Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

This subject is very important to anyone who wants to be a powerful witness for Jesus.

Many churches do not honor or respect the gifts of the Holy Spirit and claim they are no longer valid because of the life and ministry of Jesus. This is heresy and an insult to Jesus.

As a believer, the Holy Spirit begins a process to make you “Christ Like” with His core values. You will never be perfect but you can be equipped and anointed by the Holy Spirit to do the powerful works of Christ.

The love, wisdom and mercy of God will determine your role in the Body of Christ. Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. He will determine the perfect ministry for you along with the spiritual gifts.

We are instructed to be humble people without boasting in our position in the Body of Christ. Act with humility and demonstrate the measure of faith which God has given to you.

The Body of Christ has millions of members all with different functions and roles.

The Holy Spirit equips believers with gifts like word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Jesus operated with all these gifts. The gifts draw people to the reality of Christ and change lives.

There are also gifts of ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy.

God calls some believers to be an intercessor. Many times this is related to a biblical office. The gift of intercession is entering into the war between light and darkness. The Holy Spirit works through the believer to bring down strongholds and set people free.

Sometimes, God will give you several of these gifts or a diversity of the gifts. So think outside the box. There are no rules. God looks at your personality, strengths, and weaknesses in designing your role in the Body.

The Holy Spirit chooses some believers to serve in a biblical office. The offices include apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. The purpose is for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

If you are selected to one of these high offices you will experience calamities, pain and suffering.

The gifts and biblical offices cannot be influenced or controlled by a believer. You can ask God to equip you with a gift or an office but the ultimate decision is up to Him.

God measures a believer by his faith, obedience and commitment to Jesus in selecting a role in the Body of Christ.

Enoch diligently seeked the presence of God. The Lord was so impressed with Enoch that He took him to heaven without experiencing death.

What does it look like to walk with God?

Most Christians spend private time with God in the morning and on Sunday at church.

Immersing yourself in the presence of God is a rich experience but the life span is short.

The goal is to never leave the presence of God. However, most believers check out at times and go about their responsibilities on their own.

The Holy Spirit calls this shadow boxing. You call yourself a believer but you don’t act like one. This is where a believer gets in trouble because he is living out of his natural life and is not connected to God through the Holy Spirit.

Walking with God has several spiritual distinctions.

The Christ follower lives by faith not by what he sees with his eyes. He seeks out God for his every need.

He gives the Holy Spirit authority over his life and asks God to fill Him with the thoughts of Jesus. He experiences the order of God in his life.

He understands his frailties and is open to the conviction and correction of God. He lives under the cover of the blood of Jesus.

He is obedient to God without questioning His judgement or motives.

He seeks the will of God through prayer and meditates on the Word of God.

Walking with God is living in the gift of salvation and drawing upon God for all your needs.

Today you will encounter many opportunities to be a light for Christ.

The mistake most believers make is attempting to use persuasive words of human wisdom. Or, they speak words of religion which usually fall on deaf ears.

To be a powerful witness for Jesus you must be one with Him. This is a daily process of prayer, listening to His voice and asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This will give you the resurrected power and wisdom of the Living Christ.

The goal is to understand or have insight into the personality and emotions of the person you have encountered so you can reach out to him in a way that can only be from God. The challenge is to touch the unbeliever’s hot button which will arouse all kinds of responses.

Point the unbeliever to Jesus never to religion!

Jesus never preached to the woman at the well. He told her about all the details of her past and offered her Living Water. This created a powerful move of evangelism in the Samaritan community.

The Christ follower must have the mindset that the Holy Spirit (who lives inside you) knows all about a specific person and has the perfect method to touch someone with the reality of the Living Christ. This is letting the Holy Spirit work through you to accomplish the purposes of God.

Sometimes a smile and cheerful voice is all that is required. And other times the Holy Spirit will instruct you how to deal with the person in a ministry capacity.

If you are going to be a powerful witness for Jesus pray for the Holy Spirit to equip you with the gifts of the Spirit. They are powerful tools to draw people to Christ.

Learn to be anchored to the Holy Spirit at all times. He will perform powerful signs and wonders through you.

The reality of Christ saves lives!

This narrative is about taking God seriously.

God is holy and perfect. There is no one like Him.

God hates sin and has provided a way to be restored to Him through Jesus.

It is impossible to get away from the judgment of God. Your relationship with God is defined by sin.

The Christ follower is subject to the intense scrutiny of God. He tests your heart and mind looking for the upright believer.

King David realized if he wanted the defense of God he must live in the integrity of God. Here are the words David lived by:

Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
And according to my integrity within me. Psalm 7:8

This is a bold and intimidating statement spoken to God.

Are you willing to give God permission to judge all your thoughts and actions? God is not looking for perfection. He is looking for a believer with a repentant heart and open to the conviction and correction of God.

No one can match up to the standards of God. This is because you and I are self driven people living in a corrupt world. God has no ego and is perfect without sin.

Salvation is the pathway to becoming like God. Jesus seals you with the Holy Spirit who is the life of Christ. He will transform you into the character of God. This is why it is so important to be anchored to the Holy Spirit and hearing His voice.

The security of Christ comes to those who walk in oneness with God with a humble and submissive heart to Jesus.

The Bible said in the text above the believer who does not enter into His rest will experience the wrath of God.

To take this to the extreme, the Israelites fell into unbelief and all the adults died in the desert without entering the Promised Land.

The example used in this text is the creation work of God was completed in six days. And, God rested on the seventh day. If our omnipotent God who lacks nothing believes in the importance of rest you and I need to follow this example.

The block to entering the rest of God is disobedience. The Israelites heard the voice of God and hardened their hearts.

The requirement to receive this promise is to cease from your works (or striving) as God did on the seventh day.

The life of a believer is under the authority of Jesus. He has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. You can accomplish nothing unless the Holy Spirit is directing your way. It is not by your might or strength but by the Spirit.

Start each day resting in Jesus. Seek out the will of God through prayer and commit your works to God. Resting does not mean to do nothing but you must be in relationship with the Living Christ through the Holy Spirit and walking by faith. This is how you will receive instructions from God.

The Christ follower can have a full load of intense work and responsibilities and still rest in God. Jesus desires to provide the order, peace and strength to meet all your challenges.

You cannot rest in God unless you are one with Jesus and listening to His voice. As a believer, you have the mind of Christ and He wants to direct you through all the moments of life.

Do not be controlled by the world. This will drain you. Rest in our omnipotent God and you will be able to conquer all things!

Jesus wants to enrich your life!

This was the moment of judgment that changed the life of Isaiah.

Salvation cannot be discovered through an intellectual approach or an emotional experience. The judgment of God is what will draw people to Christ. You see the reality of your sinful condition and have no way of escape.

God puts you in touch with your despicable inner nature and then reveals His holiness.

Salvation is blocked by an individual who denies his sin and is not willing to change.

The stirrings of salvation are started by the Holy Spirit who convicts an unbeliever of sin. The obstacle to salvation is self reliance. This apathy must be broken before you can receive the gift of salvation.

The vivid contrast between light and darkness is what creates salvation. God creates a desire within you to change and become a new creature in Christ filled with His values.

God is unconditional love and never gives up on an unbeliever. If an unbeliever continually rebels against God, Jesus will withdraw His presence and allow the unbeliever to hit “rock bottom”. Then God can convict an open heart and offer the gift of salvation.

Salvation cleanses you from all sin with the blood of Christ and restores you to God. You are redeemed from your natural life and become born again. The new believer is entitled to all the promises of God and will live with Jesus forever.

Salvation does not relate to time. It is the ability to walk in oneness with God and become transformed into the character of Jesus.

Salvation allows you to develop a personal and embracing relationship with the Living Christ. He will be present in all the moments of life.

You can never get right with God but Jesus can make you acceptable and blameless in the presence of God. This is the miracle of salvation.

God forgives, heals and restores believers. He does this not because of what we are but because of who He is. Jesus is a God of love and wants to give you an abundant and eternal life.

Jesus is perfection. You and I can never attain the perfection of God. Jesus does not want you to strive to be like Him but to live in oneness with Him.

Jesus is not motivated by your works or religious efforts. He blesses believers who live by faith believing in the promises of God. The righteousness of God comes by your unyielding faith and obedience to God. Nothing else really matters.

We need to learn to let God be God and give up our independence and control.

God does not think or act like you. Your spiritual journey will not be worldly oriented or follow any form of human logic.

Jesus is very accessible and wants to build a symbiotic and personal relationship with you. The goal is to learn to live in oneness with him yielding to the Holy Spirit. He is alive and wants to be present in all the moments of life.

Jesus desires to enhance the quality of your life and do for you what you can never do for yourself. This is the essence of God!

This narrative deals with the concept of letting go and giving your life over to Jesus. The definition of abandonment is based on the principles of Jesus and does not relate to religion.

The natural man (or unbeliever) works hard to achieve his goals but in the end He loses everything. The Christ follower experiences the promises of Jesus and is rewarded with the goodness of God.

Religion is easy! Just follow the rules. Jesus is very difficult to follow and is contrary to everything in the world.

Abandoning to Jesus leaves no room for conditions or keeping your independence.

The act of yielding to Jesus brings freedom from your natural personality and dispositions as you unite with the reality of the Living Christ.

This is making a statement “I will be absolutely loyal to God and He has the freedom to do with me as He desires.”

Surrender is not a requirement to walk toward religion. God doesn’t care about keeping rules or absorbing yourself in religious works. He wants to set you free to live in oneness with Him.

You have to give up your ideas of how God will work in your life and let Him show you His priorities.

Walking with Jesus is giving up your rights so Jesus can do with you as He pleases. You belong to Him and are obligated to seek His will above all else.

What does this look like in real life?

Pray vigilantly and listen for the voice of God.

Confess your sins and ask Jesus to cover you with His blood. Have an attitude of repentance and openness to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Read the Bible under the auspices of the Holy Spirit.

When God issues commands respond with obedience regardless of the lack of logic or cost to you. God wants compliance without compromise.

Find a church that honors God and maintains the integrity of scripture without change or interpretation of contemporary views.

The servant of Jesus is not above His Master. The challenge is to understand the importance of yielding to the Holy Spirit who is sealed within a believer. He is the life of Christ and will direct your pathway.

Give the Holy Spirit authority over your life and ask Him to fill you with the thoughts of Jesus. The goal is to be an open vessel to the Spirit in all the moments of life. The Holy Spirit will speak to you through the mind of Christ residing in you.

God severely tests believers. The adversities are engineered by God to transform you into the character of Jesus. At times, there will be pain and suffering.

The disciple lives in the footsteps of Christ and is baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus. The goal is to become “Christ like” and a powerful witness for Jesus.

The upside is Jesus will fill you with His supernatural attributes and you will live with Him forever.

We get set in our ways and end up doing things that lead to destruction. This admonition applies to every living being whether a believer or not.

This happens because we assume what is good based on religious teaching or the practices of the world.

Many have a genetic disposition from your family ancestry and are unwilling to face correction.

How can we see ourselves through the eyes of Jesus?

You have to be open to change, not live in denial, or impose your self conceived beliefs on life.

God knows you better than you know yourself and wants the very best for you. Be open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and let Him set the standards for your actions.

If a believer attempts to impose his own concept of the values of God, he will fall on His face. God judges right from wrong without moral scrutiny or whether you keep laws or do works. Jesus looks at your heart, your obedience to Him and your seriousness about seeking His will. This is most important to Jesus. He knows you are going to sin. It is inevitable in your nature.

You can never be right with God. There is no one acceptable in His sight. You must be covered by the blood of Jesus and seeking the Holy Spirit to convict you of evil and guide you into the light.

The moment you think you are pleasing God you are probably on the brink of disaster.

Pray to Jesus, read the Bible, and listen for the voice of God. This will keep you on track with Jesus. You will be far from perfect but acceptable in the eyes of God.

This narrative is based on an eyewitness account of what happened to Israel by the Son of Korah. (See Psalm 44)

How did the Israelites go from receiving the gift of the Promised Land to become broken and covered with the shadow of death? They lost the favor of God.

The victories came and then all was changed into shame. As a believer, religion teaches us to live in the miracles of God not the retribution of sin.

God told the Israelites on Mount Sinai if you obey My voice and keep My commandments you will be My special treasure above all the people for all the land is mine. The Israelites failed God.

We cannot expect God to perform miracles like killing 185,00 Assyrians with just one angel. Or, expect the walls of Jericho to fall by the hand of God. This happened in the past. Don’t think God can’t do these miracles again or even greater signs and wonders but this is not His priority at this time.

Today, the Living Christ has His mind focused on judgment. He is determined to punish us for our sins. Nothing will deter God from punishing lukewarm believers and those who refuse to fear and respect Him. God is wielding a flaming sword with little desire to be merciful or compassionate.

God is not sleeping . He is aroused with anger and disgrace over the Body of Christ.

We are His “set apart” people and should be filled with renown, praise and glory but many have turned away into apostasy.

We act like believers but our lives do not reflect the character of God. We strive to do works and keep laws but neglect the values of the Living Christ. Where is the obedient believer who will give up everything to follow Christ?

God is helping Israel today. He keeps His Word. They will be victorious over their enemies.

God is giving Ukraine wisdom, strength, and power to stop the Russian aggression. Russia will never defeat Ukraine.

There will be a swell of new believers coming to Christ. They will come from all over the world . God has specifically targeted the youth because they will face indescribable challenges in the future.

You cannot make God into what you want Him to be or how your pastor describes Him. The untempered mortar will turn into shambles.

You have to meet Jesus personally and then you will be awestruck! There is no one like Him.