The lamp of a person is his spirit-Basie Ligthelm

A few months ago, I had a dream. A very busy dream, lots of action, cannot really remember the detail. What I do remember was the final line : “the lamp of a person is his spirit”. I don’t know who spoke it, but it was loud, like a declaration!

I woke up thinking about the strange closing line. I know the verse in Matthew that says “the lamp of the body is the eye”, but I have never heard about this one. Was it a message from God? What does it mean? Is it someone that wants to divert me? Only later did I find the verse in Proverbs that says the same thing “The spirit of man, is the lamp of the Lord”

I started reading about the human spirit and realised that in our modern society, the total focus is on the soul and the body of the person. The functions of the soul are amongst others – the intellect, emotions, desires, will and senses. The whole fashion and sports industries’ focus is on the body. So what about the spirit? Can we train our spirit? What are the functions of the spirit? Can the spirit be hurt or damaged? Can the spirit be healed?

Going back to the beginning, we see how Adam and Eve walked in fellowship with God. They were created for fellowship and intimacy with the Creator. God walked with them in the garden every day. They were naked but it did not bother them.

They could eat from any tree in the garden except from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God said to them : “the day you eat of that tree, you will die”. Adam and Eve ignored the warning, they ate.

As a child I thought: “God was not serious about this warning. He just wanted to scare them. They did not die. They continued to live and became parents of the whole human race!”

But they did die. Not in their soul, not in their body, but in their spirit. That part of a human being that is the lamp of God.

How do you revive your spirit? Or how can the spirit be revived? The first question is an impossibility as man cannot revive his own spirit. The second question is relevant but how does that happen? Can somebody outside of man revive the spirit of a man? Jesus said to Nicodemis “You must be born again.” God revives our spirit. When man asks God for cleansing. When any human is washed by God in the detergent of God. That detergent is the blood of His own Son. The only detergent acceptable to God. When a man is spiritually dead, he has no communication with a living God. When he realises he cannot save himself. He cannot wash himself. That he needs a saviour, and that saviour is God himself, then his spirit is revived, by the One he puts his trust in. It is an act of God.

What are the functions of the spirit? Here are a few. It is where we worship God, it enables us to communicate with Him, enables us to hear His voice, prayer and intercession, intimacy with our creator, our conscience, wisdom, our ability to understand situations, supernatural knowledge, our perception of the future, our ability to operate in the power of God. These all happen through our spirit.

The Holy Spirit is God’s agent on earth. The Holy Spirit is the person that enables me, through my spirit to live in fellowship with God.

Where is the spirit? Is it in my head? Is it close to my heart? Jesus said : “He who believes in me, from His innermost being, will flow rivers of living water.” This is the location of the spirit. A place where only the Holy Spirit can reach and the place where God dwells. Medical science or any technology cannot reach there. It is our innermost being. God said through Isaiah: “I dwell on a high and holy place (heaven), and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit. In order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Changing Your Mind - Bill Johnson

"It is unnatural for a Christian not to have an appetite for the impossible."

One of the major functions of miracles and supernatural living is to offer immediate, irrefutable proof of what God wants to happen on earth. It demonstrates who God is by showing what His reality looks like. The apostle Paul put it this way,

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2, emphasis mine).

Aren't you tired of talking about a gospel of power, but never seeing it in action? Aren't you tired of trying to carry out the Great Commission without offering proof that the Kingdom works? Too many of us have been like a vacuum cleaner salesman who comes to the door and throws a handful of dirt in on the floor and says, "I represent the new Whiz Bang vacuum cleaner company. My vacuum cleaner is so strong that you have to remove pets and small children from the room. It sucks up everything in sight." But instead of demonstrating the vacuum cleaner he simply hands you a brochure (tract), promises that the machine will work, and walks away. That's cheating people!

The Lords Prayer Reveals God’s Will - Bill Johnson

...We are out to destroy the works of the devil...

In what is known as the lords prayer, Jesus said clearly and concisely:

“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

(Matthew 6:9-10).

The will of God is simply this: “On earth as it is in Heaven.” Isn’t it refreshing? When we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,” we’re praying for the King’s dominion and will to be realized right here, right now. That is a life-transforming, paradigm-shattering way to “do” normal Christianity. What is free to operate in Heaven – Joy, peace, wisdom, health, wholeness, and all the other good promises we read about in the Bible – Should be free to operate here on this planet, in your home, your church, your business, and your school. What is not free to operate there – sickness, disease, spiritual bondage, and sin – should not be free to operate here, period. We are out to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). It’s an awesome way to live!

When we make this our primary understanding of God’s will, the other areas that trouble us so much will seem to sort themselves out (Matt. 6:33).

When we make this our mission, lives are set free, bodies are restored, darkness lifts from people’s minds, the rule of the enemy is pushed back in every way imaginable. Businesses grow healthy, relationships flower again, people re-connect with their calling and purpose in life, churches grow, and cities feel the effects of having the kingdom flourishing within them. Energy is freed up for Kingdom works in ways I have never seen before. Things happen regularly that are so extraordinary it’s like stepping into the pages of a good novel. But it’s not a made-up lifestyle; it’s the lifestyle for which we were made.