Daily Bread - 05/28/07
Acts 21:9 - And this one had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
One of the many blessings of raising our children in the house of God where the Spirit of God has free course to minister is the effect that it has on them - especially when the parents themselves are full of the Holy Spirit. Philip the evangelist who had not been mentioned since his great evangelistic work in Acts chapter 8 had four daughters full of the Holy Spirit. There is little doubt that Philip continued to play a significant role in advancing the gospel and is not mentioned only because of the focus on the exploits of God through the Apostle Paul.
One of the great privileges of growing up in the first century church was the place that the Holy Spirit was given (John 14:26; Acts 1:2, 4:31, 5:3, 8:15, 10:38, 13:52, 15:8, 16:6, 19:2, 20:23, 28, 21:11; Romans 14:17, 15:13, 1 Corinthians 2:13). Everyone understood that the church meetings were to be run by the Holy Spirit and they devoted themselves to the activity of His manifestation in their meetings (1 Corinthians 12:7; Acts 2:4, 20:28; John 16:12-13). As a result, there were plenty of examples of men and women full of the gifts of the Holy Spirit who modeled Christian living.
Today if we will hunger for the same demonstration of the Spirit of God and give ourselves over to contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the church we will once again see the same awesome display of the Holy Spirit presiding over our meetings (Jude 1:3). With such devotion our children will grow up in the presence of the mighty display of the power of God and will themselves be full of the Spirit.
The gift of prophecy - like all of the other gifts - operates according to the proportion of faith that has been imparted by the grace of God (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10, 14:6, 31; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17). Unfortunately, if we fail to recognize that these things are available to us then there will be no witness of them and the expectation and hunger to function in this realm will be absent. If there is no expectation of these gifts and blessings of God then there will be no development of our faith for them. Let us till up the fallow ground that lies barren in the house of God and plant the seeds of the word of God that they may spring up full of the wonderful manifestations of the Holy Spirit and His power. For without the display of the power of the Holy Spirit the church remains unseen.
Be blessed!
Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org
About Me
- Carol L
- San Diego area, California, United States
- I started this blog back in 2005, but in 2006 began dedicating it solely for the purpose of posting email messages called, Daily Bread, sent out Monday through Saturday by my pastor, Mark Spitsbergen. These daily emails contain fresh revelation that Mark gets from the Word of God by the Holy Spirit for that day for the church that God has called him to pastor, Abiding Place. 1 Peter 4:11 says, "If any man speak let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister let him do it as of the ability which God gives that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen." Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (John 14:6), and He says, "The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are Life." (John 6:63). For the Word of God is quick (alive), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12).
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