50 Things the Holy Spirit Does

1.      He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8).
2.      He guides us into all truth (John 16:13).
3.      He regenerates us (John 3:5-8; Titus 3:5).
4.      He glorifies and testifies of Christ (John 15:26; 16:14).
5.      He reveals Christ to us and in us (John 16:14-15).
6.      He leads us (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18; Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:1).
7.      He sanctifies us (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 5:16).
8.      He empowers us (Luke 4:14; 24:49; Rom. 15:19; Acts 1:8).
9.      He fills us (Eph. 5:18; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17).
10.    He teaches us to pray (Rom. 8:26-27; Jude 1:20).
11.    He bears witness in us that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16).
12.    He produces in us the fruit or evidence of His work and presence (Gal. 5:22-23).
13.    He distributes spiritual gifts and manifestations (the outshining) of His presence to and through the body (1 Cor.     12:4, 8-10; Heb. 2:4).
14.    He anoints us for ministry (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38).
15.    He washes and renews us (Titus 3:5).
16.    He brings unity and oneness to the body (Eph. 4:3; 2:14-18). Here He plays the same role that He plays in the Godhead. The Spirit is the life that unites Father and Son. He plays the same role in the church. When He is operating in a group of people, He unites them in love. Therefore, a sure evidence of the Holy Spirit working in a group is Love and Unity. Not signs and wonders (those are seasonal and can be counterfeited).
17.    He is our guarantee and deposit of the future resurrection (2 Cor. 1:22; 2 Cor. 5:5).
18.    He seals us unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).
19.    He sets us free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
20.    He quickens our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11).
21.    He reveals the deep things of God to us (1 Cor. 2:10).
22.    He reveals what has been given to us from God (1 Cor. 2:12).
23.    He dwells in us (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:14; John 14:17).
24.    He speaks to, in, and through us (1 Cor. 12:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 2:11; Heb 3:7; Matt. 10:20; Acts 2:4; 8:29; 10:19; 11:12, 28; 13:2; 16:6,7; 21:4,11).
25.    He is the agent by which we are baptized into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).
26.    He brings liberty (2 Cor. 3:17).
27.    He transforms us into the image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).
28.    He cries in our hearts, “Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6).
29.    He enables us to wait (Gal. 5:5).
30.    He supplies us with Christ (Phil. 1:19, KJV).
31.    He grants everlasting life (Gal. 6:8).
32.    He gives us access to God the Father (Eph. 2:18).
33.    He makes us (corporately) God’s habitation (Eph. 2:22).
34.    He reveals the mystery of God to us (Eph. 3:5).
35.    He strengthens our spirits (Eph. 3:16).
36.    He enables us to obey the truth (1 Pet. 1:22).
37.    He enables us to know that Jesus abides in us (1 John 3:24; 4:13).
38.    He confesses that Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:2).
39.    He says “Come, Lord Jesus” along with the bride (Rev. 22:17).
40.    He dispenses God’s love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5).
41.    He bears witness to the truth in our conscience (Rom. 9:1).
42.    He teaches us (1 Cor. 2:13; John 14:26).
43.    He gives us joy (1 Thess. 1:6).
44.    He enables some to preach the gospel (1 Pet. 1:12).
45.    He moves us (2 Pet. 1:21).
46.    He knows the things of God (1 Cor. 2:11).
47.    He casts out demons (Matt. 12:28).
48.    He brings things to our remembrance (John 14:26).
49.    He comforts us (Acts 9:31).
50.    He makes some overseers in the church and sends some out to the work of church planting [through the body] (Acts 20:28; 13:2).

20 Things the Blood of Jesus Does

1.      It remits sins (Matt. 26:28).
2.      It gives life to those who consume it (John 6:53).
3.      It causes us to dwell in Christ and He in us (John 6:56).
4.      It is the means by which Jesus purchased the church (Acts 20:28).
5.      It is the means by which Jesus becomes our atonement through faith (Rom. 3:25).
6.      It justifies us and saves us from wrath (Rom. 5:9).
7.      It redeems us (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rev. 5:9).
8.      It brings those who were far away from God near to Him (Eph. 2:13).
9.      It grants us the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14).
10.    It brings peace and reconciliation to God (Col. 1:20).
11.    It has obtained eternal redemption for us (Heb. 9:12).
12.    It cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb. 9:14).
13.    It is the means by which we enter the most holy place with boldness (Heb. 10:19).
14.    It speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Heb. 12:24, NIV).
15.    It sanctifies us (Heb. 13:12).
16.    It makes us complete for every good work (Heb. 13:20-21, NKJV).
17.    It cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
18.    It bears witness in the earth along with the Spirit and the water (1 John 5:8, KJV).
19.    It is the means by which Jesus washes us (Rev. 1:5; 7:14).
20.    It is the means by which we overcome the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:11).

129 Facts of Jesus Christ

If you still don't think Jesus lived in person on earth then that issue can be tackled elsewhere since 95 to 99% of sceptical and non-sceptical scholars do not doubt Jesus walked the earth. If you are going to deny the life of Jesus then you will have to throw out everyone in history, because Jesus is the most documented person in antiquity.

In "The Historical Jesus - Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ" (1996) by Gary R. Habermas, the leading scholar on the resurrection, we can summarize what the earliest sources have said (pages 225, 250-253). Tiberius Caesar who died four years after Jesus only has 9 sources of him whereas Jesus has 45 sources within 150 years of their deaths.

"We have examined 45 ancient sources for the life of Jesus, which includes 19 early creedal, four archaeological, 17 non-Christian, and five non-New Testament Christian sources. From this data we have enumerated 129 reported facts concerning the life, person, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus, plus the disciples' earliest message."

The Person of Jesus

"The deity of Jesus was widely reported in ancient writings that we investigated. Of our 45 sources, 30 record this teaching, which surprisingly includes seven of the 17 secular sources.

"It was pointed out in Chapter 4 that Jesus claimed to be deity, as indicated, for example, by such titles as "Son of God" and "Son of Man" [for a detailed study, see Miethe and Habermas, chapter 27]. The pre-New Testament creeds (the six Acts texts, along with Rom. 1.3-4, 1 Cor. 11.23ff., 15.3ff. and Phil. 2.6ff., in particular, provide especially strong evidence for the deity of Jesus.

"These creeds show that the church did not simply teach Jesus' deity a generation later...The best explanation for these creeds is that they properly represent Jesus' own teachings, especially since he made similar claims."

The Death of Jesus

"Of all the events in Jesus' life, more ancient sources specifically mention his death than any other single occurrence. Of the 45 ancient sources, 28 relate to this fact, often with details. Twelve of those sources are non-Christian, which exhibits an incredible amount of interest in this event. 

"Not only is Jesus' death by crucifixion of major concern to these authors, but 14 of 28 sources give various details about the crucifixion, from medical observations to political information concerning the current rulers, to historical specifications of the times in which Jesus died, to religious details about the reason for his death...It is fair to assert that this is one of the best-attested facts in ancient history.

"After Jesus' death, he was buried. This fact is not only strongly affirmed by five different sources, but generally a normal consequence of dying. These sources include the early creeds in 1 Cor. 15.3ff. and Acts 13.29, as well as hostile sources such as Toledoth Jesu and the information implied in the Nazareth decree.

"Of our 45 sources, 18 specifically record the resurrection, while an additional eleven more provide relevant facts surrounding the occurrence. 

The Resurrection of Jesus

"Of the seventeen [non-Christian sources], seven either imply or report this occurrence [of the resurrection of Jesus].

"Alternative theories that have been hypothesized by critics to explain the resurrection of Jesus on naturalistic grounds have failed to explain the data and are refuted by the facts. 

"Even if we were to utilize only the four minimal historical facts that are accepted by virtually all scholars who deal with this issue, we still have significant basis on which to both refute the naturalistic theories and provide the major evidences for the resurrection."

Corroborating Evidence

Jesus fulfilled 62 prophecies from hundreds, even thousands of years prior. The odds of this happening are less than 1 in a trillion, scientifically speaking. He said He was God and proved it. He was sinless - the only man who was ever was sinless! He performed miracles none have been able to duplicate except the apostles. His teachings were deeper than any other. None can compare! He gave His life on the cross to die for you. And He was resurrected, seen by many eyewitnesses - including various writers of the books of the NT such as Matthew, Paul, Peter, John, James, and others. No less than 12 times was Jesus seen resurrected to various group sizes. Even one group had 500 people present. The brother of Jesus did not believe Jesus was God until he saw him resurrected after He died on the cross. Others (Mark and Luke) who were virtually firsthand accounts wrote books of the NT and testified to these teachings. There is one verse we suspect was Mark seeing Jesus before he died. Luke was close to the action also. They both went on missionary journeys with Barnabas and Paul. 

There were many others mentioned in the Bible who had been put to their death for faith in Christ (e.g. Stephen), spreading the Word and giving the Gospel. Then the apostles were all killed for their faith in Christ for admitting seeing Jesus resurrected except for John. James, the brother of John, was the first to be martyred. Many others in the first century were mentioned who believed in Jesus and gave their lives to Christ on the cross, especially women. And many other biographies of martyrs in Christ are recorded from Christian writers in the first century as well as from non-Christian sources too.  

Why do most Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah?

The Jews rejected Jesus because He failed, in their eyes, to do what they expected their Messiah to do—destroy evil and all their enemies and establish an eternal kingdom with Israel as the preeminent nation in the world. The prophecies in Isaiah and Psalm 22 describe a suffering Messiah who would be persecuted and killed, but the Jews chose to focus instead on those prophecies that discuss His glorious victories, not His crucifixion.

The commentaries in the Talmud, written before the onset of Christianity, clearly discuss the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and puzzle over how these would be fulfilled with the glorious setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah. After the church used these prophecies to prove the claims of Christ, the Jews took the position that the prophecies did not refer to the Messiah, but to Israel or some other person.

The Jews believed that the Messiah, the prophet which Moses spoke about, would come and deliver them from Roman bondage and set up a kingdom where they would be the rulers. Two of the disciples, James and John, even asked to sit at Jesus' right and left in His kingdom when He came into His glory. The people of Jerusalem also thought He would deliver them. They shouted praises to God for the mighty works they had seen Jesus do, and called out "Hosanna, save us" when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (Matthew 21:9). They treated Him like a conquering king. Then when He allowed Himself to be arrested, tried and crucified on a cursed cross, the people stopped believing that He was the promised prophet. They rejected their Messiah (Matthew 27:22).

Note that Paul tells the church that the spiritual blindness of Israel is a "mystery" that had not previously been revealed (Romans chapters 9-11). For thousands of years, Israel had been the one nation that looked to God while the Gentile nations generally rejected the light and chose to live in spiritual darkness. Israel and her inspired prophets revealed monotheism—one God who was personally interested in mankind's destiny of heaven or hell, the path to salvation, the written Word with the Ten Commandments. Yet Israel rejected her prophesied Messiah, and the promises of the kingdom of heaven were postponed. A veil of spiritual blindness fell upon the eyes of the Jews who previously were the most spiritually discerning people. As Paul explained, this hardening on the part of Israel led to the blessing of the Gentiles who would believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior.

Two thousand years after He came to the nation of Israel as their Messiah, Christ is still (for the most part) rejected by the Jews. Many Jews today (some say at least half of all living Jews) identify themselves as Jewish but prefer to remain “secular.” They identify with no particular Jewish movement and have no understanding or affiliation with any Jewish biblical roots. The concept of Messiah as expressed in the Hebrew Scriptures or Judaism’s “13 Principles of Faith” is foreign to most Jews today.

But one concept is generally held as universal: Jews must have nothing to do with Jesus! Most Jews today perceive the last 2,000 years of historical Jewish persecution to be at the hands of so-called “Christians.” From the Crusades, to the Inquisition, to the pogroms in Europe, to Hitler’s Holocaust—Jews ultimately believe that they are being held responsible for the death of Jesus Christ and are being persecuted for that reason. They, therefore, reject Him today.

The good news is that many Jews are turning to Christ today. The God of Israel has always been faithful to keep a “remnant” of believing Jews to Himself. In the United States alone, some estimates say that there are over 100,000 Jewish believers in Jesus, and the numbers are growing all the time.

GEO PRAKASH

 GEO PRAKASH

Born on March 1^st 1957 was pious during the childhood. But after completion of college education drawn to leftist view. Faith on God also shattered and became an atheist.

As interested in writing stories and poems from tender ages, wished to become a Journalist and started writing in Tamil magazines. Popular Tamil magazines published his writings. Then joined as sub editor in a Tamil Progressive monthly magazine KUDISAI and worked for one year from Feb 1983 to Jan 1984. Experience in the monthly magazine helped to join as Sub editor in the Christian Tamil Weekly – NAM VAZHVU  and worked there for seven years from Feb 1984 to Oct 1991.

November 18^th 1993 was a turning point in his life. On this day was attracted by Jesus by his immense love. From that day stopped writing in worldly magazines and started writing spiritual articles.  

• Interested in Writing

Articles, poems and short stories published in various Tamil magazines and broadcasted in All India Radio

• Published 3 books

Paarvaigal
Mutham 
Kartharukku Kanickkai

• Now Publishing a Christian monthly magazine - Aathavan
• Managing aathavan web page
• You can view his messages in youtube also