The Holy Spirit and You a Word to the Church

The Holy Spirit and You- Introduction

Acts 2: 17-21 (ESV) “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

It is time once again for revival to sweep across our great country and throughout the world.

The other day my wife Della and I were in Fort Morgan, Colorado. She was meeting her sister there and they were going to take a train ride to Glenwood Springs for a girls’ trip. We got to town early so we could see what the town was like. We parked on Main Street a couple of blocks from the town square. The street was blocked off and it looked like a craft fair was going on, so we decided to check it out.

There were booths galore. But as we walked through the scene, we noticed that there were very few crafts. What we found out was this was all about mental health. So many programs and offers to help with all the different mental illnesses. I did not know there were so many problems of the mind. We found a huge poster board with pictures of people who had committed suicide. Both young and old. It was sad to see to say the least. There were famous people on the board also. The photo of one comedian/actor caught my eye. I said to myself, “Such a quick-witted mind and yet it had to have been filled with such despair that He could no longer cope with the pain.”

My question is, can the problem really be only in the mind? Or is there a deeper puzzlement that we are unable to see that causes the mind to despair? And why are such huge numbers of people depressed? I see it in the Church also. She has also gone the way of programs and groups to heal her wounds. Can twelve steps heal a lonely and hurting soul? I believe the issue is something or better yet, Someone is missing from our lives.

Our need is a spiritual one! A troubled mind is only a symptom of a greater deficiency. A broken heart can only be mended by the One who is capable of all healing, the Holy Spirit. And He is who this writing is about. Most of us are only guessing at who He is or how much He can help. But what if you could mend all your ills in a moment?

First, let’s get me out of the way. I’m just a modern-day scribe. I write what I witness. I write what I see, and what I hear. I try to measure all of it against the infallible truth of the Scriptures. They are our guiding beacon to all spiritual wisdom. However, sometimes I get things wrong. I also can be bullheaded. If I write something that does not sit well in your spirit, then I hope that you will search the Scriptures yourself to see where I’ve been wrong. I will gladly recant. I’m only trying to help. And I want you to think for yourself.

Up till now we have considered the Holy Spirit to be somewhat of an enigma. We know He is the third part of the Trinity, but when I ask people who the Holy Spirit is, I don’t get much more than that from anyone. So why is He shrouded in such mystery? Intangible, a mist, a pillar of fire, the wind, a dove, we describe Him with these characteristics. But that is something we glean from the Scriptures. The truth of the matter is that He is completely available to all who will diligently seek Him. So how do we get to know Him? Especially when our frame of reference has become so distorted!

What has happened to us? Is there something we need to do in order for there to be that outpouring of the Holy Spirit as in Acts 2? Slowly but surely, we have downgraded the relevance of the Church in society. Once there were healings and miracles. Jesus told us that we would do greater things than Him because He was going to the Father. Where have the greater things disappeared to? Can we get them back? All things revolve around the presence of the Holy Spirit. And it will start again with our local churches. We have slipped in our relationship with the Spirit to a point where we have become spiritually dulled. With each generation, we slip a little further from His will. I don’t think this was done on purpose by us, but part of the devil’s conspiracy to steal our value and strength. We are asleep.

Let me give you an example; we have gotten so used to eating cereal that we are comfortable with that as our nourishment. If someone comes along and offers us steak and lobster with Crème Brulé for our dessert, we are too wary to try them. We carry on as is because we are afraid of the unknown. And the Holy Spirit is that unknown we fear!

So, we ignore the One who is here to help. But that is not working for us. I would like to help rectify that. For those who are searching for something to change their life. Let me introduce you to the Holy Spirit. And for the local church who thinks maybe there is something more than four songs and a message, let me reintroduce you to the Holy Spirit. For He is the answer to all needs!

For the Church (the Body of Christ), it is imperative that you open your eyes and hearts to the possibility of change. There is a major difference between what we think is a solution to a need and what the Spirit’s will is. It is impossible for Him to fit in with our plans because our plans are fallible. His are not. We are to be the follower and not the leader. In order to understand His ways, it is necessary for us to let go of all we have come to accept as real through our own ideas and seek Him. It is time to listen for the whisper.

I must warn you. Some of what I will say will both hurt and make you mad. I’m sorry for that, but there is no other way around this that I can think of. I pray with all my heart that this writing will enlighten you to the beauty of the Spirit and set you free to soar in His will. To God be all glory! Amen?

Chapter 1: Who is the Holy Spirit?

John 14: 15-17 (ESV) Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

First of all, if you are going to proceed, then you must determine in your own heart that all Scripture is true and correct with no exceptions. The bible is not just a bunch of stories tied together into a nice book for us to look at every now and then. It is our source to all things spiritual and godly. It is also our first introduction to the Holy Spirit because He wrote it. That makes Him both the voice of God and the pen of God. If you wish to communicate with God, it is through Him that this is accomplished.

Is the Holy Spirit omniscient? Is He omnipotent? Is He omnipresent? Yes! He is all knowing, all powerful, and everywhere. On the night in which Jesus was betrayed, as the Lord was saying goodbye to His disciples, He told them, “It is necessary that I leave you. Because when I go, I will send you the Holy Spirit and He will take over from here on.” So, if you are dealing with something troubling, He knows the whole story and has the power to change anything that is wrong. Plus, at the same time He can be doing that for someone in Russia, or Scotland, or Thailand. Jesus was limited by His earthly body, but not the Spirit. He is all over and all capable.

All spiritual life flows from and through the Holy Spirit. There is no walk with God without Him. Attempting a relationship with the Father and the Son without the Spirit’s direct involvement is like trying to breathe without oxygen. It just cannot be done. The Spirit is your connection with the Trinity and actually gives you something in common with God. As your life with the Spirit evolves, you will find that the Father’s interests become yours as well. For those of you who wish to please the Father, listening and following the Spirit’s voice is your way to accomplish that.

You might say, “I never hear His voice.” But if you read the Scriptures, He is constantly speaking to you through them. You just need to listen through your eyes. The whisper will come. The most important action that you can bring to your union with God is reading the Scriptures. They are your best hope to an abundant life. The Scriptures are the direct communication of God to us. So, invest your time buried in those words. The more you read, the more you understand!

If Christ is the Head of the Church, then the Spirit is the bloodstream and nervous system of the Church. All spiritual nourishment flows through Him. Our physical life is only able to exist because of the blood that courses through our veins that is constantly feeding our body. In like respect, our nervous system tells us when to move, when to run, when to duck from danger, even when to breathe. This is how the Spirit is with us individually and the Church as a whole.

Nothing happens without the Spirit. We cannot manufacture truth and power without Him. The greatest challenge I find when I visit a church is where is the Spirit? I see lots of friendly faces and hear very congenial voices, but it mostly ends there. There is a reason for His absence which I will discuss in detail later. Suffice it to say that without the presence of the Holy Spirit, the church service will offer no perfect peace, no true wisdom, and no abundant life. And that hurts!

The Holy Spirit does not reveal too much about Himself in the Scriptures. He is busy telling us of the Father and the great deeds of the Son. But in Galatians He does expose a little of Himself. Galatians 5: 22-23 (ESV) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” These attributes of His (which by the way also are the same characteristics of the Father and the Son) are there to be developed in us. If I am angry at others instead of loving, if I have no “Joy of the Lord”, if I am impatient, then He is missing somehow in my life. The fruits are the best measure for us to use to see if godliness is being cultivated in our spirits. If they aren’t, then we are holding Him back in some way. So, look to your fruit!

The Spirit is never idle. He is constantly at work. My greatest question, “Is He at work in me?” I often get so interested in myself that I forget my need for Him. That is always a big mistake! Again, like air to the nostrils, so is the Spirit to my soul. I need Him.

Where we make our biggest errors is when we get sidetracked by something other than the Spirit. For example, a job promotion, a bigger house, a new car, or whatever. It is natural for us to think we need action instead of Him. But that only makes Him quiet. The Scriptures refer to this as quenching. If I am always waiting for Him to fix something (especially some problem I caused myself) and I see no answer, I wonder, “What went wrong?” All the while, He is waiting for me to return to following Him. Remember, patience is one of His virtues. The problem is that He has to do that with us all too often.

For the lost, He explains their need for Christ the savior. For the believer, He shows the way of holiness if the believer will follow. For the Church, He offers vitality if the Church will only listen and obey. There will always be action required on our part in order for the relationship to flourish.

He convicts. He guides. He teaches. He trains. He searches the world for the one who will leave all to follow Christ. We get so wrapped up in our day-to-day living that we neglect what is most important, searching and listening for Him. I catch myself selfishly doing that on a daily basis. If we search for Him ourselves, there is an over-abundance of wonder just waiting for us as His personal gift!

I think we sometimes feel it is His responsibility to make it all happen for us without any effort on our part. That is where we get it wrong. Remember, Jesus called Him “The Helper”. If we disregard Him, He cannot help us. He is the most critical relationship in our lives, and we blow Him off for personal reasons. It is only by His patience and kindness that we even exist. The error in the relationship is always ours. It is impossible for the Spirit to ever get anything wrong. So, if nothing is happening in your life, there is only one place for you to look. Within!

Now for the good stuff. He is the giver of peace and joy! He is the great healer! He is the worker of all miracles, great and small! Too often I’ve sat with pastors and when the subject of miracles comes up, they shy away. I hear the words, “I’m content with the little miracles. A repaired marriage, or someone with a victory over a vice through one of our group sessions.” These are things they can control. A miracle of God Himself completely overwhelms them. If you don’t think great miracles are important, just ask those parents who have kids at St. Jude’s hospital. Their need for the Spirit’s healing is monumental. Let’s not deny them that because of our own unbelief. Miracles belong to the Holy Spirit and He is still in the miracle business. I am a witness of it.

Think what would happen if we changed our way of thinking and living. Wouldn’t that woo the Spirit’s involvement back into our personal lives and our church lives? Nothing much happens in church anymore. There are a few islands of hope here and there but for the most part our church services have become somewhat stale. Is it because we are more interested in our own performances than in His presence? If we want vitality, then we must repent from our neglect and our closed off hearing and request His presence. And then do whatever He tells us!

As you get further into this writing more of the Spirit will be revealed to you. My hope is that your interest will grow to a hunger that will override all your fear.

Amen?

Chapter 2 The Holy Spirit and His Relationships

The Spirit’s relationship with the Father and the Son

John 16: 12-15 (ESV) “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

This statement by Christ to the disciples shows the oneness of the Trinity. Jesus is saying they are in union as one and it is hard to see them as separate here. That’s because first they are perfect, and second, they are in total agreement on everything. Just as the Father and the Son can never get anything wrong, so goes the Spirit. United as one!

This brings us back to the fact that the Spirit remains the communicator between the Trinity and us. “He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak.” He is that intimate relationship that makes communion with the Trinity possible. He brings the truth, He teaches the lessons, He glorifies the Son, And He represents the Father.

The “Trinity” is a difficult concept for us to understand. It goes far beyond our human abilities to truly comprehend. How can they be separate and inseparable at the same time? Our brains are too small. Yet as we grow in intimacy with the Spirit, He begins to reveal little separations here and there. Such as the Spirit is here on earth and the Father, and the Son are in heaven. We know that it was Christ who suffered and died on the cross for us, not the Spirit or the Father. In the end, it is trust on our part that they know exactly what they are doing all the time. There is no division between them. There never is a disagreement. Nothing but perfect harmony. That is a good thing!

The Spirit’s relationship with the world

Galatians 5: 16-17 (ESV) “But I say walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other…”

We can interchange the words flesh and world here. So, to be clear, I am not writing about those who need Christ, but the desires that the world tries to stir in us to keep us from our relationship with the Spirit. The Spirit and the world are direct opposites of each other. We cannot blend them together ever. One of the greatest mistakes I see in churches today is when they try to bring Christian values and ideas into a parallel relationship with the world. There is no parallel, they are east or west, never similar. Two examples, a twelve-step program and Christian therapy. These are copies of the world’s idea of fixing something. Trying to insert them into the Christian Walk is a bad fit. It is the Spirit we need help from.

In addition, the world offers dainties that are sweet in the mouth but turn bitter in the belly. The Spirit might offer a challenge of faith to the believer, but in the end, there is victory and peace. The Spirit is always helping. The world is bent on our destruction. They have nothing in common at all. Meaning, there is no relationship between the Spirit and the world, period!

John 15: 18-19 (ESV) “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

There are those who have completely succumbed to the world and that is tragic. Yet there is still hope while they are breathing. The lost have a friend in the Holy Spirit, not a critic. He is here to seek and to save them from a terrible tormenting eternity. We are never to hate those who do not know Him but to pray for their wellbeing and their surrender to Christ. We can also show the lost what a beautiful life the Spirit can give to them through our actions of love. We are His representatives here on earth. We must let righteousness become our walk to show the lost a better way. Always remember the lost are precious to God!

The Spirit’s relationship with the seeker

Deuteronomy 4: 29 (ESV) “…you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

When Jesus departed this earth for his rightful place next to the Father, he did not leave us alone but sent the Holy Spirit to continue to fight for and to gather up those who are having trouble finding their way. Meaning those looking for a better answer to life. They are not yet completely lost but are seeking truth for themselves. The world is fearful of the Spirit and his power to shine light on us to show us that we are only wandering and how to find Christ the Savior. The Spirit’s role is a necessity. I remember how confused I was until the night the Spirit convicted me of my dire need for Christ. Yes, conviction is a hard sensation to deal with. When exposed to absolute truth it can shake us to the bone. But the Spirit explains it so well that yielding is not something to fear but something to savor.

From the time I was a child, I somehow knew who Jesus was. The Spirit was already speaking to my deep parts. I know you have met those people who say, “I think I’ve always been a believer and can’t tell you when I actually came to Christ.” They probably didn’t realize that they were always seekers. The Spirit was communicating with them all along. No matter how the searcher comes to Christ, it is always the Holy Spirit who draws them.

The Spirit’s relationship with you, the believer

John 14: 23 (ESV) “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

This is perhaps my favorite scripture of all. Jesus was very specific. If I love Christ, I will keep his word, and the Father will love me also. When he says they will come and make their home with me, that means the Holy Spirit will make His abode with me by living within my spirit. Each of us were created with a hole in our soul that cannot be filled by any and all of the junk from the world that we can possibly toss in there. The hole is too big! It can only be filled by God Himself and that is the Holy Spirit.

One of the titles given to the Spirit is the Comforter. The KJV calls him the Comforter while the ESV calls him the Helper. John 14: 26-27 (KJV) “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Are not those words full of beauty and peace? The peace that passes all understanding is the Holy Spirit within you. The hole is filled by the Spirit of peace and truth, not a bunch of worldly trash that has no eternal value.

The Holy Spirit is here for our protection and freedom. He is here to help and comfort. He is here offering peace and joy. Not the fake stuff the world offers but only what can be gifted by God. If your life is in the Spirit’s hands, then you are truly in a safe place!

Romans 8: 26-28 (ESV) “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

The Spirit is not just here to correct us, but He is constantly mediating for us with the Father. Doesn’t that bring you some comfort?

The Spirit’s relationship with the Church

Ephesians 5: 25-27 (ESV) “…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

Christ has passed the responsibility of washing the church through the word to the Holy Spirit. The trouble I see is that in our present form we are very busy. Maybe too busy to actually hear from the Spirit. He likes a quiet soul and a church who will listen for His voice. I sense a fear of silence in our church services. Do we think He might say something painful about us? Or do we think He might want us to change something about our way of honoring the Father? Or is it simply that we think we must keep moving to the next thing? Quite possibly we have lost our ability to wait for God. Remember, patience is a fruit.

If we will but read the Scriptures and follow what they say through an obedient and contrite heart, then there is promise of victory. The Spirit’s ways are contrary to our own. Too often we try to muddle through on our own strength. We form committees and groups because that is what man does. But they don’t work. Or at least they work minimally. We need the power and strength of the Spirit to bring freedom to ourselves and to others that are searching.

The Church’s responsibility is to listen with open hearts and ears and obey what the Spirit says. Here’s the ultimate church question, can you exchange your programs for the voice of God? His way is right and true. Our way is but a shadow of truth. We must change our thoughts and actions to rest solely on the Spirit himself. Let’s stop rushing ahead and learn to wait on the Lord.

Psalm 25: 4-5 (ESV) “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”

Chapter 3 The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures

2 Timothy 3: 16-17 (ESV) “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

The Holy Spirit is the author of the Scriptures. I like how Paul uses the phrase “breathed out by God”. That would add the title of breath of God to the Holy Spirit. We talk about how all these different authors wrote the bible and that their writings and prophecies all point to Christ. But they all had to have one single director/editor.

Reading the Scriptures is a necessity to the one who wishes to be complete and equipped for every good work. We are not talking about a ministry here. We are talking about living in righteousness. In my life, I need reproof, correction, teaching, and training in righteousness. I get most of that through a relationship with the Scriptures.

Yes, I do hear His voice in my head at times, whispering a correction. But I can find that same correction within the Scriptures also. If I open the book and read, I will find teaching and training. If I don’t bother to read, then my spirit starts to dry up. Sin also starts to creep in to damage my soul. Is there anything more important than reading the Spirit’s book?

Everything written in the Scriptures has a meaning and a purpose to it. For those of you who read a lot, have you ever noticed that a verse you have read many times suddenly explodes before your eyes full of wisdom and answers? That is the Holy Spirit speaking to you through His word. If you don’t read, then why should He give your disobedience any reward or direction?

Something interesting in my English Standard Bible. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all capitalized. So is the word Scripture or Scriptures. That makes it an entity all to itself! The Scriptures are righteousness, truth, enlightenment, training, and life changing. They are to be respected. They are to be cherished. They are to be followed and obeyed. All wisdom can be discovered within those holy pages. We need to read them with a fervent hunger for the ways of God.

When I read them, I ask the Spirit for two things. Reveal what you wish me to know about You and the Father and the Son. And show me what You wish to change in my life. I’m asking for wisdom and correction. Correction is not to be feared, it is to be welcomed in our lives. When the correction is obeyed, I find the growth of fruit in me. When change comes from God, it is always an improvement.

Might I suggest that if you can afford it, buy yourself a new and unmarked Bible. Start at Genesis 1:1 and read the book as a whole writing, not separate books and chapters. Read through to Revelation 22:21 with those two requests. Show me what you wish me to know about You and show me what You want to change about me. Underline the new meanings you get. I think you will not only be surprised but rewarded spiritually. I also think you will begin to experience that hunger in your soul. What can it hurt?

One of the greatest dangers I find in people who read the Word with little effort and little desire is they can be misled into quoting the Scriptures out of context. It’s easy to do.  And even further down the wrong road is we have been making up our own slogans and sayings from the book. Slogans have nothing in common with Scripture. I don’t see why we think we can improve on God’s word. Or that we can make it easier to understand. If we reduce the Scriptures to slogans then we have lost our way completely. Do not let this happen to you!

For example; Have you ever heard the term “plead the blood”? What does that even mean? I’ve heard the Pentecostals refer to speaking in tongues as their “prayer language”. What does that mean? Once saved always saved. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together from the Book of Hebrews is another popular misquote. The most dangerous slogan we have invented as church goers is, “ask Jesus to come into your heart to be your personal Lord and savior.” Where is that in Scripture? We must guard ourselves!

Relying on a slogan instead of the Spirit comes from either ignorance or a shortcut philosophy of using Scripture to manipulate God. When I say that, doesn’t it sound absurd? I read a book once on praise which you would think is very proper. The real theme of the book was how we can skillfully persuade God to get what we want through praising Him. I threw it in the trash so no one else could accidentally read it and fall for the man’s foolish maneuverings. Still, it is hard to get through a Sunday church service without hearing at least one slogan or misquote. Half the time I find them written on the reader board out in front of the church. Why do we do that to ourselves? We need truth, not catch phrases. Watch your mouth, slogans are deadly!

Back to the Scriptures. They are the breath and wonder of God. Delve deep into them. All answers for a holy life are contained in them. Let the Spirit’s voice through the Scriptures speak richness and purity into your life. They are the best training in righteousness available for the one who would be complete and equipped for every good work. Read the Book! Trust the Book!

Chapter 4 Fellowship

1 John 1: 3 (ESV) “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

1 John 1: 5-9 (ESV) “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Holy Spirit is to be in charge of our fellowship with both the Father and the Son, and with each other. Christ became the mediator between us and the Father so that the relationship with the Father could be restored. The Holy Spirit is the mediator between us and both the Father and the Son so that we can know their will for us. He is also the mediator between believers.

The Spirit is in charge of all spiritual communication. I can only have fellowship with the Father and the Son through the Spirit. Without the Spirit I am unable to understand the Scriptures. And without the Spirit I don’t even want to read the Scriptures. That is why the Holy Spirit must be living within my spirit. The same goes for fellowship with other believers. We have distorted fellowship so badly that it has become scripturally unrecognizable. Dare I say, we have confused the meaning of fellowship so that it has become an association of mere visiting. We have become a clublike atmosphere with only a shadow of virtue. Not all of us but a lot of us!

This might hurt a bit. Real fellowship is not talking about the kids, or the job, or the vacation, or even the weather. On Sunday mornings before and after the church service I seldom hear the words Jesus or God or Holy Spirit. Why is that? I know that there are people in their seats who are full of needs and hurts. Yet we continue on, as is, like everything is fine. That only reaches the spiritual level of hypocrisy. Depression will never leave in that kind of environment. Neither will disease!

The answer can be found in Philippians 2: 1-5 (ESV) “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”

Vibrant lives will never be realized until we do those things that attract the Holy Spirit back to our church. When the Spirit introduces a person to Christ they are shown their need for restoration to God. Belief and trust in Christ heals the separation. Immediately Jesus places us back into the hands of the Spirit and He begins the process of cleansing, renewing our souls, and turning us into the image of Christ. But there are conditions on our part that must be met.

Let’s look in the mirror and ask what kind of Christian are we? Are we righteous or only pretending? Are we honest with ourselves? Are we honest with other believers? Are we honest with God? Honesty is attractive to the Holy Spirit. What else? Are we humble? The Spirit detests pride and arrogance. The proud He will reject while the humble He embraces. Remember how Christ lived when He was on this earth. Are we loving to other believers? Do we care about the lost?

Do we have the mind of Christ? 1 Corinthians 2: 11-16 (ESV) “…No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

Where does your mind fit in this Scripture? Is your church of the same mind as Christ? When I say the word mind, I don’t mean do you agree on the same doctrines. But do you understand things from a spiritual perspective or are you trying to comprehend spiritual things from a natural mind? Having the “mind of Christ” attracts the Holy Spirit.

What about praise? What about worship? Are they the same? And are they important? Let’s delve. Every time I attend a church there always is a time for song. Is this worship or praise or both or neither? Praise is to laud the glory of God. Worship is the reverence of or devotion to God. They are different. They can both be present in a service and they both can be missing. Our time spent worshipping and praising in our gatherings is crucial. Dare I say, it is more important than teaching? Teaching is learning but worship is glorifying the Lord. Plus, worshipping together in truth brings us joy as a community of Christ lovers!

One of the most attractive actions to the Holy Spirit we can do is the praise and worship of God and the honor of His Son. But most churches have a number of songs counted out so they can get them up on the screen and in their proper order. Sometimes it seems more of a production than praise and worship. We cannot do this to ourselves. No matter how much activity a church has, if their praise and worship is wrong their church will suffer. That must change!

Next, do we look to the interests of others? If we are limiting ourselves to only visiting, then we will never know what our brothers and sisters needs are. Have you ever been to a church service where they announce the suicide of a believer? That is one of the most gut-wrenching things to ever hear. There was a great need there and we all missed it! If we care, if we have sympathy, if we will listen, then we can encourage and comfort. That is important to the Holy Spirit.

Honesty, confession, humbleness, the mind of Christ, love, counting others as more important than ourselves, compassion, praise and worship, are all welcoming actions that bring the Holy Spirit to a church body. Remember, we have no fellowship without Him. And we do not have Him without these actions. But with these we find freedom in the Spirit! A group of people that walk in freedom become light-hearted and joyful. They are liberated from their own self-inflicted wounds. And their freedom becomes of more value than other people’s impression of them. Now fellowship can flow.

Remember sins cannot be glossed over. They must be dealt with. But according to scripture, if we confess, He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse. Isn’t that a better way to live?

The fear comes when we think, “What will people think of me?” And that stifles the inner spirit. Is our pride worth that much to us?  Shouldn’t we rather live in the liberty that the Spirit provides than worry that the real us will be discovered by others? We can never walk free until we learn to be truthful. First with ourselves, then with God, and finally with each other.

Let us embrace real fellowship. When we get together let’s encourage each other of the grace of Christ that has been gifted to us. Let’s say His name to each other!

Amen?

Chapter 5 The Patience of the Spirit

2 Peter 3: 8-9 (ESV) “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish.”

We tell ourselves, “That’s good news! I have time.” But in the next verse; 2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”

Why is it our natural tendency is to procrastinate when it comes to matters of the Spirit? What the Spirit is interested in should be what we are interested in. But we hesitate and delay as if we have all the time in the world. We actually don’t have that much time. Only by the patience of the Holy Spirit do we have the chance to repent and obey. Yet we don’t like those words, repentance and obedience. It makes it sound like we have been wrong all along. Maybe we have been wrong, but admitting it is too embarrassing! When we acknowledge our errors, it lowers other peoples’ respect of us and exposes our vulnerability. Has the Church sunk to the level where the appearance of being spiritual is more important than actually becoming spiritual?

We Christians are a stubborn people. We don’t like to yield. We like to be right all the time. We perceive ourselves as righteous and faithful. But searching the Scriptures will reveal to us something different. They are full of warnings. Yet, we glance over them like they were written for somebody else. Through our stubbornness we have laid a barrier between us and the Holy Spirit which has stopped us dead in our tracks. Only by surrendering our stubbornness to God can we resume our walk with Him.

In my own life, there are selfish and stubborn actions that I refuse to let go of. I excuse it as simple failure because I’m only human. The Spirit sees it as treason and sin! Yet, it is the patience of the Spirit that waits for me to surrender to the truth and repent. Clinging to my rebellion only wastes another day towards my freedom in Him.

When we stiffen our backs against repentance and refuse to obey, we are cutting ourselves off from the Spirit. Our prayer room gets mighty silent! When I sense silence from the Spirit, I get frightened. It means I’ve done something stupid. Or more likely, selfish. So, in a way He corrects me through His silence. I need to hear Him and I need to understand the Scriptures, or what good is my Christianity?

In comparison, the Father’s love is infinite, the Son’s resurrection power is infinite, so the Spirit’s patience is infinite. Infinite means without limits, boundless, and endless. The Spirit’s patience has no limits that can stop it and goes on forever. With such a great gift given to us, why do we try His patience by ignoring Him? Testing the goodness of God is not a good idea. I know from personal experience.

How do we get past our stubbornness? Confess it to God. Repent (turn your back on it) in sincerity. Begin to obey the Scriptures. And help fellow believers to do the same. The help we offer other believers and the help we receive from other believers is what true fellowship is.

Let me ask you; Why hasn’t Christ returned yet? The First Century Church expected Him at any moment. What went wrong then? Today’s Church is hoping for the rapture any day now. We say the signs are all falling into place. Yet, something is still not quite right. What is it?

In the first century beginning of the Church, factions, disagreements, and divisions started almost immediately. They argued over everything. Now, fast forward to today. With over 450,000 denominations across the world, our disagreements have grown stronger and farther apart. We don’t love the way we should, we judge, we don’t forgive, and we blame. We want to be the popular Christian in our church, and we want to be in charge. Let me ask, does that sound right to you?

The patience of the Lord waits for the Bride to get herself ready. Only a few need to begin to yield so He can start to revive the Bride. We think just a few more ministries and good ideas and we should be victorious. The Spirit says, “You are too busy!” Too much doing and no real listening. All the while we continue to rush ahead with little to no vision. It is on our knees in repentance and contrition where we will find the Spirit. Surrender to Him is the beginning of hope. Obedience to His voice will lead us to an abundant life. And loving each other will make us strong. We have been driven too far off course by our own ideas and remedies.

To continue as is will bring us no change. And banging the drum louder will not heal us either. We must learn the art of silence and quietly waiting for the Spirit’s voice. If we wish Him in our midst, then we must stand still and wait. Just as He patiently waits for us, we must learn to patiently wait for His voice. His voice is the voice of truth. His voice is the voice of forgiveness. His instructions are always correct and right. Far too long we have been leaning on our own understandings and not trusting in the Holy Spirit. Proverbs 3: 5-6 (ESV) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Our paths definitely need straightening. We cannot continue to try to figure it out ourselves and rush ahead from our own conclusions. We need a different way. Different is to stop and listen and then heed His instructions.

Lamentations 3: 25-26 (ESV) “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

He is waiting patiently for us to learn to wait.

Chapter 6 Quenching and Grieving

1 Thessalonians 5: 19 (ESV) “Do not quench the Spirit.”

Ephesians 4: 30 (ESV) “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

First thought, it seems that we don’t have a lot to go on here. But if we dig just a little further then we can get a pretty good idea of what this means. The definition of grieve is to afflict with acute sorrow or distress. The definition of quench is to extinguish or to put out. They are different words but many times they walk hand in hand. If I grieve the Holy Spirit, I quench Him and if I quench the Spirit, it grieves Him.

This all sounds like the Spirit is weak and that we have power over Him. We should never think that! It is not about the weakness of the Spirit but the pain we inflict on His purity and His intentions for our lives. Quenching the Spirit means we have affected His ability to work with us because of our refusal to listen. Grieving means we cause Him sorrow over our selfishness or our unbelief in His Scriptures. We have a direct effect on our relationship with the Holy Spirit for both good and bad. If we rebel, He has sorrow, but we are the ones we have hurt!

These single verses are surrounded by others that contain many instructions. Let’s look at quenching first:

1 Thessalonians 5: 13-22 (ESV) “…Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”

I got this from my wife Della when she was studying these, Scriptures. The Greek word for quench is “Sbennymi”, meaning to extinguish, to put out, to go out. The order of Greek words always places the more important word in the sentence first. So, the Greek writing says, “The Spirit not quench.” The normal use of the word “Sbennymi” was to refer to putting out fires or sparks or to put out a lamp. Remember when the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, He came as tongues of fire. He was never actually called a flame or fire, but His ministry was like fire. Therefore, we are told not to put out the fire.

If we follow these admonitions in 1 Thessalonians, I don’t think we will quench the Spirit. They are proper instructions of how the believer should act and treat others.

Ephesians 4: 25-32 (ESV) “Therefore having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Again, another perfect list of how to act for the believer and between believers. Obeying these recommendations of Paul not only brings peace to the believer but gives peace from the believer to others. They will keep you from grieving the Holy Spirit.

It looks like quenching and grieving the Holy Spirit come from treating others improperly and especially those of the faith. I believe the number one cause of this problem is the tongue. This is where most injuries come from and where reckless damage is done.

James 3: 5-12 (ESV) “…the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.”

A couple things: The tongue seems to always want to speak judgement about another or loves to gossip about another. These two actions both grieve the Spirit about our spirit and quench His ability to work with our goal of Christlikeness. Oh, how deadly the mouth is! For me, my writing is like my mouth. I have to guard what I write. Yes, there are truths that need to be said. But how I say them is what puts me in danger with the Lord. And thankfully God gave me my wife Della, who reads all of this stuff before anyone else gets a chance. Often, I hear, “That sounds a little harsh.” Or “That sounds a little judgmental.” My favorite, “It looks like you think you’re the expert.”

We have got to look at each other as ones called to belong to the Father. As saved by the Son. And as sealed by the Spirit. Even if another believer is totally wrong and way off base, we are to love in gentleness and kindness, but not in weakness. We make bad assumptions when we treat others with acceptance and not forgiveness. Let me explain: Forgiving others for something they are doing that is scripturally wrong is different from accepting their wrong as okay. The Scriptures draw the line. Using me as an example, you must be patient and loving when I step over the line, but you are not to condone what I am doing. And you are faithless to the Spirit if you do not confront me with it. That my brothers and sisters is a hard road to walk. Yet we are responsible to each other to walk a clear road. Again, true fellowship!

The Spirit expressly states how we are to act in His Scriptures towards others. So, what grieves and quenches the Spirit is not necessarily how we treat Him but how we treat each other. The Spirit is not weak but has patiently endured our obstinacy while we resist His cure for 2000 years. He waits for us to follow His Scriptures. Let’s change the way we treat each other, and I don’t mean better visiting!

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is an entirely different issue. Contemptuous remarks or writings about the Spirit goes over the line and Christ called us out on it. How close do we come in mocking the Spirit? Do we criticize Him? Do we ever make fun of Him? I would say that almost all believers are careful not to do that. But what about listening to Him? What about obeying His Scriptures? How close do we actually come in our contempt? How fine is that line?

Truth be told we don’t respect the Father and Son as well as we should either. The Creator is always superior to the created. The problem is with us. We must do away with our own vanities and self-pride and learn to show honor and respect to They to whom it is due! This is an area in the Church that needs strong repentance and change of heart.

To continue on like today’s contemporary churches are doing is foolishness. We have already both quenched and grieved the Spirit before we even unlock the doors on a Sunday morning. Are we showing up for no other reason than to visit or worse to disguise ourselves as being spiritual? I don’t know.  But I do know it is impossible to fool God. Are we actually convinced that we have fooled each other? Who is willing to stop and ask the Spirit what He wants? I think you would see a completely different fellowship than what we have now. Honest fellowship is what we need. It is time for a change!

Chapter 7 The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5: 22-26 (ESV) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

“Keeping in step with the Spirit.” What do you think that means? Is the Spirit going somewhere? Or does it mean acting like the Spirit? What the Spirit has laid out for us in this passage is that He has described His personality to us. He and the Father and the Son all infinitely abound in these characteristics. And if we are “keeping in step”, then they exist in us. They are the best measuring staff of our spiritual lives. For example, if I am impatient with the driver in front of me, then I am out of step with the Spirit. Remember the patience of the Spirit in chapter 5. If I am impatient, then I am most likely missing other fruits like love, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and self-control.

What does it mean for a church to be “led” by the Spirit? Today’s contemporary church too often assumes this means “ministry”. In fact, we have become so obsessed with finding our ministry that we overlook our true goal of Christlikeness. Mankind’s natural instinct is to put labels on everything. Once we have decided what a person’s ministry is, then they are stuck with that and they must go about doing their ministry. Spiritual growth can lag because they now have a spiritual job. I have referred to this as turning people into puzzle pieces and heard the same at times said by church leadership. Remember, we are parts of the body of Christ and not puzzle pieces. Ministries can be a deadly deterrent to the maturity and spiritual strength of the individual. And they can stunt the growth of most churches. Focus on the Spirit and not the job!

Love, the first fruit, is mentioned on almost every page in the New Testament. One of the many titles of the Father is Steadfast Love and Faithfulness. God is love. If I love, then I can be assured I am keeping in step with the Spirit. If I am unloving then you can be sure I have wandered from the path and no longer am in step with the Spirit. Love is one of the greatest measures of a person who is led by the Spirit.

So is joy! The “Joy of the Lord” is evident in a person who has the Holy Spirit living within them, for the Spirit is joy! Salvation is joy. Eternal life is joy. Forgiveness is joy. The miracles of the Spirit are joy. Even correction by the Spirit is joy. Selfishness brings no joy. There is no joy in anger. The world offers no joy. Pride has no joy. It is in joy where the difference between the Spirit and the world is clear.

What about peace? You have heard of the “peace that passes understanding.” You have heard of the Prince of Peace. Perfect peace is centered in a person’s trust in God. Peace has no worry. Peace has no fear. Peace is never anxious. Peace is relaxation in the Spirit. Calm belongs to the one who is focused on the Spirit. And they will not have their peace destroyed by the world.

Patience is a trait that can only be generated in a person who is attentive to the Holy Spirit. We have had a joke in our family; “God please give me patience, Now!” Patience is a quality in an individual that is learned. It is not given by God but earned through trials and temptations. When we learn to recognize that some hardship is producing endurance in us, then worry takes a backseat to trust. James 1: 2-4 (ESV) “Count it all joy my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Kindness can take many forms. Kindness can be compassionate. Kindness can be generosity. Kindness is a caring nature. Kindness can be charitable. Kindness loves to do good to others. Kindness is friendly. Kindness can be tenderhearted. Kindness is cordial. God’s kindness towards us is shown to be obvious through the gift of His Son. Kindness is never selfish or greedy. Kindness is an attribute of the Trinity, and we should desire its evidence in our lives.

Goodness has been used interchangeably with the phrase steadfast love. When it comes to the “Goodness of God” it is synonymous with the “Steadfast Love of God”. Steadfast in its own rights means firm, fixed, not changing, and constant. Don’t we Christians have a saying; “God is good all the time. And all the time God is good.” Goodness is not something that changes in value, strength, or consistency. When placed in Galatians as a fruit; our goodness is to be a constant Christlike image to the world and to each other. No changing. No lessening. Constantly reflecting the steadfast perfectness of Christ, in love, mercy, and in our actions.

Faithfulness is also steadfast and constant like goodness. We are bound by loyalty to Christ and His directions given to us in the gospels. The faithfulness of God is unwavering. It is bound to His character. When I search my own character, I see lots of errors in my faithfulness to God. I cannot be faithful to God and selfish at the same time. Faithfulness will not walk with pride or arrogance. Those characteristics must be eliminated in order to be faithful. I see that humbleness also is a good road to faithfulness. Micah 6: 8 (ESV) “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” If we are to be faithful, then we can have no inconsistency in our dependability to God. This is a fruit that I need help with and that’s why we should want constant training and teaching by the Holy Spirit.

When I tried to count the nine fruits of the Spirit, it seemed like I could only count eight of them. What’s that last one I can’t remember? I asked myself. Finally, I had to peek at the Scriptures. Ah, gentleness. The reason I couldn’t remember it is because gentleness is not at the top of my list. Most times I’m more like a sledgehammer than a velvet glove. Why do I have that problem? My answer is in James 3: 17-18 (ESV) “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” Those characteristics are what I need the Holy Spirit to develop in me for me to grow the fruit of gentleness.

Self-control, the last fruit. Most of us think of controlling our sins and desires when it comes to this word. And that is very true! But self-control also means exercising constraint when dealing with others. Especially with those who belong to God. A great challenge I see for the “House of God” is the need for passion for God combined with restraint towards each other. Why do you think we have so many church splits? Our emotions override our actions, and we think we should move along to greener pastures. But what we really should do is search the Scriptures for God’s truth and act accordingly. The only way we can have self-control is to obey the “Word of God.”

I believe that verses 25 and 26 are part of the self-control we need to exercise. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” These are three deadly self-control issues. Conceited equals self-pride, provoking is antagonistic, and envy comes from greed. These are not fruits of the Spirit. We should constantly check ourselves for any infiltration into our spirits of these items.

One last question; Why is faith not listed as a fruit?

Chapter 8 The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 (ESV) “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, and to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

Let’s go a little further. 1 Corinthians 12: 28-30 (ESV) “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?”

Last one. Romans 12: 6-8 (ESV) “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Over the years I have heard many conflicting opinions about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I have heard that the gifts were only for the first century church and after the church was founded the gifts were no longer needed. People seem undecided as to how many gifts there are. Some think only the nine in 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 are the real spiritual gifts and the other verses I’ve put in here are just add-ons. I’ve heard leaders in the church say that these other gifts are there to show someone their ‘ministry’. I’ve heard people say that if you do not speak in tongues, you aren’t even saved. And I’ve heard people say that speaking in tongues is made-up gibberish or more likely devilish. That’s a lot for us to wade through on our path of truth seeking. But I believe we should try.

Throughout time there have been out-pourings of the Holy Spirit. I think of them as the pool at the Sheep Gate where the invalid lay waiting for the stirring of the water by a spirit. It was not often but it did happen at times. The last outpouring of the Spirit here in America happened back in the late 60’s and early 70’s. I know how real it was because I was there, and I am a witness to all of His glory. I was only a teenager at the time but now 50 plus years later I can still remember the beauty and wonder of the presence of the Spirit. When He came, He came bearing gifts! What we have today is only a mere shadow of what His presence is like. For those of you who haven’t witnessed Him amongst us, it cannot be faked. The reality of the Spirit with us and the pretense of His presence are so far apart that once you experience Him nothing else will satisfy you.

This is extremely important, so I would ask you to keep an open mind. We are not trying to prove a point here only discover the truth. We have had a long-lasting status quo for quite some time. We have cemented certain acceptances into our spiritual psyches which we no longer question. We need a change!

First, we must accept all the Scriptures as absolute truth. If something is in there, then it is in there for a reason. God’s reason! Let’s talk spiritual gifts then. First myth; When I was a teenager, I used Unger’s bible dictionary to answer a lot of questions I had at the time. I loved the book and thought it was a wealth of information. One day I looked up what he had to say about spiritual gifts, and he described them quite well. But his last paragraph stated that the gifts were only for the early church in order to get it started and once the church was steady on her own the gifts were no longer necessary. I was astounded at his opinion. It crushed me because I just couldn’t believe what he was saying. I had already witnessed the lame running and leaping because of the Spirit. I threw his book away. Seems a little drastic, correct? If anyone needs the gifts it is the Church. In fact, the gifts are for the Church!

To treat the Holy Spirit’s gifts as unnecessary and irrelevant is the same as saying salvation is unnecessary and irrelevant. We can work our way into heaven by good deeds, right? Truly, when we start to discount some Scriptures as unnecessary, we bring all Scripture into question. That is what’s known as a slippery slope. Let’s accept what was relevant for the first church is also relevant for today’s church. Even though we don’t see the gifts in action right now, we must proceed as if they are real and available for us today.

By accepting the fact that the gifts are real and available, our next question should be, why don’t we see them? Something must be wrong. The gifts come with the Spirit’s presence. So, the horrible assumption must be, why is the Spirit not present with us? And now we are at the root of the problem!

We have made the same foolish assumption as Unger did, that we are okay without the Holy Spirit. Our ministries are booming. Our giving is good. We serve well. What more could we need? It is because our frame of reference is so muted that we don’t know what we are missing. Miracles are real! Healings are real! The power of the Spirit to radically change a life instantly is real! We have slowly come to accepting common and mundane as the best we can have and that lie comes straight from the devil. I don’t think we even understand what lukewarm is.

I know this might be hard to swallow, but with no change on our part, our casual club-like Christianity will remain steeped in mediocrity. And this brings us to our line in the sand! A choice needs to be made and a choice to do nothing is still a choice made. And before you get upset at me for calling out lukewarmness, let me explain that every time I look in the mirror, I see a man who seems indifferent to the Spirit also. We need each other to encourage and exhort ourselves further along. That’s real Holy Spirit fellowship and we need it to survive!

I’ve told you that I am a witness to the mighty acts of the Spirit back in the 70’s. I also was a witness to His disappearance. Without the Spirit I was unable to walk the Christlike life and I was overcome by the world. The mud I sunk into was deep and putrid. I was so covered in it that I could not be recognized as a Christian. This is how far off we can get without His presence in our lives and in our church. Fortunately for me He pulled me back from the brink just in the nick of time before all was lost. I have learned gratefulness.

Let’s deal with this, so why did He leave? I didn’t understand it back then but now I see clearly that the Spirit will not share authority. Mankind always wants to have some sort of control or at least thinks God needs our help or even worse, our advice.

I had witnessed an angry man who was coming to our church to settle things over his wife’s involvement with the church. He thought we were some crazy holy-roller group who had sucked her in. I watched him striding up to the door of the church and when he hit the threshold he collapsed in a heap of tears. He lay there shaking and crying as the Spirit was explaining to him what he was really like. He actually blocked the entrance to the church, so everybody had to go around to the back to get inside. When the man finally rose from the floor, I could see a completely different person. Saved in an instant!

One night during our youth group meeting, a friend of mine brought his girlfriend to the gathering. We were all standing in a circle, holding hands and praying. One of the kids said, “There is a demon in the room.” (one of the spiritual gifts-discerning of spirits) Not having ever confronted something like this we just kept praying. The girl my friend had brought started to scream. Then her scream turned into the sound of a boiling teakettle. No breathing only one continuous blast. Then her mouth shut tight. But the scream kept coming out of her. Then it left her and began to circle around the room. It finally exited through a closed window as we heard it fleeing down the street. We learned later that she had been a white witch.

The first healing we had at the church happened right in the middle of our pastor’s sermon. A man jumped up waving some crutches and started to run around the outside of the pews jumping and laughing and shouting out, “I’m healed!” We were all stunned. But this is what happens when the Spirit is with us. Healings and miracles are a natural occurrence when He is present. Supernatural to us, normal for Him!

But we lost it all. Why? We tried to but in! We thought we could help. But we only interrupted His glory at work in us. You see, He doesn’t need our help, only our ability to listen to Him and follow wherever He leads. It was a huge mistake! And quite frankly an innocent one. But the affect it had on us was devastating. Our church had grown to over 500 people in a year then shrank down to eight after He left. The Spirit said, “I will wait.” And that’s what He does. Any interference on our part soils the bond we are to have with the Holy Spirit and also with each other. Remember patience is a fruit of the Spirit. And that’s what He is doing today. Waiting patiently for us to get out of the way and return the control we are so unwilling to give up, back to Him.

Meanwhile we continue along in a fairly sedate walk. Most folks in today’s church have no concept of what they are missing because they’ve never seen what He does. They have no frame of reference to go by. Even if your church has never experienced any of this, there is a way that all of the Spirit’s wonder and glory can happen to you. Would you like to know how?

We’ve already seen what control freaks we are. So first we must return our control back to Him. Also, there are certain qualities in a church that attracts the Spirit. A humble and contrite spirit. Isaiah 66: 2 (ESV) “…But this is the one to whom I look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” The Holy Spirit can never blend with an arrogant or proud heart. If we wish His presence with us, we must become humble. All of us! Some people are naturally humble and that is fantastic. But some of us are proud, stiff-necked, and overbearing and we are the ones who block the Spirit’s presence for all the rest. This is a problem that can only disappear with repentance.

The good news is that humility brings a whole lot of good with it. And it opens up the way for us to communicate with the Spirit. Control is back in His hands, and we only want to love. Humility is patient and kind. It does not envy. It is not boastful. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. Does that sound like 1 Corinthians chapter 13 to you? Humility attracts love to us and love attracts the Holy Spirit even more.

Release of control, humbleness, and love. Can you see the kind of environment we are creating? What else? Confession. James 5: 16 (ESV) “Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Since this is all in one verse, do you think that confession makes us righteous? I don’t know. But I do know that confession makes us honest. And the Holy Spirit loves honesty. I’m not saying we must bare our sinful souls regarding filth we have in us. I’m saying we must recognize our desire to sin and that we succumb to it, and we fail. It is a dishonorable thing, but there is total forgiveness with confession and repentance. And with that forgiveness comes absolute freedom!

People who walk in freedom have a spirit of gratefulness which brings joy and praise. When an entire church walks this way, the Spirit will never hold Himself back!

Let’s review. Release of control back to the Spirit, humbleness, love, confession, honesty, joy, and praise equals freedom in the Holy Spirit. All this brings a completely different source of light and life to a church. No more what is my ministry? No more where do I fit? No more desire to be in charge! Authority is where it should have been all the time, in the hands of the Holy Spirit. With the Spirit in charge, there are no limits to the beauty and wonder!

Let’s finally talk about the gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6 We find something interesting buried in with the whole passage of 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11. “4. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”

1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 contain the gifts. There are nine of them and they are available to the church but only with the Spirit’s companionship. These are the supernatural signs that radiate outwardly from Him to us. They are priceless. We should never try to fake them or make any pretense of spirituality. I do believe I have heard speaking in tongues faked and also prophecy. They somehow don’t sit well in our soul. If we fake a gift, we push the Spirit away from us. We must want what is the real thing. I caution the church against an over desire for the gifts instead of the Spirit abiding in our presence. We can desire the gifts but never let them supersede Him. An example: liking someone for their money instead of liking just them. Or being around someone who is famous just to get our own notoriety. Our relationship with the Spirit is the key. Remember we must constantly fight against our nature for prestige and control.

The utterance of the gift of wisdom. More often than not the gift of wisdom is not noticed by the one speaking. They are involved in a conversation with another, and they say something meant for the listener that is like someone turning on a light. Moments before, the hearer was confused about something and now they know exactly what to do. An answer has been delivered, and the giver never realized the Spirit was using them. It’s a beautiful gift because it keeps the speaker out of the equation.

The utterance of the gift of knowledge. The gift of knowledge is definitely supernatural. It is the Spirit who openly shares His knowledge with us. The late Kathryn Kuhlman who was known as a faith healer. Used to say that during her healing crusades the Spirit would tell her what He had just done. She would call out to the crowd something like, “Someone has just been healed of a rare muscular disease, and you are in a wheelchair. Get up and walk!” She had a word from the Spirit, and she delivered it in faith. The gift of knowledge is not wisdom, they are different. The gift of knowledge is the Spirit sharing what He knows with someone for the sake of helping another person. If we squelch that knowledge the person in need never gets their answer.

The gift of faith! Our next chapter is going to focus on the Holy Spirit and faith in some detail. But for now, let me share with you my one certain experience with the gift of faith. In my church youth group, our youth pastor and his wife were unable to have children. A child was what they wanted most together in life. This one Friday night Lloyd looked very down. (By the way, we can’t always expect our pastors to be on top things all the time.) We asked him what was wrong. He said they had come from the doctor where the doctor told them there was no possible chance for them to ever have kids. His heart was broken.

To us, it just didn’t seem right for Lloyd and Peggy not to have any kids. They would make the perfect parents. We also had great love for them and could not accept the doctor’s words. So, we looked around at each other and decided to ‘storm heaven’. We gathered around Lloyd, put our hands on him, and started praying with bold seriousness. We prayed for quite a while without any desire to stop until we got an answer as to why no kids. We would not relent. Suddenly we all stopped. It was as if each of us individually were told, “Okay, okay!” We all sat back full of confidence that the Spirit would take care of this. Nine months later they had twins! All in all, they had five kids and seventeen grandchildren. The prayer of the righteous avails much!

That feeling of confidence came from an assurance that the Spirit had heard our prayer and would take care of Lloyd and Peggy. None of us had any doubt whatsoever that a good answer had been reached. Now the Spirit intended for them to have their desire all along. But He wanted our involvement so we would understand faith better. That strengthens a church and ties them together tightly!

The gifts of healing, are they for the giver or the receiver? The giver does not need the healing, so the gift is for the person with the need. Too often, the feeling of the ability to heal will destroy the individual who has the gift because it is so hard to stave off the pride of such an ability. It is one of the gifts that is extremely necessary not only for the person who needs it, but also for the church. It is strong proof that the Spirit is with them. Healing and faith work very well together. If we woo the Spirit back to us, healings can become a common occurrence.

Miracles cannot be made up. They are of a nature where they surpass anything we can do on our own. In the past, I met people who walked on water over a thirty-foot-deep roaring river to get to hurting people. I met someone who was supernaturally transported to the hospital where a dying man needed prayer. He ran into his garage to get in his car but when he entered the garage, he actually was entering the hospital room where he prayed for the man, and he was healed. Miracles are occurrences that say, “God is here with us!” They should be enjoyed, and we should praise and thank God for each and every one of them. When the Spirit comes to our midst, He brings miracles with Him.

The gift of prophecy is usually for the church body, whereas the gifts of wisdom and knowledge tend to be more for the individual hearer. They are a directive straight from the Spirit Himself. They do not need to be longwinded. The one prophesying does not need to add any frills and thrills. Give it straight and be done with it! Too often I have heard rambling by a person giving some word to their church which defeats the power of the message. Usually, prophecy is given to a church in order to correct them from a wrong course, or a manmade idea. Prophecy comes to right the ship. A caution, prophecy can be faked.

Distinguishing of spirits. The Holy Spirit is never to be confused with the whispers of unholy spirits. He is always clear! They approach us to confuse us. They will attack any individual they can to prevent them from eternal life. And they will enter a person if welcomed. There is always a sensation that something is wrong with the person who is having demons possess them or who is being assaulted and oppressed. It is good to have a discerner in every church. They can point out the challenge and together we can pray for the Spirit to fix it.

Finally, it is time to settle the controversies that rise concerning speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues. Let’s deal with the myths first. “If you do not speak in tongues, you are not saved.” Where exactly is that in the bible? To make such a statement reminds me of a cult full of brainwashed people. It is just plain wrong and shows a lack of any understanding of the ways of the Spirit. “Speaking in tongues is of the devil!” That’s incorrect too. There is a specific reason and purpose for tongues in the church environment. It can be used in combination with interpretation to deliver a prophetic message to a church body. It is a way for the Spirit to stretch our faith and trust in Him. Most often the one speaking in tongues is nervous about doing that in public. I know that I would be. Then the one who is to interpret the tongues should be nervous also about getting the message right. It’s a delicate thing to do. Just like prophecy they need to be direct and pointed. Never some weird or meaningless rambling. This is also something that can be faked. A message from the Spirit never rambles or is confusing. Guard yourselves.

The gifts are there to give us answers and direction. Healings and miracles are there because of the necessity for the Spirit to step in at times. The gifts correct us. The gifts comfort us. The gifts can even chastise us. They are necessary to the benefit of the church. But at the present time they are not found in most churches. That’s because we have gotten used to our own way and are not listening to and following the Spirit. That needs to change.

Varieties of Service and activities: 1 Corinthians 12: 28 and Romans 12: 6-8 adding to the nine gifts, explains to us that we need apostles, prophets, teachers, healers, miracle workers, helpers, administrators, servers, exhorters, generous givers, leaders, and acts of mercy. These are not necessarily gifts of the Spirit, but ways to serve each other and strengthen the body of Christ. This is where we can get sidetracked and lost looking for our place as a puzzle piece in God’s tapestry. We are not a tapestry or painting but a living, moving, breathing body. Too often I’ve witnessed churches trying desperately to find where everyone fits, instead of following God’s plan. We somehow feel the need to categorize ourselves as filling a ministry and can find no peace until we do. Is ministry more important than love or worship? Is ministry more important than humility and honesty. The word ministry has turned into a sickness that has invaded the core of our churches. Once we have decided what our ministry is, off we run to do the Lord’s work, never looking back to see if it was even right. And these ministries if we look closely, are mostly manmade ideas. Sorry to say, it is time to let go of our ideas and turn our focus back to the Spirit. If we will but give up and give in to Him, we will find a much richer world at our hands.

Chapter 9 The Holy Spirit and Faith

There is a supernatural dynamic that happens when the Holy Spirit comes in contact with faith. There is also an equal and opposite occurrence when the Holy Spirit comes up against unbelief. Without faith it is impossible to live a life that fully belongs to God. And with faith all of God’s wonder opens before us. Let’s delve.

Luke 17: 5-6 (ESV) “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.’”

Matthew 17: 19-21 (ESV) “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it (a demon) out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.’”

These two passages are used quite frequently by those who like to give advice, when we are trying to accomplish something, and our own strength or abilities cannot complete the task or meet the need. Quite possibly we are a little too trite when we use these verses. There’s more to them.

I love to cook, and my cupboards seem to hold more spices than dishes and mugs. In there you can find a small jar of mustard seeds. I’ve never used them but of course because they are a seasoning I must have them, right? When you look at a single seed, it is pretty small. So what was Jesus saying to His disciples? They wanted Him to increase their faith, and He was telling them, “You have no faith.”

The other side of the coin is unbelief. Mark 6: 4-6 (ESV) “And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.’ And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.”

And again, in Matthew 13: 57-58 (ESV) “And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.’ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.”

Interestingly, Hebrews 4: 6 & 11 in the KJV use the word unbelief and my ESV uses the word disobedience. We can make an assumption here (although I don’t like to assume) that unbelief is disobedience to God! We will get nowhere if we have unbelief because it is direct disobedience to God. The opposite of that is trust in God which we show through obedience. This all might be a little confusing, but faith, obedience, and trust belong together. Whereas lack of faith, unbelief, and disobedience go hand in hand. Where’s your church at? Can the Holy Spirit do many mighty works in your church? Or can He do nothing?

Remember the woman in Mark 5: 25-30 (ESV) “And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.’ (a mustard seed of faith) And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, (the Holy Spirit) immediately turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my garments?’” Verse 34 “And Jesus said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’”

There are many others in the bible where it was their faith that sealed the deal for them. Because of their faith it was impossible for the Spirit to reject them. He just couldn’t say no! The Canaanite woman, the two blind men, the centurion. These people had faith in Christ and their faith in Him is recorded in the book to help us believe also.

I want to share a beautiful experience with you. Back in 1974 I was attending school at Oral Roberts University. Kathryn Kuhlman was having a healing service in our Mabee Center. I was working security for the event. I was at the front door when a man came up pushing a type of stroller, but it was extremely large with tubes and wires. The man had a small boy crumpled and crippled up inside it. He couldn’t get it through the door because of the length and bulk of the carrier. “Help me just get him inside”, the father asked me. I saw a desperate need in the father’s eyes! So, I grabbed the front of the stroller and together we got the boy inside. As the father and his son passed by me, I saw anguish in the little boy’s eyes. But the father had this look, like I’ve done it! I got him here!

I heard the singing start, so I left the front door and proceeded up to the mezzanine where my area of security was to be. It was less than ten minutes since the boy and his father had come in. When I came upstairs, there was the father sitting on a bench with his face buried in his hands, sobbing. The stroller was empty! I looked up and that mangled little boy was tall (for a four-year-old) and straight and running and jumping. The boy ran over to a drinking fountain and kept jumping up for a drink of water. The dad was unable to move, so I went over and picked the boy up in my hands. I could feel a strong and healthy body in my hands. Most likely that was his first encounter with a drinking fountain, so he splashed and played, and we both got wet. I put the boy down and off he ran for more jumping. I went and joined the dad. I sat there with my arm on the man’s shoulder while we watched his son run and leap with joy. The healing part of the service was not even close to starting, yet the boy was healed at the first song. His dad said, “I thought. If I could only get him here.” And he began to cry some more. Faith the size of a mustard seed.

Most people thought that Miss Kuhlman had the gift of healing. But she said she had the gift of faith. She believed God would heal if only people would come. Another person of great faith was Billy Graham. He believed, if he would preach the gospel truth, that people would come to Christ and their lives would radically change. As a young man God told Billy to go and preach and he obeyed. I’ve been to his crusades; he was no shouting fire and brimstone kind of preacher. But his act of faith by preaching the truth of the gospel brought millions to the Lord. Faith like a mustard seed.

You see, that’s all we need. Not to increase our faith but to have faith of any quantity! The most necessary person in our churches today is the one who has faith the size of a mustard seed. Their value to a church body is priceless because they hold our key to many freedoms. We only need one in each church to get the glory started. Do you have one?

The Holy Spirit and our faith is the most powerful union in the universe. Faith is what we need. Not more faith but just faith, and of course the Holy Spirit. So, the question should be, "How do we get faith the size of a mustard seed?"

The disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith and that didn’t happen. If we ask Jesus to give us faith, I don’t think that will happen either. However, there is always a key when it comes to spiritual things. We start by obedience to the Scriptures. What we read; we do. I said, there is always a key, but I didn’t say the key was easy to obtain. This is one of those answers that we work for. When we begin to obey the Scriptures, we are showing trust in God, and soon faith will follow. If we continue a life of disobedience to God’s commands, we will never have faith as the result. Just like the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt that could not enter the promised land because of their unbelief (disobedience), we will never gain faith until we change our actions.

I’m not talking about blind trust. I’m only saying when you find something in Scripture that you are not doing, stop and obey what you read. Any example will do; Love thy neighbor. If I am not showing love to my neighbor, then I won’t have faith. Honor thy father and mother. If I am not honoring them, I will not have faith. I really could go on for a long time giving these examples but suffice it to say that we don’t have faith because we are being disobedient somewhere in our Christian Walk.

We have to make the first step. Faith is not handed out on a silver platter by the Holy Spirit. We gain faith through trust, and we gain trust through obedience. Search the Scriptures and start there.

Amen?

A note: If you go to YouTube and look up Kathryn Kuhlman healing service Oral Roberts University, Mabee Center, 1974, about halfway through the service you will see a little boy running across the stage over and over. Yep!

Chapter 10 The Holy Spirit and Prayer

John 14: 12-14 (ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

This is a very difficult Scripture to wrap our heads around. First, we must put this in spiritual context. Jesus said these words on the night before He was crucified. He was saying goodbye to His disciples and was giving them His last instructions. This is one of them. What does Jesus mean when He says greater works will you do? And what does He mean if you ask anything in my name, I will do it? I know for certain that in this stage of my life I don’t do any greater works. And how many times do we ask for something in the name of Jesus, and nothing happens? Should we just ignore this passage and move on to other stuff or stop and figure out what Jesus is saying to us?

I think the whole question comes down to what did Jesus mean with the phrase, “In My name?” In My name has to mean more than just tacking on the phrase at the end of our prayer. Because there is power in His name! There is joy in His name! There is truth in His name! And there are answers in His name! How many times have you heard someone say at the end of a prayer, “We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen?” I am afraid ‘in Jesus’ name’ has become another slogan of the Church. We can be asking for something where we have no clue whether it is the Father’s will or not. And I do not think that by adding this particular phrase at the end of a prayer that we will get our wish; it is too serious for that. Before we ask “in Jesus' name” we must have the Holy Spirit completely involved in our lives and placed permanently in our hearts. It is then and only then that we will ask for the right thing. Otherwise, we only want our wishes to be met, and not His will to be done! It should always be His will and not my wants. We might be asking amiss.

I ask that you please bear with me on this. John 14: 23-24 (ESV) “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.”

When the Israelites left Egypt on their exodus to the Holy Land, the Father had them build the tabernacle so that He could dwell with His people Israel on their journey. When Solomon built the Temple on the mountain where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, the Holy of Holies was set aside for God to dwell with His people. When we are transformed by Christ into new creatures, the Father and Son make their home in us by the gift of the Holy Spirit. And as long as we keep Their word, the Spirit will continue to abide in us.

The problem I see with the temple in Jerusalem is that a counterfeit religion has desecrated the Holy of Holies by erecting their own monument to their falsity right where the throne of God should be. If the Holy Spirit living within my heart is now the throne of God in me, do I desecrate my heart by not keeping Their word? My fearful answer, I think, is yes. And if that is true, are my prayers any good?

What I am getting at, is that in order to pray in Jesus’ name, I need to be living in His will, and it takes the Holy Spirit to not only communicate that will to me but help me to keep it.

If I am living selfishly or unrighteously and trouble arises, it is too late for me to call out for help in Jesus’ name to pardon the expression, pull my ass out of the fire. I need to be immersed in His will for any of this to work.

Prayer is a communication between us and God. The communication must go both ways. That means I must be in a state of constant listening. If the Spirit whispers a word of correction in my ear, I must respond with repentance and confession. Then I must change course in order to get back to keeping Their word. That makes things a little more complicated than just asking for help or stuff.

This brings us back to James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” We must keep ourselves in a constant state of humbleness, always ready to confess any wrongdoing, and living in obedience to the Scriptures in order for our prayers (in Jesus’ name) to have any affect. Are we doing this?

Think back to the last chapter on the Holy Spirit and faith. You take the person in your midst that has faith the size of a mustard seed and a truly righteous person and have them be the ones who pray to the Father. Then let’s see what the Spirit does!

Too often our prayers reach heaven without any strength behind them. If we do not obey God’s word, how can we anticipate His help. The only thing we have then is hope and it is a weak hope at that. We have a responsibility to maintain our relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the way that They expect from us.

If we walk in obedience to the Scriptures, we show our love of Christ through keeping His word. Then we can ask in Jesus’ name with confidence!

What is the Spirit’s intercession? Romans 8: 26-28 (ESV) “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

The last part of this passage has also become somewhat of a slogan. But we cannot take this out of context and glibly quote “all things work together for good.” There are times when I am so far out of God’s will that anything I would ask of Him is plain foolishness. Things are not working together for good because I am being selfish and rebellious. I am learning that for my life to be right, I must remain in His will. And if I step out on my own, I must fight against myself in order to return to Him. Obedience is a requirement not to be taken lightly.

There are those times when I have no clue what to pray for. I don’t know what to ask the Father. And I don’t know if I am in His will. Those seem to be the only times I speak in tongues. I never speak in tongues around other people, it’s too personal. But it is those moments of true needs or confusion that I let the Spirit intercede instead of me asking. I think it is those “groanings too deep for words.” Somehow, they help.

In conclusion, our attitude of prayer might need an overhaul. In order to ask we must first be obedient to the Scriptures. If I am disobedient, why bother to ask. I must first repent and confess and make the relationship right and clean. There is no way of going around it!

Chapter 11 The Holy Spirit and Worship

John 4: 23-24 (ESV) “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

What did Jesus mean when He said. “We must worship in spirit and in truth?”

If we wish to seek out true worship, then we should look to King David and the Psalms. David was full of praise and worship in his expressions of his love for the Lord. And because of that God called him “a man after His own heart!”

Worship and praise differ from each other slightly. Praise seems to be bursts of song or shouts of glory in response to the awesomeness of God. Worship comes from a grateful and humble heart in response to the steadfast love and faithfulness of God. Praise wells up from deep within the soul and explodes in a royal decree of the majesty of God. Worship must have a contrite and tender heart in order to comprehend God’s mercy and salvation fully. Praise always comes from joy and worship comes through surrender. Surrender creates joy and joy yearns for more surrender and that’s why they go well together. They are both beautiful and precious to the true believer because the heart is right.

The Holy Spirit seeks those who will allow Him to work in their heart the changes needed in order to make true worshippers of them. For example, the arrogant cannot worship God because they are too self-righteous to worship. The greedy refuse to worship and they cannot praise because they never have enough. Only those whose lives are in the hands of the Potter wish to worship and praise.

The challenge that those who love to worship and praise have in today’s church society is that the worship ends just as they are getting going and they are left longing for more. In church, we have a timeline for everything and if we don’t stick to it, we will never get through the service. And there’s our problem!

Here’s a question; Is sticking to the program more important than the wooing of the Spirit? Yes, we are learning through teaching, but the Spirit brings so much more with His presence. With the Spirit in our midst, He brings miracles and healings and peace. Things people really need. Please pastors and teachers don’t feel unneeded but look to the Spirit as the perfector of our faith! You are only there to bring His word to the people and to keep them from error. If He chooses something different for the day, won’t you just follow His lead? There is freedom for all of us there!

Those who wish not to worship might have an issue with their love of God. Do they not respect and honor their creator? Do they not regard the desires of those who are faithful. If they only want to get through the meeting as quickly as possible and get on with their plans for the day, they might want to reconsider their priorities. As a church body our surrender should be to the Spirit and not to those who want a shorter service. Why would we ever let these folks be in charge of our worship time?

The next challenge is the difference between our thoughts and the Spirit’s will. Meaning, we are rigid, and the Spirit is fluid. The Spirit likes to mix and blend in a way that only He can. We decide that a person who loves to worship God should be on the worship team, and we stick them up on the stage and now they have their ministry. In truth, the worshippers need to be in and amongst us. Same as those who have a mustard seed of faith. But we have put them on the prayer team. If we would only learn to stop categorizing ourselves. For now, we are too concerned about where we fit, rather than how we can celebrate the Lord. Wrong move!

Worship and praise are important to our faith and our spiritual health. They come from joy and breed more joy. Our trust and confidence in the Lord grows the more we worship. The peace that passes understanding floods our soul because of praise. Worship keeps humbleness at the forefront of our minds. We become more tender to the Spirit’s ways. Our listening skills increase. Everything is better because of praise and worship. We cannot treat them as if they are something we must get through!

Actually, if we spent the same amount of time worshipping as we do listening to a sermon or a part of a series, our lives would be much richer. We are afraid to give God our time just as much as we fear giving Him our money. And that’s why many are spiritually poor. How much alone time do we spend in a day reading Scripture and listening to the Spirit? The more time consecrated to God the more the desire to worship overwhelms the soul. Can you not see the correlation?

You might say I am beating a dead horse, but you must understand the importance of worship to the Church. You must also understand the consequences of a lack of worship to our inner souls. Without worship our spirits become parched yet Psalm 65 tells us, “The river of God is full of water!” Let us worship and drink together and be full.

Amen?

Note; Remember the little boy at the Kathryn Kuhlman crusade? He was healed during the singing. Sometimes we don’t even have to ask. Let us praise!

Chapter 12 The Holy Spirit and Leadership

Ephesians 4: 11-16 (ESV) “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

In these verses, the true purpose of God’s chosen leaders is revealed. I have wrestled with the topic of church leadership because it is necessary to discuss but difficult to do without sounding like criticism. But in a nutshell, we have made a detour from God’s plan for the Church and have created our own strategy. So, without any further avoidance on my part, let’s delve.

What does “He gave” mean? Chosen leaders are placed into the body by the Lord Jesus Himself. In the NLT version of the bible the beginning of verse 11 starts out with, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church:” He calls His chosen people gifts. Certain people are picked by Christ. Then the Holy Spirit works in their lives to help with the perfecting of the saints, for edifying us, for unifying us, for growing us in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, till we all have our fullness in Christ, and so no one can deceive us. That means Christ does the picking, not us. And the Spirit does the training, not us.

Let me give you an example: This might help you see the difference in who should make the choices. In Acts 1, Peter and the other 10 disciples thought they should find a replacement for Judas. Their requirements were he had to have been with them from the beginning and a witness of Christ’s ascension. They picked Matthias to replace Judas as one of the twelve. When Christ chose a new apostle, He chose Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. Christ confronted Saul, who immediately crumbled to the ground in the risen Savior’s presence. Saul was converted from his rebellion against God and his terrorizing of the Church. He now belonged to the Lord. Christ changed his name to Paul because he was now a new man. And he became the world’s greatest evangelist ever. People’s lives are still being changed today by Paul’s writings. Did we ever hear any more of Matthias? Who do you think had more effect on the Church? When the Trinity chooses someone, they certainly are not chosen to walk a mediocre life. And those who They choose, They give the power to accomplish their calling. Our choices are never like Theirs. That’s because we cannot see the whole picture and instead of jumping ahead and creating our own solutions, we should learn to wait on God.

We cannot decipher Ephesians 4: 11-16 using today’s organized Church as our model. It would be like trying to play football on a baseball diamond. We are that far removed from the reality of who the Church should be. We must go back to the first century and the beginning of the Church and start over from there. What was the Spirit’s plan? Did we do something wrong? What happened to the miracles?

Challenge number one: Pride. In Luke chapter 22 the disciples began a dispute among themselves as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. Jesus had just shared the Lord’s Supper with them and was preparing to leave. But they were busy arguing over which of them was the “alpha male.” They were making up their pecking order and as of yet none of them had really accomplished much at all. Pride can be extremely destructive, especially when it interferes with God’s ways. Jesus had to set them straight immediately. Though Jesus was the ultimate authority, He had to explain to them that He had come to serve and only those who will serve can lead. Ego and spiritual leadership are impossible to blend. Pride creates an attitude that blocks the Spirit from teaching and training the individual. They become more interested in their rank than in His work. Status was working its way into the beloved disciples early on. Remember, status was what the Pharisees seemed to enjoy the most.

For example, I’ve met arrogant men who had faith only in themselves. I’ve met obsessive controlling people who cannot trust anything but their own ideas. Neither of these personalities can lead because they have never learned to follow or much less listen to the Holy Spirit. Those who are really called by God are humble about it. They place their lives in the hands of the Spirit to guide them and keep them from error. They are wary of self-deceit and greed being found in themselves and if they find some, they repent and run to Christ. They are the first to confess. They have no fear of asking for forgiveness. Being right with God has more meaning to them than being right about anything else. They are faithful followers of Christ and that qualifies them to lead. It’s not how smart or how bold they are but how they honor the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit through their obedience and trust.  And, how they can show the rest of us to give God honor and trust also.

Control: The need or lust for control is deadly! It does not belong in true Christianity. It is even more dangerous than pride. I have watched control beat out any reason or purpose for the existence of a church to where it finally explodes under the pressure, and everyone ends up going their own way. Another church building up for sale. The need for control is a characteristic of the devil. And when we find it in us, we have difficulty sensing our own peril! Can a Christian act like Satan? Yes, but to their own harm. And never to the benefit of the Church.

What about notoriety? There are some who feel the need to be admired for their fortitude and perseverance in their Christian Walk. Some for their preeminence in spiritual wisdom. And they love titles. How puffed up we can get! If we think a church cannot survive without us, then we have way too high of an opinion of our worth. Our real value is found in our love, in our worship, and in our humility. These traits belong to the Spirit while desiring admiration belongs to the devil. We must always check ourselves.

And what about the guys that are in it for the money? A small group but fatal just the same. They love to manipulate God’s children with smooth words. They are clever schemers that make it all sound so perfect to follow their twists of Scripture. If we are not cautious, we will find ourselves turning our entire savings accounts over to them. The frightening part is they have come to believe their own lies and can find no wrong in what they say and do. The Spirit will never call a man to be a charlatan!

So, pride, control, notoriety, love of money are not healthy spiritual qualities. A church with such leaders is doomed to collapse. However, there are too many good and loving pastors and teachers for us to criticize them based on the faults of a few.

Again, back to the thought of why we cannot decipher these verses under today’s church environment. The Holy Spirit spreads the gospel of redemption through Christ fanning it outwardly like the delta of a river. We build buildings and form committees. We have too many layers of organization. Just look at the Catholics and the Mormons if you don’t believe me. Even in small local churches we have pastors, associate pastors, senior pastors, children’s pastors, elders, and deacons. We have an overabundance of ministries, men’s groups, lady’s groups, grief groups, recovery groups, outreach groups, soup kitchens, pancake breakfasts, ladies' tea, retreats for men, for ladies, and for marriage. All the Father says in His book is love Me, trust Me, obey Me. We say, “You need our help, so we got this!”

Our efforts should be spent in reading and combing the Scriptures for truth and guidance. The Spirit is about our relationships with the Father, the Son, Himself, each other, and the lost. He does not want any more committees or manmade ideas. In our hearts we want everyone to find their gift and to fit in the body. But we have come to “lean on our own understanding” and have forgotten how to listen and follow the Spirit. Those who wish to follow rush ahead of the Spirit till they are far beyond following Him anymore, and only a few realize their mistake and turn back to Him.

A busy church is not necessarily a healthy church. In fact, more groups and ministries quite possibly might water us down all the more. But we never stop to question ourselves. We continue to plow ahead as if all is well. But is all well? We will never be able to replace the ways of the Spirit with our own imaginations and notions. Are we on a dead-end path and with each day are we traveling further from the Spirit’s will? We are in a dangerous place.

Let’s say, a young man has had a spiritual rebirth and feels the desire to do something to show Christ his appreciation of his salvation and he realizes the need others have for Christ. What do we do? We send him off to Bible School. We think, “Here’s a pastor in the making.” He might be full of fire and vigor when he leaves us but when he returns, he might be full of knowledge but no wisdom. I know a church that has a very wise “senior pastor”. Why do we not first let our young man sit with the old man of wisdom?

Bible Schools are run by men and women with good intentions. But how do we know for sure if the Holy Spirit is there to guide? Depending on the school, our young man can learn doctrines and dogmas and theories. But can he learn listening skills and obedience skills? We don’t know, but we might have sent him off to a world that has no conscious of faith, only rituals.

Okay, who is a good leader? And how do we recognize someone that is chosen by the Spirit? The Spirit still chooses people that will surrender their will to Him and follow His lead. Why then do we make them abandon the Spirit’s ways and yield to our ideas and religious beliefs? Does it come from our fear of total commitment to Christ? Why must we make them part of the pack? A real leader is an adventurer. Those who desire the adventure of the Christlike Walk should be our leaders. If we surround ourselves with half-hearted people to lead, then we will be half-hearted ourselves. Jesus called it lukewarm. Do any of us want that epitaph on our gravestone?

A good leader is one who has sold out to Christ. A good leader believes everything the Scriptures say. A good leader spends time alone with the Spirit. A good leader is enraptured with the steadfast love of the Father. A good leader is humbled by the presence of the Spirit in their life. A good leader trusts the Spirit and obeys His leadings. A good leader walks the walk. When a good leader talks, there is a certain sweetness yet also power in their voice. A good leader desires truth and does not seek to prove their own thoughts. A good leader is a good follower! And a good leader is chosen by God to show us the right way. Do you know anyone like that?

Sometimes disguised in the congregation are those who want nothing more than to get through the service without any conviction. They are showing up because of duty and not thirst. Yet we cater to them thinking maybe we can make a difference. All too often I have watched pastors sweating blood over those who will never change. And in the end, it is those people who get the pastor fired. I have witnessed it and it is a disgrace!

Yet it is the fact that we have organized ourselves in such a way that the Holy Spirit is never able to interrupt us in our ceremonies. We leave Him no room! We plug along with our programs and procedures never thinking that the Holy Spirit might not even be present. But carry on we must for we are doing His will, right? If we would be willing to stop and consider what we are doing, what would we see if we did? Religious practices and faithfulness have nothing to do with each other. But still, the Spirit waits. What we need is a good dose of repentance and contrition. But who does that now days?

Present day leaders are afraid of chaos. When you talk to them about the Holy Spirit, the first thing they think of is the Pentecostals. And that scares them. They think things will get totally out of control. But are the Pentecostals, right? The Pentecostals have their own issues, and we cannot assume that the ways of the Holy Spirit are the ways of the Pentecostals. The real discussion gets back to seeking truth through reading and listening. The Spirit will not steer you wrong!

About the five jobs; Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Notice that elders are not picked by Christ. I have met elders that are loving, worshipful, and honest men. Yet I have watched arrogant and controlling elders destroy a church because the pastor will not toe the line of their control. So why do we let some elders who are not picked by Jesus demolish the life of a pastor who was picked by Christ. This might be another sign of who is in charge, and most likely it’s not the Holy Spirit!

Apostles: The original apostles were men who were entrusted with the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ “to the ends of the earth.” They were miracle workers, faithful, obedient, bold in spirit, and eventually all were martyred except for John. The closest we can get to them today seems to be in our missionaries. Our missionaries are hard workers with dirt under their fingernails. They go as led. And they put themselves in situations where they can be martyred also. What do we see today with those who have titled themselves as apostles? Again, the desire for notoriety. We see men in fancy suits strutting across a stage full of knowledge but void of any discernment. There is a frightening correlation between them and the Pharisees at the time Christ came. Real apostles don’t know they are apostles.

Prophets: When I think of a real prophet I think of Jeremiah. Jeremiah always said exactly what God told him to say, and he suffered for it! Jeremiah was hated and despised by almost everyone, yet he continued to speak truth that was very difficult for the people to digest. That’s the life of a prophet, to say the hard things regardless of the consequences. True prophets are lonely people. They are shunned and most people avoid them like the plague. However, they are necessary for the correcting of the wayward. Sometimes only for an individual, sometimes for a whole church, and sometimes for a city, state, or country. We tend to avoid them because we would rather hear from the false prophets. They have soothing words. But they also have manipulative words. Everything sounds right but it all is a little bit off. They also feel the need to tell pastors what to do. False prophets can be known by their egos. True prophets by their humility.

Evangelists: These are special people! I love evangelists because they proclaim the great news of Jesus Christ. But the problem evangelists face is that there really isn’t a place for them in today’s church environment. I’ve observed evangelists placed as worship leaders, kids' pastors, teachers, elders, even recovery group leaders. But their passion is to preach the gospel. Is it true that today we cannot find a place in church for them to preach? And sadly, many churches no longer see the need for evangelists. After all, aren’t we all already saved? We damage our evangelists by not giving them a voice in our rigid religious society. They could be the most squelched leaders of all. Yet we need them to be heard in the congregation. Take the muzzle off!

Pastors: Have you noticed that most churches are closed on Mondays. Why? It is most likely because we have abused our pastors all week long and they need a day to unwind from the mess and stress that we the congregation have placed on them. There are way too many burdens for them to carry. And why do we make them teach for ten, twelve weeks straight? The pastor’s original title was shepherd. What does a shepherd do? He protects the sheep and leads the sheep to pasture. He doesn’t hand feed the sheep, but finds good land for them to graze in. We demand too much from our pastors. Why do they have to be ready with an answer for questions we are unwilling to search the Scriptures ourselves for? And why do they have to start their sermons with an apology for what is written in the Scriptures as if we will be offended by truth? We have twisted their duties from protection and fertile grazing land to baby-sitting! Now, there are false pastors just like false prophets. But they will be recognized by their egos, their need for control, or their fear. A good pastor shows us the way of trust and obedience to the Holy Spirit. If you find a pastor like that then lean on his every word.

Teachers: We are overloaded with an abundance of teachers. And quite frankly it might be the most dangerous job of all. The reason I say that is because they have the danger of the millstone around their necks if they lead people astray through improper teaching. Our teachers need to be those who are wise in the ways of the Holy Spirit. We do not need to be taught knowledge, but we need to learn wisdom and discernment. A good teacher is one who can lead us to understanding grace and mercy and righteousness. They teach us wonder and truth. They are sticklers about obedience. They teach us the value of worship and praise. And they teach us that God can be trusted through all things. If they are teaching something else, they should stop.

To reiterate, we have strayed off course from the Spirit’s intention for the Body and we have crippled ourselves to a walk of lives with hardly any passion for Christ. We have done this through meddling with the ways of the Spirit and exchanging those ways for our own creations. Let us return to the wonder of the Book of Acts, full of salvations and healings and miracles. Leaders, it is your duty to Christ to seek the will of the Spirit. To learn of His ways and to teach them to the Body. Life is so much different and beautiful when the Spirit is in charge. Leaders, are you willing to change? Body of Christ are you willing to follow? What say you all?    

Chapter 13 The Holy Spirit and Love

John 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” We all know this verse. It has come to be known as the cornerstone of our faith. Even the lost can quote it. However, even though it has become an often used verse, the power of God’s love for the world has not diminished. Neither has His love for the believer!

Romans 5: 5-6 (ESV) “Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” Both the Son and the Spirit are the gifts of God the Father’s love for us. Meaning, Christ’s death on the cross and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into our hearts are the proof and seal of our restoration back to the Father. Both are acts of love.

1 John 5: 7-21 (ESV) “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So, we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected within us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

Can God really be summed up in one word, Love? I think the real answer is love can be summed up in one word, God. To abide in God’s love means to remain steadfast in that love. No change, no wavering, enduring and lasting forever. The greatest gifts of love the Father has given us is His Son and the Spirit. Do we need anything else? Actually, we do. We need to love each other. All throughout the Epistles we see the instructions to love one another. But the only way possible to love each other with that “Agape” love is through the Holy Spirit. If He is not active in our lives it becomes impossible to fulfill that command. Our love for each other is the proof of our love for the Father.

 All love on earth is contained in the Holy Spirit. If we follow the ways of Christ in a consistent manner, then we welcome the Spirit to live inside us. And we can be assured that He will teach us how to love properly. Otherwise, we are only guessing at what love is. There is a big difference between knowing and guessing, right?

The old adage we are told is when we give our lives to Christ we are given the Holy Spirit. That might be a little too simple of a statement. Especially if we are told that by someone who doesn’t know the Spirit very well. When I use the phrase “doing things that welcome Him into our lives”, that can be somewhat confusing also. People might think, “ How can I welcome Him into my life when He should already be there according to what others say?” Let’s delve.

Back to John 14:23, “Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” This is one of the most powerful examples of the Trinity as one. We are to keep the words of Christ. Meaning to do them. The Father’s response to us doing the words of Christ is to love us and to come with the Son to make Their home in us (the Holy Spirit). The Father and the Son will reside in our hearts and spirits through the presence of the Holy Spirit living within us.

So why do we feel so dry at times?

It is the patience of the Spirit that we mistake for silence or even absence. And quite frankly we should be thankful that He does not use thunderbolts and earthquakes to speak with us. He waits for us to listen intently for Him. When I feel dry, there is almost always a good reason for it. Too much pride or too much judgment or too much selfishness. Those are attitudes that do not offer a welcoming environment for the Spirit to work in me. They must disappear in order for me to hear His voice again. And His patience is a sign of His love!

Everything with God has to do with love. The Father’s love for the Son. The Son’s love for the Father. Their love for the Spirit and the Spirit’s love for them. And Their love for the believers and the world. They are completely aligned in love. The challenge is us. They love us but it is in the believer’s failure to return the love where the chain is broken. And the best way to show our love for Them is by the way we love our brothers and sisters of the faith. But that is impossible without the Holy Spirit abiding within us.

When I say the best way to show our love is how we treat each other, I’m not talking about casual visiting. I mean Holy Spirit love! 1 Corinthians 13 love! At present we seem to have fallen into a lazy and sedate kind of love. We need the energy of a conspicuous and noticeable love. A love that transcends normal human emotions and imitates the kind of love that God shows us. A shining light! That is how we are to treat each other.

11 Corinthians 4: 6 (KJV) “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” That kind of shining love!

Let’s keep ourselves humble. Let’s forgive each other. Let’s not judge. I don’t mean to accept sin but to accept each other through the ability to love because the Holy Spirit is active in our lives. The Spirit must be in the forethought of our minds. The Spirit must be in charge of our hearts, so to live and rule within our very being. And let’s be obedient to all of His directions. He is the embodiment of the love of God. Without Him there is no love. With Him we have the love of God shining forth for all mankind to experience the wonder of it all!

Amen?

Chapter 14 The Holy Spirit and the Abundant Life

1 Peter 1: 3-9 (ESV) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it be tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Before we go any further we should revel in the wonder of these priceless words that the Spirit gave us through the Apostle Peter. They are pure beauty!

Today’s evangelical presentation to the lost is somewhat lacking in its power to convict and persuade those who need Christ to more than just the cross. Let me explain; It seems that many times our goal is only to get the lost to the cross. Don’t get me wrong, salvation from the pits of hell is a wonderful thing. But we cannot leave people there at the foot of the cross only. Because we were never meant to huddle together at the beginning. The cross is just the start of the beauty of eternal and abundant life!

When I talk of the abundant life, I do not mean more cash in your pocket or more stuff in your garage. God does have a process for that which you can find in the Book of Malachi. Abundant life means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Not a partial filling but to experience the fullness of the Spirit resulting in righteousness, peace, and joy through Him. This should be the desire of every believer. Abundant life is not for those who only want to join the club. It belongs to those who sell out to Christ! If you want all that God has to offer you, then you must give your entire life to Him.

But do we understand what “all that God has to offer” really means? The world of the Holy Spirit is a different world, filled with visions and victories, inexpressible joy, limitless peace, and full of glory. It goes way beyond Sunday morning services and ministries. It transcends religion and rituals. It is beyond the world of mankind! He makes truth known to us. He imparts spiritual wisdom into our being. And we can no longer be “tossed to and fro.”

There is power in the abundant life. Not the power of pride but the power of faith. May I call your attention to the book of Acts chapter 5. “Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.” Kind of makes me think of what Jesus meant when He said, “and greater works than these will you do.” If you continue to think “signs and wonders” were only for the early church, then you will miss out on the abundant life even if you are surrounded by it!

An abundant life is full of the fruit of the Spirit. That life overflows with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no worry or panic. Doubt does not come into play in an abundant life. The person’s steps are ordered by the Lord. And they are safe from all danger.

The abundant life in a church body is full of the gifts of the Spirit. Miracles happen, healings happen, truth is shared by the Spirit with the body and true spiritual wisdom is gained. The role of fellowship changes from casual to intense. Everyone wants to talk about the Lord, not their vacation!

Our prayers take on a strength and vitality because they are pure and right. Those prayers get answered! We learn to listen for the whisper of the Spirit and strain to hear His voice. The focus on our own lives fades away and His will becomes our concentration. Our walk becomes steady and sure and full of confidence.

In an abundant life the Scriptures explode before our very eyes. They take on new life because with the Spirit, He enables us to understand the deeper truths of what He is telling us. No more scratching the surface but deep and profound comprehension. When the Scriptures become reality in our lives then a life full of the riches of the Godhead appears. Reading the Scriptures should never be a chore that we feel responsible to do but a deep needed thirst for the ways of God.

An abundant life is full of praise and worship. It cannot help itself. The wonder and glory of God must express itself in praise and song! We were never created to sit around like lumps on a log, but to raise the sound of joy for the whole world to see. How can we possibly remain silent? For if we do, the very rocks will cry out!

So, where do we go from here? Maybe what you have read makes you yearn for a deeper life with the Spirit. Maybe you want a closer walk with Christ. And maybe you want to show the Father the respect due Him. Then return to the basics. Read the Scriptures and hunger for the truth held within them. Walk humbly with your God. Forgive all who hurt you. Leave your judgment behind you and walk freely in love. Worship with all your heart and soul. And find those who want to share it all with you.

Amen?