...he offered them money,  — Acts 8:18b

The power of God, the anointing of God, the Holy Ghost, cannot be bought.  Simon wanted the anointing so badly that he offered the disciples money for it!  Many people live without the results of the anointing because of self-works.  They try to pray enough, fast enough, read enough, to impress God so He will anoint them.  But you already have an anointing (1 John 2:20, 27)!  If you are going to fast, you do not do it to get the anointing–-you fast by the anointing.  You do not pray to get the power, you pray with the power.  You do not read the Word to get the anointing, you read the Word in the anointing.  Anything you do without the anointing being involved will just be a religious exercise.  You have an anointing!  Now put your trust in the anointing that you have.  Simon’s sad mistake was that he wanted the power of God without allowing God to change his heart.  He wanted the power of God so he could give out that he himself was some great one, so the people would say that he was the great one of God.  What do you want the power of God for?  For what purpose do you desire it?  It should be a desire to help others and set them free!  The power is for service to others, to minister to others, not so you can be some well-known, big-time Christian.  There will be promotion in the anointing, but it will be a God-promotion, not man’s promotion.  Desire the power, but keep the right motive for the use of the power–-to heal them all!

And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. — Luke 5:16

Long before the house was filled in Luke 5:17-26, long before the power of the Lord was present to heal them all, Jesus had withdrawn into the wilderness and prayed.  If Jesus had to withdraw and spend time with the Father and pray, how much more the Church today.  There are many in the wilderness, in communion with the Father, preparing to come and bring the power of the Lord with them.  They are not well-known, they are not on TV every night, but they are positioning themselves in the anointing of God.  Jesus commanded us to go to a secret place, close the door, and pray in secret, and the reward, or the results, would be seen openly.  Many want to be seen openly, to be well known, to be famous in the body of Christ, to be known as the great power of God, but have failed to enter in, close the door, and spend time with the Source of that power.  They desire to have earthly connections rather than to make the connection with the Holy Ghost.  In that secret place, the Spirit of God will change your heart through prayer and the Word.  He will nurture in you the right motive and the right attitude for a life in the anointing.  Your reward will not only be your reward but will also help and benefit others around you.  Many desire and want the reward, but many do not want the closet or the shut door.  What you do in secret-–will be seen openly.

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; — 1 Peter 2:11

There is a daily war against your soul--against your mind, will, and emotions.  After God’s life enters your spirit through the new birth, a battle begins when that life of God starts to be released from your spirit, through your soul, and into your body.  Revival life is meant to and can touch all three areas of you.  Whatever you attend to and prioritize in your life will eventually manifest!  You must give attention to spiritual things more than to natural things!  The Word of God is a spiritual thing.  It is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword.  It will pierce and divide asunder the soul and the spirit, the joints and the marrow (Hebrews 4:12).  It will have an effect on your entire being.  The attacks that come against your soul are to keep you from allowing this life to manifest out of your spirit.  You are losing the battle of the soul if you are born again yet living like every other person who is not born again.  They worry-–you worry.  They are afraid, you are afraid.  They live powerless, you live powerless.  You must abstain from, keep away from, things which cause you to lose the war of the soul.  Sow to the Spirit, you will reap of the Spirit!  Sow to the flesh, you will reap of the flesh!  It is your choice.  Live with revival in your spirit only, or become a living revival!

He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock:  and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it:  for it was founded upon a rock. — Luke 6:48

We are building a spiritual house.  We are laboring together with God (1 Cor. 3:9).  This house, which is who you are, must have a sure and solid foundation.  The only foundation strong enough to make it through the test of time is Jesus Christ, or the Word of God.  When you start to build, there is a guarantee that the floods will come, the wind will blow, the stream will beat against your house.  You cannot live on the earth and be advancing in God without coming in contact with opposing spiritual forces.  Demons have made it their mandate to come against you, your possessions, and your God-given rights.  They will come to destroy your house!  But you have everything you need as a spiritual builder:  you have the Holy Spirit, Who is greater than all demons.  You have authority that will cause the enemy to flee.  You have prayer in the Spirit, which will build and strengthen you, and you have the Word of God, that is bigger than any lie of the devil.  You must build on the foundation of the Word.  You must dig deep into the Word, not just be a skimmer of the Word.  The result will be a solid home, with a sure foundation, a house that cannot be shaken or destroyed.  To build on any other foundation will end up in ruin.  Start building on the Rock today!