Become more Holy Spirit conscious and less self-conscious.

Spiritual maturity progresses as you become more Holy Spirit conscious and less self-conscious. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Rom 8:5-6) You are in a process of dying to yourself that Christ’s life may become manifested in you; the more you die to yourself the more of His life is in you. For you who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in your mortal flesh. (2^ndCor 4:11) Jesus says, “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Mat 10:38-39)

Fortunately God gives you the power to become spiritually minded through the Holy Spirit so that Christ’s life can be manifested in you and through you. There are seven characteristics that you can count on from the Holy Spirit.

The first thing you can count on from the Holy Spirit is that He will be with you forever. “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.” (John 14:16-17) So the Holy Spirit will be with you forever, in this life, through death, and in the next life, He is your unity with God.

You also receive wisdom, and understanding from the Holy Spirit. You receive counsel, which are words from God, and power, which is faith that comes through hearing God’s words. You also receive the knowledge of God, which causes you to have the fear of God. The more you know God the more that you will stand in awe of Him. Notice that you are to delight in the fear of God, the fear of God is like a fence that keeps you safe and close to God and it helps you to keep your heart clean and holy before God. The fear of God helps you to experience the joy of a clean heart before God.

So seven things that you receive from the Holy Spirit are; 1 eternal companionship and unity with God; 2 God’s wisdom; 3 God’s understanding; 4 God’s counsel, which is His communication and words; 5 God’s power, which is faith that you receive through hearing God’s words; 6 the intimate knowledge of God; and 7 the fear of God which perfects holiness in you.

You are a New (Creation Being) in Christ.

Because of the Father's grace in Christ there is nothing you can do to cause the Father to love you more than He does right now. "If you love one another, God lives in you, and his love is perfected in you. By this you can know that you live in Him, and He in you, because God has given you His Spirit. And you have seen and can testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. If you confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in you and you in God. And you have known and believed the love that God has for you. God is love, and if you live in love you live in God and God in you. Love has been perfected in you, that you may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are you in this world." (John 4:12-17).

His love for you is perfect and complete. Nothing can be added to you in completeness and perfection once you accepted Jesus! The Father is eternal and His love for you is eternal. There is nothing you can do to make the Father love you less. "Nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord." (Romans 8:35-39) The Father cannot love you less, because He is LOVE, and He is complete in you, and you are complete in Christ. Jesus cannot be added to or be less than He is! His love for you is perfect and He is perfect in you, and you are perfect in Him forever.

“We may present every man PERFECT in Christ Jesus." (Colossians 3:28). "And you are COMPLETE in Him." (Colossians 2:10).

The Father is not holding anything against you. He is not holding sin against you. You are forgiven of all sin. "Behold the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world." (John. 1:29). "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing your trespasses unto you, and has committed to you the WORD of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

You are forgiven all of your sins. ALL MEANS ALL! "For God has rescued you from the dominion of darkness and brought you into the kingdom of Forgiveness through Jesus His Son that He loves, in whom you have been forgiven of your sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)

Here is the good news; God chooses not to remember your sins, because He dealt with them all at the cross. You are to forgive other people as Jesus has forgiven you. Forgiveness begins the way for peace between you and others. You are holy and blameless Now through Jesus in the Father's purposes and intents! "When you were still unforgiven as an enemy, YOU WERE RECONCILED to God through THE DEATH OF HIS SON; then by each ones choice they could be saved by THE SACRIFICE OF HIS LIFE." (Romans 5:8-10). Your identity was “a sinner”before you was in Christ. You have a NEW IDENTITY in Christ. You are a New (Creation Being) in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).

There will be an increase in deception for people to be deceived.

Jesus has warned all that there will be an increase in deception and a tremendous potential for people to be deceived. Jesus says, “And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, "I am He,’ and, "The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not follow them.” This deception thing is not new; it is as old as the story of mankind. In Genesis 3 you are told about how Satan initially deceived mankind. It is interesting to note how very little has changed.

The first thing that Satan did in tempting Eve was to dispute the Word of God. Satan appeared to Eve and said (Genesis 3:1) “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden.” He suggested to Eve that somehow she had misunderstood what God meant. “One of the ways that happens today goes something like this; you have a clear plain Word of God in front of you and it tells you that you shouldn’t do something you’d really like to do. Then someone will try to give you an ‘alternative interpretation’ of the text that will allow you to do what you know God doesn’t want you to do. The road from doubt to denial is very short. The next thing Satan does is contradict the word of God. In Genesis 3:4 Satan says to Eve, “You will not surely die.” But that is a flat contradiction of what God has revealed in Genesis 2:17.

Every time you try to find an interpretation of a Scripture that will permit you to do something you know is wrong – every time you give a little ground to the devil and you lose some ground from the Word of God – it isn’t long until Satan drives a truck through that opening and dumps a load of stinking garbage in your life.” Satan says, “For God know that in the day that you eat of it your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” He was telling Eve that because she will be as God decide for herself what is good and what is evil.

One of the easiest places to see how deception is at work in your world is in how your culture treats sin. In the minds of many people, an “improper relationship” is different from adultery. Homosexuality is just an “alternative” lifestyle.
Little by little the idea of absolute truth is being eroded out of your culture.

“Be not deceived” is the Lord’s first warning, and you must take it to heart. You are living in the very edge of the latter times. The spirit of deception is rampant in your world! The only sure way to keep your balance in a deceptive world is to know the Bible and obey what God tells you to do. Jesus warns you of three great dangers
1. You are not to be deceived into departing from the truth. 2. You are not to be frightened into failing to be a witness for Christ 3. You are not to be distracted into living as if this life is all there is.

Sin short-circuits the work of the Holy Spirit

Sin short-circuits the work of the Holy Spirit

Ever notice sometimes you try to make yourself look better than you really are. Why do you do that, a lot of reasons maybe insecurity. You’re trying to impress, “You’re trying to impress people you don’t even like with stuff you don’t have." Part of that is because you don’t understand the Gospel. You don’t have to impress God anymore. God is not impressed with you, and God doesn’t expect you to impress Him. He knows who you are. He knows everything you’ve done. He knows your tendencies, and yet according to wisdom and knowledge, He chose to adopt you as a child of His, not because of you, but because of Jesus Christ.

You don’t have to impress God, so you don’t have to impress other people. You try to make yourself seem better than you are because you try to impress. Sometimes it’s competition. Sometimes you’re trying to "one up" one another.

"Then Peter said to Ananias, ’Why has Satan filled your heart?’" Just a little note here...God wants you to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You are going to be filled with something. Okay? It’s going to be the Holy Spirit or it’s going to be sin. In this case Ananias was filled with Satan, it says. Which I’m sure came as a surprise to him. He had no idea those were the stakes.

Peter says, "You lied to the Holy Spirit and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not to sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!" He takes it to a whole other level. Now how did Peter know this? Had somebody told him?

This is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He’s full of the Holy Spirit now and there is a whole list of gifts in 1 Corinthians, and one of them is a word of knowledge. A word of knowledge is where you get information that you couldn’t otherwise have had. The Holy Spirit drops it on you for a specific purpose and this is what, evidentially is happening here.

"As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died." Wow! "Everyone who heard about it was terrified." So let me ask you again, do you ever try to make yourself better than you are?

Then they carried out Sapphira his wife she was lying also. There is a higher degree of accountability going on. Do you know what’s happening here? God is stopping the ripple because the ripple could have destroyed the Church. Why is this such a big deal? Why is sin such a big deal? The ripple effect.

First of all, the ripple effect of sin short-circuits the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. That’s why it’s a big deal. It’s easy to wonder...what was God’s plans, or what could have been God’s plans to use Ananias and Sapphira? What could He have done through them? You don’t know, but you do know sin short-circuited it, whatever it was. Here’s what you can know. You do know God has plans to use you. Jeremiah 29:11 is not just for Israel, it’s for you.

God says, "I know the plans that I have for you. They’re good plans. They’re plans to prosper you and not harm you, to give you a hope and a future." That’s God’s plans for you. Ephesians, chapter 3, verse 20. It says that God is able to do abundantly more than you could ask or imagine.

America is under the fury of God's curse for disobedience.

America is dying! The country's wound is incurable. It is now in the final the effects of an upheaval or struggle of its terminal disease. The great empire is crumbling!

This country is headed the way of all fallen empires. The time that God warned the world about in His Word has come - the "dread release," when even the prayers of godly saints no longer avail. God said, "When the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it... and will cut off man and beast from it: (Ezekiel 14:13-14).

God never yet has destroyed a society or nation without ample warning. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he reveals his secrets unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). God warned Abraham of the sudden destruction about to fall on Sodom: "And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do" (Genesis 18:17). He warned Noah, too, that He soon would destroy mankind with a flood: "Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear" (Hebrews 11:7).

God warned Samuel of the downfall of Eli's ministry and of the destruction of Shiloh, "And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone that hears it shall tingle" (1 Samuel 3:11).

Jeremiah prophesied judgment upon Israel because "the Lord hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: and God showed him their doings" (Jeremiah 11:18). God also revealed to Daniel what was to come: "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision:" (Daniel 2:19).

In every age God has communicated His warnings to the people in different ways. He spoke with Moses face-to-face, to Joshua through an angel and to the Old Testament prophets in visions and dreams. And today God is speaking again - loud and clear.

Yes, there are false prophets: crazy, immoral, half-mad, self-proclaimed prophets who are also crying judgment. But these people are sent by Satan to discredit the true word of God-sent watchmen. Many American shepherds - or, ministers - have become so blind, lazy and sinful that God has had to call upon secular writers and artists to warn this nation it is dying!

Unlike the blind shepherds, these secularists see the grim reality that is now upon The U.S.A, In New York City and other urban areas, cartoons portray crowds walking over corpses! Bulldozers are avalanched by mountains of white cocaine - and are unable to make a dent in them!

In book after book, financial experts warn of the soon-coming economic crash. They have seen the handwriting on the wall, and they're frightened. One well-known financial advisor has cashed out in preparation for what is being anticipated as the world's worst depression.

The Old Testament prophecies of destruction were based on sound Biblical deductions. The prophets were students of the revealed Word of God. They studied history. They saw patterns in societies. They became well acquainted with God's mercy and His long-suffering endurance. And they were able to discern the trigger points of God's wrath - that is, when He had enough!

Daniel was a student of the Word. He came to understand the captivity of Israel in Babylon by reading the writings of the previous prophets. From their prophecies he calculated the end of the captivity, the time the Messiah would come, how long He would live and when He would die. "I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the Prophet" (Daniel 9:2).

Daniel listed all the terrible things that were happening to God's people in his day. He compared it all with Deuteronomy 28 and concluded, "The curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him... As it is written in the laws of Moses, all this evil is come upon us... for we obeyed not his voice" (Daniel 9:11,13-14).

Any God-fearing, praying Christian can do as Daniel did. Compare to the Scriptures what you see happening right before your eyes, and you will know beyond any doubt that America is even now under the fury of God's curse for disobedience.

Does God answer the prayers of an unbeliever

Does God answer the prayers of an unbeliever? In John 5:14-15The Spirit explains that God answers prayers based on whether you ask according to His will. This principle, does apply to unbelievers. If an unbeliever asks a prayer of God that is according to His will, nothing prevents God from answering such a prayer—according to His will. The Scriptures describe God hearing and answering the prayers of unbelievers. In most of these cases, prayer was involved. God responds to the cry of the heart. In some cases, the unbeliever’s prayer seemed to be combined with repentance. But in other cases, the prayer was simply for an earthly need or blessing, and God responded either out of compassion or in response to the genuine seeking or the faith of the person.

The people of Nineveh prayed that Nineveh might be spared (Jonah 3:5-10). God answered this prayer and did not destroy the city of Nineveh as He had threatened. Hagar asked God to protect her son Ishmael (Genesis 21:14-19). God not only protected Ishmael, God blessed him exceedingly. In 1 Kings 21:17-29, especially verses 27-29, Ahab fasts and mourns over Elijah's prophecy concerning his descendants. God responds by not bringing about the calamity in Ahab's time. The Gentile woman from the Tyre and Sidon area prayed that Jesus would deliver her daughter from a demon (Mark 7:24-30). Jesus cast the demon out of the woman’s daughter. Cornelius, the Roman centurion in Acts 10, had the apostle Peter sent to him in response to Cornelius being a righteous man. Acts 10:2tells us that Cornelius “prayed to God regularly.”

God does make promises that are applicable to all (saved and unsaved alike) such as Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” This was the case for Cornelius in Acts 10:1-6. But there are many promises that, according to the context of the passages, are for Christians alone. Because Christians have received Jesus as the Savior, they are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace to find help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). All have been told that when you ask for anything according to God's will, He hears and gives you what you ask for (1 John 5:14-15). There are many promises for Christians concerning prayer (Matthew 21:22;John 14:13,15:7). So, yes, there are instances in which God does not answer the prayers of an unbeliever. At the same time, in His grace and mercy, God can intervene in the lives of unbelievers in response to their prayers.

You are righteous and holy in Christ Jesus

You CANNOT GROW in RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS. You MAY GROW in RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS Consciousness. You are as righteous and holy as you can be and will ever be IN YOUR SPIRIT. You can NEVER BE MORE or LESS RIGHTEOUS and HOLY than you are now. You MAY THINK and FEEL that you are NOT righteous and holy. You must NOT GO BY YOUR WRONG THINKING and FEELINGS.

You must be TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND. (See Romans 12:2) The HOLY SPIRIT WILL CORRECT YOUR THINKING BY TEACHING YOU TRUTH. You are to live by THE FAITH OF CHRIST and NOT BY YOUR FEELINGS. UNDERSTAND that YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS and HOLY.

WHY are you righteous and holy? “It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, WHO HAS BECOME FOR YOU wisdom from God — that is, your righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

Does the bible verse read that you are righteous and holy In Christ BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU DID? NO, IT IS NOT BECAUSE OF YOU! IT IS BECAUSE OF GOD. GOD MADE CHRIST JESUS TO BE YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS. JESUS IS your righteousness and holiness. It is because of WHAT GOD DID IN CHRIST JESUS that you are righteous and holy.

Christ Jesus HAS BECOME FOR YOU RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS. You ARE RIGHT WITH GOD because OF THE GRACE OF GOD IN CHRIST. Many people, including some Pastors, do NOT UNDERSTAND GOD'S WAY OF MAKING PEOPLE RIGHT WITH HIMSELF. It is written in Romans 10:3-4:

“For they don't understand God's way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God's way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.”

Are you trying to get right with God by what you do? Are you REFUSING TO ACCEPT GOD'S WAY? GOD'S WAY IS JESUS. Jesus said “I AM THE WAY and the truth and the life. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.'' (John 14:6).

JESUS IS GOD'S ONLY WAY TO HIMSELF! (John 14:6). Many people think the way to be right with God is by the Law of God. YOU as a CHRISTIAN are NOT UNDER THE LAW OF GOD. CHRIST HAS already accomplished the purpose for which the Law was given. ''CHRIST IS THE END OF THE LAW so that there MAY BE RIGHTEOUSNESS for everyone who believes.'' (Romans 10:4) Christ fulfilled the Law.

All who rely on observing the law are under curse, for it is written: ''Cursed is everyone who does continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly NO ONE IS JUSTIFIED BEFORE GOD BY THE LAW, because, “THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH.” The Law is NOT BASED ON FAITH, on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.'' CHRIST REDEEMED YOU FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW by becoming a curse for you, for it is written: ''Cursed is everyone who hung on the tree. (Cross) He redeemed you in order to that the blessing given to Abraham might become to the Gentiles THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, so that BY FAITH YOU MIGHT RECEIVE THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT.” (Galatians 3:10-14).

''But if you are led by THE SPIRIT, you ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW.'' (Galatians 5:18) If you are trying to keep the law, YOU ARE NOT LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. You who are led by the SPIRIT are NOT trying to keep the law.

RIGHTEOUSNESS from God comes THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST to all who believe. There is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and ARE JUSTIFIED FREELY THROUGH HIS GRACE through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus'' (Romans 3: 22- 26).

Christian, it is because of the HEAVENLY FATHER that you are in Christ and Christ is in you. CHRIST IS YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS and HE WILL ALWAYS BE your righteousness and holiness.

IT IS BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS and WHAT HE HAS DONE THAT YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS and HOLY for eternity. You are righteous and holy in Christ Jesus, and so are all that believe. "And you He made alive when you were dead (slain) by your trespasses and sins." (Ephesians 2:1). "Even when you were dead by your own shortcomings and trespasses, he made you alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ – He gave you the very Life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him. For it is by grace – by His favor and mercy which you did not deserve, that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation)." (Ephesians 2:5). You were born into this world spiritually dead. God made you alive with the Life of Christ. Christ is your spiritual Life. The Father saved you from eternal death by birthing Christ in you as "one spirit" with Him. You are "saved by His Life." (Romans 5:10). "God has given you eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has life; and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:11-13).