THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT

Time with Jesus - Friday, 21 September 2012

Hi all,

Nowhere in Scripture are we shown a “test-tube” to identify the Spirit of God. We cannot put Him under a microscope and say, “Here is God”. That can never happen. We are told ⁶ It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. Heb. 11:6 MSG.  It’s not “seeing is believing”. It’s “believing is seeing”. We have to get it right or we won’t get it at all!

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Friday, 21 September 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT
Jesus made it clear that 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:24 NLT The question we have to grapple with is, what did Jesus mean in a way we can try to understand? The point from which we must begin is that God is the creator. He dwells in a “dimension” with which we are unfamiliar. This is important. God created our time/space continuum. In other words, we dwell in Him rather than He dwells in our dimension. We know this is true because 28 “In him we live and move and have our being”. Acts 17:28 ESV A little illustration that has helped me, is to point out that fish live in water. Water doesn’t live in fish. If water lived in fish, they would be aware of it. They could see and feel it. But fish live in water. I suspect they are not aware of the watery world around them. We are like those fish. We live in a time/space continuum, all of which is in God – in Spirit. Occasionally, God has opened men’s eyes to “see” what is taking place in the Spirit. Normally we are unable to do so. We do know that the world we live in is not permanent. It is passing away. But the things of the Spirit are eternal. The day will come when the pyramids of Egypt will be gone. But those who love God continue. Occasionally, God sends something from the Spirit into our dimension. The Holy Spirit descended and alighted on Jesus in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit “came upon” the 120 in the outer court of the temple (not the upper room) in the form of tongues of fire. Most likely, the pillar of fire came down in much the same way as in the wilderness. Then, tongues of flame reached out from the pillar and touched the heads of those present. The Spirit was in contact with God’s people in a way that was similar to the time of the Wilderness wanderings. No wonder the recipients almost “freaked out”. Here was a touch from Him which their forefathers had known ±1500 years previously! Note that it was the Spirit, visible and touching this world. In a sense, an invasion of our dimension by the Spirit dimension. Those of us who have read science fiction will have come across the idea of a “portal”; a gateway between one dimension and another. There is no doubt that this world and the Spirit are separate “dimensions”. Yet Jesus instructs us to worship God in Spirit and truth. Is it possible that in some way we don’t understand, God opens something like a “portal” whereby we are able to take our worship into His dimension to truly worship Him? There would be one important “key” into His dimension. The key is truth. Jesus Christ is that “key”; that “portal” 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 ESV. Thus Jesus is our “portal” to the Father! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17 TNIV 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me. John 16:13-14 NLT 5 And hope will never let us down. God has poured his love into our hearts. He did it through the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to us. Romans 5:5 NIrV 17 But anyone who is joined to the Lord becomes one with him in spirit. 18 Keep far away from sexual sins. All the other sins a person commits are outside his body. But sexual sins are sins against one's own body. 19 Don't you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is in you. You have received him from God. You do not belong to yourselves. 1 Corinthians 6:17-19 NIrV 30 Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted. Ephesians 4:30 MSG 26 At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don't know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words. Romans 8:26 GW	God’s Spirit is within me. The Saviour said it’s true. This should always be enough for folk like me and you. But I’m a bit inquisitive. I like to check things out. Make sure that something’s factual and far beyond a doubt. And so I started poking round to find out “where?” inside. I wanted to locate Him, so He could never hide; And ask me what I’m looking for. So I began to hunt. The liver, spleen and kidneys; the back and sides; the front. But I was unsuccessful. I couldn’t find the place, Where I could worship Jesus and look into His face. This sort of had me bothered. The Lord won’t tell a lie. And so I started over and had a second try. Then, after lots of digging, acknowledged my defeat. I knew that I could never find the Precious Paraclete! And then I started thinking. I must have got it wrong. The Message from the Master was really very strong. Finding a location was not what Jesus meant. He was the Holy Spirit, Whom Father God had sent. We cannot see the Spirit realm. We cannot feel or touch; And recognise His presence. We do not need that crutch. Faith is what is needed. To see beyond this realm, And know the Holy Spirit is surely at the helm. God’s Kingdom isn’t physical. Realise that’s true. You cannot eat or drink it; you cannot touch, or chew, What the Lord has given. Believe it and you’ll see, The evidence that He is there; alive at work in me! Its righteousness and peace and joy, within us, animated. Each of these is abstract and all are concentrated, To make our life here liveable; that other men may know, The action of the Holy Ghost, everywhere we go. Always put the emphasis on other men’s perception. If you’re looking at yourself, it’s probably deception. Yet there is a place to look where He is always found. Deep inside your spirit man you’ll find the Heavenly Hound. Your Spirit will bear witness that He indeed is there. This way you can be Christian and never have a care. So never be flustered and ask, “Where can He be”? Focus on the witness of the Spirit within Thee! If there is no “witness”, there’s one thing to be done. Get the problem “sorted”; Ask Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Jim Strickland – Written 21st September 2012