Luke 4:14-30 NKJV - Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ” Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.
We just read about the very beginning of the ministry of Jesus. He was fresh out of a 40-day fast in the wilderness.
If you did a 40-day fast, we’d have to come get you on a stretcher. But not Jesus. He didn’t come out of that fast run down and weak, but He was full of the power of the Holy Spirit.
He was so amped up on the Holy Spirit that He returned to His childhood church and boldly declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me!”
You aren’t bothered by that because you believe Jesus is who He says He is. But think about what His family and friends thought of this obnoxiously bold statement.
Just think of how today’s church responds when a pastor is fully confident that the Holy Spirit has anointed him. I imagine Jesus was getting that same skeptical response.
But Jesus didn’t back down. He doubled down by making sure they knew He was talking about Himself. He said, “This scripture you just heard has been fulfilled this very day.”
They were equally amazed and skeptical. You’d think Jesus would try to help them overcome their skepticism, but He irritated them instead by prophesying how they would reject Him.
For anyone who still thinks that the way of Jesus is to appease people and keep them happy, let this obliterate that lie once and for all.
In the first message Jesus preached in His hometown, He irritated them so much that they tried to kill Him. That takes some doing! These weren’t strangers. These were people who knew Him as a kid.
This brings me great comfort. I’ve done a good job irritating people ever since I changed from a feel-good pastor to a true Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When this shift happened in the latter part of 2020, I ran off people who had been a part of our church for years. They were family friends! But they didn’t want the unhindered Gospel.
If you’ve never irritated someone with the Gospel, you might be watering it down. Just sayin.
What made Jesus so bold? It was the same thing that gave Him the ability to heal and deliver. Take a look at this again:
Luke 4:18-19 NKJV - The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me…
The Spirit of the Lord is what gave Jesus boldness and power to preach, heal, deliver, reveal truth, and free the oppressed.
Without the Spirit of the Lord, Jesus would have been a pitiful human. But with the Spirit of the Lord, He had everything He needed to fulfill the will of God.
But this wasn’t just reserved for Jesus. Take a look:
John 14:12 NKJV - Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
How are we to do the same works, and even greater works? Only when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon us. It’s not by our own power. It’s not by our own might, but by the Spirit of the Lord.
Do you know what the Spirit of the Lord is? Most of us would simplify it by saying, “The Holy Spirit,” which is true. But there is so much more to it than that.
What I am about to teach you is unknown by most of the modern church. It’s one of the main reasons we don’t see the greater works being done like Jesus said they would.
But after this truth hits your spirit today, watch out. I’m going to send you out of here full of the Holy Spirit’s power. You’ll be confident like Jesus that the Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
And then, we will do the greater works that Jesus told us we would do. So, let’s unpack what it really means when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon you.
The Lord was trying to get this to me last May. But I didn’t grab ahold of it until a few weeks ago. It came as a dream, but it took me almost a year to understand the dream.
Some of you probably think dreams are weird. But God has been communicating to us through dreams since the beginning. If you want to disregard dreams, you’ll have to disregard a big chunk of the Bible.
So, shed your skepticism and listen in. Not only will you learn about the Spirit of the Lord, but you will also gain insight into how to unpack the dreams the Lord gives you.
In the dream, I was led to dig up graves. I didn’t know why—only that I had to.
The first grave revealed nothing significant. Neither did the second. I covered them both back up, sensing that what I was looking for was still buried.
Frustrated, I paused and asked the Holy Spirit, "Which one?" He led me to the third.
As I dug, expecting another casket, I instead uncovered a vault—an entire underground chamber, sealed away like a time capsule.
I stepped inside. It was like walking into a moment frozen in time, filled with memorabilia from a man’s life in the 1980s.
The first thing that caught my eye was a shrine dedicated to his daughter who had passed away young. It was obvious he wanted everyone to remember what had happened—so it wouldn’t happen again.
There was a bottle of vinegar sitting there with a note attached that said, "The doctors said it would help, but it didn’t."
Then, I saw a container overflowing with empty pill bottles, making the point that they didn’t work either. You could feel the weight of his grief and at the same time his dedication to make sure no one else would go through what he went through.
I kept exploring. That’s when I saw a small jewelry box sitting on a shelf. I opened it and found seven rings, each one in its own little container.
And then, something strange happened.
When I opened the first ring, a bright light inside the box turned on. I was stunned. After all this time, the light still worked.
The ring was beautiful—pure gold with a massive, dazzling emerald gemstone. It was a stunning deep green that seemed to glow from within.
At that moment, I knew: this was why I was there. Almost immediately, people started showing up, so I slipped the rings into my pocket.
First, a few strangers wandered in. Then, a few people I knew. I was completely thrown off. How had they heard about it so fast?
At first, everyone just explored, sifting through the artifacts. But then, I overheard whispers. They weren’t here for the vault. They were looking for the rings.
Once they realized the rings were missing, their search turned frantic. They started checking people—scanning for any sign of who might have taken them. Then, one of them looked straight at me.
They motioned for me to step forward. I knew exactly what was about to happen. They were going to search me.
My heart started racing. I glanced around, looking for a way out. And then, I woke up.
It took some doing, but I am now fully convinced that when God speaks to us through dreams and prophecy, we must write them down. Otherwise, we are saying that we don’t value when God speaks to us.
So, I grabbed my phone and documented the dream. Then, I laid there and pondered what the Lord was revealing to me.
I knew that the shrine of the daughter who had passed was a representation of life’s troubles that tend to keep us from accessing what God wants for us.
It is common for believers to forfeit what belongs to them in Christ because of grief, regret, or a host of other things that we allow to stand in the way.
I knew that the people coming in afterward represents the enemy coming in to steal from us as soon as we discover something the Lord has for us. It happens quick! Almost immediately, he comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
But the rings. What did they represent?
Initially, I thought they might represent the promises of God, with the green emerald representing His abundant provision. But I was never settled on this interpretation.
Every time I would think about the dream, I would wonder what the other six rings looked like. I’d ask the Lord to give me another dream where I could open the boxes and find out.
I thought about the dream often, referring back to it and asking the Lord for clarity. Then, nine months later, it came. Apparently, it had to be birthed.
There’s a group in Tulsa called City Elders. It’s a group of hundreds of business owners, government officials, and church leaders who gather to protect the City of Tulsa in Jesus' name.
I’ve attended many meetings over the past several years but hadn’t been in about a year when the founder texted and invited me.
With five young kids, evening events aren’t my favorite thing in this season of life. But when I received the invite, I felt it in my spirit to go. So we found a sitter, and Beth and I went to the meeting.
Although I knew the Lord wanted me there, I didn’t know why. I gave the meeting my full attention to make sure I didn’t miss it.
We caught up with old friends, ate a good dinner, and listened to the speaker's message. Everything was really good, but I still hadn’t uncovered why I was there.
Then, we all stood up to pray to close the meeting. As the special speaker prayed, he went off in a direction that didn’t align with his message. He began to quote Isaiah 11, which is about the sevenfold Spirit of God.
My spirit leaped when I heard it. The Holy Spirit revealed, “This is the meaning of the seven rings.”
The seven rings in the dream represent the sevenfold spirit of God revealed in Isaiah 11. Can you guess what I did after this was revealed? I dove headfirst into understanding the seven things.
You are getting the shortcut today. It took me nine months to even pick up on the fact that God wanted me to study this out. Then, it took hours of study to understand the seven Spirits of God.
Are you ready for this?
Isaiah 11:2 NKJV - The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Revelation talks about the seven spirits of God around His throne. We don’t have to wonder what they are because Isaiah spells it out.
There are roughly 800 years between Isaiah and Revelation, yet they both work together to complete each other. Isn’t the Word of God amazing?
When Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” this is what He was talking about. We will refer to it as the sevenfold Spirit of God.
Jesus had all of these things in full operation in His life: The Spirit of the Lord, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Notice how the Spirit of the Lord is the only one that stands alone. The other six come in pairs because they require each other to function properly.
Wisdom and understanding need each other. Counsel and might need each other. Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord need each other.
Paying attention to these as pairs helps you understand the unique function of each. But first, let’s unpack the Spirit of the Lord.
Jesus brought clarity when He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me…” By this ,we know that the Spirit of the Lord brings the anointing.
What does it mean to be anointed? It’s when someone is set apart from common use and dedicated fully to God.
The anointing is like when a king gives someone a signet ring, granting them full use of the king’s authority and power as if they are the king themself.
In my dream, this is the emerald ring. It’s a signet ring granting me full use of Jesus’ authority and power. It represents the anointing that has set me apart for the work of God.
So, the Spirit of the Lord brings the anointing, which is where it all begins. When you consecrate your life to God, He gives you full access to His authority and power.
Then comes wisdom and understanding.
We hear these two words often, but I’d venture to say we don’t really understand—no pun intended. But let’s lean into this teaching from the Holy Spirit and gain clarity.
When God asked what Solomon wanted, he asked for wisdom. This scripture gives us further insight into what he meant when he asked for wisdom.
I Kings 3:9 NKJV - Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?
The Spirit of Wisdom is not an understanding of the facts. It’s not being able to assemble pieces of information into something helpful. No, that is human wisdom.
The Spirit of Wisdom gives you the ability to see what’s missing.
It’s when you take the information, what you can see, and combine it with discernment, what you can’t see, and make a sound judgment.
When it comes to working with people, have you noticed that there will always be details missing? Sometimes, it is intentional, and sometimes, it is not because we are often unaware of our own thoughts and feelings.
And how about when helping settle a dispute between two people? There is one side of the story that sounds nothing like the other side. Both see the issue from a different perspective.
How do you make a sound judgment with fragmented information alone? You can’t! That’s why human wisdom sucks. We’re doing our best, but our best effort will always fall short.
We need the Spirit of Wisdom! It gives us the ability to see what’s missing. It gives us heavenly discernment. It’s the only way to judge a situation fairly.
The Spirit of Wisdom is God’s all-knowing mind being made available to us. He sees the beginning and the end. He knows every last detail, down to the number of hairs on your head.
Human wisdom is built over time through experience. The Spirit of Wisdom is received as a gift from God.
This is not something you can work to achieve. Even if you memorize the Bible, you are not gaining the Spirit of Wisdom. We know this is true because of the hypocritical Pharisees.
The Spirit of Wisdom is a gift from God. It is something you receive, like putting on a ring. It is something you allow to operate in your life. We need the Spirit of Wisdom resting on us like it did Jesus.
How does this tie into the Spirit of Understanding?
The Spirit of Understanding gives you the ability to comprehend what the Spirit of Wisdom has revealed to you. It is when you obtain God’s perception.
You could think of it as interpretation. We receive a tongue from the Spirit of Wisdom and then the interpretation from the Spirit of Understanding.
We receive a dream from the Spirit of Wisdom and the interpretation from the Spirit of Understanding.
If wisdom is the foundation of a home, understanding is the framing. Without wisdom, there is nothing to build upon. Without understanding, no one can see the results of wisdom.
Once again, there is a human version of understanding. After all, we were made in the image of God. But human understanding will never measure up to God’s understanding.
After a lengthy explanation of something and much time spent walking it out through trial and error, we gain human understanding. But even then, our understanding is incomplete.
But the Spirit of Understanding is like being in a dark room when someone turns on the light. All of a sudden, you can clearly see something that was previously dark.
The Spirit of Understanding is a gift from God. You don’t have to sit in a quiet room and wear yourself out trying to figure something out. No, you can simply ask God to give you understanding and then trust that it will come right when you need it.
The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding work together to help you make right decisions, even with missing information.
You’ll be tempted to think that this enables you to explain these things to others, but that’s not the case. You cannot deposit God’s wisdom and understanding into someone who’s dedicated to human wisdom and understanding. The deposit is too big for their account.
When we abandoned America’s way of doing kids ministry, God gave me full understanding as to why. Those who are not married to human understanding got it, while others didn’t.
So, for those who weren’t getting it, I doubled down and explained it from different angles, working my hardest to shove God’s wisdom into them. It didn’t work. It didn’t work so good, they all left the church.
I tell you this story to encourage you. When God gives you wisdom and understanding, don’t get upset when other people don’t get it. Just roll with what He’s revealed and be thankful for the gift.
Not everyone is willing to abandon human wisdom in order to embrace God’s wisdom. And I get it. It’s a hard transition to make, but it’s worth it.
All it takes is for you to realize that God’s ways are better and His thoughts are higher. It is foolish of us to argue with God when His ways don’t agree with our ways. We should just humble ourselves and submit to His much better way of doing things.
One last thing you should know about this is that you can operate in the Spirit of Wisdom without Underestanding from a simple heart of obedience. There have been many instances where I simply obey what the Lord reveals even when I don’t understand.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but you might as well press in a little further and get the Spirit of Understanding, which is also available to you. The extra layer of understanding gives you boldness in what God has revealed.
Let’s move along to the Spirit of Counsel and Might.
These days, people love the idea of going to see a counselor. Essentially, they pay big money to have someone listen to their problems because everyone else is tired of hearing about them.
I’m not saying we don’t need counselors. I’m just saying what we call counseling has become is absolutely pathetic, mainly because our colleges train our counselors in a non-Biblical way.
So, how about we find out what Biblical counseling looks like?
John 14:26 AMPC - But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.
Today’s counselors understand that they are there to bring comfort. But they have forgotten the Biblical method for bringing comfort.
True comfort is not admonishing someone’s sinful behavior. Rather, it is reminding them of what Jesus taught. The only place we find comfort is in obedience to the Lord.
Thank God for the Spirit of Counsel that comes alongside us to comfort, help, and strengthen us by reminding us of everything Jesus taught. Without the Holy Spirit, we’d forget everything!
The Spirit of Counsel gives us continual guidance, helping us make those small, continual adjustments to keep us on track.
Think of it like autopilot on an airplane. It makes tiny corrections continually to keep the plane on the right track, rather than waiting for it to get off course and then jerking it back into place.
I imagine we all have experienced what it’s like to live without the Spirit of Counsel. Can you think of a time you got way off course and had to be jerked back into place?
There’s a better way. Receive the gift of the Spirit of Counsel to serve as your mentor, helping you make continual adjustments by teaching you and reminding you of what the Lord has said.
Connected with the Spirit of Counsel is the Spirit of Might. Why?
Acts 1:8 NLT - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere.
The Spirit of Might gives you the boldness to turn the Spirit of Counsel outward. Not only are you receiving counsel and help, but you are giving counsel and help to others.
Not only is the Holy Spirit reminding you of what Jesus said, but you are reminding others what Jesus has said.
The Spirit of Might gives you courage to do what God calls you to do. It gives you the power and ability to pull it off. It enables you to administer His miracle-working power for the benefit of others.
You could think of the Spirit of Counsel like a mentor giving you all the shortcuts to the destination and keeping you on track along the way.
Then, the Spirit of Might comes alongside to empower you to do everything the Spirit of Counsel is leading you to. Otherwise, you might chicken out.
It was the Spirit of Counsel that led Jesus to use spit mud to heal one man’s eyes, directly spitting on another man’s eyes, and then simply touching another man’s eyes.
It was the Spirit of Might that gave Jesus the boldness to do those things and made the miracle happen.
See how they work together?
Let’s keep going to the final pair: The Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord.
This is the one that is most confused. We live in the era Daniel prophesied about, where knowledge has greatly increased. We have so much knowledge we don’t know what to do with it.
But that’s not what we’re talking about here. This is not knowledge as we would generally describe it. This is the Spirit of Knowledge.
The Apostle Paul cracks open this mystery of this in his prayers recorded in Ephesians and Colossians. Take a look:
Colossians 1:9 NLT - We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Here, he makes a clear distinction between knowledge and wisdom and understanding. They are not the same thing.
In regards to knowledge, he specifically tells you what kind of knowledge: the will of God. This is further clarified in the next verse.
Colossians 1:10 NLT - All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
The Spirit of Knowledge reveals to you one thing: the will of God. It lets you in on what God wants. It is how you learn to know God better and better, only by the Spirit of Knowledge.
Think of it this way. What you know about people is learned through observation and assumption. You think you know me because you see me every Sunday.
But my wife Beth would prove you wrong. You know about me, but you don’t really know me.
To truly know someone, you must engage in continual face-to-face, one-on-one intimate conversation. There’s only so much you can learn about me by listening to me preach.
Most of you will live your life only knowing about me because we are all limited on the amount of time we have to build relationships. But that doesn’t have to be true between you and God.
God is ready for you to know Him. Enough with watching from afar. Enough with the assumptions. It's time to press in to the close-knit relationship God wants with you.
We get to know God when we find out what He wants. It's a discovery of the will of God where He also wants to discover our desires.
The Spirit of Knowledge reveals God's will to us, piece by piece, in a beautiful adventure — a thrilling journey throughout eternity.
Think of it this way. You become consumed with what God wants. He becomes consumed with what you want. In the pursuit of each other, you find yourself back in the cool of the day, communing with your Creator like Adam and Eve did.
So, let the Spirit of Knowledge do its work! Go on a hot pursuit to discover what God wants. And never be afraid to tell Him what you want. He is eager to hear all about it!
But don’t forget about the pair. This must be joined with the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.
The more we get to know someone, the more relaxed we become around them. The best illustration of this is in marriage.
When dating, you always took a shower, brushed your teeth, and dressed up for your loved one. Not long into marriage, you dress nicer for others than you do for your spouse.
Is this not true with church culture these days? We’ve become so familiar with God that it’s weird if someone wants to honor God by dressing well for church.
Honestly, I was there. If you had come to church two years ago, I would have been in a black t-shirt and black jeans. Every Sunday. So, what changed?
One day, the Spirit of Counsel spoke up with a simple question: “Do you think all-black black casual attire represents God well?”
It wasn’t condemnation. It was a correction, and a very strange one at that.
I thought my clothing strategy was from heaven. It was cheap and easy. I spent very little time or money on what I was wearing.
In this instance, I obeyed without understanding. I didn’t want to learn how to put colors together. I didn’t want to find blazers that actually fit. But I did it anyway.
Everyone I told about how the Holy Spirit led me to change how I dressed kind of scoffed at me. They had the same thought I did, “Really? The Holy Spirit told you that, huh?”
But one day, as I continued to obey, understanding came.
Isaiah 52:1 NLT - Wake up, wake up, O Zion! Clothe yourself with strength. Put on your beautiful clothes, O holy city of Jerusalem, for unclean and godless people will enter your gates no longer.
We are not in a time of mourning or distress. We are in a time of victory and strength, therefore, we must put on our beautiful clothes and celebrate the victory of our God.
How does this tie into the Fear of the Lord? It is the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord that keeps us from being casual before God.
Our response to God should be similar to how a couple acts before marriage. We should always look our best, bring our best, and honor Him in everything we do.
When you're dating, you don’t gripe about them. Heck, you don’t even notice their faults! But when you get married, let the griping and fault-finding begin.
Let this be a lesson to update your marriage if you need to. Stir up the romance. Be on purpose about giving your spouse your best and remaining blind to their faults.
The Spirit of Knowledge makes it possible to know God. The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord keeps us from losing our reverence as God becomes more familiar.
Toward the beginning of the book of Revelation, seven churches are mentioned. Many believe these represent seven church eras leading up to the tribulation, making our time the seventh church.
This is a beautiful reminder of why we must welcome the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. If we don’t have it, we’ll get sucked into the lukewarm church.
Rev 3:14-22 NKJV - “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”
In these last days, we need ALL of the seven spirits of God more than ever.
