Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

“That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ” Ephesians 3:8-9

God called the Apostle Paul to reach out to the Gentiles and offer them the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Something “unsearchable” cannot be found. It is hidden away. In the beginning the first and last God appeared to all mankind and displayed His mighty signs and wonders. He also revealed His laws and precepts for living.

So in ancient times to have fellowship with God you had to keep His laws and rituals.

The hidden mystery is Jesus was with God from the beginning and God created all things through His Son. God chose not to reveal Jesus until a perfect time in history.

The manifold wisdom of God was made known by the church (Body of Christ) to all the principalities and powers in the heavens. This wisdom confirmed the eternal purpose of God which He accomplished in Christ Jesus.

What does all this mean to a believer?

The only method to draw near to God is by faith in His Son. You can now come directly to God through Jesus with boldness and confidence. The mystery has been revealed and the laws and rituals in the Old Covenant died with Jesus on the cross.

Quite simply, you are saved by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. This is a step of faith where you renounce your old life and agree to live for Christ.

Jesus forgives all your sins and sets you free to lead an abundant life. He places the Holy Spirit within you to act as your helper. He does not want you to be a religious believer. This turns most people off. He just wants you to be His light touching those living in darkness.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Jesus never changes. You and I have to change. You have been born into a world which is not governed by Jesus. And, you have to deal with the desires of the flesh which want to satisfy self.

Jesus has laid out the plan of salvation which was culminated with His death on the cross. He has given you the gift of eternal life. There is nothing greater than this gift. It lacks nothing and is your conduit to the abundant life. It is the embodiment of Christ Jesus.

This gift is eternal and alive. It is life changing. You become a new creature in Christ Jesus and die to the world and live for Christ.

The miracle of this gift is the Holy Spirit. He is the essence of the life of Jesus and lives in you. He is your navigator through life. Come under the authority of the Holy Spirit and ask Him to have dominion over every aspect of your life.

The Holy Spirit is your intermediary to the throne room of God. It is crucial that you abide in God through the Holy Spirit. He is your helper and will supply you with strength, wisdom, and protection.

You want to be in compliance at all times with the Holy Spirit and reject taking actions to serve self. The best method to evaluate if you are in harmony with the Holy Spirit is to ask yourself if the peace of God is over your life. If you are experiencing peace, you are probably walking in God’s pathway.

When you cannot find peace, you are in someway out of the will of the Holy Spirit. It is very easy to allow self to creep into your life and override the Holy Spirit. Just take a timeout and do an inventory with the Holy Spirit. Ask the Spirit what adjustments you need to make.

Shortly, you will be back on the cloud with God!

 

“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Today you will enter the juggernaut of life. There will be new life and death. There will be highs and lows. There will be crisis and suffering. You will experience the goodness of God and the evil of Satan.

How can you navigate through life without reacting emotionally to the events of life? You have to be rooted in the reality of the Living Christ and build your life on the promises of God. The reality of Christ cannot be found on earth. It lives in the Word of God.

If you justify your relationship with God through emotions you will be an up and down believer. When God seems distant or troubles arrive your faith will plummet. Your emotions will betray you because they do not acknowledge the truths of God. The emotional believer constantly needs a fix to walk with God.

Many believers attempt to live with God through experiences. It is wonderful to have a mountaintop experience but you have to get up the next morning and face the routine and mundane nature of life. God doesn’t react to the experiences of life. He responds to your steadfast faith.

When you become rooted in the reality of God you do not allow the circumstances of life to impact your faith. You understand life will bring ups and downs and you keep your eyes focused on Jesus and do not give any power to the details of your life. You live in a surreal world but your hope is in the promises of God. This is the reality of Christ Jesus!

Faith is simply believing in God to fulfill your needs without any evidence or proof. You accept the principle that God calls things that don’t exist as if they did.

Faith never reacts to the events of life. You live in oneness with almighty God through prayer, the Word, and the Holy Spirit.

Faithful is He that called!

“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30

The goal for a disciple is to live in oneness with God. This is not easy with the temptations in life and the desire to please self.

The starting point is you have to be in submission to God and have a genuine desire to do His will. Until you reach this point your actions will fail God.

God wants to live through all your thoughts, words, and actions. He has placed the Holy Spirit inside your body to help you navigate through life and reject the emotions and urges of self.

Jesus is your role model. He never yielded to self or fell into depression or gloom. He was successful in all his endeavors. How can you and I emulate the life of Jesus?

You cannot lead a spiritual life through an intellectual approach. You have to be born again with Water and Spirit. Your old life has to disappear and the life of Jesus come into fruition.

This will give you a new outlook on life. You will understand in the depth of your heart Jesus is the Creator of life and has power and dominion over all things in heaven and earth. This changes your perspective on living. You now realize nothing is impossible for a disciple of Jesus.

The objective of a disciple is to apply the teachings of Jesus into your life. Jesus has given you the tools to accomplish this mission. They are praise, prayer, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus wants to infuse you with His abundant life—your health, relationship with spouse and others, work, finances, and recreational pursuits.

The secret is to keep “letting go” and walk with Jesus by faith. Turn to Jesus for help when troubles arrive. He is your rock and your fortress and will never fail you!

“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is you, do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:19

The world does not operate under the authority of God and functions on principles which are the antithesis of God. We are saturated with the importance of wealth, sex, and success. The characteristics of greed and pride dominate our culture. You are an enemy of the world and Satan wants to ruin your life.

As a believer, you belong to God. You think and act differently than the ways of the world. It’s like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. You just don’t fit in or feel like you belong.

You and I are members of the “set apart” followers of Christ. We are called to exhibit the qualities of Jesus and to be a light touching those living in darkness.

How do you live in the world but not take on the things of the world?

The best way to avoid getting drawn into the ways of the world is to commit your works each day to God and ask Him to fill you with His thoughts.

Learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow His prompting. Be still and know that I am God. Remember, God lives in you and wants to guide your footsteps.

Develop the discipline of drawing upon God for the resources to have a successful day. For example, you wake up feeling overwhelmed and weak, ask God to fill you with His strength and wisdom.

Place every need in your life on the altar of God. Then walk by faith trusting in the promises of God. He will never leave you or forsake you.

Just be yourself and don’t come cross as a religious fanatic or isolate yourself from unbelievers.

Develop a sense of worshipping God in privacy and not trying to call attention to your beliefs.

Finally, walk with God by faith and fill yourself with His Word.

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world!

 

“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

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what it really means to become a Christian. Are my motives in line with God?

Your commitment to Jesus has to be built on the virtue of modesty. You come to Jesus as an empty, defeated and embattled soul. Jesus accepts you unconditionally and offers you the gift of eternal life.

Your relationship with Jesus is based on reciprocal rights. Jesus gives you His life and in return you give up your life.

The only valid reason to become a believer is to identify with Christ Jesus. You die to self and live for God. You have to let go of any ideas of how Jesus will use you in His kingdom or what your life will look like.

You cannot place any conditions on your decision for Jesus. You give up your individuality and right to yourself. Your life no longer belongs to you. It belongs to God.

Jesus wants you to live in oneness with Him in submission to the Holy Spirit.

You cannot place any restrictions on God. He can do with you as He pleases.

The goal of Christianity is to convince non believers to surrender to Jesus. The organization has no other real value to God.

The passion for following Christ is about obedience and is never concerned with outcomes.

You cannot use God to accomplish your goals. Jesus leads and you follow!

Jesus wants you to give all of yourself to Him. Abel and Cain both made offerings to God. Abel’s offering was accepted but Cain’s was rejected. Jesus does not want half hearted believers. He wants all of you!

 

“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28

You’ve made a deal with Jesus so what is the reality of walking with your Creator?

The reality of the cross is giving up your life for the life of Jesus. When you make a decision for Jesus, you are inviting Him to have authority over your life. At this point, God can do with you as He pleases. Your life belongs to Him.

The Cross takes away your individuality and you lose all sense of your privacy. Your life is now an open book to God and to those people around you.

God is in control of your life and He wants you to live with Him without questioning the outcome or purpose of His actions.

The heartbreaks in life are to mold you into the likeness of Jesus and teach you to abide closely in Him. Your steadfast faith in the Living God will give you the ability to overcome the worst the world can send your way.

As a believer, the world fades away and your priority becomes to live for God. The challenges of life lose their intensity as you experience the nature of God. You understand in the depth of your heart “I can can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me the strength.”

The process of sanctification is not for you. It is designed to transform you into a new person with a “Christ like” personality which will appeal to those around you. You have been created in His workmanship to do great things in the kingdom of God.

The purpose of God is to get you to the point where the only thing that really matters is to live in oneness with Christ Jesus.

If you choose to fight with God and resist His authority, He will engineer new challenges to get your attention and cause you to surrender to the work of the cross. Or, you will just drop to the bottom of God’s list and He will allow you to suffer through the trials of life.

The abundant life does not come to you out of your works; it comes to you out of your faith and obedience to God.

The ideal Christian life as defined by religion is a mockery to God. Jesus wants you to trust Him in every aspect of your life regardless of how many challenges he brings your way. This is how you can please God!

You cannot impress God because you are a “role model” Christian and do good deeds. The rewards from God are dispersed to you because you live by faith and build your life around the promises of Christ Jesus.

He alone is worthy of your praise!

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:9-10

The Holy Spirit has recently guided me to research and publish a message about the divinity of Christ Jesus.

The list below is a compilation of the characteristics and attributes of Jesus Christ. This is my understanding of who the Son of God is after living with Him for about 40 years. The list is not in any specific order of importance.

I also understand it is impossible to define Christ Jesus. Today you and I see only a dim image of Jesus. When you meet Jesus in person you will see the fullness of His divinity.

The amazing miracle is you and I can have a personal and vibrant relationship with Jesus. This will happen when you open up your heart to Jesus and accept Him by faith into your life.

I have also learned the priority (above all else) with Jesus is to live with Him by faith. This supersedes all forms of religion and works. Jesus wants you to demonstrate your unyielding faith in Him regardless of the circumstances of your life. This is how you can please the Son of God!

You can discover the magnificence of Christ Jesus when you commit to live for Him and deny yourself. Your abandonment to Jesus will allow you to experience the greatness and glory of our Living God and your life will never be the same!

The divinity of Christ Jesus!

Jesus is the Son of God. He is alive and has a personality and a range of emotions just like you and me.

Jesus is very jealous. He does not want to share you with another god or idol.

Jesus is a spiritual being and He wants you to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Jesus operates by the principle of faith. You have to walk with Him by faith believing He calls things that don’t exist as if they did.

Jesus desires to give you an abundant life.

Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus is loving and compassionate.

Jesus and the Father are one.

Jesus is a God of greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty.

Jesus performs mighty signs and wonders. There is no one like Him.

Jesus has power and authority over all things in heaven and earth.

Jesus never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Jesus is holy and without sin.

Jesus is omniscient. He sees every detail of your life–past, present, and future.

Jesus is perfect and His purposes are eternal.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to God except through Him.

Jesus forgives all sin through His blood and restores you to God.

Jesus offers you the gift of eternal life. He raises people from death back to life.

Jesus transforms you from your old self into a new identity in Christ Jesus and sanctifies you with His life.

Jesus desires for you to live in oneness with Him through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.

Jesus is complete and lacks nothing.

Jesus offers you the mind of Christ and desires to fill you with His thoughts.

Jesus has the power to heal all forms of disease and physical ailments.

Jesus is an intercessor seated at the right side of the throne of God and has the authority to break the power of sin over those in bondage and set them free.

Jesus does not think or act like a mere mortal. His ways tend to be unpredictable and at times controversial.

Jesus wants to give you more than you ask or think.

Jesus is your source for supernatural strength.

Jesus offers godly wisdom you can never find in the world.

Jesus hates religion because it disparages what He did on the Cross.

Jesus has authority over Satan and all spiritual wickedness.

Jesus fills believers with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the life of Jesus and His purpose is to take what belongs to Jesus and share it with you.

Jesus is the author and perfector of your faith.

Jesus is the source of the fruit of the Spirit which fills you with love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, gentleness and self control.

Jesus dispatches His angels (ministering spirits) to protect and guide you into His ways.

Jesus wants to do for you what you can never do for yourself. He wants to bless the desires of your heart.

“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” Philippians 2:12

Imagine your life resting in the hand of God. He sees everything about you and knows you better than you know yourself.

As a believer your destiny is controlled by the will of God and He can bring blessings or curses. God cannot be taken lightly or as a passing thought. He has to become the reason for your existence.

If you understand the glory and power of God you will have a deep and desperate desire to please your Creator. When you encounter the Living God you grasp in the deepest part of your heart that Jesus is your only hope for life. You live with a scrutiny to please Him.

The glory of God is terrifying! No one can come near the fullness of the glory of God and survive. His glory is like a blazing bolt of lightning unlike anything on this earth. He can destroy civilization in a split second.

Work out your salvation by seeking the will of God in every aspect of your life. Commit your works each day to God and ask Him to search your heart and reveal anything that is not pleasing to Him.

Without faith you cannot please God. So whatever your life situation is today, your priority is to live by faith in Christ Jesus.

Jesus is simply telling you to believe in who I AM!

 

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” Romans 3:21-22

God spoke to me last night about the subject of righteousness apart from the law.

For the moment, please forget about religion. How can a mere mortal like you and I live with God? First of all, you can only come to God through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is the starting point. There is no other way.

God is perfect and without any sin. His characteristics are greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty. He has power and dominion over all things in heaven and earth.

You have to recognize you are unclean and can never match up to the holy standards of God. This condition will never change so you need a mediator to forgive your sins (or blot out your transgressions) and restore you to God. Jesus is your mediator and you live in oneness with Him through the Holy Spirit.

God does not want your righteousness. It has no value to Him. And, you cannot do anything to earn His righteousness. This includes all aspects of religion. There is not any list of laws or works you can perform that will bring His righteousness.

You have to live with Jesus by faith. Trust Him for your every need and live in obedience to His voice. Live by faith not by sight. Your hope is in the promises of God.

Your genuine expression of faith will bring the righteousness of God. The Holy Spirit will sanctify you with the precious nature of God.

Demonstrate your faith in God through your thoughts, your words, and your actions. God measures you by your faith not by your works.

The righteousness of God is a gift that will come to you through your unyielding faith in the Son of God! Jesus loves you!