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Saturday, January 25, 2014

Daily Devotional January 25 - Nine stages of spiritual growth - stage 6 (empowered) - Acts 1:8

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:"  Acts 1:8

We learned that the first step in our spiritual growth is to be called.
We learned that God takes the one who was called that answers the call and washes them clean.
After God calls us and we are washed, God begins a work in us, by strengthening us.
We learned that God strengthens us in the inner man so He can prepare us.
And what God strengthens and prepares, He fills.

Why does God fill His people with His Spirit?
To empower them for service.

In the nine stages of spiritual growth that we have been discussing, being empowered comes after being filled.  This power that we receive cannot be taken lightly, because God does not give power that is separate from the giving of Himself.  If we get this one point straight, we will be positioned to be empowered. See, God does not empower you to make you powerful, God empowers you to fulfill His will in you, by you and through you.  God does not empower you so that you will have power, God empowers you so that you will yield your power to His power.

As a matter of fact, there is no power given to you apart from God working in you, by you and through you. God doesn't give you power and then you go and wield it. You go and God wields His power in you, by you and through you.

Does it really make any difference how we look at it? This sounds like semantics. Yes it does make a difference how we look at how the power of God works in your life.  God takes His power seriously.  It amazes me that there are still people that think that God let's people get His power and that they can misuse it.  No way. God knows the end from the beginning and God does not allow those who will turn away to be empowered.

God doesn't try us out to see if we can handle it or to see if we will be faithful to Him. God doesn't give us His power and then after we misuse it, take it away.  God doesn't change His mind, (the Bible word is immutable), nor does anything go out from God that returns void.

Too many Charlatans are operating under 'simulation' power, the imitation power that satan uses to defraud the real power of God. This mimicry of God's holy power is cloaked under the disguise of an angelic presence.
God does not empower frauds.
God does not empower those who are going to use His power for self aggrandizement.
God does not let His Spirit be used to corrupt, or manipulate, or abuse, or discourage, or defame, or to harm or defraud.

satan disguises his power in an attempt to emulate God's power: to confuse, disorient, harm, cause hard feelings, discourage, elevate, cause doubt, uncertainty, cloud the issue.  satan makes his spiritual power look like it is from God to:
circumvent the right time - There is a time that is right. There is a time that is pre-mature.  And there is a time that is too late.

satan wants to circumvent your entrance into your place with God.
satan wants to circumvent your children's entrance into adulthood and bring them in early.
And satan wants to circumvent your acceptance of the things of God so that your ability to be empowered by God will be stripped from you. It's true, even today satan is trying to hold back those who want to move forward with God, but satan has convinced them that they are not worthy, it's too late - you've made too many mistakes.

satan makes his spiritual power look like it is from God to: circumvent the right passageway.  The bible says in John 10:1, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber."  Even Christians are trying out other paths. This is a travesty and those who are dabbling with other paths to God, shall find at the end of that alternate path, the god of that alternate path. satan has developed more than 4,000 other paths to keep us off of the one true path.

satan makes his spiritual power look like it is from God to: circumvent the right decision.  How many times did we make a decision contrary to what we knew was best for our lives? Just once? The influence of satan in our lives is far too great, and if you think about it, you know it is true.

satan makes his spiritual power look like it is from God to: circumvent the truth with philosophy.  satan is a liar. God is truth. There is no correlation between them. There is never agreement between them. There is never cohesion between them. Philosophies that steer us from a right view of God are to be shunned, not entertained.  A man or a woman embedded with a little of this philosophy and a little of that philosophy will not be empowered by God. To receive the power of God, we must lay aside foolish philosophies, fables, myths, illusions, distortions, fantasies, notions, and writings from romantic spiritualists.

These writers write of dreams, as if dreams were the stuff real life is made up of, when it is the other way around: Real life is the stuff dreams are made up of.

To honor and entertain the foolishness of vain and ill-informed philosophers will only hinder and impede the journey to that place of spiritual enlightenment that we are seeking.

The Word of God contains the truth and the life and the light that we are seeking. All other writings can only reflect the truth at best and completely distort it at worst.  satan makes his spiritual power look like it is from God to circumvent the truth with philosophy.

satan makes his spiritual power look like it is from God to: circumvent proper authority guidelines established by God with his authority structure: Like to:
Take the authority away from Christ as the head of the Church and give it to a religious leader.
Take the authority away from your pastor and give it to other institutions. (Counseling and advise)
Take the authority away from the husband in the household and give it to whomever is the strongest.
Take the authority away from the biblically authorized marriage and give it to the sexually perverse. (Same sex marriage)
Take the authority away of a parent over their children and give it to the government. (abortion)

satan will circumvent what God has for you every time you give place to him and you do that not only by commission (making decisions contrary to the will of God) but also by omission, (not making decisions that should have been made long ago).  Really, how much ground do you really want your adversary to have in your life? It is easy to say none, but to exercise the disciplines necessary to bring that statement to fruition is much more difficult. As a matter of fact, it is impossible. That's why you need to be empowered.

God empowers you for many reasons and God's empowerment helps you to develop your skills and talents - All this so that you can fulfill the will of God for your life, while you are being fulfilled in your calling in life.
Let me ask you something.
Is there power in the name of Jesus?
Who is that power for?
Is there power when you can sense the presence of God?
Who is that power for?
Is there power when you read or hear a new truth from the scripture?
Who is that power for?
Is there power in knowledge?
Who is that power for?
Is there power in our assurance of salvation?
Who is that power for?
Is there power in prayer?
Who is that power for?
Is there power in obedience?
Who is that power for?
Is there power in the blood?
Who is that power for?
Is there power in the cross?
Who is that power for?

In everything that God reveals His power through; In everyone that God gives His power to;
God empowers you to fulfill His will in you, through you and by you.

I want you to sense the connection between God empowering you and your operating in and of the power of God, and that the two become one; in that, God does not empower someone in whom He knows will not use the power for His purpose, nor can that someone operate in the power of God apart from God giving them the power to operate in, because the power of God is not separate from God. 

God intricately weaves His will with your will, and that is what it means to be empowered.

When God empowers you it is to empower you spiritually so that you will be more aware of the spirit realm and less aware of the physical realm, but primarily for the purpose of accomplishing something in the physical realm.

You are not empowered to receive the gifts of the holy Spirit, because the gifts of the Spirit are given. You are empowered to operate in the gift.

You cannot operate in a gift of the Spirt on your own power.

You can however, appear to operate in a gift of the Spirit in your own power, but the results are not spiritual, but carnal.

In this life, you and I will always be faced with two choices:

You have the choice to receive and operate in the power of God.
You have the choice to receive and operate in the power of satan.

There is a third group that thinks that what they do they do under their own power.  There is no truth in this, because in the spiritual realm there are two distinct powers, and two powers only, the power of God and the power of satan.

The reason I am teaching this particular truth, is so that you will fully understand that in the decisions that you make, youe either are in agreement with and endorse the power of God or you are in agreement with and endorse the power of satan.  This idea that it doesn't matter is not scriptural. 
  • God empowers you to discern, that's why mature Christians often have more discernment than new Christians.
  • God empowers you to overcome the wiles of the wicked.
  • God empowers you to love one another like Christ loves you.
  • God empowers you to stand up and speak with boldness the Word of God.
  • God empowers you to go.
  • God empowers you to take charge of your future.
  • God empowers you to build up the kingdom of God.
  • God empowers you to individually build up the body of Christ.
  • God empowers you to complete what you started.
  • to wait for/on Him.
  • God empowers you to do what cannot be done without the supernatural intervention of the Almighty.
  • God empowers us to take back territory.
  • God empowers us make us more like His Son.
It takes the power of God working in you to pull out of the attraction to the world system, and God warns you what happens if youe continue to deny God His place -i. e., to work in you, by you and through you.

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