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When Heaven Invades Earth
Week Five: Chapter 7
March 9- March 15, 2008
In
previous chapters, Johnson makes the point that Jesus lived with
human limitations just like us. In this chapter he explains how the
Father equipped Jesus with the anointing of the Holy Spirit which
enabled “Him to live beyond human limitations ... (and) to destroy
the works of the devil” (79). This anointing is what connected Jesus
to the present reality of heaven. When we operate with this
anointing from the Holy Spirit we can expect the realm of heaven to
be present to us as a part of our inheritance in Christ, our “daily
bread” (79). When Jesus repeatedly claimed, “The Kingdom of heaven
is at hand,” he was talking about a present reality that we could
touch each day.
It is
vital for “us to understand that we must be clothed with the Holy
Spirit for supernatural ministry” because just as Jesus depended
upon the Holy Spirit's anointing to finish the Father's work, so
must we for it is this anointing that brings supernatural results
(80). Jesus' title, “Christ” means the 'Anointed One' and the term 'antichrist'
gives us insight into the focus of hell's opposition. “The
spirits of hell are at war against the anointing, for without the
anointing mankind is no threat to their dominion (80).
This anointing is not some amorphous idea or fickle fancy but
the person of the Holy Spirit himself who 'smears' us with his
presence and power for “supernatural endeavors” (81). Just as it was
this Holy Spirit empowered ministry of Jesus that ultimately led to
his crucifixion, “the spirit of 'antichrist' is at work today
attempting to influence believers to reject everything that has to
do with the Holy Spirit's anointing. This rejection takes on many
religious forms, but basically it boils down to this: we reject
what we can't control. The spirit of antichrist has worked to
reduce the gospel to a mere intellectual message, rather than a
supernatural God encounter” (81).
Johnson encourages us to pursue the presence of God above all and do
not settle for anything else, particularly the counterfeits of:
reason or understanding, doctrine or concepts, control that comes
from fear or discomfort, or planning and ritual that usurps the
authority of the Holy Spirit; leaning on the laurels of past
experience or narrow interpretations of Scripture. He then asks an
important question and provides us with insightful answers... “How
can people who love God be offended by the anointing of the Holy
Spirit?
- He moves like wind – apart from our
control.
- His thoughts are very different from ours.
The Scripture states that our logic and His are not just
different, they are opposed to each other (Rom. 8.7, Isaiah
55.8-9).
- He refuses to be restricted by our
understanding of His Word” (85).
If our
religious activities and even our study of Scripture does not lead
to an encounter with God then we are in danger of becoming puffed up
with pride, as our pious actions make us “feel good about our
standing with God” even though we have not experienced “the love of
Christ which passes knowledge, (and) being filled with the fullness
of God” (84, Ephesians 3.19). Unique manifestations often accompany
his presence and while these are important, “it's God Himself we
long for.” We must learn to recognize His presence and discern His
voice in order to follow Him with obedience which is “the expression
of faith, and faith is our claim ticket to the God realm” (82) . We
“are assured of success if it is truly our passionate desire. He'll
not give a stone to anyone who asks for bread” (85).
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