Teaching as PDF Communion for website. Full text follows:
Communion – Experiencing Intimate Prayer Fellowship with the Lord in Spirit
As we start our exploration of experiencing open fellowship with the Holy Spirit, let’s first consider some well-known verses:
John 4:23-24, 23“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
1 John 2:27, “As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.”
1 John 1:3, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.” (ASV)
That last one is better in CJB
12 Therefore, with a hope like this, we are very open — 13 unlike Moshe, who put a veil over his face, so that the people of Isra’el would not see the fading brightness come to an end.
14 What is more, their minds were made stonelike; for to this day the same veil remains over them when they read the Old Covenant; it has not been unveiled, because only by the Messiah is the veil taken away. 15 Yes, till today, whenever Moshe is read, a veil lies over their heart. 16 “But,” says the Torah, “whenever someone turns to Adonai, the veil is taken away.”[a] 17 Now, “Adonai” in this text means the Spirit. And where the Spirit of Adonai is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord; and we are being changed into his very image, from one degree of glory to the next, by Adonai the Spirit.
And then let me ask a question:
Where do you have to GO to speak with God and hear his voice? WHERE IS GOD?
1 Corinthians 6:19a,
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? …”
Did people’s Bodies STOP being the temple of the Holy Spirit at some point? Then this is true for today as it was with the Early Church.
Also consider John 10:27,
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
Do Goats, Carnal people, Unwise Virgins, and Tares LISTEN to his Voice and FOLLOW him? … No. … So if people insist no one can hear God’s voice since THEY cannot hear God’s voice … either:
1. they CAN and don’t RECOGNIZE God’s voice,
2. they just don’t quiet themselves down and listen,
3. or maybe they are simply not Sheep …
This is also a fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 30:20-21,
20“Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”
Or do you think THIS promise has expired since the early church? No, it’s valid until the END … and goes even beyond.
And even Jeremiah 31:31-33, foretelling the New Covenant:
31“‘The time is coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD. 33‘This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’”
Has THIS promise also expired somehow? You see the argument that God no longer speaks for any reason is RIDICULOUS. INVALID. A PLAIN BOLD-FACED LIE! It is simply untrue.
It’s just that Carnal People have a hard time with this Spiritual reality:
Consider this Logic … what was offered, what was refused.
Deuteronomy 5:23-26, recounting Exodus 20
23“When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and your elders came to me. 24And you said, ‘The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.
25“But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. 26For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?’”
So they said, Moses YOU talk to God and tell us what he says. We’ll stay safe over here. But God said yes, it’s true. This was accepted by God and was so for years and years … But is this state still true for those in God’s Kingdom? Isn’t there a better relationship where we possess Immanuel?
So the early Israelites DID hear God and live but really were just too afraid to WALK IN IT. They were invited to open communion with the Divine, but backed away from it because of carnal fear. No wonder, even Moses was freaking out, let alone the regular people who were not prepared to stand in that fiery holiness.
This weakness in man is what Hebrews speaks about in 12:18-26, saying that this problem has now been resolved for those who are in Jesus:
18“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20because they could not bear what was commanded: ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.’ 21The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ‘I am trembling with fear.’
22“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25“See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?
26“At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’”
He came to Restore WHAT was LOST
Consider it this way: What is it that Christ is RESTORING to Mankind?
What did Adam and Even LOSE?
Of all the things it was primarily personal fellowship with God. But this was because their NATURE changed. That’s how God broke their relationship, they became carnal. Wow.
So consider the transformation they underwent in the FALL … so what therefore is it that Chris is going to do with his Spirit to TRANSFORM US BACK?
Basically his LIFE left us, and now he is going to put it back inside us, transforming us into people of the New Life, who can carry his conversation, presence, relationship. People who can stand him, withstand his fellowship, who can stand at his presence …
Stand in his Love
When you pray over them everyone wants to FALL DOWN … but I want to STAND UP and soak it all in! Isn’t this what Paul prayued in Ephesians?
Ephesians 3:16-19
16“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord’s people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
They lost ZOE, now its time to put it back.
Here are other verses that talk about the zoe life:
John 5:21, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.”
John 5:26, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.”
John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Ceremony vs reality
Moses gave the Torah, promises, … but Jesus brought the reality and possession of these things.
Moses brought people TO the promised land but Yeshua brought the people INTO the land to Possess it.
John the Baptist prepared the people, making the Way in their Hearts straight by water baptism unto repentance so they would be later able to hear the words of Life from Jesus, receive HIS baptism of Fire at Pentecost and enter into the Kingdom of God that John was not allowed to enter, just as Moses was not allowed to enter into the Land of Canaan.
So what REALITY is Christ Bringing? It is GOD With US!
That is what communion or ‘fellowship with the Spirit’ is doing, exercising this restored relationship, communication and union.
Do not hold onto the mere FORM of religion, EMBRACE ITS POWER!
John 5:37-39
37“And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
We MUST distinguish the ceremony from the reality, which is why the Bible makes a clear distinction between the two, even if religious men do not:
Hebrews 13:9, “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them.”
Counterfeit Holy Spirit – the Religious Spirit
A common problem you encounter is the Religious Spirit affecting people. This is a demon that PRETENDS to be the Holy Spirit. This is quite serious.
I shared three tests or indications of the religious spirit the Lord taught me.
1. Watch for the counterfeit, since it always knows what God is doing and will always make a fake version. It talks the talk, but it cannot empower people to walk the walk.
2. Spiritual death, meaning the inability to flow in the Holy Spirit. Jesus flowed in the Holy Spirit like a kite in the wind, but those who are bound by the religious spirit are unable to obey or flow in the Holy Spirit in heart, and so exhibit a spiritual deadness to it.
3. It is a trap and people feel trapped, even if they are too proud to admit it and try to hide it from you. This is why they always tend towards ritual and formality since they are increasingly bound. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom—the opposite is true for the religious spirit.
When you begin to seek to flow in the Holy Spirit you may want to pray to break this off, ask the Lord for insight if it affects you and ask for prayer from elders in the church who may discern better than you.
Water and Fire:
John 3:5-6, 15-16, 36
5“Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
. . .
15“‘… that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
. . .
36“‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.’”
Being born of the zoe, the Spirit of zoe, the Holy Spirit, is the start of the process. Being filled with the Spirit of God lets you into the possession of the Kingdom, which in essence is not a place or a thing, but God in Re-Union with You fully surrendered in your entire heart.
But enough talk, let’s dive in …
COMMUNION FLIGHT MANUAL
• Preflight Check
Before you start to commune with the Holy Spirit, check a few things: Where are you? What is your state of mind? Who are you with? Be wise and cautious, especially at first, and it is more productive to go to a nice church, or to where you often sit to pray and read the Bible, or to pray with a partner who you trust in the Lord. It is not good to go to a busy mall, or a public place, or to be hanging out with the wrong crowd since the spiritual environment may affect your experience, especially when you are just learning.
• Step one: Be at PEACE … in the HOLY SPIRIT.
You may sit down and pray a little, sing a song, play some soothing Christian music, preferably instrumental music. Don’t talk much and don’t sing much—it can actually distract you from hearing God when you speak too much or are too active. God knows what you are going to say before you say it, so trust Him. Even if you need to pour out your heart, or ask Him some important questions, that’s fine, but then settle down to listen!
Ask the Lord to meet you, to talk with you; ask Him to flow to and through your heart so you can talk with Him. It helps to pray this, asking Him to flow, asking his presence to come. I often ask Him two or three times before I start to sense the flow of the Spirit like I do when I’m in a time of good, heartfelt worship.
• Step Two: Open the eyes of our hearts, fix them on Jesus.
We have spiritual eyes and ears and we need to have them opened to be able to ‘behold’ Him and ‘talk’ with God in spirit. We need to focus and concentrate and so “fix the eyes of our hearts on Jesus” by looking at Him; it helps to make a picture of Him in your heart.
As soon as you see Him, try to describe what you are seeing; this helps you to focus and to draw you into a deeper time beyond distractions. Much of what God says is discerned more than concretely ‘seen’ or audibly ‘heard’; it is usually very unlike having a conversation with a human on the telephone.
• Step Three: Interact with the image you see in your heart.
Talk with Jesus, hold his hand, give him your cares, receive his heart, his sword, his keys, his gifts—and notice that this is FULLY INTERACTIVE—it is not a movie being played back to you as a dream or packaged prophetic message is—this is active communion not passive prophecy. Once you have tested what you are seeing and know it is the Lord by feeling the familiar presence of the Holy Spirit or by inner witness in your heart, then settle down and relax, open your heart to all the Lord wants to tell you and show you, impart to you and give you. You can speak to Jesus, ask Him questions, and respond to what He shows you. You can ask Him to show you something, take you someplace, and tell you personal, intimate things—even about other people!
• Step Four: Ask Jesus to interpret what He shows you.
When the Lord shows you images and pictures, it is a good idea at that very moment to ask Him what He is showing you, what it means, and what you are supposed to do about it.
Don’t be passive and don’t assume—you may feel comfortable guessing the meaning of some common symbols but you can never really guess the Lord’s mind! Just when you think you’ve got Him all figured out, He throws you a curve. He may show you a picture of something (such as an elevator) and may not even explain what it means until you ask Him, “What does this mean, Lord?”
“I am going to elevate you!” Yes God makes puns and word plays just like He did with Jeremiah! So corny sometimes!
And once you know what something means, it is then a good idea to ask Him what you should do about it! He may say. “Nothing, just so you know,” Or, “Wait for the right time.” Or He may give you specific proactive instructions that if you don’t follow immediately you’ll miss his will or a certain blessing.
Remember the story with Elisha and the arrows? It is not always God’s will that we wait or sit passively by.
2 Kings 13:18-19,
18Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”
But before you place any real importance or put any real faith into a word or revelation you need to MAKE SURE it is from God! Not just the word, but the right interpretation of it. TEST it and be quick to throw it away or modify your understanding of it if you think it is tainted or suspect or misinterpreted in some way. Just because you have a Bible doesn’t mean Satan won’t try to fool you with it. Just because you are hearing God speak to you deeper does not mean Satan will stop trying to mess you up, even by messing with your understanding of what God has shown you—keep your wits about you, wear the full armor, and wage the good spiritual fight every day!
• Step Five: Keep a good written record.
The Holy Spirit, who is the one who tells you all these things to start with, will also bring them back to mind when it is time for something to come to pass, so you don’t need to worry about remembering or writing everything down, but it is still good advice to keep a fairly reliable and organized written record for yourself, especially if God gives you a message to share with other people. You’ll need to be clear and exact to be a faithful messenger.
As you can see from reading this book, I have a fairly good written record of what God has spoken to me—in fact my record goes back nearly 20 years! This is important because often what God tells you makes little sense at first. He may tell you more later, He may build or expand on it, or you may come to a sudden understanding of it but may have forgotten the details of the original revelation months ago if it was not recorded well.
Some of the words He gave me I thought would come to pass in six months—one is still pending 12 years on. I re-read these to keep my faith alive, and to help me understand my walk as it progresses. It is amazing but you really have no way of knowing the future importance of anything He tells you until it begins to come to pass months or years later, or sometimes until it is already over. So it is best to write it all down.
It is also better to rely on a written record from a month ago than your own memory! This is especially true when God starts telling you many things, and is very helpful when you are in communion since God is speaking to your spirit and sometimes your carnal mind, the organ of flesh, has a hard time remembering what just happened in the spirit five minutes ago!
Also if what the Lord shows you is really wonderful you’ll want to share it with other friends which builds up other people’s faith, and is an important way God ministers to all of us, by other people’s personal testimonies and experiences with the Lord.
Having a written record makes it easier to share, especially on the internet or by e-mail! But do be mindful of people who are not spiritually strong enough to walk with you in the deeper things of the Lord. Some ‘pearls’ need to be treated with special discretion.
SHORT MINISTRY CHECKLIST
There is NO formula or set way to interact with the Holy Spirit! But nevertheless how we have learned to lead people into communion is to just give simple, brief guidance—suggestions more than instructions—and be patient and gentle. Here is a brief summary of steps we often use:
To help the person get ready, ask them:
1. What is the Holy Spirit, simply explaining He is God’s mind will and emotions, personality or character. And,
2. Where is He? Simply agreeing that He is in their hearts in a literal sense. Then,
3. That He is like a river and needs to flow. But also,
4. That our hearts must be open to talk with and ‘behold’ Him.
Then we start by:
5. Quieting down in a prayerful peace. And,
6. Asking God to open the eyes of their hearts so we can see Him. And,
7. Inviting the Holy Spirit, asking Him to come and to flow. Then,
8. To ‘fix their eyes on Jesus’ and search for Him until they can localize Him in vision in their hearts, and then to start to record or share what they see.
Once people tune into the Holy Spirit, let them start by describing what they see, and if they can see the Lord to describe what Jesus is wearing or doing. This may define the nature and direction of the whole ministry encounter, and we should be sensitive to follow His lead wherever it takes you.
But if people have no specific direction, or at least to lay a deeper foundation for later interaction, we like to then lead people to engage the Lord by asking some simple but meaningful questions that touch on their personal relationship with Him.
First, we like to ask Jesus: “Jesus, who are you?’”
Second, we like to ask Jesus, “Jesus, who am I?”
Third, we like to ask Jesus, “Jesus, do you really love me?”
(Have the tissues nearby!)
Fourth, we should respond to prophecy and vision.
Fifth, we expect the Lord to minister inner healing, and will follow Him to lead people to wholeness, deep in their hearts.
Sixth, we also ask the Lord to teach us.
Seventh, we want to give people the chance to ask Him about their own pressing personal issues, anxieties and problems.
Eighth, we then want to give Jesus the floor! Let him just do whatever he wants and we just FOLLOW HIM.
THINGS TO DO IN THE SPIRIT
These are things you may want to minister or seek to experience when you are talking with the Lord in Communion. Some are more important, such as seeking to grow in your personal bonding with the Lord and understanding of your new self as God’s child. But others are just fun and exciting.
• Visit Jesus: ask Him, “Who are you?” “Who am I?” “Do you love me?” Ask Him what you should ask Him!
• Interact with the vision He shows you. What you are witnessing is in spirit and it is truth.
Especially interact with Jesus. Sit next to him and then hold his hand. How does it feel? Reach up and touch his cheek. Look into his face; what is his expression? He may be smiling; He may share his grief with you over the tragedy of man’s fall. Lay in his lap and let Him hold you like a baby or a little lamb. Look deeply into His eyes. If you can’t see his eyes at first, ask Him why? Keep looking, keep seeking. What is in his eyes? Hug him.
• God will be our teacher if we let Him and I find in a group setting it’s a fun way to learn as well. We’ll have everyone go to the Lord in spirit and ask Him to explain a verse or an idea or our callings or whatever. This is also a nice way to get everyone sharing in a group. Or we ask everyone to get a word for the person next to them, or for someone we are ministering to, etc.
• Take your burdens in your hands and offer it to Jesus asking him, “Will you take my burdens?”
Receive his gifts and blessings. Hold out your hands and ask Him, “Will you give me a gift?” Whatever He gives you, take it into your heart.
• Go to the heavenly seat of authority Jesus has given you, sit on that throne and look out over your inheritance. Ask Jesus for the tools he has for you: keys, swords, scrolls, scepters, and whatever else He may give you to bring heavenly order to your life.
• Ask Him to bring you to the Father, or just go directly. You may see Him as a grandfatherly figure on the Throne and probably will get to sit in His lap and talk with Him.
• Visit God at the waterfall of His Spirit, where deep calls to deep. Read the psalms and look for other things to discover.
Ask God to feed you, and eat what He gives you. It may be fruit, chocolate, meat, wine, bread and any number of cultural, ethnic or heavenly dishes!
• Visit paradise. Paradise is BIG and full of unexpected things. But its all that is OUTSIDE of the City.
Visit the Heavenly City, the City of New Jerusalem, your new home by birthright and inheritance. It is 1,500 square miles wide, but it is CUBIC with 400,000 tiers or levels. There are buildings and scenes, gardens and villages that are numerous and wonderful beyond description. Play with angels, meet saints, your guardian angel may teach you, but ask Jesus to teach you as well, since He always has time for you!!!
• Go see your heavenly mansion. Go meet some of the other saints of old, or even recent ones! Ask the Lord to show you around to see things you’ve always heard about or others that you’ve never imagined!
• Travel the earth in spirit. Visit your family, or the places you pray for, or missionaries you support, or foreign countries in turmoil. Visit long lost friends you have lost track of! Distance is of no importance really, neither is time, the past or the future! You can see the past, the future, outer space, creation, the end times, whatever you desire within the Lord’s personal will at that time for you to see. Some things He may not let you see, but there are so many thousands of things He will. Your inheritance is vast.
TROUBLESHOOTING SUMMARY
If people are having a hard time seeing the Lord, first check some of the obvious things. ABOVE ALL don’t worry or panic yourself; just relax and let the Spirit flow.
• Give them a minute or two to relax, and then try again. Sometimes they just need to figure out how to concentrate and look with their spiritual eyes. Be calm and don’t assume if it takes a little longer than normal that it’s over. Relax, pray and press in.
• Worship first a little more to help the Spirit to flow and people to open their hearts.
• Are they nervous and closed up? They need to be at peace, and you can help them by rebuking fear, anxiety and distractions, and releasing the Lord’s presence.
• Are they indifferent? Ask them if they really want to talk to the Lord, and start to cry out! Being lukewarm is no good!
• Rebuke the religious spirit, pride, and anything else you feel is blocking them. Rebuke satan in any form and ask the Lord to release his ministering angels to you.
• Are they really saved? Lead them through a basic salvation prayer. But I’ve seen God speak to people of every walk of life, even ones who are not yet Christians.
• Pray to release the forgiveness of Christ’s blood over them. Ask for forgiveness yourself, maybe something else is quenching the Spirit. Repent and seek.
• You may just want to pray for them in the ‘hot seat,’ laying hands on them and seeking the Lord for insight. They may need inner healing, or to break a curse or other bondage. Be gentle but persistent.
• But all that you normally need to do is just wait a little. Pray to open their spiritual eyes, to open their hearts to talk with the Lord, to ask the Holy Spirit to flow, and maybe even to ask for angels to come and help. Invite the Lord, He’ll sort it all out soon enough.
NOTES: What did Jesus show you?
There is no FORMULA but again, what we find works in a general way is simply to start by preparing people by introducing some basic ideas by asking them:
1. What is the Holy Spirit, simply explaining He is God’s mind will and emotions, personality or character. And,
2. Where is He? Simply agreeing that He is in their hearts in a literal sense. Then,
3. That He is like a river and needs to flow. But also,
4. That our hearts must be open to talk with and ‘behold’ Him.
Then we start by:
5. Quieting down in a prayerful peace. And,
6. Asking God to open the eyes of their hearts so we can see Him. And,
7. Inviting the Holy Spirit, asking Him to come and to flow. Then,
8. To ‘fix their eyes on Jesus’ and search for Him until they can localize Him in vision in their hearts, and then to start to record or share what they see.
Communion, enjoying two-way communication with the Holy Spirit, Book Info
Download the book pdf? maybe no need.
Will need to redo the book materials I think.
A deception is rare but may look like the real thing more than you can easily test. Automatic writing was wonky. People with background in witchcraft need a complete deliverance first. Practice Spiritual Hygiene …
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