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  Manifesting the Spirit of Heaven by Zac Poonen

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the most invisible of all the ministries in the Godhead. He encourages and helps in a silent, invisible way, without even wanting recognition or credit for His work. He is quite content for people to praise the Father and Jesus alone, and to be left out of the picture altogether. What a beautiful ministry. What does it mean then to be filled with such a Spirit? It must mean that we will be like Him, content to have a ministry like His - silent, invisible, receiving no credit, and content for the credit to go to others. Are we indeed filled with this Spirit? Many who claim to be "filled with the Holy Spirit" today however seek such prominence for themselves through the exercise of their gifts on Christian platforms, promote themselves, and seek for money for themselves. All this is anything but the work of the Holy Spirit. All this is the work of some other spirit counterfeiting the Holy Spirit, and it is our duty in the church to expose such counterfeit and deception.

One of the aspects of heaven is seen in Revelation 4:10. There we read that the elders "cast their crowns down before God". No-one but Jesus will have a crown on His head in heaven. All the rest of us will be ordinary brothers and sisters there. There are no special brothers or sisters in heaven. Those who seek to be special brothers or sisters in the church bring the atmosphere of hell into the church. We will also never boast of anything when we stand before the Father. Everything that we have, we will cast down before Him. In heaven, no-one will ever say "This is mine", concerning anything he may have (not even concerning the crown that he received).

When the atmosphere of heaven begins to pervade our churches, we too will never again say concerning anything that we may have, "This is mine". Everything will be considered as God's and therefore as available freely for the spread of God's kingdom on earth.

Every miser and every selfish person who lives for himself and his own gain is under the control of Satan. It is a great grief to God's heart that there is no fellowship between millions of His children on earth. So many have bitterness against others. Others are self-righteous Pharisees who imagine that God has chosen only them and not the others. God is distressed with both these groups of His children - for they are all frustrating His purpose for the church.

The most valuable brother and sister in any church is the one who can bring the atmosphere of heaven into a church and who can build fellowship between the brothers and sisters in that church. And this need not necessarily be the elder brother. All of us have the opportunity to become such valuable brothers and sisters.

Think if there is a brother or a sister in a church, who whenever he/she comes into a meeting or into a home, is like a pure breeze from heaven blowing through the room. What a precious brother/sister such a person is! Even if he stops by and visits you for just five minutes, you feel refreshed. You feel as if heaven came into your home for five minutes! He may not have given you a sermon or even a word of revelation from the Scriptures. But he was so pure. He was not moody or gloomy and had no complaints against anyone. Such a brother may never speak first in a meeting (as many have the lust to do). He may speak fifteenth in every meeting perhaps, and that too for just three minutes. But those will be three minutes of heaven in the meeting!

Since the world is full of complainers and murmurers, it is so refreshing to meet a brother like that. It is just like having a bath, on a hot, sticky day! That is the type of brother/sister that we all should long to be like. Jesus was like that and He wants to make us like that too.


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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon

 2018/9/28 16:15Profile
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 Re: Manifesting the Spirit of Heaven by Zac Poonen

"There are no special brothers or sisters in heaven. Those who seek to be special brothers or sisters in the church bring the atmosphere of hell into the church.
. . .
Every miser and every selfish person who lives for himself and his own gain is under the control of Satan.
. . .
The most valuable brother and sister in any church is the one who can bring the atmosphere of heaven into a church and who can build fellowship between the brothers and sisters in that church. And this need not necessarily be the elder brother. All of us have the opportunity to become such valuable brothers and sisters."

 2018/9/30 3:23Profile
DEADn
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 Re: Manifesting the Spirit of Heaven by Zac Poonen

Quote:

When the atmosphere of heaven begins to pervade our churches, we too will never again say concerning anything that we may have, "This is mine". Everything will be considered as God's and therefore as available freely for the spread of God's kingdom on earth.



I don't agree with the wording of this especially using the word 'Atmosphere'. It is what pentecostals use to say God is here so if we don't feel Atmosphere then God isn't there? With them it begins and ends with music. Ever seen an altar call done without music? It doesn't happen because the Word is not enough. 'Atmosphere' also equals a call to emotions.

What the church needs is bible preaching and a call to repentance. Law and Gospel. How many people today, even in the church, even know what the Gospel is? Atmosphere isn't going to do that. Gospel preaching will.


John


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John

 2018/10/1 7:55Profile
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Some years back I stepped into the back of the Baptist church in Barnsdall, OK. There was a small gathering of believers at the front of the church - I can not remember exactly what they were doing at the moment I stepped in, but it was very quiet. Before the door even closed behind me, tears started flowing down my cheeks and I had to leave because the sweetness that enveloped me was almost too much to bear. "The atmosphere of heaven" would be a good description, and when He flows forth, nothing else really matters.

 2018/10/2 1:56Profile
StirItUp
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 Re:

Hi John,

You say:"'Atmosphere' also equals a call to emotions."

I don't think this is what is meant here. There may be abuses and emotionalism in certain congregations but that is certainly not the same as the "tangible" presence of God manifest in and among His people. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. We have spiritual senses too. You cannot discern or understand spiritual realities simply with the intellect, which is what you are appealing for.

You can preach the bible and sow death because it is all intellectual and based only on the mind and its understanding. Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit such preaching is in vain.

"The letter kills, it is the Spirit Who gives life"

A truly Spirit filled person, speaking by the Spirit the Words of God will carry an anointing, a presence of God on his message and the hearers will know, this was more than a message, this was heaven sent, God breathed, Spirit driven.

Blessings,


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William

 2018/10/2 8:38Profile
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 Re:

I would rather have the atmosphere of heaven than anything else I can think of.

“I'm sick to death of the so-called Christianity of our day. What's supernatural about it? When do people come out of the sanctuary awed and can't speak for an hour because God has been in glory there? Dear God, as soon as they get out, they're talking football, or sports or something or there's going to be a big sale downtown or somewhere. We are not caught up into eternity!” ~~Leonard Ravenhill


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Todd

 2018/10/2 10:58Profile
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 Re:

The presence of God in the Church and a convicting word from God leading to repentance are always connected. One cannot be separated from other. It is not good to separate them and say we need only preaching and not the feeling of God's presence.

1 Cor 14:24 - But if an unbeliever or uninstructed person comes in while everyone is prophesying, he will be convicted and called to account by all, 25and the secrets of his heart will be revealed. So he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is truly among you!”

Where did this unbeliever feel the presence of God? IN the atmosphere surrounding the believers who were prophesying. How did he feel the presence of God? Through a convicting word.

If God is present in our Church meetings then we will not return from the meeting empty. We will have something that the Lord wants us to turn from which we would have heard clearly. If not either we became Christ like with no need for Repentance, or We did not meet God.


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Sreeram

 2018/10/3 16:59Profile
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 Re:

Too Many Christians think it is all about atmosphere. No.......its not.......that becomes mysticism. It plays tricks on the emotions thinking God is there when it is your emotions making you believe he is there. We see these tricks in pentecostal and charismatics circles. I used to be in it. Even some baptist churches are taking part because the Word of God is not enough anymore.

SREE got it right.

Quote:

Where did this unbeliever feel the presence of God? IN the atmosphere surrounding the believers who were prophesying. How did he feel the presence of God? Through a convicting word.

If God is present in our Church meetings then we will not return from the meeting empty. We will have something that the Lord wants us to turn from which we would have heard clearly. If not either we became Christ like with no need for Repentance, or We did not meet God.



Even things like the Gregorian chants are not the 'Presence of God'. It is mysticism. Look up mysticism and its attributes. It is the same thing..............there is no Word of God there. Just repeating words over and over again like a mantra.

Mysticism uses atmosphere to say 'God is here' but the Word of God preaches that God is here and calls us all to repent and partake of his body and blood in communion and to learn of Him through His Word and in prayer.


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John

 2018/10/3 22:09Profile
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 Re:

Quote:

I would rather have the atmosphere of heaven than anything else I can think of.

“I'm sick to death of the so-called Christianity of our day. What's supernatural about it? When do people come out of the sanctuary awed and can't speak for an hour because God has been in glory there? Dear God, as soon as they get out, they're talking football, or sports or something or there's going to be a big sale downtown or somewhere. We are not caught up into eternity!” ~~Leonard Ravenhill




This quote is a bit deceiving because what does 'supernatural' mean in this context and what does it not mean? Not speaking for hours doesn't change a man's heart. It only shuts his mouth but we love the circus of it because it is somehow supernatural of God..........is it really? Rodney Howard Brownes mom can't speak when he asks her to talk about her experience with God........would you classify Rodney as of God? I would not...........He has people laughing while teaching false doctrine and because they are laughing their guard is down so they can't discern it.

Law and Gospel. Love and grace. Sacrifice and answered prayer........these are the supernatural things of God.

In the end.......what is Leonard talking about when he says 'supernatural'?


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John

 2018/10/3 22:18Profile





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