MOVED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD WITHIN

PROCLAMATION

“And The Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.”  1 Samuel 11:6 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  After the people of Israel had selected Saul to be their king, they all returned to their homes and Saul returned to his home. (1 Samuel 10:25-26)  Not long afterwards Nahash the Ammonite came and sieged the city of Jabesh Gilead.  The men of Jabesh asked Nahash to make a treaty with them and said that they would serve him.  Nahash replied that he would make a treaty with them only if every man would gouge out his right eye so as to bring disgrace to all of Israel. (1 Samuel 11:1-2)  They requested seven days to think about it and sent messengers throughout Israel for help.  Saul was at home working in his fields.  When he heard this he was angered and The Spirit of The Lord came powerfully upon him. (1 Samuel 11:3-6)  The fear of The Lord fell upon the people and they came together to follow Saul and Samuel into battle.  The next night Saul led the Israelites into the camp of the Ammonites and they slaughtered them. (1 Samuel 11:7-11)  Afterwards Samuel led the people of Israel to Gilgal and they officially made Saul their king and they had a big celebration. (1 Samuel 11:12-15)

 

APPLICATION

There are times when we just go about our normal daily activities in an unmotivated manner nonchalantly doing things with no real urgency about anything.  Then there are times when something comes upon us and we get a real zeal for what we are doing.  All too often we go about our service to The Lord and our praise and worship without much zest and gusto.  We need to come alive and get on fire for The Lord.  It is past time for casual business as usual, it is time to get seriously busy.  We should pray that The Spirit of The Lord will light a fire within us so that we can get active.  God does not want any lukewarm Christians. (Revelation 3:16)

 

WITH THE HELP OF THE LORD GOD

Proclamation:

“As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day.  When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; The Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.”  1 Samuel 10:9-10 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  After The Lord God told Samuel that He had chosen Saul to lead Israel, Samuel conveyed this to Saul (1 Samuel 9:27) and then he anointed him king over all of God’s people. (1 Samuel 10:1)  Afterwards Samuel told Saul the events which would transpire after he left, and the people that he would meet when he left him. (1 Samuel 10:2-8)   The Spirit of God came upon Saul and he was changed.  He began to prophesy, then he led them in battle and was victorious over the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11:11) and the people made him king. (1 Samuel 11:14-15)

Application:

With the help of The Lord God, Saul went from being a frightened young man (1 Samuel 10:22-23) to being the victorious leader of an army and king of Israel.  Once we accept The Lord God into our life and become a true believer, we will change.  All things are possible with God. (Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23, and Mark 10:27)  God can change us, and our behavior, such that everyone who knew us beforehand will see the difference in us.  The Lord God can use whomever He chooses in order to accomplish His purpose.

MONEY CANNOT BUY THE GIFTS OF GOD

Proclamation:

“When Simon saw that The Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, ‘Give me also this ability to that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive The Holy Spirit.’  Peter answered: ‘May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!’”  Acts 8:18-20 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Luke records that on the day that Stephen was stoned to death, a great persecution of believers began in Jerusalem.  Saul began to destroy the church putting believers in prison. (Acts 8:1-3)  The disciples, except for the twelve apostles, scattered throughout Judea and Samaria but they preached the gospel wherever they went. (Acts 8:4-7)  In Samaria a man named Simon, who practiced sorcery, heard the gospel, believed, was baptized, and began to follow Philip wherever he went. (Acts 8:9-13)  When Simon saw that the apostles could lay their hands on people and give them The Holy Spirit, he offered them money to give him that ability.  Peter told him that he had no part in their ministry because his heart was not right. (Acts 8:18-23)

Application:

Simon did not want the ability to heal others, he wanted the power to give others the ability to heal.  This causes his motives to be questioned.  The gifts of God cannot be bought nor earned.  The Lord God gives them to us, or to whomever He chooses, based upon our ability to handle them. (Matthew 25:15)  Unfortunately there are people in the church today who are like Simon, they claim to believe and have been baptized but their heart is not right.  Some people think that they can get whatever they want with money.  These kind of people hurt the church from the inside.  The love of money can control and ruin a person. (1 Timothy 6:10)  Remember, Judas was an insider when he betrayed Jesus, The Christ, for money. (Matthew 27:3)  We need to make sure that our service for The Lord God is not for personal or financial gain, but is for the love of God and for His glory.

GREAT IS THE COMPASSION OF THE LORD GOD

Proclamation:

“Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out Your decrees.  Your compassion, Lord, is great; preserve my life according to Your laws.”  Psalm 119:155-156 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This is the twentieth part, Resh, of this twenty-two part psalm.  As David continues his conversation with The Lord God he ask Him to be delivered from suffering, to have his cause defended, to be redeemed, and to have his life preserved. (Psalm 119:153-154)  He has many enemies who want to kill him but he is not afraid because he has faith in God’s word. (Psalm 119:157)  He states that he loves God’s word and he loathes those who do not obey The Word of God. (Psalm 119:158-160) 

Application:

Today there seems to be a growing interest in The Word of God but there are still a large number of people who are lost because they refuse to accept it, believe it, or read it.  As believers it is our job to spread The Word of God to the non-believers in the world.  We are just to tell them about it and about Jesus, The Christ.  It is not our job to make them believe it.  The job of The Holy Spirit of God is to convict, convince, and convert them.  The Lord is very compassionate and it does not matter what sins they have committed, if they come to believe and accept Jesus as their Savior, then their sins will be forgiven just as our sins were forgiven.  We should pray that His word will be revived within each of us.  If we love The Lord and His Holy Word, we should share it with others.  So, during our many conversations, we should make sure that all of our friends and family members have been exposed to The Word of God, at least once.  When we tell them we have done our part, and hopefully they will see a living example of God’s word when they observe and listen to us.

PEACE AND POWER

Proclamation:

“… My peace I give you … Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  John 14:27 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, which He spoke to His disciples to comfort them as recorded by the Apostle John under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Jesus had told them that He was going to leave them and promised them that He would return for them. (John 14:1-3)  He also told them that God, The Father, would send The Holy Spirit to be with them and to help them. (John 14:16-17)  He told them that they did not need to be afraid or fearful.

Application:

As modern day disciples of Christ, we have The Holy Spirit of God with us and within us.  The peace of God should calm all of our fears.  He also promised us that as long as we abide in Him and His words abide in us, whatever we ask for would be granted, as long as what we wanted gave God glory. (John 15:7-8)  The peace of God removes all of our fears, and all of our prayers will be answered and fruitful.  We can have His perfect peace and know that there is power in our prayers.  All this is ours, as long as we stay in His word and keep His word in us.  So, don't worry, be happy, we can get whatever we want; as long as what we want gives God glory.

MONEY CAN'T BUY THIS

Proclamation:

“When Simon saw that The Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said ‘Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive The Holy Spirit.’  Peter answered: ‘May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!’”  Acts 8:18-20

Explanation:

These words were recorded under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion of the Apostle Paul.  Simon was a well-known user of sorcery and when he saw what the apostles could do, he also wanted that power.  However, when Peter pointed out the sin in his heart and told him to repent, there is no record that he repented of his sin.  He just asked Peter to pray that he would not have to pay the consequences for his sin. (Acts 8:24)

Application:

Unfortunately there are people who join the church for the wrong reasons.  They join because of what they see and they are seeking personal glory.  Some join the church because they want to avoid the consequences of their sins and to avoid going to hell.  They do not truly believe The Word of God and their thoughts, words and actions reflect their unbelief.  We all commit sins daily, consciously and unconsciously, intentionally and unintentionally. (1 John 5:17)  If what we think, say, or do does not give God glory then it is a sin.  We should all pray and ask The Lord God to forgive us for our sinful thoughts, words, and actions.  As believers, we will be forgiven of our sins if we ask Him. (1 John 1:9)  However, the ungodly non-believers will not survive the judgment of The Lord. (Psalm 1:5-6)  Those who do not believe are lost in their sins and they will spend eternity in the fire of hell. (Revelation 20:15)  Salvation cannot be bought with money, or with anything else.  It is a gift from God and by the grace of God to those who believe. (Ephesians 2:8-9)  If we are to spend eternity with The Lord God in heaven, we need to make sure that our name is recorded in The Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:27)

THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD

Proclamation:

“And when the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting ... All of them were filled with The Holy Spirit …”  Acts 2:1-4 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion of the apostle Paul.  Some people believe that only the eleven apostles received power after The Holy Spirit of God came upon them.  Luke records that in that upper room there were about 120 men and women (Acts 1:12-15) and they were all filled with The Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:4) 

Application:

Jesus, The Christ, said “You will receive power when The Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses …” (Acts 1:8)  This power is not just for preachers but it is available to all believers.  After Peter preached his first sermon, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)  That day about 3000 people gladly received his word, believed it, and became disciples (students) of Christ. (Acts 2:41)  That number grew daily and became a multitude. (Acts 2:46-47)  Stephen, the first deacon, was full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, before the apostles laid their hands upon him and prayed for him. (Acts 6:3-8)  As believers in Jesus, The Christ, we have The Holy Spirit of God within us.  Our problem is we have a choice in what we do and say, and we do not let The Holy Spirit have control of our lives.  We want to be in charge.  My favorite example of this is to use a bus as an analogy.  On the bus which represents our life, we want The Holy Spirit to be a back seat passenger on the bus that we are driving, instead of us letting The Holy Spirit take charge and drive the bus.  We have the potential to do great things for The Lord.  We have the power of The Holy Spirit of God available to us, to help us to be a help to others.  We have the power within us, the question is: what are we doing with it and what are we going to do with it?  All believers are to be witnesses for Christ.  We are all to spread The Word and tell others about the good news and salvation through Jesus, The Christ.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU WITH JOY AND PEACE

Proclamation:

"May The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of The Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the believers in the church in Rome.  Paul was praying for God's blessings upon them.  He wanted them to receive God’s joy, peace, and hope, by the power of The Holy Spirit.

Application:

Just like every other good and perfect gift come from The Lord, (James 1:17) joy is a gift from God.  Jesus said "If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father's commands and remain in His love.  I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (John 15:10-11)  Jesus also said "... and no one will take away your joy." (John 16:22)  As the song says, "... This joy that I have, the world didn't give it, and the world can't take it away."  Only with the help of God can we count everything that happens in this life as joy. (James 1:2)  And, the only real peace is God's perfect peace. (Isaiah 26:3)  The only way to be blessed with the gifts of joy and peace, is to believe and obey The Word of God, because both of them are gifts from God through The Holy Spirit.