Most Recent Blog Posts
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Post 89 The Great Exchange: Healing for Sickness!
Jesus took our sickness that we might have healing; “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Pet 2:24; see also Isa 53:5).
We know, from Revelations 21, that when we get to Heaven, there will be no sickness, disease, or tears. Any illness we may have had will be miraculously healed; we will have new bodies! However, in this life, we have all experienced sickness in our spirit, soul or mind, and our bodies. The “good news is that Jesus made provision for healing in every area of our lives. Show More
Matthew 4:23, “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.”
As you can see from Matthew four, nothing was beyond Jesus’ healing anointing! Spirit, soul, and body.
Spiritual Healing
Let’s take a brief look at Spiritual healing. Before we came to Christ, all of us were in spiritual darkness. Upon being Born-again, the Holy Spirit of God came to live in us. For that reason alone, the Devil and all his demons can not possess a born-again believer! The Spirit of God is greater than any spirit of the Devil. The Devil may try to oppress or depress the soul or even attack the body, but the light of Christ drives out the darkness of Satan. It is impossible for the Devil or Satan to exist in a true Believer of Jesus Christ.
Emotional Healing
For the rest of this message, my focus will be on healing of the Soul, otherwise known as emotional healing. Next time I will focus on the physical healing of the body.
The Structure of an Emotional Wound.
It’s usually easy to recognize people who are “hurting on the inside” because they wind-up hurting others. I’m sure you have heard the expression, “Hurting people, hurt people” People with issues and problems that have not been healed will hurt other people. Proverbs 18:14, “The spirit of a man will sustain him, in sickness, but who can bear a broken (crushed) spirit?”
Memories
What is important to realize is that memory plays an essential part in the health of a soul (mind). There are many types of memories, but I want to take a look at two- normal and emotional memories. These two types of memories are stored in different parts of the brain.
- Normal memory or recall
- Working memories – i.e. 2+2=4
- No emotions are aroused.
- Emotional memory
- The recall caused by smell, sound, taste, or emotion in others brings back a memory that may be pleasant or painful.
- Sometimes we are not aware of the “trigger” that produces an emotional recall.
There are many causes of emotional injury or a broken spirit. Some common examples are:
- abandonment
- rejection
- divorce
- abortion
- physical abuse
- emotional abuse
- verbal abuse
- sexual abuse
All of these events can produce painful recall experiences in individuals. Remembering the hurtful event can create the same emotional impact as if it were happening again, even if the original incident occurred many years ago.
Dysfunction or Behaving Badly
Let’s take a look at how a broken spirit can produce dysfunction.
- The wounding – this is the event that caused the pain.
- False belief – this is the lie the Devil wants you to believe. The lie is that you deserved it or that it was your fault.
- Emotional pain – This is the pain caused by believing the lie.
- Dysfunctional behavior – this is the behavior as a result of trying to get rid of the emotional pain. TSome will turn to alcohol or drugs, inflicting pain on oneself as in “cutting.” It may be uncontrollable anger or rage. It can also be immoral behavior as well. There are too many ways, “hurting people” can be dysfunctional.
- Trigger circumstances – This would be the event that triggers the cycle all over again. It can be as simple as someone saying something that reminds the person of the “wounding.”
How can one break the cycle caused by emotional dysfunction? One needs to encounter the healing produced by Jesus. There are two things that Jesus brings, truth and forgiveness.
- The wound —- Jesus’ healing comes as we accept His forgiveness and empowers us to forgive others.
- False belief —- Truth, the light that drives out the darkness. It is the truth that sets us free John 8:31,32,36.
- Emotional pain — Peace in place of the pain, fear, confusion, and turmoil
- Dysfunctional behavior — Transformation, replacing the old with the new. Romans 12:1,2.
- Trigger circumstances — Now gone because the wound has been healed.
Jesus will always respond to repentance and forgiveness…
Luke 4:18 Jesus heals the brokenhearted.
- Normal memory or recall
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Post 88 – The Great Exchange: Peace for Confusion and Turmoil! Part 2
The message for today is God’s peace, Part Two. Jesus took our turmoil and confusion and gave us His peace; Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Show More
I want you to remember from our last message three things:
- Grace is what God has already provided through Jesus and the Cross. All of the exchanges we have been talking about were meant for us to enjoy. God wants to take away all the negativity and fear and replace them with blessings and joy as we follow Him.
- It is by faith that we receive God’s grace. We must contend or struggle for what is rightfully ours in Christ Jesus. The reason for the struggle is that you have an enemy, and his name is Satan. Satan will use every deception, and any demonic means to keep you in bondage. The way to counteract what the Devil wants us to believe is to focus on what God has said, and then we must trust that we receive what He has said! The evidence that we believe what He has said is to actually do and act like we already have the promise.
- All of the people, places, and circumstances in life have shaped who we are today. Some of those experiences in life have left emotional scars that make us feel that we are unworthy of God’s grace. It is this sense of unworthiness that is an obstacle to believe, or have faith, that we have God’s grace or goodness available to us.
Our Confidence in Jesus
Philippians 2:12-13 says the following, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Verse 12 can easily be misunderstood in that if we apply it to salvation as something that can be lost, we will always live in fear and doubt as to whether we are truly saved. That kind of uncertainty can never lead to peace. We must look at the verse “Working out our salvation with fear and trembling” from a different perspective. It has to do with the fruit of what salvation produces. Salvation is both an “event” and a “process.” The event is when one accepts by repenting and then believing in Christ as Lord and Savior. The process is the life-long progression as one learns what it means to become Christ-like.
The apostle Paul wrote Philippians, but he also wrote the book of Romans. In Romans, Paul clearly makes the case that we are saved by grace and not by works. For instance, look at That “no condemnation” is used to make the point that we are not condemned to Hell! Our home is Heaven! Then Paul explains that it is not by the flesh or works but by the Spirit which we received when we made Jesus our Lord and Savior. In other words, as we learn to be led by the Holy Spirit to be transformed from the inside out to be more like Jesus.
Look at some these other verses in Romans:
- Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
- Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
- Romans 8:38, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The only conclusion is that nothing or no one can snatch us out of the hand of God! (John 10:28-29) So why does Paul say, “Working out our salvation with fear and trembling”? It is because we must learn to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. Walking by the Spirit of God is the ultimate faith walk. Learning to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit through the Bible and discerning His voice in everyday life is the greatest challenge we face as Christians.
Jesus intends that we be “Free Indeed!” John 8:32, 36.
Here is the primary point I want to make, if we feel unworthy of God’s grace, we will never release the faith to walk with the Holy Spirit in victory. The Devil wants to keep you in bondage. He wants to keep you in bondage to your past. Have you forgotten what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17? “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” The “old you” is dead! You are now loved, forgiven, and accepted and deserving of all that Jesus purchased for you through the Great Exchange!
The Holy Spirit is at work in you.
Earlier, we looked at Philippians 2:12-13, but our focus was on verse 12. Let’s take the time to look at verse 13, “… for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” What does it mean that God is at work in you to both will and do for His good pleasure? I believe that this statement is evidence that God’s Holy Spirit is at work to give you the desire for righteousness and the supernatural ability to live righteously. If this is the case, why is it that so many live their lives in bondage and not Hope, Healing, and Wholeness? It may be that there are past issues known or even hidden that are obstacles to walking by faith.
Blinded by the past.
It’s usually easy to recognize people who are “hurting on the inside” because they wind-up hurting others. I’m sure you have heard the expression, “Hurting people, hurt people” People with issues and problems that have not been healed will hurt other people.
There are many causes of emotional injury or a broken spirit. We will be looking at them in our next post, but before I close, let me say that Jesus is in the business of healing. He wants to heal emotionally, mentally, and physically. Look at Jesus’ mission statement found in Luke 4:18,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed.”As I close, remember these four promises; Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you, if God is for you who can be against you, nothing is impossible with God, and God always keeps His promises!
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Post 87 The Great Exchange- Peace for Confusion and Turmoil?
The Great Exchange: Peace for Confusion and Turmoil!
We have been examining the Great Exchange. Those things that Jesus gave to us in place of those things He has taken from us. The subject for today is God’s peace. Jesus took our turmoil and confusion and gave us His peace; Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Show More
The way the “world” presents peace is through prosperity, importance, celebrity, and so many things that give a sense of peace to others looking at you, but never the inner peace that only God can provide. Someone can look like they have peace on the outside, but all the while, be in emotional turmoil and torment!
The peace that Jesus gives is so important in this life that I am breaking it up into two teachings. Let’s now begin with part one.
The word peace in the New Testament means precisely what you would think it means. Peace, according to Strong’s Concordance means to produce prosperity (a good journey in life, not just finances): to be one, quietness, rest. The word peace is used in at least three important ways in the Bible:
- a state of national tranquility exemption from the rage and havoc of war
- peace between individuals, i.e., harmony, concord, security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous) of the Messiah’s peace the way that leads to peace (salvation)
- of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is the blessed state of devout and upright men after death
Darkness vs. Light
When the scriptures talk about walking in darkness, it doesn’t always mean doing evil deeds. Darkness also means the state of mind in ignorance and deception. Ignorance in the sense of not being aware or knowing the truth.
The most essential truth, as a Christian, is to know that we don’t earn God’s Grace, nor do we deserve it (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace is a gift of God to His sons and daughters, and as Christians, we are the sons and daughters. Remember, every good gift comes from above the Father of Lights, and light illuminates the darkness just as the truth illuminates ignorance.
God’s Grace is like a flow of living water that is released by the Holy Spirit. We are the vessels through whom God desires to flow, His Spirit producing genuine life in us and through us. The most important question for us is, how do we activate God’s Grace?
Activating God’s Grace in our Lives
- The same Grace that produces salvation is the Grace to live life with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (the Fruit of the Holy Spirit described in (Galatians 5:22 -23).
- Grace is not made available by our efforts to be good, although that is important. To know what God expects of us and then to do it is the road to blessings. However, God’s Grace is released by one thing and one thing only, that is Faith. Faith is simply believing what God has said and then trusting and obeying that He will fulfill it.
- Grace is the table of bounty available to all believers to take from. Faith is then merely reaching up and taking what has already been provided. Grace is first, and then Faith receives it. Grace is God’s work, and Faith is your work. Faith does not create Grace, it simply makes what is available… now!
- In the same way, salvation is provided through Jesus Christ. Jesus made salvation available, that’s Grace, and by Faith, we receive it. Mark 11:24 states, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” We walk in what has been provided. Every other provision provided by God is obtained in the same way.
- It is not by how good you are but by the fact that you are seeking His kingdom and His righteousness that enables us to have genuine Faith in Him. The question is not how good you are, but do you know Him. If you are in a relationship with Jesus through His Holy Spirit, He will transform you into being like Jesus in every way.
- You can’t accomplish the work of the Holy Spirit through your efforts alone. You really can’t change your character and nature. Many confuse rehabilitation with transformation (Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. Rehabilitation is man’s work; transformation is God’s work (Romans 12:2). Rehabilitation is changing the outside of a person hoping that it will change the inside. Transformation on the other hand, is the work of the Holy Spirt on the inside, the heart of a person, and it will change the outside behaviors and character.
- The key to all change in Christ is, “do you know Him!” Not simply know about Him, but do you know Him? Do you have a relationship with Jesus? Do you talk to Him? Does He talk to you?
- Think about it; all the relationships you have had in life, parents, family, friends, and teachers have made you who you are. In the same way, a relationship with Jesus will make you the person God wants you to be.
If you can agree that all of the relationships in your life have shaped you into the person you are today, then you can also agree that not all of those relationships have been healthy or beneficial. Along the way, in life, there have been people, places, and things that have caused you great pain and sorrow.
In life, we all have grown up with mistaken ideas about life and carry the scars of making very bad decisions. Those bad decisions can often keep us from moving forward in the life that God has called us to. In a sense, they are emotional scars that we try to keep hidden. In the process of keeping them hidden, we become dysfunctional. Some dysfunctions are minor and irritating, and others are major and crippling.
Listen to what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 2:12-13, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
What Paul is saying is that our salvation or being saved requires us to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He changes how we think and act. God’s Holy Spirit is at work to “will” or give us the desire to change and the strength to allow Him to complete it. Remember Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
No Jesus no peace; Know Jesus know peace!
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Post 86 The Great Exchange: Authority for Weakness.
Over the last number of weeks, I have been looking at something called the Great Exchange. The Great Exchange represents a transaction that took place through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. As a result of the New Covenant ushered in by Jesus, our Lord, there are specific weaknesses that Jesus took upon Himself in exchange for His strengths He has made available to us. The exchange is characteristic of covenants. The more powerful one exchanges gifts with the weaker one. Show More
Just as a review, let’s look at what is made available to us:
- (Post 80) Jesus took our sin and gave us forgiveness; (2 Cor 5:20-21).
- (Post 81) Jesus took our death that we might have His life; (Rom 5:10).
- (Post 82) Jesus experienced Hell that we might experience Heaven; (Eph 4:9, 10).
- (Post 83) Jesus took our lost and homeless condition and gave us an eternal home; (John 14:2).
- (Post 84 and 85) Jesus took our weakness and gave us strength or power; (Acts 1:8; Eph 3:14-16).
Authority for Weakness
Today we will look at the fact that Jesus took our lack of authority and gave us His authority; “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and overall the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). (Note: Serpents and scorpions are symbolic of demonic forces.)
Authority
What does it mean that Jesus has given us authority? The word authority in this verse is the Greek word “Exousia.” Both Dynamis and Exousia are translated as power in the New Testament. Dynamis, as you know from our last post, is explosive miracle-working power, which is made available through His Holy Spirit (Acts:1:9). Exousia is a power that also comes from God and is supernatural boldness or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.
As Believers, we have the authority to act as a representative of Jesus Christ. We are ambassadors of Jesus; therefore, we operate on His behalf (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are empowered to be ambassadors for Christ because we are citizens of Heaven, and the Kingdom of God is in us (Philippians 3:20). In a natural sense, ambassadors represent their countries and speak for their President, King, or Ruler. In the same spiritual sense, we speak for our King- King Jesus!
Authority and Boldness.
Knowing we have His authority gives us boldness! There is a strong correlation between being filled with the Holy Spirit and courage! Now, remember being filled means to be influenced or controlled by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 states that we are “… not to be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”. Just as too much wine can cause boldness, being filled with the Holy Spirit produces boldness to represent God. This idea of being committed to represent God reminds me of an old story I heard called “Moody’s Monopoly.”
A committee of ministers in a certain city was discussing the possibility of having D.L. Moody, the famous 19th-century evangelist, to serve as the evangelist during a city-wide evangelistic campaign.
Finally, one young minister who did not want to invite Moody stood up and said: “why Moody? Does he have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit?”
There was silence. Then an old, godly minister spoke up: “No, he does not have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly of D.L. Moody.”
Do you see it? Moody was submitted and yielded to the Holy Spirit; He was Baptized in the Holy Spirit! He was a true ambassador of Christ because he knew that he was a citizen of Heaven. The true meaning of Spiritual Authority is to boldly proclaim the Kingdom of God!
Boldness
In Acts 3, you may recall that Peter and John healed, in the name of Jesus, a lame man by the gate beautiful. Then in Acts 4, we see that this miracle created quite a stir. Leading many to believe in Jesus and others to resist Him. The priests, captain of the temple, and Sadducees came upon Peter and John, and they were disturbed that they “taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.”
As a result of their teaching, they were thrown in jail. “5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”
In the face of such intimidating leaders, Peter verse 8 says, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them.” In plain language, Peter surrendered to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and spoke with authority. He didn’t worry about what man would say or do; he only cared about obeying the Holy Spirit. This act would be seen as boldness or authority by others. In verse 13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”
The religious leaders tried to figure out what to do with Peter and John and finally decided to command them (18) them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” That is all we are called to do, be a witness to Jesus. In other words, speak what you have heard, seen, or know in the Spirit.
Prayer for Boldness
It isn’t easy being a Christian who is not ashamed of their faith. There will be times when we are challenged and tested. When we face these kinds of difficulties, we are to stir up the Holy Spirit in us. Remembering the words of Peter found in verse 29, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
Here is the conclusion which each of us must face, “Do you have the Holy Spirit, or does the Holy Spirit have you?”
Finally, keep your focus on what is essential!
In Luke Chapter 10, Jesus sent out 70 followers with instructions. In particular to heal the sick in body, soul and Spirit. Luke 10:17 “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy (sickness, disease, fear, and depression), and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven.”
Pray for Boldness that comes from understanding your Authority from Heaven!
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Post 85 The Great Exchange: Power for Weakness, Part-2
I am going to pick up from my last message on The Great Exchange: Power for Weakness! Last time we examined Acts 1:9, “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.” Show More
Last time I discussed the word “Power” and the phrase “when the Holy Spirit has come upon you“.
Today we will continue with looking at “you shall be witnesses to Me”
The word Witness comes from the Greek word “martys”; which means a witness, a “martyr,” to record, witness.
Take a look at the following two scripture verse:
Luke 7:22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the Gospel preached to them.”
Acts 4: the Jewish religious leaders commanded Peter and John not to teach in the name of Jesus. “19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
A witness is one who speaks what he or she has personally heard or seen! Boldness to speak out is what is required. To boldly speak as to what God has shown or done in us is to be a witness.
The next phrase is “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria”
We need a little geography lesson here. The Kingdom of Israel was one nation, but after King David passed away, the country was split into two parts. It was divided into Israel in the North and Judah in the South. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah, and Samaria was the capital in the north, Israel. Judea is the Roman/Greek name for Judah. So, the phrase “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria” refers to everywhere Jesus ministered while on earth. While Jesus ministered to the nation of the Hebrew people first, He didn’t end there. Jesus made it clear that the Gospel be preached to the ends of the earth.
If we extend this model to our circumstances it means, we are responsible for our village, town, city nation first, then to take the message of the Gospel to the “ends of the earth!”
Conclusion:
Some try to teach that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Post 84) was for the Apostles only, and when they died off, so did the work of the Holy Spirit. How can we believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is no longer available to us as believers when the scriptures say in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” God does not change!
To overcome this kind of negative thinking requires faith. In the Kingdom of God, if you don’t believe it, then it will not be possible. You get what you believe for! The opposite of faith is doubt, distrust, or denial.
Faith is believing in the unseen faith is the key to unlocking what has already been provided for you by God’s grace. Remember, faith doesn’t create the supernatural; faith makes it available.
Keep in mind that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways are not our way of doing things. It was His idea that faith should unlock the gifts of Heaven. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the assurance of things unseen!” That means it is not about figuring things out or human logic. To the natural mind, faith may seem foolish and unreasonable, but you are putting your trust not in logic but in the One who makes the promise. Don’t worry about how God will accomplish it; rest in the confidence that He will achieve it.
Let me close with the words of the Apostle Paul, probably the greatest of the Apostles of Christ. He said in 1 Corinthians 2, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
