The Spirit And The Body Of Christ

 

1st Corinthians 12:4-11

"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

The Holy Spirit is the One who gives spiritual gifts to those who enter God’s Kingdom and become a part of the Body of Christ! So why aren’t we seeing the manifestation of these gifts in the modern-day churches of this world? 

Why is there still only one man standing up in the pulpit preaching to hundreds and thousands of people, while everybody else sits in a pew, listens, gives their offering, sings a few songs, and then goes home? 

Where is the prophetic word? Where is the word of knowledge? Where is the word of wisdom? Where are the gifts of healing, miracles, discernment, tongues, interpretation, exhortation, and the other gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to the Body? 

If the scripture says the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man, then why have we reduced the Body of Christ to a congregation of spectators?

People are listening to men rather than seeking God for themselves. They are looking for a word to make them feel good, instead of seeking the Spirit. They are looking for a building instead of becoming the Ekklesia! 

Ekklesia - Strong’s G1577: “a calling out,” “assembly,” “church,” specifically the community of the redeemed in Christ.

So many have become comfortable with the weekly tradition of walking inside a building, sitting down for an hour or two, listening to one man speak, shaking a few hands, giving a few smiles, and walking back out thinking they just got their souls fed. 

But where is the LIFE of Christ in the believer? Where is the power of the Holy Spirit operating through the Body?

Paul said in 1st Corinthians 14:26

"How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification."

Notice what he said: “each of you.” He didn't say one man has everything while everybody else sits there and watches. The Church was never supposed to be one pastor over all, but a plurality of leadership, and the disciples of Jesus, ALL being led by the Spirit of God!

1st Corinthians 12:12-14

"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many."

We are supposed to be functioning members of one Body, under one Head—and that Head is Christ!

Ephesians 4:11–12 

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,"

The purpose was never for one preacher to stand behind a pulpit and do all the ministry while everyone else remains spectators. The leaders were given to equip the saints for the work of the ministry so that the Body of Christ could function. And those who truly belong to Christ should be asking, “Lord, what have You called me to do? What gift have You placed within me? How do You want to use me to serve Your people?”

Romans 8:14 

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Jesus is not looking for lukewarm spectators. He is looking for believers who are actually surrendered to Him, led by His Spirit, grounded in His Word, and willing to be used by God. 

Jesus didn't call and make disciples to go sit inside a building on Sunday, but He called them and equipped them to be His representatives on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and everywhere they went! 

Because the Ekklesia is not the building. We are the Body. Christ is the Head. And the Holy Spirit must be allowed to lead those who truly belong to Him.

In Christ,

Tyrone

Good & Evil

Genesis 2:15-17

"Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Ever since the Garden of Eden man has been given a choice, do good, obey the teachings of Jesus and Love the Lord God will all our heart soul mind and strength, and love our neighbors. If we do those things we will inherit eternal life in the next age, and in this age we will receive the blessings of God and one hundred times more of what we have given up to follow Jesus. Yes we will be hated by all nations, and we will be persecuted for our faith, and even physically killed, if that's the cup God gives us to drink, but look at the results of living by the flesh and doing evil.

When we do evil works what do we receive? Sorrow, pain, suffering, trauma, hard hearts, depravity of the mind, physical sicknesses, broken down bodies, dysfunction, prison sentences, death, depression, addiction, self hatred, judgments and the wrath of God, separation from God in Hell when we die without conversion to Christ, and ultimately having our immortal souls thrown in the Lake of Fire, if our names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life!

I'll take the blessings, persecution, martydom and eternal life with my Creator for $1,000 Alex!!! 😇

How about you?

The scripture clearly tells us that if we sow (do good things) to please the Spirit of God, if He is in us, we will reap eternal life, but if we sow to please the flesh, (do evil things) we will reap death and destruction!

Galatians 6:7-8

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

And even on the day of Judgement the outcomes of our lives will be determined by what we have done while we have lived on this Earth!!

John 5:28-29

"Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

Everyday we have a choice to make, of how we live our lives, we must choose to do right if we want blessings and eternal life, if we do evil, the scriptures make it crystal clear what will be waiting for us if we die in our sins without the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

The choice is yours!

In Christ,

Tyrone

Word From The Lord!

 

While at work over the last few weeks, I heard the Lord say "24" 

He said it once in one week, and again to confirm it a week later. What does it mean? I don't know! But I will be watching these next few months on the 24th! That's the obvious human interpretation, but as we know, God's ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts!!! 

It blows me away, everytime I medidate on that truth, because as humans we think we are so intelligent, and even when we get older we think because of our age, we have acquired enough wisdom and can begin to share some of that knowledge with the younger generation. We can impart some of the things we have learned while living on this earth, that may help another person IF they listen! 

But we can never have as much wisdom and understanding as God Almighty does!!

That's why the word tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

In Christ,

Tyrone

The TRUTH, WILL, Make you FREE!

 

John 8:31-32

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Another often quoted scripture but not truly understood by the masses of people who quote it! And why is that you ask? Because multitudes of those who profess to be Christians have not entered into God's Kingdom and have not received in their souls the Spirit of Truth!

John 14:15-18

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."

It all ties in to receiving God's Spirit, by being born from above, how can the truth make or set you free, if the Spirit of Truth is not IN you? 

You can hear the truth, quote the truth, memorize the truths contained in scripture but it will have no effect on your heart or mind, because you have not been baptized with the Spirit and Fire of God! So you don't have the power of God in you to set you free!

You will only think in your mind that you're ok, you'll say: 'I'm good because I read the scriptures, and I believe what it says'. I'm good because pastor so and so, calls me brother or sister and tells me I'm a child of God'. 'I'm good because I go to church on Sunday and Wednesday.' 

But have you heard from the Lord? Has He spoken to you and confirmed who you are in Him? Questions you need to ask yourself and answer honestly!

Only with the Spirit of Truth abiding in your Soul can you be set free!

John 16:12-13

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

So many trying to do it all by their flesh, using their intellect, their gifts, talents, and abilities! Building and planting, working and creating, all without God's Spirit to help them. So you say to yourself, I can do it, I got this! But how much are you really doing without Christ in you?

John 15:5-8

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."

So you see all things tie together in Christ? His Spirit, His Word, His Life in us, His cleansing, His help, His deliverance, His teachings, The fruit of the Holy Spirit, all intertwining to make us healthy, holy and blessed!!

The Truth will set you free indeed, if so be, that the Spirit of truth dwells in you!!

And remember the scripture clearly tells us in Romans 8:9 that if you don't have His Spirit in you, you are none of His!

Abiding In Christ,

Tyrone

Who's The Fool?

 

Psalm 14:1

"The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

What is a fool you ask?

Merriam Webster's Dictionary says a fool means:

“A person lacking in judgment or prudence.”

“A person lacking in common powers of understanding or reason.”

So would a person believing in an invisible God, and the words contained in the Christian bible, be a fool for believing what the scriptures say in Genesis 1:1-5?

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day."

Or are those who believe in a big bang, or those who believe that humans evolved from chimpanzees, and monkey's foolish for their beliefs?

I would much rather believe in a divine Revelation from the inspired and preserved scriptures contained in the bible instead of a scientist, or an atheist!!

The Hebrew word translated “fool” is nabal (נָבָל). It describes a person who is morally and spiritually senseless—someone who rejects wisdom, disregards God, and lives as though God does not exist or does not matter.

A fool can be someone who:

• Rejects God despite evidence of His existence
• Refuses wisdom and correction
• Lives according to his own desires rather than God's ways
• Acts as though there are no consequences before God
• Knows or encounters truth but stubbornly rejects it
• Trusts his own understanding above God's revelation

Here is what the scientists say about human origins:

The scientific claim is that humans and modern apes share common ancestors. In other words, humans did not evolve from the gorillas or chimpanzees living today. Humans and chimpanzees, for example, are thought to have descended from an older ancestral population that lived millions of years ago.

Humans and other primates share common ancestry — That's the evolutionary position.

Humans are biologically classified as primates and apes.

Here's what the bible says:

Genesis 1:26-31

"Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

I will believe what the scriptures say about God and the origin of human beings on this earth until the day I draw my last breath or the Last Trumpet of the Arch Angel sounds, signaling the Second Coming of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!! Which ever comes first!!

I will also stand with Paul, the Lord's first century apostle, who said in:

1st Corinthians 4:9-13

"For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now."

So then, who's the fool?

In Christ,

Tyrone

Humble Or Harden (The choice is yours!)

 

God compels you to repent and turn to Him, but He does NOT FORCE YOU! And how you respond to His compulsion, conviction, and truth, is YOUR CHOICE!!

But the scriptures tell us, that IF we humble ourselves in His sight, HE WILL lift us up!

James 4:10

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

1st peter 5:5-6

"Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

Did you know that humility, coupled with fearing the Lord, brings riches and honor?

Proverbs 22:4

"By humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches and honor and life."

In contrast you have the Israelites who were stiff necked and hard hearted and would not humble themselves even after seeing the great victories and deliverances of Almighty God!

Exodus 32:7-10

"And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”

Hebrews 3:7-19

"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath,‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."

You can harden yourself when truth comes to challenge your beliefs, you can harden yourself when the Spirit of God convicts your soul, of sin, rightousness, and judgment, you can harden yourself when you know you've done wrong and should repent. It's not that difficult to resist God's grace, His love and mercy towards you.

But that hardness will cause you to fall in the desert like the Israelites! That hardness will lead you to an early grave!

Humble or Harden, The choice is yours!

In Christ,

Tyrone

What God Allows (Part 2)

 

God allows you to blank out and ingnore his word, He allows you to sin and practice witchcraft, up until the day you die!

But God sends His apostles and prophets to warn you, He spoke through many people over the centuries and those inspired words are found in the bible, but yet so many don't take the correction and repent!

God allows you to keep your head down focused on your phone, smartwatch or tablet, He allows you to watch what you want, and do what you want! BUT, the scriptures clearly tell us, you reap what you sow! If you sow to please the Spirit, you will reap Eternal Life, but if you sow to please the flesh, you will reap corruption. And one day, when your soul leaves the body it dwells in, you will know what your daily choices and decisions earned you!

Galatians 6:7-10

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."

God will say to you on Judgement day, I told you many times what was was coming, I warned you with the written and inspired words in the bible, I sent my servants to you, to warn you of the coming judgments, but you chose your flesh and the pleasures of this world over ME, over eternal life in Paradise and New Jerusalem!

And The Lord will say to you, away from Me you worker of inquity, and into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels, depart from Me, I NEVER knew you!

Matthew 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"

Matthew 25:41-46

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

It's so easy to turn your face away from God when He comes to correct you, and it's easy to resist the Spirit of God when He convicts your soul, of sin, righteousness, and judgement. But God will allow you to do it, because ultimately it's your choice to obey or not to obey!! You decide!!

In Christ,

Tyrone