spirit Archives - Colin Dye

Spiritual Gifts 2: Getting to Know Your Toolkit

Colin Dye — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 09:00:58 +0000

Spiritual Gifts 2: Getting to Know Your Toolkit

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The gift of Prophecy

Colin Dye — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:00:05 +0000

Listening to God-A book by Colin Dye

The New Testament introduces the gift of prophecy to the Church. This is a special gift of the Holy Spirit, and is just one aspect of prophecy. It is not the sum total of prophecy, but it is a significant part.? As we will see, it is right to emphasise this gift – but not to the exclusion of the other aspects of prophecy.

We learn about this gift in 1 Corinthians 12 & 14. These chapters are set in the context of teaching about public worship, especially the Lord?s Supper; this suggests that the gift of prophecy is the aspect of prophecy which is particularly relevant to the church?s public meetings.
The key Greek verb of 1 Corinthians 14 is oikodomeo. This is usually translated as ?to edify?, but it literally means ?to build together in order to build up?. If we long for the Church to be built together and built up, we should pay special attention to this chapter.

Be zealous for prophecy

1 Corinthians 14:1, 12 & 39 instruct believers actively to zeloo for prophecy. This is a strong Greek verb which means ?to have great zeal?, or ?to crave?.
If we long for God to speak, we will make listening to him a higher priority. We do not demonstrate our ?craving? for prophecy by asking God to speak; we evidence it by listening to him more zealously – because we know that it is his will and nature to reveal his Word to us.

Prophecy addresses people

1 Corinthians 14:3 shows that the essential direction of the gift of prophecy is from God to people.
When the words of our God-ward prayers and worship are truly inspired by the Spirit, it is not wrong to describe them as ?prophetic?. This passage, however, deals with that aspect of prophecy – the spiritual gift – which is entirely human-ward in direction.
In the past, some churches failed to distinguish between diermeneuo, ?to interpret?, and propheteuo ?to prophesy?. 1 Corinthians 14:5 shows that tongues and interpretation is of equal value to prophecy, but that it is not the equivalent of prophecy. Both gifts build the Church, but verses 2-3 show that they do this from opposite directions.
Whenever we pray in tongues, or interpret a tongue, or manifest any spiritual gift, there is some element of prophetic speaking – for we have listened to God and are speaking his words in gospel obedience. But we are not exercising the particular ?gift? of prophecy – for this is the exclusively human-ward element within the broad topic of prophecy.
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Prophecy builds, exhorts and comforts:

1 Corinthians 14:3 shows that the gift of prophecy brings:

oikodome ? ?edification?: the gift is positive, not negative; it builds us together to build us up in the Church
paraklesis ? ?exhortation?: it reveals what God is doing and calls us to fall in step with this, to come alongside God in what he is doing
paramuthia ? ?comfort?: it is ?near speech?; it is God whispering a tender message of comfort to friends and servants.

Prophecy builds others

Prophecy is a self-giving, self-emptying gift. 1 Corinthians 14:4 states that those who prophesy do not aim to build themselves up; instead, they build together and build up the members of the church. (Of course, as part of the church, they are themselves built up by their prophesying – but this is not their intention.)
Prophecy is a positive, constructive gift; it does not destroy or knock down. This is emphasised in verse 26.

Prophecy is important

1 Corinthians 14:5 shows that prophecy is important, and that we must not treat it casually. We are called to respect those men and women to whom God has entrusted a particular message for that occasion.

Prophecy is not necessarily spontaneous

1 Corinthians 14:26 suggests that the members of the church should spend time carefully preparing themselves for the services, listening to God for any contribution he wishes them to bring to the worship.
This means that any spiritual contribution – a song, talk, tongue, interpretation, prophecy, and so on – can be given by the Spirit in advance.? 1 Corinthians 14:30 shows, however, that there is a real place for spontaneous prophecy in public worship.

Prophecy is revelatory

1 Corinthians 14:26 lists apokalupsis among the contributions that believers can bring to a service. This is usually translated as ?revelation? and means the unveiling, the revealing, of something which had previously been unknown: it clearly refers to prophecies.
Thus far, we have referred to prophecy as the ?now? Word of God. Apokalupsis means that we can, perhaps, also describe prophecy as the ?new? Word of God.
Of course, no prophecy is ever new to God; it is always utterly consistent with the nature and Word of God as expressed in Scripture and in line with the witness of Jesus. At times, however, a prophetic revelation will be new to us – in the sense that it is a fresh unveiling of one aspect of the eternal, unchanging Word.

Prophecy must be judged

1 Corinthians 14:29-32 makes it clear that prophecy must be judged or tested. We consider this in Part Eight.
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Prophecy is for every believer

1 Corinthians 14:31 stresses that this gift is for all believers. Since Pentecost, all who have been anointed with the Spirit – who keep on listening to God and responding with gospel obedience – can prophecy. This will happen when churches start to be zealous for prophecy – and when they evidence this by making prophetic listening a higher priority.

Decently and in order

1 Corinthians 14:40 teaches that ?all things? – including the gift of prophecy – must be done with:

euschemonos? ?decently?: this means we should prophecy with beauty, or gracefully, and not in an uncontrolled or unhelpful manner
- taxis ? ?order?: this means our services should have an order, a deliberate arrangement, with a proper, appropriate and recognised place for ?all things? – including prophecy. This taxis can be arranged by the leader with the help of the gift of wisdom.

Other revelation gifts

1 Corinthians 12-14 refers to three other gifts which God gives to provide us with prophetic revelation, or ?spiritual eyesight?.

The word of knowledge

Through this gift, the Spirit reveals facts to us about a person or situation. This is not insight which comes through the natural mind, reason, experience or instinct; instead, it is a freely-given fragment of God?s own knowledge.
By this gift, God discloses a truth which the Spirit wishes to be made known.? We see this, for example, in 2 Kings 5:20-27; 6:9-12; 2 Samuel 12:1-7; Matthew 9:1-7; 17:27; John 4:7-25; 4:45-54; Acts 5:1-6 & 9:11.

The word of wisdom

This gift is the Spirit-given insight as to how a revelation should be best applied in a specific situation, or how a particular person or situation is best helped.
We can say that the word of wisdom is the Spirit?s ?how? and the word of knowledge is his ?what?.? We see examples of this gift in: Genesis 41:14-45; 1 Kings 3:16-28; 2 Kings 5:8-14; Matthew 21:23-27; 22:15-22; Luke 21:15 & John 8:7.

The discerning of spirits

This is the God-given perception which enables a believer to identify the motivating spirit behind particular words or deeds: it helps us to grasp the involvement of the human spirit, a demonic spirit and the Holy Spirit.? We see this, for example, in 1 Samuel 3:1-9; 16:6-13; Matthew 16:21-23; Luke 13:10-17; Acts 5:1-11; 8:14-24; 13:4-12 & 16:16-18.
We consider the special part that this gift plays in the judging of prophecy in Part Eight.

Let prophetic gifts happen
Prophetic revelation and insight, including the gift of prophecy, built the early church – and it still builds the Church today.
If ?Church-building? is our heart?s desire, we will follow 1 Corinthians 14:40 and allow the revelation gifts to ginomai. This is usually translated as ?be done?, but ?become?, or ?come into being?, or ?happen? is more accurate.

We do not worship a dumb God. There is no gag in his mouth. We do not need to implore him to speak. Instead, we must extract the spiritual cotton wool from our ears which blocks out his voice and start listening to him with greater care and intensity.

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Saturated by the Spirit of Grace

Colin Dye — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 09:00:11 +0000

"I preached grace even stronger than before. I preached grace, grace and still more grace!"

At the beginning of our venture into cell church, I looked at the shallow response so many people in our church were making to the challenge I presented. I realised we needed a generation of people who were saturated in the Spirit of grace. I began to preach grace in a much more emphatic way. Some cell leaders complained, ?Since you began to preach so much about grace?, they said, ?Our cell members have become lazy!? Can you guess how I responded to this? I preached grace even stronger than before. I preached grace, grace and still more grace! Do you understand why? It was because I knew the second part of Paul?s testimony.
Paul did not only give God glory because he had been saved and called to be an apostle, but he also gave God the credit for inspiring him and empowering him in his ministry. In effect he said, ?I am what I am by the grace of God?, and, ?I can do what I can do by the grace of God!?
Rightly understood, grace never produces lazy, fleshly Christians but workers, sold out for Jesus! Paul was so grateful for what Christ had done for him. His deep experience of the grace of God inspired and motivated him to live a life 100% dedicated to Christ. The same grace that saved him was now working dynamically in him, empowering him to labour tirelessly for the kingdom.
Grace teaches us – it shapes our lives – to be like Christ. Grace sets us free from sin?s power and directs us towards God?s holy glory. This is the motivation leaders must inspire in their members. Good workers for the kingdom of God are workers permanently infatuated by Christ. That?s why pressure tactics, guilt trips, blame games and naming and shaming people, never work in ministry. Manipulating people by these means cannot produce the kind of willing response that God requires of his people.
Serving God is an honour and a privilege that can only be enjoyed by true lovers of God. The rest is dull, legalistic and dead religion. In the gospel God says, ?Come as you are? while the church too often says, ?You are not acceptable until you change!?
The grace message states that God is looking for heart transformation, not behaviour modification. As long as we judge people from the outside, whether believers or unbelievers, we not only deny the gospel but we repel the very people the Spirit of grace is seeking to reach. God is looking for outrageous lovers and passionate warriors ? not religious lawyers and judges.
From the book, “People with a Passion”, by Colin Dye

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Not by Might, Nor by Power, but by My Spirit says the Lord!

Colin Dye — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:15:57 +0000

Zerubbabel was called to be the governor of the restored nation of God in the land of Israel.

Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit says the Lord

Following 70 years of exile in Babylon, the Jews returned to rebuild the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem. But opposition from the enemies of the restoration, unwillingness among the people and lack of finance all led to discouragement and a temporary end to the building programme. But the Word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet to encourage the whole nation with the reminder that God was with them, and in particular, Zerubbabel. God?s work is not about human ability but God?s power.

Key Thought

Your human ability is not sufficient to do the will or to work the work of God. It is not about what you can do, but what he alone can do. The Holy Spirit, not human strength, wisdom or ability is the key to success in life and living. Trust in the limitless power and grace of God at work in you.

Prayer

Lord, please forgive me for rushing ahead and trying to do your will in my own strength. Thank you for the encouragement of your word. I now put my trust fully in your strength and enabling within me.

Discipleship Steps

God will finish the work he started in you and you will see his grace do it. Turn away from discouragement and pick up again the ?unfinished business? you have set your heart to do. But, know that it is a work of God?s grace. Make room for God to do what he alone can do. Learn to trust his power and not your strength as you receive God?s enabling to complete the task he has called you to with joy. Let no mountain of obstacle get in the way of God?s will for your life.

Read: Zechariah 4:6-7

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A New Wave of the Spirit

Colin Dye — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:01:47 +0000

In recent weeks, I have been discerning a new move of God coming to our Church, Kensington Temple. We have seen many such moves down through the years, each with their own emphasis and God-given purpose. But this move will be different.

Kensington Temple, Notting Hill Gate, London UK

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I picture the moves of God upon a church, city or nation rather like the waves of an incoming tide breaking onto the shore. Each successive move climbs further up the beach than the previous one. It recedes only to be replaced by another wave that advances still further.

KT was founded in the first great wave of Pentecostal outpouring in Britain nearly 100 years ago. That move was characterised by the Apostolic anointing upon our founder, George Jeffreys. The Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance (the movement Jeffreys founded) developed a denominational structure which the founder was uncomfortable with and resigned. However, Elim has in recent years experienced renewal and KT has been one of the Elim Churches at the forefront of that renewal.

We saw a season of explosive growth under the Senior Leadership of Wynne Lewis in the 1980?s. We experienced a church planting move that took us to the turn of the Century. The new Millennium brought us the ?new wineskins? of the cell vision which has revolutionised how we do church in the 21st Century.

We are the product of each successive wave of blessing the Holy Spirit has brought to us. We have experienced charismatic renewal, evangelistic success, signs and wonders as well as the blessings of the Faith Movement, without being trapped by the excesses.

We have seen the renewal linked to the outpouring associated with Toronto and in the 1990?s experienced almost two years of special manifestations of the Spirit in the form of ?oil? resting on many in the congregation at every service during that season. Characteristically, the oil materialised on the hands of people in the congregation ? something that appeared to be a heightened manifestation of the human body?s natural ability to produce oil on the skin.

In the ?oil? God was saying to us, ?I have put the anointing in the hands of my people.? What is God going to do in this next move I see coming?

The characteristic of the new wave of God will be depth. The Holy Spirit is going to do a deeper work in our hearts than ever before. We will be seeking God for himself, not just what he can do for us. We will discover a mature satisfaction in him. It will affect our worship, our devotional routines, both privately and publically. It will lead us to love God and serve him more than ever. It will be a genuine heart restoration to God and his purposes.

Don?t miss it

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The spirit's activity

Colin Dye — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 10:41:51 +0000

Or the physical and emotional effects of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives

Oily hands, a phenomenon that can be caused by the anointing of the Holy Spirit

Pentecostal and charismatic Christians are no strangers to the idea of physical effects resulting from the Holy Spirit’s activity. They expect that the coming of the Spirit will normally be accompanied by some form of physical manifestation. For example, many of them believe that tongues, a form of prophetic speech, is a “sign gift’ which is given as evidence of baptism in the Spirit.
Recently, however, there has been a significant increase in the number of people who are reacting physically and emotionally to the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Recent occurrences
In Christian meetings in the last few years, more and more men and women have been laughing and weeping, shaking and falling, leaping and lying prostrate. We have also seen an oil-like substance appearing on people’s hands during worship.

Twenty-five years ago, these phenomena were almost unheard of outside the Pentecostal churches. However, they are now often reported – by both the Christian and the wider press – as occurring in churches of many different denominations.
In Britain, many of these phenomena began to occur at certain charismatic conferences held during the mid-80s. Many church leaders who attended from traditional denominations, saw these phenomena for the first time.
Then in 1994 news came from Toronto, Canada of an even greater outbreak of laughing, falling and other phenomena. Notable Pentecostal ministries such as that of Rodney Howard-Browne came to the fore, and the “new move of God’ took hold in the USA, Britain and many other nations.
While it would be wrong to describe the move of God in Britain in the mid-1990s as “revival’, it would be equally foolish to ignore the fact that many of the different elements of revival are taking place. We might not be experiencing mass conversions yet, but many churches are certainly seeing more conversions than for a very long time. And we are starting to hear reports of significant numbers of conversions in certain places. Scores of thousands of people have come to Christ across Europe through the Alpha Course, and the G12 Vision is producing early signs of a fruitful harvest.
So, if these phenomena are occurring when we are not in revival, what can we expect to happen when God visits us for a season in greater power and holiness?
Oily hands
These phenomena are happening today. We cannot ignore them. They break out in many services and we must know what to make of them. Are they biblical? Are they of God? We need answers to these burning questions so that we are not distracted by peripheral matters when God does visit us for a season in revival blessing.
We can all agree that if these physical and emotional effects are contrary to the Bible, they cannot be of God. And we do not want them if they are not of God. But if they are of God, then I do want them – or rather, I want what God is doing in, through and alongside them. Surely no Christian leader can ever afford to miss what God is doing in their day.
For many people, these phenomena are the “sticking point’. Some godly believers regard the laughter and weeping, the convulsing and collapsing as offensive. They reject them,and so reject all that is associated with them. They reject the current move of God’s Spirit.
Having examined the arguments presented by opponents of the present move, I suspect that they question the move simply because they cannot accept the phenomena. They find them embarrassing, distasteful, unseemly, culturally inappropriate, and rather frightening. Of course, this is usually hidden under thick undergrowth of theological objection.
Dangers of studying the phenomena
It seems to me that there are two main dangers which must be kept uppermost in our minds whenever we are studying or speaking about these phenomena.
Over-emphasis
The first – and main – danger is that we over-emphasise them. Indeed, merely by examining them in this book we are already over-emphasising them. We are giving them a higher profile than they deserve.
For many believers, the phenomena are so dramatic and so unusual that we can be sidetracked by them. It is as if we think that the phenomena are the essence of revival or the goal of what God is doing.
We rarely learn from the mistakes and lessons of history. This is exactly what happened with regard to the gifts of God’s Spirit, both at the turn of the century – after the birth of the Pentecostal movement – and again the 1970s, when Charismatic renewal was gathering pace.
Critics of the gifts sometimes forced those experiencing them onto the defensive. As a result, too much time was spent justifying the gifts rather than developing and using them constructively.
Most of the books written by supporters of the gifts in the 1970s concentrated on proving their validity rather than on demonstrating their purpose. Similarly, the critics could hardly stop talking and writing about the gifts in an attempt to discredit them.

Critics of the gifts sometimes forced those experiencing them onto the defensive

Instead of getting on with God’s work, leaders and congregations prized their opinions more highly than their unity. They were divided because they concentrated on the phenomena of the gifts rather than on the function of the gifts.
Furthermore, those who received the gifts within the traditional denominations appeared reluctant to benefit from the counsel of leaders in Pentecostal denominations – who had more thanhalf-a-century’s experience to pass on.
Critics of the gifts sometimes forced those experiencing them onto the defensive
Equally, some leaders within Pentecostal churches viewed the sudden “fashion’ for the gifts in the traditional churches with a mixture of emotions – and did not give themselves as fully as, perhaps, was appropriate.
Like the gifts, the present phenomena can be endlessly defended and defined. But in doing that, we must guard against the tendency to become so preoccupied with our examinations and justifications that we miss their overall significance.
False impressions
The second main danger follows on from the first. By focusing too much on the phenomena, it is possible to convey two mistaken ideas.
Firstly, there is always a temptation in every area of Christian life to under-emphasise God’s grace. Too many construe the phenomena as rewards for spirituality. They imply that – if we have not experienced “their’ phenomena – it must be because of some sin in our lives!
It was so with spiritual gifts. They are just tools to help us carry out Christ’s great commission more effectively. They are not given to entertain or thrill the saints and – especially – they never measure our spirituality. They are grace-gifts which are given to worthy and unworthy alike.
Similarly, the current phenomena should not be seen as rewards for repentance or righteousness; they are by-products of the presence and activity of God. His grace means that he works among the hot, the cold and the lukewarm – but he has an especially soft spot for sinners!
The second false impression is that the presence of the phenomena means we have revival. People glance at history and see that these phenomena occurred in revival, so they leap to the false conclusion that the phenomena signify revival.
My view is that we are not experiencing revival. Renewal, maybe; blessing, quite certainly; but full-blown revival, not yet.
However, I find the present move to be so beneficial, with so many hallmarks of the Holy Spirit, that it could well be the preparation for revival – the beginning of something greater.

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The Sharp Sword

Colin Dye — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:54:12 +0000

God?s Word is not a dead book or a dead letter. It is alive with all the characteristics and qualities of God himself. It is pure, eternal, indestructible, powerful and revelatory.

God?s Word is like a scalpel that opens you up and exposes what is going on in your heart. But like the surgeon, God only cuts open in order to heal. That?s why daily reading of the Bible and seeking to discover its secrets for your life is one of the most important disciplines of the Christian life. The Word will show you the secrets, the thoughts and motivations of your heart.

Key Thought

God?s Word has the power to work within your heart. That way you will experience change happening from the inside out and not be trapped by the mere outward performance of religious duties. You gradually grow to be more like Jesus as each day you surrender to God?s Word in your life.

Prayer

Lord, I open up to your Word within my heart. Speak to me today and help me to listen. Help me to find in your Word the power and the joy to change from the inside out.

Discipleship Steps

The living Word is also the life-giving Word. This means, as you allow God?s Word to penetrate your heart, you will be changed. He will give you the courage to face the iniquity within, the strength to change it and the willingness of heart to go God?s way. This kind of motivation comes from the power the Word which heals and restores as well as convicts and corrects. Take God?s Word today as your strength for living as well as your standard for change.

Read: Hebrews 4:12-13

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The Still, Small Voice Within

Colin Dye — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 10:14:18 +0000

It is so easy to think that God?s Word will come to you only in some great outward manifestation.

Often, we want God to send us a message by writing it in the sky, or sending a thunderous word from heaven, or by causing a glorious angelic visitation to come our way. God can, and sometimes does, work like this but more often, he speaks to us through the still, small voice inside us. Elijah had to learn that God wasn?t going to use the language of the earthquake or the fire, but he was speaking through the silent whisper within. This means you hear God best when you quieten your soul and yield to him in your heart.

Key Thought

Don?t be controlled by the raging circumstances around you. God will give you the quiet confidence to listen to him in the stillness. God is not always found in the dramatic or the externally obvious. Rather, he delights to speak to you from the silence within.

Prayer

Lord, I still my heart before you now and I close my ears to raging circumstances outside. I shut myself in with you and listen for your voice from the silence inside me.

Discipleship Steps

Stilling your heart amidst the hectoring circumstances of life is one of the most difficult disciplines the Christian faces. It is not simply a matter of closing our ears to the external noise, but the far harder thing is to find a place of silence and stillness away from the clamour within. Our hearts are often the noisiest places of all. But we can learn to quieten ourselves before the Lord and, in that place of stillness, talk to him. God speaks in such moments of quiet confidence.

Read: 1 Kings 19:11-13

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Dwelling in Security

Colin Dye — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:13:58 +0000

The path of security begins with the Holy Spirit being poured out.

Children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings

He is the Spirit of restoration and he will bring us into a place of fruitfulness. The fruit of the Spirit is the cultivation of righteousness in our lives which in turn fills us with peace. The effects of righteousness are quietness and assurance. This quiet assurance will give you confidence to face the world every day of your life. It rests on the certain knowledge that God is keeping you and his hand of protection rests upon you at all times. It is as if you have made your home in the most peaceful danger free zone on the planet.

Key Thought

Every good thing that is flowing from your life is the fruit or the product of the Holy Spirit?s work in you. This means all you have to do is to yield to his control and he will work in you his righteousness, his peace, his quietness and his assurance. This is the foundation of a life of security.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I open up to the moving of the Holy Spirit in my life. Let him come and work in me today so that I may grow in righteousness, peace and assurance. Thank you that my security is in you.

Discipleship Steps

Growing as a Christian is like being constantly restored. Just as the restoration of a work of art or a monumental building is gradual, progressive and positive so it is with us. The person in charge of this creative restoration process the Holy Spirit. The more you surrender to him and yield to his work in your life the more you experience his restoration in your life. Trust the Holy Spirit?s leadings and you will enjoy the fruit of his work ? righteousness, peace and security.

Read: Isaiah 32:15-20

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Understanding the Spirit Realm: Your Spiritual Mind

Colin Dye — Thu, 03 May 2012 09:00:40 +0000

Awareness,birth,chakras,conciousness, are buddhists and now New-Age concepts, we need to reclaim them

You have the potential to have the mind of Christ. As you increasingly submit to the revelation and the understanding of the Holy Spirit, you will share the thoughts, intentions and attitudes of Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 1:16-17 Paul prays, “I do not cease to give thanks for you; making mention of you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” He goes on to talk of “…the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of your calling.”

The natural mind cannot accept or understand the things of God. No matter how intelligent we may be, we are totally dependent upon the revelation of the Holy Spirit for every scrap of our understanding of God. However, the Holy Spirit does not want to throw us scraps, He wants to give us a feast of the revelation of God. That is why you must wake up to your spiritual-mindedness and learn how to receive from God in your spirit.

The human spirit

1 Corinthians 2:10: “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” No man knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. The human spirit is the most important part of the human personality. God has given us so many ways to feed our spirits one of them is speaking in tongues. When you speak in tongues your spirit man is praying and being built up. It is important to strengthen and cultivate your spirit – make sure your spirit is in unbroken communion with the living God.

Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart.” Your human spirit acts as a lamp that the Lord has provided for you to search the depths of your heart and inner nature. It is God’s instrument by which He interfaces with you and communes with you in your spirit. We are not just more intelligent than other creatures but God created us with a human spirit, with understanding, wisdom, capacities and capabilities. We are special creations of God and we carry a unique image of God in our spirits.

The human spirit’s capabilities unter the anointing of the Holy Spirit

Your human spirit is awakened and made alive by Christ through the Holy Spirit once you are born again. All the dead qualities of the ungenerated human spirit are removed and in place of that we have the same qualities that were in Adam before he fell and that are now in Christ. This is what the Bible means when it says we have the mind of Christ.

A seeing spirit

When your spirit is awoken by the Holy Spirit you have a capacity to perceive and see into the spirit realm. You are a seeing spirit just like God. Before God does anything He first perceives it and it becomes a creation in the spirit realm. God first “saw’ the world before it was made – according to His plan and purpose. We must operate the same way.

A listening spirit

You are a listening spirit. God has given us spiritual ears with which to listen to His voice. One of the most important things you can do is to learn how to listen to God and hear what is coming from the spiritual realm. Develop a sensitivity by which you are able to hear the faintest whisper of God – that still small voice on the inside.

No man knows the things of God except the Spirit of God

A speaking spirit

You are a speaking spirit. God did not just see or listen to the intents of His heart, but there came a time when God spoke it – He said “let there be’ and there was. God made us with the same capacity, not independent from or in competition with Him, not on the same level as Him but in partnership with Him as His royal ruler over this planet, therefore we too must see, hear and speak. Jesus said in Mark 11: 22-23 “… Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

A thinking spirit

You are a thinking spirit. God has given us a mind like Christ so that we can reason like God. God gives us spiritual understanding – we have to see and know what is ours and that is why we need constant revelation from the Spirit of God.

A believing Spirit

You are a believing Spirit. This means you accept God at His word. It is the most natural thing for the human spirit anointed by the Holy Spirit to believe God. When you take your true place in the spirit realm and flow in the undertanding, wisdom and revelation of God and have the vision of God before your eyes, it is the most natural thing to speak forth a miracle. This is because you are not limited by the world you can see or touch, taste, smell and hear. You have entered into the spirit realm – the realm of faith.

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