But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
When you are born-again from above, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, the eyes of your heart are opened and enlightened so that the blindness that Satan has put upon unbelievers is removed so that you can know what is the hope of My calling, the riches of the glory of your inheritance in Jesus (as joint heirs with Him you share His inheritance), and the surpassing greatness of My power towards you who believe. And that is resurrection power which I brought about in Christ, when I raised Him from the dead and seated Him at My right hand in the heavenly places. And that same Spirit that raised Jesus is within you and raised you with and in Him to seat you in Him at My right hand on the throne of the Son of Man which He won back for you in Him.
And that is where you are now and forever. It is a continuous rest in Me so that you can hear from Me constantly and receive mercy and find grace just when you need it.
But the sad news is that most of you are not aware of where you are in the Spirit and the great advantage you have even now. You have full access to Me at all times. Do you make use of it? Are you even conscious of it? Most are not and this grieves Me and My Spirit and Jesus for He died to give you this great gift of My divine life in you.
How do you stay aware of where you are seated with Me at all times? There are believers who say that they feel far from Me and that they do not hear from Me. This ought not to be. I want all to know Me from the least to the greatest, from the baby all the way to the most elderly. What is the answer?
Look to My Word for answers and you will find them. I never tell you to do anything I do not define and give you complete instructions on how to do it and obtain what I promise.
Do you recall Stephen, one of first born-again believers after Pentecost in the newly born Church, the body of Christ? Amid heavy persecution against him, he gazed intently into Heaven and saw My glory and Jesus at My right hand. The heavens opened in his enlightened inner vision, and he saw where he was in position already.
But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55-56.
And he called out two prayers that I answered and performed immediately. Acts 7:59-60; Acts 7:58; Acts 9:17. But more about this in a moment.
And what are you told about Stephen? He was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Acts 6:5. He was chosen to serve the early Christian community in the position of looking after the serving of the meals in common in a fair and equitable manner and handling any disputes among the brethren over the distribution. The twelve disciples who had been with Jesus did not want to be pulled out of their assignment to preach the Word by disputes over the food. So the twelve summoned the congregation and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Acts 6:2-4.
The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and their first choice was Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. And what did being full of faith and the Holy Spirit do? It filled him with grace and power so that he was performing great wonders and signs among the people. Acts 6:8.
He was full. That is what you need to be too so you will experience this. And I have been showing you from of old how to get so full of faith that you walk by faith and not by sight and thus overcome the world. For the victory that overcomes the world is your faith in Me.
Faith comes by hearing My Word, especially the Word concerning Jesus Christ and what I have freely given you in Him. Romans 10:17; 1 Corinthians 2:12.
And how do you get FULL of faith so that you walk in faith and not by sight and change any contrary facts to line up with the truth of God’s Word? For physical circumstances change (are temporal) but the Word, the truth, is eternal. The truth can change lies. That is what happens in court even today. The fact may be that someone breached a contract, but you can enforce that contract in court and change those facts by the law and get recompensed.
You get full of faith the same way I have told you from of old:
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Joshua 1:8.
Fill up with the Word by reading it, hearing it, speaking it, and doing it. Psalm 1:1-3; Proverbs 4:20-27; Matthew 7:24-27. And by remaining and continuing in the Word, you become a disciple, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32. And as you remain in My Word you abide in Jesus as a branch in the vine, and My life in that vine and flows into you by the Holy Spirit and makes you fruitful with the fruit of the vine, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. John 15:5-11; Galatians 5:22-23.
And now let us consider how to get filled with the Holy Spirit. Not just a drab wasteland.
As a born-again believer you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you and on you.
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 2 Corinthians 3:16.
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses. Acts 1:8.
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17.
But how do you get full of the Holy Spirit? Remember it set Stephen apart from the other believers and it was noticeable.
I tell you how:
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourself and one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Ephesians 5:15-20.
Singing My Word in your heart, making melody unto Me is the quickest way to get full of the Holy Spirit.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, receiving, welcoming, and awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. Jude 1:20-21.
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. Acts 19:6.
Being filled with faith and the Holy Spirit makes you full of grace and power, empowering you to be fruitful in good works. Being filled also gives you answers that no one can contradict.
But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Acts 6:9-10.
Being filled also makes you radiant with My light within and without. Always look for the radiant face and you will know the one that loves Me and is Spirit filled.
And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel. Acts 6:15.
You see into the Spirit realm where you are seated and your prayers are heard and answered immediately because you are remaining in Me and My Word is remaining in you.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. John 15:7-8.
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 1 John 5:14-15.
Stephen asked two requests before Jesus, the High Priest of his confession, and Me, for us to receive his spirit and bring him home to us right then (remember later when Paul was stoned and left for dead he had decided to live on to do productive labor for saving souls) and that I not hold the sin against his murderers but save them. I answered both. I took him home immediately to be with Me forever and I extended mercy and grace to all those present who stoned him or concurred in the action, including a young man named Saul. A very short time later I send My Son to Saul, who became Paul, and then I sent Ananias to open his eyes to the truth and baptize him and fill him with the Holy Spirit. And Paul did not receive My grace in vain. Your prayers mean a lot to Me.
So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized. Acts 9:17-18.
I love you. Keep your eyes on Jesus and you will have a beautiful life, the most beautiful life ever lived.