Passion and Purity

Summary Scripture:

Acts 26:16

16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee.

The Lord reminded me of something He said to me some time ago: He said, “I told you to stay home and raise me up a people.” I thought I had done that, but God said: “I told you to raise me up a people that will be a demonstration of the message. You have the word, but you do not have the demonstration of it!” We realize that we are continuously receiving the truth, but we are also expected to spiritually progress with it. The Lord is opening the eyes of our understanding. He is making the revelation plain and easy to comprehend. However, many are still complacent and apathetic toward the truth and in their walk. Therefore, the Spirit is saying to the church: “if you do not walk in the present truth, your anointing and your influence in people’s lives will start to diminish. If you are not holy, you will not be able to fake it. In spite of how well you can teach, preach, pray, prophesy and counsel, the word of God will draw a line of demarcation that separates the real from the unreal, and the truth from the lie.”

The Christian Faith

Acts 26:14-15

14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

This scripture is speaking about Paul who was on his way to Damascus to persecute the church. He had received letters from the high priest to go into Damascus and destroy the Christian faith. He was beating, killing and putting them into prison. All these actions were sanctioned by the Sanhedrin Council in Jerusalem. But while on the way to Damascus, a light, brighter than the noon-day sun, shone from heaven and knocked him and his companions to the ground.

Acts 26:16

16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee.

Before we go into the depths of this passage, I want us to note something here; to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee. The things that Paul had seen were those who walked in the Christian faith. But the Lord is very bold in that he informed him that there will be others in which the Lord will appear to him in. The entire Christian faith is based on this declaration. Jesus is on the earth again and he is appearing in the bodies of those who accept him as Lord. It is very important that we do not miss this point.

God in Christ and Christ in us. This is the mystery that was hidden in God. Every message that is taught in the body of Christ must have this truth as a foundation; “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” This is the Christian faith. Up until now, the church was not taught the mystery of Christ in purity. Because of this, many in the church have forfeited their birthright. We as leaders have changed that birthright into the acquisition of things. We have taught doctrines that did not allow the seed of our Father to prosper in and through us. We knew nothing of the New Creature or the New Man. The doctrines that mention the indwelling of Christ were reduced to philosophical religious rhetoric and psychological posturing. We were taught to extract from the Holy Canon some scriptures that, if quoted relentlessly, would be the motivation for striking a so called faith attitude with the accompanying affected behavior.

We were instructed to keep a positive mindset and faith would work for us. We preached and practiced these attics for years without being certain as to whether our psychologically induced behavior would yield the desired fruit. But I submit to you that the time has come for us to put all these doctrines of men and devils aside. This is the age of truth and the season of revelation. The Father will be glorified by the Son that lives within us.

Knowing the Will of God

What is my calling? What is it that God wants me to do? What is God’s purpose for my life? How do I know when God is speaking to me? How do I build my faith? These are questions that the church continues to ask; in spite of the many teachings on all of these subjects. The truth is, the teachings did not answer these issues. I must also say that the mere fact that these are issues in the Body of Christ, is a gross insult to the Father. Stay with me, and you too will see the great injustice the church has committed. The first thing we need to confirm is God’s position in these matters. To do so, we will go to the words of our Lord.

John 16:7-12

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: The Holy Ghost will reprove: to rebuke or tell one’s fault; to convince; or to convict

9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; ( the Holy Ghost will rebuke and confront sin.)

10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; (The Holy Ghost will convince the world of God’s righteousness by abiding in the believer)

11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. (the Holy Ghost will convict or sentence unbelievers to eternal damnation.)

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

This verse is very important for it acknowledges that the non-regenerated man cannot receive the knowledge of God’s purpose for his life. Why? Because he is only human. He can only receive that which he is able to comprehend with his natural senses. The knowledge of God is spiritual and can only be discerned by spiritual people. As leaders in the Body of Christ, you too, must accept and embrace the difference between natural and spiritual.

John 16:13-15

13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

V13. he will guide you into all truth… the truth spoken of here is the knowledge of the mystery of Christ. The Holy Ghost will reveal the redemption plan of God. He will guide them in the establishing of the church. That truth is the embodiment of the New Testament. You must keep in mind that the Lord ascended back to Heaven forty days after his resurrection. But during that time, he taught them all things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. He shall not speak of himself… What the Holy Spirit speaks will not originate with him, but it will be the words of the one who sent him. Paul is a good example of the interaction of the Lord with his church. Although he was determined to kill everyone that was affiliated with Christ, he now meets Jesus face to face. But Jesus simply told him to Get up off the ground; because he had appeared unto him for one reason; his purpose for Paul’s life.

He came to make him a minister”. This is grace and love! Our takeaway from the conversation Jesus had with Paul should be that Paul left this encounter with the Master, knowing the purpose of God for his life. But the majority of those in the Body of Christ are frustrated from not knowing when and if God is speaking to them. They strive to learn how to hear God and to know what is a word from God or their own heart. Theologians have written many books and preached many sermons on “How to know when God is speaking to you,” and “How to activate your faith.” I dare say to you that for the most part, most of these writings and sermons are a waste of time. The Holy Spirit is not their author and they do not reflect the intent of the Father or the Son. We are not supposed to be blind ministers; we are supposed to do that which fulfills the purpose of God. But the truth is, blindness caused by sin and ignorance, has happened to most of the Body of Christ.

Acts 26:17-18

17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

God delivered Paul from the people (Jews) and sent him to the Gentiles so that they would be sanctified by faith (receive the Holy Ghost). Every one of us is called to do this: the ministry of reconciliation. Paul did it on a larger scale. You are called to do this in your house, on your job, in your territorial sphere of influence. This is what the ministry of reconciliation is; open blinded eyes of people who cannot see God, turn them from darkness to light, from Satan to God, so that they can be forgiven and walk in the faith of Jesus. But the truth is, many newborn Christians ignore this initial drive and passion and after a little while go into hot pursuit of their place in the 5-fold ministry. The Church programmed us to seek to move up the ladder. Get busy seeking the identity of your gift. But in truth, all we needed to do was to continue to be a faithful witness of our own salvation and the Holy Spirit would have guided us into God’s purpose. But instead, we became wanton for position and gendered a lust for position in ministry, not souls. The bottom line here is that God will communicate with you concerning your place in his Body.

1 Corinthians 12:18

18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

If this is indeed true, then why is it so common for members of the Body of Christ not to know their personal calling? Many go to people they think are spiritual and ask them of their calling. Some go from conferences to crusades, and revivals, in search of a word from the Lord. They are looking for someone to speak a word into their lives. They truly expect this to be more possible than the Father himself, telling them what it is he wants them to do. Does not it make sense to you that the Father would be faithful in revealing his will to his children? You must come to the conclusion that there has to be a breach in your relationship or fellowship with the father if He never communicates with you. He does not want you to jump through hoops to hear from him. If you are one of those, who are frustrated not knowing the will of God for your life, then come to where the heart of the Father is. Admit that you have strayed from the truth, either in word, deed, or mindset. It is certain you are not walking in the Spirit. Accept that as truth and then you can move on to how and why this is so. It is not a hard thing to get on the same page with God, but you must first acknowledge the truth.

Acts 26:19

19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

Paul did not disobey his calling, by choosing his livelihood (tentmaking) over God’s instruction. Whatever your job or business is, it is secondary to your calling. Your calling is first and foremost. Remember, only what you do for God will last. God’s calling is according to His purpose. He is the Master and we are the slaves. God told Paul exactly what to do: He did not have to plan his ministry, put out flyers, do marketing or raise money before he could start ministering. Ministry was burning in him, so much so that he went back to Jerusalem to preach to the people who sent him to persecute the church. He knew their viciousness, but something was driving him.

Passion is the drive that God put in us; it is the drive that Christ has. Remember, Paul is an example of the church. When Jesus came into Paul’s body, Paul began to love those who sought to persecute him and other Christians, with the love of Christ. Love will make you defy all odds. Love will make you go past fear, even the fear of death. He had a passion to see souls, saved. This passion was driving him. He also had a pure heart. It takes passion and purity to see, hear and obey God.