GIVE UP the Ghost

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit:’ and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” Luke 23:46 (KJV)

At the end of December 2017, I heard the words “give up the ghost.” During that specific moment in time, I had absolutely no idea what that meant but I KNEW God was speaking to me personally. That’s the thing I love about God, He gives you a Word in every season. He gives the Word to you in whatever way He speaks to you before you go into something or as you are going through something – a snippet before its fullness unfolds.  

Since that day; and even now, my life has become more of an INTERNAL battle. I can literally feel the war. The temper has flared up, frustration has climbed new levels, patience and tolerance are itching me, the tongue goes wild every now and then… BOOM! The bomb has really gone off. Paul’s words in Romans 7 & 8 resonate in my whole being. They’re becoming ALIVE on the inside.

At first, I was like “Lord, what is happening to me?” I automatically assumed that everything that was happening to me was a bad thing. Then I remembered the words of Pastor Philip, “let it come up and come out,” messages spoken by our Pastors and other ministers in church about our flesh being strong; we ourselves being too strong… DING DING DING!!! #LightBulbMoment.

The Word I heard came to mind again – give up the Ghost. Even though Luke 23:46 is referring to Jesus giving up His spirit; dying on the cross to move into the next phase of God’s divine plan for us, what God has been saying to me through this Word is GIVE UP YOUR FLESH. The scripture now takes on a new meaning for me. 

Through this Word, God is saying, “Stop fighting me. Give up your flesh.” I must give up MY WAYS. In order to go to the next level, the flesh MUST die. I must give up my ghost– my soul (will, mind, emotions), heart and spirit. EVERYTHING I am, I MUST give to Him. I must STOP FIGHTING HIM.

Welcome to the process friends… or as Pastor Isaac calls it, METAMORPHOSIS.

Of course the battle is intense because the flesh doesn’t like the spirit and the spirit doesn’t like the flesh – they’re at enmity with one another (Romans 8:7). The flesh doesn't want to die! You really begin to meet your other side… your Mr.Hyde. However, we must still give up our flesh. 

God has been telling us as a house that the Holy Spirit is coming in a greater measure and the Church will not be able to hold Him. Isn’t it ironic that this is one of the Words for 2018, but just before it God tells me to, “give up the ghost?”

I’m here to say that the struggle is real but SO IS GOD. God tells us to pick up our cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23). As hard as it can be; especially when we don’t want to, WE MUST stay connected to God and daily give up our ghost – our flesh. It’s challenging but the more we find ourselves in His presence, the easier it will become because there is more of Him and less of us (John 3:30). 

Be encouraged to die and keep dying to your flesh… give up your ghost to receive His.

BY STACEY SPENCER

Built to Last

Over the past few months I have been overwhelmed by the leading of the Holy Spirit. There is a call for us to come higher, to mature and give more of ourselves to God. This call requires a response not by word but by action. Sometimes I find giving God more of me or stepping out deeper in faith is overwhelming.

In order to manage this overwhelming feeling and to navigate through the tornados of life to climb higher with the Lord, I have been trying to learn to take selah moments. A selah moment is taking time to pause, reflect, assess, and then respond. I would like to invite you as the reader to use this time as a selah moment. Let's pause, reflect, and assess your walk with the Lord. So I pose the same question I have been contemplating for the past month:

Are you building to last? Are you building your spiritual life to last?

The word build has been used a lot within our church over the past few years. We call our Bible study Building in the Spirit, and we have also spent a lot of time on the topic ‘building a strong spirit.’ The word build is defined as, ‘to construct (something) by putting parts or material together; or to make, become stronger or more intense.’

So are you constructing your life to last? Are you building your spiritual life to become stronger so that you can overcome daily challenges with God; not with sin? Do your daily decisions and what you spend your time doing help you end your day connected to God? Are you as passionate and determined for the things of God, or are you now just going along with the form of Christianity denying that God is living and powerful?

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus teaches His disciples about building themselves on the right foundation. A person who builds himself on a rock is a person who hears what God is saying and does it. Jesus calls this man a wise man, he is able to stand in every type of weather and not fall. A person who builds himself on sand is a person who hears what God is saying and does not do it. Jesus calls this man a foolish man, he is unable to stand in bad weather and will fall.

Question: Are you a wise man or a foolish man? Are you building yourself on the rock or on the sand? Are you hearing what God is saying, and doing it; or are you hearing what God is saying and not doing it?

It is the action of doing or not doing that determines whether you are building to last. Let us not be ignorant to the enemies devices. Many have been a part of the body of Christ and have fallen away for this very reason; they built wrong. They heard but did not do.

We must think soberly so we do not fall into the same wrong pattern because let's be honest, it can easily be done. In 1Corinthians 3:10-11, Paul informs the church of Corinth that as a wise master builder he has laid the foundation, but he then warns them, ‘let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.’

Let us hear the same warning today, ‘take heed how you build on your foundation.’ For your only foundation should be Jesus Christ and what He is saying because anything else cannot stand against the arrows of the enemy. We must build our spiritual life to be able to stand in every season. Regardless of how things may look or feel, we are called to trust and obey. There is no other way to STAND in Jesus.

Selah

BY CHARLENE-KERR-SPENCER

References

Definitions: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/build

Images: Pixabay.com