I have found that to make religionists believe that you are insane, simply tell them what is written in the Bible.  To make them furious, show them what is written in the Bible.  Nothing is more irritating to a churchite than to be confronted with the Word of God.  It is not that I want people to believe that I am insane or to make them hate me.  It is simply the inevitable result of presenting God’s Word as it is written in their Bibles.  Though I have documented everything I have written in this series so far, most of what I have presented is rejected by the church masses.  What I will bring out in the following postings will be like salt in a wound.  I have been chastised for being blunt and therefore hurting people’s feelings.  For anyone who feels bad because I upset people by revealing God’s unedited Truth, let us remember that Jesus did not come to earth to bring peace among people.  To the contrary, He came to cause division between, specifically among family members (Lk. 12:51-53).  Recall that the Holy Bible is referred to as a sword that cuts deeply and lays everything out in the open for all to see who is right and who is wrong (Eph. 6:17/ Heb. 4:12/ Rev. 1:16).  Being proven wrong does not sit well with religious people, especially preachers and Bible teachers.  Let us now study some episodes in which God reveals to us the power He has made available to man, how He planned for man to use that power, etc.  His plans for His church have not changed.  Unfortunately, man refuses to accept His plans, choosing rather to create his own church and make his own plans.  Man’s church is called Catholicism/Protestantism.  His plans are called church doctrine.  Both are abominations in the eyes of God.  Both will be destroyed upon Christ’s return to earth.

The Truth that Jesus operated solely by the power of God’s Holy Spirit is plainly stated in the Scriptures, John 5:30, 12:49 and 14:10 being prime examples.  As a man, Jesus possessed the same natural powers, abilities, etc. that all other men possessed.  He preached, withstood the constant onslaught of Satan and performed His ministry totally by the power of the Holy Spirit that worked through Him because He obeyed and feared God (Heb. 5:7).  What I want all to understand is that the same Spirit that empowered Jesus to do what He did is available to “whosoever will” believe and obey Him.  He is no respecter of persons, what He does for one He will do for another (Acts 10:34).  Prior to His return to the Father, Jesus promised His disciples that He would later baptize them with the Holy Spirit, and that they would THEN have the power to minister for Him (Acts 1:8).  Until that power was made available, they were powerless.  Therefore, He told them to go to Jerusalem and “… wait for the promise of the Father of which you have heard Me speak” (Acts 1:4).  If they had tried to minister without the Spirit they would have failed.  As long as He was WITH them the Holy Spirit was WITH them and available to them.  But for the immediate future He and the Holy Spirit would be in heaven.  He promised to send the Spirit to inhabit them at a later date.  Then they would have the power within them to do what God commanded them.  Until that time, they were to wait in Jerusalem, which they did.  Then came the Day of Pentecost.  The rest is Bible history.

As the following will show, God planned for His true saints to continue making that history until Christ’s return to establish God’s earthly kingdom.  In the near future God is going to use faith-filled, obedient servants to bring His prophecies to pass.  Until the advent of television and the internet it was not possible for the entire world to see the Holy Spirit in action in real time.  The world has never seen, nor believes that it will ever see John 14:12 played out for all to see as it happens.   As the following will show, Jesus expected the disciples to do everything He did, and chastised them when they failed to follow His lead.  Jesus has not changed, is not changing and will not change.  His expectations relative to His apostles and disciples have not and will not change.  We know this because it is written: “I am the Lord, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6).  “In Him there is not so much as a shadow of turning/change” (Jam. 1:17).  “He is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb.13:8).

As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:9, man has neither seen nor heard what God has in store for those who love Him.  These are they who prove their love for Him by keeping His commandments/words (Jn. 14:15,23).  Christ’s dealings with the disciples reveals to us what God has expected of His servants over the past 2000 years.  Let us examine some of the Biblical episodes that prove this to be true while remembering the Words of Jesus recorded in John 14:12-15.  Here He promises that the one who loves Him and obeys His Law will do what He did and even greater things.  God will also answer the prayer of the one who asks in Jesus’ name while obeying His commandments.  Answered prayer brings glory to God.  I take Him at His Word using the faith He has given me.

In the first 7 chapters of Matthew’s Gospel we find Jesus receiving the Holy Spirit at His baptism, fasting, resisting Satan’s temptations, preaching the “Sermon on the Mount,” healing the sick, casting out demons, teaching about the effects of faith and identifying a false disciple.  During this time those whom He had chosen to be His disciple had seen all that He had done and heard all that He had said.  Because of this He had expected them to embrace the Holy Spirit’s power and use it in their respective ministries.  In 8:23 we find Jesus and the disciples getting into a ship in order to cross the Sea of Galilee.  It was time for them to step up, to follow in His footsteps in terms of character and ministry.

As they were sailing across the sea, Jesus fell asleep.  Soon a violent storm arose on the sea, sending waves into the ship.  Here the disciples made their first mistake–they woke Him and asked Him to save them from drowning.  His response was a verbal dressing down: “Why are you afraid (of the storm), O you of little faith.”  They had not been aware that He had been teaching them in His sermons and in His acts of power, showing them that He expected them to do what He was doing.  They had failed their first test and He was not happy.  He had expected them to take control of the storm and quell it without awakening Him.  Though disappointed in them, He commanded the storm to stop.  It stopped immediately, causing a “great calm” to settle over the sea.  Christ’s teaching program had begun.  As they sailed toward the other side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus knew He had His work cut out for Him.  Incredibly, after 2000 years, He still does.  L.J.