SOZO

Sozo

To be relevant is to be connected to the matter at hand, and God’s grace is relevant to every aspect of our everyday lives. Religion teaches that God is only significant when we get to heaven after we die, but Jesus wants to be connected to us right now. It is very important that we not limit our relationship with God in terms of simply going to heaven—He wants to have an impact in everything we do and every situation we encounter. Through the shedding of His blood, Jesus has perfected everything that impacts us

    God’s love has many components to it. It is an active and powerful force in our lives. 
        Jesus gave Himself for our sins, to deliver us now, not at some undefined point in the future. This was God’s will (Galatians 1:4).
            Jesus shed His blood to deliver us from every kind of evil we could experience.
            We can only escape the evils of the world if we are careful not to neglect Jesus’ blood and what it gives us.
            His blood makes sozo available to us. Sozo is a pervading, all-encompassing peace and wholeness that restores, preserves, and saves.
        We are saved by God’s grace, which is a gift from Him (Ephesians 2:8, AMP).
            We do not receive this grace through our own efforts, but by His unmerited, unearned favor. It makes us partakers of salvation.
        The angel prophesied Jesus would be born to save the people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
        The Word saves those who believe it (1 Corinthians 1:21).
            The translation of the word save used in these two Scriptures is sozo.
        God saves us completely and thoroughly by sozo. We are forgiven (Hebrews 7:25).
        Jairus asked Jesus to lay His hands on his daughter and heal her (Mark 5:23).
            This type of healing was another manifestation of sozo.
        Those who saw Jesus heal the man possessed by multiple devils confessed how He performed the exorcism (Luke 8:36).
            The man had been delivered from demons. Sozo also means deliverance.
        The lame man who had never walked in his life heard the Word, believed, leaped up, and started walking (Acts 14:8-10).
            He had faith in the sozo package that made healing available to him.
   
Faith is what activates God’s sozo.
        Jesus healed the man’s withered hand (Luke 6:8-11).
            Sozo restored the man’s hand and gave him wholeness.
            Jesus gives us a blood-bought right to be saved, forgiven, born again, delivered, and made whole.
        Jesus had mercy on the lepers and healed them. They were cleansed when they obeyed and did what He told them to do (Luke 17:11-19).
            All of them were “sozoed” as they went to show themselves to the priests, but only one returned to give thanks.
            Jesus told the man that his faith had made him whole.
        The woman with a blood disorder believed that if she could just touch Jesus’ garment, she would be healed. She acted on that belief (Mark 5:25-34).
            Her healing was immediate. Her faith made her whole.
    We are made rich and prosperous through Jesus. There was nothing missing or broken in His life.  He released His wholeness to us when He took our sins (2 Corinthians 8:9).
        In this way, we could be made righteous.
        If we base richness and wealth solely on the accumulation of money and material things, we are wretched, miserable, and poor (Revelations 3:17).
            We must not limit God by focusing just on money when He promises us prosperity.
        Blessings are from Christ, and Christ is in us (Ephesians 1:3).
        Blessings from the Lord make us truly rich, with no sorrows attached (Proverbs 10:22).
            Being rich God’s way makes us whole.

Scripture References
    Galatians 1:4
    Acts 14:8-10
    Ephesians 2:8, AMP
    Luke 6:8-11
    Matthew 1:21
    Luke 17:11-19
    1 Corinthians 1:21
    Hebrews 7:25
    Mark 5:23, 25-34
    Luke 8:36
    2 Corinthians 8:9
    Revelations 3:17
    Ephesians 1:3
    Proverbs 10:22

 How to Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit

Summary

The Holy Spirit has been sent to us as a gift and a blessing, and He is the Helper we need in all areas of our life. He teaches us to pray in the spirit in a language we do not even know about. We did not do anything to deserve this gift, but God gave it to us out of His grace and love for us. When we have His Spirit inside us, we can produce the fruit of the spirit. The manifestations of that fruit include love, joy, and peace.

     The manifestations of the Spirit are unmistakable.
        Baptism with water is different than the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4, 5).
        The Holy Spirit descended suddenly on the day of Pentecost, and He gave the people utterance (Acts 2:1-4).
            When the Spirit helps us pray about things we do not know about, the manifestations will show up in our lives.
        When we speak in tongues, we speak mysteries unknown to us but fully known to God (1 Corinthians 14:2).
            We speak secret truths.
        Peter and John prayed that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Spirit. The laying on of hands brought it to pass (Acts 8:14-17).
        When Peter spoke to the people, the Spirit fell on those who heard the Word (Acts 10:44-46).
    The Holy Spirit speaks directly to each person. The message differs according to what that individual needs.
        Paul (aka Saul) learned that the Believers in Ephesus had not heard of the Holy Spirit. When he laid hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit and began speaking in tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:1-3, 6).
            Prophesying in tongues should always be followed up with interpretations in English, to edify and build up others.
        God gave Ananias specific instructions about where he would find Saul to lay hands on him (Acts 9:10-12, 17, 18).
            When God gives us directions and instructions, He is specific. Ananias obeyed God’s instructions, received His word of knowledge, went to Saul, and laid hands on him.
            When Saul received his sight back, he was filled with the Holy Spirit.
        Paul admitted he spoke in tongues more than anyone (1 Corinthians 14:18).
        Jesus Himself promised that if anyone should believe Him, they would receive the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39).
            The Spirit is like a flood of living water, given to those who thirst for truth.

Scripture References
    Acts 1:4, 5
    Acts 2:1-4
    1 Corinthians 14:2, 18
    Acts 8:14-17
    Acts 10:44-46
    Acts 19:1-3, 6
    Acts 9:10-12, 17, 18
    John 7:37-39