Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

“For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:10-11

Jesus died for all sin and He now lives for God. The instruction is to consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

This admonition is impossible to achieve regardless of how hard you try. You can ask and receive forgiveness for your sins but this will not stop you from continuing to live through your flesh.

For example, God brought to my attention last night the widespread use of vulgar words and actions by many people including believers. He explained how this deeply grieves His Spirit. This action brings death to the life of Jesus and is repulsive to God.

Jesus died for this sin and has provided a way so that it can have no power over you. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

So consider yourself to be dead to this sin by yielding to the Holy Spirit who is alive in you.

You can do this by offering your body as a living sacrifice to Jesus and asking Him to purify you with His life. Ask by faith and you shall receive so the Father can be glorified through the work of Jesus.

Jesus didn’t die to give you freedom to live in debauchery. He died so you can be free from sin and lead a life pleasing to Him.

It is time to take Jesus seriously and come under His authority!

 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

My purposes are eternal!

The first step to become a disciple of Jesus is to make a decision by faith to commit your life to Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior.

This will provide you with the gift of eternal life and seal you with the precious Holy Spirit. You will now have the ability to live in oneness with Jesus through His Spirit.

The challenge comes to know the Living Jesus and understand His ways. You cannot grasp Jesus through an intellectual process and His thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not His ways.

It is not by might nor by power but by My Spirit!

You come to know Jesus through prayer, reading His Word, and appropriating His values into your life. Also, you must learn to be still and listen for the voice of God. As a believer, you have the mind of Christ and He desires to speak to you.

Don’t think of Jesus in a linear or predictable pattern. He does not conform to the ways of the world. What may seem improbable or unlogical to you may be the perfect will of God.

Without faith you cannot please Me!

You will come to know Jesus when you live by faith in His promises without questioning His authority or direction in your life. He is a God without limitations!

Make Jesus your best friend and ask Him to help you navigate through all the nuances of life. Remember, there is no time out in your relationship with Jesus. He wants to live in every aspect of your life.

That they may be one even as we are one!

You will know Jesus when you make a decision to live for Him and deny yourself. Until you reach this point you are just going through the motions and will never experience the reality of Christ Jesus.

The priority of Jesus is for you to come to know Him intimately and walk with Him by faith yielding to the Holy Spirit. This will put a smile on His face!

 

 

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

Is it really possible to live in the presence of almighty God, the Creator of all life?

The answer to this question is it is not only possible but God desires for you to be in His presence. If this is true, how can you and I who are people of many sins live in the reality of God?

The starting point is to recognize the holiness of God. He is without sin and will not allow you to come close to Him in your present condition. You are unclean and unacceptable to God.

The only way to overcome this barrier is through the blood of Jesus. You have to ask Jesus to forgive you for all your sins and restore you to Himself. The most vital part of the cleansing of your sins is to ask God to convict you of anything in your life not pleasing to Him.

Be open to hear God and repent of any emotions, thoughts or actions that deprive you of the fullness of God.

Remember, God knows you better than you know yourself and looks into the unconscious depth of your personality.

God wants you to come before Him in prayer for all your needs and for those of your family. The Holy Spirit will also bring the names of other people to your mind to pray for according to the Spirit. This is accepting Jesus knows how to shape your prayers in the same way He prays for you.

Finally, there is the matter of your heart condition towards God. Are you really willing to die to self and live for Jesus? This is the act of giving up the right to yourself to God. You lose your independence and gain the life of your Savior.

Now let’s get back to coming into the presence of God. First, you have to understand Jesus decides how much of His glory He will share with you. There is a perfect balance of living by faith and entering the transfigured life of Christ. There will be times when Jesus acting in silence will be signaling to you to just walk by faith and yield to His Spirit.

Worship God by raising your hands to your Creator and asking the Holy Spirit to come live in your eyes, thoughts, words and actions. Then become still before God and listen for His thoughts and the presence of His precious anointing.

You will meet the Living Jesus when you come before Him with a genuine abandonment and a desire to please and obey Him!

Jesus died so you can have an abundant life filled with His goodness. He is an eternal and life changing God!

Praise His holy name!

 

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11

The Living Water is the life of Jesus and can be found in His Word.

The analogy explaining the purpose of the Word of God is described in the rain and snow that comes down from heaven and does not return to its Creator.

The rain and snow waters the earth and makes it bring forth a robust crop. It provides food to nourish our bodies.

The Word that goes forth from the mouth of Jesus is like the rain and snow. The Word will never return to God void. It will accomplish what He desires. And, the Word will prosper in the thing for which He sent it.

The Word is the source of salvation and an abundant life. It gives you the ability to live intimately with Christ Jesus.

You hear the Word of God through reading the Bible or from the voice of God speaking directly to you through the Holy Spirit. And, God can choose to speak to you through another human being.

The Word is alive and powerful and wants to dwell richly in you with all wisdom and understanding. It is the key to understanding God.

The Word of God comes to you by faith. You have to hear and accept the truths of God without any evidence.

The purpose of the Word is to nourish your soul and fill you with the life of Jesus. The Word gives you something so valuable and precious that can never be found on the earth.

The Word is the Living Water. It is eternal and life changing!

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” Galatians 3:10

You may not be aware of this but you could be living under a curse from God! This relates to your relationship with God and how you try to please Him.

The truth is you will never be perfect in the eyes of God and you cannot please Him through the works of the law.

The laws will bring condemnation upon you. The harder you try to please God through laws or works will only cause failure and separation from God.

If you try to justify yourself with God through works, you have to obey every truth in the law. This is impossible and will bring a curse of God upon you.

The laws of God are perfect but they have been annulled and replaced by the Cross. You can only be justified to God by placing your faith in Christ Jesus.

The law implies an obligation on the part of God. If you keep His commandments, He is obligated to bless you. There is no obligation from God except to live by faith with Christ Jesus.

Jesus offers a freedom from the laws which comes to you through your faith in His promises. You become free from the mandate of the laws because the Holy Spirit moves the words in the Bible to live in your heart.

There is no curse for those who walk with God by faith in Christ Jesus and yield to the Holy Spirit. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world!

“Because I live, you will live also.” John 14:19

Jesus does not think or act like you so how can you understand Him? And, Jesus tends to live in the moment and does not give you the ability to see very much into the future.

The secret is to recognize Jesus is a Living God and to come to Him by faith today.

Jesus measures you by the strength of your faith. This is the most important quality in walking with Him. Nothing can be substituted for faith. Do you live by faith trusting Jesus for your every need? Faith is living in the promises of God and not questioning Jesus about the direction of your life.

The goal of a believer is to personally know Christ Jesus and live in oneness with Him. You stay grounded in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit living within you.

Invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life and you will find the reality of Christ Jesus. He wants to be you best friend! Learn to come to Jesus not just to ask of Him but to seek His will for you today.

The hindrance to living with Jesus is your personality and stubbornness to follow His ways. You have to be willing to die to self and give up your independence and self sufficiency.

You can abandon yourself to Jesus when you understand He knows you better than you know yourself and He wants to protect you and bless you with an abundant life. Remember, Jesus is omniscient and knows every detail of your life including your past, present, and future.

Jesus wants to meet you at your point of need and provide you with His life. He died so you can be filled with His strength, wisdom, and joy. It is about learning to draw upon Jesus for your every need and rejecting the ways of the world.

Living with Jesus is committing your works to Him each day and asking Jesus to fill you with His thoughts. You have the mind of Christ so you have to learn to be still and have an open mind to hear God.

The mystery of Christ Jesus is He lives in you and wants to share Himself with you!

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:25

You cannot think of God as someone you spend time with at church on Sunday or first thing each morning. The world is too complex with evil temptations and the desires of your flesh.

It is vital to your spiritual life to develop the mindset that God lives in you and build an awareness and closeness with the Holy Spirit. This is the discipline of living each day in oneness with Jesus through His Spirit.

The point of walking with God is understanding He is your best friend and wants to help you navigate successfully through each day dealing with all the details of life such as what you eat or drink, exercise plans, finances, work requirements and relationships with family and friends.

Walking with God is a moment by moment discipline yielding to the Holy Spirit. God doesn’t want you to be a robot. He wants to help you to be productive and make healthy and safe decisions.

You can still enjoy the spontaneity of life because you have the mind of Christ and know God will wave the red flag if you start to pursue a wrong course of action.

Jesus is the Living Christ and desires to have a personal and vibrant relationship with you. He lives today so you can have an abundant life. If you close Him out of certain areas of your life, you are opening the door to Satan which can lead to misery and ruin.

You cannot take life for granted! It is filled with too many perils and temptations which you cannot escape from on your own.

Your only hope is in Christ Jesus who died to bless the desires of your heart and give you more than you ask or think.

Jesus is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him!

 

 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.” Jeremiah 14:11-12

The judgment of God is over the Body of Christ. Everything is not perfect or close to right in the heart of God.

We do not fear or respect God and have watered down the truths of God to make them compatible with our changing society.

The Body of Christ approaches God with a half hearted attitude. They do not take God seriously. It is grievous to see there is little difference between a believer and a non believer.

The leaders ignore the retribution of God and promote a message of the love, peace, and kindness of God.

You can go through the motions of prayer, fasting, and offering sacrifices to God but they will not be accepted.

God is at work to punish the Body for our sins and there will be widespread destruction and misery. No one is immune from this wave of judgment.

The call from God is to return to Christ Jesus with a heart of repentance and open yourself up to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

God wants your devotion to Him above all things. He wants you to worship Him in Spirit and Truth.

God wants you to come into a relationship with the Living Christ and dwell intimately with Him. The priority is knowing Christ Jesus and seeking out His values for your life.

You cannot substitute religion or works in place of walking by faith with the Son of God.

The call of Jesus is to come to Him by faith and ask the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life.

 

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23

Faith is believing in the promises of God. It is trusting God to meet your every challenge in life. Faith never looks at the present. It is believing God calls things that don’t exist as if they did.

God is omnipotent and has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. He desires to give you an abundant life and bless the desires of your heart. The question is do you accept the character of God during both the good times and the difficulties of life?

What happens to believers is they experience various trials and tribulations and begin to doubt God. They don’t see God at work in their lives and fall into unbelief. They are judging God on their circumstances and not on His Word.

God never changes. Your faith in God should never waver if you live in His promises and walk with unyielding faith.

Doubt surfaces in your life because you are choosing to live in your problems and not the promises of God.

Let’s face reality! You and I are human beings and have a range of emotions. It is inevitable you will have to deal with the trials of life and they will most likely cause you to react with feelings of anger, fear or doubt.

The Spirit filled believer accepts his human frailties and prays for the resilience and patience of God to help recover quickly when his faith lapses into unbelief.

Ask God to share His faith with you so can walk with confidence and assurance in the promises of God and stay grounded in Christ Jesus!

Doubting God is a sign of unbelief! Walk with God by faith trusting He will do for you what you can never do for yourself.

Nothing is impossible with God!

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” Romans 8:14

God woke me up a few nights ago to speak to me about this subject. I have attempted to share His thoughts as accurately as possible in this message. God also reiterated the importance of taking Him seriously.

Christianity has secularized the gospel to define the terms of a believer. They have stratified society by a series of laws and regulations to define a believer from a non believer. You must conform to these laws or you are ostracized from belonging to their religious sect.

There is a sense of privilege or elite standing with God. The reality of a believer is you die to self and live for God. You esteem others above yourself.

The Holy Spirit is virtually lost or greatly minimized in Christianity. The Spirit is your lifeline to God and essential to walking with Jesus.

Christianity looks good on the outside but is riddled by deceit and corruption on the inside.

The practice of “two timing” God is widespread in the Body of Christ. Believers date God on Sundays and then date the gods/idols of the world during the week. They practice a life of hypocrisy and make a mockery of almighty God.

There is a stubborn refusal to come under the authority of God. The comfort in Christianity is living by laws and works. This won’t disrupt your life like interacting with the reality of the Living Christ.

The criteria for a disciple of Christ is one who walks with God and is led by the Spirit. The priority of a disciple is knowing Christ Jesus and living for Him.

The disciple lives in oneness with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. He lives by faith trusting in the promises of God. He is justified to God by faith and is free from religion and laws.

The Spirit brings freedom and the life of God!