The Sevenfold Outward Working of the Holy Spirit (continued)

I want to bring to your attention the words, “The seven Spirits which are before his throne” (Rev. 1:4). The message of the book of Revelation is very important for the end days. Please do not be careless about reading it, for even though you cannot understand many details, there is no need to worry. As you prayerfully go through this book with childlike faith, God will reveal many mysteries. You can never learn hidden meaning through books, preachers, commentaries or other means. According to our need we are taught of God the hidden mysteries, I have found much blessing by simply going to Him in faith. From the beginning of my Christian life I know the Bible is the Word of God, but I had to go to it a hundred times before I begun to see its deep meaning. I want to share with you what God has shown me.

The main message of the book is, God wants us to be with Him upon the throne. He is not satisfied by forgiving our sins only. He is longing to work in us till we are with Him upon the throne. The Lord says in chapter 3:21: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” The throne means kingdom, dominion, power and authority. God wants us to have « share in all this and He has made every provision to bring us to His throne. He wants us only to obey Him and follow Him and He tells us how to do so. It is to this end that we are given these words: “The seven Spirits.” You say, “I know my weakness, how I fail God every day.” We all do. When I point my finger at others my own hand convicts me. There are four fingers pointing towards me and one towards you, which means I have four weaknesses while you have only one. Nene of us are free from shortcomings and failures but praise God for His wonderful salvation! He is able to lift us up high and keep us upon the throne, provided we give the Holy Spirit full freedom-to do His work in us.

The number seven is repeated many times in the Bible, and stands for perfection and completion. There are seven churches, and these represent the whole Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Similarly, the Bible speaks of a book with seven seals, a book which contains perfect knowledge, about things so far hidden. The number seven indicates God’s perfection, which means that if I permit the Holy Spirit to work in me daily, fully and freely, I shall rise higher and higher till I reach God’s throne. This is something impossible to do by myself.

We have seen the sevenfold work which the Holy Spirit accomplishes in us, both inwardly and outwardly. God works in us according to our willingness to be possessed and used by Him.

Now we shall see the sevenfold work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

How did the Holy Spirit work in Christ? In Luke 1:34, 35 we read: “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” That is the first great work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and not by human activity.

In the same way we also are born again by the Holy Spirit and not by human wisdom or cleverness. No matter how many sermons we hear they cannot accomplish in us the work of salvation. The Lord told Peter the same thing in Matthew 16: 15-17, “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven”. Peter had been with the Lord Jesus for three years. What a privilege! He forsook all and followed Him and for three years saw every miracle He had done; and heard every sermon He had preached. When Peter said, “ Thou art the Christ,” the Lord said, “Don’t think Simon, that you understand Me because you are with Me; don’t think you understand Me by seeing My miracles, or by your own cleverness. My Heavenly Father has revealed this to you.” Unless the Holy Spirit comes into us, none of us can know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour. For salvation is not by sermons or human activity, or reasoning Or argument; but by the work of the Holy Spirit in divine revelation. By that alone I realize that He died for me, personally, and it was by that personal revelation that the work of the Gospel began and spread to many paris of the world.

I have often told this story, but I will tell it again, An artist in Germany was painting a portrait of a young girl, In his studio was a painting of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. This young girl had never before seen such a painting. She was curious and kept asking: “Who is that person?” The artist tried to avoid answering, but she was persistent, and at last he said vaguely, “He is the One Who died for the world.” “He must have been a very great person to die like this’, she said, “! wish I had known Him.” She came to realize that if the Lord Jesus Christ died for the world, He had died for her and she believed, and loved Him in return. One day she sent a message to the artist: “I am very ill, will you please come and see me before I die? I want to see you and thank you.” The artist came and saw the dying girl, but her face was shining with perfect peace. She said, “Sir, I want to thank you for introducing me to the Lord Jesus Christ. Till I came into your studio, I never knew Who the Lord Jesus was. It was there I heard something about Him. Now I know that He died for my sins. I know He has forgiven me, and I am going to Him,” with that she closed her eyes peacefully and slept in death.

The artist thought, “How strange! That portrait of Christ has been lying in my studio for so many years but I am the same man. The knowledge that changed her has not changed me”. For a long time he sat thinking, till the love of the crucified Christ filled his heart, and he wept in repentance and also believed. Then he said: “Now I shall paint another picture of the Lord Jesus on the Cross.” For many months he laboured on the picture and after finishing it he wrote at the bottom—“All this I did for thee, what hast thou done for Me?”

Years later, when the artist had passed away, the picture hung in an art gallery in Germany, and many came and looked at it and went away. But one man, Count Zinzendorf by name came there and could not leave the place. Again and again he read the words, “‘ All this I did for thee, what hast thou done for Me?” For hours he stood there till closing time. For the first time in his life he realized that Christ had died for him also, and there in the art gallery he knelt down not caring who saw him and gave himself to Christ. Later he gave all his wealth and property for Gospel work. That is how the work of the Moravian Mission began, Zinzendorf became the founder of the Mission, It was through the Moravians that Wesley was born again on his way to America.

This proves to us that it is not by reasoning, but by the Holy Spirit that the eyes of the spirit are opened. You may argue with someone for years, and nothing happens. But as soon as we begin to pray something begins to happen. It was like that with my father. After my conversion, he read the whole Bible. He said to me, “Yes it is a wonderful book but I cannot say this is the only book.” I said, “I am not going to argue with you. I shall only pray for you. The day will come, I am sure, when the Lord will deal with you and will know this is the only book.” He read it a second time- the whole Bible, then the third time. He said to me, “Yes it is a wonderful book but I cannot say the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Saviour,”

One day we were having a meeting in my own home town. About ten to fifteen Hindus got together and tried to stop the meeting with stones. After the message was over the people knelt and began to pray. One sister began a chorus, “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!” They sang the chorus again and again with tears. The - Hindus got up and went outside, then came in and out stamping with their shoes on the floor and trying to disturb us, However, no one took any notice though for half an hour they kept going out and coming in again. That night my father was there. He said to me, “Now I am convinced that there is some power in these meetings. They tried their best to disturb but they could not.” I saw those Hindus myself. That night I saw my father saying, “ Lord have mercy on me. Lord have mercy on me. I am a sinner. Have mercy on me.” After a while he went for a high court case, saw an empty church; feeling very tired he went inside to take rest. Suddenly he saw a bright light before him and heard these words, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.’ My father said, “Lord Jesus, You have saved my son, save me also.” Then he told me, “Now I know this is the only Book.” He humbled himself and was baptized and his face shone as he witnessed in baptism, Now he has gone to Glory, but I know we shall meet again.

Unless we learn to pray for people, for their salvation, they will not be saved. We think sometimes that by worldly methods and cleverness, by good preaching and music we can save many souls. This is deception. The real work of God is wrought only by the Holy Spirit. We cannot leave Him out, however clever we may be. The Lord Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit. Our eyes can be opened only by the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:3 tells us: “I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.” This is a very important truth for salvation. Parents can pray for the conversion of their children, friends and neighbours - pray, “Lord, save my brother, my sister, my wife, my husband or my children” and through your faith God can send the Holy Spirit into their hearts. Then they will grow, and learn to face any trial or persecution. John 2:23-25 reads: “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.” That was the first time the Lord Jesus came to the Temple. When He performed a miracle, many began shouting “He’s the Messiah! He’s the Messiah”. The Lord said: “I don’t believe in you. I know tomorrow you will say, Crucify Him! crucify Him!”

The Second work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is found in Luke 3:21-22. “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” Our Lord began His earthly ministry by prayer. This was His first occasion of public appearance, and as He was baptized He prayed, and as the heavens were opened the Holy Spirit came down upon Him. Then came the Voice, “This is my beloved Son.” This is the test of the true fulness of the Holy Spirit. Many people are deceived in this matter and want some other sign for fulness, but the seal of the Voice of God is the true sign of fulness. Before the Lord began His public ministry He was filled with the Holy Spirit. See also Luke 4:1, “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness”, So my sure test of the fulness of the Holy Spirit is the ability to hear the voice of God daily. Before I lie down, I ask, “Lord, are You satisfied with my life? Are You satisfied with my ministry? fam not going to be governed by number, by what people say. Lord, are You satisfied?” He says, “Yes my son, now go to bed. I am satisfied”. That is my test whether there was only one person in a meeting or a thousand.

The Lord’s baptism was a foreshadow of His death, burial and resurrection. The Lord showed in a simple way that if we want His fulness, we have to identify ourselves with His death, burial and resurrection, and then we have the fulness. We have the same thought in Rev. 5:6, “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into ali the earth,” Imagine the Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes standing before the throne. We have seen that the throne means a kingdom— Rev. 17:12, “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.” So these seven horns of the Lamb speak of the everlasting kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was slain to establish His kingdom for eternity. Dan. 7:14 proclaims: “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel was made to see that all worldly kingdoms would come to an end. He saw a great image with a head of gold, arms of silver, body of brass, legs of iron, fect partly iron and partly clay, Then he saw the stone cut without hands which first broke the feet. then the legs, and the thighs, the breast, and the head, and they all became like chaff. The wind came and they were all blown away, but the stone itself became a mighty mountain which filled the whole earth. I remember reading about Napoleon. When he became a prisoner in St. Helena, he started reading the Bible. Before he died, he wrote these words. “ Men like me and Caesar, Alexander the Great and King Frederick the Great have tried to establish great kingdoms but have failed.” Whatever they did was only for a time but Napoleon added: “The Carpenter of Galilee has founded a Kingdom which shall never pass away, and that Carpenter has won my heart.” Those were his last words,

The Lamb died to establish an eternal, heavenly kingdom, so that we can be partakers of that Kingdom. In Rev. 5:6 we read: seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God.” These eyes are the seven Spirits of God. The Lord wants us to understand that if we want the fulness of the Holy Spirit then, we must first come under the Kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ. He must be the King of our heart, home and church. We must first welcome Him by faith as the King of our heart. First He is our Saviour and then our King and we must allow Him to govern and control our whole being and all of our life. Only thus can we have the fulness of the Holy Spirit.

You can never separate the work of the Cross and the Holy Spirit. As we bring ourselves under the Kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ we are cleansed and washed by His precious blood from our inner defilement, and we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Many want the Holy Spirit without the blood. It is impossible. We cannot get Him by rolling on the ground or by screaming, or by fleshly or soulish activity of any kind. I struggled for two years after my conversion, praying for hours, “Lard 7 want Thy fulness, Thy fulness, Thy fulness.” I thought that perhaps by seeing some light, dream, vision or sign I would have the fulness. One night the Lord appeared to me and asked, “Tell me, how were your sins forgiven?” “Lord, I believed I was the greatest of sinners and that Your blood was shed for my sins, and You forgave me.” The Lord suid, “Then believe now, you are the weakest person and you will have My power.” Like a flash I realized I was to depend upon the Lord for every word I would speak. Then why had the Lord made me a stammerer? I used to ask, “Lord, why am I a Stutterer and stammerer? How can such a man be a preacher? I cannot freely express my thoughts: words do not come to me, and I am helpless and embarrassed!’ But the Lord said: “You depend upon Me.” And He gave me His word. I had to pray every day, “Lord, touch my lips, my tongue and my throat, for by myself I cannot speak.” The Lord heard my prayer. Now Iam depending upon Him alone for every word I speak. Before I go anywhere I ask Him. Even for small things I ask, “Lord, can I go to sleep? Cun I do this? Can I do that?” My time, my money and my body belong to Him. Everything belongs to Him, I must consult Him Who is the King of my heart, my brain, my hands, my feet and my whole being. So I pray, “ Lord, will You please cleanse me by Your blood from inward defilement caused by thought, word, and deed?’ I need daily, constant cleansing. We see in 1 John 1:7 that the blood of Jesus Christ goes on cleansing us constantly like a fountain.

The Lord’s baptism shows our identification with Him in His death, burial and resurrection and we have His fulness, the sign of which is His own approval. Wait patiently on your knees every morning, meditating on His Word saying: “Lord, speak to me, here am I, speak to me,” and when He says, “Yes My son, or My daughter, My child, I am satisfied with thee; do not worry, go in peace, I am with thee” then you start your day and its tasks.

Thirdly in Acts 10:38 we read: “...God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” That was the third work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He went about doing good with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In other words, He never performed, any miracle of His own choice.

For example see John 2: 1-4. “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.” Mary thought that being His mother, she could command Him. “Now my Son, we are embarrassed, will You please come and do something?” He was not going to do it because she asked, He was doing His Father’s will, Whatever He did He did it with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and not because of human sympathy or preference.

John 4:4 reads: “And he must needs go through Samaria’. Probably the disciples wondered why the Lord was going that way. There are two routes going fram Judea to Galilee. You can go either through Samaria to Galilee, or take another route via Carmel. The Jews usually would not go via Samaria because they would not drink water or take food from the Samaritans. But the Lord insisted on going that way, as He later said to them in John 4:34, “ My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” He went through Samaria to do the Father’s will to help the needy woman in Samaria. He went about doing good at God’s command, at the compulsion of the Father’s will. One great purpose of the Holy Spirit is to send us to someone who is in need. We cannot help everyone. Sometimes God tells us to go and see someone and we find that person sick or sorrowful, or in trouble, or discouraged, or in some other need, and they say: “You came just in time.” We need to find out daily by prayer: “Lord, is there someone in need today?”

Once I was in Nairobi in Africa. I was staying with a friend. He said to me, “Bakht Singh, there is a wonderful zoo here. People come from many parts of the world to see it. I shall take leave tomorrow and take you there. For miles around one sees many kinds of animals walking about, trans, tigers, and other animals.” In the morning when I prayed, the Lord said, “Don’t go to the zoo. Someone wants to see you.” Sal said to my friend, “I am sorry. I am not coming today to the zoo.” “What,” he said, “not coming? People come from all parts of the world to see it. It is a wonderful sight. You must come.” I said, “No, I haven’t come to see monkeys and donkeys. I have a great service for God.” When I went to “Air - India” I got a message, “Someone has come to see you.” There was a man who said to me, “Brother, I have travelled the whole night by bus fram Mombasa, to come and see you.” Mombasa is 500 miles south of Nairobi. He said he had heard that I would be passing Mombasa, but had missed me, so he had come personally to see me. After we had lunch, he said, “I have got some friends from India. They may like to meet you.” So we both went together in a taxi and saw those friends, and they said to me, “We have also got some friends, they too would like to meet you.” So they took me in their car to another home and I met some people who had been born again and baptised in Madras in 1940. They said, “Brother, we have been praying that God would send you to us.” I did not know they were there, nor their address. In about 10 minutes, we had a wonderful meeting. What a joy it was! But for God’s guidance, I might have spent the time watching monkeys and donkeys. God is so great. I met, instead, some people who wanted God’s message.

If we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, God gives us a message of comfort, cheer, hope or salvation. By Him we know how to go here and there in His service and life becomes fruitful.

Fourthly, Isaiah 11: 2-5. “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” This is the fourth work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, - perfect wisdom. Every word He uttered had power and authority. See Matthew 7:29, “For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” See again John 7:46, “The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.” The officers trembled at His words. Again in John 8:5-9, “Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the. midst.” These men were fully convinced that they had caught Him. Imagine them with their long beards and robes. They said, “Now Master, this woman was caught in the very act of sin. By our law, such a person must be stoned. What do You say?” They knew full well that He had been saying, “I have come to save sinners,” and they wanted Him to say it again so that they would tell the people that He was against their law, and He would be caught. They kept quiet and thought, “Now we have caught Him, now we have caught Him”. They were so sure. But the story says, beginning at the eldest they all went away. He knew them all, and knew them well. He knew who was the eldest and who was the youngest, because He knows everyone, “Mr. So and So, you are 69 years and 4 months old. What about that sin of yours?” And that man quietly slips away. Then the second one - “Now Mr. So and So, your age is 65 years and 3 months and 5 days. How about that sin?” - he disappears, Then the third one, “Mr. So and So, your age is 49 years, what about that sin?” He also disappears. Scripture says - beginning at the eldest they all went away one by one. “He who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone”. What wisdom! what wisdom! Perfect wisdom and perfect love! With that wisdom, He could confound the enemy.

It is not by worldly wisdom that we can win souls. People think that with cleverness, modern methods and worldly wisdom we can have a revival but it is not possible. We require divine, heavenly, spiritual wisdom and authority and also love. We read in John 8:11: “She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” What love! He forgave her and also changed her. He commanded; “Go and sin no more” and gave her power to do so.

In Luke 20:1-8 we read: “AND it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, And spake unto him saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.” With these few words, He confounded them. They devised a big plan but could not catch Him. By one word, He confounded them. Such was His divine, heavenly and perfect wisdom, His love and authority.

Again in Luke 20, verses 21 to 26; “And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly. neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly: Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s and unto God the things which be God's. And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.” They marvelled because of His wisdom. And at such times God can give us also His wisdom. Whenever we have to talk to someone about the Lord, ask for His wisdom, and He will give His perfect wisdom.

Once I was giving out tracts. I gave a Gospel booklet to a Hindu and he said, “I don’t want this foreign book.” “You call this a foreign book but how about your cigarette?” I asked him. He was smoking a foreign made cigarette. I said, “Here you are spending your money on a foreign made cigarette, and you don’t want to read this wonderful book?” He threw the cigarette away. I said, “So far the book has not come into your hands, and the cigarette has gone. You buy the book and you will be abundantly blessed.”

Another time when I was in a train, I met a Roman Catholic priest. As he came inside he offered me a cigar. I politely refused. I started to give my testimony to him. Then he said to me, “Why are you giving your testimony? Are you the only one in the world who is a Christian?” I said, “No. When you came in the train you offered me a cigar, because you like it. You offered me what you like. I offer you what I like.” So he said, “Quite right, quite right.” Then he became interested. By such simple answer we can confound the enemy. That is why we are given divine wisdom to be able to confound the enemy by a few words - no arguments, no reasoning, no intelligence, but God’s message. Pray as you go outside, “Lord give me Thy message.” The Lord Jesus Christ confounded all those who came to Him with one question after another. He spoke only a few words and they were put to shame.

Fifthly, in Isaiah 42:1 to 4 we read, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.” These words speak of Christ - Jehovah’s servant. Without any worldly weapon, He was to establish His kingdom, not by striving or by shouting. See verse 2, “He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street”. By love, kindness, and truth He would win the world, He said in John 12:32, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” He is not drawing men unto Himself by any worldly weapon or authority or power but by His love. As people begin to see hew He died for their sins in their stead, it will draw them to Him. People think that by sending milk powder to India, they can draw men, and with that idea they send milk powder to India, with a hope that it might win friends, and perhaps draw them to Christ. But it is only by pure and divine love, that men can be saved, not by human love or by anyone’s sympathy.

We find the same thought in Isa, 52: 13-15. “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.” It is by suffering and by the work of the cross that God is drawing men to Himself; not by charity or by any other human weapon or kingdom. Many have tried to make people Christians by force, power and authority, or by money, and bribery, but all have failed. That is why the work of God suffers in many countries. Some think that by giving poor people jobs, or food, they will become Christians. Thousands are baptised, but the result is confusion. We find there is much barrenness because of that sin. We should preach the Lord us Jehovah's Servant Who came to serve and die in our stead.

See Luke 9: 51-56, “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire 10 come down fram heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village”. They said, “Lord, these men have been blessed and healed by You so many times, now they refuse to give You shelter for one night. They deserve to be punished. Give us permission to bring down fire from heaven.” But the Lord rebuked them. So we see that by humility and service our Lord won people everywhere, and not by worldly methods, by power, or authority or wealth of any kind.

The sixth work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Lord Jesus we find in Isaiah 61:1-3. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy tor mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” The very same passage was quoted by the Lord when He first came to the synagogue in Capernaum, after His baptism.

In Luke chapter 4 verses 16-19 we read: “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read, And there was delivered unto him I the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord”. That is the best way we can preach the Gospel, and it is the Lord’s way. He hath anointed us to preach the Gospel to the poor”, that is, the poor in spirit. Unless men are poor in spirit, they will not accept what we say. Matthew 5:3 says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Now those who are very much satisfied with their wealth, lands, buildings and position, often will not listen to the Gospel, and that is why the poor generally receive the Gospel more readily than the rich. They recognize their need. So the verse means both the poor in spirit and also the poor in earthly things.

Read also Luke 7:21, 22: “And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.” That was the message sent by the Lord Jesus to John the Baptist who was at that time in prison. Even though Christ performed many miracles and healed all people, irrespective of who they were, He preached the Gospel first to poor people, for the poor show more response to the Gospel than the rich. God gives the opportunity but most people do not accept it. They are so proud, and self-satisfied, they do not acknowledge their need.

We should pray, “Lord, first of all let them see their spiritual poverty.” As we go about we see how people are blinded by the god of this world. They do not understand even simple spiritual things. If we want them to be receptive to God’s Word, we should seek to make them aware of their spiritual poverty. Only then they will realize that the Gospel is for all their needs.

Finally, Romans 1:4 gives the seventh work of the Holy Spirit in the Lord Jesus: ‘...declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” He was raised from the dead by the Spirit of holiness. So the power of resurrection is now brought to us for the very same purpose. Compare Ephesians 1:14 to 2:1- “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

AND you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Paul says here that the same power which God wrought in Christ Jesus when He rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven and was exalted far above all powers, principalities, might and dominion, can now come into us. Our Lord was raised from the dead by the Spirit of holiness, and the same power can come into us. He rose again from all power, principalities, might and dominion, and can now come into us. But in order to receive it, we have to have that deeper work of the Holy Spirit. As we begin to understand more clearly, and pray by faith: “Lord, possess me by the Holy Spirit, I want that power of resurrection for all my needs”, He works in us. He rose again that we might be more than conquerors and enjoy victory through every trial and temptation.

Now that we have seen the sevenfold work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the whole secret. We cannot have the fullness of the Holy Spirit without fulfilling divine principles. Whatever God does He docs by divine laws, which cannot be changed.