PART 2
Why did Elijah move in miraculous power yet suddenly be filled with fear? It is because He did not have the Holy Spirit living within Him as those who are Born-Again. The difference between the Old and New Testament ministries of the Holy Spirit is that, before the Day of Pentecost, His power came upon spiritual leaders at particular times but did not take up residence within them. The mantle of Elijah represents the power of the Holy Spirit. God gives every Born-Again Christian “a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” because He permanently dwells within those who receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV).
“God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1 John 4:16b-18 ESV)
At the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, He read from the Book of Isaiah to declare that the "wind" (Heb: 'ruwach') of the Lord God was upon Him (See Luke 4:17-21). God promised that He would "pour out" His "Spirit on ALL people" (Joel 2:28 NIV - emphasis mine).
Before a person becomes Born-Again and is transformed at the moment of their salvation, the Holy Spirit is with them to draw them to Jesus, but this is not the same as being IN them. Jesus promised the Disciples before He was crucified and resurrected that He would "ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor" who would not just live with them but would take up permanent residence within them when they become a Christian (John 14:16-17 NIV). After Jesus was arrested the Disciples were cowering in fear and trepidation. When Jesus arose from the dead and just before the day of Pentecost, ten of the Disciples are seen together with Him.
"Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." (John 20:19b-23 ESV)
Jesus regenerated ten of the Disciples when He breathed on them. At that moment, they were Born-Again because they received and were baptized by Holy Spirit. A person cannot receive salvation by becoming Born-Again unless they are 100% filled with Him (John 3:3-4). However, those ten disciples were not yet endued with power until the Day of Pentecost. For them, that was an entirely separate and distinct experience.
The infilling/baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at the moment a person becomes Born-Again. It is this baptism that makes the Born-Again Christian complete in Jesus and are endued with the power of God. All that the Father is, Jesus is. All the "fullness of the Godhead bodily" dwells in Jesus (Colossians 2:9 NIV). This means that Jesus is the physical presentation of all that the Father is.
A person can't belong to God if the Holy Spirit is not 100% fully living inside them because "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9-11 NIV). Jesus prayed;
"that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:21-22 NIV)
The Day of Pentecost
On the day of Pentecost, 120 Disciples were waiting in the Upper Room, and 110 were still not yet regenerated/born from above through salvation. They believed in Jesus but had yet to receive Him and become Born-Again. Believing that Jesus is God is not the same as receiving Him. Even "the demons believe that and shudder" (James 2:19 NIV). This is also the case with the people of Samaria, Ephesus, and those at Cornelius's house who were not yet Born-Again because they had not yet received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14; 10:44; 18:24).
"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." (Acts 2:1-4 NIV)
"All," not just a few, of the people there were "filled with the Holy Spirit." In the Bible, the wind is often a picture of the "breath of the Almighty" that releases creative power and "gives me life" (Job 33:4 KJV). In the Hebrew text, "wind," "spirit," and sometimes "breath" are the same word 'ruwach'. The Bible declares that at the beginning of Creation, God first breathed His breath upon the waters of the Earth "...And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2 NIV). God formed human beings "from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And man became a living person" (Genesis 2:7 TLB). It took His breath to create the Universe;
"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6 NIV).
The Secret Place
The spirit of Elijah was developed in the secret place of hiddenness found within God, who gave him an anointing that dramatically transformed and made him powerful against evil principalities, including the Jezebel spirit. The daily anointing of God that gives the power to confront and deal with the enemy is found in the secret place.
God invites us to join Him and live in the Secret Place of the heart because He is Spirit. His glory and merciful goodness are beyond our ability to perceive fully. When Moses wanted to see the glory of God, the Lord explained that no person could see Him and live, so He allowed Moses to see His glory only from a secret place (Exodus 33:20).
"And the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by." (Exodus 33:21-22 ESV)
God gave a glimpse into what must be done to experience His presence which can only be enjoyed by a person who chooses to dwell in His Secret Place. That requires complete honesty and trust. No one can join God there unless they are willing to be fully transparent and honest with Him.
There is a great benefit to dwelling in the Secret Place. When a person chooses to leave behind the cares and enticements of the world by receving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior they become Born-Again and are able to live a lifestyle of spiritual worship and devotion to God as they are drawn near to Him each day in new ways just as His mercies are brand-spanking new each new day (James 4:8; Lamentations 3:23). They begin to see this world the same way God does (Isaiah 6:1-5).
Time spent in the presence of God reveals our true thoughts and selfish motivations that might otherwise escape unnoticed. The cares and concerns of this earth begin to 'grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace' as life is now seen from an eternal perspective. Dwelling in the Secret Place doesn't mean a person becomes so heavenly-minded that they are no earthly good and neglect their responsibilities and relationships. Instead, it means they desire with all their heart to grow in intimacy with Jesus
Intimacy
Jesus desires an intimate relationship with every Born-Again Christian because they are His bride! (John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7,21:9,22:17) To have a passionate heart devoted to God requires sacrificing one's will to spend quality time with Him.
Developing ever-increasing intimacy with Jesus also requires aligning daily with Him so that the Holy Spirit can continue to deeply transform you "into his image with ever-increasing glory" so that your heart will become more devoted to Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV). It is impossible not to be changed and transformed when you are in the presence of God with a burning heart for Him. A heart devoted to God truly knows who He is.
Experiencing deep intimacy with Jesus begins with deep trust. A person cannot be intimate with someone they do not trust implicitly. Learning to "trust in the Lord with all your heart" means to stop depending "on your own understanding," which is your logic, intellect, education, experience, knowledge, will, etc., and knowing and acknowledging Him in all your ways (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV).
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.' (Revelation 3:20 ESV)
The door to the heart is opened fully to Jesus when all "worries and cares" are given to Him, and we can then let Jesus take us deep into the Secret Place of intimacy within His passionate heart (1 Peter 5:7 NLT). Eating with Jesus is like sharing an intimate meal with a loved one where you can talk and learn about each other.
"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.' (Psalm 37:4 ESV)
There is no greater joy than dwelling in the Secret Place with Jesus. Intimacy is the way to know His heart by delighting yourself in Him, which requires having a soft and pliable heart fully devoted to Him. Your wants and desires begin to align with His as you lay down your will, abide in His presence, sing songs of adoration, worship Him in everything you do, and converse with Him as you read and study His Word. Prayer is a dialogue with God.
We must have an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit to enter the Secret Place. He is not just speaking in ‘tongues’ or a phenomenon of wind and fire. He is a person. When Jesus died and went to the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit came to bring the Kingdom and the fire of God to Earth. Elijah lived a life that moved in Kingdom power. He was a man, but God backed him up when he spoke.
The Power of Pentecost
On the day of Pentecost, 120 people were waiting in the Upper Room in submission to the command of Jesus. Suddenly the heavens opened, and wind and fire came upon them, and the Holy Spirit came to indwell each of them. It was at that moment the universal Church, the Bride of Christ, was born. They experienced a miracle of languages and began to speak in other tongues to spread the Gospel throughout the world and pray in the wonderful language of Heaven. When Peter began to preach, the power of Heaven was behind him, and 3,000 people were Born-Again as the anointing of God broke through and radically brought salvations and healings.
God wants to bring us to a place where we are not hidden within the walls of a church but are willing to go outside the church and impact society. He wants us to be carriers of resurrection life, seeing people saved, healed, and delivered with supernatural words of counsel and wisdom by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the "same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8 ESV). He never changes (Malachi 3:6). The supernatural gifts of God are given daily to edify, strengthen, encourage, and restore people. They are irrevocable and have never ended (Romans 11:29).
Do you see any signs and wonders in your ministry? Are people being healed emotionally, spiritually, and physically? Are you hungry to hear from God for supernatural wisdom and revelation? There are churches so insulated socially and culturally correct seeker-friendly, that they don't have any divine wisdom because they don't allow the Holy Spirit to manifest His presence in their midst, and as a result, are unable to engage in active spiritual warfare against the powers of darkness and to shift things in the Spirit over families and positively impact society for Jesus.
Rebuilding Altars
If you want to move in the same anointing as Elijah, then just as he did, you must rebuild the altar of worship and sacrifice in your life and family where they have been invaded by demonic powers and weakened or torn down by pride.
Rebuilding the altar requires being clean before God in your thoughts, words, and behavior to confront people with their sexual perversion and pornography effectively. It is virtually impossible to be clean if your eyes constantly view violence and perversion and your ears are filled with the dark things of society. Movies, the Internet, social media, television, and radio constantly open us to temptation and infiltration. You cannot effectively wage spiritual warfare against those things if they operate in your own life because you are walking on any common ground with the enemy in any area of your life. There needs to be a call to holiness and pressing into the presence of Jesus at any cost!
We need to ask God, just like King David, to "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!" (Psalm 139:23 ESV) We need to ask Him to reveal where there are areas of darkness, compromise, idolatry, pride, disobedience, disloyalty, spiritual adultery, and those broken areas caused by unforgiveness, physical or emotional abuse, betrayal, bitterness, or resentment. We must be willing for God to bring His fire upon the altar of our life and consume those things that stand in the way of intimacy with Him so that we will be healed and can bring healing to others.
You must know in the depth of your heart that God can trusted to heal you in your pain and rebuild the broken altars. Then you can cry out and say, 'God, send fresh fire! I want to be like Elijah and burn with the anointing of the Holy Spirit! I want to be fully alive and not compromise with the world but be passionate for you with a clean heart, so I can fully love others as You love me!'
Issues of the Heart
We are at another crossroad in our nation where everything holy has shifted. Are we just living a lukewarm existence as passionless pew-sitters? Too many people in the church move into half-hearted contentment and comfortable lifestyles and avoid moving in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit because they don't want Him to make them uncomfortable.
Are you willing to rebuild the altars in your life and family with a solid foundation so they will not be moved, no matter what comes your way?
Do you want to impact society for good and see people transformed by the power of God?
Do you want to overcome the giants in your life?
Do you want to move in the counsel of God? Do you want to see the reversal of evil laws and new ones coming from Heaven to Earth?
Do you want to move in the daily anointing of God with power demonstrations of signs and wonders and see people dramatically impacted?
Do you want to continue on the journey of enlarging, growing, becoming, and being a radical voice that breaks outside the church walls and opens them for a powerful demonstration of the Holy Spirit?
Do you want to have powerful prophetic words for the people you meet?
Do you want people to be astounded in seeing the demonized delivered, the broken and suffering so that people will say the God of the Bible is ALIVE - and He is HERE?
Do you want to be just like Elijah and call forth life on those who are emotionally and spiritually dead? Do you want to be able to speak life to them and the people they love?
Then it is time to deal with compromise and repent of sin in your life so that the Holy Spirit can show you those areas there needs to be humility and reconciliation. Repentance and humility break the power of the enemy in our lives!
The Fire of God
Elijah moved with a demonstration of power and fire. Is there any demonstration of God moving in power, passion, and fire in your life or church? Too many leaders just want 'balance' and are intimidated and offended by the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, so they shut Him down because they don't understand what is happening when His presence comes. People display emotions or even tremble and shake under the anointing of God because they are going through a deep tenderizing and reawakening of their first love for Jesus.
We need to be a people where there is a spiritual commotion because Jesus is walking in the house! We need to be able to move and meet Jesus. He moved in a paradigm of signs and wonders. The unsaved could hardly wait to get to Him because they wanted what He had!
Jesus moved in the midst of real life and went into the world to the people touching, healing, speaking, and teaching. That is the Elijah anointing. That is the anointing Jesus had ans we can have through the power of the Holy Spirit.
There needs to be a fresh cry in our hearts that says, "Come, Holy Spirit, we want a fresh touch of Your presence. We want the same anointing of Elijah and rebuild the altars in our life and church that displays the power and authority of the Holy Spirit.
As we close, I leave you with questions for the heart.
Are people asking you if they can have what you have?
Is there a cry in you to see people run to Jesus and move in the radical things of God?
Is there so much fire on the altar in your church that you hear the sounds of weeping and intercession?
Are you crying and weeping for your family, church, and city for those who are lost?
Prayer and Altar Call:
Lord Jesus, I want You to bring a cleansing and a refining fire so that I can be clean before You and radically hear Your voice so that I can bring healing to others. I desire to walk powerfully in Your authority to transform my society dramatically. Place people on my heart whose passions have been taken captive by the enemy, and show me how to pray effectively for them. I want to move in signs and wonders. Pour over me now the anointing and fire of the Holy Spirit! Thank You for giving me the strength to resist temptation and overcome the enemy. I love You and want to serve You! Amen!
