Sons of God Apostle Jonas clark

SONS OF GOD AND THE SPIRIT OF LIBERTY

The Holy Spirit said to me, “Only the sons of God walking in the Spirit can manifest the kingdom of God.” Before the sons of God can manifest the Kingdom of God they need to understand the Kingdom of God is not coming, the Kingdom of God has already arrived.

 Jesus was a kerux. A kerux, Greek for preacher, is an official representative of a government that heralds the expectation of a conquering king. Paul said he was both an apostle and a preacher (kerux) (2 Timothy 1:11). As the only begotten son of God Jesus was an apostolic sent one. He came announcing the arrival of the Kingdom of God and instructed his followers to change the way they thought about the Kingdom (Mark 1:15).

The Gospel of the Kingdom has always been a message of liberty dealing with your spirit, soul, and body. The Gospel of the Kingdom and the anointing of the Spirit include the liberating of God’s people. It is a message that produces freedom by setting the captives free. The question arises, “Freedom from what?” Yes, freedom from sin and addictions but it also entails freedom to worship God and to live by faith. Jehovah alone is our Father. He is your protector, provider, deliver, and healer (Exodus 20).

Pharaoh did not recognize the supremacy of Jehovah. God sent Moses commanding Pharaoh to let His people go. Pharaoh responded by saying who is the Lord that I should obey his voice? In Pharaoh’s eyes, the people belonged to him. This same mistake is made today in many countries around the world. The good news is the spirit of liberty is on the way. God’s people will not be held in bondage or serfdom. Satan’s master plan of organizing a secular humanistic government that turns people away from faith in God is being exposed.

Here are some definitions of liberty:

1. A free, unrestrained man.
2. Personal freedom from servitude, confinement or oppression.
3. Not a slave.
4. Political independence.
5. Freedom of choice.
6. Autonomous
7. Free to live by faith in God.
8. Free from things public.

Liberty in Latin is liberi meaning freedom to possess allodial land, real property. Allodial land is “inalienable, owned freely, and clear of any encumbrances such as liens or mortgages.” It is absolute ownership independent and without subjection to rent, services, or any other encumbrances. There was a time in colonial America for example when a freeman could own property without real estate taxes and the need for city permits (permission) to improve it.  Not so today. Stop paying real estate taxes and you will find out who really owns your house.

According to James Truslow Adams author of the History of the U.S. “The ordinary citizen, living on his farm, owned in fee-simple, untroubled by any relics of Feudalism, untaxed save by himself, saying his say to all the world in town meetings, had gained a new self-reliance. Wrestling with his soul and plow on week days and the innumerable points of the minister’s sermon on Sundays and meeting days, he was becoming a tough nut for any imperial system to crack.”

NIMROD’S BABYLON

Throughout the years, measures of our liberty have been taken away little by little or exchanged by us for certain state promises such as “things public.” Things public are provisions given by unscrupulous politicians such as entitlements and welfare. Bread and circuses provided by the state. There is an evil design behind all of this. That design is when a secular humanistic state turns people from faith in God toward faith in another. Jesus said, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). Another scripture declares, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Nimrod was successful at turning people away from faith in God toward faith in his kingdom rule.

The contemporary of Nimrod was Abraham the man of faith, God’s friend. Abraham lived by faith in God (Romans 4). He left the governing jurisdiction of his father’s city and “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker was God”(Hebrews 11:10). Nimrod on the other hand lived by faith in self.

Nimrod was a “mighty hunter before the Lord” (Genesis 10:9). This had nothing to do with being good at hunting game. This man built a secular humanist kingdom that was opposed to the God of the Bible. This means he was a “mighty provider instead of the Lord.” He was a tyrant that turned people away from faith in God toward faith in Babylon the kingdom-state.

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SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY AND KINGDOM DOMINION

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Remember God sets His sons at liberty. When the state, any state or kingdom usurps God’s authority they violate the liberty of man. This leads to bondage, slavery, tyranny, bloodshed and eventual collapse. These types of kingdoms never last. Gone are Nimrod's Babylon, Pharaoh's Egypt, and Caeser's Rome. Without a mighty repentance of sin and turning back to Christ America and many other nations of the world will face the same fate. Scripture declares of such, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage” (2 Peter 2:19).

Josephus wrote that Nimrod turned the people away from God toward a dependence on the state:

"Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it were through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his power. "

Nimrod is a great example of Satan’s master strategy to organize a society centralizing power under his demonic influence that turns men away from faith in God to dependence in man’s secular humanist’ state. The same scheme is at work today, but it’s not working. Man is not God and cannot look to men for salvation.

The rise and subsequent fall of the Leviathan state is taking place right now. Lift up your heads and rejoice sons of God for your redemption draweth nigh. There is only one expanding and ever increasing kingdom and that is the Kingdom of God. “Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end.”

Your mandate is to walk by faith and not by sight. Scripture declares “the just shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38). Living by faith means looking unto Christ the head of the Church, “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

I know this is a mystery but the Holy Ghost is exposing leviathan’s kingdom because you can’t come out of what you can’t see. Satan’s master plan for world domination is falling apart. Babylon’s end game is approaching and the sons of God are waking up to their kingship and liberty in Christ (Revelation 18).

The entire world is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. This can’t happen until the sons of God come out of their entanglement with the world’s mammon system of debt and leverage and walk in their God given liberty as freemen (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). They do that by renouncing secular humanism and living the holy lifestyle of faith in God. Like Abraham they refuse to let the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things enter in and choke the word. Instead they stagger not in unbelief but are strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

As a son of God you are not a slave but one set at liberty. “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10). The world has changed. The Holy Ghost will help you see it. The Kingdom of God is not coming it is already here. Only the sons of God walking in the Spirit can manifest the Kingdom. Rejoice for the Spirit of Liberty is on the way.

Your partner,
(c) Apostle Jonas Clark
www.jonasclark.com

MINISTERIAL RACE

 

Throwing-Out the Life Line

I Timothy 4:11-16

One of the greatest losses to the local church is its doctrinally trained pastors who have given up the ministry. One out of ten pastors gives up before their work is done. Many begin as skilled speakers and many are versed in all the principles of biblical hermeneutics. Their education is finally paid for, and their churches are healthy, but many of these men are not. Distractions and disappointments like the derecho that came through the mid-Atlantic on June 29, 2012 have devastated their hopes and ambitions.

An example of great loss to the work of the Lord is found in three preachers whose ministries resulted in stark contrast.

Three men starting out in their mid-twenties:

1. Chuck Templeton – At the age of 18 he was saved, and became a firebrand preacher for Youth for Christ with enormous results. He filled stadiums with his evangelistic crusades in America and Europe, and many churches sprung up following his meetings. He began a church that grew to more than 1,200 members in one year’s time. He hosted the weekly radio show “Look Up and Live”, on CBS radio. One seminary president said of him “he is the most gifted and talented young man in America today for preaching.”

The National Association of Evangelicals published an article on men who were “best used of God” and Chuck is highlighted in that article. His traveling preaching partner is not mentioned, his name was Billy Graham.

2. Bron Clifford, a twenty-five year old gifted fireball for God. In 1945, he was considered the most gifted and powerful preacher the church had seen in centuries. His crusades took him all over America and Europe. At the age of 25 Clifford had touched more lives, influenced more leaders, and set more attendance records than any other preacher of his age in American history. He was tall, handsome, intelligent, and eloquent.

3. Billy Graham – Began preaching the gospel in 1943 and remained faithful for more than 60 years. Mr. Graham is now reaching the end of his life.

What became of Graham is well known. He is a beloved preacher who stayed the course for the Lord, but what about Templeton and Clifford?

Templeton was convinced he needed a deeper education so he enrolled in graduate school at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1948, and two years later, he came out an agnostic. He left the ministry, parted company with his close friend, Billy Graham and decided he was no longer a Christian in the orthodox sense of the term. He rejected the inspiration of the Bible and the claims of Jesus Christ. He became a newspaper columnist and television commentator. He eventually wrote the book, “Farewell to God, My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith. He died in 2001 of Alzheimer’s disease.

Clifford, some nine years after his rise to Christian stardom lost his ministry in 1954. He also lost his family, his health, and then his life. After a few years of preaching, alcohol and financial irresponsibility did him in. He wound up leaving his wife and their two Down’s syndrome children. At just thirty-five years of age, this promising young preacher died from cirrhosis of the liver in a run down motel on the edge of Amarillo, Texas.

Of the three men who started out with such promising careers, only one stayed on track for the Lord, Billy Graham.

The lust for fame, fortune, and flesh has ruined many men who have started out in the ministry, as well as many who are in the rank and file of believers in Christ.

Intellectualism has displaced faith in God’s word for some men such as Templeton, and it even tempted Billy Graham in 1949. However, he prayed after reading how our Lord Jesus Christ so often quoted the Old Testament, that Christ himself never questioned the authority of the word of God, and so with this in mind, Graham never questioned it again.

However, as some have said, it is not how you start out, its how you finish.

Phase Two of the Christian life is not an emotional sprint, it is a life long marathon of which two of these three evangelist were not prepared.

This marathon requires regimental training and then more training. Moreover, this is where the pastor-teacher needs to exercise his God-given gifts in the local church. More than ever, we need Bible teaching pastors, not community organizers, and entertainment booking agents for the church.

The Christian marathon also requires personal dedication on the part of the Christian. The Lord will not make you come to church to hear the word, and if you will not come to church to hear the word, the Lord will not be able to guide and protect you from the world or yourself.

As a matter of biblical reference, according to Prov.1:20-32; if the believer scoffs, and ignores the call to worship to learn the word of God, than when their calamity comes God will nowhere be found. As it was prophesied in Amos 8:11-12, there is a famine in the land for the words of the Lord. Too many of God’s people risk shipwreck of the faith.

As a Christian we all must stay in the word, and weed out the world.

The seed of sinful disobedience is constant and it lies deeply in every one of us.

As one respected Bible theologian and writer says, “apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit, all believers are just like the lost, depraved.”

It is not enough that you know you need to be in your local church on the Lord’s Day, you need to know why you need to be here. You need the word of the Lord more than any thing.

Jesus Christ said… “He that hath ears to hear, let them hear.” Matt.11:15; Mk.4:9; Lk.8:8. Do you have spiritual ears to hear, or have they become insensitive due to the hardening of your spiritual hearts. A spiritually hardhearted believer has spiritually deaf ears. I believe that much that I say from the scriptures falls on deaf ears.

Thus, the Lord throws out the lifeline to both his pastors and his people.

I Tim.4:13-16

As a pastor, be sure to preserve your own fellowship with God, and stay in the word. Then allow the word to preserve the body of believers given to your charge.

II Tim.2:19-26

Help those who let you help them, and be patient with them.

Reach the reachable, teach the teachable, and leave the rest up to the Lord.

In Acts 28:17-29 Paul explained Jesus Christ to the Jews, some believed and others believed not. Their unbelief was prophesied in Isa.6:9-10. The Lord knew Israel’s unbelief thus He gave Israel the eyes of slumber and ears dull of hearing as per Rom.11:7-12. The Lord knows the heart of every man and woman.

Proverbs 23:9 “Speak not in the ears of a fool; for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.”

CULLED FROM BAPTIST LIBRARY

TRANS-GENERATIONAL MANTLE

TRANS-GENERATIONAL MANTLES
Mantles, blessings and inheritance flow from fathers to children, spiritually and naturally.

 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day-- with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods-- so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them” (1 Sam. 8:4-9).

 The people rejected God’s order of passing the inheritance and ministry down from father to son because of the rebellion of Samuel’s sons. From a human standpoint, it would be easy to understand why the people did not want this when they saw the unrighteous attitudes and actions of those who were supposed to inherit the promises, ministry and mantle. They would ultimately have to submit to their leadership. However, they used this as an excuse to be “like all the nations” that surrounded them. If God’s order is not being followed or abused, you do not change God’s order.[1] You pray for God to correct those people or those things that are out of order, and for God to restore His ancient path of blessing. Because of Samuel’s son’s rebellion, the people used this as an excuse to rebel against God’s divine order of passing the blessing, ministry and mantle from father-to-son. God’s judgment gave the people what they desired. They wanted to be big, famous and well-known like the other peoples around them who had fleshly, unrighteous, self-centered leaders, so God gave them what they wanted…Saul.

 Another example of this divine order of passing the inheritance from father to son is illustrated in the example of Elijah and Elisha. (1 Kings 19:19-21.) Elijah received a mantle and commission from God to bring remediation to the nation of Israel because of the rebellion and idolatry brought in and perpetrated by Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah’s primary calling was to call God’s covenant people to repentance from idolatry and false worship back into an intimate, loving relationship with their husband-God. (Isaiah 54:5; Jer. 31:32.) Since Elijah had no natural children of his own to whom he would pass the mantle and ministry, the Lord provided a “son in the faith,” Elisha, to whom the mantle would pass when Elijah’s work was accomplished. Elisha eventually did twice as much work and twice as many miracles as Elijah. It’s important to note here that each successive generation should find an exponential release of the Lord’s blessing, provision and power, if they have faithfully served the previous generation. Both the blessing and the curse operate the same way. If generational sin is passed on and perpetuated in the succeeding generation, that sin and curse will grow in all dimensions. If the generational covenant, callings, mantles, ministry and blessings are passed on to a submitted, faithful generation like Elisha, the inheritance will grow in scope and power.

 Elisha’s relationship to Elijah was one of a son to a father. (2 Kings 2:12-13.) But his primary job description was to follow Elijah, observing his life and ministry, and serving Elijah’s physical needs. (2 Kings 3:11.) It was Elijah that first initiated the relationship by offering what the Lord had given him to a succeeding generation. (1 Kings 19:19.) Fathers must take the first step to see the curse broken and the inheritance and blessing of God released. In calling forth a younger generation, the older generation imparts a blessing that will increase and expand the area of authority. There will be a “conduit” through which the Lord can release His glory and promises and bring healing, restoration and deliverance in the earth. The latter generation must respond in kind, forsaking their own agendas, plans and pursuits and serve those who are leading in the present generation. If not, the inheritance will be laid up for a future generation that will pay the price to enter where a previous generation failed to receive it because of unfaithfulness. Elisha’s mantle, which he received from Elijah, the previous generation, was buried with him because of the self-centeredness and unfaithfulness of Gehazi, who was chosen by Elisha to be his spiritual son in the faith. (2 Kings 4:12.) The Lord Jesus, who possesses all of the promises and inheritance, recovered Elisha’s mantle. Yet even the Lord Jesus said there would arise a generation that would be faithful to Him through which a greater dimension of grace and power would flow. (John 14:12.)

 Jesus, Himself, did not begin His ministry until the Father openly declared, validated and released Him. (Matt. 3:17.) As a man, the Lord Jesus had remained faithful as a Son to the Father, in every aspect of His life and relationship. As such, He now qualified for the ministry to which He was destined. He would never act independently from the Father’s will, because He had proven Himself in the “silent years” by being faithful to the Father, Mary and Joseph, and as a carpenter in his stepfather’s shop.

 The apostle Paul, although called from his mother’s womb, was not released into ministry until he faithfully served the leadership of the church of Antioch. (Acts 11:25-30.) Although Paul was more anointed, more gifted, and had more revelation than the leadership the Lord placed him under in Antioch, he was still required to faithfully serve another leader and another leader’s vision before the Lord would release him into his own ministry.

 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus (Acts 13:1-4).

 Notice that the Lord equates the commissioning of the “fathers/leaders” in Paul’s life with the commissioning of the Holy Spirit. At the right time, the Lord openly declared, validated and released him, with the leaders to whom he was in submission, commissioning and blessing him and his team into the ministry. This is the Lord’s order for releasing generational blessing, inheritance, mantles, and ministry.

 Paul also carried this divine order on in his own ministry when he chose Timothy, Titus and the others on his missionary team. He knew the things over which the Lord had made him a steward would die with him unless he had faithful “sons” to whom he could pass the ministry and the mantle. To do this, those sons must be intimately acquainted with him, show complete faithfulness to him and his calling, and be willing to experience not only the heights of exhilaration that would come in seeing the Lord move, but also willingly suffer with him through the persecution that would attend the ministry to which the Lord called him. Timothy had faithfully followed his spiritual father Paul, so Paul could openly declare, validate and release Timothy in ministry.

 To Timothy, a true son in the faith… (1 Tim. 1:2).

For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church (1 Cor. 4:17).

Now if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do (1 Cor. 16:10).

But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state (Phil. 2:19-20).

…and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith… (1 Thess. 3:2).

 The apostle Paul, a spiritual father, had no problem commending Timothy to any of the churches to which he sent him, because of his faithfulness in serving the Lord and serving Paul. That which operated in and through the apostle Paul was gloriously imparted to another generation who had met God’s order and qualified.

 I believe one of the reasons why we lack such power and confirmation of the preaching of the gospel in the west is because we are out of God’s order. People start churches and ministries on a whim, in offense, or from a panoply of other motivations, but they have never faithfully served someone else and had the Father’s blessing and order passed on to them. The Lord had said that the passing of the inheritance from father to son would be a perpetual statute throughout the generations. (Ex. 40:15.) We have seen this not only applies to an Old Covenant order, but it passed right through the cross to the New Covenant priesthood. We need to ask ourselves the question, “Are we more like Gehazi or Elisha?” The Lord Jesus, Himself, stated in Luke 16:12: And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? The principle of passing the inheritance, mantle and blessing from father to son has been lost and God’s order has been substituted by man’s order in most of western Christianity. Could this be why we do not see the power, miracles and salvation occurring here that they do in tribal societies such as Africa, Asia and South America? Most of these tribal societies have built within them this principal of passing the blessing on to succeeding generations and they have formal ceremonies through which this is done.

 When a natural or spiritual father openly commends a spiritual son or daughter through the laying on of hands and opening doors to ministry, it is much more than a tradition. This action imparts the ministry of the Holy Spirit upon that spiritual son or daughter’s life. A spiritual download occurs. The spiritual genetic code, vision, burden, mantle and inheritance come upon a submitted, receptive spiritual child or disciple in the faith. It is high time we reject the ways and methods of men and return to the Father’s order. The inheritance of God and the power to break the curse in the earth depend upon it.

Unclaimed Mantles

There are anointings, mantles, revelations and mysteries that have lain unclaimed, literally where they were left, because the generation that walked in them never passed them on. I believe it’s possible for us to recover realms of anointing, realms of insight, realms of God that have been untended for decades simply by choosing to reclaim them and perpetuate them for future generations.

Proverbs says that a righteous man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. That means righteousness, when it has a true effect on your heart, forces you to see that your decisions today have a domino effect on multiple generations following you. My decision today will affect generations beyond me. How do I want to affect them?

Truth Should Always Move Forward

When truth came to the early Church, it was to increase and increase in the next generation. It was always meant to go only in forward motion, yet that didn’t happened. But we have an opportunity in this generation to grab the concept of spiritual inheritance and see, for the first time in church history, what it looks like. We have the opportunity to lay ourselves down for a generation we’ll never see, so they can build on our ceiling and take it to places we never had time to go.

We have a history of two thousand years of unusual things. None of them were to have been lost, but all maintained, and all built upon and expanded. Though I don’t have a clear enough perspective on history, I have this sense that because of the time of the Lord, the time that is left, this place where we are in the unfolding of history, we may be in a position that no other generation has ever been in. We may be the generation who actually carries things forward in God.

Fresh Unction for Territorial Impact

There are two Scriptures which refer to the Holy Spirit as the Unction or Anointing: 2 Corinthians 1:21shows that it is God who has anointed Christians in connection with their new position in Christ, and1 John 2:18-27 indicates that the youngest Christians have all the advantages which the anointing confers.

The Holy Spirit came to the company of the redeemed on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, and attached Himself to each of them individually, filling them by His power, and qualifying every one of them to be here intelligently and zealously in the testimony for Christ. To that company so wonderfully started in Divine power has God been adding by the work of His grace from that day to this, saving men through faith in the risen Christ, and giving to those saved ones the Holy Spirit to indwell them and to empower them to be here for Christ. The outward failure of the Christian community to walk in the truth as we see it today, does not alter the grace of God to the saved individual; the believer is as truly a child of God, and is as truly indwelt and anointed by the Holy Spirit, as in the days when all was outwardly so bright. But this produces at once the great privilege, and with it the grave responsibility, of being here in spite of the general failure, maintaining the whole truth of Christ.

Seeing now that even the youngest Christians have this unction or anointing from the Holy One, we may read two or three Old Testament passages which afford help as to what is meant by the "anointing".

1. Leviticus 8:1-12 gives us the anointing of Aaron as priest.

2. 1 Samuel 16:1-13 gives us the anointing of David as King.

3. 1 Kings 14:13-16 gives us the anointing of Elisha a Prophet.

1. No one can read Exodus 18:1 in conjunction with Leviticus 8:1-12, without seeing that God by the anointing of Aaron sanctified him or set him apart for the office and service of priest. The whole congregation of Israel was summoned, and in a most conspicuous way Aaron was designated for the exercise of the priestly functions.

2. This is equally the case in Samuel 16:1-13, where David superseded Saul, by the choice of the Lord, as King. The failure of the people's choice and his rejection by Jehovah cleared the way for the introduction of God's man. So Adam set in authority at first has broken down and failed, and God has introduced the second Man, Christ, who must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. But in David's anointing and designation as King, there follows in verse 13 the remarkable addition that "the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward". How could he who had been hitherto a simple shepherd comport himself and be in behaviour as was suitable to a king? The anointing not only marked him out for the position, but conferred upon him the necessary power and fitness to be and to walk in every way worthy of the position for which he was designated.

3. In confirmation of what has been said as to the marking out for position by the anointing, we have1 Kings 13:13-16. Elijah was to anoint Hazael for the kingdom of Syria, Jehu for Israel, and Elisha as prophet as a successor to himself. But the words "in thy room" at the end of verse 16 are very suggestive. Elijah had seemingly laboured in vain and spent his strength for nought and in vain, as was said later of the Messiah in Isaiah 49. But God had appreciated his faithful service, and would shortly bestow upon him the unique and splendid honour of taking him up into heaven. Yet in grace He purposed that Elijah's faithful testimony should be continued in Elisha. We have then Elijah taken to heaven, and Elisha left on earth in the same position to represent him, "in his room", as it says. For this the anointing was to qualify and equip him; that he might be the representative of the man who was taken into heaven.

Now Christ is the One who fulfils all these types, whether of Priest, King, or Prophet. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. We may not pretend to bottom the deep glory of His Person, but while He is in His eternal and essential glory the Son, He has become in being and nature Man; as such has died and risen again, and is officially designated as Christ, i.e. the Anointed One, Priest, King and Prophet. Moreover, in the perfection of His Manhood — though ever Son — He will fulfil all the duties and responsibilities of His glorious offices by the power of the Holy Ghost. Without controversy, great is the mystery.

In 2 Corinthians 1:21, the new position in which every believer is established, and for which he is designated is "in Christ". Once we have believed the gospel truly and have received the Holy Spirit, it is God's delight to indicate to us our new position, and to establish us in it: to settle our souls into the happy realisation by the Spirit's power of what that new position involves. But He has anointed us also. By the gift of the Spirit He has definitely set us apart and designated us for the position; by the same anointing

He has given us power to be in every respect consistent with the whole of that position and all that it involves, and in result, and in so far as we use the power given to us, we should become descriptive here on earth of the Man that has gone into heaven.

The Spirit of Prayer by Charles Finney

           
 

Spirit of Prayer by Charles Finney

THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER


TEXT. --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. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God. --ROMANS viii. 26, 27.
My last lecture[s] but one was on the subject of Effectual Prayer; in which I observed that one of the most important attributes of effectual or prevailing prayer is FAITH. This was so extensive a subject that I reserved it for a separate discussion. And accordingly, I lectured last Friday evening on the subject of Faith in Prayer, or, as it is termed, the Prayer of Faith. It was my intention to discuss the subject in a single lecture. But as I was under the necessity of condensing so much on some points, it occurred to me, and was mentioned by others, that there might be some questions which people would ask, that ought to be answered more fully, especially as the subject is one on which there is so much darkness. One grand design in preaching is to exhibit the truth in such a way as to answer the questions which would naturally arise in the minds of those who read the Bible with attention, and who want to know what it means, so that they can put it in practice. In explaining the text, I propose to show,
I. What Spirit is here spoken of, "The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities."
II. What that Spirit does for us.
III. Why he does what the text declares him to do.
IV. How he accomplishes it.
V. The degree in which he influences the minds of those who are under his influence.
VI. How his influences are to be distinguished from the influences of evil spirits, or from the suggestions of our own minds.
VII. How we are to obtain this agency of the Holy Spirit.
VIII. Who have a right to expect to enjoy his influences in this matter--or for whom the Spirit does the things spoken of in the text.
I. What Spirit is it that is spoken of in the text?
Some have supposed that the Spirit spoken of in the text means our own spirit--our own mind. But a little attention to the text will show plainly that this is not the meaning. "The Spirit helpeth our infirmities" would then read, "Our own spirit helpeth the infirmities of our own spirit,"--and "Our own spirit likewise maketh intercession for our own spirit." You see you can make no sense of it on that supposition. It is evident from the manner in which the text is introduced, that the Spirit referred to is the Holy Ghost. "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father, The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." And the text is plainly speaking of the same Spirit.
II. What the Spirit does.
Answer--He intercedes for the saints. "He maketh intercession for us," and "helpeth our infirmities," when "we know not what to pray for as we ought." He helps Christians to pray according to the will of God, or for the things that God desires them to pray for.
III. Why is the Holy Spirit thus employed?
Because of our ignorance. Because we know not what we should pray for as we ought. We are so ignorant both of the will of God, revealed in the Bible, and of his unrevealed will, as we ought to learn it from his providence. Mankind are vastly ignorant both of the promises and prophecies of the Bible, and blind to the providence of God. And they are still more in the dark about those points of which God has said nothing but by the leadings of his Spirit. You recollect that I named these four sources of evidence on which to ground faith in prayer--promises, prophecies, providences, and the Holy Spirit. When all other means fail of leading us to the knowledge of what we ought to pray for, the Spirit does it.
IV. How does he make intercession for the saints? In what mode does he operate, so as to help our infirmities?
1. Not by superseding the use of our faculties. It is not by praying for us, while we do nothing. He prays for us, by exciting our own faculties. Not that he immediately suggests to us words, or guides our language. But he enlightens our minds, and makes the truth take hold of our souls. He leads us to consider the state of the church, and the condition of sinners around us. The manner in which he brings the truth before the mind, and keeps it there till it produces its effect, we cannot tell. But we can know as much as this--that he leads us to a deep consideration of the state of things; and the result of this, the natural and philosophical result, is, deep feeling. When the Spirit brings the truth up before a man's mind, there is only one way in which he can keep from deep feeling. That is, by turning away his thoughts, and leading his mind to think of other things. Sinners, when the Spirit of God brings the truth before them, must feel. They feel wrong, as long as they remain impenitent. So, if a man is a Christian, and the Holy Spirit brings a subject into warm contact with his heart, it is just as impossible he should not feel, as it is that your hand should not feel if you put it into the fire. If the Spirit of God leads him to dwell on things calculated to excite warm and overpowering feelings, and he is not excited by them, it proves that he has no love for souls, nothing of the Spirit of Christ, and knows nothing about Christian experience.
2. The Spirit makes the Christian feel the value of souls, and the guilt and danger of sinners in their present condition. It is amazing how dark and stupid Christians often

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UNUSUAL MIRACLES

“Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.” (Acts 19:11-12)

I love the expression ”unusual miracles”. I’ve personally seen firsthand the extraordinary impact signs and wonders make as they accompany the preaching of the Word of God. Do we truly understand what Kingdom Advancement implies? The Apostle Paul did… and if we are to become ministry leaders who do the unusual in the eyes of the world, we will need to put on a lot more courage and tenacity.

In the city of Ephesus, a shift in the Spiritual Realm was occurring. The Kingdom of God; which is the government of heaven, was gaining influence over all areas of life from the religious practices to the daily routine. Beliefs were changing and faith was being engaged in unusual ways as people stepped into the supernatural, as if unleashed from natural law. Jesus said when you abide in My Word, you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free (Jn. 8:31-32). The Apostle Paul; like Jesus, was pulling them into revelation rather than letting them stay bound to natural limits.

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (Jn. 8:36). Freedom implies the ability to move, without hindrance or limitation and it brings fresh perspective on the future. Unusual miracles change the way you think about your reality, limitations and possibilities.

Conflict with Darkness:

The immediate result of the Apostle Paul’s experience however, was that evil spirits were driven out into the open. Conflict is first and foremost a spiritual battle that makes every leader do an inventory of their gifts and training. Are they equipped to handle the battle? Their experience and character set the standard for how they will address visible opposition in the spiritual realm. Perhaps most important is a person’s awareness of spiritual authority. Some do well, some flounder, but every leader must get their skills sharpened by their identity in Christ and their experiences in the field.

“Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, over powered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” (Acts 19:13-16)

This account is like a backhanded compliment. In effect Satan’s agents were saying, ‘This preacher is achieving something’. Yet, the victories of our advancement must be maintained and enforced by radical followers who know who they are and what they carry. These sons of Sceva were trying to be helpful without the tools or experience.

Paul’s preaching was breaking through and crushing the occult practices in the city of Ephesus. What also seemed to be happening was that many people became very nervous about the incredible beating those without spiritual authority had just experienced. Believe me when I say the word gets out. But God will get the last word, if we are truly doing unusual miracles by His hand.

“This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified, And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.” (Acts 19:17-19)

Even in the church world today, we see a lot of folks having one foot in the Kingdom of God and the other in the enemy’s camp. These folks need to see the reality of these kingdoms in conflict. When the Apostle Paul preached, the believers brought the books and tools of their witchcraft and burned them publicly. What an impact that would make on a region. The value of the books was fifty thousand pieces of silver. Each silver coin was a day’s wage… this is estimated at $2,500,000 in today’s market.

Unusual Miracles are only unusual in the sense that they reveal an extraordinary shift from the natural limitations we consider normal. When we begin to see through the eyes of faith, what seems common will change and the impossible will become ordinary.