The Spirit Of Wisdom And Understanding Series

If you claim to be spirit filled and no one can see Jesus being shown through your or growing inside of you, then that’s not the Spirit of God influencing you.

Growing up and going through confirmation class I remember reading through the beatitudes in Matthew 5 through 7. I remember Jesus saying that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the religious class Which was the Pharisees and the Sadducees that were their pastors their priests that you had no chance of reaching heaven. Maybe I was absent the day they discussed the gospel and why Jesus went to the cross or I just never really paid attention because I found it boring and would rather skip confirmation and go to the arcade. Probably more of the latter than the former.

In spite of all of this- I went through both years of confirmation classes, and I got to know some of the pastors there. I learned to admire them h because I knew they had the instant ticket in the heaven that I would never get anywhere close to earning.

Then I got saved and discipled in the things of God and what the Bible had to say about Jesus, sin, the cross, and the way of salvation. I came to understand that Jesus came to die for me and if I confessed my sins, turned from my sins, and trusted in him I could also see heaven someday.

However, some of that pastor admiration carried over from my early years. As is appropriate, in the early days of my Christian life I have great respect and admiration for anyone in any spiritual position of authority. But, I kind of thought of them as people who got the golden ticket like in the Willy Wonka movie and they were set for eternity.

Then I got called in the ministry. As I grew in what God was doing in me, I got access to meeting some of my spiritual heroes. John Kilpatrick- the pastor who led the Brownsville Revival. Steve Hill- the evangelist who did most of the speaking at Brownsville. I helped organize and run a 1000 person men’s conference at my church with very famous celebrity pastors and speakers. I got to meet and hangout with many of them.

Do you know what I found out being around all these great men and women of God?

There were people. Human beings with the same flaws and issues I had.

Unfortunately, I have also met a few celebrity pastors who were prima-donna’s who showed nothing of the character of Jesus until the spotlight was on them and they did their performance before flying away to the next one. Many of the got caught up in scandals and had to leave the ministry.

But that is our litmus test isn’t it?

It’s not about how well they preach, how well they can play and sing or perform in the name of Jesus.

It’s all about if we can see Jesus in them when the spotlight is not on.

Bringing it back to today’s subject-

The Holy Spirit function is To reveal Jesus within you so that when other people look at you they don't see you but see Him.

Just to clarify- I love a revival atmosphere when the Holy Spirit is moving among the people.

I love the expressive worship and watching people be filled with the Holy Spirit and healed of lifelong issues.