Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

Jesus explained the work of the Holy Spirit. It is like a wind blowing and you cannot tell where it is coming from or where it is going.

The Holy Spirit is at work in season or out of season in the life of a believer. You have no control over the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit navigates believers through all the trials of life. He guides you through the Word of God and will always bring glory to Jesus.

The Christ follower can draw upon the Holy Spirit at any time for strength, healing, wisdom, joy and protection. But you cannot change the direction of the wind or the season God has planned for your life.

The Holy Spirit is sealed in all believers. He is the essence of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is very sensitive to sin and can be easily grieved. This will diminish the power working in your life.

This is why you need to be open the correction of the Holy Spirit. He know you better than you know yourself and sees all your weaknesses and impure motives.

The Holy Spirit speaks to all believers. Learn to be quiet, free your mind, and listen for the voice of God.

Be sure to commit your works to God each day and give the Holy Spirit authority over your life. He will bring order to your day, highlight your priorities, show you what to have for lunch and give you supernatural wisdom for your work. The Holy Spirit desires to add quality to all the aspects of your life. He can do for you what is impossible for you to do for yourself.

The Holy Spirit is omniscient and wants to protect you. He sees your safe pathway so never doubt His wisdom.

The Holy Spirit is the author of dreams and visions. The purpose is to teach, convict and guide your decision making. He equips believers with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to empower your ministry.

The Holy Spirit will give you prophesy and performs signs and wonders. He never rests and is working inside you while you are sleeping.

The Holy Spirit can discern all the spirits in the world and warn you against the spirits of the Antichrist.

The Holy Spirit wants to be your best friend. You can trust Him implicitly.

The word from God today is objectivity which is defined as lack of favoritism toward one side or another or freedom from bias.

This is almost impossible because everywhere you look today you see darkness and it makes you feel disgusted.

The only person who can operate perfectly with this quality is Jesus. He sees every person, situation or organization with pure objectivity.

Jesus has no bias except for the truths of God as He evaluates every situation.

As human beings we have been raised with biases from our parents, the schools we have attended, and religion. Plus, our life experiences have created biases.

Jesus is not a respecter of anyone. He evaluates every person with the same standards. Jesus is a God of unconditional love so sin does not camouflage His love or thoughts about you.

How can you and I operate with the objectivity of Jesus?

We can’t be perfect but we can see life through the eyes of God.

The most important thing is to be free from the influences of religion. A Christian is no better than a non believer. He has many flaws and impure motives.

Religion wants to control you with rules but Jesus wants to set you free. Religion tries to make everything seem beautiful and neglects your disposition for sin.

Your orientation has to be based on “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these other things shall be added unto you!”

This is a declaration to live for Jesus above all else and zealously seek His will for your life. Your motives have to be pure in dealing with God. The priority is God first and blessings follow.

The Holy Spirit will always glorify Jesus and teach you the difference between light and darkness. The Holy Spirit is sealed in every believer and He operates with the objectivity of Jesus.

It is important to live under the authority of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to become your best friend. He will introduce you to the reality of the Living Christ and help you discern light from darkness.

Pray continually and read the Bible. This will keep you on track with God. Listen for the voice of God. He wants to speak to you.

Be open to the conviction and correction of the Holy Spirit. God knows you better than you know yourself and desires to mold you into His character.

You cannot judge others. This will just bring the judgement of God upon you. The Holy Spirit will show you how to pray for others with the mercy and compassion of Jesus.

The more you see yourself through the eyes of Jesus the more you will be able to think and act with the objectivity of Jesus.

You will never match up to the standards of Jesus but you can learn to be obedient to His voice and inherit His righteousness. Your obedience will enamor you to the heart of God.

Jesus wants you to be obedient to His voice not to a set of rules.

Jesus will never force you to be obedient. This must come by yielding your autonomy and independence to the will of God.

Your obedience will create a powerful light touching others and saving souls.

Out of your obedience Jesus will share His authority with you and equip you with spiritual gifts.

Why is it so difficult to obey Jesus? The reality of Jesus has nothing to do with conforming to the world and defies human logic.

Obedience requires you to step out by faith and not believe what you see with your eyes.

Obedience is the act of giving up your every security to venture into uncharted waters.

Obedience will fill you with the character of God. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.

Obedience does not come to you because of religion or doing good works.

Obedience creates discomfort and fear because you have no worldly safety net.

Obedience does not dispute with God.

Obedience does not deny God.

Obedience is a tool of God to test you and measure your faith.

Obedience will allow you to see the transfigured Christ. Jesus is greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty.

“And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise” Hebrews 11:39

Many religious leaders will be outraged by this narrative but it is the truth. And, to set the record straight I believe in the integrity of all the Words of God in the Bible. They cannot be edited in any way and will never change. The words of Jesus are engraved in my heart.

The testing of Jesus is prophesy telling a believer something will happen and it does not happen. Sometimes, the prophesy has a timeline or may be open ended. This pattern takes place with Christ followers who are dedicated and loyal to Jesus.

What is the purpose of this testing. It creates anger and feelings of betrayal. How can I trust a God who misleads me?

You can attempt to rationalize this behavior by believing the prophesies will come in God’s perfect timing but this is just a religious response. The work of God is much deeper.

God can seem harsh and cruel at times. If you don’t believe me just read the Old Testament.

The testing of God is directed at what you value and enjoy in life. God wants your allegiance to Him and nothing else in this world. He will take away those things you cherish to make His point.

The testing is also designed to take away your security in the world and cause you to become become totally dependent on God.

In the book of Hebrews God mentions many of the well known men and women of God who died living by faith and did not receive the promises of God. They embraced God and confessed they were pilgrims or strangers on the earth.

We are in the end times and God is raising up a remnant of believers who have been severely tested and refined by the fires of God. These believers are dedicated and obedient to God and will do whatever He says without compromise.

The remnant will have to face Satan and deal with many adversities in the days ahead. They will be powerfully anointed believers and will perform miracles, and signs and wonders just like Jesus.

The point of all this is understanding the prophesies from God. They have a purpose. Accept the prophesy and do not despise the words of God. Do not act on the prophesies or place your hope in them. They may or may not come true.

Walk by faith with Jesus believing in the promises of God in the Bible. They are your hope for the future.

There are two primary factors that impact the presence of Jesus in the life of a believer. They are a thirst to know God and a willing heart to change.

The thirst for Jesus develops into a personal and embracing relationship with Him. This creates a deep desire to know Jesus and walk in His footsteps. Jesus speaks to you and becomes very present in your life. You learn about Jesus through the Bible and the Holy Spirit teaches you His values. Jesus becomes your best friend and the most valuable person in your life.

The pursuit of Jesus is like a burning desire in your heart to seek His will for your life. You discover there is no one like Him.

The willing heart of a believer is open to change through the conviction and correction of the Holy Spirit. Your life with Jesus is defined by sin and this is utmost in His mind. The Christ follower submits to the correction of Jesus without compromise. He desires to be compliant with Jesus in every aspect of His life. If you are not changing check in with Jesus. Something is wrong.

The serious Christ follower develops a passion for Jesus. And, this does not happen based on emotions or intellect.

You have to meet the Living Christ and have a “one on one” encounter with the reality of God.

Jesus will give you a glimpse of His greatness, power, glory, victory and majesty.

When you see Jesus for who He is there will be no turning back. The Holy Spirit will erase all doubt about the character of God.

Growing with Jesus is not easy. You have to learn to walk by faith not by what you see with your eyes. Faith is an expression of your lifestyle. You seek out Jesus for your every need. Like David, you believe your help comes from God who created the heavens and earth.

Jesus tests believers. He wants to see your faith in action through the trials of life. Jesus also wants your obedience to His voice. He wants you to obey His instructions even if they are costly or make no sense.

Integrating Jesus into your life by walking in oneness with Him under the authority of the Holy Spirit.

This is a very valid question. You will encounter trials in life whether you are a believer or non believer.

Regardless of your beliefs you will die at some time.

Your human attributes have a limit and will diminish over time.

Without God you have no protection over the tragedies of life.

The emotions of a non believer are tied to the conditions in their life. You feel happy when life is good. Also, human emotions are short lived.

Life cannot make any promises.

The non believer has no protection again evil and cannot harness the urges of his flesh.

Hope for the non believer is in what he can see.

The perception of most non believers is God lives in Heaven and cannot help them in their immediate circumstances.

Can the reality of God impact your life?

I found out after about 35 years God is alive and wanted to be a reality and good friend in my life.

The gift of salvation is just the starting point for a believer. You are assured of life after death and inherit all the promises of God.

Salvation is just the beginning of a relationship with God and is not related to time.

God comes down from Heaven and seals His Spirit in a believer. This is the beginning of the reality of God.

So far this sounds like a lot of religion without any proof.

The defining moment happens when you decide to let go and live for Jesus. This is a decision to live by faith believing in the promises of God and to seek the will of God without any exceptions.

This new picture of life is not about keeping laws, doing things to appease God or acting like a puppet of religion.

The Holy Spirit fills you with the heavenly attributes of Jesus. He give you unlimited strength, wisdom, joy and protection.

God promises to protect you and deliver you from troubles.

Your faith in Jesus will give you hope for the future.

God is omniscient and sees every detail of your future. He offers protection you can never find in the world.

God desires to have a personal and embracing relationship with you. He speaks to believers.

God knows you better than you know yourself. He offers an endearing friendship. He wants to be a central part of your life and share His love and comfort with you. He is a true friend with pure motives and can be trusted implicitly.

God wants to refine you into His character and take away your compulsions and desires to satisfy self.

God desires to enhance every detail of your life and do for you what you can never do for yourself.

The question comes down to whether you want the qualities of Jesus or settle for what life brings you?

Forty five years ago Jesus walked into my presence. I was in a room praying. This was the most frightening and terrifying experience in my life. I thought about running out of the room or hiding from Him. I feared Jesus was going to incinerate me.

The power of Jesus was unlike anything in this world. I witnessed that God could destroy an evil nation in a split second. I now knew all the claims of Jesus were true and nothing is impossible for Him.

Jesus showed me He was a God of unconditional love and He has no ego or needs. I could see His sole purpose was to draw people into the gift of salvation.

Jesus then turned to me looking into my inner being and showed me what He saw. The picture was disgusting. I was miles apart from the character of God. I could see that I would never come close to the standards of Jesus. I was a self driven man and Jesus was pure with no ego or self ambitions.

A few years later God gave me a dream about my father who was no longer alive. He was in hell with a mutilated body and was being taken care of by two grotesque looking prostitutes. My father was experiencing endless pain and agony. I woke up with a strong feeling that no one should ever gamble about ending up in hell.

Years later, God gave me another dream. I saw a huge fireball strike the earth. I ran to the front door to get a better look but the earth was shaking with death and destruction everywhere. I slammed the door shut. God told me this dream is a sign of His judgment over our country.

Several months later Pat Robertson, a famous television evangelist, prophesied the same exact dream.

The revelations from Jesus plus many other signs and wonders was all I needed to abandon myself to Jesus without any strings attached.

I also have learned that Jesus hates religion. Jesus simply wants you to walk by faith believing in His promises and seriously seek His will for your life.

Jesus is very approachable. You just have to take the first step!

“His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Jesus has one goal in your life. He wants to separate the good from the bad. He does this by baptizing you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Most of this work is done below your consciousness.

The Holy Spirit identifies your sin and the fires of God burn up the impurities in your life. This earthly process lasts until you go to Heaven.

The winnowing fork is an analogy of how this purification works in a believer. At the time of harvest the winnowing fork was used to lift up the wheat against the wind. The wind would separate the wheat from the chaff. The wheat would be stored in the barn and the chaff would be burned up.

God is holy. He will not allow any particles of sin to be present in Heaven.

There is really very little a believer can do to effect this process. You can ask Jesus to forgive you for all your sins and cover you with His blood. And, you can be open to the conviction and correction of the Holy Spirit. These are just remedial steps and don’t get to the root of the problem.

You can’t see into yourself like God looks at you. The “born again” experience is a lifetime of refining you into the character of God.

If you are serious about God this process is more heart wrenching because God does a deeper work to take away your ego and impure motives.

At times, God has to take drastic measures to mold you into His character. This can be painful and very costly. Remember, you signed up with Jesus to emulate “Not my will but Yours be done”.

We are living in the end times and the judgement of God is over the world. It is very difficult not to get entangled in the darkness and reject all the contemporary values of society.

God wants “Christ like” believers who are enamored with the love of God and filled with the Holy Spirit to do His work.

Don’t try to be like Jesus. You will never come close. Let God work His perfect plan!

“The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.”

This question posed by God speaks to the heart of a believer.

God asked Solomon what he wanted. Solomon responded with praise for his circumstances in life. He also told God that I am a little child and do not know how to go out or come in.

Solomon acknowledged that he was the King over a large number of people and he asked God to give him an understanding heart to judge the people and the wisdom to discern between good and evil.

This speech pleased God who responded to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice.”

God told Solomon “I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.”

God made this promise to Solomon; “And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.”

God concluded with another promise to Solomon which included a stipulation. “So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

How do you and I respond to this question from God? Do we thank God for what He has given to us?

Do we acknowledge that we are like a little boy incapable of making good decisions and walking in the ways of God. David lived by this precept. The Lord is my Keeper and He shall preserve my going out and my coming in.

Do we ask for wisdom and an understanding heart to know the ways of God? Commit your works to the Lord and He will establish His thoughts within you.

Solomon’s priorities were to walk with God, be filled with wisdom, and discern between good and evil. He did not ask for blessings of prosperity or personal acclaim.

God honored the requests of Solomon and also promised him riches and honor.

God also made a provisional promise to Solomon to lengthen his days if he walked in the ways of God.

Jesus looks at your heart. How important is God to you? God wants to bless those that are dedicated to Him above all else.

God examines your motives. He doesn’t want to feel like He is being used to help you achieve your goals. This speaks to the essence of God in your life and how you value Him.

Everything in life begins with God. If you short circuit God in attempting to achieve your desires this will bring the conviction and judgment of God. Jesus has made it very clear; “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these other things will be added unto you.” This is the order of God and will never change.

Solomon believed in the sovereignty of God. He was guided by a heart dedicated to serving God above all else.

This revelation came from the Holy Spirit today. He wants to provide insight to those believers who are dealing with a crushing burden.

Most of the burdens facing believers come from the work of Satan. He wants to disable and discourage believers. He wants to shut you down and weaken the light of Christ within you.

It is true that Jesus gives Satan the freedom to harass believers and bring destruction into their lives.

In many cases, you may have not contributed to the burdens you are facing. You are just an innocent bystander.

How can you understand this in spiritual terms and what can you do to break this curse over you?

We have to understand our troubles have originated with Jesus and are designed to fulfill His purposes. Jesus wants to sanctity you with His character so you can be useful to Him.

In this context, we are not referring to a stronghold of Satan over an individual like alcohol, drugs, or sexual immorality. This bondage happens because an individual entertains an evil thought which then becomes a desire and is lived out.

We are talking about someone like Job who honored God and suffered the loss of almost everything.

Most believers want to blame God for their trials. Even though God may be the architect behind your troubles it doesn’t do any good to blame God or get in a fight with Him over His lack of action. You can’t win and will just create more distress in your life.

Many leaders in the Body of Christ counsel believers that you are in a spiritual war and must put on the full armor of God and speak against the wiles of Satan. I don’t necessarily disagree with this tactic but if your burdens originated with God then you need to seek out Jesus.

The hybrid approach is to speak against Satan using the weapons provided by Jesus but also seek the compassion, comfort and friendship of Jesus. The Holy Spirit will give you perfect wisdom in dealing with your burdens.

Jesus is the only source who can overcome your burden and deliver you. He also desires to give you His supernatural strength, peace and faith to get through a serious crisis.

When you cast your burden upon God you will immediately feel a lightness and freedom even though you are still in the middle of a whirlwind of trouble.

Keep in mind, Jesus knows exactly what He is doing. He is preparing you for big things in the kingdom of God.