Dying To Ourselves
We thank you today, God with a thankful and grateful Heart; we give you glory and praise as you open your word to us, in Jesus name, Amen.
Acts 1:1 “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 “Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
3 “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
4 “And, being assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me.
5 “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6 “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord,
wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 “And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 “Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
12 “Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.
13 “And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James [the son] of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas [the brother] of James.
14 “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
15 “And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
16 “Men [and] brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
17 “For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
18 “Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
19 “And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
20” For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
21 “Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 “Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
We’re living in the last days and God is preparing a people. The reason we have this ministry is because God put it here. It’s His work not ours and we want to make sure we are doing what He has called us to do. We don’t give an account to you people; but we have to give account to God.
“But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” Today we are concerned that you understand what God wants us to do. There are lots of churches, lots of church people and lots of ministers and we know that God has a plan.
I am concerned that we understand that Jesus gave us the Holy Ghost to be our teacher. To lead us into all truth that we not be lead into any falsehoods; but that we might have the truth. I’m not concerned about what other people do; I’m concerned about what we do and whether we are allowing the Holy Spirit to be our teacher. Whether we are allowing Jesus to dwell in us with all our mind, heart, soul, and body, and we’ve given to Him our all.
I thought about this wedding yesterday and I realize, today, the weddings must be ordained by the Holy Ghost. The only way it can be is if the couple is dedicated to God. God ordained the home; He ordained for husband and wife and children to live together to be blessed by Him. He ordained that He should be in charge of the husband and the husband be one with Him and the wife be one with Him and one with the Father.
It isn’t easy, but we have to go the way of the cross; we have to allow God to change our lives and remove from us the things which are simply our desires. He will put His desire in us.
His desire for the disciples was for them to tarry in Jerusalem until the Holy Ghost came and the power of God began to move in their lives. He had visited them and gave them the mysteries of the kingdom. I haven’t found one sentence that He gave to them after His resurrection except that He taught them about the kingdom of God.
3 “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” I haven’t found in this word anything He gave to them except an impartation of the Kingdom of God.
The message of this kingdom was not according to man’s thoughts. Why did they ask is it time for the kingdom to come? He said, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in His own power.” They didn’t realize that Jesus had already given to them the instructions in the 40 days He was with them; but He had imparted it directly inside of them. I’m sure it wasn’t anything they went around talking about but a transformation that took place in their life. As He ministered to them those 40 days He was imparting to them His kingdom.
Let’s see what this kingdom contains: first you must wait until my Spirit comes to you, then the He will speak to you, and through you, to the people. These people were transformed when the Holy Ghost came to them. I’m sure inside of them was a lot of impartation but when they were carnal they couldn’t comprehend the spiritual. When the Holy Ghost came, their lives they were transformed and only by Gods Spirit did they move and only by Gods Spirit was the work accomplished.
In Acts it says the Lord added to the church daily by the power of the Holy Ghost. It’s still the same today! Someone said, “If we are going to be a servant to God we must have the Holy Spirit in charge of our life and we will taste a little bit.” No! That isn’t what Jesus gave us: He gave it all to us and He imparts it to us. This is the time God is going to do something that man can’t gain-say.
God called you people here today that you might hear this word and realize that the purpose of God is greater than just going to church. It’s greater because He wants to live in us and prompts us as we speak and go about our day. His Spirit will give the word of God to people through us; it’s not the sermons that we prepare and use exact English and exact oratory or doctrine. God’s doctrine is exact for Jesus is the doctrine and the way. He is the Living Word! He is Jesus Christ the son of the living God.
He briefed His disciples during the three and a half years He was with them but it was very strange to them. Their thinking was still carnal even though God had chosen them out of the world and He loved them and gave them all they could absorb before He went to heaven. With their understanding and doctrines they couldn’t understand what Jesus was saying. Even though He told them many times He was going to die on the cross and was going to be delivered up. This is the way we are if we are carnal. The spiritual can only be discerned by the spiritual. We have need of the Spirit of God. After the Holy Ghost had come they weren’t the same men; something had happened to them.
I am certain of one thing: as Jesus walked with them those 40 days He was preparing them for something they had never heard of or witnessed. When that Holy Ghost came, the glory and power came like a mighty wind. God did something in their lives; they were no longer in control, for Christ was now in control.
He kept them when they were in the world. He said, “Father I have kept them, they aren’t of the world even as I’m not of the world; Father keep them so that they might be a witness in all-the-world. This mighty wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ is no fly-by-night thing: it’s by the Holy Ghost.
Sometimes we treat it as though it’s nothing; but we aren’t going to get by with that. We are either going to come all the way by the power of the Holy Ghost or we are going to go back all the way. The only way to go is by the Spirit of the Lord. God has called us to lay our life down, a living sacrifice, so that He can transform our life with His kingdom. He wants to be in charge of our life and we should ask Him what we should do.
He gave us the Holy Spirit that we might know the perfect will of God. Without the Holy Spirit and our dedication to God, we can never know the good or acceptable will of God. It’s only by His Spirit that we can know the perfect will of God and we need to understand that the Lord is pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh.
In Joel 2 God calls it the former rain and says I’m going to send another rain. I’m going to send the former rain. Joel prophesied that the former rain and latter rain shall come down together. This is what God is preparing us for so that we can be filled with the Holy Ghost. He’s giving us the fullness; He’s preparing us for the former rain which we supposedly already have. He’s going to bring them together, what we call a gully washer, a flash flood, across the world.
We can be a part of it if we allow Him to do this perfect work in our life so the Spirit of God can have full charge. Christ in us: the hope of glory. Christ, the Father and the Holy Ghost in us and moving through us; but He can’t unless we empty ourselves out. Unless we’re willing to die to ourselves so that He can live. Half dead people aren’t any good. What good are they to society or to themselves? You have to be all together dead to your flesh so that Jesus can come forth in our life with the fullness of the Father, the Son and the Spirit.
He’s moving quickly, today, and I think few people understand it. People have been sitting in here quite a while. I don’t understand it with all the power there is in this place and the glory that is here. And all the word, not diluted by man’s theories, that is pure. It’s His word! Why then do we sit as though He hasn’t given us anything? Something has to happen! I don’t think we are dead enough, I think we are half-alive. Sometimes when I look out here I shudder. It’s better to die completely and let Him live than to be half dead and be no good to anybody. He wants to resurrect us in His power so that His gospel of the Kingdom can be in us.
I know it must have been exciting to these disciples but they couldn’t talk about it. There have been times God has lead me into the mysteries of His Kingdom that I could never talk about. It is for the time that God imparts it to you. We have to be open for God to impart them to us. It depends on us completely.
The one who structured the church is inside of us. He isn’t going to get out of His structure, but the plan of God is very clearly laid out. He became the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. It was already agreed upon by the Father and Son but He had to wait until the appointed time. The time for us to empty our selves out and let Him come into our life. So that which is dead is taken away. Now He’s preparing us to be free to take this gospel to the ends of the earth.
Gods’ requirements never change; He’s the same today and forever. We have to change! Dying daily is hard on you; but maybe we couldn’t handle it all at once. I know one time in my life when God was doing this precious thing and I thought I was going to die. I said, “Take it all that you live in me.” He’s not going to guide us wrong.
“We have had so many doctrines of men we are going to be a strange people!” No! We are just concerned we won’t have control of our lives. Wouldn’t you rather have God in control? He’s not going to do that; because He gives us understanding if we get rid of the “self” in us. A lot of the religious stuff isn’t God. Somebody said they are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good. Then they aren’t glorifying God, they are glorifying their flesh. By their actions they are hindering God from bringing anybody to salvation.
There is one important thing we need to know: God doesn’t make us freaks! He doesn’t make us people that others will run from. I knew a lady one time that went out on the streets and everybody she met she tried to convert to Jesus. When people saw her coming they crossed the street.
We don’t want to be like that. We want Jesus to put His kingdom in us so that when others see us they will see the light and feel His love and peace and won’t run from us. You are there to help them. This is God’s love and kingdom! This is what God has for us; not that we become so spiritual, but that He brings His spirit into us so that in every move of our life we realize Jesus is there. We realize He has charge of our life.
I think people are afraid. We hear a lot of things that happen but it doesn’t mean God does it that way. There’s a principal I have tried to teach people who live here for some 40 years. God put His Spirit within us, the Holy Ghost. He put it in us so that everything we do will be filled with Jesus.
We haven’t reached the place God has for us until the latter rain comes with former rain. God is preparing this. He is moving already. In order for it to be noticeable some things have to happen. God has to change our life. What He has for us is for His kingdom to be in us. When His kingdom is in us we can’t allow other lords or other things to be there. We have to permit Him to clean our lives so that He has a place to dwell. He’s not going to dwell in your filth.
In Isaiah 26 He says that other lords have had charge but He will take those lords and destroy them. He will cause them to die and not rise again. Why are we struggling? We haven’t given them to God! He says the Lord will ordain peace for you but other lords beside him have had dominion over us. We want Jesus in our life and we want all the peace, love, and joy He can give; but we don’t want to give anything in return.
There’s a secret about God’s love; you have to give it out to others. If you are selfish you won’t have His love. He has to destroy the lords that have charge in our life. He says He does. I believe it! I am a living witness of Jesus Christ changing my life from the top of my head to the souls of my feet. I’m not boasting, I’m only talking about Jesus. But it’s very wonderful to know that Jesus has made the way for us to live in this world. Do you think that’s difficult? Not really! Once you die, you are buried then He lives in us. That is the beginning: He lives in us.
What does He want to do? Sometimes we give Him one room and we spend long prayers in that room telling God what to do. He doesn’t want one room He wants your entire dwelling, perfect, cleansed, purified and purged; made holy by His righteousness, filled with His love, peace, and joy. Now we are ready to hear His voice. Now we are ready to say, “Yes Lord, send me. I’m ready to go.” He’s looking for you but He wants you prepared; because you’re not going representing yourselves. You are His witness that He is God.
I had a call from Amy Wong. She went to China at the same time we went to the Philippines. She told me these people are hungry to know Jesus. They had to go under ground where they could worship God. She said there were thousands there. No Bibles but so hungry to know Jesus. She told me that she took our last newsletter of Isaiah 58 and she made 500 copies of them in Chinese and gave them to those that were underground.
We are ready, but are we really ready? Do we have our life completely changed by His Spirit so that we can go, as He calls us? Can we do as He has asked us to do? This day I want to say to you, “Our God is able to change your life.” You that live here are too comfortable. You have too much and you don’t appreciate it. God is going to turn it upside down and do some healing. You are going to find out who God is and why He put you here. We have to move on and we can’t be hindered by any of you that are playing around. You can’t be hindered if you are willing to let God empty you out so that His Spirit can have charge.
You can trust His spirit. He will only do you good and only give you the truth. He won’t lie. Let’s trust Him; let’s dedicate our all to Him, because we have to move forward. We can’t remain as we are; we have to move for God is commanding it. We have to do as He commands.
I believe God is saying to yield your bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, so that the Holy Ghost can have charge of your life and so Jesus can reveal Himself to you. That Christ can rule and reign in your heart.
Father, we thank you for this word. Give them ears to hear, a heart to receive and a heart to obey. We praise you, Jesus. We thank you for this provision. Fill us with your glory so that the world might know who Jesus is. Jesus, accept these people, today, as we pray for them. Let their hearts not be troubled and take each one of their lives and transform it and let them walk with you.
God, we thank you for this word and give you glory for it. Impart it into their being. Let us be that light in the world that leads people to Jesus. Bless them with ears to hear and open our hearts to receive. We give you glory, Jesus. Amen
Rev. Agnes I. Numer
June 16, 1996
