dailywordofdestiny

“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He DWELLETH with you, and shall be IN you…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” (John 14: 16-27).

“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, ‘Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.’ And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus” (Acts 13: 2-4).

In my early seeking of the presence of Jesus, I noticed that there was a difference in the presentation of the Gospel. Some ministers and leaders just seemed to pour forth their love and VICTORY in Jesus through the messages. Others had no power at all; they spoke with no enthusiasm, or with forced enthusiasm, but the message was hum drum and I often had to fight to stay awake to the end of it. I wondered about this difference and at first attributed it to the personality of the individuals. However, as I studied the Word; I saw that the men and women with POWER in the ministry of their words and actions (in both the Old & New Testaments) had Holy Spirit involvement. HIS EVIDENCE was in their JOY, PRAISE, and THANKSGIVING! Oh hallelujah, how I LOVE HIS PRESENCE and the LIFE HE BRINGS WITH HIM…RESURRECTION LIFE!

Well, needless to say, I WANTED the INFILLING or BAPTISM of Holy Spirit. I KNEW that if I wanted to grow to be “like Jesus” I’d NEED more than what I had to contribute to the relationship. Scripture clearly says in Zechariah 4: 6, “Not by might, nor by power, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, saith the LORD of hosts.” To this end, I chose to go to a church that allowed Holy Spirit to move within the service and I went forward to be prayed for several times. I remember one “home meeting” in particular. Some of the older prayer warriors heard I had NOT YET RECEIVED the Baptism. Well, they circled about me and prayed with exuberance (mildly put)! They twisted my mouth this way and that; told me to let it flow up and out of me and they pushed my abdomen until something very nearly did flow up and out, BUT I DID NOT RECEIVE! Bless them; they were determined. I wondered at that time if there was something wrong with me or, maybe I wasn’t seeking Him in the right way.

One day a few months later, Holy Spirit did baptize me with His sweet presence. Again, there were no bells ringing or sparks flying. In the quietness of prayer; He came down upon me and I FELT HIM and it was with great JOY that I TRULY began speaking in spiritual songs, singing and making melody in my heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ ( Ephesians 5: 18-21). I prayed for hours in my new prayer language. I was like an unstopped pipe and the words from within my spirit just flowed and flowed, outward and upward in praise and adoration for my Jesus! I am only one of thousands and thousands of people who have been and are being filled with the Holy Ghost.

We live in a day when the things that happened in the early Church are again happening in our midst, the fruits and the gifts of the Spirit are being restored to the Church as never before. Why? Because time is running out; Holy Spirit is about to leave. We are quickly coming to the end of this dispensation. Even as Jesus left; Holy Spirit is also going back to heaven again and He knows His time is short. He is literally working overtime and men and women, boys and girls are looking around and realizing SOMETHING IS TAKING place! Holy Spirit is not a new personality that just came upon the scene at Pentecost. He is the same One who came upon the Old Testament saints and prophets and gave them revelation. He alone is the ONE who reveals the deep truths of God – HOLY SPIRIT. He revealed truth to Apostle Paul in the New Testament and He is revealing God’s truth to you and to me today; as we allow Him.

The instrument Holy Spirit uses to convict and convert men and women is the WORD of God. “The seed is the Word of God” (Luke 8: 11). In order for the seed to germinate in the physical world, it must be alive. In the spiritual world the Word of God must be vitalized by Holy Spirit, otherwise it is barren. A spiritual revelation cannot be comprehended by natural understanding. Think back to before you gave your heart to Jesus. You could read the Bible or hear a sermon and it was just a bunch of words. But when you received Jesus as Lord, the Word of God started to have meaning and relevance to your life. Paul is a good example. He had very good understanding of what he spoke about (taught by Gamaliel). He was religious; a devoted Pharisee who knew the Bible and sincerely believed that the Christian movement was a danger to Judaism. BUT THEN he had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and he became a “new man”. “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT AND OF POWER” (I Corinthians 2: 4).

The Baptism of Holy Spirit is OCCUPANCY of Almighty God; giving us new strength, divine strength, and Holy Ghost boldness. Jesus never intended to leave His Church POWERLESS, for to this end “Christ… loved the church, and gave Himself for it… that He might present it TO HIMSELF a GLORIOUS CHURCH” (Ephesians 5: 25-27). If you are a Christian and you have been born again, this second experience – the INFILLING of HOLY SPIRIT – is a vital part of your spiritual growth, and a blessed part of your inheritance in Christ. In Ephesians 5: 18, Paul gives us a command, “BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.” The power and presence of Holy Spirit produces EMPOWERED NEW LIFE.

How can you be filled with the Spirit of God? TURN YOURSELF AND ALL YOU HAVE OVER TO JESUS. It is a surrender of YOU He desires, not just things. You CANNOT love fully or work fully when you have not totally surrendered your ‘self.’ When you surrender to Him completely, He will fill your vessel full. It is when you are full of Him that there will be OUTWARD manifestation of the power of Him who has filled you with Himself.

There is no greater power in the world than when the BLOOD of Christ and the POWER of Holy Spirit are linked together! It is so necessary for this very time in history and believers NEED and will need the power of Holy Spirit both now and in the not too distant future. The One who truly loves the Lord Jesus is Holy Spirit, and it is He who has poured “out in our hearts” the very “love of God” (Genesis 1: 2; John 16: 5-16; Romans 5: 1-5). Whenever Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify JESUS through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ (Acts 7: 55-60). Jesus was always consistent in His relationship to His Father and as Christians we are accountable for our relationship to the LIFE of the SON of God within us (His very Spirit) (Luke 14: 26-33).