THE HOLY SPIRIT Pt. 7

By Joseph Akinola

Sustaining the Holy Spirit/ Spiritual Gifts

The word Sustenance is synonymous to Maintenance. Maintenance is the act of upholding, preservation in order to make something to continue to exist; to make something to continue to exist.

The Cost and Price of maintaining a possession is always far greater than the Cost of Obtaining it. Maintenance is a life-long exercise/activity as long as that thing still exists.

Sustaining the Holy Spirit in your life as a believer is very crucial. Why? Because, when you don’t sustain it with the required ingredients (food), He begins to leave you – you begin to lose Him in your life. There is nothing as miserable as someone who had enjoyed the presence of the Holy Spirit in the past and now living his/her life without the presence of the Holy Spirit. The truth is, life will be unbearable to him/her.

It is very important to know that when you cannot maintain anything you have acquired, you are not really due, ripe and mature for it. Because if you are due for it, you will rise up to the Task and Price associated with it in every way it demands.

Below are listed and explained, some of the things you could do / exercises you could engage in order to sustain the Holy Spirit in your life and this would make you to always Keep Fit spiritually.

1. Righteousness: You need to live a holy life; a sinless life, to operate a righteous – bound lifestyle. Bible says in Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” If you really want to be exalted (dignified, high-ranked) in life as a person, in all you do and you want to keep growing spiritually, the need for righteousness and abstinence from sin is a must. 1st Peter 1:16 says, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy”; like begets like. You are a Vessel and the Holy Spirit is the Dweller of the Vessel – He knows the condition of the place to which He can dwell (live in), so He gives you the prescription of how His abode should be. 2 Timothy 2:21 says, “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.” 

If the Holy Spirit would really dwell inside of you, you need to be holy/clean/spiritually healthy and sanctified – to deliberately set yourself apart for Him (if you are expecting a guest, you prepare your house for his visit, so that he would find your place comfortable in order for him to stay longer). Before you will operate the verse of the Scripture that says, ‘Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world’, you must make yourself Clean and Clear of all filthiness; you must ensure that where the Greater One will dwell is clean and garnished so that when He comes, He will stay permanently and then, would start to reproduce fruits upon fruits in your life because He doesn’t stay where there is filthiness. 

Note that when the temple is not holy, the Holy God will not come and dwell/reside in it. Also note that when you live a righteous life, you automatically make yourself readily accessible to and for the Master’s use and also for His abode and when you become the Master’s abode, you begin to exhibit the acts of the Master and with this, you soon become a master in and to your world both in the natural and supernatural.

Righteousness, as defined by some Bible scholars, is said to be ‘your right standing with God’. Where and how are you standing with God? This is a very critical question no one can answer for you but for yourself. It is important to know that how you stand with God determines how close or far He is / He will be to you and this will literally determine what happens to you and how much of Him you will know, have/possess because when He is with you, He will tell you things, including things to come (John 16:13).


Always note that Who lives with you or Who you live with greatly influences and determine your influence in life both physically and spiritually.

When he lives with you, He will influence your life into full/maximum success.

2. LOVE: 1Corinthians 13. Love is from God. God is love and anyone who will truly love must have God. Anyone who has God must have love and anyone who loves must surely experience God. Love is very vital. Without love, you cannot give and when you give, it must be without any string attached. It is not the person you give that rewards you but God. Love is the greatest of the Law of God 1st Corinthians 13:13. Without love, you cannot really see God. Ephesians 3:17-19.

3. FELLOWSHIP: Hebrews 10:25. Don’t forsake the assembly of God’s brethren. When you embrace fellowship, you will enjoy Synergy. Coming together enables you do things with ease, also, you exert less energy on things you do. Note that no man is an Island. You need others. God never created you to be alone, neither does He created you for yourself. Even God, the Creator of heaven and earth embraces the principle of coming together (Genesis 1:26 {come, let us create……..}). How enormous the result is when people (believers) come together. In Isaiah 1v18, God painted a picture of synergy through coming together both ‘to learn from others’, ‘reason together’ and ‘to do together’.

4. FASTING: Joel 2:12. Fasting breaks/disconnects you from the natural and makes you spirit-man attuned to the frequency where you can hear God audibly and clearer. Mark 9:29; Ist Corinthians 7:5.

5. PRAISE: Psalm 100:4. This is the key / access into the Supernatural. Praise also brings down the presence of Divinity/Holy Spirit. Psalm 34:1. 

6. PRAYER: 1Timothy 2:1; Acts 10:4

7. BOLDNESS: Proverbs 28:1. A righteous man is as bold as a lion. Acts 4:13; Acts 4:31; Ephesians 3:12.

8. SANCTIFICATION: 1Thessalonians 4:3-4. The world of spirits can never be comfortable to those who plunge themselves in the filth of the flesh; nor will the righteous and holy God ever admit such into his favour and presence, unless they be first washed and sanctified, and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God, 1st Corinthians 6:11. 2nd Thessalonians 2:13; 1st Peter 1:2

9. THE WORD OF GOD: Acts 6:7. The Word of God Increases your Capacity Physically and Spiritually. Your spiritual health is geared / powered by the Word of God. The Word feeds your spirit-man, feeds your soul and also boosts your faith causes you to walk and live in the Spirit always.

Food For Thought

"Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."

THE HOLY SPIRIT - Part 4

By Joseph Akinola

SPIRITUAL GIFTS - 2

The Holy Spirit is our Connector to the Spiritual world. He is meant to enable you influence lives and affect your world positively.


There are 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit – 1Corinthians 12:1-12. The gift of the Spirit is for the Release of Power in order for you to be a blessing to your world. These gifts are for the blessing of mankind.


These gifts are categorized into 3.

Category 1: Reveal Something; Category 2: Do Something; Category 3: Say Something

Category One (1) gifts are called the Revelation Gifts. These gifts Reveal Things. (Daniel 1:17)

a. The Word of Wisdom – This gift gives the Revelation about the future. Joseph is an example. It deals with God’s mindset. Deals more with the future. Knowing by revelation the mind, plan of God concerning a person and situation.


b. The Word of Knowledge – This gift gives that revelation that concerns things in the present or past. It can reveal to you fraudulent people around you. Knowing facts about the future or the present.


c. Discerning of Spirits – Knowing by revelation whether the spirit in revelation is divine and demonic. Note – Discernment of spirit is not fault - finding nor mind-reading.

Category Two (2) gifts are called the Power Gifts Luke 10:19a.

These gifts are the gifts that do things, they perform things. That is where the raw energy of God flows from the source. It is divine electricity.


d. Gift of Faith – This is the Supernatural working power of the Holy Spirit when there is a particular situation, a particular scripture comes alive in you Isaiah 49:24-25. The Gift of Faith is not the saving faith. This is not the general faith for Christians. A good example is Daniel. This gift makes you passive – you don’t really do anything, do you? You don’t prepare for war, you prepare for the day of war. How prepared are you when you are faced with challenge.


e. Working of Miracles – Operating this gift, you will actually do something. Example – walking on water. Holy Spirit helps us to carry out acts contrary to the natural laws. Example – Divided Rea Sea – Carry out acts beyond human capacity. Example: multiplication, water to wine. The Holy Ghost will give you an instruction to take a particular step.

f. Gift of Healing – This is where the Holy Spirit enables us to administer healing. This gift helps you as a carrier of the Holy Spirit to destroy the works of the devil in the human body. You don’t administer the gift of healing to / for yourself, it actually works on others.


Tip: Anytime you are in need of anything, look for a Worship song that talks about that thing to God. There is a song that ministers it. Sing of God’s swiftness. Note that: Music is the key / entrance to the spirit world either negative or positive.

Tip: To enjoy a stronger relationship with the Holy Spirit, listen to music. Learn to always sing to Him / God.


Category Three (3) – Gift of Utterance – These are the gifts that Say It.


g. Prophecy – This gift is meant for edification and comfort. Prophecy communicates a message from God to People. With this gift, you simply hear from God and say what you hear. This is supernatural utterance in a known tongue.

 
h. Diverse Kinds of Tongues.

i. Interpretation of Tongues.

Final Word: Communicate with the Holy Spirit; where there is no communication, there cannot be Manifestation. When you don’t communicate to Him, He will not Communicate Instructions to you.

THE HOLY SPIRIT - Part 3

By Joseph Akinola

SPIRITUAL GIFTS
1st Corinthians 12:1-11

These gifts are for the Conviction Of Unbelievers And Propagation Of The Gospel for Christians, Believers and Ministers. Matthew 10:8 says, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” These gifts are freely given of God and spiritual gifts are bestowed for the advantage and the salvation of others.


Spiritual gifts are the Endowment of the Holy Spirit. This is a great PROOF of the Holy Spirit in the life of any believer. These gifts come for God and are to be used for Him. The Gifts, though several are of the same Spirit (Holy Spirit) and are in themselves of various kinds.

There are diversities of Gifts such as:

1. Word of Wisdom: Wisdom is Intelligence, then practical in action in accord with it. This is the Speech Full Of Wisdom under the impulse of the Holy Spirit of God. This is what is called Revelation by the Spirit.

2. Word of Knowledge: This gift says the Knowledge Of Mysteries Wrapped Up In Prophecies. This is a Skill given by the Holy Spirit to believers and also, the Readiness to Give Advice and Counsel in Perplexed Cases. This gift is Insight (Illumination).

3. Faith: The faith of miracles or faith in the Divine Power and Promise, whereby they (Christians, believers, ministers) are Enabled to Trust God in Any Emergency, and profess the truths of Christ whatsoever was the difficulty or danger. This faith is not the ‘Saving Faith’ but the ‘Wonder-Working Faith’ 1Corinthians 13:2; Matthew 17:20; Matthew 21:21.

4. Gift of Healing: Healing the sick, either by ‘Laying on of Hands’, or ‘Anointing with Oil’, or With the Bare Word. All these are the Acts of Healing Acts 4:20; James 5:14; Luke 7:21.

5. Working of Miracles: This is the efficacy (usefulness) of powers, such as Raising the Dead, Restoring The Blind To Sight, Speech To The Dumb, Hearing To The Deaf Galatians 3:5; Hebrews 2:4.

6. Prophecy: This is the Ability To Foretell Future Events. This is the Ability To Speak Forth. This is not always a Prediction, but a speaking forth of God’s message under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

7. Discernment of the Spirit: This is the Power To Distinguish Between True And False Prophets, or to discern the real and internal qualification of a person for an office. This Power enables you to discover the inward workings of the mind by the Holy Ghost Acts 5:3. Romans 14:1; Hebrews 5:14. This is a most needed gift to tell whether the gifts (so-called gifts today) are really of the Holy Spirit and supernatural.

8. Diverse Kinds of Tongues: This is the Ability To Speak Languages By Inspiration. There are varieties in this gift but the gift was essentially an Ecstatic Utterance of Highly Wrought Emotion That Edified the Speaker. 1 Corinthians 14:4; 14:2; 14:28; 14:13.

9. Interpretation of Tongues: This is the ability to render in other languages.