Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1

It is reprehensible to hear or accept the teachings of organized religion. You cannot be justified to God or please Him through works or religious activities.

The Old Covenant became a curse of God with the life and death of Christ Jesus. If you try to live with God through laws, you have to keep all the laws which is impossible and this action will draw you into bondage and the condemnation of God.

The law presents an obligation to you. There is no obligation with Christ Jesus. You come to Him by faith not by works.

There is freedom and liberty in walking with Jesus. He died to all laws and you live with Him by faith not obligation. You are free from religion.

Jesus came to give you the gift of salvation. This precious gift allows you to experience the liberty of God. Jesus wants you to go out into life and experience His goodness.

This freedom comes to you by walking in the Spirit and rejecting the urges of the flesh. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. You can live in oneness with God through the Holy Spirit.

The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to share the life of Jesus with you and guide you into the reality of God. You learn to walk by faith not by sight.

You are under no obligation to please God through works. Reach out to God like David who believed in his heart “My help comes from the Lord who created the heavens and the earth”.

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” John 16:13

The Holy Spirit comes into a believer to guide you into all truth. He does not speak from His own volition or authority but He speaks from what He hears directly from the person of Jesus Christ. He gives you the mind of Christ.

The Spirit will tell you about things to come in your life because He speaks from the omniscient nature of God. The Spirit will always glorify Jesus. He does this by taking what belongs to Jesus and sharing it with you.

All things that belong to God also belong to Jesus. You do not have to go searching for the wisdom and truths of God. The source of all knowledge from God lives in you in the essence of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus wants to share Himself with you and show you how to live in oneness with Him through all the details of your life. You can actually appropriate the life of Jesus into all the nuances of your life today.

The Holy Spirit wants to be involved in your thoughts, words and decision making. He is a conduit to the abundant life of Jesus. The secret is to invite Him to have authority over you life and His Spirit will flourish within you.

The Holy Spirit is very sensitive to sin so when you allow self to override the will of God you diminish the power of the Holy Spirit. This powerful source of God dwelling within you becomes limited until you repent and submit yourself under the authority of the Spirit.

Your body is a temple of the Living God filled with the precious nature of the Holy Spirit. Submit to the Holy Spirit and He will lead you into the greatness and glory of God!

“A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others.” Isaiah 35:8

Last night God spoke to me about the coming of a worldwide revival. Millions will come to Jesus and lay down their lives for the life of Christ.

 

There will be signs and wonders and New Testament reality. I saw a glimpse of the greatness and glory of God as He does the work of salvation.

Also, God brought to my attention the characteristic of defiance. This attitude is alive in both believers and non believers. Defiance creates a wall which blocks you from the grace of God. Defiance is a lack of faith in God and a stubbornness to resist the gospel.

Defiance is setting yourself above God and believing your ways are better than God. This sin will lead to suffering and destruction and deprive you of the fullness of God.

In believers, defiance surfaces in your concept of God. You cannot accept parts of the gospel and reject what doesn’t seem right to you.

The whitewashing of the truths of God have been precipitated by the leaders in the Body of Christ. Do not buy into their aberrant teachings! They will be dealt with by God!

The truth is Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes and His Word is not subject to a liberal interpretation or to be amended to fit the needs of our society.

As believers, we have to seek out the Holy Spirit and ask Him to convict us of any defiance in our lives. Cease from striving and enter into the rest of God by faith in the powerful name of Jesus. He wants to do for you what you can never do for yourself. This is the miracle of salvation.

Walk by faith trusting in the promises of God. Do not follow the example of the Israelites. Their defiance against God caused them to die in the desert and fall short of entering the Promised Land.

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

The gift of Jesus comes with the reality of the Cross. You cannot escape the Cross if you want to walk with Jesus. Without the Cross, there is nothing.

Jesus came to lose His life for all mankind. He died for all sin and was resurrected so you can live in the power of His Living Water forever.

The Cross is painful and humbling. You see yourself through the eyes of God and realize you have a corrupt and unclean soul and can never match up to the standards of God. Your motives are not for God. They are for self.

You make a decision for Jesus and this begins the process of death and new life. You die to your old self and begin to live for Jesus. The miracle of salvation is you have a redeemer who forgives all your sin and restores you to God. You live with Jesus forever!

The Cross cancels all the laws of religion and brings you into a faith covenant with Jesus. This is the cornerstone of your walk with God. You are judged by your faith and obedience to God and never by your works.

If you want the fullness of God you have to be open and transparent to the work of the Holy Spirit. He convicts you of sin and causes you to examine your motives and decision making.

The Cross causes you to transfer your hope from the world to the promises of God. You find security in Christ Jesus who has power and dominion over all things.

Welcome the Cross into your life. It is life changing and eternal and will bring you face to face with the Living God.

Jesus lives so you can live!

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

The miracle of salvation is Jesus desires to live in intimacy with you. He wants to walk with you, talk to you, and guide you into His perfect pathway.

The challenge is learning how to live close to God. How can you develop the discipline “For in Him we live and move and have our being”.

The starting point is understanding Jesus lives in you in the essence of the Holy Spirit. He is your comforter and teacher about the ways of God. Jesus said “God is a Spirit and you have to worship Him in Spirit and Truth”. The secret is to be open to the Holy Spirit and learn to be still and listen for the voice of God.

Recognize you have the mind of Christ and He is your instructor and guide in walking with God. Invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over every phase of your life including your thoughts, words, and actions. This is an acknowledgment your life no longer belongs to you. It is a voluntary act of submission to God and will cause a powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit to fall upon you.

Draw near to God with praise, prayer, and living in His Word. This will cause God to draw near to you.

God wants to protect you and fill you with His goodness. So when you feel confusion or doubt take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus and He will confirm your actions.

God does not tend to act quickly so learn to wait upon God for His perfect timing. Cease from striving and enter into the rest of God. This is a bold step of faith believing God calls things that don’t exist as if they did.

As a disciple of Jesus, remember it is not by might nor by power but by My Spirit!

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

At this very moment Jesus is standing outside your door and knocking. The decision you have to make is how much of your life are you going to invite Jesus to enter.

The challenge is do you believe Jesus is who He claims to be? If you accept Jesus is the Son of God and has power and dominion over all things in heaven and earth, doesn’t it make sense to invite Him into all of your life? Why would you want to place limitations on the power of Jesus?

If you choose to restrict Jesus in your life you are depriving yourself of the fullness of God. In reality, you are telling Jesus you can live better through your own efforts than submitting to Him.

For many believers, the cost of abandonment is just to threatening and upsetting to life. You want Jesus but you do not want to lose your independence or the things dear to your heart.

The real issue is understanding the definition of faith and accepting the truth you cannot please God without faith. Faith is not illusive or a subliminal approach to God. And, you cannot find faith through an intellectual process.

Faith is a new way of life centered around Christ Jesus. You agree to loose your life to gain the life of Jesus.

You encompass all of your life around Jesus. You can make this decision because you know in your heart Jesus is greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty and you welcome these attributes into your reality.

Some of the important characteristics of walking by faith with Jesus are:

Faith is understanding your impoverished and empty condition and seeking the fullness of the life of Jesus.

Faith is asking for the forgiveness of your sins through the blood of Jesus.

Your faith will become unshakable when you have a personal encounter with the Living Christ. This experience will eliminate any doubt or reservation in giving your all to God.

Faith is accepting Jesus for who He is and believing in His promises without any proof or evidence.

Faith is believing God calls things that don’t exist as if they did and living by faith and not by sight.

“Both prophet and priest are godless;
even in my temple I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:11

How does a Spirit filled believer deal with religion?

This is a very difficult and complex question. The Holy Spirit has spent forty years of my life teaching me about the difference between God and religion. The basic premise is God wants to set people free and religion wants to exercise control. Also, the cornerstone of a relationship with God is faith not works or good deeds.

You may not believe me but Satan has been very effective infiltrating the Body of Christ for the purpose of weakening scripture and whitewashing important spiritual precepts so they fit into the culture of religion.

Satan wants to disarm the power of Christ and he does this by trying to draw you into the web of religion. Religion creates a comfort zone. Jesus is a non conformist who hates religion. He came to confront sin and stir up your life with His teachings.

The church is a filling station (with a revolving door) where you go to worship God and be nourished with the truths of God. The sole objective of a pastor or teacher is to draw people into a personal and vibrant relationship with the Living Christ.

One of the primary purposes of the church is to equip and send out believers as an ambassador of Christ to touch those living in darkness. It is not God’s purpose for you to insulate yourself in religion.

Religion does not want to teach believers about the purpose and function of the Holy Spirit because the Spirit will expose the fraud and deceit in religion.

Your teacher about the things of God is the Holy Spirit. He will lead you into all truth and expose teachings which are not of God.

You are saved by faith and never justified with God through your works. Religion tends to lay a guilt trip on believers to do works in order to please God. This is a lie of Satan.

Some of the red flags to look out for in religion:

Pastors who live on a pedestal and project the image they are more holy or righteous than their flock.

Pastors who are constantly asking for money or spreading the message “the more money you give to God the more He will give back to you.” This is a lie.

Making the priority to build bigger or more churches.

Pastors who want believers to follow them or create the myth you must be closely involved in the activities of their church.

The good news is the stern judgment of God is over the leaders in the Body of Christ. They will have to repent and change their ways or they will be brought down and their churches will crumble.

Praise God! The New Testament church is coming!

 

 

 

“That they may be one even as we are one” John 17:23

The starting point with God is your decision for Jesus. You might get to this point by a crisis, the troubles of life, or you just might open up your heart to hear the gospel and accept the gift of salvation by faith.

The decision for Jesus causes you to renounce your old life and agree to live for Jesus. You cannot experience the essence of salvation until you “let go” and give up ownership of your independence and individuality. Also, your motives in this transaction cannot be to use God to achieve your goals. It is a voluntary act of giving up!

God takes you as you are and begins to transform you into a new creature in Christ Jesus. This beautiful experiment unites your personality with the personality of God. You come to live in oneness with Jesus through the function of the Holy Spirit.

You have to personally meet the Living God to understand the fullness of the gift of salvation. Until this happens you will flounder in your faith. When you see who God is and understand your limitations, this will cause you to respect and want more of the grandeur of God. Jesus will become your everything!

The Living God is the author of life and has power and dominion over all things in heaven and earth. And, the beauty of salvation is He wants to share Himself with you.

This powerful truth cannot be received through your intellect. It has to be implanted in your heart through the work of the Holy Spirit who baptizes you into the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.

The gift of salvation is living in the reality of God!

“For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near;
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.” Obadiah 1:15

We have entered a period of the final judgment of God. The day of the Lord is upon all nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you.

God is furious with the lack of respect and fear for who He is. He will be unleashing His punishment upon all nations. He also detests those who live with a haughty or arrogant attitude.

God has communicated His plan to me through the Book of Obadiah. The nation of Edom did not come to the rescue of Israel when they were under siege by enemy nations. In fact, they participated in the destruction of Israel.

The actions of Edom caused their nation to suffer greatly and to be literally destroyed by God.

God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham and all his descendants. They were selected by God to be His chosen people and a special treasure above all the nations. Regardless of the Israelites lack of faith and stubbornness, God promised to never leave or forsake them.

As a believer, you are standing in the middle of this cloud of judgment and cannot escape the scrutiny of God. You can choose to be lukewarm and suffer or you can turn to God with a heart of repentance and a desire to do His will.

The good news in this story is God has set a place in Mount Zion (the sanctuary of God) to deliver His people and allow them to dwell in His holiness.

The survivors of this judgment will be the remnant of the Body of Christ. They will be God’s anointed people and will live with Him forever!

This is the perfect time to make sure you are good with God. Come to Jesus with a genuine heart and an openness to walk in His ways!

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12

We all have hopes and dreams in life. As a believer, you and I look to God to fulfill these desires. You can also be comforted by the Word of God which promises those that delight in the Lord will have their desires come to fruition. In fact, God promises to give you more than you ask or think and He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him out.

Now lets get back to today. Your desires may seem years away or even hopeless. You may look upon your life and see emptiness or bleakness. God wants you to praise Him for who He is and find His goodness in today. If you defer your hope to the future this will make your heart sick and probably bring depression.

The spiritual attitude is “I believe God will bless my desires and until this happens I will walk by faith, praise Him, and seek God out for wisdom and joy.”

God is the tree of life and all things come from Him. He knows you better than you know yourself and His plan for you is perfect.

Most of the time we have to “let go” of something in order to experience the greatness of God.

So be content with where you are today and ask the Holy Spirit how you can have an awesome day.

He will do for you what you can never do for yourself. God loves you!