Living A Spirit Fueled Life (Part 2)

The first article I wrote on this subject asked the question of whether we are fueling our Christian life by the Holy Spirit or just by our human will power.  I used the Jesus Movement as an example of what I and others of this time period noticed, namely the supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the lives of many believers. It was a powerful time to grow in Christ and I believe it could happen again today if believers become informed and hunger for God like never before.

The awakening of our souls to the manifestations and works of the Holy Spirit often seem to happen spontaneously and without warning.  Yet, when many of us look back at those events we could see a pattern and some obvious reasons for why miracles and supernatural events were present. I have often been asked by people who did not live during the 70s why God moved in such power then and not now.  My simple answer and belief is that we don’t rely on the Holy Spirit as much as we think we do. We talk about the Holy Spirit yet we seem to walk away from those ideas and discussions without any resolve regarding how we pursue God.

I have traveled in many poor nations of the world and the people I encounter don’t have the luxuries that we have in America. They often don’t have the same medical opportunities like local hospitals and advanced medical equipment and they don’t have the same economic opportunities we have to pursue prosperity. Secondly, many African and Asian cultures have a stronger belief in the supernatural whereas America culture has been taught to not believe in the supernatural. That being said, when the Holy Spirit does start to move in people’s hearts, even in America, the expectations of others rises quickly for God to do miracles in their own lives. Again, it is my observation that American’s belief in the supernatural is often downplayed and even rejected for logic and reason instead of trusting biblical teachings and the Holy Spirit. Although these teachings talk about God and the Holy Spirit the application is often relegated to human thinking and reason when dealing with scripture rather than allowing the scripture to inspire us to trust the Holy Spirit and God’s power.

In the first article, I also talked about how teachers of the bible today often relegate the idea of revival to merely becoming more religious rather than more transformative in the individual souls.  In past revivals, the supernatural was always present, yet today often the people attending such services have been trained in their bible understanding to reject anything resembling the supernatural as the work of Satan and not of God.  The recent moves of the Holy Spirit in Kentucky at Asbury College I believe happen because people often get to the end of themselves and wholeheartedly throw themselves into the presence of God through worship. In such environments people often let go of their bias against supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit and then God starts to do what I call “Heart Surgery” in which the Holy Spirit gains a greater amount of access to the individuals soul.

In article one, I wrote about John the Baptist’s prophetic word that the Messiah would baptize people in the Holy Spirit and fire. It is my contention that when the Holy Spirit is truly moving in our lives his presence brings a twofold impartation. First, he burns the rooted connections in our heart to the things in this life that hinder us and keep us ignorant to God’s presence and ways.  Secondly, the Holy Spirit “Infuses” us with supernatural gifts and abilities to live truly free in Jesus. That freedom is meant to release us to minister to both the converted and those who are lost.

Romans 8:1-2                                                                                                                                                                                       Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 

Paul the apostle says the law of the Holy Spirit sets us free from the guilt that we so naturally carry around and delivers us to live freely for Jesus. This is why Jesus told the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the gift of the Father, which was and is the Holy Spirit. I believe that although the disciples of Jesus rejoiced in the resurrection of Jesus they still carried the guilt of their past mistakes and it was and is the work of the Holy Spirit to set us all free.

Secondly, it is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to do what we could not do in the flesh and become the people we were called to become. Consider the word that Paul gave in the book of Galatians about the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is our relationship to the Holy Spirit that enables us to have such fruit in our lives. This wisdom was given to the man that once hated Christians but who now walked in the freedom of love.

Galatians 5:22-23                                                                                                                                                                                        But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law

When the Holy Spirit is actively filling our lives we become healthy and fruitful, which is always God’s intention for his children. Keep in mind that the “Filling” of the Holy Spirit is not a one time thing or experience.  The evidence of this fact is the reality of our lack of both the fruit the Spirit and the sin we so often find ourselves still caught up in. Paul taught that we choose whether we are filled all the time or some of the time, meaning that even after being born again we have the ability to walk in the spirit or walk in the flesh. Walking in the Holy Spirit is a choice that often is neglected because we are trained to walk this Christian life purely by human will power rather than being energized in the Spirit. So many pastors have themselves been taught to fear their own emotions and the Holy Spirit and have taught others to do like wise.

Romans 8:5-6                                                                                                                                                                                                For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 

Hear is the one of the keys to our victory in this life. We need to have a mindset of our “NEED” of being filled regularly in the Holy Spirit. Many have embraced the false teaching that when you get saved you are filled with the Holy Spirit and there is no need for any other filling. This belief denies for ourselves the very power of living free in Jesus and in his victory. Being filled is an active “CHOICE” you need to make to stay equipped in the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us we have the Holy Spirit when we get born again, but being filled is about embracing the presence of the Holy Spirit with his guidance and power continually. Paul used the word for filling as a “Present Continuous” idea, meaning being filled regularly.

Ephesians 5:18                                                                                                                                                                                             And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 

In the next article on this subject of being filled with the Holy Spirit, I will start to explain how the Holy Spirit imparts the power of the supernatural to each person who embraces the Holy Spirit regularly. Keep in mind that God has a plan for our victory, but this victory is not automatic just because we are his children. Keep in mind that being a conquerer through Jesus requires the Holy Spirit’s power to do so.

Romans 8:37                                                                                                                                                                                                 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

Friends, we have all tried to quote scripture for various reasons because we desire something good like healing or provision to come out of doing so.  Many times we failed to obtain what we sought after because we have often failed to realize that scripture truth was meant to lead us to relying on the Holy Spirit, not on ourselves. The difference in Peter’s life after the day of pentecost illustrates the difference between his life before the Holy Spirit and after the Holy Spirit filled him with power.

Questions:

1) Are you afraid of the supernatural power of God?  If so, confess that to Father God and start reading about how the Holy Spirit moved in past revivals.

2)  Have you struggled with what a Spirit Filled life should look like? Read the first 10 chapters of the book of Acts and then 1 Corinthians 12-14.

May God fill us to overflowing so that we might release the living water meant for us and the world,

Pastor Dale