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Posts Tagged ‘Spirit of God’

Why Do We Forget the Holy Spirit?

Posted in Bible, christian living, institutional church, Jesus follower, Kingdom of God, Love of God, The church, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 22, 2024|

by Jim Gordon

Over the years I spent within the church system, I was told the Spirit of God has been given to us. Yet, the real emphasis on the fact that the Spirit of God actually lives within us seems to be missed. If we could get this deep down within us, that we now live in the Kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit of God actually lives within us, it would certainly help us in sharing the love and power of God with people we meet each day. We do not need to sit back and wait for some future day when we die to enter the Kingdom of God. We can live as one with the Spirit of God in the Kingdom of God each and every day beginning right now.

The more I talk with people who are active in the institutional church, the more I hear that so many (not all) churches emphasize the organization, the building and the pastor, yet neglect the fact that the Holy Spirit of God lives within us.

God does not live in buildings made by hands. God lives in us. The Kingdom of God is within us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our guide and teacher and we do not have need of anyone to teach us. Yet the church pushes dependence on the organization. It pushes the idea of the pastor being the mouthpiece and intermediary for God. This is just not true. The building is not the house of God, we are, and God communicates directly with us through the Spirit within.

Many people are afraid to trust their inner feelings. We wonder how do we hear from the Spirit within us? The sad thing is we are more in tune with hearing from the pastor each week. We are so used to depending on another human being that we do not try to learn how to trust the leading of the Spirit. The churches have failed at focusing on teaching how to hear from the Spirit, mainly because they want us to continue to depend on the pastor. We have to realize the pastor is not the middle-man or mouth-piece of God. The pastor is a fellow brother or sister in Christ who is just like the rest of us, ever learning and always to be helping and encouraging each another.

For me, I have come to really pay attention when I get an unusual feeling of peace, or a feeling of just knowing something and being at peace that it is right or wrong. I even had dreams a few times where I heard a voice in regard to some specific issue and when I woke up, I acted on it and found the answer I needed. I do not say every dream is from God or every instinct we have is the Holy Spirit, but these are ways the Spirit can lead us. We seem to think we need to clearly hear an audible voice to know it is the Spirit, but I think we need to learn to focus on the inner intuitions and sense of peace.

We must remember this great gift of the Spirit of God living within us. We need to focus on learning how to hear and understand the leading of the Spirit rather than focusing on the words and teachings of men/women.

Here are a few verses from the bible that mention being one with the Spirit and living in the Kingdom of God:

Luke 17:21

nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.

John 14:16,17

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 17:20-23

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

1 Corinthians 3:16

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 6:19

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

2 Corinthians 6:16

Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

2 Timothy 1:14

Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

1 John 2:27

As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

Jim Gordon and his wife left the institutional church after spending over fifty years within the system. Jim wanted a way to express his thoughts and concerns about the religious system and why he and his wife decided to leave the institution but not their faith in God. Jim can be contacted by email at: jimgordon731@gmail.com

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Which Pastor Do You Follow?

Posted in Acceptance of Others, Bible, christian living, Jesus follower, tagged , , , , , , , on September 23, 2020| 4 Comments »

by Jim Gordon

In the Christian world today there are many, many people who are well known and educated in the Bible and religion. Pastors, evangelists and big-named TV evangelists are so numerous we cannot remember them all. People have their favorites and sometimes even argue about which one is the best and should be listened to the most.

For me personally, I am getting tired of all the big-named, well known pastors and evangelists giving me their views and opinions and telling me what God is saying. I have pretty well stopped listening to people and try to focus on hearing the voice of the Spirit of God who lives within me.

Obviously, we all have an opinion and a view and there is nothing wrong with listening to others to get their viewpoints. The problem is that most of the time we put our full faith in what other people say. There is no need to put such faith in another person. Jesus said when he left earth that he was sending us a comforter, one who would guide is into all truth and we would need no man (or woman) to teach us.

Listen to those to whom you value their knowledge and understanding, yet do not put complete and total faith into anyone. Seek the still, quiet voice of the Spirit of God from within and rely on the Spirit to teach and guide you in your daily walk with God.

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Where are You?

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , , on June 17, 2015| 2 Comments »

I recently had a dream, one of those that was very clear and distinct, and one I didn’t forget as soon as I woke up. I was dreaming about my wife, and I can’t think of a better subject to dream about. We were out doing errands and after some time of walking around a store, she decided to go to the car and wait on me.

I kept walking around and ran into an old friend. We talked for several minutes, to the point I was getting worried that my wife would be wondering what happened to me. I finally moved on, then went to the car. Once outside, I could not find the car. I was wondering where my wife had gone. I kept thinking to myself, where are you?

Where are You

I saw another store close by, so went in thinking she was there. I walked around the store and a stranger unexpectedly stopped me and asked me a question. Shortly after that, I ran into another friend and we talked for what seemed like a long time. Again I began feeling nervous because my wife didn’t know where I was and I kept wondering where she had gone.

Once back outside I could still not find my wife or see our car. I was getting pretty nervous and kept wondering where my wife could be.

I finally got out my phone and called her. When she answered, I anxiously said where are you? She very quietly and calmly said, I’m right here.

As soon as she said that, I woke up. There she was laying right beside me, asleep, not having any idea what was going on inside my head. I just wanted to roll over and give her a big hug.

I got to thinking about why this dream seemed so clear and distinct. It certainly wasn’t anything profound, but I got to thinking about how we question God. We have unexpected distractions and events throughout our lives and we immediately ask God, where are you.

What hit me about this dream was it seemed God was saying that even when we wonder and question, even when we have the unexpected distractions, hardships and questions of life, He is right there ready to comfort us and encourage us by calmly saying, I’m right here.

Our Father told us that He is with us always, He would never leave us nor forsake us. He isn’t a God who is distant and can’t be found, He lives within us. We are His temple, or home, here on earth. He told us that He is with us always, even unto the end of the age.

Even when we feel like He is far away, when we question Him and wonder where He is and why He isn’t doing something, we can know that He is right there beside us. Even better than that, He is within us.

When you have those times of wondering where God is, look deep within yourself and listen for that still, small voice that says… I’m right here.

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Church: A Building or A People?

Posted in christian living, Community, Ekklesia, Scoop.it, The church, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 29, 2015| 2 Comments »

To me Church is a group of people. When we get together, or ‘assemble ourselves together’, it is for a time of fellowship, fun, eating and getting to know one another.

As far as I’m concerned, the traditional view of church, which is a building we go to on a particular day at a set time and sit and listen, is not what Jesus meant when he talked about building his Church.

My wife and I were part of the organized church for years and years, and although there were a lot of good experiences and friendships made, it is not what I would consider the true Church.

When we get together with other believers, maybe only two or three, the Church has assembled. This can be at someone’s home, at a restaurant, in a park, or anywhere we are able to spend some time together.

Outside the Walls

Since the Spirit of God lives within us, He is always with us, no matter where we may be, no matter what day or time it is, and no matter if there is a set agenda, singing or sermon to be preached.

Church is you and me. It happens anywhere, anytime. My wife and I have had more meaningful fellowship in the past couple years of being out of the organized church, and just meeting with others as God leads. We may have dinner and talk about what God is doing, we may pray for one another, we may sing a song or two, or we may just talk about things in general, laughing, and getting to know one another better.

I know there are a lot of people who attend a regular ‘church’ service each week, and there is nothing wrong with it. Although for my wife and me, we came to be very dissatisfied with the normal gathering each week, listening to one person talk and going home without hardly a handshake from others.

The Spirit of God is our teacher and each of us are equal participants in the Kingdom of God. We each have something to say that the Spirit can use to encourage others. It has been so much more meaningful for us to be in a group where everyone gets to talk, pray, encourage and build up one another.

I know many who are in the traditional church who do not agree with this, but for my wife and me, we would not want to go back into the organized church setting. Things outside the walls have been so much better, and we have enjoyed much closer fellowship with those God brings into our lives.

So, I guess the best thing is for all of us, inside or outside the walls of religion, is to accept each other the way we are and let God do any teaching or changing that needs to be done. Rather than look down on one group or the other, accept the fact that what we do, we do for God. We want to learn from Him and enjoy the gift of Grace He provided. Let’s love and accept one another no matter what we do or do not do on Sundays.

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Can We Produce the Fruit of the Spirit ?

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , on April 21, 2015| 3 Comments »

Galatians 5:22 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

fruit of the spirit

We hear about the fruit of the spirit and how we should produce fruit, but what does it really look like to have the fruit of the Spirit in our lives?

Letting God live from within us and His Spirit producing the fruit is the only way for us to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. It is not by our strength or actions. We usually want to produce fruit by our good works. Unfortunately, that does not work. We cannot product fruit, only abiding in the vine causes the branches to grow. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. Apart from him we are not able to produce any fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit of God living within us produces the fruit, which will be a natural by-product of His life within us.

Also notice that we have the fruit of the spirit, not the fruits. When the Spirit is allowed to live through us, each and every fruit mentioned is active and working through us. It is like one gift of fruit of the Spirit manifesting in nine different ways. We can’t pick and choose which fruit we like or think we need, we have them all.

That does not mean that life is always perfect and we will not have problems. It does mean God is within us and never leaves us. He produces love for others that we cannot give in our own strength. We can have peace and patience when things are going crazy around us.

In the world we live in, most people are not used to being treated with kindness or seeing goodness in others. God’s spirit within produces both, which will make a difference to others when they see us being kind and good to people. How many of us, in the stressful situations we find ourselves in during a day, can be gentle with others? Certainly not in our own strength.

Being faithful to our Father is not even in our power, but as He gives faith it becomes a reality in our lives. Even self-control is not actually self-produced. What it boils down to is Jesus is everything. He lives within us and He produces all the good fruit that grows and manifests through our lives. When the fruit of the Spirit is manifested in our lives, I think it will look a lot like the life of Jesus.

It is the fruit that God produces in us that others see. It is the fruit that looks good and is becoming to others. The fruit will help others know that our Father is good, loving and kind. Stop trying to produce the fruit of the Spirit, and rest in God. Allow Him to cultivate the good fruit in us so others will see Him.

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This article is listed on Synchroblog as the theme for April. Following are others who also posted this month:

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