Yes, God can act powerful through Life Groups too! Healing, deliverance, etc....

Yes, God can act powerful through Life Groups too! Healing, deliverance, etc. The entire room was overcome with emotions....

 

2 Corinthians 13:5 – Examine yourselves

I believe, I can say with confidence that the Holy Spirit showed up in a major way last night. God showed up and proved to each one of us that He is the I AM. Everything that He purposes, He shall do. That purpose is that the Body of Christ that includes each member of this Life Group, fully operate in the gifts of the Spirit that He has placed in us. And last night, He opened that door in ways we had never seen. So much so that by the time He was done, and you all can correct me if I am wrong, I was crying; Andrea was in tears; Felicia was weeping; Jeanne was crying; my daughter was in a state of shock and Sherri was emotionally taken aback. We all were emotionally affected by the presence of the Holy Spirit. No one can deny it that we all saw and felt God's presence in a profound way last night. His presence was strong, active and powerful. THIS WEEK'S REFLECTIONS God is taking all of us on a journey in honestly evaluating what is in our hearts spiritually. And I believe, He revealed in some of us our lukewarm behaviors and attitudes. Too many of us are gifted in one or more the gifts of the Spirit, but we have allowed our fear of others and even our own slumberous to prevent God from elevating us spiritually. Too many of us are living like Elizabeth Jordan in the War Room video clip. We are successful in our professional lives, but defeated in our personal lives. Like Elizabeth, we even think we are okay spiritually. She occasionally attended Riverdale Community Church. She feels she knows the Lord. She believes in God like most people. And she even expressed that He is very important to her. But God revealed to her through Miss Clara, her prayer life; her occasionally visits to God's house; indicated otherwise. God used Miss Clara to challenge Elizabeth to be honest with herself, as to where she really is in her spiritual life. Click here to see video clip. Be Honest So let's be honest. As we saw from the video, even through Elizabeth felt she was ok spiritually, it was obvious she was lukewarm. As we read last night, we came to a clear understanding how God feels about lukewarmness. Revelation 3:16 says, "But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!" Yes, our lukewarmness in our worship is making God nausea. So much so, He is ready to spit us out. Similar to how Elizabeth reacted after she drunk the lukewarm coffee that Miss Clara gave her that represented Elizabeth's actual spiritual life. This week, as you review the content from last night lesson and the previous studies, honestly evaluate yourself and make notes in your journal. Are you cold? Hot? Or lukewarm? Is your spiritual activity or the lack there of  making God feels nauseous? Like Elizabeth, do we think we are ok spiritually when we actually are functioning in a backslidden spiritual condition - where we lack genuine faith and spiritual understanding? As Andrea mentioned, "you have not picked a side." Some of us are straggling the fence concerning our spiritual life. For example, in our Life Group, whether you attend our group weekly, or our virtual group, there are giftings God has placed in you (1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-7), but how many of us can say we are operating daily in the gift that God has placed in us. We have the authority, but where is the power behind what God has granted each one of you (James 5:16). It amazes me how God uses relatable metaphor to make a point to us. My grandbaby, Talia, who was present at the Life Group last night, was the visible metaphor God used to show us that there is power in each one of us. She was our visible aid to remind us the authority that Christ has granted each one us, but it is laying dormant, simply waiting on us to stop sleeping on our gifts that are in us. Many of you are aware of the difficult pregnancy we had with Talia. Her survival was questionable. Yet, we collectively prayed and shamed the devil. As James 5:16 states, "...a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Well here is the wonderful result when we operate freely and confidentially in our gifts of the Spirit - my grandbaby. Here's another result that you are not aware of. As God's Spirit was moving last night over each one of us, He was allowing Felicia, who is gifted in the gift of healing, to indirectly heal my grandbaby of another medical problem she was having. Prior to last night, although, Talia's appetite had picked up tremendously, she was not putting out nearly as much as she was taking in. She was not really wetting her pampers. However, when we got home last night, after her mother changed her diapers, she was shocked. Talia's diaper was soaked. When we changed her this morning, again, her pamper was completely saturated. Don't tell me that our God is not operating supernaturally today. That He is not moving through us to perform miracles, healing, etc. (1 Corinthians 12:28). For the soul purpose of His glory and for us to help one another (1 Corinthians 12:7, 25). As Paul says at 1 Corinthians 12:31b, "...let me show you a way of life that is best of all." Ladies, walk in it. Fearless walk in it - in whatever gift or gifts God has placed in you. One finally thought. One person from the group has already confessed to me that she saw the setting we were in last night in  a vision before it happened. It was like déjà vu and she was shocked. Another confessed that through this series lesson, the Holy Spirit gave her the boldness she needed to overcome her fears and to operate in the gifts God has granted her. What about you?