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BACKGROUND
DEFINITION OF TERMS
BLOOD
LAMB
LAMB OF GOD
WORD
TESTIMONY
TESTIMONY, TABERNACLE OF
MARTYR
DEATH
The
full background to this teaching is available online at this link
DETAILED DEFINITION OF TERMS
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Online links to scriptures (New International Version [NIV] unless otherwise stated) are shown in blue
| REVELATION 12:11 |
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"They overcame him (ie satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."
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| 2. “THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY” (emphasising the Holy Spirit) |
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Today we will look at the first 3 of 6 aspects.
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| a. The Power of The Spirit: |
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 I can hear you asking, "David how does the word of their testimony relate to the Holy Spirit?"
Well, that was my question of the Lord too, when he first stopped me at this verse. And as usual, He had an answer. He took me to Matthew 12:34.
“You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Matthew 12:30-37
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 The book of James similarly tells us that “no man can tame the tongue (James 3:7)”.
James 3:1-12
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 Yes, in the end, no matter how we try to cover things up, the words we speak reflect our heart attitude. And our heart, the symbolic seat of our emotions or feelings, is the realm of the Holy Spirit. That is why, when we are baptised in or released into the power of the Holy Spirit, our ability to express our emotions in our worship, in the adoration of our God, increases amazingly.
“so that with one heart and mouth (by the Holy Spirit) you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:6)
Romans 15:5-6
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 It's true! The 3 parts of the godhead working together in perfect unity.
For someone I know personally quite well, one David Tait actually, used to sing so seriously and formally, with feet firmly anchored to the floor and hands glued to the hymnal. Now he is able to raise his hands in worship and even dance before the Lord, until he runs out of breath – in spite of the exercise regime he undertakes to kid himself that he is still 26 when he is actually twice that age - plus! The dancing would be even shorter though, without the exercise! I can tell you, for that change to have taken place in me, a miracle needed to occur. The power of the Holy Spirit released in me was it! My life now, both vocal and physical, has been turned upside down, (right way up actually!), and is proof of the truth that “the word of their testimony”, the Holy Spirit, can revolutionise your life. If He could do it to me He can do it to anyone! My pastor says amen to that!
This relationship of the Spirit to our testimony is again confirmed in Revelation 19:10.
“At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he (the angel) said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”” (i.e. a gift of the Holy Spirit)
Revelation 19:6-10
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 Once again the 3 areas of the godhead working in unison, Jesus, God (i.e. the Father) and the “spirit of prophecy”, the Holy Spirit. Our testimony of Jesus again comes through the working of the Holy Spirit.
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| b. Spiritual Gifts: |
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 Now for the controversy! If you cannot accept the contents of these 3 paragraphs, please do not bother to read any further, for you will be wasting your time. Sorry to be so blunt but that’s how it is. Without acceptance of the reality, for current times, of spiritual gifts, and their application to our life, we cannot enter the exciting and challenging realms that God has for us. These spiritual gifts were a natural part of the New Testament church and there is nowhere in scripture that says, or even infers, that they are not for God’s people today.
We will look at the life, near death and restoration of the church later on. But for the individual, for you and I to participate in our personal restoration process with God the Father, we must understand and experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our life. Well, that has got that off my chest! I feel a lot better now!
Let’s have a look at scripture to see what I am talking about. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. This is not the only passage that refers to spiritual gifts and is not all-inclusive, but it illustrates well what I am saying. First of all, verses 7-10 list the gifts.
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.”
These choice gifts are still for each one of us today to experience, a generous present from a loving God through the Holy Spirit.
“All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” (v.11).
Just in the first century? My bible doesn’t say that! Isn’t this exciting. Birthday and Christmas all at once! Birthdays and Christmas didn’t stop in the first century! Sometimes I wouldn’t mind my birthdays slowing down a bit though!
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
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| c. Building our Faith: |
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 Now when I came to write this section I didn’t realise the amazing relevance of the three prior verses (1 Corinthians 12:4-6) to the message of this book. God often surprises us doesn’t he? Not so surprising though that the Holy Spirit should show me this at this time, as it is a ‘real time’ illustration of how He works!
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 Throughout this whole presentation we have been discussing the need to experience all three persons of the Godhead if we are to attain all that God has planned for us, in these amazing times in which we live. If I hadn’t managed to get that across earlier, I apologise and trust I have now! These 3 verses illustrate the point beautifully, far better than I could.
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. (The Holy Spirit) There are different kinds of service but the same Lord. (Jesus) There are different kinds of working but the same God (The Father) works all of them in all men.”
Isn’t that great? They illustrate the unity and function of the godhead and the application of all three to our life. I didn’t know about them initially! The bible is a bottomless source of the knowledge of God, and the Holy Spirit progressively reveals it to us.
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 Please believe me, what I have written is true and not just a good story! I really was not aware of the application of these 3 verses until reading them again at the time if first writing this. God is good and I really do need His help. Thank you Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit builds our faith through our experience of His reality working in our life. This example has been another confirmation to me that I am working in God’s will and gives me more confidence to keep going when things get tough, and they certainly do at times!
The bible also tells us directly, how to build our faith
“But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.” (Jude 20)
Jude 17-23
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Yes, the Holy Spirit builds us in our faith. He is there as our teacher, guide and friend, so it is logical that building our faith would be one of His prime roles.
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| <i>NEXT WEEK</i> |
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 Next week we are going to look at further aspects of the role of the Holy Spirit.
And finish off with some 'word plays' that are of significance when looking at His role in our life.
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| A NOTE FROM DAVID |
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 The influence of the Holy Spirit permeates our life in far more ways than we appreciate. If we let Him, that is. For He does not force Himself upon us. But He will enrich, inspire and empower us when we invite Him to. Thank you Holy Spirit.
Another adventure not requiring fitness or risk (?) is ballooning. Come to New Zealand and try it!
You might want to stay!
Subject: Hot Air Balloon Fiesta
Location: Hamilton, Waikato
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So until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD!
His servant and yours
Learn more about us at...
www.wwj.org.nz/about.php
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A DAVID'S DOODLING
630. Praise gladdens the heart. Worship strengthens the soul.
David Tait
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Check
out the WWJ website for….
More David's Doodlings: www.wwj.org.nz/dd.php
Waxing Lyrical: http://www.wwj.org.nz/waxing.php
If Only I'd Thought of it: http://www.wwj.org.nz/thought.php
Laughing at Ourselves: http://www.wwj.org.nz/laugh.php
A look at some of lifes curious questions: http://www.wwj.org.nz/why.php
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