Led into the desert by the Holy Spirit and returned by the Power of the Spirit

I loved what Toby was saying in church yesterday from Luke 4 but something that hit me was in 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert.
And then later in 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. (Be worth getting the message from Life Church if you haven't heard it)

Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit and he was led out in the Power of the Spirit.
In and out of the wilderness experience but still in all times in the Holy Spirit.

No matter where we are at in the Lord, whatever revelation I have or don't have yet is, whether moving in the power of the Spirit or led into the wilderness, we are all still in the Holy Spirit.
I find there tends to be superior spirituality within the body of Christ when terms such as "religious spirits" are bandied about. We elevate one person over another because one has a 'religious spirit' but to me that is not love. We step into pride thinking we have something more than someone else. Love is lifting the other person above myself.

It is only by grace that I am where I am at, everything I have I was given by God, every bit of revelation I have is only because the Lord allowed my eyes to see the things I see. I can't even have faith to believe without the faith first being given to me. Apostle Paul is thankful for the thorn in the flesh because of the revelations he was receiving because it kept him in a place of humility and weakness before the Lord and before man. As we are in a time where revelations are being poured out and understanding is coming, please be careful not to think you have more than someone else. Please be careful not to 'label' things because each person is his beloved and we are all in different places and walks with the Lord. We are in a time where the Lord is bringing things to the surface and that is not to judge it and condemn, but to allow the Lord to heal things in people's lives and bring them into freedom in Him. He brings to light the things hidden in the darkness for healing and wholeness to come and so when we see that happening with others lets be quick to love and support and help in whatever way and comfort that the Lord has given us that we can give others.

Love is covering someone else's nakedness and shame, not pointing it out and making it plain for all to see.

I look back on my life and the experiences I have had, every experience has added value to who I am now, every desert and wilderness time, every misunderstanding, every hurt, every judgement has all brought wisdom and understanding in my life, every lack of revelation and I am thankful for everything I have been through. In those times it has brought me closer to God and who he is and the truth that sets me free when I choose to believe his word. None of it was wrong, it was where I was at, at the time and I value it all. I prayed for wisdom and that is how you get it, through the experiences you walk through in the Lord in the Holy Spirit and you come through it in the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Obedience and Commitment are big things in Gods Kingdom

Reading in Acts 7 this morning the story through Stephen of Abraham being told by God to " Leave your country and your people and go the the land I will show you" So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child." As I reflected on this and the journey of Abraham stepping out in faith into a land that he received no inheritance in but a promise of what was to come for his descendants of which we live in the fruit of that, I thought of todays generations in which often is only doing things that we want to do or that will benefit us personally as we live for 'today' not worrying about tomorrow. A sense of if it feels good then do it, if it doesn't then we will move on - perhap...

Position yourself - a declogging of the coffee machine!

Something else that came this morning in regards to positioning yourself for the Lord. As I woke up this morning I had some lemon with hot water as as drink that cleanses my system and then I cleaned out my coffee machine with some white vinegar to get rid of all the bits that were clogging it up. When I did this I felt the Lord speaking to me that I need a bit of 'cleansing', a bit of 'unclogging' the things in me that have got a built up over time that need the Holy Spirit running through me to unclog those things, so that I am completely cleansed and available for Him to do what he wants to do through me. What are some of the things that are 'clogging up' the free flow of the Holy Spirit pouring out and through you that perhaps you might need some cleansing of? We are more than happy to cleanse our bodies by doing a detox but how about doing a detoxifying, if you like, of our souls so that we are positioned for all that the Lord wants to do in and t...

"I am ruined for the ordinary"

“I am ruined for the ordinary” A statement that can possibly be to some, come from a place of judgement, or it can be from a place of there is more in the Kingdom of God that I am yet to experience or understand, revelation that I have tasted of something that actually shows me that I have not tasted of anything yet. A place where there is such a contentment and joy in what I have seen and longed to see and yet a revelation that there is way more "beyond what I think, ask and imagine" (Eph 3:20) and one that spurs me on to seek and discover all the fullness that could be ours in the Kingdom of God. When we as Christians see other Christians going places or experiencing things that we don’t understand or perhaps we have not yet moved in, we can either become jealous of that person and judge and bring them down to our level, exclude them from our lives or we can choose to be excited by what is happening and be encouraged and spurred on in the Lord for the more than ca...

What do Kingdom finances look like?

I was asked by someone the other day what Kingdom finances looked like and I realised that this is an area that needs some discussion. This is my opinion of what Kingdom finances look like according to what the Lord has taught me over the years and to scriptures I have been shown, but I am not the be all and end all to thinking, so it is something you might want to check out for yourselves. The way of the world is to store up riches, to save for a rainy day, to have enough to protect themselves should something happen, that I have earned this and it is mine and therefore I can do what I want with it. The way of the Kingdom is a way of giving to the poor, giving to God's people in need and practicing hospitality, of not worrying about tomorrow, of trusting God for the future and His provision in that time of need when it arises, of everything is His (God's). I believe that if you see a need in front of you and you have something in which can help with that need, whatever it is,...

Whats in the garage?

The garage, a place of storage, a place of dealing with things later when time allows, a place often of mess. That's whats in our garage anyway. I woke up out of my sleep last night with this 'there's something in the garage'. So at midnight I woke up Jim and got him out checking out the garage and I found the cars had been left unlocked outside with the windows down, the water heater in the prayer room (one of our garages) was still on from the prayer time that morning, milk on the bench and so thankful that I was woken to check things out. But after this I then had another dream and in this dream we were quests at someone's home invited for dinner but in this home after dinner the host was so concerned about her home and the particular way her curtain was hung it was really fascinating. She was so wrapped up in her house and how things should be done that she failed to notice her husband sitting on the chair waiting to talk to her and in the end he got up ...

Assuming motives can be dangerous.

Reading 2 Sam 10 this morning and what struck me was how something so simple that was supposed to bless and encourage someone, can be totally taken the wrong way and in that, cause major damage. In this story King David is wanting to express kindness to Hanun whose father had died. But Hanna’s nobles, those close around him, spoke to him and suggested that in fact he wasn’t wanting to express sympathy at the death of his father, but rather exploring and spying out the city in order to overthrow it. Because of this, they attack those who are sent on behalf of King David and shame them and in return, David retaliates. Ki ng David’s heart was to bless and to honour another King, but after that King Hanun listened to those around him, who planted thoughts other than those of David’s, and in the process caused a war. How often do we not take things as face value but try to work something out according to the way we see it, rather than perhaps the way i...

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