The Holy Spirit And Reality

The Christian life seemingly involves many outward matters and things, such as baptism, the breaking of bread, worship, praise, prayer, forgiveness, humility, and love for one another. As such, it is easy to focus on these things but miss the spiritual reality behind them. This reality is the Holy Spirit. Apart from the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of reality, all of these things, no matter how faithfully practiced, are merely outward conduct that is devoid of any real inward spiritual content.

Noted Chinese pastor/writer Watchman Nee presents his insights on the nature of spiritual reality in the interest of helping believers discriminate between mere appearance and the real.

Christ is revealed in a rich and marvelous way through types in the Old Testament. In Christ as the Reality Witness Lee provides exposition of some of the deepest and richest types of Christ as revealed in the five offerings in the book of Leviticus, including the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.

In this little volume of collected messages, Watchman Nee attempts to show us the reality of the Body of Christ, proving that the body of Christ is founded on life and life consciousness, built on a living relationship between members and head.

Too often we think of prayer in only the human dimension: as a means of edification, or spiritual empowerment, but prayer in fact is a mostly spiritual thing where it impacts many different aspects of life and spirit. Bounds expounds on this brilliantly and uses both Christ and the Holy Spirit as examples of and the expositors or our prayers to the Father.

How do we hear from God and discern His will when it’s time to make big decisions? Terry Looper shares a four-step process for doing just that - a process he has learned and refined over thirty years as a Christian entrepreneur and founder of a multi-billion dollar company. At just thirty-six years old, Terry Looper was a successful Christian businessman who thought he had it all—until managing all he had led to a devastating burnout. Wealthy beyond his wildest dreams but miserable beyond belief, Terry experienced a radical transformation when he discovered how to align himself with God’s will in the years following his crash and burn. Sacred Pace is a four-step process that helps Christians in all walks of life learn how to slow down their decision-making under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, sift through their surface desires and sinful patterns in order to receive clear, peace-filled answers from the Lord, gain the confident assurance that God’s answers are His way of fulfilling the true desires he has placed in their hearts, and grow closer to the One who loves them most and knows them best. Sacred Pace is not another example of name-it-and-claim-it materialism in disguise. Instead, it walks Christians through the sometimes-painful process of “dying to self” in their decisions, both big and small, so that they desire God’s will more than their own.

Is God missing from our worship? Obstacles to true worship are not about contemporary or traditional music, electronic gadgetry or seeker sensitivity. Rather it is the habits of mind and heart, conditioned by our surrounding culture, that hinder our faith in the real presence of the transcendent God among his people. Sensing a real need for renewal, John Jefferson Davis offers a theology of worship that uncovers the most fundamental barriers to our vital involvement in the worship of our holy God. His profound theological analysis leads to fresh and bracing recommendations that will be especially helpful to all those who lead worship or want to more fully and deeply encounter the glory and majesty of God.