OUR SIGNS-1 "Spirit Baptism and Joy"

"We do not see OUR SIGNS; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long." —Psa. 74:9  

Psalm 74 cries out in agony over Israel’s loss of its SIGNS that Indicated God’s favor was with them. The absence of their signs was evidence that Israel had drifted away from GOD, losing His favor, and their unique identity among the nations.  Hundreds of years later the promised Messiah came.  And upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ the NT Church entered the world with the supernatural Signs of GOD’s Presence, not just accompanying it, but within it.

 

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may SHOW FORTH the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." —1Pet. 2:9 

The Church of Christ was called the Church of Acts because its members came with ACTION SIGNS that indicated their origin was from Heaven.  These signs tell the world who we are, and Who we belong to.  And they also remind us of the same.  Unlike the OT Signs that came among them, these Signs flow from within us!  These Signs declare, God is in the house!

There is no scriptural evidence that God ever intended to change the Heaven-Born Spirit-Connected nature of His Church into an earthly institution.  Therefore until He returns, these are The SIGNS we should expect to flow from us. 

"…A people for his own possession, that you may SHOW FORTH the excellencies of him…"  —1Pet. 2:9

Showing Forth results from being GOD-Possessed.  If we don’t see these signs today we should cry out in prayer to GOD for reconnection, until our SIGNS manifest once again.

 

^#1 - The Sign Of Filling Of The Holy Spirit 

"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." —Acts 2:4 

The first SIGN of the New Testament Church was being filled with the Holy Spirit.  The Filling Of The Holy Spirit was the Birth Sign of the Church.  It signified the arrival of the healthy living offspring of the Father!

"But WAIT in Jerusalem (before you go preaching) until you have been clothed with power125 from on high."  —Lk. 24:49

Zealous Believers did NOT create the Church!  The Church was Birthed by GOD through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit!

The Sign Of Filling Of The Holy Spirit is a Sign of Continual Filling…

"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled (AGAIN) with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." —Acts 4:31 

When a couple falls in love and marries they don’t just experience one romantic encounter and then declare, “Well, we’ve got it.  We've had the experience, we’re full now…”  No! They want a continuous filling.  It’s the Continuous Filling that produces a family!  How are we the Bride of Christ if we don’t share the Continuous Filling that makes us One with Jesus?  The Church was never intended as a one-night-stand, followed by a lifetime of talking about it.

"Filled (again) with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." —Acts 4:31

The Filling of the Holy Spirit launched Prophetic Preaching and began the Age of The Vessel & The Indwelling God.  (see Eph 3:18-19) 

Jesus’ response to the prayers of His Church when they were being opposed was to fill His followers with the Holy Spirit!

"Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?" —Gal. 3:3

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the first and foremost SIGN of the church.  God Himself put the Church under the SIGN of Being Filled With The Spirit because it’s the Facility of all our communion, power, and provision.

 

^#2 - The Sign Of Joy 

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, That you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into JOY…And you now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your JOY no man takes from you." —John 16:20, 22  

The JOY of the LORD arrived with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday.  It was The SIGN that Jesus had conquered death and returned to us…"I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice…"  

"….And your JOY no man takes from you."  Because this Joy comes from Heaven it can keep you beyond the reach of a world that would take it from you, if it could.  This JOY is truly a SIGN that’s contrasted against the Momentary Happiness of the world.  The Happiness of the world is a temporary hoax, to make you think the Happenings that generated it will last. But Eternal Conditions generate the JOY of the LORD!

The SIGN of JOY Connects & FILLS you with the the Holy Spirit. — "And the disciples were Filled with JOY, and with the Holy Ghost." —Acts 13:52 

The SIGN of JOY is a Renewable Energy Source. — "Let all those that seek You Rejoice and Be Glad in You:" —Psa. 70:4 

The SIGN of JOY is contagious and can be given to others. — "And there was great JOY in that city." —Acts 8:8 

The SIGN of JOY is Transcendent and will cause you to complete your mission. — "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with JOY, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." —Acts 20:24