Vigilance for the Endtimes: Spirit-Empowered Discipleship For the Last Days

A Special Dedication to my precious Wife Roopa, on the 1st Anniversary of her Heavenly Homegoing (November 20, 2021). She was the very best thing that ever happened to me, Ever.....She was absolutely Miraculous.....

Without her Inspiration, this podcast might not even exist.

At the very beginning of the biblical record, within the first few verses, we see God making division between that which is light, and that which is dark—Scripture says that God is light, and in Him is no darkness.

It is God’s very nature to make a clear division between everything that is not of Him, and that which is.

So, as a New Creation in Christ Jesus, you need to understand This: True division is spiritual, when it is in the realm of space and time where fallen humanity and rebellious principalities exist.

For the righteous, division serves to purify us and refine us. Division clarifies our spiritual priorities, and brings them into sharper focus.

Therefore, division is not something for us to fear, or resent, or be apologetic for—it is for us to embrace, and allow it to do its work of refining, purifying, and clarifying.

Just as God divided the darkness from the light in the beginning, so even now the reality is that there is no gray area; everything truly is, in the spirit realm, black and white—there is no neutral ground.

The New Testament reality of living as a New Creation from our reborn spirit is the most vital subject any Christian believer will ever undertake to comprehend and walk out.

Absolutely Every single aspect of what we could call “the Christian life” stems from this one reality. There is nothing---absolutely Nothing!---that you could ascribe to the Christian life that does not Begin with understanding how to live from your reborn Spirit as a New Creation in Christ Jesus.

If you can continually keep that One thing in mind, you will progress more quickly and with greater enablement from the Spirit of God, than probably anybody around you who relies strictly on religious thinking and religious activities. 

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/being-discipled-by-the-holy-spirit

Episode #36; Under Authority: Living as an Extension of the Coming Kingdom of God on Earth---Part One.

During the next two episodes, we will be looking at the Churches of Revelation as our example, and in doing so, we will see the priorities of Jesus Christ in great detail. We will also see examples of the priorities He expects the Church in this present age to be devoting itself to.

There is an overwhelming urgency of the Holy Spirit for every single member of the Body of Christ to consciously come under the authority of Jesus Christ now, and begin to live and conduct ourselves individually and corporately under His Authority, Because He intends to pour out His Spirit and His power in a profound and unprecedented way—But if we are not positioned as completely & consciously submitted to Him, in placing ourselves under His authority, then we will not receive that. It is an actual kingdom principal that we see demonstrated all throughout the Gospels—-those who exercised authority over sickness and demons were those that Jesus himself had called and conferred His power to and upon.

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/being-discipled-by-the-holy-spirit

When we read the New Testament letters carefully, it becomes crystal clear that the early church operated by Revelation of the Holy Spirit on a constant and continuing basis. In fact, Paul repeatedly makes reference to the believers receiving ongoing revelation from the Lord, pertaining to all the things that are freely given to us in Christ Jesus. For example, the prayers that Paul prayed over the believers in Colossians, Philippians, Ephesians, are all prayers that God would speak to the believers and minister to the believers via direct revelation by the Spirit. That is called living by your spirit—your inner man—which is completely opposite of how we here in the West live, which is by our mind, and by what we can see, and by what we can read with our eyes, and assimilate with our mind—and hopefully, some of it gets down on the inside of us. God’s method, as revealed in the New Testament, is that He works completely opposite of the way we think. God works from the spirit man Outward.

That is because God is working to Transform us, and that can only be done via the Spirit working in our spirit.

When we truly comprehend the awesome nature of God’s intention to have eternal fellowship with us as His people, then all the provisions of the Holy Spirit—including His gifts—are a logical extension and outworking of that. As Jesus said, God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in and through the Spirit.

By keeping God’s ultimate intention in mind, we maintain a sense of strong spiritual balance, and thus avoid abuses, misuses, and excesses which lead into error and away from maturity. THIS is the Essence of an Apostolic mindset.

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/being-discipled-by-the-holy-spirit

When we understand that all of the parts of the Body are ordained by God Himself, and each part of the Body is essential to the rest of the Body, then we can focus on having a Body mentality, and a Body perspective. Our spiritual focus and mindset becomes much broader, and we begin to think of the Body as a whole, and not just ourselves, our little family, our little group, but we begin thinking beyond those tiny confining little borderlines that we have may be drawn for ourselves, and we start seeing things from Heavens perspective. 

And if we will begin to cultivate and nurture this mindset in ourselves individually, it opens us up to a much deeper and broader ministry of the Holy Spirit to us personally, because now we are seeing things from His perspective, not our own. I believe this is a major focus of the Holy Spirit in this moment of time that we need to acclimate ourselves to and adjust ourselves to—And I believe that the FIRST place we can exercise our renewed spiritual mindset is our own home group gatherings and fellowships, where we can develop and exercise spiritual sensitivity to those in our midst that the Holy Spirit is cultivating as ministry gifts to the body. 

Ephesians 4:16 gives us the True spiritual focal point for balance in this area:

“From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, through the work of each individual part.”

So, every one of us is needed, and if the Body is to receive the full spiritual benefit of each one of us, then each one of us must be fully equipped and walking in our own individual calling, as ordained by God, in order to be of maximum benefit to the rest of the Body.

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/being-discipled-by-the-holy-spirit

The one foundational thing about prophecy/prophesying is that it is central to the nature of God himself, because it is the nature of God to reveal Himself, and the primary way that God reveals Himself throughout the biblical record is the avenue of prophecy/prophesying. 

Prophesying was the primary gift that Paul the apostle exhorted the church to covet and exercise—and it is the only gift to come with such apostolic exhortation, because it had the widest possible benefit to the body of Christ at large. The very fact that the gift of prophesying in the New Testament originates from the Holy Spirit of God Himself, should be more than enough to command total respect and sobermindedness from anyone and everyone who approaches the subject. Another foundational thought to this entire subject is that we must first and foremost settle it in our minds that the upbuilding of the Body is by the direct and express will of God. Not man, not denominations, but God Himself. That means that Every provision that God has made for the upbuilding of His body, is by HIS decree and under His authority. This is how believers grow in grace and grow in faith, because they assume mutual responsibility for one another’s spiritual well-being in the Spirit—we are all equipped to be our brothers and sisters keeper! THIS is the very language of the New Testament, and it is born out in every letter Paul wrote to the churches.

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/being-discipled-by-the-holy-spirit

I have been involved in various aspects of discipleship ministry for well over 35 years, and my observation has always been twofold:

1). When the focus is on Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Word, true spiritual results are always assured.

2). The moment that discipleship becomes a thing of our own design, our own methods, true scriptural discipleship never really takes place, and spiritual transformation remains out of reach. And if being discipled personally by the Holy Spirit means Anything, it means that the Holy Spirit is intent on equipping each one of us to do everything that Jesus did, and everything that His disciples did.

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/being-discipled-by-the-holy-spirit

The supply of the Holy Spirit is as vast and endless as the Holy Spirit himself…And in God’s mind, there is no need that does not have a corresponding supply of the Holy Spirit, whether it’s parting the Red Sea, feeding the 5,000 with a few fish and loaves, an angel rescuing Peter from prison, to the New Testament churches ministering to each other through words of prophecy & gifts of healings…..And on it goes…..If you look through the New Testament for every passage that reveals yet another example of demonstrating the supply of the Holy Spirit, you will be up all night underlining, Because from the gospel of Matthew all the way through, there is example after example of demonstrating the Power, the Supply, and the Gifting of the Holy Spirit—there simply is no end. 

So Now is the time to become more immersed in the Holy Spirit, more full of the Holy Spirit, more functional in the spirit, than ever before in our lives!!!!

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/being-discipled-by-the-holy-spirit

It’s no secret to anyone that we are living in completely and totally unprecedented times—Times which Jesus described as causing men’s hearts to fail them for fear. This means that our resources are going to have to be of a spiritual nature, more now than ever before.

The New Testament is furnished with many themes of vital importance that speak to this very thing—And I believe one scripture sums it up probably better than any other passage. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by force”.

With all of my heart, I believe in this hour that we are going to need a violent kind of faith—a faith that ruthlessly shuts out the voices of the world and the flesh, the voices of choosing comfort over sacrifice, choosing perhaps an easier path other than the one you know God has called you to. In short, we are going to need a faith that is so rooted and grounded in the reality of the spirit, that the ground we walk on will seem like a mirage. God’s Limitless Supply is His Spirit dwelling in your inner man—your spirit. So, the Supply of the Spirit is Already within you. Deliverance, Healing, Life, is not “out there somewhere” just beyond your reach---All of those things are IN HIS SPIRIT, Who Dwells in You.

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/being-discipled-by-the-holy-spirit

The primary ministry husbands have to their wives is to love them as Christ loved the church, by serving them through prayer and ministry of the Word and Spirit. The spiritual potential that can be realized as husbands and wives grow in the Spirit together and minister to each other and to their children is limitless. Husbands can prophesy over their wives and spiritually edify their wives through words of knowledge, words of wisdom—wives can do the same to their husbands and over their children, building their children’s spiritual self-esteem, prophesying over them, speaking blessings over them that are inspired by the Holy Spirit—-there is simply no limit to how much God can edify a family, and minister to a family through its individual members.

When this type of family gathers with a home fellowship group, or a church fellowship group that is doing the same things in their homes, just imagine the spiritual fruit that could be realized! So, as husbands and wives are starting out in this, just meditate on and deeply ponder the amazing spiritual possibilities that can be realized through the Holy Spirit, through his gifts, through his anointing moving through each of you.

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/being-discipled-by-the-holy-spirit