The Lord sent the Holy Ghost to Earth to lead us into all truth. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come (John 16:13). We are led into all truth through the rod and reproof of the Holy Spirit, and He will never compromise that truth.

The Lord warned me that the discipline of the Holy Spirit would be very strict in the last hour, and that hour is now. How you respond to that discipline will determine your success or failure in the Lord.

When a child grows up receiving little or no discipline, he will cause trouble and bring shame to his parents. The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame (Proverbs 29:15). In the same way, if the Holy Ghost can’t discipline children of God, they will bring shame to the Father in Heaven. Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured (Proverbs 13:18).

Yield to the Spirit

You must not despise the reproof of the Holy Ghost; you must appreciate it. Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth (Hebrews 12:5,6). Godly discipline is worth more than all the silver and gold in the world.

The Lord and the Holy Spirit use divine correction to keep you in the place they want you to be. There may be times when you wake up, and something just doesn’t feel right. It is time for you to get quiet with the Lord and find out why. He may be trying to tell you that you need to pray more, study the Word more or give more time to Him. That is the chastening of the Holy Spirit; and if you yield to it, that uneasy spirit will leave you, and the love of God will flow.

Discipline is never enjoyable, but it is necessary. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby (Hebrews 12:11). Don’t get upset when the Holy Ghost or someone God has placed in your life disciplines you. Instead, be glad the Lord loves you enough to show you the right way and know it is for your good.

If you ignore the reproof of the Holy Ghost, God will let you go your own way. Then you will be headed for trouble because the compass of self and the devil will always point you in the wrong direction. O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps (Jeremiah 10:23).

Put Self Down

We live in an age when more people than ever do not want any kind of discipline, but the Bible calls them fools. A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent (Proverbs 15:5). You must pay attention to the Holy Spirit’s reproof because it is a warning to you and protection for your soul.

The Holy Spirit hands out discipline because He seeks to bring you into line and make you the best worker for God you can be. Unfortunately, many ignore what the Spirit is trying to tell them because they think their way is right, but that doesn’t make it God-right. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits (Proverbs 16:2).

Many people don’t realize that self is their worst enemy. Self likes to be flattered because it feels good, but what kind of fruit does it yield?—ego, selfishness and on it goes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful (Psalm 36:2).

Self-justification, self-will and self-confidence hinder the Spirit working in your life. This is what the Bible says about self-righteousness: But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). You must get rid of self and let the rod and reproof of the Spirit do their perfect work in you. Only then can you go deeper and deeper with the Lord.

Keep the Unity of the Spirit

One of the primary goals of the Holy Spirit’s strict discipline is to keep unity among God’s people. The Lord has called us to work together to win souls, and God wants us to walk worthy of that calling in the unity of the Holy Ghost. Paul said, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3).

Let’s take a closer look at that verse. To be lowly is to be humble and unimportant to yourself. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly (Romans 12:3).

A meek person is patient and longsuffering. To forbear one another in love is to put yourself aside and help keep others from veering off the straight and narrow path. God’s love is the bond of perfectness (Colossians 3:14), and it brings about unity in the body of Christ.

Jesus said, Love one another; as I have loved you (John 13:34). That bond of love makes us one with the Father and one with each other. Later in John, Jesus said, That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me (John 17:21).

God Hates Discord

Oneness in the body of Christ can only come about when the members yield to the rod and reproof of the Holy Spirit. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (I Corinthians 1:10).

When people are in one mind and one accord, they will treat each other with love and respect and have great peace among them. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).

Sowing discord among the brethren breaks the unity of the Spirit, and God hates discord. In Proverbs, the Bible lists six specific things God hates; and the last one listed is he that soweth discord among brethren (Proverbs 6:19). Discord greatly hinders the work of God, yet many people sow it seemingly without regret. Those people will realize how much God hates it when they land in hell.

Dissention and conflict are extremely disruptive to the unity of the Holy Ghost. People won’t always treat you right, and some may make false statements about you; but you can’t let those things bother you. Turn people over to God; cover them with love, and go on your way. If someone asks you to forgive them, do it. It must be your honest intention to keep the unity of the Spirit, and God will bless you for doing that.

Strife and envy cause trouble in the body of Christ. Paul said, Let us walk honestly, as in the day…not in strife and envying (Romans 13:13). He then scolded the Corinthians for having those things saying, For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men (I Corinthians 3:3)? We are to walk like Jesus walked.

Gossip Is Dangerous

Gossip causes discord, and you will go to hell for doing it. Paul told the Thessalonians, For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread (II Thessalonians 3:11,12).

If you talk about others, you may think you are just telling the truth; but you are really sowing discord to the ones you are talking to and putting thoughts in their minds that Jesus would not put there. You are also hurting those you are talking about. He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends (Proverbs 17:9).

You must never listen to gossip. If people don’t have anything good to say about Jesus, hang up the phone or walk away. You may worry that it will hurt their feelings, but they need to be hurt because they are hurting God and His people. The Holy Spirit will try to reprove those who gossip; but if they don’t yield, they will be headed for eternal damnation.

Have No Ego

Those who have ego need the rod and reproof of the Holy Spirit because they are full of self, and that breaks the unity of the Spirit. If you think you are more important than others in the work of God, you will cause dissension trying to exert authority when you should be serving. The work of God doesn’t need people who think they have power over others; it needs servants. Jesus said, But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant (Matthew 23:11). Those who are the greatest in the work of God are those who serve like Jesus did.

Jesus had to deal with ego in the disciples. And there was also a strife among them [the disciples], which of them should be accounted the greatest (Luke 22:24). Jesus didn’t like that at all; and He said, But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve (Luke 22:26). Jesus was always trying to straighten out the disciples, but they wouldn’t stay that way.

A mother of two of the disciples wanted her sons to sit beside Jesus in His Kingdom, one to the left and one to the right. That request was full of self and ego. And he [Jesus] saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father (Matthew 20:23). Only God decides each person’s place.

If you are truly walking in the Spirit, you will be alert to any kind of discord; and it will be bitterness to your soul. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [rise up against] them (Ephesians 5:11).

Be Like Jesus

The Gospel must go forth, and you must never hinder the speed with which God wants the Gospel to travel. If people want to cause trouble and not live for God, separate from them. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them (Romans 16:17).

You must be an example of Jesus at all times in this last hour. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt [the love of God], that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man (Colossians 4:5,6). If you are about to say something you shouldn’t, the Holy Spirit will check you. You must be sensitive to Him and yield to His reproof at that time. He knows exactly what you should and should not say. Speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men (Titus 3:2).

You are responsible for yielding to the reproof of the Spirit, keeping unity among God’s people and taking the Gospel to the world. Paul summed it up with this great verse: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).

Let Jesus In

To be able to live in the Holy Spirit, you must first give your heart to Jesus. Pray this prayer with me now: Oh, God, save my soul! Forgive me for all my sins. I am so sorry, Lord, that I sinned against you, but I have come home; and I am going to serve you for the rest of my life. I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all of my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus! Come on in!

If you meant that prayer, Jesus has come; and He is yours. Start reading your Bible and praying, and Bible fasting will help you, too.

Be Made Whole

If you are sick and afflicted, I am not a healer; but I believe in the One who is, and I believe in the power of healing prayer. Lord, you promised healing in your Word, and your promises are true. Heal the people today of cancer, heart trouble, diabetes, blindness, deafness or any other affliction they may have. Heal any crippled or paralyzed limbs, and make sick bodies well right now. Heal! in the name of Jesus. Heal! in the all-powerful, holy name of the Son of God! If you are believing with me, God’s power is going into your body or that of your loved one; and it will work day and night to get you or your loved one well. God wants His children to be made whole so they can help take the Gospel to the world.

Write, email or send a message to one of our social media pages about what you have received today; and we will rejoice in the Lord with you.

Does the Holy Ghost Serve His Purpose in Your Life?

By Chris Machamer

We are living in the final hour of the great outpouring of the Holy Ghost, and He is working on Earth like never before. He came to live in Spirit-filled children of God and to perform all the duties Jesus ordained Him to perform. He yearns to work in and through every vessel who will yield to Him.

Shortly before Jesus finished fulfilling the plan of redemption and ascended back to Heaven, He gave His followers special instructions in John, chapters 14-16, about the person of the Holy Ghost and the duties He is to perform for them and through them. What those duties are is the topic of this message.

The Comforter

One of the Spirit’s greatest duties is being a comforter. Jesus said, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever (John 14:16). You will face many disappointments, sorrows, tribulations and persecutions on this difficult journey through life. Calamity can strike without warning, and you could even lose a loved one in death. That is why you must have the great Comforter to help you in those times of distress, and He will abide with you forever.

The Apostle Paul received a great revelation of the comfort the Holy Spirit gives us. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26).

There are times when the burdens of this life are so great and the trials so fiery that your human mind becomes clouded, tired and disoriented; and it can’t think straight. You don’t know what to pray for or even how to pray, but the Holy Ghost is there to raise up a standard and make intercession for you. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19).

The Holy Ghost produces the nine spiritual fruits in your mind to comfort and bless you and others. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22,23). But these fruits cannot be produced with any regularity unless you take on the mind of Christ, which the Bible says you can have. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5).

The Divine Guide

Life is filled with twists and turns, so the Holy Ghost is to be your guide. The devil sets traps and creates pitfalls along the way to try to ensnare your soul, but the person of the Holy Ghost will lead you through every valley and over every mountaintop. He will give you the divine wisdom you need to make important decisions as long as you look to Him.

When you don’t know what to do or say in certain situations, stop and consider what Jesus would do. If you are sincere, the Holy Ghost will let you know. Jesus said, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come (John 16:13).

The Spirit of truth guides you through the Word of truth, so He will never lead you astray; but He will lead you away from the many false prophets and false doctrines of this last hour. Jesus warned about this more than once. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves (Matthew 7:15). For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (Matthew 24:24).

There will be times when the Spirit will guide you on a path that you may not understand, but you must trust His guidance and yield to His leadership. The Bible says, Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths [through the person of the Holy Ghost] (Proverbs 3:5,6).

At other times, the Holy Ghost will show you things to come in order to encourage you or prepare you for what lies ahead on your divine mission. That is what happened to the Apostle Paul as he made his way to Jerusalem for the last time. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me (Acts 20:22,23).

A Teacher from On High

The Holy Ghost is to be your teacher, and He will teach those He dwells in. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26).

It is so important for a child of God to be a student of God’s Word because the more you study and know God’s Word, the more material the Holy Ghost will be able to use to instruct you in the ways of divinity. The Holy Ghost is the teacher; you are the student, and the Word of God is your textbook.

Paul said, Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (I Corinthians 2:12-14). The Word is spiritual, so it can only be spiritually discerned.

As you study the Word with your teacher, the Holy Ghost, He will open your understanding of scriptures that you may have struggled with in the past. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15). The more you study and memorize scriptures, the greater opportunity the Holy Ghost has to bring those scriptures to your remembrance that will bless you, strengthen you and comfort you in your time of need.

You Can Know Jesus

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me (John 15:26). The Holy Ghost was sent to testify of Jesus, and that means to bear witness or to make a statement based on personal knowledge.

We are to be like Jesus, but it is impossible to know or be like someone you have never met; and that is why you need the Holy Ghost. Jesus lived on Earth 2000 years ago, but the same Holy Ghost who lives in us lived in Him. The Spirit has also lived with Jesus in Heaven for many ages, so He knows all about Jesus.

Now, if you do not have reality in the divine Teacher, how can you have reality in Jesus? He said, Learn of me (Matthew 11:29). You can only learn Jesus by taking your place at the feet of your teacher, the Holy Ghost, and letting Him guide you into the living reality of Jesus.

Be a Student of the Holy Ghost

Child of God, there is a price to pay to be a student of the Holy Ghost that goes far beyond letting Him take over your tongue and speak through you. You must yield your mind to Him and take on the mind of Christ. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind (I Peter 4:1).

You must yield your time to Him in prayers, meditations and the study of God’s Word. You will have to sacrifice time you spend with entertainments, family, friends and doing what you want to do. Only then will you be able to yield your will to the Spirit and take on the divine will of God for your life.

On occasion, you must sacrifice your food to the Holy Ghost in Bible fasting. Jesus said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Job knew about fasting before Jesus ever arrived on Earth. I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food (Job 23:12).

Many churches and those who claim to be Christians have failed because they have not been willing to pay the price in prayer, fasting and living in the Word. They have quenched the person of the Holy Ghost, and they have no reality in Jesus or in His power working in their midst. They have no signs, wonders, miracles or healings in their churches; and they are satisfied with that.

Many who call themselves Christians don’t even have the real born-again experience let alone the true baptism of the Holy Ghost; therefore, they worship a Jesus made up of their own ideas, theories and opinions. They do not worship the Christ of truth but a Christ who compliments and conforms to their natural, carnal minds. As a result, all they have is a form of godliness without any power. Paul told of such people when he said, Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away (II Timothy 3:5).

The Holy Ghost Taught Paul

Only the Holy Ghost can give you the wisdom and knowledge of Jesus you need. That is why Jesus told the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith (Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22). Jesus also said, He [the Holy Spirit] shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16:14).

The Bible states that children of God are joint-heirs with Jesus. That means all the heavenly Father has willed to Jesus is also willed to the children of God, and the Holy Ghost is the one who reveals that divine heritage to them. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16,17). We are made joint-heirs through Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary.

To illustrate the wisdom and knowledge of the Holy Ghost and His effectiveness as a teacher, you need to study the Apostle Paul, a man who wrote approximately two-thirds of the New Testament under the leadership of the Holy Ghost. The twelve disciples who were with Jesus day after day during His earthly ministry learned much from Him; but none of them knew Jesus and the ways of divinity like the Apostle Paul did, a man who never saw Jesus in the flesh.

When Jesus was here, the disciples knew Him as the Son of man; but Paul learned Jesus as the Son of God through the Holy Ghost because he had separated himself into the desert to be taught by the Holy Ghost. But when it pleased God, who separated me [Paul] from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days (Galatians 1:15-18).

Let the Holy Ghost Teach You

To attend a university today, a person must pay a high price for tuition and then make many sacrifices to study and learn. If sinners can make such sacrifices for an earthly education, how much more should children of God be willing to sacrifice for a special spiritual education?

In this final hour, the Lord is giving every bridal company member an invitation to enroll in the school of the Holy Ghost and be taught the greatness of Jesus by the greatest of all teachers. Do you qualify for enrollment? Are you born again and living free from sin? Are you baptized in the Holy Ghost with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance according to Acts 2:4? Have you taken on the mind of Christ so the Holy Ghost will have a proper mind to work with? Are you willing to make the necessary sacrifices to attend this school?

Paul said, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded (Philippians 3:14,15). You must be willing to lay aside anyone or anything that would keep you from answering the high calling of God for your life.

It is the responsibility of the student to respond when the teacher calls class to order; and as a student of the Holy Ghost, you must come to order in His presence when He calls so you can be taught, blessed, edified and endowed with more power from On High. You must come into the reality of the person of the Holy Ghost and yield yourself completely to Him. You must be willing to sacrifice whatever is needed to become a greater blessing to the Kingdom of God.

Jesus said, He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it (Matthew 10:39). Paul said, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1).

Receive the Holy Ghost

There are so many benefits to having the person of the Holy Ghost living within you, and there is so much He wants to do for you; so you must receive Him. First, you must give your heart to the Lord, and you can do that by saying the sinner’s prayer found on page 5 of this magazine.

Now, I am going to call down the anointing to receive the Holy Ghost upon you. Then get off to yourself and start praising the Lord with your whole heart in your language until the Holy Ghost takes over. If you yield, the Holy Ghost will come in and use your tongue to speak through you in another language. That will be the beginning of His great work in your life.

Lord, in the name of Jesus, I call down the Holy Ghost upon the people. Receive ye the Holy Ghost in the name of Jesus! Receive ye the Holy Ghost in the holy, blood name of Jesus! Friend, keep praising the Lord and don’t stop until the Holy Ghost comes in.