When our spirit was made alive with God’s eternal life, a new realm of existence was opened up to us. We can now experience heaven on earth every day of our lives. Because we bring the will of God down upon the earth, we will experience burdens and mourning in the spirit, but even in this there is a comfort and joy because we are fellowshipping with God’s Spirit in it.
When our spirit is made alive we experience God’s fullness of joy and love and peace and all His divine attributes in a small measure, which will continually increase as we learn how to be aware of our spirit and learn how to keep it active so that it grows in the divine nature.
We experience suffering in the dying of the lusts of the flesh and in persecution, but our awareness of God increases to the point that we rejoice in it.
When our spirit was made alive God joined Himself to it. As we learn to keep our spirit in contact with God we experience his love, joy and all the attributes of His Spirit which continually increase as our spirit grows up to the full stature of Christ.
Experiencing the Spirit of God is the most pleasurable experience we can possible experience because we are partaking of His Glory. He has more joy than we can contain. It is the Spirit of God moving in our spirit, which gives our new existence meaning. We have never truly lived until our spirit was made alive, but our spirit must grow and develop so it is vital that we become aware of it.
As we learn how to activate our spirit so that it is communing with God- out of our spirit shall flow the eternal life of God. The life of God is always flowing, as we learn how to stay in the moving of His Spirit, although our outward man is perishing, the life of our spirit is growing and our joy in the Lord should be increasing every day of our lives. Every day of our life should be getting better until we are caught up to heaven or swallowed up in the life of God.
Enoch was a type of those who shall enter into the manifestation of the Sons of God. We can now enter into this manifestation because of the word being released on the perfecting of our spirits, transforming our souls and bodies. Revelation opens the door to enter into the experience.
The perfecting of our spirit is in its growth and development, where it is able to move in complete submission to the Holy Spirit. Our spirit becomes set so that in all circumstances it flows in God without deviation.
In order for our spirit to grow and develop in the divine nature we need to become aware of it and how it moves or functions. The key to spiritual growth is keeping our spirit connected to God; it is maintaining a spiritual condition so that we are able to experience certain qualities of spirit at will.
John 4: 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship (the act of intimate love and respect) him must (absolutely necessary) worship (kiss, bow the knee-submission) him in spirit (the life flow of Gods spirit in our spirit manifesting the same spirit, divine nature) and in truth (allow the Spirit to reveal the truth to the soul, to get to the root of the problem-the unveiling of what does not originate in Him).
As we learn how to worship in the spirit-our spirit experiences the joy of the Lord. To enter into the joy of the Lord our spirit must be reaching out to touch God with intensity, until we are aware of His manifest presence. We must learn how to maintain worship in our spirit towards God all the time. A true worshiper cannot stay defeated!
When we learn how to walk in the spirit, our spirit will be communing with God all the time and our soul and body will be brought under its submission, so that the life of God will be continually flowing in us.
The first quality of spirit we must experience is being poor in spirit. We are not even aware that we have a spirit until God enlightens it and we can sense God’s Spirit.
Math5: 3 blessed (Blessed one, possessing the favor of God, It indicates the state of the believer in Christ. That state of being filled with God) are the poor in spirit (utter helplessness, complete destitution. The poor in spirit are those who recognize their spiritual helplessness) for (for this reason, because) theirs is (to come into existence, occurring right now) the kingdom (the kingdom is where the Spirit of the Lord is-2cor 3:17) of heaven.
The entrance of the life of God through the living word, gives us light or revelation. It reveals the condition of our spirit. Our spirit has just been made alive and is like a natural baby, helpless, totally dependent upon our heavenly father.
Being poor in spirit is having nothing, being totally dependent. Just like a natural baby looks to its parents so we look to God. It is as we look to the Lord that our spirit makes contact with Him and is infused with His life. Our spirit is strengthened through its contact with God. In time our spirit grows strong and our entire being comes under its control.
But we still must learn how to always maintain this dependence. Being poor in spirit is continually moment by moment looking-a fixed focus on God’s Spirit for strength.
Being poor in spirit is realizing we are empty until we are filled with Him.
To be poor in spirit is the opposite of self-confidence or reliance. Until we learn how to move in the spirit we will move in self and fail. So once we learn how to overcome through The Spirit, the danger is in our new experience, growth and progress becoming our focus-that which causes self to be lifted up, where our focus is on ourselves and not the Lord.
A rich spirit causes a believer to become self-centered.
Spiritual success can cause us to become less dependent upon the Spirit-taking the glory and not giving it back to God. Without Him we can do nothing, through Him we can do all things. This is being poor in spirit-a fixed focus on His leading and moving. Being poor in spirit is a continual looking to God to meet the need.
Only those who realize they are poor in spirit can be humble. Only an empty spirit looking to the Lord to be continually filled will cause a believer to lose himself in God.
As our salvation is worked out, it frees us out of our self and into God. If we try and retain something for our self our spirit will immediately turn inward upon our self and we will be unable to reach out to be joined to God. Only a poor spirit is enabled to make contact with God’s Spirit.
When we lose this condition of poverty of spirit we lose our contact with God. But to be poor in spirit is the key to becoming strengthened in our spirit with the lords might, because the poor in spirit enter into the lordship of Jesus over our Spirit –this is the Kingdom. The kingdom is where the presence of the Lord is, in which we experience the liberation of our spirit where it communes with God.
Psalm51: 17 The sacrifices (sacrifices of righteousness, the kind of sacrifice that the one offering eats) of God are a broken spirit, (busting or breaking to shatter, to bring to the moment of birth) a broken (to break) and contrite heart (to crush, break in pieces, crushed spiritually and emotionally, bones broken, the whole structure of the life shattered) O God, You will not despise (to treat with proper respect).
When our spirit is broken before God we instantly make contact with God and we can feel His Spirit. The word broken here is in the passive voice indicates that we are receiving the action of the Holy Spirit moving in our heart.
Isa 57: 14And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people. 15For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Psalm 34: 18The LORD is nigh (near- of place, of time, of personal relationship) unto them that are of a broken to break, break in pieces heart; and saveth( to give victory to) such as be of a contrite ( humble ,repentant-deeply sorry for having behaved wrongly)spirit. 19Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
The word contrite here is an adjective that comes from a word that means- to crush, be crushed, be contrite, be broken.
Brokenness speaks of giving birth; it is the Holy Spirit quickening our spirit, imparting His life to it. It is Impossible to be broken in spirit and not feel Gods presence. Our brokenness comes from God’s light entering our consciousness where we can see in His light. God’s Spirit shining in our spirit, is seeing through God’s eyes. This brokenness brings us closer to God; it is not guilt, shame, rejection but a godly sorrow, the same sorrow that God feels- we are feeling the way God feels about certain things, it is a result of His Love being shed abroad in our heart.
This Godly sorrow produces a mourning that is different from the mourning of the world, because the comfort of the Spirit is mixed with it. To mourn over our sins is to see that because our spirit was not in contact with God, certain things have resulted that were not the will of God. We mourn over how we have hurt others but at the same time we have a deeper love for them that we did not have before. This mourning and sorrow has nothing to do with self-it causes a trembling toward self and reveals the darkness that has been in our soul. This mourning produces a godly hatred towards the darkness that was in our self (soul) it causes us to no longer rely on our self, but with fear and trembling to look to God so that we do not act independently of His Spirit.
It is through brokenness and contrition before God that we are breaking our connection with self. It is not self hatred; it is an oneness with the Spirit of God that sees how we have moved out of fellowship with God. We are seeing it as a result of being in fellowship with God, there is absolutely nothing we can do about our actions of the past and any guilt about them is false and not of God, because we have been crucified with Christ.
In our brokenness we are being joined to the Lord’s Spirit so that we never have to repeat the same thing if we can learn how to maintain this closeness and complete totally dependence of fellowship and communing with The Spirit- that is the keeping power of God so that it will never occur again as we learn how to walk in the spirit. There are amends we will make but in Gods timing and only in the infilling and out flowing of His Spirit.
When our spirit is broken- it is our spirit weeping so there is always a refreshing and renewing in it and a comfort in it as we weep. It is the outward mourning of God’s spirit in us and not inward. We are seeing our soul through God’s eyes which is a time of separation of spirit and soul. Our spirit is morning for that which has been in our soul-but it is not in our soul at this moment. There is an absolute revelation of God’s acceptance, because He is in us crying with us, we feel His Spirit in this crying- it is the opposite of worldly sorrow.
We never feel Gods love in a stronger way than when we are broken in spirit, because we are so overwhelmed with the fact that Gods love us it becomes so strong because we know that he has not rejected us- but on the contrary is more close to us now than ever before. How can God love us so much that even in our independence from Him, his love has never changed for one second towards us.
When we are broken is spirit the Holy Spirit points to the cross of Christ, everything wrong in us has been crucified the moment Jesus died on the cross-now we identify with His death in our experience. He says– the force and power of it has been removed from your live, now your spiritual eyes have been opened to see, and now my blood shall experientially remove the root of it from your life.
The cleansing of the blood cleanses us so that we now feel completely clean. As long as our spirit maintains this brokenness of spirit (although the strong feeling of it will not always be present) the spiritual reality of it shall become fixed in our heart. Through brokenness we are enabled to not move outside of His Spirit. No longer shall we be influenced by thoughts and feelings of the soul-realm where self influences what we do.
A broken spirit is the most important quality of spirit that we can have, it is more important than anything else we can receive from God. This is because it is foundational to being enabled to move on to perfection. It is through maintaining a broken spirit before God that we can grow spiritually, this breaking of our spirit is the joining of it with God’s spirit in intimacy-we never want to act without total dependence upon intimate union with Him again.
In the brokenness of our spirit we realize how much God loves us and we begin to truly love him with the love of His spirit that is imparted to us in our brokenness. It is in our realization of God’s love towards us- in the brokenness of our spirit that we begin to truly love the Lord.
People do not understand the love of God, they think they love God but they have never been broken is spirit and cried and cried through the revealing of God’s love for them. The woman who gave the Lord her life savings by breaking the alabaster box and pouring the perfume on his feet wiping it up in her tears with her hair, was worshiping Him from a love imparted to her that she never experienced before. It is this love that releases the power of forgiveness which motivates us to give God our all-it is that which enables us to love God with all our heart.
Our brokenness of spirit progresses as God’s love is expanded in our heart; if the time comes when we can no longer weep because of feeling through the sensing of our spirit how much God loves us, our spirit has become hard; we have lost the nearness of the Lord and are doing things mechanically. We have lost the most important quality of a spirit in communion with God.
This brokenness is never inward but outward toward God. The broken spirit that no one can bear is a spirit that has turned inward; we are not taking about that kind of brokenness.
We let God search our heart through brokenness so that we will no longer act in that way. We then experience brokenness because of others who are not experiencing the Lord in His fullness. God’s love reaches out to others, and unless our heart is breaking because they are not receiving the fullness of the Spirit, we are not ministering in the Spirit. Even in rebuking in the Spirit-we are doing it in His love. When we have lost the ability to weep over those we minister to we are operating in our self or flesh and are not ministering life even if the words are correct.
God is only able to save the contrite in heart. He is enabled to save us to the uttermost as we learn how to maintain this brokenness of spirit. It is this brokenness of spirit that enables us to stay free from sin, the moment we sin or move in our self-our spirit becomes broken and we repent instantly. If we fall in sin and there is no brokenness of spirit then our spirit is hardened and we begin to move in self-(the soul) realm. We are walking in darkness and God will have to deal with us, in order to restore us because our spirit has fallen asleep.
A right spirit instantly repents as we learn how to walk in the spirit where our soul does not act independently of God.
God wants us to continually keep our spirit in a state of contrition. We need to walk with this brokenness because our flesh still exists and could at any moment be activated. This type of spirit will keep us in an attitude of watchfulness. It is in the condition of contriteness of spirit, that we can feel the presence of God in our spirit. We begin to keep our spirit active pressing into God to maintain His lordship over it.
If there is any discord with the Holy Spirit in our living and conduct we can instantly sense it in our spirit, and confess it when we are wrong.
We need to maintain this brokenness, contrition and repentance in our spirit at all times, because even though our spirit is joined to the Lord, it can break connection. Our spirit can err. Even if our spirit does not err our mind can become blurred or confused not knowing how to execute the intent of our spirit.
Maintaining this brokenness or contrition is very important in our walk with God, because without it God cannot reveal His intent. If we justify ourselves or cover over we have lost a contrite spirit. We need to realize we cannot be defeated if we learn how to maintain a right spirit. The moment we lose our spiritual condition, we have no connection to God and open the door for sin to enter in.
Isa 66:2 But on this one will I look :( to watch, to regard. It has the sense of looking somewhat intensely in a focused way at something. It is used as the keen observations of an eagle from a great distance. It is the Lords gazing on the earth from his habitation. On him who is poor (It refers to those who are suffering, in a state of poverty, oppression, misery from various causes: from being poor, needy, and unfortunate, in want. They cry out for help and for their needs.) and of a contrite( meaning crippled, smitten. Smitten of spirit, It is a result of the conviction of the Holy Spirit-his word piercing the heart, humble.) spirit, And who trembles(trembling, reverential fear of God. Those who tremble at God’s word are also accounted as obedient, because they begin to seek the Lord. Ezra 9:4) at My word
We need to always maintain a healthy fear of the lord. The presumptuous and self-willed heart must be completely broken, allowing the word to be alive in our spirit with its continual guidance. Our spirit must have this holy respect, having absolutely no confidence in our self.
As we are identified with the work of the cross we are enabled to clearly know the unreliability of our ideas, feelings, and desires. We do not want to become presumptuous. We become extremely cautious in all things.
Whenever we cease to tremble we will cease looking to the Lord and forget our complete helplessness upon him-we must keep our spirit connected. A trembling spirit keeps us from failing and causes us to truly know God.
Prov 29: 23A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Being humble is not despising one self-it is not looking at our self. As we learn how to maintain humbleness in our spirit, we will be able through our spirit to sense God’s leading, presence and Glory.
Only in humility of spirit are we able to express the virtues of God. When our spirit is communing, in contact with God then all his divine attributes can be released through it.
Our spirit must be void of any trace of pride and must always be soft tender and flexible. It is through the humility maintained in our spirit, that we are always waiting on the Lord, so that there is no resistance to His leading. It is as we maintain this humility in our spirit, we will find that the Lord is always lifting us up, and the development and growth of our spirit is not hindered.
Gal 6:1 Brethren if (in case) a man be (indeed) overtaken (aorist subjective passive, the action is subject to some condition, definiteness of action, overtaken-catches the individual by surprise, suddenly without notice, before the person is aware of what has happened) in (intimate union with) a fault (used of sin in general, fault, lapse, error, mistake, wrongdoing), ye which are spiritual (one who is filled with and governed by the Spirit of God), restore (command future repeated action, to set right-to put a thing in its proper condition to mend (what has been broken or rent), to repair, to complete, equip, put in order, arrange, adjust, to strengthen, perfect, complete, make one what he ought to be) such an one (such as this, of this kind or sort in (intimate union with) the spirit (the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one, our spirit in tune with theHoly Spirit manifesting through our soul) of meekness (gentleness, mildness, dead to self, it is a calmness toward God, but actively angry at sin, it is the power of God’s Spirit under control, being gentle to the one overtaken in sin, but hating the sin, but ministering to the individual in love); considering(give attention to, take heed to thyself) thyself, lest (no, not in the least, conditional negative) thou also be tempted (definiteness action subject to a condition, to draw into sin, to tempt, lest thou yield to temptation and show thy self disapproved).
We must always maintain meekness in our spirit, to be meek is to be lowly, open minded, submissive, dead to self, His power under control. A meek spirit turns freely in God’s hands as God wills. A meek spirit does not know how to resist God and follow one’s own will. Without this quality maintained in our spirit, God cannot accomplish His will.
A meek spirit is what enables us to deny our self and our will, and to seek the Lord’s will. When we have a meek spirit we can immediately stop what we are doing, and follow the Lord’s leading. Without a meek spirit we will not be able to walk in God’s righteousness.
Luke1: 80And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
As we learn what it means to have a right spirit, to be able to locate our spirit and keep it active, it will begin to grow strong. This is the power of God’s might in our spirit and we can sense it. We should always be able to activate of spirit and feel the power of God flowing through it. It is in this strength of our spirit that we are able to bring our whole being into submission to it.
Our spirit must gradually grow and become strong. We cannot become a spiritual person without a strong spirit. Once our spirit is strong, we will be able to sense its moving and discerning its power. Once it is strong there is an ability to refuse everything that would defile or suppress it.
We must learn how to use our spirit, to train it, so that it becomes strong so that we will be able to break every soul tie, bring every thought into captivity, and keep the life of God flowing in our emotions so that we no longer get discouraged or depressed or in anxiety. If our spirit is strong we will be able to manifest the victory of the Lord in every situation.
If our spirit is strong, we are able to endure the stimulation of the soul-emotions and not be shaken.
The strength of our spirit comes from the power of the Holy Spirit. Once we learn how to maintain this strength in our spirit, then we will be able to release it in our words and the things we do, and in our ministry.
As we learn how to walk in the spirit, we receive even more power from the Spirit, enabling us to do the greater works.
When we learn how to maintain strength in our spirit, we shall be ready for every need.
We need to keep our spirit also calm, drawing the peace of the Lord, when our spirit becomes agitated, other things can enter it so that our connection with God is broken, and then we automatically get into the flesh.
Prov 17: 27He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent (valuable, prized, weighty, precious, rare, splendid, precious, costly, precious, highly valued, rare, glorious, splendid, Weighty, and influential) spirit.
An excellent spirit is the result of the knowledge of all the qualities of having a right spirit; it is in communion with God and is not affected by outside influences but maintains a oneness with God’s Spirit and manifest His Spirit continually. It is this type of spirit that radiates the glory of God and draws people unto the Lord