I had trouble being honest and getting a clear first
experience. I got saved when I was six
years old. I know I got saved because it
made such an impression on my heart. I
didn’t stay saved. I remember things in
my life that happened.
We were always church goers, but my dad backslid after that
and was no longer a religious man.
In 1962, the Kelly family came to our door. I was the one that went to the door and I
remember the impression that they made on my heart. I will never forget the beauty of holiness I
saw in Sister Kelly. I was very
attracted to her.
I remember the first time I went to the altar and they asked
me what I needed; I told them that I needed to be sanctified. What I really needed was to get the first
work taken care of. I was troubled for
several years with the thought that I didn’t know that my sins were
forgiven.
When we were at a service in the basement at Hoppe’s house,
I did that. We need to be able to point
the enemy to the time and place that you started serving God the bible
way.
Act 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O
Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Act 1:2
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:
Act 1:3
To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many
infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Act 1:4
And, being assembled together with them,
commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard
of me.
This is the foundation of our thought.
Act 2:37
Now when they heard this, they
were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the
apostles, Men and brethren, what shall
we do?
Can you remember being pricked in your heart?
Act 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost.
1Co 3:10
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise
masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But
let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
1Co 3:11
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ.
This is the foundation: Jesus Christ. Repentance, doing the first works, and
turning from our sin is the foundation.
We must have this before we can have the Holy Spirit in our life. When I got the first experience going then I
was able to go on and make progress in my spiritual life and go on to
sanctification.
Rev 2:5
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen,
and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and
will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
We have the command, “Repent.” Make sure you have repented, turned from all
sin, stopped the sin business, and turn to God.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
This is the proof of our salvation. We become a new creature. People claim to be saved that have never had
a changed life. We want to have the
clear experience, “I was going one way and I turned and went the other.”
We need both works.
We need a fresh infilling in our life, quickened by the Spirit and power
of God, many times. It is not that we
backslide, we just need the fresh oil in our life. We need it in our life and in the world as it
is today. Life can be busy. We can be pulled many ways. We need to come back and have the fresh
anointing in our heart and life.
Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they
might understand the scriptures,
Luk 24:46 And said unto them, Thus
it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead
the third day:
Luk 24:47 And that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48 And ye are witnesses
of these things.
Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send
the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until
ye be endued with power from on high.
He told them again, “I send the promise of my Father upon
you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power.” It takes time to be renewed. We need to be a people of prayer. People that take time to be alone with God
and that listen and receive that anointing in our life.
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep
my commandments.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the
Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for
ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with
you, and shall be in you.
Joh 14:18 I will not leave you
comfortless: I will come to you.
Act 1:5
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall
be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Act 1:6
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord,
wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Act 1:7
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know
the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Act 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Act 1:9
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up;
and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10
And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold,
two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Act 1:12
Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is
from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.
Act 1:13
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode
both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew,
and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother
of James.
Act 1:14
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the
women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
The enemy would like for us to be distracted. We don’t understand everything. We have to leave some things with God. Do our best.
We have a job to do for God. We
want to be filled with the Spirit of God and do what God wants us to do in our
region. Leave who will be president next
with God and do your best to vote for the one that you think is best.
We can plan on Him coming back just this way. We want to be ready. We want to be expecting Him and not
surprised. We want to be watching,
praying, and ready.
These all continued with one accord in prayer. We all want to be into this. We don’t want to be as Thomas who was missing
from the gathering. We want to be a part
working for the building up of the kingdom of God.
We have to yield and submit and give everything to God. We have to give up our carnal nature to God
that we were born with. We have to give
God a blank sheet of paper. “I have
plans, but I let go of them.” I remember
praying, “I love Bob but if it is not your will for us to get married, I will
serve you and go on even if we don’t get married.”
This is what it takes to have the Spirit of God and power of
God alive in our life. We have to obey
when God speaks to us in order to have the power of God in our life.
We want to be spiritually minded.
Php 2:5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Think of the mind of Christ.
How Jesus was. He had
compassion. He stood for what was
right. He didn’t show respecter of
persons. He was just and fair. Think of all the things that represent the
mind of Christ.
Be sold out to God.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service.
Present your body a living sacrifice. It is easy to say the words. God help us to be everything that He wants to
be. Completely sold out.
Deny self.
Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me.
We have to love God more than anything else. It means something to Love Him more. We know what love is. We have to love God more. For us to have his full approval and blessing
on our life and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
He has to be first place. He will
not take second.
Luk 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate
not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters,
yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
To hate is to love less.
If we don’t love it less then we cannot be His disciple. We cannot please God and be filled with the
power and fullness in our life if we don’t have Him first.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me.
Gal 5:24
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections
and lusts.
1Th 4:3
For this is the will of God, even
your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
1Th 4:4
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in
sanctification and honour;
This is the will of God for us to be sold out to God and
enjoy the power of God. When we know
something is the will of God it gives us the confidence that we can have it and
that it can be a part of us.
I remember as a young girl struggling with knowing if I had
gotten sanctified. The enemy would
battle me, “You are not.”
God will help us to know if we have paid the perfect price
and help us to know that we have the power in our life.
It is His will that we should know how to possess our vessel
in sanctification and honor and be filled with His spirit.
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