"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."

                                                          John 14:12

            We have a saying, which we have adopted when we know God is speaking to us a "NOW" word. When he gives us something from several different sources or when it comes to us repeatedly, immediately we know it is something that we need to be listening to very carefully. We call it a "verily, verily." The actual Greek word for "verily" is AMEN. It is a transliteration directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament; and from there it was written into Latin and into English and many other languages of the world, so that it is practically a universal word. It has been called the best known word in human speech. AMEN is directly related -- in fact, almost identical -- to the Hebrew word for "believe" (aman), which means to be faithful. Thus, it came to mean "firm," "sure," or "truly," an expression of absolute trust and confidence.

            There is something special about this word "verily," according to the writings of the apostle John. "Verily" was used by all three gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but in EVERY location it was only used singularly. What you discover in the gospel of John is he NEVER uses it singularly. In all twenty-five uses of this word "verily," John reads "Verily, verily." It is as if John is saying "this is not only a true and faithful word, but it so true that I have to emphasize the absolute certainty of it to make sure you understand it is doubly important that you get it."

            This past week I experienced another one of that "verily, verily" moments. I have two very dear friends who are standing on the Word for a promise God has given them, which they believe to come to pass in their life. We have locked our faith together with them, and I have all the confidence in the world that they are going to get their miracle. In a recent email I received, they shared something they got from the Lord concerning God's Word as a seed. They made reference to a particular passage of scripture in Isaiah, where they discovered that the Spirit of God imparts energy, and executive and administrative power. It was a great word, and I rejoiced with them over it.

            Now here is what is so interesting. I have been teaching for a couple of weeks on the subject of what it means to be "spiritual" and how to live a "Spirit-Filled Life." While I was preparing my message, I ran a few references to the word "spiritual," when suddenly I came across a definition with the same exact words mentioned in this email: It actually defined the word "spiritual" as: being animated, to be vivacious, to have vigor. It also spoke of it as being an inspired ecstatic state of prophecy, to breathe quickly, to have "an imparted energy, and executive and administrative power." Of course, you have to know that this last definition suddenly leaped off the page at me, because I had just read this email the day before. Immediately, I heard in my spirit the Holy Ghost say, "this is a verily, verily." When I say that, I mean instantly my spiritual antennas went up and I made certain I paid particular attention to what the Holy Spirit was saying.

            In Luke twenty-three, as Jesus cried out on the cross, he said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost" (Luke 23:46). The idea of Jesus giving up the ghost means much more than just him surrendering to die! It implies him laying down everything: the call, the ministry, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the imparted energy and executive and administrative power that he operated in throughout his earthly life. In other words, what Adam forfeited because of sin, Christ willingly gave up for our redemption. As a result of his finished work, the Holy Spirit has been sent to restore to the Church: the call, the ministry, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, AND an imparted energy and executive and administrative power so carry on the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

            You talk about a "verily, verily!" God wants us to know (and we MUST give the more earnest heed to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church) that in this redemptive act of giving up the ghost, he has made us qualified candidates to receiving an impartation of energy, and executive and administrative power to not only live a Spirit-Filled Life, but to operate in an spiritual authority that the gates of hells cannot prevail against!