anointing teaches us everything. It is no doubt that in I John 2, John used a different term to relate to the Holy Spirit. In I John 2:20, he said “But you have been anointed by the Holy One (Greek “krisma ehete apo tou agiou“ “χρισμα εχετε απο του αγιου “), and you will know everything.” Subsequently, John explained further on this anointing in I John 2:27 “but the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that any one would teach you; as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him” “και υμεις το χρισμα ο ελαβετε απ αυτου εν υμιν μενει και ου χρειαν εχετε ινα τις διδασκη υμας αλλ ως το αυτο χρισμα διδασκει υμας περι παντων και αληθες εστιν και ουκ εστιν ψευδος και καθως εδιδαξεν υμας μενειτε εν αυτω”. Now, why did John speak of an anointing which can teach us the truth about everything? This was a very unusual analogy used by John. In OT times, anointing was always related to the anointing of kings and prophets with oil. In the NT period, the practice was continued probably only for the installation of someone called to ministry or office in the Church and to accompany prayers for the sick (James 5:14). For John to use such a term to describe what his “children in faith” had received from God (the Holy One) is quite puzzling. To understand his possible reason for mentioning this , we will have to refer back to I John 2:18-19. In these two verses, John related the coming of many anti-christs in their midst. These anti-christs were “Christians” who “came out of us but never really belonged to us”. John then emphasized that the anointing which his “children” have received will help them to know who is true and who is the anti-christ. John seemed to be very specific in naming the function of the anointing in relation to the exposure of the anti-christs. There is a remoteness of equating the anointing to the Holy Spirit. The last phrase “abide in him” seems to connect better with the “Son and Father” as mentioned in verse 24. Moreover, John used the pronoun “it” ( verse 26 “it has taught you”) instead of “He”. “It” refers to the “anointing” but “he” refers to the person of the Holy Spirit. The anointing probably refers to the manifested gift of discerning of spirits mentioned by Paul. We have to keep in mind that John might not have read Paul’s letters to the Corinthians (which were written much earlier than I John or the Gospel of John) and hence had used his own term to describe the gift of discerning of spirits. Hence, we can perhaps conclude that the anointing which John referred to is a manifested gift of the Holy Spirit while it is the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things and not the anointing.

How does the Holy Spirit help or guide a Spirit-baptized believer?

The Holy Spirit can guide the Spirit baptized believer in the following areas:

a. to speak more in tongues for the edification of the person’s spirit (strengthening of the inner man)

b. to familiarize and recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit

c. to recognize a manifestation of the spiritual gifts in one’s life

d. to receive revelations, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, visions, dreams and prophetic messages.

e. to empower worship in the Spirit in one’s life

f. to equip one for spiritual warfare

g. to know the Will of God in all matters

h. to be transformed

i. to bear the fruit of the Spirit

j. to grow in one’s prayer life

k. to gain insights into the Word of God

a. Speaking more in tongues

The more a person speaks in tongues, the more the person is strengthened (edified) (I Cor 14:4) Paul said that he spoke in tongues more than the Corinthians ( I Cor 14:18).In other words, Paul spoke a lot in tongues. If we can, we should spend at least one hour praying in tongues everyday.

b. Recognizing the voice of the Holy Spirit

For most believers, the Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit man (we receive a special feeling about the matter) or to our minds (impressions and thoughts). The more we encounter the voice of the Holy Spirit , the more confident we will become in recognizing His voice. Ask the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual ears to hear Him and our spiritual eyes to see what He is saying.

c. Recognizing the manifestation of a spiritual gift

When a believer walks close with the Holy Spirit, He will manifests spiritual gifts in the person. At first, we may not recognize it and feel strange when we have an urge to something “strange” like laying hand and praying for someone who is sick or speaking our a “message”. We may be inhibited by shyness and fear of error, but then this urge repeats itself more frequently. Ask the Holy Spirit to show us how to do it in our private time with Him. Then, ask for boldness and confirmation to obey Him in faith.

d. Receiving revelations , gifts of wisdom and prophetic messages

At times, when we walk closely with the Holy Spirit, we will sense a flow in revelations coming upon our spirit and mind. Our spirit feels lifted and energized with such revelations and our mind is filled with flowing thoughts about spiritual truths. We gain deeper understanding in many matters and we are moved in yearning for more of God.

e. Empowerment in personal worship

When a Spirit-filled believer goes into personal worship, the distance between Heaven and earth seems to have vapourized. There is no barrier to the believer in coming into the Temple of God in worship. Praises, adoration, worship and exultation flow freely. We can experience true freedom of worship in the Spirit.

f. Equipped for spiritual warfare

A believer will develop an ability to sense the spiritual realm. Spiritual warfare is more than power encounters. The believer needs a lot of spiritual wisdom and discernment to recognize the deception of the enemy and in which areas of his life which may be under siege. Intercession is important. We need to ask the Lord to intercede for us as well as other believers to intercede for us as we intercede for them. Paul talked about the armour of God been given to believers to equip them but note that the description of the armour is about virtues in one’s life; except for the Sword of the Spirit. To be able to withstand the enemy, we need to live righteous life in the Holy Spirit.

g. Knowing the Will of God

As a believer spends more time with God, the Holy Spirit will make clear the Will of God to the believer in many matters. No one can know the Will of God by mental reasoning. It comes by revelation by the Holy Spirit. When we pray to know the Will of God, we must keep our spirit and mind clear to allow the “words” of the Spirit to come to us.

h. Transformation

The Holy Spirit transforms us daily into the image of Christ. Our spirit is transformed from one glory to another. It is a continuous process until we meet Christ. We must not jeopardize this process by sin and disobedience. The more we are transformed, the more the power of the Holy Spirit will operate in our lives.

i. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit

Bearing the fruit of the Spirit is a natural phenomena when a believer is walking in the Holy Spirit. The desires of the flesh are weakened as the believer yields more to the desires of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit embalms the believer’s life with the sweet fragrance of Jesus.

j. Deepening of prayer life

A deep hunger for God is created when a believer is baptized in the Holy Spirit. The yearning in spending more time in prayer and fellowship with God is greatly accentuated. Prayers become more personal, honest and with greater results. Prayer life deepens. The faith of the believer grows as he witnesses the power of prayer.

k. Insights into the Word of God

The Bible study life of the Spirit-filled believer becomes increasing interesting and enjoyable as the Holy Spirit gives him enlightenment. Revelational truths from the Bible become real. The Word becomes life to the believer. The hunger for God’s Word deepens.

Q. Do you have a desire to be taught by the Holy Spirit?

2. SUPPORTED BY THE WORD

Internal (within ourselves) and external (exhibited by others) experiences in the Holy Spirit have to be checked and supported by the overall teachings of the Bible. This is to help us not to fall into self-delusion and errors. The enemy can cause us to fall into wrong perceptions of our spiritual experiences by manipulating the things happening around us like causing someone to speak seductive words to us to stir our ego and selfish desires. Once we fall into the trap, we may refuse to listen to others’ corrections or check against the teachings of the Word. In fact, we may defend our “special revelation or gifts” by text-proving i.e. collecting various verses from the Bible and use them to justify our claims; ignoring the context and meanings of the original texts. For example, we need to ask whether barking like a dog or roaring like a lion is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

Q. What other ‘new manifestations of the Holy Spirit’ do you know of and what Scriptures have been used to support such manifestations?

3. PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT IN INTERCESSION

How much sense can a believer make when he prays in the Spirit for someone else or concerning a certain matter? This issue is especially pertinent to intercession. Can we surpass logic in praying in the Spirit and be effective? Does praying in tongues the only definition of one praying in the Spirit?

Paul was clear on this matter. He said that we can pray in tongues as well as with understanding (our mind) (I Cro 14:14-15). Hence, we can pray in the Spirit in a known language to us.

Praying in the Spirit occurs when a believer is moved by the Spirit to pray fervently or authoritatively on certain matters. The prayer is in a continuous flow until its intercessory purpose is achieved i.e. God has heard and answered the prayer. The Spirit will automatically cause the person to stop praying .

In prayer walks, often praying in the Spirit is very helpful because we do not know what and how to pray and the Holy Spirit enable to pray in accordance to His Will.

Q. What experiences do you have regarding praying in the Spirit intercession?

4. SELF PROPHECIES

Sometimes the Lord may speak to us through a self-prophecy. This may occur in the form of a tongue with an interpretation of the tongue or just a plain message in a prophecy.

When a believer prays in an unknown tongue, he or she may experience a sudden pause and then a change in tongue ; to a language known to the person. This is an interpretation of the message in tongue spoken earlier on. The message is often personal, assuring, comforting or instructive.

A self-prophecy often starts with a special address by the Spirit to the person e.g. “My son “ or “My daughter”. The message then flows. One confirmation that the self prophecy is from Lord is when it is fulfilled.

Q. Have you experienced self-prophecy? Did you stop because you felt as if it was made up by yourself?

5. REVELATIONS IN THE SELF STUDY AND MEDITATION OF GOD’S WORD

Normally, when a Spirit filled believer endeavours to dedicate himself or herself to seriously study and meditates on God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will enable the person to be able to interpret Scriptures like never before. These are revelations (opening our minds to the Scriptures) received to understand the Word; just like the two disciples walking with the risen Christ from Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32)

Sometimes, the revelations have a particular theme. This has something to do with what the believer is going through. It is also something the Lord wants to believer to learn about. For example, a theme like ‘the Will of God’ or ‘the Kingdom of God ( Kingdom ethics)’.

Other times, it is the deepening understanding of a particular word or theological thought. It may also be a chain of verses linking the revelations of OT with NT truths.

These are revelations from the Holy Spirit and hence have little to do with Bible commentaries. For example, a believer may use a Commentary to aid in his study and when he reads the commentary, his thoughts may be led to another idea or reasoning, totally opposite or unrelated to the commentator’s explanation. The more he thought about this new idea or reasoning, more thoughts develop and his understanding gets deeper and deeper in the matter. They form the new insights which the Holy Spirit has imparted to him.

Q. Have you tried studying the Bible with the revelations from the Holy Spirit?

6. PERSONAL MINISTRY (SERVICE) TO OTHERS

The Holy Spirit often uses us to help (minister) to others on a one-to-one basis. This requires hearing from the Spirit, wisdom, patience, love and knowing where we stand in the Word of God. We should start with a prayer asking for the Holy Spirit to assist us and speak through us. Listen well to the person to be ministered and then act in accordance to what the Holy Spirit directs. The more we minister, the greater the future effectiveness. Do not be worried about failures. God will honour the purity in our hearts.

Q. Have you minister to anyone before?