Romans 8:9 “If the Spirit of God lives in you; you are not controlled by the sinful nature but by the Spirit. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” 1 Corinthians 6:17, “But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.”

Before Jesus returned to glory, He told His followers that they would feel destitute like orphans (John 14:18). Therefore, He promised that He would not leave permanently but would be with and in them as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:16,17). Jesus told the worried disciples: “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter [parakletos], that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16). The word "another" is from words meaning ‘more of the same’ – not ‘different’.

According to the Bible, we are made in the image of God, the Creator of the universe. Our being is modelled after His divine existence. Through logic or intellect, we cannot see or identify God. Unless God chooses to reveal Himself we cannot know Him. Why is this? If God made the eyes, ears and mind of humanity, how would we know whom the creator is unless the Creator reveals Himself to His creation?

The Bible teaches that we are made in the Creator’s image, yet we lack the ability to know God apart from His willingness to reveal Himself to us. This is our predicament, how can fallen humanity know God? We cannot! That is the point; it is impossible for us to know God, unless He reveals Himself to us. Does God choose to reveal Himself? Yes, He does! The Creator of the universe wants to communicate with you!

James 4:2,3 – “You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”

Many Christians don’t receive from God simply because they don’t ask Him for anything! These people ask (or expect) to get their needs met through other channels. Here in these verses we see that even in the act of ‘asking God for it’ such people were self-centred, and focused on the wrong motives.  James says, “You do not have because you do not ask.”  This is clearly a reference to personal prayer. Therefore, to many of people it does not even occur to them to ask God for help of any kind.

Luke 15:11-32… Here is the story of the Prodigal Son (or, as the real hero is the Dad, it could have been called The Parable of the Yearning Father). This is probably one of the greatest short stories ever told (and re-told).
Every one of us has encountered the four distinct relationships brought out in the parable of the Prodigal Son - self, things, others and God. It’s a story that encompasses all four. The youngest son comes to his father and says (in effect): “I wish was somewhere else. I can't find happiness hanging out with the people around here. Give me one-third of your goods and property, as it’s coming to me anyway! And also sell a portion of the land we've inherited from our forefathers. I want my inheritance now! Only money can make me happy.”

How do you receive your healing? The same principles apply today that applied 2000 years ago. We can all live in perfect health and Jesus actually did tell us how to do it! There is no expiration date for divine health. God’s healing power still works today as it did when Jesus walked the earth. But a key is to not give up! Pray fervently and be persistent. Yes, keep praying and keep asking! If you genuinely want to get better - don't stop - don't give up. God is ever faithful to honour His word in the area of healing. Therefore, be persistent. Luke 18:1-7 - Jesus gave us this parable as an example of how to pray and ask God in order to make things right. Jesus was comparing the widow to "us" and the judge to God the Father. He is telling us to literally ‘keep asking’ God for what we need. To ask until He gives it to us! Many of you have probably been told at one time or another, "Ask God only once for what you need, for if you ask Him more than once, you are not exercising your faith correctly".

By going to the cross and shedding His blood, Jesus not only purchased the salvation of our souls, but His sufferings also secured our physical healing. In fact, the word "salvation" (so frequently used in the New Testament), comes from the Greek “soteria”, which means ‘wholeness and healing - both in the physical and spiritual’. Years before Jesus came to the earth, the prophet Isaiah described the sufferings of the coming Saviour and gave this reason. He wrote, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5). The stripes mentioned by Isaiah were the awful lashings inflicted by the Roman soldiers upon Jesus’ back. Thirty nine stripes were the traditional punishment for a condemned prisoner. And according to the scripture, these stripes upon Christ’s body were borne to secure our healing (1 Peter 2:24). Several years ago a well-known physician claimed to have discovered that all the world’s diseases could be traced to thirty nine root sources. A coincidence? Probably not! Jesus bore a stripe for every disease known to mankind.

If God is our source, then we must be able to receive from Him. In this series we will be examining the various ways we can apprehend the blessings of God. Here is the first: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" - Matthew 6:33. The Jews were greatly mistaken in respect to the nature of the kingdom which their Messiah was going to set up. They expected a kingdom like the kingdoms of this world, infused with earthly splendour. But Jesus sought to change their view. He told them that His kingdom did not come with outward visibility - that it existed within men. He wanted them to understand that it was spiritual, and not temporal. The simple idea of this kingdom is that Christ himself reigns in the hearts of his people, securing the perfect submission of the human will, and the setting apart of every power to Himself. Therefore, His kingdom is within; it is invisible. It puts on no outward expression. In the hearts of men God writes His laws (by his Spirit), and consequently rules over them to translate them into His glorious kingdom of peace and love. The subjects of this Kingdom abide in no particular location. Each residing where Christ has met with him, where he has become a legitimate member of this invisible kingdom. The Lord rules and reigns over us so that we may truly be subjects and citizens of the kingdom of God. It is this kingdom that we are all required to seek. The kingdom the exists within!

Hebrews 11:17, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received (accepted) the promises, offered up his only begotten son.” If God is your source then you must be able to receive from Him. In this series we are going to examine the various ways you can receive the blessings of God. How many of you simply accept God’s promises? If you were tested as Abraham was, would you respond the same way? Notice, according to this verse of scripture, there’s something that had preceded Abraham’s faith, “By faith, he offered up Isaac.” But notice, he had already accepted and received God’s promises! “…He who had received (past tense) the promises of God offered up his son.” You can never operate in faith until you have first accepted and then received God’s promises. Bearing in mind that this does not have anything to do with simply ‘accepting that the promises are true’, as this is “belief.” Faith has to do with intentionally accepting God at His word and receiving all His promises. It’s the process of inviting them to populate your life and making each one come alive in you. The Greek verb’s meaning is very clear. It is, “to receive by deliberate and ready reception of what is being offered.” In fact, it’s exactly the same way the Lord receives the spirit of a departing believer (Acts 7:59).

Pentecost Sunday is a day to celebrate hope, a hope evoked by the knowledge that God through His Holy Spirit is mightily at work among His people. It is a celebration of newness, of recreation, of renewal of purpose and of transformation. It is a celebration of God’s ongoing work among all the nations in the world. But most of all, it is a recognition that God’s work is being done through His people - as He pours out His Spirit upon them (Joel 2:28). This focus on the church’s mission to the world, and the enabling presence of God through the work of the Holy Spirit in the church (to empower that mission) should provide a powerful impetus for churches today, especially those like Cornerstone. Pentecost gives us a tremendous opportunity to use this time to see people transformed through the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.