The Anointing: Infilling of the Holy Spirit

“Did You Receive the Holy Spirit When you Believed?”

Acts 19:1 It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 There were in all about twelve men.

God feeds the Hungry.

Are you hungry? Do you want to experience the power of His resurrection life? Do you want to be strengthened in the inner man by His Spirit ? Do you hunger for God’s wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him? Do you want to go beyond a “surface” experience with God and know the breadth, length, height and depth of God’s love? Do you want to hear directly from the Father? Do you want to be filled with His fullness and experience a union with theCreator?

If you answered “yes” to these questions, ask the Lord to grant you the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of Him as you read this study. He will abundantly answer you and fill you with the abiding anointing that will teach you all things!

THE ANOINTING

(The Holy Spirit)

God has been restoring truth to the Church for the past 1,500 years. In fact, the Church now has everything it needs to go on to the next level in preparing for the return of the Lord! Peter said is Acts chapter 3 that Jesus will return when all things are restored , “that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.” Acts 20, 21.

When we receive Christ as Lord and Savior, we receive the Spirit of Christ. As a result of this experience, we have “faith toward God” and are “Born Again”. Jesus said in John 3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. This “birthing” from above is the result of receiving the Spirit of Christ in the same way Mary conceived Jesus within her womb and gave birth to the Son of God. This is what is meant in Col. 1:27 “to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

But Jesus goes a step further and declares in John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you”.

God Himself puts His Spirit “in you” that actually “fills you”. The bible refers to this experience as the “infilling of the Holy Spirit”. When God’s divinity is put inside our adamic nature, He’s creates a brand “new species” or a “new creation” as described in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

God wants to make you a “new creature in Christ” by “filling” you with the Holy Spirit so you may experience the abiding power of God in your “inner man” and enter through the second veil of truth into the Holy Place and stand before His presence at the Mercy Seat. It’s a promise directly from God to you. This wonderful gift from God will cause us to “grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ”.

As you read through these promises of God and realize what God has provided, ask God to reveal the truth of the Word of God. If you have questions, ask Him directly… He will give you the answers. If you have already received the baptism of the Holy Spirit speaking in other tongues ask God to increase His Spirit within you and equip you to minister this truth to other believers.

Peter set forth the fulfillment of the promise of God’s gift of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts:

 Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

 Acts 2:32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.

 The promises of the New Covenant was first mentioned in the Old Testament. The prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Joel all boldly declared the prophetic word of God regarding the baptism of the Holy Spirt.

God’s words prophetically spoken through these major Old Testament prophets laid the foundation the promises of the New Covenant. The prophet Jeremiah said that God will forgive all our sins and put His law within us and write them on our hearts. Then God said that He would be our God and we woud be His people and we would all know Him, from the least us to the greatest of us!

Jer. 31:31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

A NEW HEART & A NEW SPIRIT PROMISED

God spoke through the Prophet Ezekiel and said He was going to give us a new heart and remove our hearts of stone and give us a heart of flesh and give us a new spirit and then give us His spirit.

 Ezek. 36:26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your

flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. 28 “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.

 THE PROMISE OF THE FORMER & LATTER RAIN

The prophet Joel spoke of the former and latter rain promised by God. God promised to pour out His Spirit on all mankind. The book of Acts documents the former rain and the manifestations of God’s Spirit in the early church.

Joel 2:28 “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams,

Your young men will see visions. 29 “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

 WE RECEIVE GOD’S PROMISES BY FAITH

Everything we receive from God is by faith. We receive the promises of the Holy Spirit by faith. As we read these scriptures, our faith is being built up to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for both Jew and Gentile! This promise is for you!

Gal. 3:2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

 Gal. 3:7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.

 Gal. 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The New Covenant was made to Israel and included the Gentiles In the book of Romans, we see that “those who were not my people”, the Gentiles, were included in God’s eternal plan.

Rom. 9:25 As He says also in Hosea,

“I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’ AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.’”

26 “AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’

THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.”

We need the confidence to ask God to hear our prayers. If we believe God is mad at you will not have confidence to ask Him. If you are living in sin you will not have confidence to ask Him or if you don’t believe God or think God will not forgive you for whatever reason, you will not have the confidence to ask Him for anything. If your heart condemns you for any reason, repent and ask God to to remove it and forgive you. You will then have the confidence.

 CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD

1 John 3:21 “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight”.

There is no better prayer to pray than the one you know God will answer. God wants to fill you with His Spirit more than you want to be filled. God knows that He has to put His divine nature in us so that we are able to do the whole will of God and bring joy to His heart.

1 John 5:14 “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him”.

 JESUS INVITES US TO RECEIVE THE PROMISE !

One of the clearest invitations to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit is found in Spirit is in Luke 11. Jesus removes any doubt that the Holy Spirit is for all who ask in faith.

Luke 11:9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11 “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenlyFather give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

THE TWO BAPTISIMS

Acts 1:4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

SEE & HEAR

On the day of Pentecost they saw “tongues of Fire” and heard the believers speaking in “other tongues”.

Acts 2:33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both seeand hear.

ARE YOU THIRSTY?

John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

COME, HOLY SPIRIT!

Come, Holy Spirit, we need thee! Come, sweet Spirit, we pray!

Come in your fullness and power!...Come in your own sovereign way! Say this prayer with confidence and faith, God will fill you with His Spirit:

Heavenly Father, I want to experience all that You have for me in Christ Jesus. I am sorry for my pride or any other sin that may have kept me from experiencing any part of the life in the Spirit. I repent and I ask You to fill me with the Holy Spirit. O, Lord Jesus, I empty myself of all that I thought I knew if it stands in Your way of filling me with your Spirit.

Father, I am your child and I believe in my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead and I have confessed Him as my Lord.  Jesus said, “How much more shall your Heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him.” I ask You now in the name of Jesus to fill me with the Holy Spirit. By faith I step into the fullness and power that I desire in the name of Jesus. I confess that I am a Spirit-filled Christian. As I yield my vocal organs, I expect to speak in tongues for the Spirit gives me utterance in the name of Jesus. Praise theLord!

Thank you Jesus!

Authentic Ministry

In our experience in ministering to the church and praying for the reconciliation and restoration of marriages, we have become acutely aware that there are as many people divorcing in the church as in the world. Most of our ministry is focused on church leaders with serious marriage problems. Church leaders are called to be the examples in the church. We recognize the need for the impartation of authentic Christian ministry to change this alarming reality.

Authentic ministry comes from a consecrated life in Christ, not because we have a big church or impressive religious titles in front of our names. Changed lives are the fruit of authentic ministry. God is not impressed with our natural abilities or our personal charisma. Our anointing to minister is given to us by Him. Jesus said, “Except by me you can do nothing.” Paul the Apostle admonishes us to “ be careful how we build”. Unless we “do the will of the father, we shall not enter the Kingdom of God”. God is not building His church out of human effort. He is building His church out of Christ and the life of Christ. All things are summed up in Christ.

“He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him, with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.   Eph. 1: 9-10

The Tabernacle of Moses described in the book of Exodus is a picture of our progression into this dimension of consecrated life “in the spirit”. The Tabernacle of Moses consists of the Outer Court, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.  The Holy Place was separated from the Outer Court by a veil and there was a veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Jesus said, “ I am the Way (entering through the veil of the Outer Court), I am the Truth (entering through the veil of the Holy Place) and I am the Life (entering through the veil of the Holies of Holies).” We all require spiritual revelation to remove these veils.

There are seven experiences in the Outer Court, representing the steps a believer must follow in order to fulfill the eternal purpose of God. These steps are progressive and are not optional.  Our growth as Christians rests upon the completed experience of each of these progressive steps of truth. They include:  Circumcision of the heart (Repentance), the altar of sacrifice (forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus), the removal of our old worldly garments (removing ourselves from our old life of sin), coming to the laver filled with water (full emersion of water baptism), the putting on of the garments of Christ (the righteousness of Christ), and then the pouring of oil over the bonnet of the Old Testament priest symbolic or the baptism of the Holy Spirit speaking with other tongues. The seventh Outer Court experience is the “consecration offering”:

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

 Rom. 12:1

These seven Outer Court experiences are the foundations that lead us to this “consecration” experience. Consecration simply means to do the whole will of God. The light that illuminates the outer court is all “natural light” (sun, moon and stars). The light that illuminates the Holy Place comes from the golden lampstand and is made from one piece of pure gold and is 100% spirit.  The revelation and truth of this current call to consecration is the next church restoration. In fact, it follows the exact pattern of the Tabernacle of Moses. It also follows the progression of the major Jewish feasts: the feast of Passover; the feast of Pentecost; and then the feast of Tabernacles. This revelation of consecration will move the church out of the realm of “natural” understanding filled with information and facts into a place of  “spiritual” understanding, that is, direct revelation from God. Only then can the church do the whole will of God and begin to move into the realm of authentic ministry that will produce “fruit and fruit that will last.” As God restores this truth to the church, the church will move from natural ability and understanding into the revelation understanding given by the Seven Spirits of God represented by the seven flames of fire on the lampstand that burns day and night in the Holy Place. This is the “Lampstand Church.”  In this new dimension our hands will be filled (ordained) and we will “stand before Him, minister to Him, burn incense to Him and minister to His people.”

Based on this prophetic picture, the church will step out of the Pentecostal and Charismatic experience of the past 100 years and step into the consecration experience of doing the “whole” will of God no matter what the cost or where it takes us! Persecution of the church could very well be the catalyst of this next move of God. The authentic anointing and authority of God can only come from the life of Christ. As men continue to build “man made” churches, Jesus said, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Matt. 16:18

This next move of God will take the church from a “man centered” agenda to a

“Christ centered” agenda. We must remember Jesus said this,

“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them. ‘I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’. Matthew 7:21-23,

God is speaking to all of us! These prophetic words should be a sobering warning to any one who uses the name of Jesus in their ministries and churches. Those who have been called of God to minister and have an anointing from God but continue to build their own kingdoms will have to deal with the truth of Matthew 7. We know that the gifts of God are given without repentance.

“These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;   wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever”. Jude 1:12-13

 Holy Place ministry on the other hand is all about God’s agenda, not ours. The dimension of Holy Place ministry can only accommodate the will of God. There is no room for any other agenda.  Our egos and personal ambition will not function in the Holy Place. Genuine ministry is generated from a life that comes out of the resurrected life of Christ. Humility and character are two of the corner stones of this Christ centered ministry life. In this realm of ministry the anointing and the gifts of God are used exclusively for the Glory of God, not personal gain.  Ministry life becomes a life consecrated to doing the entire will of God. There are no personal agendas. The ministry received from the Holy Place is not about building our personal kingdoms; it’s only about doing the will of the Father and bringing joy to the heart of God.

“But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and Jesus said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

 Mark 8:33

Rev. Walter and Sandy Fox -LOVESAVERS MINISTRY …ministering the blessings of covenant

waltersandy7@aol.com and www.lovesaversministry.com

The Character of the Bride

The divine character of the Bride is “Agape” or “purity of heart”. Agape is a Greek word often translated "love" in the New Testament. What makes "agape love" different from other types of love? The key difference from other kinds of romantic or sexual love, agape love is a love based upon self-sacrifice.  It is not a friendship or brotherly love. The Greek word philia is used for that kind of love.  Agape love is unique and is distinguished by its nature and character. God purifies the heart of the Bride and develops the divine character within Her. Since we only learn and develop His character through trials, sufferings, distress, tribulations, disappointments and the crucifixion of the self-life it is clear that it must be accomplished here in this life because these dimensions of suffering will not be available in heaven.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”  Gal 5: 22-24. 

The Bride of Christ

What Does Your Marriage Have to Do with Your Eternal Destiny?

“Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” Genesis 2:18.  Everything that God did and is now doing will complete His predestined goal. This goal includes preparation of the New Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ and the Wife of the Lamb. God has prepared a Kingdom for His Son and is now preparing the Bride for that Kingdom. The preparation required by the Bride includes the inner development of the character of Jesus Christ, God’s perfect man.  “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints," Revelation 19:7.