107/53 Purpose – Holy Spirit Power - a podcast by Dr. Vic Torres

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Purpose – Holy Spirit Power



Introduction



In the last few posts/episodes, we’ve been talking about finding your purpose in God and using Jesus’ life as a pattern for finding our purpose.



Review



As I said in my last post when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the Scriptures clearly state that Heaven was opened, and the Spirit came down like a dove. What is important to realize is that Heaven was open because the Holy Spirit came down. In Jesus’s case, the Holy Spirit came down upon him. In our case, when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. This means that we live under an open heaven just as Jesus did! By the phrase “open heaven,” I mean we have access to the Lord, and fellowship and communication is available to us.



Unfortunately, many Christians live under the impression that Heaven is closed. Nothing could be further from the truth. We may be unaware that Heaven is open, but nevertheless, Heaven is available to us because of the Holy Spirit in us. There is a direct connection between the Lord in Heaven and the Holy Spirit living in us, for they are One.



Jesus makes this “open heaven” clear when He encountered Nathaniel in John 1:51, He said the following, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” The word angel means messenger; communications were open between the Father and Jesus. In the same way, communication is open between the Father and the Believer.Show More




Because Heaven was open, Jesus could hear and see what the Father was doing.



John 5:19 “Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”John 8:28 “Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.”John 12:49 “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”



Even in the Lord’s prayer – we say, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” How do we know what is done in Heaven unless it is revealed to us through the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit?



Now we are ready to look at the second event that Jesus encountered before entering into his ministry and purpose. THE RECEPTION OF THE AUTHORITY AND POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.



Jesus went from His Baptism, where He was filled with the Spirit to the wilderness where He received the Holy Spirit’s power and authority. Now, the question is what happened in the wilderness that was key to Jesus’ preparation for starting His ministry? 



Heaven was open, and the Holy Spirit was upon Him, but now Jesus had to show that He was totally committed to doing the Father’s will. The three temptations in the wilderness were the universal temptations that all of humanity must resist. Jesus shows us how to resist the Devil by standing upon the Word of God! 1 John 2:16 describes these temptations best, “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”



The lust of the flesh – lust in this sense means a desire for that which is forbidden. The lust of the flesh then is a desire for forbidden physical pleasure.The lust of the eyes – is the forbidden desire for those things that appeal to our sight or mind.The pride of life – is the arrogant desire for money, power, and influence. 



I have heard these three temptations describe

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