Sage Voice

 The Gifts of the Holy Spirit  Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV [11] So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. The Holy Spirit is a gift from God to those whom he loves. Why is the Holy Spirit a gift? A gift refers to a provision freely made, a person freely given, or an item freely supplied to meet another person's peculiar needs. Anything that is given to solve your peculiar need free of charge is a gift. Our talents are natural gifts given by God to enable us meet peculiar needs such as our need for a job. Our extraordinary or supernatural abilities are spiritual gifts given by God to enable us do extraordinary works on his behalf. A gift may be in the form of an arrangement made, a person given, or an item supplied to meet the peculiar needs of another person free of charge. From a giver, gift reaches a recipient. The Holy Spirit is God's comp...

The Way of Life of the Holy Spirit If the Holy Spirit is indeed a person, then he must have a way of life, a living conduit by which he expresses his nature and character, and models the way of life of God's children. The way of life of the Holy Spirit is summarized in the fruit of the Spirit.  The Fruit of the Holy Spirit The word "fruit" denotes the end result or end product of a reproductive process involving many steps and stages. In relation to the Holy Spirit, fruit conjures the image of intimacy with the Holy Spirit not necessarily involving sexuality but sensitivity to him. Thus, a Christian who is awake and alert, or sensitive to the Holy Spirit tends to produce the fruit of the Spirit, in other words, the spiritual fruit resulting from intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Words that are synonymous with intimacy include fellowship, union, communion, partnership, sharing, connection, association, interaction, engagement, communication and conversation. ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:2...

Perceiving the Holy Spirit  Paul sent a revelation to the Galatian church, saying, "walk by the Spirit and you will n ot gratify the desires of the flesh." (5:16) In the same revelation he added that "since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (5:25) This serves to reiterate that except we understand the person of the Holy Spirit, his nature and way of life, we will never be able to keep in step with him so as to express his life. Christianity is the expression of the life of the Spirit through faith manifesting itself by love. To be able to express the life of the Spirit, you have to be awake and alert, thus, sensitive to the Spirit. Spirituality, therefore, is sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and to spiritual values.  The Person of the Holy Spirit •The Holy Spirit is God The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity. Christians believe and affirm, in keeping with the Shema of the Jews, that "the LORD our God, the LORD is one....

Introduction This message might sound controversial to Christians who have not made it a habit to investigate Scripture before making decisions on spiritual matters. While I do not deny that this message might cause the heart to quake a little bit, I also bear witness that this message will drive the genuine believer to go on his knees to seek spiritual understanding, and to feast on the Scriptures as one hungry for truth. I would like to state, however, that if your mind is not open to verities of the Spirit, do not read further! Tithe in the Old Testament Tithe literally means the tenth part. When you give tithe, you give the tenth part (1/10 or 10%) of your income as offering to God, received on his behalf by his priest. The first time we hear about tithe in the Bible is in Genesis 14:20 when after defeating four kings in a fierce battle, and carrying away the booty, Abraham was met, offered bread and wine, and blessed by Melchizedek who happened to be king of Salem and priest of Go...