The Church Has A Destiny. Part 1; This Destiny is From the Heart of God.
Tuesday, 29 June 2010 17:21 | 
Written by Peter | 
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The Church Has A Destiny. Part 1;
This Destiny is From the Heart of God.
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1v8-13.
As we continue in this vein of thought that the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart concerning the body of Christ, I want to draw your attention to the importance of knowing, that being in Christ, and Christ being in the believer, Almighty God has a destiny that He has purposed to be made manifest.
Almighty God is a God of purpose, plan, design and objectivity, before the foundation of this earth, even before the existence of time as we know it, Almighty God had in His mind, held in His heart, a plan to have a people delivered out of this world, consecrated, set apart for His use, Almighty God purposed to cut out, or separate a people through whom He could manifest His power and display His glory.
This unique people, are those who have acknowledged the sovereignty of The Lord Jesus Christ, whose lives have been given over to the person and power of the Holy Spirit to be invested with the authority of the kingdom of Christ.
In the mind of God, through the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ through His life blood, Almighty God purposed to bring into this earth, a body that would be the dwelling place of His Spirit, and through this vital union of redeemed man with the Redeemer Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God would be made manifest to the world, the world would be touched and influenced by this resident glory of God in man.
The Will of God for the Believer; The Ministry of The Holy Spirit.
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: Acts 1v1-2.
Almighty God’s desire and design for the church, the company of redeemed brought out of this world, was to have the capability to hold the person and presence of the Holy Spirit, and to be used by the Holy Spirit to reproduce the anointed ministry that was manifested through Christ in His earthly ministry.
In examining the opening verses of the Acts of the Apostles there is an emphasis that the Holy Spirit placed on my spirit in the course of meditation of this study, the first aspect is that of the ministry of Jesus Christ by the Spirit, and then the ministry of Jesus Christ through the Spirit in the church.
Here is a thought from the throne of God that every believer needs to lay hold of, and have demonstrated through their lives;
“ Jesus Christ’s desire for the church is that, as He was in the earth, so too should be the body of believers, we should be the sum total of power and authority affecting and influencing the lives of those outside of the kingdom of God, to be an effectual and living testimony of the power of God in their midst.”
We have recorded in the Word of God, two treatises that were written by the Apostle Luke to his friend Theophilus, these are the Gospel of Luke, and the Acts of The Apostles, both of these works although written by the hand of Luke were the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Luke wrote as he was moved upon by the Holy Spirit, this is the correct rule of scripture.
for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 2 Peter 1v21.
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: Acts 1v1-2.
The clear message of the introduction to the book of Acts is the on going, or the continuing effectual ministry of Jesus Christ, when He cried out on His cross- It Is Finished, the work of redemption in which He brought the kingdom of God into the midst of man was accomplished, in the book of Acts we see the working of the kingdom of God in the life of the church, the clear revelation truth is set forth in the words conveyed by the Holy Spirit to the Apostle Luke, when he wrote of all that Jesus began to do and teach, after He by the Spirit gave commandments to the church.
The Coming of The Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2v1-4.
Every individual believer needs to understand the outworking of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He never operates independently of the God Head, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit are working today in this dispensation of Grace, through the church, the body of Christ.
The believer in Christ needs to gain the fullness of the importance of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit when He came into the lives of the church in the upper room, every believer needs to understand that the greatness of the coming of the Holy Spirit was not in His filling the upper room, but in Him taking up His occupancy in the life of the believer, the crowning of the day of Pentecost was the person, the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit who previously indwelt the ark of the covenant, now came to reside in the life of Almighty God’s new covenant people.
The Blood of Jesus and The Spirit of God.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This Man calls for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save Him. Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the Ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; Matthew 27v46-51.
The church needs to gain the revelation truth of what happened when Jesus Christ was crucified, when Christ gave of His lifeblood for the redemption of man, when He cried out “ it is finished ” He yielded up His spirit, and on this action the Holy Spirit moved out of the temple, the veil which separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place was rent from the top to the bottom this signifying that it was the work of Almighty God and not the work of man, and the Holy Spirit would no longer be confined to a building but would be poured out and into the lives of the church.
The LORD also said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
"You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 'No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the ram's horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain." Exodus 19v10-13.
Quite some years ago, the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit of the great significance of the Holy Spirit being poured out into the upper room, and more importantly into the lives of the disciples as they were gathered in expectation awaiting the manifestation of the promise given to them by Jesus Christ.
When Almighty God gave instruction to Moses concerning the gathering of the people at Mount Sinai, there were strict limitations placed upon the people, they were to be sanctified, they were to be washed, they were to be prepared to meet their covenant God, but their appointed meeting with Almighty God was to be at a distance, the nation of Israel were to witness the presence of Almighty God descending on the top of the Mount Sinai but would not be able to contain nor live in the direct contact of Almighty God as He came in their midst, this was the closest they were to come in their covenant with God, in the administration of the Law, but this same power and presence of Almighty God would be visibly experienced and more importantly tangibly received in the administration of the Grace of God poured out on the disciples in the upper room.
So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. He said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman." So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.
The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. Exodus 19v14-21.
The nation of Israel had a glimpse of the presence and power of Almighty God as they approached the base of Mount Sinai, they heard the thunder, they saw the lightning’s flashes, they felt the earth shake as they stood in awe as the Glory of God, the Shekinah, the weighty presence of Almighty God’s, His tangible presence, came to rest on the summit of Mount Sinai, but they were not able to partake of this out poured manifestation of the Glory of Almighty God, because they would have been destroyed if they had come into direct contact with the Holy Spirit of God because of their sin nature.
The only way for the disciples in the upper room to be able to supersede the experience of the nation of Israel was because of the blood of Jesus Christ having been poured out on His cross and presented to the heavenly throne of Grace, when the precious blood of Jesus Christ was presented on the heavenly alter, when the blood of Christ was in the mind of God, seen on the lives of the awaiting disciples the Holy Spirit was made manifest in the upper room, and the person, the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit entered and infused each believer as they were bathed in the glory of God, the flesh that kept Almighty God at a distance in the Old Testament was superseded by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, the efficacious, the all availing power of the blood of Jesus Christ in the life of the believer makes the way for the power of the Holy Spirit to enter in and anoint and empower the believer for ministry.
[ To be continued ………………………………..
This Destiny is From the Heart of God.
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1v8-13.
As we continue in this vein of thought that the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart concerning the body of Christ, I want to draw your attention to the importance of knowing, that being in Christ, and Christ being in the believer, Almighty God has a destiny that He has purposed to be made manifest.
Almighty God is a God of purpose, plan, design and objectivity, before the foundation of this earth, even before the existence of time as we know it, Almighty God had in His mind, held in His heart, a plan to have a people delivered out of this world, consecrated, set apart for His use, Almighty God purposed to cut out, or separate a people through whom He could manifest His power and display His glory.
This unique people, are those who have acknowledged the sovereignty of The Lord Jesus Christ, whose lives have been given over to the person and power of the Holy Spirit to be invested with the authority of the kingdom of Christ.
In the mind of God, through the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ through His life blood, Almighty God purposed to bring into this earth, a body that would be the dwelling place of His Spirit, and through this vital union of redeemed man with the Redeemer Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God would be made manifest to the world, the world would be touched and influenced by this resident glory of God in man.
The Will of God for the Believer; The Ministry of The Holy Spirit.
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: Acts 1v1-2.
Almighty God’s desire and design for the church, the company of redeemed brought out of this world, was to have the capability to hold the person and presence of the Holy Spirit, and to be used by the Holy Spirit to reproduce the anointed ministry that was manifested through Christ in His earthly ministry.
In examining the opening verses of the Acts of the Apostles there is an emphasis that the Holy Spirit placed on my spirit in the course of meditation of this study, the first aspect is that of the ministry of Jesus Christ by the Spirit, and then the ministry of Jesus Christ through the Spirit in the church.
Here is a thought from the throne of God that every believer needs to lay hold of, and have demonstrated through their lives;
“ Jesus Christ’s desire for the church is that, as He was in the earth, so too should be the body of believers, we should be the sum total of power and authority affecting and influencing the lives of those outside of the kingdom of God, to be an effectual and living testimony of the power of God in their midst.”
We have recorded in the Word of God, two treatises that were written by the Apostle Luke to his friend Theophilus, these are the Gospel of Luke, and the Acts of The Apostles, both of these works although written by the hand of Luke were the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Luke wrote as he was moved upon by the Holy Spirit, this is the correct rule of scripture.
for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 2 Peter 1v21.
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: Acts 1v1-2.
The clear message of the introduction to the book of Acts is the on going, or the continuing effectual ministry of Jesus Christ, when He cried out on His cross- It Is Finished, the work of redemption in which He brought the kingdom of God into the midst of man was accomplished, in the book of Acts we see the working of the kingdom of God in the life of the church, the clear revelation truth is set forth in the words conveyed by the Holy Spirit to the Apostle Luke, when he wrote of all that Jesus began to do and teach, after He by the Spirit gave commandments to the church.
The Coming of The Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2v1-4.
Every individual believer needs to understand the outworking of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He never operates independently of the God Head, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit are working today in this dispensation of Grace, through the church, the body of Christ.
The believer in Christ needs to gain the fullness of the importance of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit when He came into the lives of the church in the upper room, every believer needs to understand that the greatness of the coming of the Holy Spirit was not in His filling the upper room, but in Him taking up His occupancy in the life of the believer, the crowning of the day of Pentecost was the person, the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit who previously indwelt the ark of the covenant, now came to reside in the life of Almighty God’s new covenant people.
The Blood of Jesus and The Spirit of God.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This Man calls for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save Him. Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the Ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; Matthew 27v46-51.
The church needs to gain the revelation truth of what happened when Jesus Christ was crucified, when Christ gave of His lifeblood for the redemption of man, when He cried out “ it is finished ” He yielded up His spirit, and on this action the Holy Spirit moved out of the temple, the veil which separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place was rent from the top to the bottom this signifying that it was the work of Almighty God and not the work of man, and the Holy Spirit would no longer be confined to a building but would be poured out and into the lives of the church.
The LORD also said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
"You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 'No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the ram's horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain." Exodus 19v10-13.
Quite some years ago, the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit of the great significance of the Holy Spirit being poured out into the upper room, and more importantly into the lives of the disciples as they were gathered in expectation awaiting the manifestation of the promise given to them by Jesus Christ.
When Almighty God gave instruction to Moses concerning the gathering of the people at Mount Sinai, there were strict limitations placed upon the people, they were to be sanctified, they were to be washed, they were to be prepared to meet their covenant God, but their appointed meeting with Almighty God was to be at a distance, the nation of Israel were to witness the presence of Almighty God descending on the top of the Mount Sinai but would not be able to contain nor live in the direct contact of Almighty God as He came in their midst, this was the closest they were to come in their covenant with God, in the administration of the Law, but this same power and presence of Almighty God would be visibly experienced and more importantly tangibly received in the administration of the Grace of God poured out on the disciples in the upper room.
So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. He said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman." So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.
The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. Exodus 19v14-21.
The nation of Israel had a glimpse of the presence and power of Almighty God as they approached the base of Mount Sinai, they heard the thunder, they saw the lightning’s flashes, they felt the earth shake as they stood in awe as the Glory of God, the Shekinah, the weighty presence of Almighty God’s, His tangible presence, came to rest on the summit of Mount Sinai, but they were not able to partake of this out poured manifestation of the Glory of Almighty God, because they would have been destroyed if they had come into direct contact with the Holy Spirit of God because of their sin nature.
The only way for the disciples in the upper room to be able to supersede the experience of the nation of Israel was because of the blood of Jesus Christ having been poured out on His cross and presented to the heavenly throne of Grace, when the precious blood of Jesus Christ was presented on the heavenly alter, when the blood of Christ was in the mind of God, seen on the lives of the awaiting disciples the Holy Spirit was made manifest in the upper room, and the person, the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit entered and infused each believer as they were bathed in the glory of God, the flesh that kept Almighty God at a distance in the Old Testament was superseded by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, the efficacious, the all availing power of the blood of Jesus Christ in the life of the believer makes the way for the power of the Holy Spirit to enter in and anoint and empower the believer for ministry.
[ To be continued ………………………………..
Last Updated (Tuesday, 29 June 2010 17:26)