Life in the Spirit

Part Two

I return today to my series on LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

As I said last week, it is VITAL for the Church and for the Christian to know and understand that we cannot live nor function as believers, without the indwelling and enabling power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has at times been depicted as a Dove, or as a Bird, or referred to as Oil, or as Water, or as a Fire or as a Tongue. While these and other terms rightly portray facets and functions of the Holy Spirit, we need to keep in focus that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit, is not a power, or a force, not a substance, or a fuel, but a person and you should never forget it.

I believe that one of the biggest reasons why the CHURCH, the body of Christ hasn’t made a greater impact on our generation today is because of our failure to function and operate in the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Without a doubt, Jesus and the first apostles used the gifts like a church bell, calling men to their message and confirming that God was truly the One speaking through them.

Hebrews 2:3-4 says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?” The Lord bore witness to the accuracy of their message through the miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said all true believers would function in the miraculous: “And these signs will follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Let me say this lovingly – I have come to the conclusion that if the Christian life is not functioning in the supernatural, then it is merely functioning

in the superficial.

Mark goes on to say that messages based in God’s Word would be confirmed by signs following: “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following”

Jesus even said, “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not” John 10:37. That’s a strong statement. If we were to apply that standard to ministers today, most wouldn’t be believed. The vast majority of preaching done in the name of the Lord today is without the power of the Holy Spirit manifest through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is not the way that the Lord intended it to be.

Most of the “main stream” denominations have developed doctrines to cope with this obvious discrepancy. However, regardless of their rationale or traditions, it’s absurd to think that we can be effective without the power of the Holy Spirit confirming the preaching of God’s Word. If Jesus and the early apostles needed their preaching validated, how can we do any less? Even the non-denominational churches have fallen away from ministering in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The gifts that operate in most “Spirit-filled” churches are simply words of exhortation or prophecy. Yet there is so much more.
One of the most important steps to flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit is to earnestly desire them. Paul said in

1 Corinthians 12:31, “But covet earnestly the best gifts.”

He repeated that thought in 1 Corinthians 14:1 where he said, “Desire spiritual gifts.” Another way of saying this is, as long as you can live without flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you will. You have to seek these gifts with all your heart –

just as you are supposed to seek God himself. Jeremiah 29:13.

It’s also very important to understand that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are always flowing. God does not turn them “on” and “off.” We are the ones who are “on” and “off.” That’s a startling statement to many people and one that verges on blasphemy to some, but it’s true… and I’ll prove it to you today. The Lord is always ready to flow through us in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, they had to wait on God filling them for particular tasks, but in the New Testament, after Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out on them all. If you belong to Jesus at all, then you know that the Holy Spirit is both in you and on you.

It’s just like praying in tongues. We don’t have to wait for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to come on us to speak in tongues. We can pray in tongues at any time. It’s not us turning on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is always on and giving us the ability to speak in tongues. Therefore, whenever we turn ourselves on, (or tune ourselves in) the gift of tongues is there to allow us to communicate with our heavenly Father. Praise the name of Jesus! That’s the way it is with all of the gifts.

Turn with me if you will to Ephesians Chapter 5 and v18

Notice carefully what the apostle Paul says:

Eph 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess;

but be filled with the Spirit;…”

You may wonder why Paul would tell those Christians already “full” of the Holy Spirit since conversion and baptism, to be filled? He likens their filling to control. That’s why he talks about “drunkenness.” Most of us have seen those intoxicated by alcohol and walking or barely walking under its control. We know what a gripping, masterful control excessive alcohol has on the human body. So Paul says to Christians “don’t allow yourself to get under that kind of control” rather come under the “control of the Holy Spirit” The Christian is meant to live and function under Gods control. Are you in control or is God in control? Only you can answer that today.

Paul is acknowledging here that there are times in all of our lives when even as “Spirit filled” we are not always “Spirit Full” The oil is in the lamp, the wick is lit, but the light is dim, and the glow is poor. In this “under power” or “low power” mode we cannot expect to flow or function in the supernatural? So then Paul says “Be FILLED with the Spirit” The Greek word he uses here is the word “Pleroo” Which literally means to cram full, and it is used in the present continuous tense, implying that we be continually being filled. It’s something we need all the time. So he naturally goes on to tell us how to achieve this. Notice that the words in verse 18 end with a semi-colon. That means he has more to say about it. So in verse 19 he continues …

Eph 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Eph 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Eph 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

So then here is the method by which we can find the power, fuel the flame and flow in the glory. Jesus said, “you are the light of the world” so we need to be shining. Are you shining, – even glowing today?

In Eph 5:19 when Paul says “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs“, He is talking about you talking to you, and me talking to me “Speaking to yourself”? He is NOT talking (as some translations erroneously suggest it) about speaking to one another. (of course there are times when we should speak and admonish one another this way as Paul says in Col 3:16) … But here Paul is saying that this is something you do for you and I do for me. So I get my Bible down and begin to speak into my own life, >>>“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, he maketh me to lie down in green pastures” Ps 23 “The Lord is my light and my Salvation whom shall I fear, the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid” Ps 27 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all

my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. Psalm 34

Sometimes suddenly and sometimes eventually, there is the stirring of the Holy Spirit in my Human Spirit (Jesus says it comes from the belly) and I want to sing or shout now, as Paul says “singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;” There may be no one else hearing you, no one else in the house or in the room, but God is there in you and with you and he delights in our praise and worship. Even if you can’t sing, God delights in you making a joyful noise unto him.

What you sing may be a well loved and familiar hymn, but you can just as easily make the words up as you go along, sing your own words – sing your heart, sing your prayers, sing your desires to the Lord, worship him, praise him, thank him, glorify him, magnify him, … and that stirring in your spirit will intensify and you will find that “fountain of life” that lives within you welling up, bubbling up and if you’re anything like me, you’ll automatically burst forth in an unknown tongue and be drawn deeper and more intimately into the anointing or fullness of the Holy Spirit. You’ll sense and see the intimacy and the depth of the Love that God has for you, like never before.

This is when you should be praising and praying, this is when as Paul adds you should be (Eph 5:20) Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Now you’ll undoubtedly see things differently, see things from Heavens viewpoint, see things

from the eternal Dimension and begin to ask in harmony with the Divine will and purpose, and begin to flow and function in the supernatural. You will understand that you can call on the Kingdom principles that operate in heaven, to operate on earth, “thy will be done on earth as its done in Heaven”

When you need a miracle, get yourself first “filled” then you’ll get the faith for the impossible and the anointing for the improbable; The Bible says …

And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know

that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

1 John 5:15

But keep saying it, and keep singing it.

No one has received everything that God has for them. Therefore, the Lord is always seeking to release more to us through His supernatural gifting. Whenever we put ourselves in that fully surrendered mode to be His channel, then His gifts will flow. The old “Pentecostal” doctrine of the anointing coming and going is not New Testament truth. 1 John 2:27 says, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you.” Remember God lives IN you, and you need to let him OUT!

Another great truth about flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit is sometimes called “the divine flow.” This is based on the undeniable truth that “God is love” from 1 John 4:8. Therefore, whenever we discern or feel the love of God flowing through us toward someone, God is reaching out to them through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is follow that flow through faith, and I have discovered that also often leads to the miraculous. The Lord taught me a long time ago that I could never minister healing or help to anyone without first having love. If you do not flow in his Amazing love, you cannot

function in his Abundant Life.

Jesus died for us, that we might live for him. The Spirit empowers and enables us to live like Jesus did. “As he is so are we in this world” 1 John 4:17. It is imperative that we learn to recognize and flow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It’s not only a blessing to us, but the happiness of other people may depend upon it. You are carrying someone’s miracle. It may be in your mouth, it may be in your hands, or it may be in your wallet, but DON’T let it stay inside. You have to learn how to release it.

There is so much more that the Lord has for us than we are often ready to receive. If only we could grasp the “glory” that he wishes us to walk in every moment of every day, our lives would never be the same. Don’t allow your Church or Church Traditions to short change you. Accept nothing less than Gods best. Read the word, study the Bible for yourself and ask God to open up its meaning and its message to your heart. We should never be content with Biblical Information, what we

need is Biblical Revelation.

I know that revelation is already dawning on many of you who listen in to me every week, you are hungry for more and ready to move up to another dimension in Jesus, ready for the higher life. These messages don’t come close to covering all the material I want to share with you, but I hope they help to make you hungry for more. I really encourage you to get this teaching and start moving supernaturally in a whole new way of living for Jesus.

One thing that the Holy Spirit has taught me, (above all others) is that living in the “fullness and flow of the Holy Spirit” is all about Jesus and never about me. Once you grasp this eternal treasure that all of this earthly pilgrimage is about you and I

allowing Jesus access and lordship over everything we are and everything we do, then you will be well on your way to flowing in the anointed and supernatural life that God has for you.

Wouldn’t you like to be making a difference every day to peoples lives, setting them free from the things that bind and baffle them? Wouldn’t you like to bring Jesus into every impossibility you encounter, You can, and you should when you walk by faith in the power of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. A few weeks ago the Holy Spirit prompted me to speak something for the Lord, in the name of Jesus to a man who was a complete stranger. In that moment he started to cry and said “I have been waiting for more than 20 years for that word from God.” In that hour release and freedom flooded and filled his life. Then a few days ago, I met him again and he is now a changed man, and that change has become visible, you can actually see it on his face. Glory to Jesus!

NOW THIS FINAL WORD

In Acts Chapter 4, Peter and the rest were warned by the authorities to no longer speak in the name of Jesus and were threatened by the rulers, elders and scribes with prison.

The Church is its infancy was concerned and anxious for them, and took to prayer. Saying …

“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.”

Acts 4: 29-30

Notice very carefully if you will that this kind of praying, (asking God to stretch forth his hand and heal) was because they

themselves were not yet filled with the Spirit, but notice that when God heard their prayer, “the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” Acts 4:31

What a transformation!

Some interpret this prayer as the norm, but it is not the norm. This was the church in its infancy before they were filled, before they were enabled and empowered to do the job. Today we have the Holy Spirit, in us and on us. God has put the power inside of us, and placed us here to bring Heavens King and Kingdom to this Earth; – to bring hope to the hopeless, help to the helpless, healing to the hurting and the good news of forgiveness and Salvation to the lost. Most of you are waiting on God, but God is waiting on you! What are you doing about it? Jesus said: “Occupy ‘till I come!”

Are you walking in the power of God or in human weakness.

My dear Brother & Sister in Christ, the choice is yours!

May God Bless us all with wisdom to walk on the right road.

Amen