Knowing the Spirit in Life and Reality

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him
must worship in spirit and reality (John 4:24)

The Spirit of truth has come,
He will guide you into all reality, (John 16:13)

Meeting 1 – The Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ

1.       Our condition today

a.       Why are we lukewarm and indifferent?

i.         Church in Laodicea – Rev. 3:14-22

ii.       We think we are rich with good teachings and doctrines – 1 Cor. 4:8-13; Matt 5:3

iii.      But we are lukewarm

iv.     Lack the reality and life from the Spirit

b.      What are we sowing and reaping today?

i.         Sowing to the flesh or to the spirit –
Gal. 6:7-8

ii.       Fruit of the Spirit – Gal. 5:22-23

iii.      Our testimony – Luke 8:16

iv.     The danger of becoming like the Pharisees

c.       Will we really know the Lord when He comes again?

i.         The religious Jews knew the Scriptures but still questioned and missed the Christ – John 5:39-40

ii.       We do many things for the Lord, but does He know us – Matt. 7:21-23

2.       The Lord as the Spirit of Jesus Christ – Phil. 1:19

a.       The Holy Anointment – Exo. 30:23-25; 1 John 2:20, 27; Phil 1:19; 2 Cor. 3:17

i.         Myrrh (500 shekels)
The sufferings and the death of Christ – John 19:39; Rev. 2:8; Isa. 53:2-3

ii.       Cinnamon (250 shekels)
The healing effect of the crucified Christ – Isa. 53:4-5; Matt. 8:16-17; 2 Cor. 4:10;
Gal. 6:17; 1 Pet. 2:24-25

iii.      Cane – an animating effect (250 shekels)
The resurrection of Christ – John 11:25; Rom. 6:5; Jer. 38:6; Lam. 3:55-57

iv.     Cassia (500 shekels)
The power and the enlivening effect of the resurrection of Christ – Phil. 3:10;
Rom. 8:11; Eph. 6:10-13

v.       Pure olive oil (1 hin)
The pure Spirit of God – John 7:37-39

b.      All of the Spirit is available when we call on His name – Rom. 10:12

3.       The Spirit as reality and life to us

a.       Filled within by the Holy Spirit – Act. 2:4;
Eph. 5:18

b.      Clothed with power by the Holy Spirit – Act. 1:8

Meeting 2 – The Spirit and our Human Spirit

1.       Our human spirit – 1 Thess. 5:23; Job 32:8;
Ezek. 36:26; Cor. 6:17; Heb. 4:12; 2 Tim. 4:22;

a.       Importance of our spirit

i.         Ranked with the universe and earth –
Zech. 12:1

ii.       Dwelling place of God – Eph. 2:19-20

b.      The fall of man deadened our spirit – Gen. 2:17; Eph. 2:1, 5

c.       Born again (regeneration) in our spirit by the Holy Spirit – Eph. 2:4-10; 1 Pet. 1:3;
John 1:12-13; 3:6; 20:22

d.      The part of man to fellowship with God

i.         To contact the Lord – John 4:23-24

ii.       To know the things of God – 1 Cor. 2:9-11

e.       Exercising unto godliness – 1 Tim. 4:6;
Luke 9:62

i.         Strong spirit – Luke 2:40; 2 Tim. 1:7

ii.       Burning in spirit – Rom. 12:11; 2 Tim 1:6

iii.      Walking in spirit – Gal. 5:16; 2:20

iv.     Being one spirit with the Lord – 1 Cor. 6:17

2.       Requires us to open our mouth to contact God –
1 Cor. 14:32

a.       Our initial salvation – Rom. 10:9-10; Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Acts 22:16

b.      To know His riches – Rom. 10:12-13

c.       Call on His Name –1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Tim. 2:22;
Gen. 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33; Psa. 80:18; 99:6; 105:1; 116:4, 13, 17; Isa. 12:4; Lam. 3:55;
Zeph. 3:9; Zech. 13:9; Joel 2:32;
Acts 2:21; 22:16

d.      To say Amen – 1 Cor. 14:16; Deu. 27:11-26

e.       Praise Him – Psa. 24:1; 34:1; 51:15; 63:3, 5; 71:8; 109:30; 119:108; 137:6; 145:21; 149:6; Matt. 21:16; Rom. 15:6; Psa. 119:171; Isa 29:13

f.        Eat the Word – Psa. 19:14; 119:103, 131;
Jer. 15:16; Ezek. 3:1-3; Rev. 10:9

g.      Sing – Psa. 40:3; 89:1; 126:2; 71:23

h.       Pray – Psa. 54:2; 81:10

i.         Speak to minister life – Psa. 71:15-16; 89:1; 49:3; Ezek. 3:27; 29:21; Eph. 4:29; Psa. 35:28; 40:9; 119:13, 172

j.         Preach the gospel – Acts 8:35; 1 Cor. 14:24-25; Eph. 6:19

3.       Knowing the Spirit

a.       Minding the Spirit – Rom. 8:4-6

b.      Our Human spirit – 1 Cor. 2:10-16; Eph. 3:16-19

4.       Knowing the Sense of Life – Rom 8:6

a.       By Sensing His Anointing - 1 John 2:27

b.      Life and Peace – Rom. 8:6

c.       Being in the fellowship of life – 1 John 1:3,
Gal. 5:16

Meeting 3 – Our Fellowship with the Lord in the Spirit

1.       Called into the fellowship of our Lord – 1. Cor. 1:9

a.       Live together with Him – 1. Thess. 5:10

b.      Abiding in Him every day – Heb. 3:15,
1 Thess. 5: 16-22

c.       Walk in the spirit – Gal. 5:25

2.       The fellowship with God in light – 1 John 1:5-9

a.       Light exposes – causing us to repent and confess

b.      Being cleansed, our fellowship is restored

c.       More light in more fellowship

3.       Praying with the word – Eph. 6:17-18

a.       Asking, seeking and knocking – Luke 11:9-10

b.      Receiving revelation – Eph. 1: 17

c.       Nourishment – Jer. 15:16

d.      Prayer and the ministry of the word - Acts 6:4,
1 Tim. 4:5

4.       Doers of the word – James 1:22; Luke 8:21

a.       Our cooperation with the Spirit – Phil. 2:12-15

b.      Turning our heart to the Lord – 2 Cor. 3:16-18

c.       Listen to God’s voice to do his will – Heb. 4:7

d.      Being transformed by the Spirit – 2 Cor. 3:18

e.       Word must be accomplished in us – Rom. 15:18; 1 John 3:18

5.       Through our fellowship with the Lord in the Spirit, our love for Him will grow – 1 John 4:12-13

a.       Our problem is we love ourselves

i.         Our lukewarm love – Rev. 3:15-18

ii.       Our love for others more than for Him – Matt. 10:37; Luke 14:26-27

b.      Knowing the Lord in life and love– 1 John 3:1

i.         We know the Lord through the Spirit–
1 John 4:12-13

ii.       Know the Lord through His commandments (word) – 1 John 2:3

iii.      Knowing the Lord through our daily experience – Phil. 1:21

c.       Our response to the Lord in the light of our fellowship with Him

i.         To love Him means we need to deny our soul life – Luke 14:26-27; 9:23-24;
Matt. 16:24-25; Mark 8:24-25

ii.       Keeping the Lord’s commandments results in seeing God’s love perfected in us –
1 John 2:5

iii.      Keeping His commandments are not burdensome if it is by the love of God –
1 John 5:3

iv.     Following the Lamb wherever He goes – Rev. 14:5-6

d.      Loving God is a matter of life and reality in the Spirit –  abiding in God and He in us –
1 John 4:12

Meeting 4 – Our Testimony in the Spirit

1.       Walk in, by and through the Spirit in our spirit –
Gal. 5:16

a.       Fruit of the Spirit – Gal. 5:22-23

b.      Works of the flesh – Gal. 5:19-21

2.       We have a narrow/shortsighted view

a.       World is passing away – 1 John 2:17;
Rev. 20:14

b.      The whole world lies under the sway of the evil one – 1 John 5:19

c.       Taking up the cross – Luke 9:23-25

d.      Overcoming the world – 1 John 5:4-5

e.       Rewards

i.         Treasures in Heaven – Matt. 6:19-20

ii.       Millennial Kingdom – Rev. 20:4-6

iii.      New Jerusalem – Rev. 21

iv.     Parable of the Wedding Feast –
Matt. 22:1-14

3.       Do not worry about the things of the world –
Luke 12:22-33

a.       Your treasure is where your Heart is –
Luke 12:34

b.      Seeking first the Kingdom – Matt 6:33

c.       Gifts from the Father – Luke 11:11-12

4.       Do not love the world – 1 John 2:15-17

a.       We are of God – 1 John 5:18-20

5.       The life of God in us keeps us from sin – 1 John 3:9

a.       Being well-nourished to resist the world –
Gen. 14:18-23

b.      A new heart – Ezek. 36:24-31; Prov. 4:23

c.       The new man – Eph. 4:17-24

d.      Walking according to the spirit – Rom. 7:13-8:1

e.       The Lord is from above – John 8:23, 2 Pet. 3:13

6.       Our testimony in this world – Phil. 2:15

a.       We cannot love God and the world – 
1 John 2:15-17; James 4:1-17, 5:1-7

i.         Lust of the flesh – 2 Tim. 2:22; Gal. 5:19-21

ii.       Lust of the eyes – 1 John 2:16

iii.      Pride of life – Luke 9:25; Acts 20:24, 28

b.      Keeping ourselves from the world – 
1 John 5:18-21; Phil. 2:15

c.       Keep yourselves from evil – Ps. 34:13;
Exo. 23:2, 7; 1 Thess. 5:22

d.      Making a decision to choose the Lord – Deut. 30:15-19

e.       Be holy, as He holy – 1 Pet. 1:13-16

f.        Be sober and vigilant – 1 Pet. 5:8

g.      Lights in the world, fragrance of Christ –
Phil. 2:15, 2 Cor. 2:15

h.       Not attached to this world, waiting for a new heaven and a new earth – Matt. 6:19-34;
Rev. 21:1

Meeting 5 – Practicing the Church Life in the Spirit

1.       God’s desire to build His church

a.       I will build my church – Matt. 16:18

b.      That all believers may be perfect in one – John 17:20-26

2.       God’s choice

a.       The Lord has chosen – Psa. 132

b.      According to God’s word, normal is one church per city – Acts. 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Thess. 1:1; Rev. 1:11

3.       God’s judgment

a.       Babylon the great is fallen – Rev. 14:8; 18:1-8

b.      The mother of harlots – Rev. 17:5

4.       Our desire to keep God’s testimony

a.       The testimony of Christ

i.         Not I, but Christ – Gal. 2:20

ii.       Sharing Christ as our reality – Col. 1:27-28

b.      The testimony of oneness

i.         A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand – Mark 3:24-25; Luke 11:17

ii.       Division is the works of the flesh – Gal. 5:20

iii.      Expressed in reality

iv.     Inviting all believers – come and see

5.       Our service with reverence and godly fear –
Heb. 12:25-29; Eph. 6:5

6.       To have the testimony of oneness in the church with the love of the saints, we need to be in spirit –
Eph. 4:1-3

a.       Testimony of the one body through the Spirit in our spirit – Eph. 4:4-6; 1 Cor. 12:12-13

i.         Dealing with offenses and forgiving one another – Matt. 18:15-17, 21-35;
Mark 11:25-26

ii.       Oneness in the Lord’s Table –
1 Cor. 10:16-17; 11:27-29

b.      Love for the saints – 1 John 4:20-21

i.         Christ loved the church first – Eph. 5:25;
1 John 4:9, 11, 19

ii.       Abiding in the light to love the saints –
1 John 2:9-11

1)       To love the saints requires us to deny our soul life – Mark 10:45

2)       Pray always for the saints – Eph. 6:18

iii.      God’s perfect love should be practiced, not our love – 1 Cor. 13

1)       Selfless love – 1 Cor. 13:4-5

2)       Righteous love, not standing with sin –
1 Cor. 13:6

iv.     Edify each other by speaking the truth in love – Eph. 4:15; 1 Cor. 14:26

1)       Esteem others better than self –
Phil. 2:3

2)       Knowledge puffs up, love edifies –
1 Cor. 8:1-3

3)       We all have a measure to be for the profit of all – Eph. 4:7-12; 1 Cor. 12:4-7

v.       To love the Lord practically means to care for the saints – John 21:15-17

1)       Loving in deed and truth –
1 John 3:17-18; Rom. 15:18

Meeting 6 – Our Prayer in the Spirit for the Building of the Church

1.       How to pray

a.       Template - The Lord's Prayer – Luke 11:1-4; Matt. 6:7-13

i.         Praise and glory to the Lord

ii.       Praying for the Lord's purpose – Seeking first the Kingdom – Matt. 6:33

iii.      Praying for our own needs –Luke 12:31-32; Phil 4:6-7

b.      Praying according to His will

i.         Coordinating with the Father – Matt. 18:18; 26:39

ii.       Coordinating with one another –
Matt 18:19-20

iii.      Praying for the right things – Rom. 8:26-27

iv.     To be burdened by the Lord –
Matt. 11:28-30

2.       When to Pray

a.       Corporately – Acts 12:12

i.         Spiritual warfare - battle against Satan and his kingdom – Eph. 6:10-17

ii.       Praying In oneness – Matt. 18:19-20

iii.      Dealing with offenses - Matt. 18:15-17

b.      In private – Matt. 6:5-7

i.         Setting aside time – Matt. 26:36-38

ii.       Listening

3.       Praying for the Lord to move

a.       In times of struggle – James 5:13a

i.         We need to ask – James 4:2-3

ii.       Coming boldly – Heb 4:15-16

iii.      With trust – Matt 6:33

b.      In times of strength – Acts 4:23-31

i.         Moved by the body – Acts 4:23-24a

ii.       In one accord

iii.      Using the Lord’s word and His promises – Acts 4:24b-28

iv.     Praying specifically – Acts 4:29-30

v.       Expecting results – Acts 4:31

c.       Being persistent

i.         Persistent widow – Luke 18:1-8

ii.       Friend at midnight – Luke 11:5-8

Meeting 7 – Our Service in the Church in the Spirit

1.       The Lord’s commission – God desires all men to be saved and come to the full knowledge of the truth – Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1 Tim. 2:3-4

2.       Gospel – the power to save – Rom. 1:16

a.       Prayer – Matt. 18:18-20

i.         Be filled with the Spirit – Acts 1:1:8; 2:4

ii.       A spiritual battle – Col. 1:13; Gal. 1:4

iii.      Compassion for the unbelievers –
Luke 10:30-37; 13:2-5

iv.     To be sent – Luke 10:2

b.      Ready to preach – 2 Tim. 4:2

i.         Use every opportunity – Phil. 1:12-14

ii.       Don’t wait – Acts 8:26-38

c.       Speaking the word with boldness –
Acts 4:29-31; Eph. 6:19-20; 2 Tim. 1:6-7

d.      The church sharing the gospel – 1 Cor. 14:23-25

3.       Shepherding – to come to the full knowledge of the truth

a.       Setting an example – 1 Tim. 4:12

b.      Be a good minister of Jesus Christ – 1 Tim. 4:6; Rom. 15:18

c.       Perfecting of the saints – Eph. 4:11-16

d.      Ultimate goal is to bring everyone into their function in the spiritual house of God – the church – Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Cor. 3:9-17;
1 Pet. 2:5, 9

4.       Presenting our bodies a living sacrifice –
Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:5