Welcome to the July Edition of the Elshaddai Heritage.
July is the seventh (7th) month of the year and the spiritual significance of the number seven (7) is PERFECTION OR COMPLETENESS. As we enter into this month of July, our sincere prayer is that our Almighty father will complete all the wonders and miracles He has started in our lives from the month of January to June in Jesus’ mighty name. All that is sick, heavy burden, struggling with financial difficulties, or any burden, should get ready for a turnaround in this month of July, our month of completeness in Jesus’ Name!
Last month’s Edition talked about FAITH and to build on our faith, we need to know and understand who the holy spirit is and how to work with him because without knowing Him, we cannot apply faith in working with him.
Our spiritual focus for the month of JULY is THE HOLY SPIRIT without whom, there will be no Christianity. The holy spirit is our Anchor and all the 12 pillars discussed from January to June and the ones to be discussed from August to December are all embedded in the person of the Holy Spirit.
WHO IS THIS HOLY SPIRIT?
The Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is believed to be the third person of the TRINITY- A Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God. As such, the holy spirit is fully God, He is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and the Son.
John14:26 ‘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.” This scripture opens our eyes to the understanding that we can rely on the holy spirit as our comforter whom the Lord Jesus sent to us after HIS resurrection to be with us forever. HOLY SPIRIT AS A Comforter is also a Counselor – Counsel is the perfection of the cardinal virtue of prudence. Prudence can be practiced by anyone but counsel is SUPERNATURAL. Through this gift of the holy spirit, we are able to judge how best to act almost by intuition.
John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another HELPER to be with you forever”. The holy spirit is also our helper in everything we do, we are to pray always and ask him to help us and direct our paths. It is also important that we establish a relationship with the holy spirit through a consistent prayer lifestyle to give him an opening to help and strengthen us, especially in times where we feel inadequate, weak, and borne down by our personal problems. In Romans 8:26 the scripture reveals to us that sometimes, we may not know what to pray for, but the holy spirit himself intercedes for us through groaning (Speaking in tongues). God knows our limitations and frustrations. He knows that our flesh is weak even when our spirit is willing, so His Spirit intercedes for us, even for needs that cannot be put into words.
Brethren, it’s pertinent to also be baptized with the holy spirit after repentance so that we can be led through the path of righteousness by the holy spirit. In Acts 2:38 ‘Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the holy spirit and the gifts of the holy spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.
Here’s a thought to make the soul stagger; If you’re in Christ, then the God of heaven has made your heart His home. The holy spirit has moved in, so to speak, filling your soul’s halls and rooms with Himself and he will never, ever move out.
When the holy spirit takes us for a house to himself, he becomes a counselor in all our doubts, a comforter in all our distresses, a solicitor to all duty, a guide to all course of life, until we dwell with him forever in heaven. Before the spirit brings us to heaven, he brings something of heaven to us. How foolish then, to ignore or refuse this glorious guest, and how happy you will be to host Him well.
1 Corinthians 6:19 – Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? Beloved, you are not your own, you were bought at a price, therefore, honour God with your body.
Acts 1:8 – But you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. By the reason of the holy ghost in us, we are witnesses of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we are enjoined to preach the gospel to the end of the earth.
Acts 2: 4 And everyone present was filled with the holy spirit and began speaking in other languages (tongues) as the holy spirit gave them that ability. Once the holy spirit comes upon us, we will receive the power to speak in unknown tongues that only the father understands and we will be edified through the prayers of the tongues. The gift of the tongues is a mark of the outpouring of the holy spirit. It signifies great power.
2 Cor 3:17– Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty.
The Holy Spirit who is one with God also gives liberty to widows and orphans, we can find this in Psalm 68:5 which tells us that God is a “Father of the fatherless and protector/ defender of widows, He is God in his holy habitation.” His aim is to show orphans mercy, care, and protection, and because these waiting children/ women are essential to Him, they should be essential to us as His Church. He will cover them with His feathers. Under His wings, they will find refuge. His faithfulness will be their shield and rampart.
God loves the widow and fatherless.
He has always taken care of them. God’s Old Testament laws made special provisions for them, protected them and their land, and gave a severe warning to anyone who took advantage of them.
And the New Testament does the same. The very role of deacon came about because the church needed godly men of integrity who would make sure daily provision was made for the widow. Timothy gave detailed instructions to the early church on how to care for widows. But even more important, God’s very character is described as the defender of widows and father to the fatherless. The word for “defender” means advocate — one who pleads the cause, renders justice, and rescues from wrongdoing.
Caring for the widow and the fatherless is not just what God does; it’s who he is.
And because it’s his character it will never change. God has always cared for the widow and fatherless and he always will. We can count on not only his promises for the widow but his character.
If you are a widow or single mom, if you’re raising children without a father, be assured that God is for you.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5
Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. Exodus 22:22-23 (NLT)
Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ Deuteronomy 27:19
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. Deuteronomy 10:17-18
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. . . The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow. . . Psalm 146:5, 9
The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 1 Timothy 5:5 (NLT)
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27
Learn to do right! Seek justice, and encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17
Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.’ Mark 12:41-44
True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. Deuteronomy 24:17 (NLT)
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Psalm 82:3
For in You the fatherless find compassion. Hosea 14:3
Brethren, it’s very important for us to take care of widows and orphans as this is a command from God.
1 Cor 3:16-17 – Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
Zechariah4:6 – So he said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by my power, but by my spirit says the Lord Almighty. We can do all things by the Spirit of God.
Gen. 1:2 –Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The spirit of God hovering over the waters has been interpreted in Hebrew as ‘A Great Wind’.
The work of the Holy Spirit is compared to the WIND. Jesus Himself made this comparison when He was speaking to a religious leader Nicodemus. John records Him saying in John3:8- Just as you can hear the wind, but can’t tell where it comes from or where it’s going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the spirit. Here God’s spirit is compared with the wind. The wind would seem to be the most obvious comparison to the Holy Spirit. The same word in both Hebrew and Greek can mean either Wind, Spirit, or Breath, all speak of life depending on the context.
In Ezekiel 37:7-10 NLT, we read about the bones of a body coming together without any breath of life in them. Then the Lord causes the four Winds to breathe life into the dead body. The Spirit of God, when breathed into a dead body or dead soul, gives life! Halleluyah….We read about it in this manner, so I spoke these words, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as they had been before. Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them. Then he said to me, speak to the winds and say: Come, o breath from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so that they may live again. So I spoke as he commanded me, and the wind entered the bodies and they began to breathe. They all came to life and stood up on their feet- A great army. Hallelujah! how great it is to have the holy spirit and have Life!
SHALOM!!!
Written by: MARY ABAH IZAM