When you think about our Lord and what He accomplished on the cross, our message takes on a whole new life. A life that is tied to the eternal life in heaven for those who accept Jesus and ask Him into their life. A life that is impacted in such a way as to change a person’s outlook and perception of what life is all about. A life of inner peace and satisfaction. What generates this change in such a drastic way. Enters the Holy Spirit…. When Jesus told His disciples He was leaving this world in John 14:25-28 “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. 26 The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. 27 I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left – feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught. 28 “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life. This inner peace we have is found in the Holy Spirit and Jesus left, but the Holy Spirit is here with us and strenghtening us in our faith and giving us direction. At times I feel like we have totally forgotten the Holy Spirit. So much so, that a book on not forgetting the Hoiy Spirit has been written and is being taught in churches all over the place. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our friend, and the existence of the Holy Spirit is real, but unknown by many believers because of teachings that cause us to run from the very one who gives us the power to live life as God intended. Our very power source is found in the Holy Spirit but we deny Him by not turning to Him and ignoring Him. How silly is that? Very silly!! For me to mention the name of the Holy Spirit so many times in this blog entry would freak some institutionalized Christians out. Institutuionalized through indoctrination that leaves the teaching of the Holy Spirit out. Boy, is that walking into the enemy’s trap or what? We have seen so much abuse at the hands of radicals when it comes to the Holy Spirit, that it causes most Christians to run from even discussing the subject. So… there you go. Continued power and wisdom loss. A dear lady of the faith who I revered tremendously told me one day, “David, don’t be afraid of the Holy Spirit.” When she told me that I thought, “Well, of course I won’t.” But to some extent i have not let Him lead me as much as I should have and there is no satisfaction in doing that. On the other hand, when we do make a place for the Holy Spirit to move in our hearts, we see God. There is a freshness to our life that is better and best. When we rely on the Holy Spirit for wisdom, He supplies and the deep things of life come to the forefront in our thinking and we are permanently impacted. I have led worship at a service and had someone come up and say, “I felt the Holy Spirit here today.” I want to say, “He’s been here the whole time.” When I received Jesus, I received the Holy Spirit. Enough said.
He is not someone we conjure up by repeating something over and over until we get into an emotional frenzy and there He is. He is with us continually. The problem occurs when we don’t listen to Him and ignore His presence in our lives. Why would we do that? Because we are afraid He will ask us to do something we don’t want to do. So we think we can live a radical Christian life as a disciple and block out our power source? Not gonna happen!! It’s time for believers all over the world to let the power of God go and allow Him to work through our lives and with it will come boldness, freshness, discernment, conviction, and Godliness. When people see the righeousness of God in our lives they are seeing the Holy Spirit. It’s time to let go and let God have total control and then we will experience Him in the fullness of who He is through His Spirit, His Holy Spirit. Jesus said that we would do even greater things than He did when the Holy Spirit comes, so what’s the hold up? It is our unwillngness to surrender to the Spirit’s leading in humility and reverence that holds back God moving in our lives to the fullest. Time to let go and let God. He will satisfy every area of your life if you just trust His Holy Spirit. Satisfaction Guaranteed! Listen to what Paul wrote in Romans 8:2 A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.” Live in the Spirit and thus elevate Jesus in your life.
The Pilgrimage continues….
David Warren