September 10th, 2024
There has never been a greater need for believers to live in the anointing of the Holy Spirit than there is today. There is no greater power on earth than the Spirit of God, and the enemy’s goal is not to eradicate religion, but to minimize the demonstration of the power of God. Paul wrote to Timothy regarding what to expect in the last days saying,
“Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:1-3)
He mentions all kinds of godlessness and concludes with the fact that people will have the “appearance of godliness but deny its power.”
There is power in godliness, and we should expect nothing less. However, in the same way, we must understand there are things that appear “godly” which are not. We must be able to discern the difference. That’s easy to do when something is blatantly evil or dark, but often things are disguised in a way that makes it more difficult to perceive truth.
This shouldn’t make us fearful, but rather hungry for the reality of God’s presence that will make those things very easy to identify.
See, if you know someone well, you won’t be confused by someone who looks like them. My sister and I look a lot alike and people who don’t know us well often mistake us for each other. However, those who know us well can’t even see the resemblance. Intimacy allows immediate recognition.
It's the same with the Holy Spirit. If you really know Him and abide in Him, you can’t be deceived. You’ll recognize something that isn’t Him with ease. God sent Moses to deliver His people out of Egypt with signs to demonstrate Jehovah’s authority. There were miracles and plagues to prove to Pharoah and all of Egypt that the God of Israel was the only true God. In Exodus 9:14 God’s message to Pharoah was:
“For this time, I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.
In Moses and Aaron’s first audience with Pharoah, Moses threw down his staff and it became a servant, but the magicians of Egypt were able to do the very same thing by dark magic. Moses’ serpent, however, consumed the others. The first two plagues were also able to be duplicated by the Egyptian magicians. Exodus 7:20-22 says,
“Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts.”
The same thing happened with the next plague, but the third plague and all that followed could not be duplicated by the enemy. Exodus 8:16-19 says,
‘Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So, there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”’
See, there is no substitute or counterfeit for the Holy Spirit, but the enemy has been trying to duplicate it since the beginning of time. The magician’s power had a limit, and they recognized there was something greater than themselves. They had some power, but it was simply a counterfeit of something much greater. Counterfeit, according to Oxford Dictionary, means the “exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive.”
The enemy’s power is a poor imitation of God’s glory. There have always been and will always be those who operate as deceivers, imitating the power and presence of God in a wrong spirit. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 says,
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So, it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
There is no substitute for God’s presence, but there will be people deceived into believing something else can satisfy. People can fill their lives with what the enemy has to offer but it is a terrible substitute for what they were created for. The presence of God is the only thing that has the power to satisfy the human soul and everything else you consume will leave you empty.
1 Samuel 2:2 says, “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you. there is no rock like our God.
Jeremiah 10:6 says, ‘There is none like you, O LORD. you are great, and your name is great in might.”
We must become intimately acquainted with the Holy Spirit so we can recognize His presence and the whisper of His voice in every place we go.
The Holy Spirit is easy to recognize if we know what He’s like! Here are just a few truths about the Holy
Spirit that we need to understand:
1. He pours God’s love in our hearts (Romans 5:5)
2. He always points to Jesus (1 John 4:1-2; John 14:26)
3. He always agrees with the word of God – with truth (John 15:26)
4. What He speaks carries life and peace (John 14:27; John 6:63; Romans 8:6)
The only way to know the presence of God is to taste it for yourself. I could tell you what the Holy Spirit is like for 1,000 more words but it’s only time with God, in His Word and His manifest presence that will give you an intimate knowledge of who He is. Then, and only then, can you confidently recognize Him in every situation. The enemy disguises himself as light, but true light cannot be duplicated. You are a blood-bought, child of God and sheep are made to recognize the voice of their master. You were created to drink the pure presence of God and as you spend time in His Word you will easily recognize that which doesn’t carry life. You must taste God’s presence and then you’ll never be content to drink anything else. Revelation 22:17 says,
“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”
You were created to know God’s presence, and you can choose to live nowhere else. You were created to know God’s voice, and you can choose to heed no other sound. You were created to abide in His word, and you can choose to dwell only in Him. You were born to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, and you can choose to carry nothing else. You were created to live on the water of life, and you can choose to drink from no other stream. He is pure, holy, good, and true and He desires to fill you with only good things! Come and drink, child of God. There is only life in Him!
“Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:1-3)
He mentions all kinds of godlessness and concludes with the fact that people will have the “appearance of godliness but deny its power.”
There is power in godliness, and we should expect nothing less. However, in the same way, we must understand there are things that appear “godly” which are not. We must be able to discern the difference. That’s easy to do when something is blatantly evil or dark, but often things are disguised in a way that makes it more difficult to perceive truth.
This shouldn’t make us fearful, but rather hungry for the reality of God’s presence that will make those things very easy to identify.
See, if you know someone well, you won’t be confused by someone who looks like them. My sister and I look a lot alike and people who don’t know us well often mistake us for each other. However, those who know us well can’t even see the resemblance. Intimacy allows immediate recognition.
It's the same with the Holy Spirit. If you really know Him and abide in Him, you can’t be deceived. You’ll recognize something that isn’t Him with ease. God sent Moses to deliver His people out of Egypt with signs to demonstrate Jehovah’s authority. There were miracles and plagues to prove to Pharoah and all of Egypt that the God of Israel was the only true God. In Exodus 9:14 God’s message to Pharoah was:
“For this time, I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.
In Moses and Aaron’s first audience with Pharoah, Moses threw down his staff and it became a servant, but the magicians of Egypt were able to do the very same thing by dark magic. Moses’ serpent, however, consumed the others. The first two plagues were also able to be duplicated by the Egyptian magicians. Exodus 7:20-22 says,
“Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts.”
The same thing happened with the next plague, but the third plague and all that followed could not be duplicated by the enemy. Exodus 8:16-19 says,
‘Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So, there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”’
See, there is no substitute or counterfeit for the Holy Spirit, but the enemy has been trying to duplicate it since the beginning of time. The magician’s power had a limit, and they recognized there was something greater than themselves. They had some power, but it was simply a counterfeit of something much greater. Counterfeit, according to Oxford Dictionary, means the “exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive.”
The enemy’s power is a poor imitation of God’s glory. There have always been and will always be those who operate as deceivers, imitating the power and presence of God in a wrong spirit. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 says,
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So, it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
There is no substitute for God’s presence, but there will be people deceived into believing something else can satisfy. People can fill their lives with what the enemy has to offer but it is a terrible substitute for what they were created for. The presence of God is the only thing that has the power to satisfy the human soul and everything else you consume will leave you empty.
1 Samuel 2:2 says, “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you. there is no rock like our God.
Jeremiah 10:6 says, ‘There is none like you, O LORD. you are great, and your name is great in might.”
We must become intimately acquainted with the Holy Spirit so we can recognize His presence and the whisper of His voice in every place we go.
The Holy Spirit is easy to recognize if we know what He’s like! Here are just a few truths about the Holy
Spirit that we need to understand:
1. He pours God’s love in our hearts (Romans 5:5)
2. He always points to Jesus (1 John 4:1-2; John 14:26)
3. He always agrees with the word of God – with truth (John 15:26)
4. What He speaks carries life and peace (John 14:27; John 6:63; Romans 8:6)
The only way to know the presence of God is to taste it for yourself. I could tell you what the Holy Spirit is like for 1,000 more words but it’s only time with God, in His Word and His manifest presence that will give you an intimate knowledge of who He is. Then, and only then, can you confidently recognize Him in every situation. The enemy disguises himself as light, but true light cannot be duplicated. You are a blood-bought, child of God and sheep are made to recognize the voice of their master. You were created to drink the pure presence of God and as you spend time in His Word you will easily recognize that which doesn’t carry life. You must taste God’s presence and then you’ll never be content to drink anything else. Revelation 22:17 says,
“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”
You were created to know God’s presence, and you can choose to live nowhere else. You were created to know God’s voice, and you can choose to heed no other sound. You were created to abide in His word, and you can choose to dwell only in Him. You were born to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, and you can choose to carry nothing else. You were created to live on the water of life, and you can choose to drink from no other stream. He is pure, holy, good, and true and He desires to fill you with only good things! Come and drink, child of God. There is only life in Him!
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